Review: THR10C high-end boutique home/studio amp from Yamaha

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Yamaha's new THR5A offers simulations of classic tube condenser and dynamic microphones and studio-grade effects for electric-acoustic players

The THR10C – a high end boutique amp with vintage low gain tones

Yamaha's new THR10X delivers an extreme gain, stacked amp sound

Freshly unpacked and ready for testing – the Yamaha THR10C home/studio amp with Virtual Circuitry Modelling (VCM) technology

In the box: the THR10C amp, AC adapter, USB cable, Stereo mini cable, owner's manual and Cubase AI 6 DVD

The THR10C benefits from a DSP developed in-house by the company's Semiconductor Division, 24-bit A/D and D/A conversion and a sample rate of 44.1 kHz

The THR10C can be powered via an included AC adapter or six AA-sized batteries

The THR10C can be connected to a computer via the USB port to the rear

Like classic tube amps, each of the amp circuits in Yamaha's boutique home/studio amp proved quite responsive to the controls on the guitar

Each of the five main Amp selections sounded markedly different, but they all have one thing in common – they made my solid state amps sound very ... well, solid state

Behind the grille are two 8-cm full range speakers with bass porting

Blood brothers – my Yamaha guitar and the new THR10C

At the far right is a 0.25-inch instrument input, a 0.25-inch stereo headphone out jack and a 3.5-mm auxiliary input

Players can choose from either chorus, flanger, phaser or tremelo modulation effects for some extra tonal spice, and four different ambient delay/reverb simulations, including tape echo and spring reverb

The amp's tone and effects can be fine-tuned via the free-to-download THR Editor

The THR10C comes supplied with Cubase AI 6 – which I found easy to install but quite awkward to activate and register

Cubase AI 6 is a stripped-down version of Steinberg's full music production suite

Article Summary

Though ready and willing to take full advantage of all that the digital tone modeling revolution has to offer, like many guitar gearheads, I fall back on my trusty tube amps and analog stomps when it's time to get serious. Color me intrigued, however, when Yamaha's two-strong THR Series solid state combo amps hit the shelves at the beginning of last year – featuring the company's Virtual Circuitry Modelling (VCM) technology for authentic-sounding tone, even at low volume. Three new models made a U.S. debut at the Winter NAMM Show back in January 2013, and I've been discovering exactly what VCM tubes sound like with the THR10C solid state boutique home/studio amp.

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