Please ladies and gentlemen dont get so emotional with your equipment. Your choice, doesn't reflect nothing but the manufacturer's ability to convince you he has a better product than others.
I am a clean player, and I find the Yamaha THR to have WAY better sound than the Micro Cube, it definitely depends on the player though. I cannot get over that awkward noise gate on the Micro Cube. My guess is that high gain players would prefer the Roland, and Jazz/Country/Clean players would prefer the Yamaha.
Amp Designer: How much gain would you like? Elmo: YES 😂. To be fair, I appreciate what Elmo is saying; that Roland Micro Cube just stands out more (frequencies and dynamics). Thanks for your honest opinion 👍.
If you want high gain sounds please don’t buy this amp. That’s why Elmo doesn’t like it. He wants a Marshall stack sound out of a practice amp. You will never find that sound with a practice amp. Just setting yrself up for disappointment. 😂 The THR amps are great for new players. I got one when I first started playing and I loved it to death. Ended up trading my THR 10 to a guy for a Fender J. Mascis Jazzmaster he didn’t know the value of and I do regret getting rid of it. Everyone has an idea of what the best sound for an amp is and Elmo likes gain. Yr not gonna chug with a Yamaha THR5. ✌🏻💙
This is interesting because I've owned the microcube for several years and I'm looking to get a THR5 to replace it. The clean sounds on the cube have this hyper-aggressive compression that can't be taken out, and it's extremely jarring at medium volumes ("medium" meaning about the midpoint of what the thing is capable of). I use it to teach private lessons, and I want a better clean tone. The distortions are nice to have, but I lean heavier in the jazz direction, though I do have a couple classic rock and shred-heavy (Slash/EVH/RR) students as well. For jazz, the cube is terrible. Cool review, thanks for filming it.
I played one last night. Your review is and was on just a few basic settings. This amp requires some tuning to be what you're looking for. It made sounds i didnt know were possible. Many many settings. We had a lot of fun. Not a full review. You plugged it in qnd played to your specifications, thats it. 😊
It’s not a bad starter amp for someone looking to start out though. My goal is just to get something to start me playing and then move up when I feel like I’m committed to playing and getting better. It’s still a solid amp, just personal preference between this and the micro. Thanks for the review 😊
A few years back I got a Micro Cube GX and loved it, I then started to hear all this fuss about the THR. I sold the Cube, got the THR and felt exactly the same as do about it. To me it's a very thin sound if you know what I mean were as the Cube sounds big. The THR has been sold now and I have another Cube, happy again. Roland got it spot on with the cube the first time round. New products and technology don't always make better sounds.
I was surprised to hear such disappointment. I thought the sounds from that amp were really impressive, but I understand we all have different preferences. On another note, your guitar playing was phenomenal! I could hardly focus on what you said about the effects and settings at times because the playing was so good! I hope to be as good as you are some day. Respect.
I have the Micro Cube and the THR10, so: ─ the Micro Cube sounds and feels better out of the box than THR10 ─ Using tricks (Delay filters, Phaser trick, the Room Reverb) on the editor will bring to life the THR10 and will... Sound better than the Micro Cube ─ You can change parameters on THR10 presets without losing your preset, example: you can do a preset for high gain or rock'n'roll type of stuff but leave the gain at 1 or whatever, and you can change de gain without losing your preset, filters, tricks and everything, you change everything on THR10 without change what you don't need. ─ The Micro Cube sound very good with the Stone Deaf FX Warp Drive. So, when you set some presets with some tricks, you don't need anymore the computer so often or even anymore, and you can just play around plug and play.
Purists might complain, but to be honest the looks matter. I've got a thing for amp heads with white knobs on the front, so reckon the Blackstar HT5 mkII and HT20 mkII are the sexiest. Incidentally, I have a THR 10c and to my ears it sounds best through the bass amp setting with some reverb, bass dialled up and treble dialled down and with my Bad Monkey overdrive pedal. I play at home so want an amp that sounds good at low volume. My Micro Cube used to sound great but has declined, so maybe something is wrong.
I travel weeks at a time. For ten years i used the micro cube. It sucked so bad there were times i debated weather to bring it at all. Then i stopped into a music store. The guy working there said the thr10 sounds ok. I Bought it. Wow masssive improvement. My playing was reenegized. I threw my micro cube into the donation bin at the thrift store. Now five years later i still love that yamaha thr10. Best money i ever spent.
I just got a THR5 this week and this weekend I get to drive to Sweetwater and return it. In my opinion it’s just not very good and for $200 I need to be happy with it for sure!
From what I heard in the demo, there's nothing in the least wrong with the tone of this amp. If I can buy it second hand and save a hundred bucks, I'd buy it without even thinking. 😊😊😊
I have them both too. They are different types of amps with different technology in their reproduction. The Cube is built like an old school amp, a real amp. It uses CMOS technology in its rendering. The Yamaha is modeled for tube amp representation and for something you could have on your desk or bookshelf type setting. It came about just before the nutube developments and brought tube amps back into popular usage again. It's like comparing a Skoda Octavia and a BMW M3. If the Yamaha had the speaker and cabinet of the Cube i think it would be the best of both worlds.Oh, how about a test of both through a 4x12. That would be a great example of their modeling differences.Then who would sound better. :) Moi moi.
Thanks for a real evaluation and not an advertising video from someone working for the company. I am a beginner and will probably go with the Yamaha though. The USB connectivity enables me to use it as a nice computer speaker. It also can be used as an audio interface and comes with the Cubase recording software. This for my purposes is a better deal right now. A beginner like me cannot detect much of a difference in the amp tones anyway. Great review and excellent playing. What guitar are you using here?
Sits a few seconds and then the best review yet..."I don't like it, heh, I don't like it at all!" Well done! A blunt, brutally honest review that to my ears was bang on. I honestly in the crunch mode for sure thought maybe there was a bad half signal cable between the guitar and this amp. I think the only guy in the world who could say what he really means even with LESS words, and an even more horrifying bluntness, is former N.H.L. hockey coach Daryl Sutter. Elmo, your economy of words in this review in my opinion was outSTANDING. I am going to have to check out any Elmo Karjalainen reviews I may have missed. And the addition of the Cube demo backed your words up, while showing an alternative choice that had you far more inspired to play. You just can't fake that. Top notch!
Just for everyone to know this, there's a huge disparity in the volumes between the Roland and the Yamaha clip, and that affects how you perceive one as better as the other one, too; plus, different guitars; plus, different mics, a dynamic and very guitar-oriented for the Roland, and a condenser, flatter response and if it's a modern 414, higher treble response for the Yamaha. As he continuously says, he's giving you his opinion. Just buy whichever of the two, you'll probably be just as happy.
I don’t know if anyone else has mentioned this but the THR can be made to sound much better when paired with the app, which enables a wider range of effects.
I wish Yamaha just made one THR ... put all the features of all the THR models into one amp, incorporate a looper function and I'd but it in a heartbeat!
As a beginner they both seem fine. The Roland sounds a tad 'fuller' on the high end but since they're recorded with mic, clearly the acoustics of each enclosure I assume plays a big part. I live in a small apartment and about 90 percent of my practice is with headphones soooo.....wouldn't that make a difference as far as volume, etc? Gain and crunch and all that are at least better than my Vox Amplug lol.
Great review. I was about to buy the Yamaha, but you are right, it lacks headroom and probably sounds like mud with humbuckers. Really appreciate your honesty. I'll have to go see how the old vs new Roland microcube stacks up.
Great , helpful video , I bought one recently got a great discount on new one , I totally agree on the crunch and lead . Very underwhelming in fact that’s why I watched your video to make sure it wasn’t broken , I love the Brit hi and effects , what I really like best is the way it sounds w/ my boss metal zone mt -2 , I just love the tone . It sounds a little better than my Boss 7 w mini amp which I love , but not $ 110 better . It’s a good amp, way overpriced
I have a street cube EX, and the tones you’re getting here are nicer than the settings the EX offers with an electric straight in. The cube shines when I plug the acoustic in, it is also MUCH more versatile in it’s other features. Not so much a ‘practice amp’ as a street performers amp/PA.
I've just got the THR5, latest one with updated firmware, I use it with a Fender blacktop HH setup, sounds awesome, also use a Kirk Hammett signature ESP again with HH setup (EMG's Bone Brakers) and again, sounds awesome, but that is to me lol. The roland cube you reviewed as the best practice amp also sounds awesome, and I trust your judgement so I'm gonna look out for a second hand one. Many thanks for the info and great guitar playing.
I’ve owned this amp and the microcube at the same time. I sold the microcube... which says it all for me. If you want to crank it and use like a heavy metal back line stage rig you’ll be unhappy. That’s not what it’s for. As a serious practice amp it’s unbeatable. Much better built than the microcube which feels like a toy one. It’s solid metal ffs.
OK but in this case what is the best modeling amp ? I tried the Fender mustang LT 25 but it's a piece of shit too I was used to the Roland micro cube for many years which was not excellent but very good I keep a very good memory of it
Even though when you compared the Roland to the Yamaha briefly , you used the neck pickup with the Roland & the bridge pickup when you used the Yamaha . Being a strat player with a has3 & a Yngwie ha 4 I thing it is. Both are a hs3's to me. There very different sounds though aren't they ? ( neck v bridge ) , I use the neck pickup more than the the bridge pickup live , I'm always flicking in between neck & bridge I don't use the 5 way switch really , just black & white as Ritchie Blackmore said no grey. But I was thinking of getting the Yamaha for fun, Satchel did a really good video on it & how to pick up chicks he's hilarious the entire band is ( Steel Panther ) he's a very underrated guitarist, he's very very good. But neck v bridge pickup as I said withstanding , the micro cube sounded noticeably better , I'm glad I watched your vid having similar strats the Roland sounded marge
Thanks for the review, Elmo. You were bang-on, as usual. Tried one this week, and after a few minutes I could see it’s over-hyped. To add to what you said, there’s very little bass response, brittle-sounding trebles on the high gain models, and what’s the craic with those volume levels? Seems to me a very high price to pay for a small form-factor amp. Would like to see how the Spark compares but nobody seems to stock these nearby.
Thr5a for acoustic sounded quite good at the shop but not very loud, just enoufh to get a nice kick and effects on your sound. Cool for recording. I ll try the thr10. I had a roland cube, more powerful, quite good, but different from the Yamaha. Different beasts. I prefer the yamaha for room practice. Thanks for the demo!
@@nowadayswithandy , Indeed. I love it, both in terms of sound and realistic amp-response. Have a friend working in the local music store so when I broke my first one thr5 (1 feet fall..) I got a good deal and bought the thr10II instead. (the cost of repairing a thr 5 was pretty steep, to be honest..) Best practice amp I've ever had, although I might have liked the Marshall (british) -style setting slightly better on the older one but this is otherwise better overall with unnoticeable latency and pretty fancy sounding effects . Very big range of tones too depending on the guitar's pickups I've noticed. With passive pickups (when playing metal) I usually play the modern Hi-gain or special setting, but with active emg's for example I usually play on the lead channel, with gain at only one o' clock or so. (80-s metal-ish tone, for harder styles I like Blacksun plug-ins, among others)) It works surprisingly good as an interface too, have loads of distortion plugins and all, but generally don't bother to use those when i record simple ideas, and the waveforms look good without having to mess around with input levels/settings and such either.. Think I paid around 400 €, here in Sweden and find it to be one of the best value/price items I ever bought. Play drums as well, and Yamaha is certainly one of the best companies when it comes to that too.
Just got mine today. It's not producing sound. Everything's hooked up, good cables, only time it makes noise is when I plug in the aux for a split second.
Thanks for the crisp review and guitar technique. I was told these things were loud enough to play with a full band and was brought here by someone trying to sell a used one online - I was attracted to the idea of a small tube amp unlike my old orange and black Micro-cube that I bought used in 2009 . I've used my Micro cube for direct line out recording into my digital recorder and I got great sounds with my set-up. This Yamaha sounds lame to my ears but I'd like to hear it with a guitar equipped with dual-coil pickups. At least I know now I already have a great practise amp - I use an A. R. T. Studio V3 voice valved pre-amp to get my tube sound on anything I record line in direct, mainly for microphones or line -in recordings. I was using the Micdo-cube until I got a LINE6 Spider III 30 watt amp with a 12" Celestian - It has way more variation on the control for gain with a drive, channel and master volume knob for each setting - Insane chanel is epic for leads.. I have a Swedish made Hagstrom Super Swede and the pickups and the 11 different pick up settings are really versatile for the style of rock songs I like to write and record. good stuff!
Thanks for the honest review Elmo! I tune in to hear your personal opinions whatever they may be. If I want a load of Happy Clapping I'll go to church ;)
Thanks for the honest review. Was looking for a smaller amp for my guitar repair workshop but was concerned about the sound and this confirmed my worries. Any experience on the likes of fender mustang gt40 etc would be much appreciated.
@@MrPolevaulter thanks Elmo. The L25 was where I was starting to pan out anyway. I'm a big fender amp lover anyway so at 130 quid that sounds like the one.
Maybe if you slowed your playing down we might get a better feel for the amp. It is the amp after all that we are supposed to be getting an idea about,
I own both an old MicroCube and a THR 10 - maybe you would like the THR 10 better? If i want distortion I connect my old Tube Screamer in anyway, but as you said - some will like one amp, others another & that's perfectly OK!
I have the THR10 & THR10c and love them! (The 2 speaker 10 does sound better) I would borrow and not buy it to test one. We all have our own tone zone. Not worth the cash if it's not your thing bro. Good video again bro. :)
I have two practice amps: Yamaha THR5 and Blackstar ID20 and Blackstar is much much better. Yamaha THR5 works very bad with pedals - like overdrive and distortion. Works very bad with headphones. In plus is that Yamaha works on batteries so I can take guitar with amp to the garden, grill with friends etc
Yea, very weird hype around this one. Tried one at a guitar show When they first came. No mojo, very dark and weird response to picking. Next week everyone in the local facebook group for guitar players bought one and praised it… Looks nice though 🤷🏼♂️
I bought this Yamaha amp online, obviously without testing first 🤓 Now, every negative thing you say about this amp is true. This is a horrible practice amp.
Don't get me wrong, I love strats, but to get full usage of the more distorted channels, it helps to use a guitar with humbuckers. I have coil splitting on mine, and personally I like single coil on the clean/crunch/lead channels and humbucking on the Brit Hi/Modern. I play a lot of Metallica, Iron Maiden, (etc.) with this amp, and as long as you use a reasonable amount of gain and tone, it sounds great. Perhaps not the best choice for everyone, but you can get excellent tones from it by playing around with the knobs. It'll take you more than ten minutes though.
I'm curious about practice amps with pedals. To me part of my practice is to work out the "when to kick in my clean boost" during a song, and I need something to be that part of my practice regimen. My home amp is a tiny practice amp already (a blackstar 5 watt with a real tube pre in it). It's not so portable but I don't gig and I'm ever ever on the road. Would like to see an update or sequel to this with the newly announced THR-II. it sounds better to my ears, and it has a nice built in battery. Have you reviewed the Katana?
I prefer the Roland (Micro Cube GX) and have one myself. A student of mine has the Yamaha and it is fine, neither of them are great. I teach the student outside (due to the covid thing) and he plays through the Yamaha and I play the Roland. As small and very portable amps go at low volume they're both OK, when you turn them up they both sound horrible as you would expect. Like everything it is personal preference, but for small, portable and cheap amps they both do a reasonable job.
Glass half empty kind of guy, I've never seen him give any popular gear a positive review, but he is definitely getting a worse tone from the THR than most of the other reviewers. So maybe it's not the amp.
I have the thr10 and it sounds great with a tube screamer in front. This guys is trying to chug metal on a single coil strat and for some reason does not like the sound?
![The Best Guitar Amp In The World [And Tips On Using Pedals With It]](/img/1.gif)
Check out my two reviews of the new Yamaha THR 10 II: ruclips.net/video/migMFj6YYT0/видео.html and ruclips.net/video/wIwNw-1z094/видео.html
@HUWAN CLAN I think I'll feature you in one of my videos :D
Very much appreciate your honesty, don't believe I've seen that in a gear review before.
Please ladies and gentlemen dont get so emotional with your equipment.
Your choice, doesn't reflect nothing but the manufacturer's ability to convince you he has a better product than others.
Spot on.
I am a clean player, and I find the Yamaha THR to have WAY better sound than the Micro Cube, it definitely depends on the player though. I cannot get over that awkward noise gate on the Micro Cube. My guess is that high gain players would prefer the Roland, and Jazz/Country/Clean players would prefer the Yamaha.
Good to know
Some of those solos man, I love gear reviews but I had to subscribe for the work you put into your guitar playing. Thank you for some inspiration
Awesome, thank you!
Thanks for the review, and most of all thanks for being honest and not sugar-coating anything that needed to be said. Keep up the good work.
Cheers!
Amp Designer: How much gain would you like?
Elmo: YES 😂.
To be fair, I appreciate what Elmo is saying; that Roland Micro Cube just stands out more (frequencies and dynamics). Thanks for your honest opinion 👍.
If you want high gain sounds please don’t buy this amp. That’s why Elmo doesn’t like it. He wants a Marshall stack sound out of a practice amp. You will never find that sound with a practice amp. Just setting yrself up for disappointment. 😂 The THR amps are great for new players. I got one when I first started playing and I loved it to death. Ended up trading my THR 10 to a guy for a Fender J. Mascis Jazzmaster he didn’t know the value of and I do regret getting rid of it. Everyone has an idea of what the best sound for an amp is and Elmo likes gain. Yr not gonna chug with a Yamaha THR5. ✌🏻💙
This is interesting because I've owned the microcube for several years and I'm looking to get a THR5 to replace it. The clean sounds on the cube have this hyper-aggressive compression that can't be taken out, and it's extremely jarring at medium volumes ("medium" meaning about the midpoint of what the thing is capable of). I use it to teach private lessons, and I want a better clean tone. The distortions are nice to have, but I lean heavier in the jazz direction, though I do have a couple classic rock and shred-heavy (Slash/EVH/RR) students as well. For jazz, the cube is terrible. Cool review, thanks for filming it.
I played one last night. Your review is and was on just a few basic settings. This amp requires some tuning to be what you're looking for. It made sounds i didnt know were possible. Many many settings. We had a lot of fun. Not a full review. You plugged it in qnd played to your specifications, thats it. 😊
It’s not a bad starter amp for someone looking to start out though. My goal is just to get something to start me playing and then move up when I feel like I’m committed to playing and getting better. It’s still a solid amp, just personal preference between this and the micro. Thanks for the review 😊
A few years back I got a Micro Cube GX and loved it, I then started to hear all this fuss about the THR. I sold the Cube, got the THR and felt exactly the same as do about it. To me it's a very thin sound if you know what I mean were as the Cube sounds big. The THR has been sold now and I have another Cube, happy again. Roland got it spot on with the cube the first time round. New products and technology don't always make better sounds.
Spot on.
I was surprised to hear such disappointment. I thought the sounds from that amp were really impressive, but I understand we all have different preferences. On another note, your guitar playing was phenomenal! I could hardly focus on what you said about the effects and settings at times because the playing was so good! I hope to be as good as you are some day. Respect.
Thank you very much :)
I’ve never tried this earlier model but i bought the THR30 and it is an amazing amp! You should give it a try and do a demo of the new one.
I have the Micro Cube and the THR10, so:
─ the Micro Cube sounds and feels better out of the box than THR10
─ Using tricks (Delay filters, Phaser trick, the Room Reverb) on the editor will bring to life the THR10 and will... Sound better than the Micro Cube
─ You can change parameters on THR10 presets without losing your preset, example: you can do a preset for high gain or rock'n'roll type of stuff but leave the gain at 1 or whatever, and you can change de gain without losing your preset, filters, tricks and everything, you change everything on THR10 without change what you don't need.
─ The Micro Cube sound very good with the Stone Deaf FX Warp Drive.
So, when you set some presets with some tricks, you don't need anymore the computer so often or even anymore, and you can just play around plug and play.
I kind of forgot I had a Roland Microcube. Guess I'll start playing it more before I think about buying another practice amp. Great playing, BTW.
I have a Microcube GX and absolutely love it. That 3 watts are magical. But the Yamaha is the most beautiful, I have to say.
It does look quite nice, I have to admit :)
Purists might complain, but to be honest the looks matter. I've got a thing for amp heads with white knobs on the front, so reckon the Blackstar HT5 mkII and HT20 mkII are the sexiest. Incidentally, I have a THR 10c and to my ears it sounds best through the bass amp setting with some reverb, bass dialled up and treble dialled down and with my Bad Monkey overdrive pedal. I play at home so want an amp that sounds good at low volume. My Micro Cube used to sound great but has declined, so maybe something is wrong.
I travel weeks at a time. For ten years i used the micro cube. It sucked so bad there were times i debated weather to bring it at all. Then i stopped into a music store. The guy working there said the thr10 sounds ok. I Bought it. Wow masssive improvement. My playing was reenegized. I threw my micro cube into the donation bin at the thrift store. Now five years later i still love that yamaha thr10. Best money i ever spent.
For me the Micro Cube is some of the best money I've ever spent. I have two of them. Great amps. But then sound is subjective.
I just got a THR5 this week and this weekend I get to drive to Sweetwater and return it. In my opinion it’s just not very good and for $200 I need to be happy with it for sure!
From what I heard in the demo, there's nothing in the least wrong with the tone of this amp. If I can buy it second hand and save a hundred bucks, I'd buy it without even thinking. 😊😊😊
I have them both too. They are different types of amps with different technology in their reproduction. The Cube is built like an old school amp, a real amp. It uses CMOS technology in its rendering. The Yamaha is modeled for tube amp representation and for something you could have on your desk or bookshelf type setting. It came about just before the nutube developments and brought tube amps back into popular usage again. It's like comparing a Skoda Octavia and a BMW M3. If the Yamaha had the speaker and cabinet of the Cube i think it would be the best of both worlds.Oh, how about a test of both through a 4x12. That would be a great example of their modeling differences.Then who would sound better. :) Moi moi.
Thanks for a real evaluation and not an advertising video from someone working for the company. I am a beginner and will probably go with the Yamaha though. The USB connectivity enables me to use it as a nice computer speaker. It also can be used as an audio interface and comes with the Cubase recording software. This for my purposes is a better deal right now. A beginner like me cannot detect much of a difference in the amp tones anyway.
Great review and excellent playing. What guitar are you using here?
A custom made Strat. This one: ruclips.net/video/P_E8p2DoZoY/видео.html
Sounds good to me. Thx for the review.
I use this little 4.4 lb modeling amp every Sunday at church with the worship team. Mic'd right into the PA system. I like it a lot!
Great to see honesty
Sits a few seconds and then the best review yet..."I don't like it, heh, I don't like it at all!" Well done! A blunt, brutally honest review that to my ears was bang on. I honestly in the crunch mode for sure thought maybe there was a bad half signal cable between the guitar and this amp. I think the only guy in the world who could say what he really means even with LESS words, and an even more horrifying bluntness, is former N.H.L. hockey coach Daryl Sutter. Elmo, your economy of words in this review in my opinion was outSTANDING. I am going to have to check out any Elmo Karjalainen reviews I may have missed. And the addition of the Cube demo backed your words up, while showing an alternative choice that had you far more inspired to play. You just can't fake that. Top notch!
Thank you very much. Glad you appreciated it :)
Just for everyone to know this, there's a huge disparity in the volumes between the Roland and the Yamaha clip, and that affects how you perceive one as better as the other one, too; plus, different guitars; plus, different mics, a dynamic and very guitar-oriented for the Roland, and a condenser, flatter response and if it's a modern 414, higher treble response for the Yamaha. As he continuously says, he's giving you his opinion. Just buy whichever of the two, you'll probably be just as happy.
Yep. Just my opinion. Get whatever floats your proverbial boat.
Yep, this was not an apples to apples test.
Thank you for your honest evaluation and opinion! You may have saved me a lot of money and disappointment. I appreciate you.
I don’t know if anyone else has mentioned this but the THR can be made to sound much better when paired with the app, which enables a wider range of effects.
which app are you talking about?
The yamaha thr app
I've come to understand that this Yamaha Amp series is more popular with the acoustic guitar players. 👍🙂
I wish Yamaha just made one THR ... put all the features of all the THR models into one amp, incorporate a looper function and I'd but it in a heartbeat!
I have the THR10x (green) an love it. Helps for that EVH "brown" sound too
Great man! To the point and very well demoed in regards to the sounds and so on
Nice guitar! And thank you for the helpful review, I look forward to purchasing this now.
Cheers!
High gain and tone all way up did it for me. Nice and meaty sound....Rock on!!!!
As a beginner they both seem fine. The Roland sounds a tad 'fuller' on the high end but since they're recorded with mic, clearly the acoustics of each enclosure I assume plays a big part. I live in a small apartment and about 90 percent of my practice is with headphones soooo.....wouldn't that make a difference as far as volume, etc? Gain and crunch and all that are at least better than my Vox Amplug lol.
I haven't tried the phones option, since I usually hate it on every amp :D
Going to get one, I have a Roland Microcube, but these look cooler! Is your neck sculpted?
Yes, scalloped
Great review. I was about to buy the Yamaha, but you are right, it lacks headroom and probably sounds like mud with humbuckers. Really appreciate your honesty. I'll have to go see how the old vs new Roland microcube stacks up.
Thanks :)
Great , helpful video , I bought one recently got a great discount on new one , I totally agree on the crunch and lead . Very underwhelming in fact that’s why I watched your video to make sure it wasn’t broken , I love the Brit hi and effects , what I really like best is the way it sounds w/ my boss metal zone mt -2 , I just love the tone . It sounds a little better than my Boss 7 w mini amp which I love , but not $ 110 better . It’s a good amp, way overpriced
I have a street cube EX, and the tones you’re getting here are nicer than the settings the EX offers with an electric straight in.
The cube shines when I plug the acoustic in, it is also MUCH more versatile in it’s other features. Not so much a ‘practice amp’ as a street performers amp/PA.
Sounds great because you have it miked. Can I connect to a speaker cab without miking?
Can't remember.
I've just got the THR5, latest one with updated firmware, I use it with a Fender blacktop HH setup, sounds awesome, also use a Kirk Hammett signature ESP again with HH setup (EMG's Bone Brakers) and again, sounds awesome, but that is to me lol. The roland cube you reviewed as the best practice amp also sounds awesome, and I trust your judgement so I'm gonna look out for a second hand one. Many thanks for the info and great guitar playing.
Cheers Steve!
@@MrPolevaulter Got the cube and you are right, it does sound better!
@@stevegreen1177 Glad you like it :)
@@stevegreen1177 Is the clean still better or are you referring mostly on the crunch/gain ?
I’ve owned this amp and the microcube at the same time. I sold the microcube... which says it all for me. If you want to crank it and use like a heavy metal back line stage rig you’ll be unhappy. That’s not what it’s for. As a serious practice amp it’s unbeatable. Much better built than the microcube which feels like a toy one. It’s solid metal ffs.
So you don't think a practice amp should sound good with gain?
Honest review. I'll stick with my Vox mini 3 G2
Guitar pickups sound awesome too 😍
Maybe try using it with the THR Editor software. It allows for better tone shaping with the cab simulation, compression, etc.
OK but in this case what is the best modeling amp ? I tried the Fender mustang LT 25 but it's a piece of shit too
I was used to the Roland micro cube for many years which was not excellent but very good I keep a very good memory of it
I like the old Roland Micro Cube. The Spark is good imo, and I actually liked the LT25.
Even though when you compared the Roland to the Yamaha briefly , you used the neck pickup with the Roland & the bridge pickup when you used the Yamaha . Being a strat player with a has3 & a Yngwie ha 4 I thing it is. Both are a hs3's to me. There very different sounds though aren't they ? ( neck v bridge ) , I use the neck pickup more than the the bridge pickup live , I'm always flicking in between neck & bridge I don't use the 5 way switch really , just black & white as Ritchie Blackmore said no grey. But I was thinking of getting the Yamaha for fun, Satchel did a really good video on it & how to pick up chicks he's hilarious the entire band is ( Steel Panther ) he's a very underrated guitarist, he's very very good. But neck v bridge pickup as I said withstanding , the micro cube sounded noticeably better , I'm glad I watched your vid having similar strats the Roland sounded marge
I really wasn't being picky, I just meant as you'd know there's a huge difference between the neck & bridge pickups is what I meant.
Thanks for the review, Elmo. You were bang-on, as usual. Tried one this week, and after a few minutes I could see it’s over-hyped. To add to what you said, there’s very little bass response, brittle-sounding trebles on the high gain models, and what’s the craic with those volume levels? Seems to me a very high price to pay for a small form-factor amp. Would like to see how the Spark compares but nobody seems to stock these nearby.
Totally agree
Very useful review. What better guitar amps will you recommend with this price range?
Great review, wich amp would you suggest for home studio recording ? Thanks !
Are you using a mic?
@@MrPolevaulter yes e906, im thinking to buy the micro cube gx.
@@mofei6337 That should be good :)
@@MrPolevaulter last question😁, is it fine with pedals ? Still like the roland cube 10gx too
@@mofei6337 It should be OK.
Roland Micro Cube: 3w
Yamaha thr10: 10w
Parabéns. Dá pra ter um desempenho bacana assim no violão nylon ou é jogar dinheiro fora?
Don't know.
nice vid well done
Thanks!
Thr5a for acoustic sounded quite good at the shop but not very loud, just enoufh to get a nice kick and effects on your sound. Cool for recording. I ll try the thr10. I had a roland cube, more powerful, quite good, but different from the Yamaha. Different beasts. I prefer the yamaha for room practice.
Thanks for the demo!
Do you prefer indeed the thr5 from Roland cube?
For practice?
Do you think a pedal can help adding more gain on this amp?
No
And one more review with Strat and single coil ;)=
Very weird review , cause it sounds great when you're playing it..
@@nowadayswithandy , Indeed. I love it, both in terms of sound and realistic amp-response. Have a friend working in the local music store so when I broke my first one thr5 (1 feet fall..) I got a good deal and bought the thr10II instead. (the cost of repairing a thr 5 was pretty steep, to be honest..) Best practice amp I've ever had, although I might have liked the Marshall (british) -style setting slightly better on the older one but this is otherwise better overall with unnoticeable latency and pretty fancy sounding effects . Very big range of tones too depending on the guitar's pickups I've noticed. With passive pickups (when playing metal) I usually play the modern Hi-gain or special setting, but with active emg's for example I usually play on the lead channel, with gain at only one o' clock or so. (80-s metal-ish tone, for harder styles I like Blacksun plug-ins, among others)) It works surprisingly good as an interface too, have loads of distortion plugins and all, but generally don't bother to use those when i record simple ideas, and the waveforms look good without having to mess around with input levels/settings and such either.. Think I paid around 400 €, here in Sweden and find it to be one of the best value/price items I ever bought. Play drums as well, and Yamaha is certainly one of the best companies when it comes to that too.
@@fredrikh3547
Just got mine today. It's not producing sound. Everything's hooked up, good cables, only time it makes noise is when I plug in the aux for a split second.
Awesome review 👍👍👍
Glad you liked it
Thanks for the crisp review and guitar technique. I was told these things were loud enough to play with a full band and was brought here by someone trying to sell a used one online - I was attracted to the idea of a small tube amp unlike my old orange and black Micro-cube that I bought used in 2009 . I've used my Micro cube for direct line out recording into my digital recorder and I got great sounds with my set-up. This Yamaha sounds lame to my ears but I'd like to hear it with a guitar equipped with dual-coil pickups. At least I know now I already have a great practise amp - I use an A. R. T. Studio V3 voice valved pre-amp to get my tube sound on anything I record line in direct, mainly for microphones or line -in recordings. I was using the Micdo-cube until I got a LINE6 Spider III 30 watt amp with a 12" Celestian - It has way more variation on the control for gain with a drive, channel and master volume knob for each setting - Insane chanel is epic for leads.. I have a Swedish made Hagstrom Super Swede and the pickups and the 11 different pick up settings are really versatile for the style of rock songs I like to write and record. good stuff!
Cheers Rob!
Whoever told you this amp is suitable to play with a band on it's own was pulling your leg 😅
so good guitarist also thanks for your demonstration yamaha
Glad you like it!
Thanks for the honest review Elmo! I tune in to hear your personal opinions whatever they may be. If I want a load of Happy Clapping I'll go to church ;)
Haha :D Thanks :)
Would you recommend this amp for the native flute?
Terrific overview of the THR5.
Cheers :)
Great comparison, very useful.
And what about the max usable volume compared to the Micro Cube ?
Cheers! Not sure, as I sold the THR ages ago.
What exactly do you like about the old cube vs the gx?
The classic stack sounds much better.
Nice Strat.
Thanks!
Shit, that's how all product reviews should be. Good video
Thanks!
Why do you use different guitars to compare those two amps?
Thanks for the honest review. Was looking for a smaller amp for my guitar repair workshop but was concerned about the sound and this confirmed my worries. Any experience on the likes of fender mustang gt40 etc would be much appreciated.
I have reviewed the Fender Mustang GTX50, and the LT25. I liked the LT, but not really the GTX50.
@@MrPolevaulter thanks Elmo. The L25 was where I was starting to pan out anyway. I'm a big fender amp lover anyway so at 130 quid that sounds like the one.
Onko reverb?
Kiitos.👍✨✨🙏
En muista.
Maybe if you slowed your playing down we might get a better feel for the amp. It is the amp after all that we are supposed to be getting an idea about,
I own both an old MicroCube and a THR 10 - maybe you would like the THR 10 better? If i want distortion I connect my old Tube Screamer in anyway, but as you said - some will like one amp, others another & that's perfectly OK!
I have the THR10 & THR10c and love them! (The 2 speaker 10 does sound better) I would borrow and not buy it to test one. We all have our own tone zone. Not worth the cash if it's not your thing bro. Good video again bro. :)
Thank you, and indeed. Everyone has their thing, and that's a good thing :)
Two speakers? So does the THR5. (?) Maybe that’s it: he’s got the mic placed in the middle of the dead spot right between the two speakers.
@@MattWhatsGoinOn Having sat in the room, I can say that's not it.
Thanks for the objectivity.
Cheers :)
i love this amp so much
Then why don't you marry it?
I received this as a Christmas gift. I tend to play with a lot of gain since I enjoy metal and I've been rather disappointed with this.
Sorry to hear.
Tubescreamer always in front.
Not hating you got a nice channel ,I wish you used a humbucker equipped guitar also
Hi Elmo, great playing as usual. Pardon the weird question : what are your settings on the microcube? Mine doesn't sound like yours😅
Thanks! I have gain on full and tone pretty much all the way up. Might be you have a newer Micro Cube. The new ones aren't the same :(
No it's an old one. I'll try your setting!!! Thanx a lot
I have two practice amps: Yamaha THR5 and Blackstar ID20 and Blackstar is much much better. Yamaha THR5 works very bad with pedals - like overdrive and distortion. Works very bad with headphones. In plus is that Yamaha works on batteries so I can take guitar with amp to the garden, grill with friends etc
Blackstar sounds delicious, there is no comparison the only pro of this one is the batteries thing to play anywhere.
Only criteria is gain 👍
Samaa mieltä.
I felt the same, boxy sounds but ok clear channel.
Yea, very weird hype around this one. Tried one at a guitar show When they first came. No mojo, very dark and weird response to picking. Next week everyone in the local facebook group for guitar players bought one and praised it… Looks nice though 🤷🏼♂️
I bought this Yamaha amp online, obviously without testing first 🤓
Now, every negative thing you say about this amp is true. This is a horrible practice amp.
Yeah. I didn't like it much either.
Hiya. What is the model type of the older Roland mirco amp you said is the best one?
Roland Micro Cube (without the GX in the name).
Yes the Rolland the best Small practice amp the thr cover rated
Isn’t the Yamaha created for acoustic guitars?
Both if I've understood correctly.
I had a Micro Cube and I had a Yamaha THR 10X. The 10X was much better to my ears...
Not in the same league.
Don't get me wrong, I love strats, but to get full usage of the more distorted channels, it helps to use a guitar with humbuckers. I have coil splitting on mine, and personally I like single coil on the clean/crunch/lead channels and humbucking on the Brit Hi/Modern.
I play a lot of Metallica, Iron Maiden, (etc.) with this amp, and as long as you use a reasonable amount of gain and tone, it sounds great. Perhaps not the best choice for everyone, but you can get excellent tones from it by playing around with the knobs. It'll take you more than ten minutes though.
I totally understand, and much of it's subjective as well. Personally I prefer Strats, and the Roland Micro Cube is what I use at home.
@@MrPolevaulter I may check that Micro Cube out then
I'm curious about practice amps with pedals. To me part of my practice is to work out the "when to kick in my clean boost" during a song, and I need something to be that part of my practice regimen.
My home amp is a tiny practice amp already (a blackstar 5 watt with a real tube pre in it). It's not so portable but I don't gig and I'm ever ever on the road.
Would like to see an update or sequel to this with the newly announced THR-II. it sounds better to my ears, and it has a nice built in battery.
Have you reviewed the Katana?
I'll have to look in to the new THR. I have reviewed the Katana 50, and the Katana mini.
what's that purple pedal? A noise gate?
Don't remember.
Hi ! Is it possible to use effects pedals on this amp? please.
Can't remember.
There is no effects loop, but you can always run something thru the front. Like an overdrive pedal 🎸😊
How 🤔 ❓️ 🤔 much do they run....?????
Sorry? Not sure I understand.
@@MrPolevaulter how 🤔 much do they cost?
Wow the Microcube sounds better than your Marshalls. What pedals are you using?
Just an overdrive and a delay.
I prefer the Roland (Micro Cube GX) and have one myself. A student of mine has the Yamaha and it is fine, neither of them are great. I teach the student outside (due to the covid thing) and he plays through the Yamaha and I play the Roland. As small and very portable amps go at low volume they're both OK, when you turn them up they both sound horrible as you would expect.
Like everything it is personal preference, but for small, portable and cheap amps they both do a reasonable job.
Thanks.
Amazing amp 👌🏿
Glass half empty kind of guy, I've never seen him give any popular gear a positive review, but he is definitely getting a worse tone from the THR than most of the other reviewers. So maybe it's not the amp.
Or maybe it is.
Most "reviews" on youtube are commercials with the creators getting some kind of compensation (direct or indirect) from the manufacturer...
@jh lau guitar pickups
Still sounds mint for such a tiny amp!!! What more do you expect haha
Totally agree! If it doesn't sound like Yngwie, he disses it!
The Roland sounds better. And dude, you play badass
Thank you :)
I have the thr10 and it sounds great with a tube screamer in front. This guys is trying to chug metal on a single coil strat and for some reason does not like the sound?
Hey brother, is that a Warmoth?
No. Custom made.
Buddy, it would help the gain issues you’re having with this amp if you had a high output Humbucker!!