Excellent new amp for uke - Gerald Ross

Gerald Ross

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Just picked up an amazing amp for the uke or acoustic guitar. I got it at Elderly Instruments this morning. The Yamaha THR5A. I already own a THR10 but was blown away by the 5A. The 10 emulates famous electric guitar amplifiers (Fender, Marshall etc.) while the 5A emulates microphones (condenser, dynamic, tube). The 5A sounds incredible with my uke, guitar and even electric lap steel. Best of all it's 2 pounds lighter, 4" shorter than the 10. It only weighs 4 pounds. Fit's in my suitcase when I fly!

[video]http://www.acousticguitar.com/Gear/Reviews/Yamaha-THR5A-Review[/video]
 
Thanks for sharing.
 
Just picked up an amazing amp for the uke or acoustic guitar. I got it at Elderly Instruments this morning. The Yamaha THR5A. I already own a THR10 but was blown away by the 5A. The 10 emulates famous electric guitar amplifiers (Fender, Marshall etc.) while the 5A emulates microphones (condenser, dynamic, tube). The 5A sounds incredible with my uke, guitar and even electric lap steel. Best of all it's 2 pounds lighter, 4" shorter than the 10. It only weighs 4 pounds. Fit's in my suitcase when I fly!

[video]http://www.acousticguitar.com/Gear/Reviews/Yamaha-THR5A-Review[/video]

To Mr. Ross....

Would it be worth selling my Roland AC-33 to purchase this?
 
Does it cost a lot of dough, Gerald?
 
Ooh, this is nice. I think you just made my Christmas shopping a little easier.
 
I was in the market for a small acoustic amp. This looks like it fits the bill nicely, thanks.

Has anyone who owns one tried passing the signal on to a bigger amp (using the Yamaha amp as a pre-amp)?
I am thinking of a situation in which you could use it on stage and pass its output into the mixer. Is that possible? Effective?
 
From the linked review in Acoustic Guitar it seems it's a "bedroom, living room or studio" amp, not powerful enough for busking, or performance.
 
I was in the market for a small acoustic amp. This looks like it fits the bill nicely, thanks.

Has anyone who owns one tried passing the signal on to a bigger amp (using the Yamaha amp as a pre-amp)?
I am thinking of a situation in which you could use it on stage and pass its output into the mixer. Is that possible? Effective?

There is no XLR output.

- FiL
 
I noticed that, but I was wondering if anyone had used the phones output connected to an amp. Or is that not advisable?
 
I've never tried the headphone output jack as a line-out or even a headphone :) So I can't answer the question.

In terms of volume, the THR5A is plenty loud for around-the-house and small acoustic jam sessions. By itself in a loud amplified setting (bandstand, concert) it cannot compete with a drum set, electric guitar and bass, brass etc. But, last summer I played in Bethesda, MD at the Strathmore Uke/Guitar summit. At the outdoor concert (about 2000 people in the audience) I used a THR10 (same wattage, speakers, etc. as the THR5A) - the sound person placed a microphone in front of the THR10, fed the signal through the sound board and it sounded like a huge amp and filled the entire concert area with clean undistorted sound.

Someone asked, "should I sell my Roland AC-33?" The AC-33 has bigger speakers and functions better on batteries.

There is a battery issue with the THR5A and all THR amps when running solely on battery power. The entire amp will shut off if you turn the volume up too high or if you hit a particularily loud note or chord. Yamaha knows about this flaw in design and refuses to do anything about it. Because of this I only use the amp plugged into AC. The THR amps function fine on AC - no shut offs. Roland battery powered amps do not have this problem.
 
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Update on battery issue.

Two nights ago I installed 8 fresh AA batteries. The amp worked beautifully at all volumes. I say I have about 3-4 hours of playing time on these cells and the am is still going strong. I did some research and most people use eneloop rechargeables with these amps. Eneloops are supposed to last much longer and are cheaper in the long run (rechargeable). I have a set of 8 heading my way via FedEx. Will report back my results.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/995692-REG/sanyo_hr_mqn10a4n_eneloop_xx_aa_battery.html
 
From what I've read there is a circuit in the design of the THR amps that shut down the amp if the electricity powering it falls below a certain level. The amp shuts off instead of just sounding quieter and quieter or more distorted or whatever. Apparently these eneloop batteries have more power and discharge their juice slower as opposed to typical AA batteries. So with AA batteries the THR just sucks the life out of them quicker and faster at loud volumes. Not so with the eneloops. I'll test out that theory this weekend and report back.
 
Again, let me make it clear...

The shut-off ONLY OCCURS WHEN ON BATTERY POWER.

When you are plugged into the wall and using AC the amp functions beautifully 100% of the time.

I'll report the results of my new rechargeable high-powered batteries next week.
 
Folks, if you haven't seen Mr. Ross' videos on YouTube you are missing a real treat!

amazing stuff, very well done, and wonderful song selection.
 
If I understand things correctly, this Yamaha amp will power an instrument, but not and instrument and a vocal mic. Is this not another difference between it and the Roland AC-33? I own neither, and don't understand amps well, but I'm trying to get it figured out....
 
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