CameronJ Posted July 21, 2017 Share Posted July 21, 2017 The other day I visited the Yamaha Music shop in Central London with a friend so he could check out their selection of electro-acoustic nylon strung guitars. We were assisted by one of the staff who plugged my friend into one of their THR5 tabletop amps. Sounded good. My friend was noodling away and I was knob-twiddling on the little amp when along comes a random guy who starts switching effects on our amp. I was a tad speechless at the balls of this guy to just walk over and start messing with an amp that we were obviously playing through. Anyway, it quickly transpired that he was Martin Adam, product marketing manager for Yamaha Europe! He just happened to be in store that day checking things out and we were in th right place at the right time. He spent a while chatting about the THR5 amps and after a while I asked if there was a model that'd be any good for bass. His eyes widened and he walked over to another part of the showroom where the THR10 amps were set up. I picked up a BB1025 off the wall (home sweet home) and jammed away for a bit talking tech all the while with Martin. Once I finished jamming we took a wander around the rest of the shop floor and I caught sight of these THR amp heads and THRC cabs: There was a stack consisting of one single channel head and two of the 212s on display which looked stunning. I then spent about 10 minutes attempting to convince Martin to start developing bass versions of this amp series. I know it would take a load of new R&D on their end - apparently the heads are based on pretty cutting edge valve emulation tech and building good bass cabs requires more brains than building good guitar cabs - but if anyone has the money to do it it's Yamaha. I want to see this handsome rig available to us low enders! Is it just me that thinks these heads and cab are aesthetically gorgeous?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuzzie Posted July 21, 2017 Share Posted July 21, 2017 I like too, let's hope he does Great old school flavour Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Krow Posted July 21, 2017 Share Posted July 21, 2017 [quote name='CameronJ' timestamp='1500645505' post='3339357'] Is it just me that thinks these heads and cab are aesthetically gorgeous?? [/quote] Could we instead maybe persuade Alex to start putting these around his BF cabs?! He's already done the hard bit in terms of the R&D. So my "dream" BF cab, Alex, would be a 123: 12" plus 5" plus adjustable horn / tweeter. Looks amazing - like the above. 800W Rms power handling. Lightweight. If so, when can I write you a cheque? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGreek Posted July 21, 2017 Share Posted July 21, 2017 These??: https://www.andertons.co.uk/p/GTHR10/combo-amps/yamaha-thr10-compact-guitar-amp They're only 10w. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daz39 Posted July 21, 2017 Share Posted July 21, 2017 I have a THX, it's lovelyband surprisingly loud with the clever science. 6 OD/Dist, clean, flat and bass settings, and basic effects, headphone in etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CameronJ Posted July 21, 2017 Author Share Posted July 21, 2017 [quote name='TheGreek' timestamp='1500655979' post='3339445'] These??: https://www.andertons.co.uk/p/GTHR10/combo-amps/yamaha-thr10-compact-guitar-amp They're only 10w. [/quote] Ha. Yup. As Daz says, they sound surprisingly good! I got a genuinely nice sound even in a busy shop. Admittedly I was playing a five string and there was definitely some steep drop off happening around the low D on the B string and below. To be fair, for its size, I expected that. I'm actually considering buying a used one off the 'bay but I'm kicking myself for missing out on a deal on a PJB Double Four sold by Musashimonkey of this parish a while ago - I hear they deal with the low B quite well. No inbuilt effects like the Yammy THR10 though... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markstuk Posted July 21, 2017 Share Posted July 21, 2017 [quote name='Al Krow' timestamp='1500649777' post='3339393'] Could we instead maybe persuade Alex to start putting these around his BF cabs?! He's already done the hard bit in terms of the R&D. So my "dream" BF cab, Alex, would be a 123: 12" plus 5" plus adjustable horn / tweeter. Looks amazing - like the above. 800W Rms power handling. Lightweight. If so, when can I write you a cheque? [/quote] Alex has distinct opinions on 2-way Vs 3-way cabs that provoke a lively discussion on here 😁 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuzzie Posted July 21, 2017 Share Posted July 21, 2017 (edited) I think Al would be satisfied with the range if aesthetically Alex could nail those old school looks similar to the yammy, tyrant tone cabs etc. Edited July 21, 2017 by Cuzzie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CameronJ Posted July 21, 2017 Author Share Posted July 21, 2017 (edited) If Alex put a load of effort into making his cabs look a bit cooler I'm sure people would be drooling even more than they already are but I fear that the offer of nicer finishes would mean a significant price hike which, frankly, I don't know if I'd be prepared to pay. As it is a simple silver cloth grille is a £40 add-on. Saying that, how hard would it be to offer 2 or 3 simple but classy tolex options? Or forgetting tolex, since the infrastructure is already there for making grille cloths, how about more cloth styles? I dunno. Anyway, there are cab builders out there already catering to the more stylish among us, coming in at a very similar price bracket to the Barefaced stuff and with similar performance. Edited July 21, 2017 by CameronJ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Krow Posted July 21, 2017 Share Posted July 21, 2017 I'm totally on the same page as you Cameron. IMHO, I don't think there are any punters drooling at all over Alex's cabs - not for their looks anyway, although with the silver grille they're not too shabby. We have some of the best design in the world in the UK (think Johnny Ives and Apple iPhones) and when form and function are combined to give that wow factor, well the product sells itself, right? @Markstuk I'd love to put a Markbass Traveller 123 up against a BB2 (three way vs two way speaker) and see how the stack up? Same 800W handling capability. Same price. MB has additional 5" speaker focusing on the mids. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CameronJ Posted July 22, 2017 Author Share Posted July 22, 2017 True Al, the drooling is entirely based on specs/performance. Re: 2-way vs 3-way designs, more components doesn't mean a better cab. My understanding is that the fewer sound sources you have in the cab the better. The ideal scenario would be to have a completely full range signal being produced by a single driver but that's very difficult to do as it would require one perfect driver taking on all sonic duties, hence the compromise of a 2 or 3-way design. I probably haven't explained this all that well and there are points I'm sure I've missed but that's my limited understanding based on having read posts by such folk as Bill Fitzmaurice, Phil Starr, Stevie and others. Having said all that I'm looking into a new 3-way cab from TKS at some point in the future Actually, back on the subject of Yamaha cabs, one thing I love about their design is the rounded sides. To the more knowledgeable among us, are rounded sides a disaster in bass cabinet design? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CameronJ Posted July 22, 2017 Author Share Posted July 22, 2017 I've just pulled the trigger on a Yammy THR10. God help me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gary mac Posted July 23, 2017 Share Posted July 23, 2017 [quote name='CameronJ' timestamp='1500760310' post='3340087'] I've just pulled the trigger on a Yammy THR10. God help me. [/quote] Can't imagine that you will regret that purchase, they are great Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CameronJ Posted July 29, 2017 Author Share Posted July 29, 2017 So I've had my THR10 for a few days now and am really enjoying it. Yamaha have marketed it perfectly by calling it the "third amp". You won't be getting any heft or wall shaking SPL but putting a bass through it sounds like bass. I'm using it for what it was intended for - low volume practice - and for that it excels. I've found playing quietly through it at night with flatmates sleeping in nearby rooms is a more enjoyable experience than playing through headphones which can feel a bit disconnected. Though headphones will still be king for use with my pedalboard, especially since I'm a heavy octave pedal user. But if I was going to be bringing the THR somewhere with me I wouldn't bring a pedalboard anyway as there are enough effects on board to satisfy. Not obsessing over pedals and just concentrating on a nice basic bass sound has already meant that I've focused on actually PLAYING BASS over the past few days. That in itself is a huge plus and makes it worth keeping! Playing music through the Aux input is perfect for bass practice as the sound of playback isn't very bass heavy at all. Mids and highs are nice and overall it has quite a "wide" sound if that makes any sense. It's like it's deliberately leaving me sonic space for playing along with my bass. For pure music playback though, I'll be sticking with my trusty Bose Soundlink Mini. I'll keep that little magic box until my dying day. In summary, the THR10 wasn't an absolutely necessary purchase as I have other practice solutions which can cover similar ground. However nothing I have does it quite as elegantly, or in as neat a package, as the THR10. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muppet Posted July 29, 2017 Share Posted July 29, 2017 Ive had a THR10 for a long while now and I find it's superb. Once connected to a laptop there's many more parameters avaialable to fine tune your bass tone. It's got all the flexibility I need for a tiny practice amp - USB in, mute, tuner, patch storage, onboard effects, headphones etc. And it looks the business. BTW a guitarist friend has played through those gutar heads and he says they're amazing too.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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