What is it?
A huge trend in the last few years has been the continued development of portable mini-amps. The Harley Benton JAMster joins the likes of the Boss Katana Mini X, Positive Grid Spark GO, and Blackstar FLY 3, in offering affordable, compact electric guitar amp, designed with both home practice and life on the road in mind. But there's a difference: Harley Benton's offering –– while forgoing modeling and effects –– comes in at under $40. Powered either via mains or batteries, it’s very easily transported and can be used absolutely anywhere.
Boasting 10W of power, a 5-inch speaker (plus a tweeter for full-range music playback) and clean and overdrive modes, it’s ideal for players who want a compact practice amp that can tackle different styles of music. What really sets it apart, particularly at this price point though is its Bluetooth compatibility. Stream music from your phone or tablet and jam along, or use it as a portable sound system.
For those who prefer (or possibly require) to do things more old-school, there is also an 1/8-inch (3.5mm) aux input as well as a headphones output.
Specs
- Price: $35/£33/€39
- Type: Solid state combo
- Origin: China
- Output: 10 Watts RMS
- Speaker: Custom voiced 5”, plus tweeter
- Channels: 2
- Controls: Volume, Tone, Gain, Channel button, Bluetooth button
- Connectivity: Guitar input, aux input, headphone output, bluetooth
- Footswitch: N/A
- Weight: 950g/2.1lbs
- Dimensions: 245 x 123 x 152 mm
- Contact: Harley Benton
Build quality
Build quality rating: ★★★★
Out of the box, it looks and feels like it’s built well. Although it feels durable for everyday use, the amp is made with a plastic casing, so I’d be wary of throwing it in the back of a car without any sort of protection, and the buttons don’t feel incredibly sturdy. There is a nice bit of resistance to the knobs on the top of the amp though which makes dialing in your tone easy.
For those looking to use this at home, I can’t foresee any issues. However, if you’re planning on taking it out on the road – maybe as a warm-up amp backstage, busking, or maybe traveling then it would definitely be worth investing in some sort of padded carry case for it - even if replacing it is likely to be as cost effective.
Usability
Usability rating: ★★★★½
The top of the amp sports a very simple three knob layout – volume, tone and gain. There’s then a button for clean/overdrive and a Bluetooth connection button.
It’s really easy to dial in your specific sound – beginners don’t have much to get lost with, which is nice. When on the overdrive setting, you do have to balance the volume with the gain a little though. So, if you’ve got a low gain setting at the right volume and you increase the gain, it does slightly increase the volume as well. Not a criticism as such, but worth mentioning.
Pairing with the Bluetooth was also easy - you press the button to place the amp in pairing mode then connect from your device. At this point, the volume for the audio you're streaming into the JAMster is controlled by your device's volume buttons.
The Harley Benton JAMster comes with a power supply included - again, at this price, that’s incredible value. It’s worth noting however, that the review model came with a European plug.
Sounds
Sounds rating: ★★★★
As I delve into what the amp sounds like, it’s worth once again reminding ourselves of the price here. It’s a budget amp, and in all honesty, that is reflected in some of the tones. It’s not bad, by any means, but you’ll hardly be trading in your tube amps for one.
It serves a purpose - that is, it’s a small practice amp that can be powered by batteries. The clean channel sounds a little like a basic DI - there isn’t much character to it, but if you like the sound of your guitar, then that should come through fairly well.
The overdriven channel sounds fine - again, it’s nothing special but it serves its purpose well and is an improvement on the waspy micro-amps of yore. What I did really like though was how much range there is in the gain.
You can add just a touch of overdrive and get a satisfying blues sound, drive it into crunchy, classic rock territory, or even metal. There’s a surprising amount of gain on tap, so you can really cover quite a bit of ground here.
The overall tonality of the JAMster is quite dark. I first plugged a Fender Telecaster into the amp – normally a fairly bright sounding guitar, and I found that I was dialling the tone knob up to max to get it to my liking. I tried my SG through it too and, with tone up full, would still have liked more top end.
When pushed, the amp can throw out a good bit of volume; more than enough for bedroom practice. You might even get away with busking with it, provided you’re putting any vocals or acoustic guitars through another amp.
Verdict
All in all, this is a fantastic amp for the price. If you’re looking for an affordable solution to portable practice without paying for loads of bells and whistles, then this will do the job. The Bluetooth connection is a really useful addition that means the JAMster can serve double-duty as your guitar amp on-the-go as well as a Bluetooth speaker for listening to music - or both at the same time!
While there are practice amps out there that sound better, you will have to spend more cash.
The sound quality might not be the most exciting, but it's just fine for its intended purpose, and while there are practice amps out there that sound better, you will have to spend more cash.
The JAMster's versatility should also be praised. The gain has lots of range, plus you’ve got a dedicated clean channel. If you're intending on using this 'untethered' for long periods of time, rechargeable batteries would be a very sound investment, but if you're going to play through it in situations where there's mains power, it's a very convenient solution.
Guitar World verdict: If you’re seeking a cheap, compact practice amp with Bluetooth connectivity and the option to run on batteries as well as mains then the Harley Benton JAMster has you covered. The tones are solid, if a little unremarkable at times. For the price, it’s pretty much unbeatable.
