Harley Benton MA-5 Miniamp Reviews

Low sound quality

I bought this product to use it hoping it would be more comfortable to use than a bigger amp.

I ended up not using it too much because it doesn't sound very well.

I wouldn't recommend buying it.

Pros: cheap, small, light

Cons: low sound sound, low quality controls

Cheapest amp...

It has a build in "Overdrive" but it feels like just turning your tome nob fully open but, I liked the quality... it is well made and i feel like it will not fall apart after a week of using.

Inexpensive, battery powered, inexpensive, very portable, and inexpensive

This tiny amplifier is a VERY close copy of the Marshall MS-2, cosmetically, and electronically. The circuit is almost identical, using a LA4140 power amp IC driving a 8 Ohm 3 inch speaker. Three identically functioning knobs and a rear mounted pocket clip. Construction is very much in line with the price, rigid injection molded plastic. Sound is pretty one dimensional, lo-fi and distorted and not much more. The Power knob is a three position switch, Off, On, and OD, presumably for "Overdrive". The On position is somewhat clean-ish at best. The OD position is pretty distorted. The amp is fairly quiet overall, even inOD mode with the volume cranked. Loud enough to annoy a roommate, but that's about all. The On setting I find not very useful. Better to just use OD, crank the Volume control all the way up, and use the guitar's volume control to control the amount of distortion-simple and effective. The Tone knob isn't all that useful. Despite the published rating of 5 Watts, this amp is nowhere near that. Maybe 0.5 Watts at most, fully distorted. Versatile this amp is not. It does one thing. And it does it cheaply. That's what you pay for, and that's what you'll get. Whether that one thing is useful is entirely up to you. If you're in the market for the Marshall MS-2, buy this one instead. If you're looking for a tiny bit more versatility and clean sounds to drive a small loudspeaker, you'll have to look elsewhere and probably have to pay significantly more.

Go for something more expensive

It sound really bad with charger and a bit more ok with a battery.The speaker is rubbish.

Great for the price

Great miniamp for practicing in the house for when I can't be bothered setting up my full size amp, also good to use on your porch or in the yard/garden and especially for jamming along with an acoustic guitar.

The sound quality on either clean or overdrive is pretty good & surprisingly loud for this price point. Like anything else there'll be a lot better out there but you'll have to pay a substantial amount to better it.

Would be great for anyone to go with their first electric guitar if you are on a tight budget.

It does look & feel cheap but it's the sound that matters.

Just bad

The amp Which is just a little amp i will be using for a few months until i get back home, where i will store this and use it sometimes going outside and attach it to my guitar strap.

The sound overall is Okay, for the few bucks you can get it for it sounds good, there are not real features, and the overdrive is very poor when you do not want to blast out your own ears while it is hooked onto your guitar strap.

Pro's:

-Small size

-Battery life is pretty good

Con's:

-sound is pretty okay but not great.

-feels cheap

Would i recommend it? Depends, if you are just going to use it as a fun little amp you can easily take with you to amuse some friends, yeah sure, as a little practice amp you can take on the road? No, you're better off getting a Boss Katana Air in that case.

Terrible with a purpose!

Initially, I bought this amp for my nephew to power his Yamaha Silent guitar and he finally got off my Vox amp. He?s happy with it and is finally practicing.

Don?t expect much; you get what you pay for. The OD is better than clean. Using an adapter does affect the clean and would give it a little bit of distortion, but when it?s on batteries, it?s much better.

I wouldn?t recommend it to anyone except if you have a kid who?s constantly using your expensive equipment and you want them off your back.

Decent gadget

Of course the sound is not good, but that wasn't even expected from a product of this range.

If you need to have something cheap and small just to get some sound out of your guitar, this is a cool gimmick.

Cheaper than all the other battery amps, so I would recommend it over the Marshall, Fender, EVH and similar products.

Okay.

I wanted a mini-amp like this one to save me dragging my amp around the house when I wanted to practice in a different room or outside. Didn't expect much from it for the price. The sound quality obviously isn't great but I don't think anyone would buy this expecting it to be. Very easy to use and lightweight. Overdrive works better than clean setting.