Harley Benton Mighty 5TH Amplifier Review

Harley Benton Mighty 5TH Amplifier Review

There’s a lot of small amplifiers out there and maybe even more small amplifier heads.  What I think separates the from others is how it is built like a regular amplifier.  What does this even mean?  Well, it’s loaded with a 12AX7 preamp tube and an EL-84 power tube.  It’s also doesn’t feature a class D output sections on the power amp is thanks to a big old school transformer.

Being an “old school” amp means it packs in some extra weight but also this extra weight is a good thing and I’ll tell you why.  If you set this amplifier on top of a cabinet and you plug in you’re not going to accidentally know this off the cab if you tug on the lead.  The downside of the lightweight heads is they can sometimes fall off even with slight cable pressure.  You won’t have any problems with this amp!

Another great feature is amp can be switched down from full 5 watts, 1 watt, and down to 0.1 watts.  These power settings make it perfect for any situation.  On the 5 watt mode, the Harley Benton Mighty 5TH is a great pedal platform.

So what are the downsides?

The only one I can think of is the fact the amp has no effects loop.  If they included it, it would be perfect.  It’s not a deal breaker though as you can hear from the video below you can run your effects into the front end and get some amazing results.

How does this amplifier compare to the Bugera V5?

Very favorably.  The major difference between this and the Bugera is the Harley Benton does not have reverb built in.  This might be a deal breaker for some people.  Reverb effects pedals have come so far in the last 5 years that you will be able to just run one into the amp and get a great tone.

I think the has more clean headroom than the Bugera V5 Infinium.  I am not saying this is a better amplifier, but there’s something to be said for not having a gain control.  By just turning the amplifier up with a dedicated clean tone gives you maximum clean headroom.