I completely disagree
Waaaay too complicated. I just want to play guitar, not be a sound engineer.
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It doesnt have to be.
I liteally just plug my guitar in (exactly like you would with an amp) and run whatever amp sim I want ( usually NDSP tone king but ā¦)
Headphones are already into the 2i2 which is a decent headphone amp on its own
quicker and easier than using my gtx-100
I use my Vox mv50 with a focusrite and then headphones
I almost never plug it in the cabinet 
imho,
Just get a plain amp 'ol combo man. Vol. and tone control. Maybe reverb or tremolo.
Something that just sounds good all by itself when ya play your guitar through it.
Ya might spend some buckeroos, But it could be the last amp ya get too.
An example is a Fender Princeton Reverb, reissue.
Simple and sounds great. And cost a bunch.
But worth it imho for the tones it creates with not so many bells and whistles. And plain and simple controls. No telephone involved. No connectivity involved either
(put a mic in ft of it if ya wanna connect).
Ya might even be able to put it on your desk. Maybe, it is a student amp by design. 
I know, the dollars are prohibitive. Thereās others out there (something for you) that may be cheaper, it was just an example.
Simple and sounds good is the point.
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sigh
A $1500 amp with no master volume thats too loud for home practice if driven enough and too quiet for bands.
Or $130 for a Fender Champion II 25, dial in the tone you like, add a little reverb, and then concentrate on learning to play the guitar instead of trying to duplicate the sound of every guitarist on every recording. Plenty for home playing, and can be played with headphones so you donāt bother the whole house.
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I mean thats certainly a better option than the $1500 on!
Iāve mostly been using a Katana Go with a pair of headphones lately, but thereās no reason that you couldnāt plug a set of speakers in to it instead.
For home use, thereās no reason that you canāt use a larger modelling amp, as they donāt have to be used at high volume like a conventional valve amp to get the best tone/sound.
Iād suggest you look at what you think that youāll use in an amp, and what your budget is.
Things like a lot of the smaller Spark range are battery powered, which can be handy as you donāt have to worry about there being power where you want to practise, but then you have to make sure itās charged.
The smaller Katana range donāt have as much modelling capability, which can be both a good thing and a bad thing. Good in that itās less for you to get distracted by, but bad in that you might want the extra functionality to try and get certain sounds.
I did look at the NUX range a while ago for something small for practise, but Boss released the Katana Go, and it seemed to tick most of the boxes for me.
I personally wouldnāt recommend an AI for a beginner, for the main reason that I donāt want to have to have a computer on just to practise.
For the record, I still have an older Fender Mustang III (was very easy to get lost experimenting with effects instead of practising, but it still sounded good at low volumes), a 5W valve amp head with 10" speaker cabinet (sounds brilliant with the volume up!), a Focusrite 2i2 AI (I did use it for practise for a while, and for playing with effects, but I got fed up needing to have a computer on so only gets used for recording now), and a Katana Go, which I love the simplicity off for practising, but it still has a good amount of functionality for playing with effects.
OP is talking about office space use
TBH I think the katana or fender headphone amps are a great option for most beginners.
Iām learning a lot (trying to) follow your debate, so I certainly appreciate the engagement and information.
I donāt have decades of experience with this equipment, nor am I 15 years old with 50+ years ahead of me to figure it all out and find my way through it. I want to sit at home and learn how to play the electric guitar. I want something that can sound good (and I know that will be up to me) but will also strike a balance between the simplicity of āplug-n-playā with enough sounds to explore, experiment, and learn. All without breaking the bank or the windows.
Thanks again for all the great input!
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We ceratinly are and we all have our own preference and viewpoint. So for WIW . . . .
My Home Office
POD Go and Mustang III under the desk.
Studio Monitors and 50W soundbar above the pc monitor
and another 15W sound bar behind it.
Berringer Xenyx AI mixer right side of desk
Berringer UMC 1820 AI in rack under monitor.
Asstd accessories and pedals on desk to right.
And if I donāt want to use the hardware
On the desktop, standalone versions of these Waves Plugins, oh and EZ Drummer 2 and couple of Keyboards. Ala Waves Electric Grand for example
GTR Tool Rack.
Bass Fingers
PRS Archon
PRS V9
PRS Dallas
All the amp sims can be used as standalone for noodling, I just plug into one of the AI, or used in my DAW for recording.
There are not two distinct paths here, regardless of your preferred method. You can use both. Lifeās too short.
My 2 Cents
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Oops forgot there is an ancient Zoom GFX707 multi fx pedal on the floor to the right, under the desk.
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::wildly scribbling notes::
Lol, seriously though, thatās very cool and so impressive to me that folks are that knowledgeable!
A YouTube jazz teacher I like recommends the DV Little Jazz (I mentioned earlier I favor clean tones) as well as the Roland Cube 10gx, specifically modeling the Fender Black Panel amps.
The Roland Cube 10gx is a bit older now, but wouldnāt a newer modeling amp be capable of the same things?
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I was in the same boat as you a couple years ago. I just wanted a small amp for my office as I learned electric guitar. I wasnāt sure what features or how much power I needed. I bought a Katana 50 MKII and it worked fine but it was a little bigger than I needed for my office. I ended up selling the Katana due to a couple issues and I then bought the Positive Grid Spark Mini (10watts and battery powered). It was more than loud enough and I could carry the amp between rooms or on the back patio, etc. You definitely needed to use the app to get the full benefit of this amp but it was a small profile amp that looked nice sitting in my office. Then I bought the Postive Grid Spark 2 when it came out. It has more onboard controls and 50 watts of power and includes the battery option. Again, it looks nice on a desktop and does more than I will every need. You donāt have to use the app, but if you want to benefit from all its features you will need to use the app. If you donāt want to mess with an app on your phone, these amps are probably not the best choice.
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If I took both of those amps away and put the money back in your pocket, which of them would you buy again?
Without a doubt, today I would just buy the Spark 2 with the battery option. It is a clean, wireless look with unlimited tone options to explore if I want or to just use the presets already programmed. It has a looper on board and is also my primary bluetooth speaker for my office.
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on the amp side for me, I much prefer the simpler side of things.
Iām in the process of learning to use my AI and the assorted software that goes with it. but using it is a process. when I just want to play, I want to plug into an amp thatās just going to sound nice. Iām not really a tone chaser, but I do like having a few options. As a beginner, Iāve been happy with my Fender Champion 40 amp. yeah, itās a LOT louder than it needs to be for my little office. but it sounds nice and can put on a few basic effects.
I think as I get more experience, I want a tube amp I can attenuate and maybe only has reverb and some EQ settings built into it. and then later on use pedals to access other stuff so I can make those changes on the fly (say, clean for a rhythm part and then go dirty for a solo and then back). Current amp allows me only one setting for that. would be nice if it also had an output I could send straight to my AI so I donāt need to mess with software plugins. but I guess if I canāt get that feature I could always just mic up the amp when I want to record.
Hi @Roland73
You stated you were digging for information to think about - you have seen a lot of preferences, but I have not seen your goals. You will get some pointers in moving toward your personal goals if you add those now that you have a broad set of data.
Here are some things that can can help:
- Do you think you will take learning this seriously enough that you choose to play rather than do other stuff?
- You mentioned jazz and clean - why do you think these are of higher importance to you? Is your goal to play jazz?
- Do you like to tinker or just sit and play?
- Are you trying to be budget minded, or treat this like your only hobby?
- Do you have room for lots of gear or do you need to keep the space used limited?
- Do you need to keep quiet for others in the house? Others in the neighbor apartment?
Each of these things have been a part of my decision process as I have researched gear to buy. My goals are typically to buy something once and not need to buy it again or replace it once the function is purchased. For me this means buying a higher quality or functionality once I know I am sticking with the hobby.
Iāve not used either of these, but I have used the original Spark 40 mk1.
Personally, it was too much app faffing around for me when I just wanted to play guitar. Although it had top panel controls and store-able patches I never found them to be enough for some reason, and always ended up with the app running.
I also got a Yamaha THR10ii which is a very similar form-factor and controls. It has fewer options on the app, but still plenty of options and, for whatever reason, I found (despite the similarity in function and to-panel controls) it easier to get a tone I liked from the THR withou the app. I rarely used the THR Remote app.
YMMV. Some people love using apps.
These are wise words.
Also, the original Spark 40 was infamous for having a nasty bass tone that was difficult to dial out, so that may have contributed to my dislike. I suspect theyāve improved that on the Mk2.
I would say most modelling amps can do that but to what degree you like their specific interpretation of it will be up to you. Also how much flexibility do you need.
IMO, most people need between 1 and 5 amp modes, with 3 being a common place to land on: 1 clean tone, 1 ācrunchā tone, and one āleadā tone. You may have 2 or 3 options around those which can usually be accommodated by adding fx, which a lot of these amps have on-board. That includes drive effects (overdrives, boosts, distortions).
As an example, when I had a Katana 100, my go-to ācrunchā tone was actually the clean amp setting with an added Blues Driver (using the on-board FX accessible from the top panel). I preferred this over the built-in crunch channel.You can do the same with other modelling amps.
The danger is spending ages refining your tone rather than playing, which is why I am (personally) of the view that a most players, especially beginners, donāt need 50 amps models and 100 additional effect models.
Cheers,
Keith
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