Yamaha THR5 2x3" 10-watt Modeling Combo Amp Reviews

I bought this little amp so I could play upstairs even though my gear is in the basement. I hesitated since some people felt it was almost not mini enough. But I am super pleased with this little amp! The sound is really good for such a small package. It has a nice selection of effects that actually work well and also blend well together. There is not a lot of individual control on the effects (multiple effects on each of two knobs), but it is plenty good enough for a super light little practice amp. I never thought about a flanger pedal, for example, but after playing around with this thing I want to buy one for my main setup. (So the amp will end up costing me more money ha ha.) Anyway, it may not be the smallest, but at the size of a nice loaf of bread it is really easily portable. BTW, the totally gratuitous lighting to simulate tubes is really cute as well. Good job, Yamaha! Highly recommended.

Awesome amplifier and service from Alden! He has been my guy for several years and I am well pleased every time in my dealings with Alden.

Great little amp, great effects, great sound, nice stereo effects. Plus it was inexpensive. I have a couple of Marshalls, a JVM410 head with a 1960A cab, a Fender Hot Rod Deville with 4X10's, a Blackstar Artisan 15 and a Kemper, but when I want to practice I use this little guy, because it's light as a feather, I can use it anywhere, I can use it with batteries I don't have to break out my peddle board and I can crank it up without my dogs getting upset. But at 50% volume this little box cranks out the sounds.

The "modern" sound is great for that Oli Herbert type of sound, the clean is perfect for that Mark Knopfler sound and the other sounds are all eminently usable. The effects are few but they are perfect for what I need. I would consider gigging with this, running it through the FOH mix.

I use two. One for clean w reverb some chorus, then one for marshal scream at same time to duplicate enter sandman of metallica.
Great amp

This little gem exceeded my expectation. It does everything I need and more!

I think this amp sounds great. I use it now instead of my focusrite straight into my DAW. The bonus warm lights add creative ambience that I dig.

Also shout out to Kyle for always being there to help me with questions . I am big Sweetwater fanboy.

Super cool little tool!!!!... perfect for travel, sounds great and has many options for playing.

Rather than write a long review, all I can say is
"AMAZING"

Not a clue how something this small can sound so powerful

Amp sounds great. Good clean and dirty tones. You could record with this amp no problems. It is loud for 10 watts. You couldn't keep up with a live band but it will easily fill the room. Effects on it are pretty decent. They have limited controls but it's enough to dial in what your looking for.

We actually were surprised with all it's features. It works great but also we didn't know much about amps when we purchased it. My son had this great idea to see if it worked with his drum kit, and Surprise, it didn't. But when we told another guitarist what he did he told us that we most likely blew our Amp. But it didn't. It worked perfectly fine like the first day we bought it. That's how I know it's quality!

Do you like to sit outdoors with an electric guitar and play to the chickadees? Have you been out in the fishing boat and the fish aren't biting and you need what's exciting? This lunch box sized amp has batteries, effects (chorus, flanging, phaser, tremolo, reverb and delay (with tap tempo). Five amp modes get you from clean to crunch to Armageddon all at a suitable volume for a practice amp. And its built in tuner is accurate! NO, don't bring it to band practice, unless you want that guy with the huge cabinet and excruciating amp head to ask you where your big-boy amp is. Kidding aside, this thing is fun as well as practical for personal practice with great tone. In short, it's the best picnic amp ever made. And despite what I've said, it is loud enough to scare the bears away if you are camping, and if you don't snore really loudly, you gotta worry about them, so this is an outdoorsy must!! Of course if you play a lot of clams it just makes them angry. So there is some baked in incentive to play well. Almost forgot: those orange lights--they look like tubes--and that is technically known as CUTE. Love it!

I love this amp. It sounds incredible and it truly does have me wanting to play more than ever.

The simplicity of the controls makes dialing in a good tone, and settling on it, a breeze. No apps or PC required on this one though you can access a few things on the PC if you want to. I prefer things like the singular tone knob over the 3 band honestly sometimes, nice and easy.

The effects parameters at the knobs are set well too, meaning you can adjust the "rate" very well with each one.

All the effects are usable as well. The stereo sound of the Hall Reverb for instance will blow you away first time you hear it.

The option to use AA batteries just rocks. So small and portable. I prefer standard batteries over internal rechargeables that would require alot more work to replace when they give out.

I will be using this unit to record with, practice with, all that. Very fun and great sounding amp, so tiny too.

The onboard tuner is very accurate and so convenient, just plug and play.

The only thing I would change would be the on/off switch. While it's fully functional I would prefer a knob flush with the unit. Only a nitpick

I recommend this amp completely. Sweetwater is also a great company to do business with as well.

It's very true that the Yamaha THR5 is really loud for such being a small unit. I was surprised at how small it is in person. I'd say it's even smaller than a lunchbox. Do kids even use those anymore? Anyway, the tone surprisingly has quality--not too thin, treble heavy, or shrill--it has BIG low end bass response. The gain growls almost too much. This little amp almost can't handle itself, it literally shakes to its core. I can see why people have said their THR RATTLES. pricey for something so small BUT it really sounds good enough. PLUS it's mobile! It's crazy that you can take this amp's unique power with you anywhere making it convenient to say the least. I may even buy the THR30 and use it as my main practice amp instead of using my main vintage tube units too much. The future of amplification will be found in tiny packages thanks to the popularity of Yamaha THRs. In Japan!

Great sounding amp for home practice or playing but not jamming with others(unless acoustic)as even small lunchbox amps will drown out this amp.

This is really a great unit. I bought it to replace my Fly 3 Bluetooth with stereo extension. This weighs a bit more, but is a huge upgrade and sounds incredible. Yes, the speakers are only 3" so keep that in mind. But for the size it is really quite capable and a lot of fun to play. Because I bought it primarily as a travel amp my only minor complaint is that it could be lighter. I suspect the metal housing adds a lot of weight, but then on the other hand the look of these Yamaha THRs is fantastic. It makes me want to pick up the THR30-II Wireless, but I really don't need another amp, small or otherwise!

This is a great amp! I'm playing rhythm in a big band and I'm using the clean setting with hall reverb. I'm struck by how warm the tone is, and it definitely improves the overall sound of the band. It's small enough to carry in a backpack

I would like to see a compressor added, so that single notes sound as loud as chords

Amazingly responsive to my guitar. The stereo field is crazy good and the ability to achieve tone at a low volume is unparalleled.

No regrets on this one.s

This little workhorse of an amp was recommended to me by a friend who has played guitar since the 70s. My wife and I have always lived in an apartment, so we could never really play electric as much as we wish we could.

All that changed when this came in the mail. It's no Marshall, but the sounds this thing can produce without blasting the windows off is impressive to say the least. Don't let its size discourage you; this amp can produce sounds that will make you never want to put down your strat.

Don't let it's size fool you. This amp rocks! Perfect for practice and small enough to take outdoors or any room in the house. The tones are very accurate - I love the clean sound. It makes me play more since I can sit it on my desk and start jamming! The built-in tuner is very accurate as well. I would highly recommend!

Had to downgrade from a Fender Blues Jr. and grab myself something more apartment friendly. At the $200 price point for the Yamaha THR5 it's very user friendly, convenient, and very good sounding to say the least, even the built in effects are superb!
I love how it's AC powered and battery powered so you can essentially take it on the go, makes it very easy moving from room to room or even taking it outside! I also bought VIC FIRTH Bluetooth Isolation headphones to go along with it and surprisingly the two work perfectly fine with each other, I just love the idea of playing guitar late at night and not ever having to get noise complaints again!

I will read reviews, but I have never given one! this time I just had to... Frist off I relied on firsthand Experience of using this product I was looking at buying. And the pros at Sweetwater have always given me solid information to help me make my decision. The THR5 is uncreditable, it took practice amp to whole new level. It can do everything my studio does in a very small package! I can leave my Marshall dsl 40, my pedal board and play just about anywhere I want to, ac power or not...
There is no reason why you could not mic this little guy and fill the room with the pa. I can get the same sound out of my guitars as I do in my studio. And all the things you can do if you hook it up to your laptop. So, whether you take advantage of tweaking your amp a little or editing as well as being able to take a music studio with you were ever you want, this is the best investment I have ever made...JUST BUY IT.

Being a truck driver, I've been looking for a small amp I can take on the road, that sounds good. Tried a few and I like this one the best. Cost a little more than the others, but I think it's worth it.
Very happy with this buy.

Great amp. Perfect for what I need it for.
Great sound. Even better service!

Simply amazing, I couldn't believe the sounds you get from this little gem......had to turn it way down or they would have heard it on the other side of my neighborhood.....Great price for a great little piece of amazing technology....

OBW, great service from Sweetwater!

Wow, this little Amp is a beast.....was on my back patio and had to keep it turned down so it wouldn't carry to the other side of the neighborhood.....pretty simple to use and dynamite settings....

Thanks to the folks at Sweetwater, great customer service!!

Excellent !!!! What a powerful little amp. Perfect for traveling. Good effects, plenty loud, 4-5 tone samples, sinkable with my computer, great practice amp.
Happy

I've had the amp for about a month now and for something so small and compact it does everything I need! I'm using it as a practice amp while I learn how to play and I could not be happier with the sound quality. If you are looking for a practice amp for a decent but slightly above average price, this is the one to get!

Overall the experience with my Sweetwater rep has been very good! Thank you Zac!

Bought this for my 8 year old nephew who is just starting out after his gear-obsessed uncle(me) built him a small beginner pedal board and realized he needed an amp to discover all the sonic possibilities that await. Yamaha have built a great sounding and compact amplifier that meets all the needs of a young aspiring musician like my nephew. The on-board effects are a big plus and sound cool and the option to choose different amp types make it very simple to dial in a sweet tone. The high-caliber customer service I've received from my Sweetwater sales engineer Aaron Cieslikowski is unmatched! I know this company prides themselves on delivering an experience for the customer that is personal and thorough and Aaron has on NUMEROUS occasions proven that they are the benchmark for supreme customer service in the music gear biz. Bravo to Aaron, Sweetwater, and Yamaha for making my nephew and I very happy campers!

I've had the Vox Mini3 G2 for a couple weeks and kept trying to like it. But it sounds small and has some sort of weird automatic noise gate that drove me crazy: on every amp setting except "line" you hear a bunch of crackling background noise around the sound (it's not desirable distortion but more like static). When the sound decays, the noise stops. I'd almost rather have continuous noise! I haven't read any other reviewers who've mentioned it, but I found it super distracting. Plus, the whole thing just seems kind of cheap. I don't know, maybe I got a lemon. It wasn't from Sweetwater, I should say.

The Yamaha (from Sweetwater) doesn't have that weird noise around the edges of the sound at all (unless you want it to). And you can choose a noise gate setting by connecting it to your computer, but it's not the default. The amp is so quiet I don't think I'll ever need the noise gate with the clean-to-slightly-crunchy settings I use.

But the main thing is that it just sounds big, even at low volumes. With the Vox, the speaker is confined in a little particleboard box--and it sounds that way. The Yamaha is open, and has the two speakers, with some sort of effect that adds dimension. Sounds amazing and huge for such a tiny thing. Just no comparison to the Vox. The tone and feel of the Yamaha are way more tube-like, to my ears. As others have mentioned below, you just can't believe the sound that's coming out of it. Definitely has more usable volume too. And I like having the gain/master pair of controls, plus an overall volume. The Vox just has gain and master.

The general build quality is great too: a much heavier (and I'm guessing better shielded) power cord, for example. Everything about it is more pleasing to me. Yes, the pseudo vacuum tube light is kind of cheesy but it's not too bright. I'm calling it "whimsical" and just leaving it on for now (you can turn it off through the computer interface).

This seems like the perfect practice amp if, like me, you're looking for something small, portable, nice looking enough to stay in the living room, and great sounding.

Before I purchase anything I normally do my research. I found some info on the THR5 and thought, I'll give it a go.
When my package arrived it was beautifully packaged with my other items and I very happy to find a catalogue and a sticker with some candy.
The instructions on the amplifier were concise and easy to understand.
Right off the bat you are ready to start rocking. (Within reason)
There are a few standard settings which you can use and further tweak.

I play on an Fender Stratocaster so I prefer the Brit Hi setting.

Now for the bonus.
Once you download the free software you can connect your THR5 to your computer and download multiple additional settings which you can modify to your taste and save. To sweeten the deal even more, you can download the software to record your music and do what you want.

In conclusion I am very pleased with my purchase and would recommend the THR5 to anyone who is looking for a practice amplifier.

this amp just blew me away wow I love it.I was looking for something small ,but everything I tried had a week and tinny sound .the first time I set it up and turned it on, it sounded fantastic. And with headphones it sounds like I'm in a recording studio it has a rich sound.and the effects sound good to.I put it on the clean setting and it worked well with my effects. But I will be using it alone. I dialed in a good crunch sound and a modern distortion sound and it was glorious. If your looking for a great little amp,you can't go wrong with this.this comes with tone editor that I'm going set up.Sweetwater has such great service and fast This is my favorite music sight they have my business from now on.

As a desk top practice amp it does the job exceedingly well.
As a speaker for your smartphone or pc Yamaha's hi-fi quality speaker and stereo set up
is top notch. it came with all the needed cables, a/c power adapter, usb to hook up to your pc
and a aux cable to attach your smartphone. Included is Cubase A1, plug your guitar into
the THR5, plug the amp into your computer and you can record with nothing else needed.
As a practice amp, I can't say enough about it. The 5 different amp voicings
combined with the built in effects and reverb sound amazing at all volume levels.
The amp is small, light and can run on batteries making it very portable.
The ability to save amp setting would be nice, but I really stick to three setting 90% of the time,
and with cameras on phones it is easy to take a pic of the settings for later reference.
Last but not least, I am a sucker for the little lights in the amp that give off a tube-like glow.
Highly recommended, it is on the high end price wise for what it is, but is definitely worth the price,
especially when purchased from the incredible people at Sweetwater.

The speakers in this little amp are amazing.
When hooked up via usb to my computer, the THR5 works as high fidelity speakers....and it gets quite loud. Fully portable with battery powered operation it is a great speaker when connected to your phone. As a practice amp it takes up minimal space, but can really fill a room with its stereo speakers and quality effects. Comes with all the cables you need, and a version of Cubase recording software. It fills a need you don't even know you have. Highly recommend this amp, and would never buy from any where but Sweetwater.....no matter how stupid or irrelevant my questions, Dave Brow and everyone at Sweetwater find me a serious answer. 100% sure I made the right decision in buying the THR5, and buying it from Sweetwater.

I've had my Yamaha THR5 amplifier for a little over a year now and I love the many different, high quality sounds it is capable of producing! For me it is the perfect practice amp as it's light, portable, easy to use, and has tremendous versatility with its assorted effects! When you combine that with its price, it's a super value! For anyone looking for a great little practice amp (it's about the size of an old lunchbox or a loaf of bread) the THR5 has a lot to offer. The clean sounds are terrific, and with its VCM technology the effects this amp produces are high quality. Before I decided on this amp I tried a few other similar amps but to my ears this Yamaha sounded better and had the best sounding effects to be found for its price. You can use AC power or batteries and take full advantage of its portability. Besides its size, weight, and value, the best thing I like about the THR5 is the array of tones you can get out of it! It has 5 amp modeling selections, a headphone jack (which I use all the time when I play late at night), a regular volume and master volume, gain and tone controls, and 8 popular effects options (you can combine two effects simultaneously for added tonal options).This amp continues to be the perfect little practice amp for me and I can highly recommend the Yamaha THR5 to anyone looking for a great sounding practice amp with tons of sonic versatility!

Purchased this amp just a short time ago and can"t stop playing it! It has so many variables on this model that any sound you are looking for is attainable! As camping season slowly approaches I know this is the amp for out camper!!

I bought this as a practice amp based on a video I happened to see of Vince Gill in his home studio (there was a Yamaha THR5 sitting by the console, and Vince played a few licks that sounded great - so I thought, "good enough for Vince, good enough for me"). I wasn't prepared however for how great this little giant sounds in-person. I can now practice with my electrics through an amp and get good sounds without killing the cat. The Clean and Crunch settings are my faves (I tend to stay in Crunch mode, and can get a really sweet soft clip sound that is just right for me).

I immediately called a friend, and now he's got one too, and his apartment neighbors have stopped complaining!

I definitely recommend that you download the USB drive and Editor app - this offers more sound sculpting possibilities and allows the user to save the settings.

This might be the best $... you will spend in a long time - highly recommended!!

I live in a basement apartment so the neighbors are Close.
Was skeptical about this little thing but it sounds great with my Strat.
So many options and effects.
I haven't played much since the 60s so I'm impressed by most things new but I'm telling you this little thing sounds amazing.
Tiz a joy to jam.
Thanks to Tomir and Sweetwater.

I have to say... this little amp is perfect.. if I want to go on a vacation I can easily bring this along.
Little box that is very good looking physically, the little handle is very convenient.
I have this amp in my girlfriends moms basement so my tube amp doesnt interfere with her tv time. This thing is amazing. It truly sounds like fender clean , fender crunch, fender lead . then when you do british hi or modern its like playing a blastar/marshall/mesa. Its amazing.
The amp even has a built in guitar tuner as well and great jack for aux cord to do some backing tracks.
I honestly was going to get the 300 dollar one.. now I question myself why I would need it. The size, loudness, everything about this little amp has impressed me big time. Great for not being loud and sounding good at the same time. Hope this helped you buy this, It's worth it if your looking for a small little practice/vacation amp.

Never have I heard tone or just outright over sound quality like this in an amp with something smaller than a 12" speaker. All the practice amps I've tried over the years have sounded like tin cans to me. I have played 2X12 combos that were not nearly as full sounding. It's deep pool and just awesome. But the optional app for PC editor takes this amp from being great to downright amazing. Using the app via my Android my cell phone allows me to edit all the parameters I can control the treble middle and bass frequencies independently all of the parameters for the effects like modulation depth, rate, speed high cut low-cut level, a variety of Reverb types all of the parameters of the Reverb and delays. Including access to two different types of compressors A Noise Gate and a variety of cab emulation. I would actually put this amplifier in the top 5 sounding amplifiers I've purchased in over 35 years of playing, right up there with vintage Marshalls, Mesa Boogie, Matchless this thing is that good and that impressive. And to top it off it's completely portable runs on batteries even I was absolutely floored and Amazed by this amplifier. If you're even remotely hesitant don't be it's a fantastic sounding amp a great investment just all-around fun to use, I would even be more than willing to use this at live shows and mic it, I would be perfectly happy and content with his amplifier if I had to get rid of my main amps I could be just fine with this one.

I was looking for a good practice amp and was deciding between this and a Blackstar Fly. Didn't have the chance to test the Fly...but man this THR5 is so amazing! I'm still asking how i didn't buy this before!!

This amp is one quality piece of audio equipment. From recording to just sitting around playing at low volumes, the Yamaha gives like no other in it's class. Don't be fooled by it's small size, it can really get loud yet staying crystal clear!

This little amp is great, it's lite, can run on 8 AA batteries, and sounds wonderful. I haven't turned it all the way up because I live in an appartment , but on half the volume it is so clear and tube lke sounding (when set on tube) its unbelievable. You won't be disappointed if you buy this amp.

This little practice amp is way bigger than its deceiving size and wattage rating. Luscious tones, intimate response, useful effects and convincing amp styles are all stuffed into the lunch box sized amp. I connect it to my computer to play with my backing tracks. They are delivered in stereo and my guitar stands out on top...Outstanding!

Right price. Right size and portable for practice OR when you want to to play a little soft, dreamy lullaby for your kids' bedtime(come on, you know you do)! Can also be played LOUD...

This Amp is awesome!I played one at my wedding and everyone afterwards asked where my big Amp was. I pointed to the floor beside the piano. It was borrowed and now thanks to Sweetwater I have own! Thanks Greg O'Keefe!

For a "desk top, practice" amp this is near perfect. Most importantly the tone and ease of use are excellent. I'd give it a full 5 stars but it has two issues. No presets - three or four savable presets would be great. We all want quick access to our clean, clean with slight OD, crunch, lead. Maybe the tech involved with doing presets would take this amp to the next level price-wise though. And also, price-wise, it is a lot of money for an amp you can neither gig with not band practice with. Compared to a Katana 50 there is no comparison for a bit more money. But... and this is a big but... unlike a full sized amp (like the 50) this THR sounds really good at lower volumes. No matter what full size amps say, even with the "low watt" setting they don't sound clear without pushing the volume up. The beauty of this Yamaha is that is sounds real nice even at lower volumes - and that's what a desk top practice amp is all about - sounding good at low volumes. I had the 30 watt THR which cost a whole lot more but the tech and blue tooth interface was extremely glitchy. That amp got quite loud and sounded ok even at loud levels - but that's not what I'm looking for in a desktop amp - there is no need to play it loud. If I'm playing loud I'll use a real amp. And, lastly I'd like to add, the THR looks pretty cool. That tube glow that comes from behind the grill, while obviously is fake, still looks pretty darn cool with the lights down low.

First, much thanks to Sweetwater for advice on this purchase, great folks to work with.

Pros (THR5): Great sound and portability. I"m amazed how much sound this amp delivers. Perfect choice for traveling- small, lightweight and delivers big sound. I play a Fender Jazzmaster and Tele with this amp, both of which sound super. Works well with looper pedal.

Cons: It is a modeling amp, sound not like a tube amp, but can adjust to find warm tones.

Recommendation: Highly recommend this amp (or similar THR) for travel/apartment, or even coffee shop jam. Recommend working with Sweetwater reps to explore THR line that will suit your needs.

This little amp is awesome! It completely met my expectations. I'm a jazzer with fusion tendencies (think Stevie Ray Vaughn's "Riviera Paradise" meets Jeff Beck's "Diamond Dust" meets Terje Rypdal's "The Pleasure Is Mine, I'm Sure" meets Brian Setzer's "Jade Idol") and I was able to dial-in some great approximations of my sounds from my normal set-up. The variability in amp models matched with the simple yet quality effects allowed me to get very close to my signature sounds. It would be nice if there was a little more bottom end but given the size and configuration of the speakers, it's perfectly understandable.
A fine tool with excellent tone and obvious convenient portability.

After having this a few months now, I need to add a half star. Man, the models on this thing are great! If you download the editor and hook it up to your laptop, you can really do a lot with this little box. I coaxed an exploding tweed sound perfect for early ZZ Top and Neil Young/Crazy Horse stuff out of the clean channel by diming the gain, volume, and tone, and then changing the speaker emulation to a 1x12 and rolling off bass and leveling off the mids and highs in the editor. Similarly, you can easily fine tune the crunch channel to sound more Vox like or more JTM like. While the THR5 doesn't have onboard user save functionality, the THR Editor software has something like 50 user presets, and all you have to do to use 'em is hook up the USB cable.

This thing seriously just needs a TR out to drive an external speaker to be the perfect practice amp.

Great tool. I have the POD 2.0 and I think this sounds and feels more Authentic. I have has this for one week and I think I am going to upgrade to the THR10 I am so happy with it. If you are looking for a great sounding desktop amp that sounds like the amps it models this is it. I am sure there will be much more downloads and sound samples in the future. This will be around for a while.

This is an excellent choice for someone looking for a small, low-volume amp with great sounds to use at home. I don't play with high gain sounds, so i just use the Clean, Crunch, and Lead channels. You have much more control over the settings if you connect the unit to your computer and use the editor.
I use this for just playing at low volumes, and recording simple tracks into Garageband- it couldn't be easier.
It would be nice if there was a way to save at least a couple of presets like you can on the THR10, but other than that, i can't think of anything i would change about this unit.

I didn't have high expectations for this amp given the price, given that, it certainly met or exceeded those. My primary complaint is that the amp sounds warmer than I had hoped, which might be desirable for some. The positive aspect of that warmth is that it gives the amp tube-like qualities instead of a more sterile sound you generally find with comparable amps at this level.

I like to play high-gain, so it misses some definition in that application. I didn't expect it to deliver in the high-gain category, because that's a high mark to achieve and would be unreasonable to expect for $. The British and Modern models are not as loud by comparison as the clean, crunch, and lead when switching between models. The clean and crunch are where this amp really delivers, with lead being a no man's land for me. Don't expect the controller software to work, because the USB driver won't install, at least on my Mac. If you're particular like me I would spring for the THR10 for the EQ functionality.

This is a starter amp for me, and a great value in keeping with Yamaha's reputation for quality, so overall I'm very happy with my purchase.

I have a thr10 at home, along with a few super nice tube amps. It is amazing how often the Yamaha gets the call when I just want to switch on and play. So when I needed a small amp for the beach house, I got a thr5.
The battery option is great for playing outside, and you get almost all the same tones as the bigger brother.
These little guys sound way bigger than their size.
I don't use them to make lots of noise, but they can step up if you want them to. Not a replacement for a Princeton reverb, but a great little amp in the right setting.

Bought this amp after watching numerous "demo's" in YouTube. I was a little skeptical about the time coming from this little lunchbox, but WOW is it impressive!

This little Yamaha not only looks good sitting in your living room (wife approved), but also sounds great....all 5 watts of it.

Great set up to sit and jam when you have a touch of downtime.

Just wanted something small for traveling. It has great sound for a little amp and provided just what I needed when traveling.

Man, this thing sounds surprisingly good, and it can get surprisingly loud, too! I was even able to coax some feedback out of it on the crunch channel!

The clean, crunch, and lead patches are wonderful to my ear. Think Blackface Fender Tremolux, Marshall 1974, and Marshall JTM45 and you get the general tonal picture for those patches. The Brit high gain sounds kind of like an Orange stack, and the American high gain sounds Peavey 5150ish to me, but I'm not much of a high gain player so I haven't tweaked and dabbled those as much. Those high gain patches would probably really come into their own using the USB patch cable to access the extra EQ knobs using the companion software.

The controls are dead easy, gain, tone, master volume, but the effects knobs can be a little touchy. The useable range on the reverbs is pretty narrow in my opinion, they get grainy and muddy turned up very far. The tremolo, delay, and chorus sound just fantastic, and the phaser/flanger effects sounded fine too (I don't use phaser or flanger much, but that's me). Especially the tremolo. Wow, it has a nice tremolo.

I really like being able to patch my phone in and play along with songs. Brilliant feature!

As it is, this is a nice super-portable practice amp for lessons, living room, and bedroom. Although it is a solid 10 watts, its twin 3" speakers are just not quite loud enough to cope with a drummer. If only it had a TS speaker out! That feature would make this a five-star product.

Very nice amp for apartment dwellers or people who need a quieter amp to keep the rest of the family happy. The amp models are very useful. It's not really what I consider a set it and forget it amp when going from one model to another. Takes a bit of time to find the sweet spot for each model but well worth the effort to find the right setting of gain, master and tone for each. The effects are nicely done and it takes my Wampler Euphoria OD pedal nicely as well. The computer tweakability is a nice feature. The ability to save those tweaks without being plugged into the computer would be nice but you know you don't get that going in. I haven't used it for recording but the headphone output sounds really nice. If you feel like spending the extra $100 getting the ability to save presets and have separate volume control for your aux in is worth considering. Overall I'm very happy with this one, meets my needs well.
Thanks to Randy Akins for his great service over the years, great guy and place to do business.

I am giving this a medium review because I think Yamaha has tried to cram too many functions into what the small size of the package can handle well. As a result, it doesn't do anything well enough. I think that in this smaller size unit they should have just stuck with making a more basically functional amplifier rather than trying to cram all the fancier stuff into it, and they could have still left all the fancier stuff for the software editor.
I have three areas of concern. The single tone control isn't very useful. I just couldn't get a good tone adjustment with it. The effects knob controls four effects, which means you have a very small arc of pot turn to control the effect and it is hard to fine tune the effect. I don't find the five amp simulations all necessary or useful. I think that a single clean/overdrive switch could effectively replace those onboard amp simulation choices whilst these amp simulations would still be accessed via the software editor. Along with the Gain and Master controls you would still get a good range of clean to overdrive with the stand-alone unit. They could have omitted the amp simulation knob and the effects knob and replaced those with three onboard EQ knobs. That would give better tone control for stand alone use of the unit.
HOWEVER: This unit does really come alive with the software editor where-in you have the full tone controls, and more effects, and you have many more parameters with which to tweak the effects. I did love the unit with the software editor.
But, that means you are tied to a second device. If you don't mind being tied to a second device then, great: You could love this unit. But, I didn't want to be tied to a second device all the time so I returned it and got a THR10, which has the full EQ controls; and that worked for me.
I think that Yamaha should rethink this smaller size unit for more basic, practical usefulness and let people who want both the onboard EQ and Effects get the THR10.

It's a well made amp and full of features. However, i had trouble with it turning off after a few minutes of play on battery power. it's portability is sort of its most appealing feature, but take that away and it's just okay. Reps Alan and Evan did a great job to try and solve the issue, but in the end i returned it. Too bad. maybe next time. I had never bought gear online before and Alan and Evan were very helpful and patient with me. 3 stars for the amp, 5 stars for them.

At very low volumes it sounds incredibly good. Put any volume to it and it rattles like crazy.Sounds like the speaker or something is loose inside but I couldn't find anything loose. That's with maybe a total of an hour of use. I have an extremely low tolerance for junk. So, into the trash it went. 2 brothers have the bigger version. They sound great and haven't a problem with them so it was probably just this amp. But as they say, You only get 1 shot to make a first impression. This little guy failed me.