This $100 Amp Proved Me Wrong!

What Makes An Amp Great?

I have to admit, I was completely taken by surprise by how much I’ve come to rely on this unassuming little amplifier. It has two particular features that have truly won me over, and surprisingly, it’s not primarily about the sound quality, though I still find myself reaching for it quite often.

As many of you know, my main rig revolves around the Fractal Audio FM3.

I absolutely love its sound, its versatility, and how seamlessly it integrates into my workflow, whether I’m playing live, recording in the studio, or creating content for YouTube or my online courses. It sounds fantastic, feels great to play through, and can handle pretty much any sonic landscape I can imagine.

However, the amp I’m talking about today is a different beast entirely. In fact, I never would have considered buying an amp like this, even at a mere $100 price point. My initial thought was, “How good could it possibly be?” I actually received it as a gift, a story I’ll share in a moment. And just to be clear, this video is not sponsored in any way.

What I didn’t anticipate was just how incredibly practical this little thing would become. It has opened up a new category of amps for me, one I never really thought existed or that I would find particularly useful. Of course, my specific use case might be different from yours, so I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.

You might even be surprised at how well it holds its own when I eventually compare its sound to the mighty Fractal. So stick around for that!

How I Got The Amp

Back in 2023, I had the incredible opportunity to perform as a guest soloist with Nick Javier and his band at the Taichung Jazz Festival in Taiwan.

I’ve known Nick for decades – we went to the conservatory together and played in several bands back in the day. It was an amazing experience to visit him and his family and to play a concert for an audience of over 20,000 people – definitely a step up from the average jazz club around here!

While I was there, I had the pleasure of meeting many new people, including George, the guitarist in Nick’s band.

George is also a YouTuber, and on the day of the concert, we even filmed a video together for his channel (I’ll be sure to link it in the description below). It was George who gifted me the amp I’m talking about: the Nu-X Mighty Lite.

Now, I’m sure your initial reaction is similar to mine when I first saw it: “That’s just a cheap practice amp. It probably doesn’t sound great. What am I even going to do with that?” It was a bit ungrateful of me to think that way, and I certainly didn’t voice those thoughts, simply thanking George for his generosity. But I was definitely skeptical.

Later, back in my hotel room, I decided to give it a try. I figured out how to connect it to my iPad to dial in a sound and play around a bit.

To my surprise, it sounded much better than I had anticipated. You’ll hear the comparison later in the video, but I truly didn’t realize just how much I would end up using this.

And just to reiterate, Nu-X did not sponsor this video or provide me with the amp. They have no say in what I’m sharing, and in fact, they’re likely unaware that I’m even making this video (though I might send it their way afterward!).

As you can see, the Nu-X Mighty Lite is incredibly small and remarkably lightweight. I can easily pick it up and wave it around with one hand. It’s a $100 amp, so unsurprisingly, the construction is primarily plastic. And in case there was any doubt, it’s definitely not a tube amp.

How The Speaker Sounds In The Room

Essentially, it’s a modeling amp packed with a few effects and a very small speaker. The speaker isn’t exactly high-fidelity; it has a somewhat mid-focused sound, almost like a cheap phone speaker, which surprisingly can be quite useful in certain situations.

The Controls On The Amp

The controls on the amp itself are very basic but surprisingly practical. You get gain, a master volume, a tone knob (which seems to control the treble of the amp model), and a switch to select between delay and reverb, along with a knob to adjust their level.

There’s also a drum loop function, which I’ve personally never used – I’d recommend just using a metronome instead. You can connect headphones or a phone, and there’s also a line-in for adding backing tracks. It’s clearly designed as a practice amp.

Interestingly, it can also run on batteries, though I’ve never actually done that. I always power it with a standard nine-volt power supply, which is much more convenient for my needs.

As I mentioned, it’s a simple modeling amp, and you connect it to your phone or iPad via Bluetooth to access a wider range of sounds and effects. This is where you really start to design your tones and choose different amp models and effects, which I’ll delve into later.

And here’s a feature that has become incredibly important for me: it has a USB-C connection.

Modelling Amp – With Effects

I already mentioned that I don’t primarily use this amp because it sounds mind-blowingly amazing. So, how does it sound? And how does it compare to my beloved Fractal Audio FM3? We’ll get to that in a moment.

The key to shaping the sound with the Nu-X Mighty Lite isn’t the limited controls on the top panel, but rather the accompanying app. You install the app on your phone or iPad and connect to the amp via Bluetooth.

The app interface is surprisingly simple and intuitive.

Essentially, you have presets, a master patch level,

and then the core of the sound: the amp model and the IR (Impulse Response), which simulates different speaker cabinets and acts as a detailed EQ. The app offers a decent selection of amp models – around 20 or so.

My go-to sound on the Mighty Lite is based on a Deluxe Reverb model.

I tend to dial in a relatively low gain, keep the master volume fairly open, and then use an EQ that cuts the bass and treble while boosting the mids. This gives me a decent, clean tone, but it can sound a little thin on its own.

To add some fullness and character, I usually engage an overdrive pedal within the app – in this case, a model called “Blues Driver” (presumably inspired by the Boss Blues Driver).

I keep the gain on the overdrive low and adjust the level to taste, ensuring it doesn’t overdrive the amp model too much. These types of overdrive pedals often naturally boost the mid frequencies, which helps to fill out the sound.

Regarding the IR, the app offers a diverse selection of speaker simulations. For those unfamiliar, the speaker cabinet plays a crucial role in the overall sound of an amplifier, often even more so than the amp head itself. Interestingly, I’ve mostly stuck with the default speaker simulation on the Mighty Lite and haven’t explored the other options extensively. However, I recently noticed that it appears you might even be able to upload your own custom IRs, which would be a very powerful feature.

I also typically add a subtle delay and reverb from the app. The controls for these effects are fairly basic, but they get the job done. I tend to go for softer delays and reverbs that aren’t too bright.

The level of the delay and reverb is something I can actually adjust on the amp itself while playing, which is quite handy.

The patch I described is one I created back in 2023, and I haven’t really felt the need to change it since. This is similar to how I work with my FM3 – I tend to dial in sounds I like and then stick with them unless there’s a specific reason to tweak them.

Earlier, I mentioned how the small speaker in the Mighty Lite has a certain “bark” and a prominent midrange that can really cut through. While it’s difficult to fully demonstrate this in a video, I did try recording it with different microphones in my room to give you an idea. You can probably hear how it lacks deep bass, but it still has a presence that can be surprisingly useful.

The Two Situations Where I Use The Amp

I don’t use the Nu-X Mighty Lite for performances – it’s simply not designed for that. However, it has become invaluable in two specific scenarios.

The first is when I’m hanging out with musician friends for casual jams.

Often, these gatherings might be at the place of a bass player, a piano player, or a horn player – someone who doesn’t typically have a guitar amp readily available. In these situations, I don’t want to lug around a larger amp. The Mighty Lite fits easily into my guitar case, making it incredibly portable. I can hop on my bike or take the train without any hassle. Even my smallest “proper” amp, my AER, is much more cumbersome to transport, especially by bike. In The Hague, it’s quite common to travel by bike or public transport, as parking is expensive and driving can be impractical. Of course, if I’m driving, I’ll likely just bring a bigger amp, perhaps even the FM3, as it’s just as easy in that context.

When I use the Mighty Lite in these casual jam sessions, I often don’t even bother connecting it to my iPad. I might bring the iPad along, but I don’t think I’ve ever actually used it in situations like this. I simply turn on the amp and play. If I need to make minor adjustments to the tone, reverb, or delay to suit the room, I can easily do so using the onboard controls. This is why I think the basic controls on the amp are so well-chosen.

On a side note, if you don’t regularly hang out with other musicians just to talk music and play some tunes, I highly recommend it. It’s a lot of fun, it’s great for staying motivated, and you inevitably learn a lot in the process.

The Amp Superpower!

The second way I use this little amp is arguably more important for my work, and it’s likely you’ve already heard recordings made with it. When I travel, especially to Anaheim for NAMM, I often shoot videos with other musicians, both jam sessions and lessons. You might have seen the videos I did with Aimee Nolte or Rotem Sivan, and there’s one coming soon with Pritesh Swalia. This is where the USB connection on the Mighty Lite becomes absolutely crucial.

When traveling, it’s often inconvenient to bring a separate audio interface and speakers for monitoring while recording. And when you’re jamming, you want to have something that sounds like an amp so you can hear yourself properly. The USB connectivity of the Mighty Lite effectively turns it into an audio interface with a built-in speaker, perfect for monitoring what we’re playing. I often use a simple Boss pedal to plug two guitars into the single input of the Nu-X.

The Sound Comparison: NU-X Mighty Lite vs. Fractal Audio FM3

To give you an idea of how the Nu-X Mighty Lite sounds compared to the Fractal Audio FM3, I decided to turn off the reverb and delay on both. The reverbs and delays in the Fractal are simply on another level, so comparing those wouldn’t be particularly insightful. However, I do think it’s interesting to hear just how good the amp modeling in the Mighty Lite sounds when recorded via USB. That’s a major takeaway for me.

I set up a line selector so I could play and the signal would go into both the Mighty Lite (via USB) and the Fractal simultaneously.

This allowed me to switch back and forth and compare the direct recorded sounds. Let’s take a listen:

What I Hear

I’m sure you’ll agree that they actually sound quite similar, and the difference isn’t massive. However, I do feel that the FM3 has a fuller sound, particularly in the midrange. You could probably tweak the EQ on the Mighty Lite further to get closer, but this was a relatively quick setup based on my usual tones.

This reminds me of a similar comparison video I did with the Boss Katana a few years ago, and I honestly have the impression that the Nu-X Mighty Lite sounds better than the Katana in this context, but that’s just my personal opinion. Feel free to disagree vehemently in the comments!

While I do think the FM3 sounds significantly better overall, you also have to consider the vast price difference. For its cost, the Nu-X Mighty Lite offers incredible value.

So, is the Nu-X Mighty Lite something you could see yourself using as a practice amp? Would the ability to quickly record yourself by simply plugging in a USB cable be practical for your needs? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.

Digital Amps : My Journey

Digital amps can be a polarizing topic online, but I’ve actually been using modeling amps almost exclusively for the past 15 years, and it has made my life so much easier and, I believe, has often made me sound better in live situations. Perhaps it’s because I’ve often had to work with sound engineers who had a very specific (and sometimes limiting) idea of how a guitar should sound. I, for one, don’t always aspire to sound like Nile Rodgers.

So, go check out that story and read some angry comments!

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