richard parker
New member
Took a trip to my local music shop today (GAK Brighton - great bunch of people). I was looking to treat myself to a new practice amp as an early retirement present. I've been youtubing for a few weeks and had decided that it was going to be either the Yamaha THR10 or the Blackstar ID TVP 15. I had pretty much convinced myself that it was going to be the Yamaha. Bear in mind that I am only looking for a practice amp, not a recording tool.
So, on arriving at the shop I told Dave what I was after and grabbed an SG Standard for a try out. At this stage I had only mentioned the Yamaha. I tried a few of the amp models and I was truly surprised. It sounded TERRIBLE. In fact it sounded exactly like what it is - a tin can. I can't tell you how disappointed I was.
Next stop the Blackstar. Now this is a very different proposition. It's a fair size and quite weighty for a modelling beasty. It sounds a LOT better than the Yamaha. I wanted something that would give me a reasonable facscimile of my Cornford Roadhouse but at home volumes. After half an hour of twiddling I'm getting close. Is it as good as valves ? No, but it's a good sound in it's own right. There's a lot to mess around with between the amp options and the different output valve simulations. It has a nice response under the fingers and bags of sustain if you want it.
The Yamaha is not intended for gigging but you could easily do a small pub gig with the Blackstar. It is HELLISH loud but sounds just as good at really low volume. A few years ago I did a load of gigs with a Marshall Studio 15w 1 x 12 combo with a 2 x 6v6 output stage. The Blackstar with the master at half way is a lot louder than that amp. I'm off to make more racket before Mrs gets home.
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So, on arriving at the shop I told Dave what I was after and grabbed an SG Standard for a try out. At this stage I had only mentioned the Yamaha. I tried a few of the amp models and I was truly surprised. It sounded TERRIBLE. In fact it sounded exactly like what it is - a tin can. I can't tell you how disappointed I was.
Next stop the Blackstar. Now this is a very different proposition. It's a fair size and quite weighty for a modelling beasty. It sounds a LOT better than the Yamaha. I wanted something that would give me a reasonable facscimile of my Cornford Roadhouse but at home volumes. After half an hour of twiddling I'm getting close. Is it as good as valves ? No, but it's a good sound in it's own right. There's a lot to mess around with between the amp options and the different output valve simulations. It has a nice response under the fingers and bags of sustain if you want it.
The Yamaha is not intended for gigging but you could easily do a small pub gig with the Blackstar. It is HELLISH loud but sounds just as good at really low volume. A few years ago I did a load of gigs with a Marshall Studio 15w 1 x 12 combo with a 2 x 6v6 output stage. The Blackstar with the master at half way is a lot louder than that amp. I'm off to make more racket before Mrs gets home.
.