Traditionally guitar amps are a pretty standard affair that rarely deviate from time-honoured aesthetics of black vinyl boxes. Sure there are occasions where the standard color code is broken by more eye-catching colours (see Orange amps) but even then, it’s very rare that we see anything more than a minor diversion from the standard box set-up. Which is fair enough in many ways, after all, if it aint broke, why try and fix it?
That said, there are times when having a giant bazillion watt amp just won’t do – when you’re not on stage for example, or when you’re a grown-up and no longer have space for such an epic piece of equipment in your living quarters. Yes, you could do what many do and opt for a practice amp, but even then you’ll find that a perfect level of tone can rarely be achieved unless, to refer to the cliché, you turn it up to eleven. Turning a practice amp to low volume just doesn’t seem to cut it if you actually care about the sounds you’re projecting (or subjecting) onto the world.
Enter then, the Yamaha THR amp, breaking both the mold and new ground as far as amps are concerned. First of all just look at it, it’s the kind of thing that would sit at the front of HG Well’s time machine. From the orange glow of its ‘Virtual Tube Illumination’ to the retro color scheme and controllers there’s no doubting it’s a good looking piece of kit. The sounds it can produce though is where the real meat and potatoes are.
Dubbed as the ‘Third Amp,’ it packs enough juice to get stadium volumes but also maintains sound quality when turned down low – something I have never seen another guitar amp do. At least not very well anyway. If you’re a hobbyist or even a more serious player that doesn’t want to lug heavy equipment around I’d say that it’s one of the most must have guitar accessories since the iRig or the Alesis iDock. Which personally I think says quite a lot.
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