Yamaha THR5A review

A tiny slice of acoustic amp heaven

  • £199
  • $330
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The THR5A builds on Yamaha's 'third amp' concept, which aims to provide a go-to machine for home recording and practice

MusicRadar Verdict

The THR5A might be the coolest, most useful piece of kit for the electro-acoustic musician released in 2012.

Pros

  • +

    Mic range. Effects. Stereo sound. Versatility.

Cons

  • -

    A line out could take it from desk to stage.

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Few understand the electro-acoustic musician more than Yamaha. Its electros have long been the choice of players, and that may be why it sees a slot for the compact THR5A, the first THR amp for the electro-acoustic musician.

"The THR5A features four mic simulations (Condenser, Dynamic, Tube and Nylon) and one amp model"

It doesn't have programmable slots and only has a one-knob master tone control, but at £199 it's more affordable than the rest of the range (the THR10 has an RRP of £299) and offers the same USB deep-editing and recording, not to mention superb stereo sound.

The THR5A features four mic simulations (Condenser, Dynamic, Tube and Nylon) and one amp model (EG Clean). For effects, we have compressor, chorus, delay, reverb, and via the THR Editor, you can get flanger, phaser, tremolo, spring reverb and noise gate.

"With a laptop and USB mic you have an extremely portable recording setup"

It all adds up to a superb unit that, since we received it, has been constantly used for practice, writing, recording and general monitoring. With a laptop and USB mic you have an extremely portable recording setup, while the choice of mic models provides highly usable and accurate mic'd tones when DI'd. The effects sound rather classy, too.

We hope Yamaha extends this concept to include performance features, such as a line output, and perhaps even a range of mini cabs.

Dave Burrluck
Dave Burrluck

Dave Burrluck is one of the world’s most experienced guitar journalists, who started writing back in the '80s for International Musician and Recording World, co-founded The Guitar Magazine and has been the Gear Reviews Editor of Guitarist magazine for the past two decades. Along the way, Dave has been the sole author of The PRS Guitar Book and The Player's Guide to Guitar Maintenance as well as contributing to numerous other books on the electric guitar. Dave is an active gigging and recording musician and still finds time to make, repair and mod guitars, not least for Guitarist’s The Mod Squad.