Yamaha THR5 Desktop Guitar Amplifier

The Yamaha THR5 is a desktop practice amp for guitarists who play at home, at night, and want a sound worth listening to at low volume. Ten watts through a stereo pair of speakers, five amp types and built-in effects, in a box that runs on batteries when you want to move rooms. It is the amp that made practising on the couch sound good.

Five amp types, 10 watts in stereo

The AMP knob steps through CLEAN, CRUNCH, LEAD, BRIT HI and MODERN, built with Yamaha's Virtual Circuitry Modelling so each responds to your picking and guitar volume the way a valve amp does. Output is 10 watts split as 5 watts a side through two 8cm full-range speakers, which is why it sounds wide on the desk rather than boxy. GAIN, MASTER and a single TONE control shape the sound, and that one knob morphs the voicing rather than simply cutting treble.

Effects, tuner and headphones out

Onboard effects cover chorus, flanger, phaser and tremolo on one knob, with delay, delay/reverb, spring reverb and hall reverb on the other, and a TAP switch to set delay time. A compressor and noise gate are available through the THR Editor software. A chromatic tuner is built in, and the PHONES output gives you the full stereo sound in your ears when the house is asleep. The stereo mini AUX IN takes a phone or laptop for playing along.

USB recording, batteries and what is in the box

USB connects to a computer for recording with the included Cubase AI, so ideas get captured rather than forgotten. Power comes from the included AC adapter or from AA batteries, good for roughly six hours on alkalines or seven on nickel-hydride cells. It measures 360mm wide, 167mm high and 120mm deep and weighs 2.8kg. The box holds the adapter, a USB cable, a stereo mini cable, the owner's manual and the Cubase AI disc.

Specifications