Yamaha THR 10... THR 100 HD - Users Thoughts ?

Wazmeister

Big difference in price I know...

But anyone who owns/ tried em want to share their thoughts ?

The 100 HD sounds incredible in YouTube land

ThePrettyDamned

Not tried one, but I want to try a thr100. Sounds like it can do sounds that were previously quite hard to achieve as well as the usual valve emulation.

peteri

Never owned one - but had (And sold) a THR10.

Honestly, I found it amazing on Youtube, but not so much in the flesh.

It's (to my mind) just about ok using the speakers, basically don't use pedals with it - have it in the lounge and plug straight in to it and I get it.

I found it very directional in terms of sounding good, if I sat dead in front of it - not so much, I needed it off to the side.

And I found the headphone output truly awful.

I hope the 100HD is better

Wazmeister

I am, I guess, the classic 'third amp' customer that Yamaha may have been heading towards...

koss59

I have one that I use for teaching, it's the amp I give to students to use. It actually sounds better recorded usb than it does in the room. I've recently got a blues cube hot for myself to use at home and it's so good I'm taking it to rehearsals and some gigs instead of my Rambler. Don't get me wrong it doesn't sound anywhere near as good as the Rambler but for all day rehearsals I'm not wearing valves out and I can use it on dodgy gigs using generators and things like that. Best bit of gear I've bought in ages, it's made practicing more fun.

peteri

good shout.

I also used to have a Roland Cube, and really I think the THR is the Yamaha attempt at that market (forget the whole third amp marketing stuff).

I enjoyed the cube much more too, just seemed a clearer idea of what it was - and  actually it was a lot of fun.

Another small amp that amazed me - Sansamp Trademark series, serious bang for the buck (bigger tho)

FX_Munkee

I've got the THR10. It sounds....fine. Actually that's a tad unfair, it sounds good for something that small. I like the clever way they've used hifi speakers to create a decent low volume sound. Playing tracks from my phone through it and playing over is very good because the guitar drops into the mix really well because of this.
It get's a hell of a lot of use because it's so handy, I run mine on batteries and just cart it off to a room nobody's using.
It has a high WAF* as it looks more like an old valve radio. So I can leave it in the front room with no complaints.
If it got nicked I'd buy another one probably.

*Wife Approval Factor

stimpsonslostson

I've got a THR10, I reviewed it in the reviews section:

http://thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/69118/yamaha-thr10#latest

Long story short, I like it- It does exactly what I need in a practice amp, and as FX_Munkee mentioned- It looks good so MrsLostSon doesn't object to it living on display, meaning it gets used more than a (better?) less aesthetically pleasing amp might.

Wazmeister

@stimpsonslostson - nice review mate - id missed that somehow.

@FX_Munkee - and thanks mate for introducing the term WAF to us all

I'm gonna try the 100 HD; it looks incredible, but the smaller THR 10s look interesting too...

It's whether the bigger THR 100 HD has that tube 'feel' I guess ?

Beexter

I have a THR10 and have found it to be a great low volume practice tool. I much prefer using the THR at ultra low volume without headphones to an amp modeller with headphones

Wazmeister

Appreciate all your input folks...!

Any more ?

dindude

Ive had the THR5 twice. Superficially it sounded good but in the end I found it very bright and in your face, and it didnt respond or make you dig in like a "proper" amp, I found I had to tip-toe around it to some degree (on the lower gain settings at least) to stop it cutting my head off.

Honestly, for a late night sofa amp, the tiny (and cheap) Blackstar Fly 3 is the best solution i've found (and I'm not a huge fan of the Blackstar sound). The quality isn't as hi-fi or big but I find I "play" it like my normal (and much more esoteric) rig. This is more important to me.

guitarmangler

I've just bought a thr100hd to replace my old Yamaha dg80 for gigging.

It sounds great , I love that its lightweight and has a very good pseudo valve amp 'feel' thing going on. It also reacts really well with pedals. I'm really happy with it.

The thing that swung me getting it was the two separate amps at once thing, as I'm going to go for a Allan Holdsworth/Eric Johnson type setup and sort of switch between a distorted lead sound and clean sound, both with delays, but be able to have both the trails still spilling over.


My only slight issues are that the amp doesn't have that much gain without the boost being on ( which isn't that much of a problem, as you can just switch it on ) and that the boosts themselves ( you can choose one of three via attaching the amp to the computer) don't have any parameters other than volume . Tho, I tend to use my own pedals anyway, or just the mxr micro amp type one.

I'm not sure the thr100 is really anything like the other thr amps? As they're just plug in, loads of fx ,sound great ,have presets boxes. Where as the 100 , is just a good sounding amp.

Wazmeister

@guitarmangler - thanks mate and an interesting review...

Did you buy either of the Yamaha cabs, and how do you find the loop ?

guitarmangler

I didn't buy the Yamaha cab, I haven't actually played through either one, so can't comment on sound. They both look quite expensive tho, and heavy. I'm trying to get away from hoofing around my 4 stone dg80, and the Yamaha 2x12 looks almost the same weight!!
Currently keeping an eye on the classifieds for some type of cab , as I'm just playing through the dg's speaker at home .

Fx loop on thr is switchable for series or parallel, and you can run fx to each amp with some stereo trs jacks ( which I do need to pick up).

I've only had it less than a week, but I definitely like it.

ennspek

Wazmeister;1085019" said:

I am, I guess, the classic 'third amp' customer that Yamaha may have been heading towards...

I'm the same mate. Can I buy your 100 when you flip it please? ( I would prefer you got the matching cab as well please ) ☺

Wazmeister

Well, I had a full demo with Ross (Yamaha) today, and it was very impressive. More info to follow !

simonk

Wazmeister;1088240" said:

Well, I had a full demo with Ross (Yamaha) today, and it was very impressive. More info to follow !

Subscribed. They do look interesting.

ICBM

I tried the 100 too - thanks Ross! - and I was very impressed by how great it sounded. Admittedly I was running it through a Marshall 4x12", but it sounded and felt almost exactly like a valve amp.

Unfortunately I didn't have time to try a smaller cab, but I don't doubt it was the amp that sounded so good since I've heard other modellers through similar cabs and they don't sound anywhere near the same.

I really liked the dual-amp set-up, I found that very useful. Ross mentioned something about the FX loop not being ideal for that though, I can't remember exactly what... worth asking.

If I was in the market for a new gigging amp it would be at the top of the list.

ennspek

Head and 2x12 for about a grand. It is very tempting. Amazing value if you don't need a cab.

ICBM

ennspek said:

Head and 2x12 for about a grand. It is very tempting. Amazing value if you don't need a cab.

Or if you buy a Harley Benton cab for half that price.

The Yamaha one doesn't look especially nice either, to me.