Goodbye tubes, welcome Yamaha THR100H !

[MajorSeven]

This week the last tube amp I owned left the house.
Too loud, too heavy, too expensive etc.
Here is my new rig, and so far I am very happy with IT!
I use the CLEAN channel only in Class A/B in 6V6 mode with three different Overdrives in front of it (TRex Alberta II and Dr Swamp and J Rockett Blue Note).

 

[WisconsinStrings]

That looks sweet! It doesn't look light though.

 

[tattypicker]

Very nice. What did it replace?

 

[MajorSeven]

That looks sweet! It doesn't look light though.

Thanks! For me it's very well portable. The Box has 14kg, the rack maybe 10kg. My Fender HRD was like 20kg.
The tc electronic G Sharp offers everything I need, great reverbs and delays, beautiful Chorus. Limited, yes, you can't use Chorus and delay simultaneously, I can live with that.
Didn't think I would carry around a 19" rack again.

 

[MajorSeven]

Very nice. What did it replace?

Fender Hot Rod Deluxe, I really loved the sound, but it was a permanent discussion with the rest of the band and FOH guys. And my back is glad we got rid of it.

 

[tattypicker]

Comparing clean tone with clean tone, do you think the THR could keep up with the HRD? You said “too loud”. Do you think the THR is quieter overall, or just more controllable through a useable range of volumes.

 

[ChicknPickn]

This week the last tube amp I owned left the house.
Too loud, too heavy, too expensive etc.
Here is my new rig, and so far I am very happy with IT!
I use the CLEAN channel only in Class A/B in 6V6 mode with three different Overdrives in front of it (TRex Alberta II and Dr Swamp and J Rockett Blue Note).

I get it. Tubes once were magical. Now, in my opinion, they're quaint. And fragile. And the question really becomes . . . . are they worth the effort in the new world of solid state?

 

[northernguitar]

I get it. Tubes once were magical. Now, in my opinion, they're quaint. And fragile. And the question really becomes . . . . are they worth the effort in the new world of solid state?

Abso-freakin'-lutely!!!

But yeah, this tech is very cool. I like the concept of the Yamaha amp. Very familiar controls, no flippin' cursor window.

Congrats!

 

[MajorSeven]

I get it. Tubes once were magical. Now, in my opinion, they're quaint. And fragile. And the question really becomes . . . . are they worth the effort in the new world of solid state?

I agree. You can have tons of fun with tubeamps if you're Joe Bonamassa. But as a hobby musician they tend to give you more trouble than fun, at least to my experience.

 

[Happy Enchilada]

I spent a while on safari seeking an amp that I could use at home and take out if the need arose. Budget was a concern to an extent (wanted to stay under a grand). And it needed to be comparatively light weight to save on my back. Most of all, it needed to sound good to my ear.

After a great deal of research - reading copious amounts of text online in reviews, forums, etc. - I decided that I'd look for a solid state amp because they're lighter than tube amps and can take more schlepping around. Plus most of the better ones come with power scaling switches (think attenuator) so I can get decent breakup without rattling the windows.

Couple of other features I sought included a line out to the PA, since that's how most places do these days. And the amp I settled on has a volume control for the speaker and a separate one for the line out, which means you can use it as a monitor of sorts.

The amp I ended up with was the Quilter Aviator Cub. It has 3 input jacks for Tweed, Blonde, and Black. It goes from "bedroom volume" to a LOUD 50 Watts. Plus decent reverb. After reading some comments in another thread, I might get a delay pedal and use that instead for greater control. That and my Blues Driver and I'm good to go.

One thing that really swayed my decision was that when I emailed Quilter, I got an answer from Pat himself. He really took time to explain stuff and I got an overall impression that I was in good hands.

I could have spent lots more that the $650 I dropped on the Cub. But I don't think I could have gotten my money's worth.

 

[MajorSeven]

I spent a while on safari seeking an amp that I could use at home and take out if the need arose. Budget was a concern to an extent (wanted to stay under a grand). And it needed to be comparatively light weight to save on my back. Most of all, it needed to sound good to my ear.

After a great deal of research - reading copious amounts of text online in reviews, forums, etc. - I decided that I'd look for a solid state amp because they're lighter than tube amps and can take more schlepping around. Plus most of the better ones come with power scaling switches (think attenuator) so I can get decent breakup without rattling the windows.

Couple of other features I sought included a line out to the PA, since that's how most places do these days. And the amp I settled on has a volume control for the speaker and a separate one for the line out, which means you can use it as a monitor of sorts.

The amp I ended up with was the Quilter Aviator Cub. It has 3 input jacks for Tweed, Blonde, and Black. It goes from "bedroom volume" to a LOUD 50 Watts. Plus decent reverb. After reading some comments in another thread, I might get a delay pedal and use that instead for greater control. That and my Blues Driver and I'm good to go.

One thing that really swayed my decision was that when I emailed Quilter, I got an answer from Pat himself. He really took time to explain stuff and I got an overall impression that I was in good hands.

I could have spent lots more that the $650 I dropped on the Cub. But I don't think I could have gotten my money's worth.

Haven't dealt with Quilters yet, sounds like it's worth taking a Look.

 

[lmjmitchell]

Nice!

Yamaha amps are underrated.

 

[Milspec]

There was time where you could find that amp head on the used market for real cheap. I had the chance twice for a bargain, but I didn't go with it for reasons that I don't recall at the moment.

 

[brookdalebill]

Cool!

 

[MajorSeven]

Comparing clean tone with clean tone, do you think the THR could keep up with the HRD? You said “too loud”. Do you think the THR is quieter overall, or just more controllable through a useable range of volumes.

What I liked about the HRD was its immediate and direct response. The clean Sound of the THR is let's say "sweeter" or less aggressive? Someone here in TDPRI wrote that it sounded like his 65 Princeton RI, maybe that comes closer?
Volume: yes, the THR sounds great already at bedroom volumes. The HRD (III by the way) sounded good for me with clean volume at 3+, but then it was already too loud for our small rehearsal room (50s/60s Rock'n'Roll Rockabilly band).
Maybe the HRD sounds more like the THR CRUNCH channel with the gain way down low.
ALL sound settings of the THR are great and usable with little tweaking, I play Tele, Strat and sometimes Les Paul, easy to get good tones out of, and as I mentioned, takes pedals very well.

 

[tattypicker]

What I liked about the HRD was its immediate and direct response. The clean Sound of the THR is let's say "sweeter" or less aggressive? Someone here in TDPRI wrote that it sounded like his 65 Princeton RI, maybe that comes closer?
Volume: yes, the THR sounds great already at bedroom volumes. The HRD (III by the way) sounded good for me with clean volume at 3+, but then it was already too loud for our small rehearsal room (50s/60s Rock'n'Roll Rockabilly band).
Maybe the HRD sounds more like the THR CRUNCH channel with the gain way down low.
ALL sound settings of the THR are great and usable with little tweaking, I play Tele, Strat and sometimes Les Paul, easy to get good tones out of, and as I mentioned, takes pedals very well.

I know what you mean by "sweet". I'm not sure it really gets near the sound of cranked blackface tone except by dialing in the built-in boost. When I was last in full rehearsal mode, I also felt that it needed some of that boost to make itself heard - although we've since been talking about the need to bring the overall noise level down a bit. It's certainly very, very practical at home practice or other lower volume levels.

 

[DanielK]

Congrats! I owned and gigged a THR100H with the matching cab for a long time. Have since moved on to helix since I'm headphones only now, but I miss that amp and cab. Really fat sounds, good cabinet design. I think the single channel head has a lot of merits, I didn't feel the need to step up to the 100HD at any point.

 

[stormsedge]

Cool rig!

 

[naveed211]

Haven't dealt with Quilters yet, sounds like it's worth taking a Look.

Quilters are great. I have one and have praised it on here quite a bit. Even saying something like I didn’t need tube amps and was totally happy.

I ended up going back to tubes, I do just love the sound of them. Still have the Quilter for a backup amp.

A lunchbox head and a lightweight cab solves most of the problems you were mentioning, but I absolutely understand the practicality advantage for solid state, and there are some great solid state amps.

 

[MajorSeven]

Congrats! I owned and gigged a THR100H with the matching cab for a long time. Have since moved on to helix since I'm headphones only now, but I miss that amp and cab. Really fat sounds, good cabinet design. I think the single channel head has a lot of merits, I didn't feel the need to step up to the 100HD at any point.

Same with me, since I use my OD pedals I feel no need for the 100HD.