Yamaha THR5

122 Guitarist October 2011
YAMAHA THR5 & THR10 £199 & £299
GUITAR AMPS
Yamaha THR5
PRICE: £199
ORIGIN: China
TYPE: Digital modelling
practice system
OUTPUT: 10-watts stereo
(2 x 5 watts RMS)
DIMENSIONS: 271 (w) x 167 (h)
x 120mm (d)
WEIGHT (kg/lb): 2.0/4.4
CABINET: Powder-coated aluminium
and plastic
LOUDSPEAKERS: 2 x 8cm
full-range drivers
CONTROLS: Power, tap tempo, amp,
gain, master, tone, effect, delay/
reverb, volume
CONNECTIONS: 1/8-inch stereo
auxiliary input, 1/4-inch stereo phono
output, 1/4-inch mono instrument
input, USB output, 15V DC in
ADDITIONAL FEATURES: Can be
powered by 8 x AA batteries.
Chromatic tuner. Supplied with AC
mains adaptor, USB cable, mini
stereo cable and Cubase AI DAW
software. THR Editor software is a
free download
Yamaha Music Europe GmbH
0844 811 1116
uk.yamaha.com
Test results
Build quality
Features
Sound
Value for money
GUITARIST RATING
Yamaha THR10
PRICE: £299
ORIGIN: China
TYPE: Digital modelling
practice system
OUTPUT: 10-watts stereo
(2 x 5 watts RMS)
DIMENSIONS: 360 (w) x 184 (h)
x 140mm (d)
WEIGHT (kg/lb): 2.8/6.1
CABINET: Powder-coated aluminium
and plastic
LOUDSPEAKERS: 2 x 8cm
full-range drivers
CONTROLS: Power, tap tempo, five
user preset activation buttons, amp,
gain, master, bass, middle, treble,
effect, delay/reverb, guitar output,
usb/aux output
CONNECTIONS: 1/8-inch stereo
auxiliary input, 1/4-inch stereo phono
output, 1/4-inch mono instrument
input, USB output, 15V DC in
ADDITIONAL FEATURES: Can be
powered by 8 x AA batteries.
Chromatic tuner. Supplied with AC
mains adaptor, USB cable, mini stereo
cable and Cubase AI DAW software.
THR Editor software is a free download
Test results
Build quality
Features
Sound
Value for money
GUITARIST RATING
electro-acoustic mode feels a
little underpowered to our ears,
but Yamaha assures us that this
is merely an issue with our
prototype review model, and
that the production version will
have updated firmware in order
to even things out.
Verdict
Make no mistake, whichever
THR unit you choose, both of
these amps will make you play
the guitar more. They’re also
likely to consign your existing
iPod dock and laptop speakers
to the attic or eBay, as the
spacious, hi-fi reproduction via
USB or the stereo auxiliary
input is good enough to put
some dedicated speaker
systems to shame.
As far as we are concerned,
the important question isn’t
whether or not you need a THR
in your life, it’s which model
suits you best. While we were
smitten initially by the more
The Bottom Line
We like: Concept;
execution; price; three-
dimensional sound
We dislike: The black plastic
section of the casings
Guitarist says: Yamaha has
reinvented the practice amp
to dovetail neatly with the
demands of the average
guitarist’s modern life. The
perfect solution for playing
and jamming at home
compact simplicity of the
THR5, using the units in a
variety of real-world scenarios
saw the additional features and
bigger sound of the THR10
come in handy time and time
again, making it perhaps the
smarter investment in the
longer term. The perfect third
amp? The THRs are a whole
lot more than that…
Make no mistake, whichever THR unit
you choose, both of these amps will
make you play guitar more
The THR grilles are lit by what Yamaha calls Virtual Tube Illumination
GIT347.rev_yamaha.indd 122 9/12/11 1:17:21 PM