NUX Mighty Amps Review: 3 AWESOME Models For Beginners!

The NUX Mighty amps are a perfect practice buddy for someone who needs a no-nonsense modeling amp with built-in effects! These little guys really rock, at a budget price

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NUX Mighty Amps: Small Price, Big Sounds!

If you have been paying attention over the last few years, NUX has been putting out all kinds of affordable multi-effects units. NUX also makes some cheap pedals that sound great. It was only a matter of time before NUX expanded into amp territory.

In case you were wondering, you pronounce NUX as “New X” or “Nu X”. Kind of like the way we say “Nu Metal” when talking about Korn and Deftones. I had no idea that I had been calling the company by the wrong name for the last 2 years!

NUX seems to focus fire on beginner guitarists that are on a budget. While some products are more advanced, the majority seem to be aimed at younger, beginner guitarists. Most of the mini amps that NUX has released remind me of the Blackstar FLY series, with Bluetooth technology built in to control the amp and effects.

But sometimes you want to plug in, and just be LOUD. You want to really feel what you are playing, and maybe jam along to your favorite songs at full blast. The NUX mini amps are not going to cut it in that situation. You need an actual combo amp, at the very least.

The NUX Mighty amps are 3 different sized combo amps, with three different wattage and speaker options. So far, the Mighty series has 8 watt, 20 watt, and 40 watt combo amps that still utilize the Bluetooth technology, if you want to use it.

This is where the big difference comes in. Two of the new NUX Might Amps have onboard controls for people that don’t want to download an app. Sometimes simple physical controls are a better choice, especially for beginners. But personally, I also prefer actual knobs to contour my EQ and effects.

Today we are going to take a look at an overview of the features that the NUX Mighty Amps share, as well as take a quick look at the individual models. These amps offer a ton of features for a budget price, so let’s take a look at what makes them tick!

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NUX Mighty Amps: Mighty 20 & 40 Features

All 3 models share the same features when it comes to effects, but the Mighty 8 Amp has some totally different features that we will go over later. The Mighty 20 and 40 are very much alike, and very close to being your traditional, modern guitar amp.

If you are familiar with the original Fender Mustang or the Blackstar ID series, then the NUX Mighty 20 and 40 will be very familiar to you. The top panel has the main controls for the amp, with a dedicated section for effects. Each amp style preset has two different variations, and you can save your own presets once you dial them in.

The cool part, is unlike the BOSS Katana or Mustang GTX, you can dial in everything you need just using the top panel. You can use the app, of course, if you want. But for the technologically impaired people, or those that don’t want to fuss with an app, the top panel does it all.

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NUX Mighty Amps 20 & 40 Specs

• 20 watt, or 40 watt models available
• 8 inch speaker (20) or 10 inch speaker (40)
• 4 Channels (Clean, Overdrive, Metal, Lead) Each channel has 2 presets
• Gain and Master Volume Control
• 3 Band EQ section
• 9 types of effects (Chorus, Phaser, Tremolo, Vibe, Delay, and Reverb)
• 3 Types of Delay
• Tap tempo delay control
• 3mm AUX input and headphone out
• Built in tuner (40 only)

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If you are familiar with any of the popular modeling amps, the the NUX Mighty Amps will all be pretty easy to figure out. These are perfect amps for anyone that is limited to a small space for practicing. Even the 40 watt version is compact.

For the price point, I was pretty surprised with the construction of both of these amps. They feel extremely solid, and the knobs are actual metal instead of the usual plastic knobs you find on these kinds of amps. The buttons are soft rubber, with super bright LED lights.

I was confused with the letters on top of the buttons, since they were E, G, A, D, B. This is for the tuner function, and I felt like an idiot for a few seconds. The 3mm AUX and headphone jacks are pretty standard, and the USB is for firmware updates. NUX seems to regularly update all of the products, which is cool.

Each amp model has two different modes, but in reality the second mode is more like a “bright” switch on a traditional amp. These amp buttons are also where you save your own preset sounds once you have them dialed in, so you have two presets per amp mode.

The Clean channel has a warm, mid-heavy Fender style tone by default. This works really well with the built in reverbs, and the quality of the sound is crazy for this price point. This is a versatile clean tone that would be great for jamming Blues leads, and playing Jazz chords.

The Overdrive and Metal settings are also pretty good when it comes to the sound quality. The OD channel has that classic rock, Marshall sort of sound. The Metal setting has all of the mids dialed out by default, so it can sound a little fizzy. Come on NUX Mighty Amps, you can do better!

This is something NUX should fix in an update, because the jump from a warm overdrive to high gain is jarring. Especially for beginners. Switching over from a nice crispy crunch tone, to a bottomed-out high gain sound makes you think maybe the “Metal” tone is bad. Once you dial out the bass, and add the mids back in, “Metal” sounds fine.

The effects are all controlled with three different buttons that list the effects type. You Parameter knob allows you to control the intensity of the effect, and sometimes the type of effect. If you choose any of the delay options, there is a tap-tempo feature to sync it to the beat of the song. It also does dotted 8th note delays, which is pretty neat!

All of the effects are great quality, and I think some of these are from the NUX multi-effects processor family. Effects are usually the area that beginner amp manufacturers “cheap out” on. The delay through a pair of headphones sounds massive, as well as the different reverb selections. I was totally surprised with the quality of effects from the NUX Mighty Amps.

That being said, all of the tones are definitely usable with a little tweaking. Once you have a sound you like dialed in, you can save it by holding down the panel buttons. This also saves any effects that you have added to the channel. You can then recall your presets from the panel buttons.

These are great beginner amps because they are loud enough to jam along with your stereo. But they are also great if you use the AUX cable to play along to your favorite songs. Again, all of this can be done just using the panel controls on the amp itself.

If you want to use the NUX MIGHTY AMPS APP, then you have a lot more control. The amp auto-connects via Bluetooth, so there are no pairing buttons to mess with. When you open the app, it recognizes the amplifier immediately. Here you can do a real deep dive into editing your presets, and change the noise gate settings.

Now this is not as in-depth as something like a Helix or POD GO, but I was surprised at the amount of control you have over your sound. You can really dial in a lot of parameters that you don’t have precise access to on the panel of both NUX Mighty Amps.

You also have a list of pre-programmed drum loops, and some backing tracks as well. While these are all simple, they would be great tools for beginner guitarists. The backing tracks and drums have individual volumes that you can set, so your guitar is always in the forefront. Both of these NUX Mighty Amps sound great with the AUX input, not muddy at all.

Personally, I think the app is a valuable tool for beginners that do not have access to a DAW yet. The drum loops and backing tracks are perfect for making sure you are on beat when you are playing. The NUX Mighty Amps are great practice buddies.

So while the NUX Mighty series might not be as in-depth as something like the BOSS Katana when it comes to tones, the simple interface is perfect for beginners. Especially guitarists that are just now starting to understand effects and amp types. Sometimes the simple route is better, and the NUX Mighty Amps nail simple!

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NUX Mighty Amps: The 8 Watt Wonder

The NUX Mighty Amps 8 BT is a portable, one man band machine! You can power the NUX Mighty 8 with either batteries, or the adaptor. While you definitely do not have the same control from the panel as the bigger models, the Mighty 8 works best with the app.

The Mighty 8 has all of the same effects and amplifier tones that its bigger brothers has, but you need to app to access the controls. The same can be said for the effects, as you have a simple dial to change the modulation and delay functions.

Looking at the picture above, you probably noticed the MIC input, and microphone controls. This is because the Mighty 8 can be used with any 1/4” mic input, as well as your guitar at the same time! In the app, your guitar and mic have separate controls for volume and effects.

The Mighty 8 uses the same app as the other NUX Mighty Amps, so you have access to all of the drum patterns and backing tracks that are available on the other models. You also have an AUX port if you want to jam your own choice of music.

The Mighty 8 is a one man band machine if you factor in the drum loops. You can play, sing, and have any of the drum loops going at the same time! The best part, is the battery feature that will let you take this little guy anywhere you want! I’m not sure I would use it for busking, but you could try!

If you have ever wanted to jam out on the go, the NUX Mighty Amps 8 is perfect for you. All you need is your phone, the amp, and a guitar/mic. You can take it anywhere with battery power, or use it at home for a songwriting tool. Your imagination is your only real limitation with the Mighty 8.

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NUX Mighty Amps: Affordable Beginner Jam Factories

Going into this review, I expected NUX to deliver some solid practice amps for beginners. I was not prepared for the amount of features you have at your fingertips with the app! Sure, you can have a lot of fun using the panel controls, but the app has the drum loops and backing tracks to play along with.

You get a whole lot to tinker with for under $200, and the NUX Mighty Amps 8 can be a great tool for writing songs if you are a beginner. Most of the big name modeling amps are going to cost at least twice as much, and some of those amps have features that can be confusing for beginners.

The NUX Mighty Amps lineup is super simple in its approach. There is nothing complicated or intimidating here for a beginner, and experienced guitarists can appreciate these as well. I like the simplicity and sheer ease of use. Sometimes I just want to plug in, and crank it up!

NUX may be onto something with these smaller amps. I have always enjoyed the multi effects and economic pedals that NUX offers, so its nice to see those features in a practice amp. You can have a lot of fun with the app features, and I thoroughly enjoyed playing around with each model!