Yamaha THR10

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Yamaha THR10 Amp Review

Since I left the bands I was in I no longer need amps/heads etc but I do still like to play through an amp, so this is my solution.

Good:
It's well put together- powdered aluminium & nice knobs. There's no fabric to tear, despite my 4year old there's not a mark on it (crayon wipes right off).
Wide range of modifiable sounds- from chimey cleans to heavily distorted gain this wee box can do it all. You've got delays, reverb etc to play with too. (There is an in depth editing suite for your computer, but I just play it as is & save good sounds to the presets).
The tuner works well too.
Compact & Good looking- MrsLostSon actually LIKES the way it looks. It sits out next to my guitar & is always ready to go.
Aux in- I have an iPod dock connected to it & we use it as the stereo in that room. You can blend the guitar and aux levels for practice along to a track.
Sound- for such a small box the sound is VERY impressive & the stereo sound is quite "wide" it really fills a room.


Bad- sound. I know I put sound in the good section too! Positioning of the amp is VERY important. It's designed to be kept at table/desk/shelf height & the sound becomes a bit mushy & bassy if you get "above" the speakers. Until I read a thread about this I didn't like the amp that much, but now it's sorted I think the sound is very good.
On the rare occasion I use it on the floor I tip the amp to aim the speaker at me.

It IS only 10watts, so you won't be using it to play any venue bigger than your living room: but that's part of the design & not really a flaw.

Overall I think it's a very well designed & constructed amp. Perfect for its intended use as an always ready practice tool.
I've recommended it to several friends & they all seem happy with it too.
Would I buy another one? Absolutely. Although it might be the THR10c instead as I rarely play metal.

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Comments

  • stimpsonslostsonstimpsonslostson Frets: 5418
    edited February 2016
    There are plenty of demo videos of this amp without my inexpert noodling.

    Here's Soren Andersen putting a THR through its paces:
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  • Great review, I have the THR10C and love it, I will try raising the unit up a bit when playing it as I had noticed the sound wasn't as great as the videos I'd watched for it.
    So thanks for that great tip!
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  • Good review. I've got a THR10 and find it very convenient to use. Sounds great too. Strangely, I read a post on another forum where the user said it sounded much better on the floor but I've tried this and disagree. Mine is usually perched on the window sill. :D
    Link to my trading feedback
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  • rlwrlw Frets: 4670
    edited February 2016
    Have a THR10C and it gets more use than my PRRI - it really is that good in a domestic environment.
    You can play at deafening levels with headphones if that's your thing, or right down to unplugged and it still sounds great.
    Save a cow.  Eat a vegetarian.
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  • I really like my THR10. However since my laptop was "upgraded" to Windus 10 I have had issues with it.

    I use it to play along with tracks from the laptop, but the sound now drops out regularly. I get messages saying that the Steinberg drivers do not support USB 3.0. The Yamaha web page says i have the latest Windows 10 compatable drivers. Frustrating!!

    As a stand alone practice amp i find it to be a great piece of kit and because of the volume i don't get a lot af grief from my Nagger
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  • BlueingreenBlueingreen Frets: 2582
    edited February 2016
    I have the THR10C.  One minor annoyance is that he 3 pin plug that connects the power supply into the transformer isn't very secure and works its way loose from time to time.  Also the power stopped working in mine (after a couple of years of regular use).   Probably just a wire loose or something. Sent back to Thomann under their excellent 3 year guarantee and I couldn't be happier with their service (they even picked up the tab for postage).

    Mine was an upgrade from a Roland Microcube, which I think is a superb value for money practice amp. In the past I haven't been super-fussy about how a practice amp sounds,  but I thought given the amount of hours I spend on the thing I could just about justify shelling out for something that sounded a bit classier.  Also I fancied the convenience of the presets.

    The amp has delivered what I hoped and expected from it.  For medium gain soloing I think the Microcube gets reasonably close to the Yamaha in terms of sound quality, but the Fender-type cleans on the Yamaha are in a different league from the Microcube, giving  a very convincing imitation of a Blackface Fender tone at sitting room volume.  The presets are a very useful feature, and the delay/reverb effects very good.

    I've started doing a bit of home recording and have been using a Flyrig 5 for guitar sounds.  Now I have my THR 10C back from Thomann I'm looking forward to seeing how it compares sound-wise.  The Flyrig sounds fantasic but I have a feeling the THR will still manage to top it, both in terms of tone and feel.
    “To a man with a hammer every problem looks like a nail.”
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  • breakstuffbreakstuff Frets: 10228
    I've got one and also experienced a very muddy sound especially on higher gain settings.Even with the treble turned up fully the problem was still there.I was playing with the amp on the floor,angled up but have since started placing it on a small oak table and the sound has noticeably improved to a point where I only need to have the treble between twelve and three o'clock on a humbucker guitar and considerably lower with single coils.The acoustics also improved,with the sound projecting around the room rather than straight at you.It sounds even better at high volumes.

    They're great little grab and go amps.
    Laugh, love, live, learn. 
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  • DaevidJDaevidJ Frets: 414
    I have mine sat on an Ikea Expedit block that is used as a bed-side table.  I don't think i have ever used an amp as much before in a bedroom setting as i have this one. 
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  • HaychHaych Frets: 5594
    I have had the THR10 for a while now and IMHO it has some very good features and some not so good features.

    It's one of the better modelling amps out there - the only one that's impressed me in terms of sound quality really, although a couple of the models are difficult to use I find.  The build quality is pretty good but the board mounted socket for the PSU is a weak point and mine broke after a child related incident.  Luckily I managed to MacGyver a repair as I'm pretty handy with a soldering iron, but I still treat it with kid gloves.

    The editor is very good and makes the amp much more versatile (if you need it) than it is just by tweaking the knobs.  There are also several websites on which other THR users have uploaded their sound files for you to download, which is very quick and very easy to do.

    The THR app is also worth a mention.  Download it on your smartphone and you can use it to play a song in your library, loop a particular section and even slow down the recording at original pitch so you can figure out those tricky guitar parts.

    Personally I find the sound a bit tinny.  Don't get me wrong, for a practice amp it sounds very good but the sound is a bit 'over there' and not very well defined if that makes any sense.  It's also quite loud for something that looks like, and is smaller than, a toaster.  However, I find the louder it gets the more susceptible it is to acoustic vibration and the worse it actually sounds - I find my ears get fatigued very quickly, especially on the higher gain models, the louder the amp is turned up.

    Speaking of, I don't know what the BRIT HI model is meant to emulate but it's shite, I can't get a good tone out of it.  Also, the higher gain models including both the modern and BRIT HI models are difficult to EQ through the built in speakers.

    The effects I find quite poor.  The timed effects I don't get on well with unless I'm also using the THR editor which give much more control over the delays etc.  The chorus is just awful, acceptable if you need it but overwhelming and clinical unless you play in a living-room Marillion tribute act, and I feel similar about the other effects too.  I find them pretty binary to be honest but like I say the THR editor gives much better control if you happen to have it handy, but then to me that just defeats its purpose of being immediate and practical - I don't want to be playing with parameters on a computer, I want to be playing my guitar!

    Where it comes into it's own, however, is as a guitar recording interface.  If you want a way to get good guitar sounds onto hard disk in your DAW then the THR is stellar.  OK, it won't allow you to muck about with the guitar sounds post recording as with a software plugin but it's a very immediate way to get a good tone down quickly.

    But for something to use in your home, is very portable and battery powered if you need it to be (songwriting session at the singers house - grab guitar and THR and you're done!), sounds reasonable and doubles as a DAW interface then the THR can't really be beat.

    There is no 'H' in Aych, you know that don't you? ~ Wife

    Turns out there is an H in Haych! ~ Sporky

    Bit of trading feedback here.

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  • munckeemunckee Frets: 12255
    I have the THR5 and it is perfect for playing when the wife and kids are in bed.  I don't play it very loud or with massive gain but it sounds good.  I never use the modern and only use the brit hi with the guitar volume rolled down.  The clean and crunch both sound great, particularly if you have the master volume all the way up.  My son knocked mine off a table onto a wood floor denting the input socket but still works.  I use the thr editor as that has compressor and noise gate options which are good.  I did fiddle with Steinberg and got some decent recordings.
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  • axisusaxisus Frets: 28280
    I bought one recently to use at work/lunchtime occasionally. To be honest I was a bit disappointed with the sound, 'in the flesh' it doesn't seem to sound as good as it does on the demo videos (In my opinion).

    Having said that, it is pretty ideal for what I want to use it for, occasional jamming along to backing tracks etc. It is small and easy to stash into my locker. I can live with the sounds.
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  • Our band mix up up our rehearsals between live/loud rehearsal room with big rigs and full drums and just gathering in someone's front room to go through arrangements quietly - drummer plays a wee electric kit for those. The THC10 is perfect for me in those quiet rehearsals. I bring along a dirt pedal and a wah for the front end and generally stick with the 'Lead' channel for rock stuff.

    Only negative so far - stupid fragile little on/off toggle switch ........ mine broke in transit about 2 weeks after getting it
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  • I bought a 10C when they became available and have been more than happy with it. I've always used it on a table of some sort so haven't really had a problem with the sound. Obviously it's never going to replace a "big boy" amp but it does what it does well. I've also used it in a studio setting and direct into a PA in a rehearsal room with surprisingly good results. All in all, It's been worth every penny I paid for it.


    "When the train, it left the station, there was two lights on behind,
    Well, the blue light was my baby, and the red light was my mind.”
    Robert Johnson
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  • prowlaprowla Frets: 4896
    I've played through one and it's quite an impressive little amp.
    I then found out the price...
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  • skullfunkerryskullfunkerry Frets: 4136
    I use a THR5 and I'm really impressed with it. I usually use the editing software as well so I don't have so much of an issue with the FX, as there's more control.

    @Haych, I did read that changing the cab setting (I think this can only be done using the software) to American 4x12 improves the sound vastly, so I tried that and it did - so much that Brit Hi is my go-to model now
    Too much gain... is just about enough \m/

    I'm probably the only member of this forum mentioned by name in Whiskey in the Jar ;)

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  • prlgmnrprlgmnr Frets: 3964
    Didn't realise it had different cab models in there, that's maybe enough to persuade me to plug it in to the computer and faff about with the editor.
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  • Hydra19Hydra19 Frets: 320
    I have had the Yamaha THR10C, picked it up day and then used it every single day for 5 years! No problems with the amp ever. I only sold it to get a THR10X.

    I think these are the best bedroom amps. I'm looking and waiting to find competitors and an update from Yamaha. I wish they had more of these or could get all the 3 different amp sounds in 1.

    I do wish they were a bit more flexible. After 6 years playing these amps I also wish the speakers were bigger for a fuller sound. But for playing in the bedroom at TV volumes it is the best. My tube amps are a Fender Vibroverb and a 5e3 Deluxe, and although they sound better, this Yamaha gets all the playing time since it's so convenient. I've been impressed since 2012! 
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  • robertyroberty Frets: 10893
    Yep they are directional.  I bloody love mine and my playing has improved since I got it.  It responds like a 'proper' amp so when you go and play your big amp you don't have to adjust your technique
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  • Mike58Mike58 Frets: 157
    Just fantastic little amp . I just wish Yamaha would release an update to make the effects knobs less sensitive as the rev and delay are far too off/on. I know when linked up to a computer that can be solved but it's a pure hassle when you just want to play and the tremendous hall reverb swamps things. I've got the 10 and the 5 ( kept the 5 at work) and the simple tone control on the 5 and lack of presets was no hindrance , if anything it made plugging in and playing more enjoyable.
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