Top 5 Best Ukulele Amplifiers

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The best ukulele amplifier can make your ukulele sound even better (and much louder!) than it already does. From tiny amps that can fit in a backpack to ukulele amplifiers that you can gig with, there’s a huge selection out there. All of the amps below also feature an 1/8″ inch aux input, so you can plug in a phone, laptop, or mp3 player and jam along to your favorite tracks, and a headphone jack for when you want to practice quietly.

Here’s our guide to the best ukulele amplifiers on the market today!

Kala AMP-TWD-5U Tweed Ukulele Amplifier

Summary: An amplifier designed for the ukulele that gets the basics right

Best for: Someone who doesn’t need a loud amp but still wants a good clean sound

The Kala Tweed ukulele amplifier is the only amplifier on this list specifically designed for ukuleles. Kala is well-known for making high quality ukuleles that remain affordable, and this amp follows in that mold. In fact, in many ways, it’s the ukulele of amplifiers! Like the instrument, the Kala Tweed amplifier is small enough to be portable, but still puts out a great sound. At 5 pounds including the two 9 volt batteries needed to charge, it’s also fairly light compared to other amps. This amp would easily fit in a backpack for easy travel.

With 5 watts of power, it’s not a blast-your-music kind of amp. It can still pack quite a punch, but overall, this would fall under the “practice amp” category. It’s great for adding volume in a jam, or if your uke is just not loud enough to play on the street or at the local farmers’ market. It won’t work as well for a larger gig, or if you need to compete with other amplified instruments.

The tone itself is quite nice, and generally faithful to the acoustic sound of the ukulele. The Kala Tweed is mainly designed for “clean” playing, but the gain control does lend some nice crunch. There’s a bit of distortion if you keep the gain down and crank the volume up, but not enough to be too much of a problem even at the highest volume. Besides gain and volume, there’s a single tone control labeled “treble.” It’s not nearly as precise as amps with bass and mid controls, but you can get a decent range of tone from round and bassy to thin and jangly.

Pros

Easily portable

Good clean sound

Cons

Not very loud

Slight distortion present at top end of volume

Fishman Loudbox Mini

Summary: A powerful yet portable amplifier that produces a great natural acoustic-sounding tone

Best for: A musician who just needs to be louder for gigs or busking

The Fishman LoudBox Mini is aptly named, given that it’s the most powerful amp on this list. At 60 watts, it’s loud enough to be a proper gigging amplifier, and has 2 input channels so that you can sing along with your uke playing. It’s also aptly named because unlike many other amplifiers, the LoudBox just makes you louder without changing your sound. You can add effects or EQ if you’d like, but this is by far the best amp on this list for reproducing the natural acoustic tone of your ukulele.

The 2 input channels include a 1/4″ jack for plugging instruments in, and an XLR jack for microphones. Each has its own set of controls. For the instrument, you get 3 EQ knobs (low/mid/high), reverb, chorus, and gain. The microphone has 2 EQ controls (low/high), reverb, and gain. There is also a master volume control. This amp is geared specifically towards getting a great natural tone, so any distortion, wah-wah, or other effects will have to be done through pedals. But for someone who just wants some volume enhancement to their acoustic sound for gigs or busking, the ability to add a bit of reverb and tweak the EQ is more than enough.

While it doesn’t come standard, there’s also the option to get the LoudBox Mini with an internal rechargeable battery. This adds to the price and weight, but in return you get 4 hours of playing at full volume, or up to 18 hours at lower volumes. This is more than enough for busking or a gig, and gives you a lot of flexibility. And anyone who has spent time searching for an outlet or wondering if their extension cord is long enough can understand that flexibility is important!

Pros

High power means loud volume

Great natural tone for ukulele and voice

Cons

Battery costs extra and adds weight

Fender Passport Mini

Summary: An amp that packs great effects and good power into a portable size

Best for: Someone who wants to customize their sound with a wide range of effects

The Fender Passport Mini is the smallest in a line of portable amps and PA systems meant for gigging musicians and buskers. It’s powered by 6 C batteries, although there’s also the option to plug it into the wall. This amplifier is plenty loud if you’re just looking to enhance your ukulele’s volume. It has two channels, one with a 1/4″ jack and one with XLR, so you can sing and play at the same time. But it’s the extra features that set the Fender Passport Mini apart from the rest on this list.

Specifically, you have access to a huge arrange of sounds. There are a LOT of effects on board, including

Reverb

Delay

Flange

Vibratone

Echo

Tremolo

Phaser

Chorus

Many of those are further customizable. You can, for example, choose between modeling the reverb of a small room or large hall. And just in case you’re not satisfied with that, there’s Fender FUSE. Plug the amp into your computer using the USB port, and you can create and customize your own effects. It certainly makes things more complicated, but you can’t beat the customization.

The microphone channel is a lot more pared back, with only the standard volume, tone, and reverb controls. It’s designed primarily for vocals, but could work well for a second mic’ed up ukulele, still delivering a nice acoustic tone.

At 7 watts, this amp is more than powerful enough for smaller gigs, busking, or playing with other instruments in a larger jam. It won’t quite power through large or loud venues, but it’ll definitely make your ukulele and voice a lot louder!

Pros

Portable and battery powered

Lots of customizable effects

Cons

Not loud enough for larger or noisy venues

Danelectro Honeytone

Summary: A tiny amplifier that still packs a punch

Best for: Someone looking for a bluesy crunch in a small package

This is the smallest ukulele amplifier on this list in many different ways. Weighing less than a pound and measuring 6 inches on its longest side, the Honeytone is the ultimate portable amp. It’s powered by a single 9 volt battery, which lasts for hours and is easy to replace. But that portability comes at a cost, since this is also the lowest-powered amp on this list.

The controls are very basic, with one knob each for volume, gain, and tone. At 1 watt his amplifier will not have nearly the same power as other amps. This is a problem if you’re looking for a loud, clean sound. With the gain on the amplifier turned down and the volume all the way up, this is still only marginally louder than a standard ukulele. Turning the gain up helps with volume, but also starts adding distortion.

That distortion, though, is a great reason to get this little amplifier. For blues or rock players looking to add a bit of crunch, this is the perfect little amp. Cranking the gain and volume up produces a very loud, distorted sound that can more than hold its own with other instruments. It’s a popular amp with harmonica players for a similar reason.

The tone control is basic, but still lets you move between a rounder and brighter tone. Included with the amp is a chart with some combinations of gain and tone to model classic sounds. If you’re just looking to play around with an amplified or distorted sound on your ukulele, the Honeytone amplifier will more than satisfy your curiosity.

Pros

Small and portable

Easy to use

Inexpensive

Cons

Not much volume without distortion

Roland Mobile AC

Summary: An amplifier that combines portability, power, and a great clean tone

Best for: A busker or someone who needs their ukulele amplified in smaller settings

While the Roland Mobile AC amplifier says it’s “optimized for acoustic guitar,” it works quite well with the ukulele. Stereo 2.5 watt speakers provide enough power for busking or even a small gig, but it’s still small enough to fit in a backpack. Powered by 6 AA batteries, it can last up to 15 hours before it needs a change. And most importantly, it can fairly accurately reproduce a natural, acoustic tone, while still providing some room to experiment.

The Roland Mobile AC has 2 1/4″ inputs, one each for a microphone and an instrument. If you’re planning on using this with a mic, you’ll need to get an XLR to 1/4″ cable, or else you won’t be able to plug the mic in. Both inputs have a dedicated volume control, and the instrument has a button to add a chorus effect. There’s no independent EQ for each channel, but there is a tone control knob that affects the sound for both. I’m not sure you’d want to EQ your instrument and voice (or two instruments) the same way, but it might be useful for some people. There’s also a knob for adding reverb, again affecting both channels. Like the LoudBox, this is focused on producing a louder natural tone, so any additional effects like overdrive will have to come externally.

There’s also a button for a “wide” effect, meant to make up for the small size by creating a bigger stereo sound. I’m not sure I noticed a huge difference when it was on, but some might like it. This amplifier certainly doesn’t sound small, and adds a lot more volume than your standard ukulele. With the master volume turned all the way up, there’s a little bit of distortion, but it can still put out quite a loud clean sound. It won’t fill up a very big or noisy bar, but it’ll do quite well for smaller gatherings and for playing on the street.

Pros

Natural acoustic sound

Portable and battery-powered

Cons