Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you the new Yamaha THR II!

ICBM

Am I the only person in the world who thinks the Vox Handbag looks better - or at least no worse - than the Yamaha Air Freshener?

And the new Air Freshener looks like a fan heater...

rivercider

DartmoorHedgehog said:

WiresDreamDisasters said:

, bluetooth can potentially add a shit ton of latency, so I'm surprised it's being marketed as a feature.

I would imagine the bluetooth is there for people who want to play backing tracks from their phones, or just use the THR as a speaker for listening to stuff, so latency doesn't really matter as long as the wireless guitar signal doesn't use bluetooth.

Main use of Bluetooth (on my Vox handbag) is the app. I have played backing tracks through it and its ok but sometimes latency is noticeable if its a YouTube backing track, for example. But for the app its lovely .

DartmoorHedgehog

rivercider said:

DartmoorHedgehog said:

WiresDreamDisasters said:

, bluetooth can potentially add a shit ton of latency, so I'm surprised it's being marketed as a feature.

I would imagine the bluetooth is there for people who want to play backing tracks from their phones, or just use the THR as a speaker for listening to stuff, so latency doesn't really matter as long as the wireless guitar signal doesn't use bluetooth.

Main use of Bluetooth (on my Vox handbag) is the app. I have played backing tracks through it and its ok but sometimes latency is noticeable if its a YouTube backing track, for example. But for the app its lovely .

Ah, so you mean if you're watching video on the phone and playing the sound through the amp?  That makes sense.  But if you're just playing along to a backing track then as long as the _guitar_ response has no (or negligible) latency then it doesn't matter how much delay there is on the backing track playback.

As for looks, FWIW I think I prefer the old THR, but I don't think the new one is horrible.  I won't be buying one though because I've got a practice amp that does everything I need (not a Yamaha because I was too much of a miser to pay the asking price for a Mk1 THR).

DLM

professorben said:

I’d be interested to see what line6 have brought to the THR series, the original were god awful, the news that they have been totally redesigned sounds appealing but they are very expensive for a home amp. 

@professorben I dunno if I'd go to godawful, but yeah, I'm similarly of the seemingly rare opinion that the originals didn't sound all that good. 

professorben

DLM said:

professorben said:

I’d be interested to see what line6 have brought to the THR series, the original were god awful, the news that they have been totally redesigned sounds appealing but they are very expensive for a home amp. 

@professorben I dunno if I'd go to godawful, but yeah, I'm similarly of the seemingly rare opinion that the originals didn't sound all that good. 

I’m happy to say godawful. 
But then I had to try and sell the bloody things.

Customer: “why would you go for a THR over that cheaper Cube for example?”
Me: “Erm......”

rivercider

DartmoorHedgehog said:

rivercider said:

DartmoorHedgehog said:

WiresDreamDisasters said:

, bluetooth can potentially add a shit ton of latency, so I'm surprised it's being marketed as a feature.

I would imagine the bluetooth is there for people who want to play backing tracks from their phones, or just use the THR as a speaker for listening to stuff, so latency doesn't really matter as long as the wireless guitar signal doesn't use bluetooth.

Main use of Bluetooth (on my Vox handbag) is the app. I have played backing tracks through it and its ok but sometimes latency is noticeable if its a YouTube backing track, for example. But for the app its lovely .

Ah, so you mean if you're watching video on the phone and playing the sound through the amp?  That makes sense.  But if you're just playing along to a backing track then as long as the _guitar_ response has no (or negligible) latency then it doesn't matter how much delay there is on the backing track playback.

As for looks, FWIW I think I prefer the old THR, but I don't think the new one is horrible.  I won't be buying one though because I've got a practice amp that does everything I need (not a Yamaha because I was too much of a miser to pay the asking price for a Mk1 THR).

Yes, you've got it. Mostly I would just play a backing track through it with no video (well, nothing that required it to be completely in sync) from YT, but sometimes a tuition video or something would get a bit out. 
But 99% of the time I just use the bluetooth for the app to change amp models/volume/tone & FX settings etc. Saves me getting up off the sofa.  
Once I get over the cost thing with these new THRs I can envisage moving my Vox upstairs and getting a THR30 to go wireless in the lounge like a true sloth. 

DLM

rivercider said: like a true sloth. 

https://media.giphy.com/media/3NtY188QaxDdC/giphy.gif

aroof

I generally really like Yamaha products but my thr, the green metal one, wasn't very good at the low volumes I planned to use it for. It died after about 9 months - the power socket broke on the inside of the amp and looking into it the design seems very fragile. The tuner was great though.
I bought a cube (the small white one) to replace and am really very happy with it

breezasib

Got rid of my valve amp a couple of years ago and replaced it with a THR10 & G10 wireless setup in the living room. Since then I have played so much more and the wife even lets it live on the coffee table. I am the definition of the target customer.

At £500 I was initially put off and my daughter says the new one doesn't look as nice, however at £400 and £155 back for my THR10 I am all in. The fact I already have the G10 transmitter is a bonus and I will be able to move from room to room now with no wires at all.

So, couple of questions:
What midi wireless floor switchbox thing will be compatible with this and both android and IOS devices?
When will the 30 be available in the UK (and Europe as I ordered from Bax)? I see they are already shipping in Australia!!

Still a shame there is no FX loop or built in looper but then, hey it may have been £600

melod

@rossyamaha : is there any substantial difference of audio quality between the THR30 and new 10 because of the speaker/wattage difference?

Already ordered a 30 one (Couldn’t resist) but wondering if I really need it given that the line out is not probably a thing I would use ...

rossyamaha

melod said:

@rossyamaha : is there any substantial difference of audio quality between the THR30 and new 10 because of the speaker/wattage difference?

Already ordered a 30 one (Couldn’t resist) but wondering if I really need it given that the line out is not probably a thing I would use ...

Not really. What you will notice is headroom and tightness. It’s not significant but it’s there. 

darthed1981

ICBM said:

Am I the only person in the world who thinks the Vox Handbag looks better - or at least no worse - than the Yamaha Air Freshener?

And the new Air Freshener looks like a fan heater...

Nope - and I'm glad we agree on something @ICBM

I love my Vox Handbag it's a wonderful thing.

breezasib

Looks like these are now appearing in stock in the UK. Unfortunately Bax are dicking me around and keep pushing the date back. Was supposed to be a 7 day lead time back in September.

Barnezy

My thought would be a THR5 for those that just want to use it for casual practice. At £150 it's an absolute bargain. I had a 10 and moved to a 5 as I wasn't using any of the 10s additional features and the 5 is much smaller, but same volume/wattage. 

Manufactures are very good at making people believe they need some new feature, that adds little benefit, especially with gadgets. Is bluetooth really that much easier then plugging in a cable? I actually think it takes more time. Is a wireless guitar really going to benefit anyone in a meaningful way on a practice amp? And for this, you pay c£330 more inc the dongle, then the THR5 and get pretty much the same sound. 

I think of it this way. If someone offered to pay you £330 tax free to use a cable on you practice amp, would you take it? 

It's great theyre innovating, but if the sound is the same, what's the point when the THR5 is still available at just £150. 

p90fool

Barnezy said:

My thought would be a THR5 for those that just want to use it for casual practice. At £150 it's an absolute bargain. I had a 10 and moved to a 5 as I wasn't using any of the 10s additional features and the 5 is much smaller, but same volume/wattage. 

Manufactures are very good at making people believe they need some new feature, that adds little benefit, especially with gadgets. Is bluetooth really that much easier then plugging in a cable? I actually think it takes more time. Is a wireless guitar really going to benefit anyone in a meaningful way on a practice amp? And for this, you pay c£330 more inc the dongle, then the THR5 and get pretty much the same sound. 

I think of it this way. If someone offered to pay you £330 tax free to use a cable on you practice amp, would you take it? 

It's great theyre innovating, but if the sound is the same, what's the point when the THR5 is still available at just £150. 

I do get this, but wireless at home is great if you have a tidy house, and often results in more playing time if you don't have to set anything up and move stuff around. 

I can easily see the value of a THR living on a bookshelf somewhere out of the way and staying there the whole time.

Not that I'm personally bothered as our living room is also our permanently set up band rehearsal room, but not everyone has a spouse who's also the drummer.  

Barnezy

@p90fool I have no doubt wireless is convenient for some, but is it really worth a £330 premium, for what is essentially the same amp? 

p90fool

Barnezy said:

@p90fool I have no doubt wireless is convenient for some, but is it really worth a £330 premium, for what is essentially the same amp? 

Not to me, I hate modelling amps and have my stage amps in the living room, but I'm sure it works perfectly for some people. 

bacchanalian

Mine arrived at the weekend.

I think Yamaha have kicked it right up the moon's arse with this.

The app does what I had hoped giving access to the 'deep editing' options.  You have to use the app to access the different amp models. I could not get the android app to work but ios worked immediately.

Can't see any bluetooth latency being a problem unless you are trying to play in real time reading tabs off youtube.

I have not had time yet to explore the many options but am impressed so far with the way it mimics the sensitivity of a valve amp.

melod

Is there a consensus as to whether the new model has improved modelling/sounds better or is it more simply a case of an updated version with some welcome features (Bluetooth etc)?

prlgmnr

bacchanalian said:

I think Yamaha have kicked it right up the moon's arse with this.

high praise indeed