!Yamaha THR AA modeler!

[Hampus]

I got to try a THR5 out today in a local music store (they had no 10's in stock). It's very difficult to describe the experience of playing through one of these. The sound is of a very high quality but the playing experience is a little odd. Normally with an amp it sounds better once you crank it but with this you have to resist the temptation to crank because it's designed to be played at lower volumes. I found the more I cranked it the less defined the sound was but this varied from model to model and may be better on the THR10 with the extra EQ options. It was really easy to dial in a pleasing tone on all the amp models and I'd imagine recording would be a dream, very little tweaking required here so more time to be creative! The effects were also of a very high quality, there's just one modulation dial and one verb/delay dial but even with the minimal controls it was easy to nail classic chorus/phaser/flanger sounds and the delays and reverb were excellent. So you could use the amp right out of the box without the software editor and be very satisfied with the tones.

It's not got a 12" speaker and it's never going to move the air that a standard 1 x 12" combo would. But that's not the point of this amp, it's a desktop tool and once you get your head around that idea and just enjoy it for what it is I'd imagine it'll deliver endless creative pleasure. So, bottom line I'll still be ordering the THR10, nothing I heard today put me off the THR concept. The sound is smaller than a standard combo but still delivers high quality tones at low/mid volume levels and I've adjusted my expectations accordingly. Definitely a couple of steps ahead of the Fender Mustang 1 that I have at home and more user friendly too.


msteeln, you have two options here, the headphone out to a PA or a mic in front of the amp speaker(s). I'm not sure you'd get enough volume at stage levels to monitor yourself if micing it though. Similarly the headphone out would cut off the internal speakers so you'd need to monitor yourself through the PA. All would depend on the size of the venue/stage you're working on I guess.

Hey!

I've had the THR5 for a few days now (only had the time to use it for around 40 minutes though), and I've tried the 10 in the store. About the sound getting less defined when cranked, it's supposed to do that. Not only is the sound of the original amp model emulated, but also the way the original amp would work. So, if you crank the THR on the clean channel, it will start to crack up just as the original tube amp would. Good or bad, I don't know but I like it. I agree on the speakers not moving the air like a 12" would, but they are a bit smaller


Also, I read Audiofans review and noticed on the minus side that the EQ doesn't really do much on some amp models. As I understand it, this is also a part of the whole "behave like the original amp" thing.

A problem for me, and this isn't really an amp problem, is that the software that comes with it requires either Windows 7 or Mac OS X 10.6 and I run XP and OS X 10.4

[msteeln]

It's good to hear some possible negs addressed as actual positives, and that as I had hoped there's an out option to a PA for larger use and systems at home. So far, so good, no real problems yet. Except, I too need an upgrade of my computer to W7, no biggie. By the time I get this, or a newer/better version, I'll have W7/higher or a new laptop anyway.

[Plymman]

Hi folks, I found this forum while looking for some pickup advice and saw this thread and thought I'd share my experience with the THR. I've done a full review of the THR10 on my blog here:
http://tidywords.wordpress.com/2012/...lifier-review/
In short, I think this is an amazing piece of kit and one of the most exciting things I've probably ever bought. It really has to be heard to be believed but the sound is immense for it's size. If you're in the Market for a small, portable amp or want a decent recording solution I don't think there's anything that beats it.

[Hampus]

And one not so great thing. I tried the aux input yesterday with an mp3 player. The sound wasn't as great as I expected after having played the guitar through it. It wasn't bad. It was what you'd expect it to be from two speakers of that size. No better an no worse. Funny thing is that the guitar sounds so good. With the guitar it's a warm room-filling sound. Then again, that's what it's made for. I'll have to write a small review with some sound examples.

Sent from my cobra phone

[Plymman]

And one not so great thing. I tried the aux input yesterday with an mp3 player. The sound wasn't as great as I expected after having played the guitar through it. It wasn't bad. It was what you'd expect it to be from two speakers of that size. No better an no worse. Funny thing is that the guitar sounds so good. With the guitar it's a warm room-filling sound. Then again, that's what it's made for. I'll have to write a small review with some sound examples.

Sent from my cobra phone

That surprises me, I have two decent speaker docks and a pure dab radio with aux in and the Yamaha trounces them all for playback from my iPhone. Have you tried the expanded stereo setting? It seems to make quite a difference (hold the tuner button for 5 secs until # appears on the display). If you haven't already, give that a go and see if it makes a difference.

[piebaldpython***]

So, 8 weeks since the last post on these......are you THR users still feeling the love for this little amp? Anything that grows on you; in a good or a bad way? I've heard some youtube clips and it sounds great.

[msteeln]

Funny you should ask...
After lot's of research, anxious months of lusting, then buying on ebay and waiting like a dog for it to arrive, I got mine yesterday. The seller screwed me royal, it's not new as stated, and it's defective - noisy as hell, gotta be beyond what the first issues experienced and got fixed. So I ask you guys, is there a cheap fix from YAMAHA available? I went to www.usa.yamaha.com to no avail, how can I contact them? I'll feed this one to the pitbull upstairs and probably get another soon if I can't resolve this, but beyond disappointed I'm a bit pissed.

[Hampus]

If you run it on batteries and it's still noisy, it's bad. Otherwise all you need to change is the power supply.

Skickat från min GT-I9103 via Tapatalk 2

[msteeln]

If you run it on batteries and it's still noisy, it's bad. Otherwise all you need to change is the power supply.
Skickat från min GT-I9103 via Tapatalk 2

It's 95% for home use, not much for batteries. It's worthless at this point due to the high amount of noise, not sure the power supply is the fix at this point.
What would you suggest are better and best alternatives for the power supply upgrade? Is that the power cord/tranny box part?
I googled - Skickat från min GT-I9103 via Tapatalk 2, and got odd links, is that something useful for my purposes?

[Hampus]

No that just means it's sent from my gt-i9103 phone.

What I meant was that you should try to run it on batteries to verify that the power supply either is or is not the issue. If it is the issue you need to get one with a ground terminal in the ac cord. An easy check to see of you have the updated powersupply is to check for that ground. Take the cord that goes into your wall out of the power supply and check if it has two or three holes. If it has three, it is the updated and grounded one.

But as I said. Run it on batteries to verify.

Skickat från min GT-I9103 via Tapatalk 2

[msteeln]

Ah, great idea, thanx for being my brain-aide. I'll try that now. I see my power supply is the 3 hole, so I'm more worried that there's an even worse problem. I just got off the phone with ebay re my complaint, the seller (asat-b-bender) is totally burning me, and they may come thru with a refund of my $, that'd be a shocker.

[piebaldpython***]

How's the THR10 with OD, distortions and fuzz pedals? Just wondering because so far......this sounds like the greatest thing since sliced bread.....as the adage goes.