Unfortunately this may be the biggest factor influencing which amp you plump for in the end. So make sure you figure out what you have to play with first and then match everything else to that. It could alter what make you go for or whether you want any onboard effects. If you have a pretty restrictive budget then you should probably stick to something simple as any additional effects and features are likely to detract from the quality of the sound, and the sound it makes is really the most important thing.

As this is your first amp I will assume that you will be spending most of your time noodling in your bedroom and not playing in front of sold out stadium audiences, though that may well be what is going on in your head. As a result you really don’t need a very big amp at all. So I’m sorry but that means no huge Marshall stack and Orange head unit or a Santana style Mesa Boogie set up. They are far too expensive and far too loud until you really need to fill a pretty big venue with your racket. Even if you are not far away from playing your first few gigs then most venues will have a good enough PA system and a microphone in front of your little bedroom amp will give you plenty of volume. So a small 15-watt practice amp is really all you need and if you really are keen on gigging soon then maybe go for a 25-50-watt amp just for that little bit extra. Around 30-watts really should be the limit unless you know you will regularly be playing with a drummer then 30-watts is needed and you might think about 50-watts if they play like Animal from the muppets.

This might be a tricky question to answer for you if you’re very new to playing the guitar but if possible you need to try to match your amp to the style you want to play. For example if you know you are going to learn lots of Jazz pieces you will probably want something that will give you a nice clear and crisp tone with a bit of warmth. If on the other hand you fancy yourself as the next Slash or Kirk Hammett then you will want a dirtier and distorted sound. This is not only important for the make and model you go for but whether you think you want any onboard effects/overdrive channels on your amp. If you’re really not sure what sorts of music you are going to be playing then go for the amp with the best clean sound. By that I mean the best sounding amp when played with no overdrive, reverb or other effects. If it sounds great clean then you can add effects pedals latter and it will still sound great.

Personally I would say that you are better off getting any effects that you want from separate effects pedals. They will be better quality, have more options for altering the performance of the effect and will probably be easier to use, especially in a live situation. However, this will be a more expensive way of doing things so if you really want some effects to mess around with and are on a tight budget then some onboard effects might be the way to go. You should realise that you probably won’t get such great sound quality for the money on an amp with lots of onboard effects, from either the amp itself or the effects, and you are unlikely to find many 15-watt amps with much in the way of built in effects.

Simple, solidly built affordable amp with a great clean sound and a nice overdrive channel. Fender rarely let you down with their amps or guitars.

Packed with a lot of features for the price, this amp has four different amp models and six built in effects. It also has various input/output sockets for mp3/CD player or to hook it up to a computer for recording. Let down slightly by the quality of its clean sound but offers a lot for the price.

Solid little amp with good clean and overdrive channels, to combine it with an Epiphone Les Paul is probably the closest you’ll get to sounding like Slash for the money.

A little cheaper than some of the bigger names but can't quite compete on sound quality. Gives a few different sound options and is a basic and effective practice amp

Cheap and cheerful but gives more than its price might suggest. A great first amp for real beginners.

I hope this advice helps you find the right amp for you. Let me know how you get on in the comments box below.

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