Why settle for living your life as a couch potato when you could evolve into a couch guitar hero by squeezing in extra playing time from the comfort of the cushions? Relaxation and self-improvement don’t always go together, but the couch is where leisure, entertainment, and guitar practice create perfect harmony. After all, music’s purpose is to entertain yourself and others. It’s super-serious for many players, often too serious, and that’s why I’m a big proponent of combining low-pressure practice sessions with your favorite form of couchbound entertainment, whether that be Monday Night Football, a gripping TV drama, audiobooks, or podcasts.
Let’s tour a Sweetwater short list of the best couch guitars. We’ll touch on aspects of guitar design that often result in couch-friendly playability. These elements tend to overlap with travel-friendly features — think short-scale fingerboards, headless construction, or reduced dimensions. But many full-size acoustic and electric guitars are plenty suitable for couch noodling as long as you make an informed selection.
Set the Cheetos aside and wash those hands clean of dust. You’re almost ready to unbox a new, game-changing purchase. Read on and get your couch on!
Electric Guitars for the Couch
Strandberg Boden Essential 6 Electric Guitar
With a modest price tag and high-end features, the Boden Essential 6 is an ambitious Strandberg that’s perfect for the couch. The Essential 6 remains cost conscious by opting for conventional frets instead of a multi-scale arrangement. You’ll get great couch mileage from the Boden’s headless design, which makes for a naturally balanced feel and a significant weight reduction compared to conventional solidbody electrics. The roasted maple neck, rosewood fingerboard, and proprietary EndurNeck carve supply exceptional comfort and promote sustainable posture. You’ll mentally and physically relax rather than fixate on constant fretting-hand adjustments! The dual custom humbuckers onboard are designed for full-spectrum flexibility, so the Essential 6 can handle everything from pristine cleans to catastrophic high-gain tones.
Harmony Juno Electric Guitar
The Harmony Juno solidbody electric guitar combines an extra-compact vintage design with a full-size fingerboard scale length. The result is a guitar that’s easy to play and manage for long periods of time, especially sitting down.
USA-made features give the Juno valuable appeal at a great price. Top perks include a solid mahogany body, a deluxe nitro finish, and a pair of P-90s for responsive single-coil tones infused with retro gold-foil character. P-90 pickups are perfect for couch sessions: 60-cycle hum is rarely a concern at couch volumes, and the P-90’s high-output, expressive sound brings out a visceral connection with your Juno guitar when noodling. Moreover, the Harmony Juno ships with a premium MONO Vertigo hybrid case, so your vintage-tinged wonder is prepared to roam beyond the couch once you’re recharged and ready to venture forth!
Squier Affinity Series Stratocaster FMT HSS Electric Guitar
Players who store their guitars in a studio or rehearsal space might prefer an ultra-affordable couch guitar, especially since the axe they choose will most likely stay in a shared space. That’s where a Squier such as the Affinity Stratocaster HSS comes in handy. This Squier Strat’s maple neck and fingerboard combo has a fast, fluid, and familiar feel that makes repetitive exercises and practicing scales a breeze. Moreover, an HSS pickup trio offers tonal variety, including a hum-canceling option, so you’re prepared to tackle high-gain mayhem or sparkling cleans. An onboard tremolo system contributes the ability to add warble and bends as needed. Last, this Affinity Strat is topped with a flame maple veneer for heightened tonal zing and eye-catching appeal that adds to the look of any room!
Epiphone SG Standard Electric Guitar
The SG’s mischievous looks come with the wrong assumption that they’re best saved for rowdy rock gigs and big stages. SGs have undeniable stage presence, but they’re also extremely comfortable — even when nobody’s watching you play. Dual cutaways and a Gibson-scale fingerboard are two aspects that make the Epiphone SG a phenomenal couch guitar.
Unlike single-cut body shapes, the SG’s double-cut symmetry provides even weight distribution, which simplifies balance on the couch. You don’t have to fidget with frequent posture adjustments, so relaxation and productive play are both encouraged! Combine that with the supple feel of Gibson’s 24.75-inch fingerboard scale, and the SG’s wide-open access feels beyond empowering. This Epiphone SG’s classic specs include all-mahogany construction, a SlimTaper set neck, and dual humbucking pickups with assertive Alnico V magnets.
Acoustic Guitars for the Couch
Ibanez FRH10N Thinline Nylon Acoustic-electric Guitar
The FRH10N thinline nylon acoustic-electric guitar qualifies as a crossover nylon-string guitar for three reasons: an ultra-slim and lightweight body comparable in size to an electric guitar, a radiused neck carve, and narrower string spacing than a typical classical guitar. This makes it suitable for electric or steel-string guitarists.
Based on personal experience, I believe classicals are well suited to couch practice, even when the eccentric aspects of nylon-string guitars might make them seem an unconventional choice. The dynamic range and sensitivity of the FRH10N thinline nylon (and all classicals) mirror those of an electric guitar. Nylon strings reward gentle playing with more resonance than steel guitar strings played similarly. This sensitivity can be a big help if playing steel strings after a long day feels a little too much like work to you, as it often does for me.
Similarly, I find that nylon strings mirror an electric guitar’s ease of expression when it comes to bends, hammer-ons, and pull-offs. These qualities are perhaps the reason why guitar virtuoso Tim Henson based his best-selling signature acoustic guitar on the FRH10N thinline. The FRH10N’s solid Sitka spruce top is paired with classical fan bracing and sapele back and sides to create a semi-sealed sound chamber that’s loud enough for unplugged practice, or you can plug it in using the built-in electronics.
Breedlove Draco Series Companion C Acoustic Guitar
The Breedlove Draco Series Companion C doubles as a work of fine art fit for display, and it belongs to a family of guitars commissioned from Breedlove by Sweetwater. This Breedlove take on a short-scale acoustic guitar features a 23.5-inch scale length and a light string feel that works in your favor on the couch. Breedlove’s data-driven Sound Optimization process is an innovation that boils tonewood performance down to a virtual science to ensure each Draco Series Companion C guitar feels, looks, and plays like a passionately crafted work of art.
The Draco Series Companion C’s deep tonewood backstory makes a great conversation piece that’s bound to impress houseguests. The solid top is carved from striking sinker redwood and fitted with solid rosewood back and sides. A commodity that’s rare and visually enticing, sinker redwood is scavenged more than harvested. The wood is collected only occasionally when it surfaces in North American waterways where fossilized redwood trees can spend decades submerged in and preserved by the water. Here, redwood slabs absorb silt and minerals from the riverbed, which gives sinker the prominent, streaky wood grain that Breedlove features wonderfully in the Draco Companion C.
Taylor GS Mini-e Koa Plus
When it comes to compact workhorse acoustics of unassailable quality, thousands of Sweetwater customers turn to the Taylor GS Mini every year. The GS Mini-e Koa Plus measures just over three feet in length, every inch of which is optimized for loud projection and no-hassle playability — it’s perfect for travel, even when your only reservation is with a couch.
This model’s solid koa top produces rich, vivid tones that teem with koa’s dynamic nuances and sensitive growl. Soft playing reveals mellow tonality similar to mahogany while digging in unleashes lively midrange attitude and sparkling treble that mature even further as the top ages. And making the most of koa’s premium sonics through recording and amplification are a breeze, thanks to a built-in ES2 electronics system. Overall, the GS Mini-e Koa Plus is an ideal dual-use guitar that serves players well on the couch but just as easily translates to professional gigs, recording sessions, and serious travel.
Martin 000-15M Acoustic Guitar
The Martin 000-15M is a historic nod to Martin’s legendary all-mahogany creations. Mahogany’s mellow acoustic warmth, rich sustain, and soft attack make for a rustic sound that blends nicely with background TV or podcasts. Spruce-topped steel-string acoustics can feel too assertive if you’re trying to keep the TV or audio player at lower volumes, say, in an apartment.
The 000-15M body’s tapered waist delivers quintessential Martin presence and superior fret access compared to larger dreadnought models. The fretting freedom of the 000 is a major perk for fingerpicking and acoustic blues styles, but the sound still packs enough punch for satisfying cowboy chords (and excellent support for barre chords, thanks to a Modified Low Oval mahogany neck). Best of all, this 000-15M’s satin finish has a natural, undetectable feel that helps players immediately connect with the passion that the luthiers pour into these instruments.
Cordoba C9 Parlor 7/8-size Nylon-string Acoustic Guitar
The Cordoba C9 Parlor combines traditional classical features with a slight reduction in size to make a couch-friendly acoustic. Cordoba slims down the C9 Parlor to 7/8 the size of a standard classical guitar. Reduced dimensions ensure tighter, more comfortable playability, but elsewhere the C9 Parlor boasts all the exquisite design perks that make Cordoba one of the most trustworthy and authentic classical guitar brands sold today. The C9’s solid top is carved from Canadian cedar for a moody, expressive sound that’s aligned with worldwide classical standards. Mahogany back and sides provide hearty support with excellent midrange power and plenty of overtone content that displays prominently when notes and chords are sustained.
Cordoba Fusion 12 Rose II Acoustic Nylon Guitar
The Fusion 12 Rose II perfectly blends classical-guitar elements such as fan bracing and nylon strings with a hybrid feel that welcomes steel-string acoustic players with open arms. The Fusion 12’s rosewood back and sides fuel deep, crystalline presence amplified to perfection by the lively presence of a solid spruce top. It has 12 frets up to the neck joint, 19 frets total, and a cutaway design for easy access. The Cordoba Fusion 12 Rose II’s mahogany neck has a thin, hybrid feel that eliminates the learning curve of playing traditionally thick classical neck carves. What’s more, the body joins the neck at the 12th fret, which adds a slinky string feel. A cutaway renders the top frets more accessible when ascending to melodic highs. Plus, Cordoba integrates Fishman Presys electronics for pristine amplification or recording supported by an onboard tuner and a highly customizable three-band EQ to help players sculpt outgoing signal to suit countless scenarios.
Yamaha APXT2 3/4-size Thinline Cutaway
The compact Yamaha APXT2 acoustic-electric guitar is a no-brainer for the couch. Yamaha’s entry-level acoustics are notorious for punching above their peers both in sound quality and playability. The APXT2 continues that trend with features and a body shape that are derived from the popular APX500 acoustic. The APXT2’s spruce top ensures that this 3/4-size body delivers satisfying volume with an extra-large, oval soundhole to provide another dose of hearty projection. Players find the rosewood fingerboard’s shortened scale helps them relax on the couch by allowing the arm of the fretting hand more slack at the elbow. Best of all, active electronics make the APXT2 perfect for capturing ideas via your audio interface when inspiration strikes.
Basses for the Couch
You can certainly post up on the couch with a full-scale bass guitar, but the scale length and body size of a “proper” bass can feel unwieldy in ways that don’t always jive with couch noodling. Here are three couch-ready bass guitars that do jive with the couch and with your Sweetwater wishlist and shopping cart!
Gold Tone ME-Bass 23-inch-scale Fretless Electric MicroBass
With a 23-inch scale length, the ME-Bass Electric MicroBass by Gold Tone is shorter than the average bass guitar. It’s also shorter than most acoustics and electrics! Shorter bass scales help couch practice sessions run smoothly. A shorter neck means less exertion from your fretting arm and fretting hand, which is why the ME-Bass’s ultra-short scale is an excellent fit. This version of the ME-Bass guitar features a solid mahogany body, a rosewood fingerboard, and polymer strings. The resulting sound is complex and mellow, similar to that of an upright bass. Polymer strings have a slight learning curve, but you’re bound to find it a rewarding one since polymer responds to less pressure than metal counterparts.
The ME-Bass comes with a built-in piezo pickup and active EQ shaping that facilitate direct recording, even if your setup is super casual, such as a laptop rig on the coffee table. You can record directly to an interface, so there’s never a need to mute the TV and miss precious moments of your team’s big game.
Kala Solidbody U-Bass Electric Bass Guitar
This solidbody spin on Kala’s popular U-Bass platform is a potent anomaly that’s easy to appreciate once you play and hear it for yourself. The Solidbody U-Bass outshines its pint-size dimensions with a genuine split-coil pickup and a big thumping voice that’s inspired by vintage bass guitars. The split-coil pickup is plenty capable of delivering the chunky power, warmth, funk, and depth typically associated with a P-style bass. High-quality tonewoods appear throughout, including a Canadian maple neck, a rosewood fingerboard, and a solid okoume body that keeps tone rich and resonant with traits like mahogany. If you’re after a traditional bass-guitar feel, only smaller, then Kala’s Solidbody U-Bass is the couch bass for you!
Gold Tone M-Bass 25-inch-scale Fretless Acoustic-electric MicroBass
This 25-inch-scale take on the Gold Tone MicroBass matches a six-string acoustic guitar’s approximate size and feel. Gold Tone makes sure comfort is a priority, especially when sitting. The okoume back is arched for comfort, and the mahogany top is beveled to maximize your freedom to fret. Like the solidbody MicroBass, Gold Tone fits this M-Bass with polymer strings. The resulting sound is similar to an upright bass, and our experts find that especially true of the fretless version. Overall, this MicroBass is great for unplugged couch play. The mini-dreadnought body’s acoustic sound chamber means you can hear some sound without plugging in. That said, loud content such as an action movie will surely drown out your unplugged tone, so don’t hesitate to take the built-in piezo pickup and active EQ for a spin!
Amps for the Coffee Table
You can play an unplugged electric guitar or bass on the couch, but you lose a lot of the sound that makes practice beneficial. Thankfully, today’s mini amps are packed with features and fit right on a coffee or end table.
Positive Grid Spark models are my personal favorite all-around couch amps. The Spark platform’s convenient tone-shaping and multimedia features are tough to beat when you want to unwind with all the necessary tools in one place. Automatic Bluetooth connectivity options mean you can power on the Spark and begin jamming to YouTube or Spotify playlists in seconds (or explore extensive jam features and backing tracks with the Spark app).
Every Spark amp lets you save and recall up to four custom presets, which are perfect for bite-size practice sessions. This is done through the Spark app, where there are more than 50 free amp models and pedal emulations to mix and match. Despite the wealth of options (the pedals alone cover everything from fuzz to ambient delay), the Spark app keeps features marvelously intuitive. Everything works as an on-screen render of hardware you are likely accustomed to already! I keep my presets loaded with a high-gain option, a clean(ish) delay/reverb combo, a bass rig, and a signal chain modeled after Neil Young’s amps and effects. That’s a Neil Young advertisement, but it’s also proof of how Spark amps keep couch sessions efficient by letting you instantly boot up precise sounds to practice along with your favorite tunes.
With 40-watt, 10-watt, and 5-watt models available, there’s a suitable Spark for anyone. The 40-watt 2×4-inch combo amp’s horizontal orientation and classy looks fit right in with home décor, and it delivers unsurpassed value with an extra manufacturer-preset dial that covers the basics to leave more room for crafting unique user presets.
When writing or refining compositions more intently, I sometimes switch to the Blackstar Fly 3 combo amp with the additional 3-watt extension cabinet. This Blackstar stereo rig sounds satisfying and huge on the couch,and the more visceral feel of a physical solid-state rig helps me buckle down on the finer details when I’m preparing to record a composition but have yet to finalize every last note. Shop these and other recommendations from BOSS, Fender, and Phil Jones below.
More Helpful Items
If a guitar is nearby, then you’re more likely to pick it up! Storing your instrument on a stand is critical to cultivating a successful couch routine. Since couch-side areas are prone to foot traffic, Sweetwater recommends choosing a stand with a wide base. The Gator Frameworks Elite Series Guitar Hanging Stand’s base and rubberized yoke suit couch-side storage perfectly, and you’re bound to find an Elite Series stand that jives with your home décor with various color options to choose from. A-frame stands by K&M are a convenient, low-profile alternative if space is limited. Just be aware that A-frame stands are more prone to slips, tips, and mishaps if your space is shared with large pets and rambunctious children or adults.
Any gear that offers rhythm, beats, or drum-loop functions makes a great addition to couch sessions. Sometimes a beat is the missing piece that can transform couch ideas into full-fledged compositions. At the very least, playing to a rhythm is a fun way to energize practice and keep time.
The Korg Volca Beats is a consistent favorite tabletop tool in my own home. The Volca Beats offers a 16-step sequencer that’s intuitive and user-friendly, even for guitarists who have zero experience making beats, which was the case for me when I purchased it. Click the audio below for an original Volca Beats and bass guitar backing track I made from the couch.
Alternatively, many looper pedals include drum loops or rhythm functions that will spice up any solo jam. Three top-selling BOSS RC series looper pedals offer built-in rhythm functions: the RC-1, the RC-5, and the RC-500.
Need extra grip? Certain guitar finishes can slip about when played in a relaxed seated position. Slippage depends on the guitar’s finish, your posture, your technique, and your clothing material. You could select a guitar with an open-pore or satin finish, such as the Martin 000-15M mentioned above. Such finishes tend to slip less than glossy ones. Nonslip guitar mats are another way to solve the matter.
Oasis manufactures OH-22 and OH-22+ Grip-Strip mats that sit atop your legs and hold your guitar with nonslip ridges. The Grip-Strip mats are safe for delicate French-polish classical guitar finishes. Many classical players embrace mats such as these when they need unshakable support, but nonslip mats can be equally helpful for steel-string and electric guitarists.
Squeeze In Extra Practice with Sweetwater’s Help
Make sure to give Sweetwater a call at (800) 222-4700. Our expert Sales Engineers are multitasking masters. They know from personal experience what it’s like to feel pressed for practice time, and they are familiar with the best and latest practice tools from compact guitars and micro amps to timesaving accessories that make for seamless noodling sessions in front of the tube.