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Its been about three months since buying my Yamaha strat and Blackstar Fly 3 practice amp. I fancy upgrading to a more versatile amp (more effects to play with) and these two amps seem to be 'in' at the moment as top buys.
So how can I choose? As far as I know, the Yamaha has a fair bit more to play with but also costs a fair bit more! Like £255 to £100. Money is not really an issue but I abhor wasting it!
The Yamaha has one feature which really appeals to me and that is the 5-button memory feature. I'm assuming that after spending 10 minutes getting just the sound I want for this song, I can sink the settings in memory to recall later. Right? OTOH, the Blackstar seems way better Value-for-money, especially as I'm a beginner and not too particular about my sounds.
TBH, I don't really need anything better than my Fly 3 ; I just fancy it. I'm thinking I've got a bit of GAS that needs attending to? STilll - I want something!
Any opinions to help me decide?
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Comments
*An Official Foo-Approved guitarist since Sept 2023.
*An Official Foo-Approved guitarist since Sept 2023.
ARRGGHHHH!!!!!! So much good stuff! So many choices! I'm really attracted to the Boss eband js-10 mentioned above (thanks drippycat); that looks really good! Lots of setting to play with! And that Vox Mini (thanks simonk) just might be better value than them all! At least I can discount the Boss Katana and VOX (thanks anyway, sweepy & unckedick) on the grounds that my room is very small!
I'm now worried that by spend another 20% I can get something better still and suddenly I'm up at £500 which, not exactly out of budget but probably way out of my playing level! Where does it all end?
i think the THR is great for cleans and light break up. Not for high gain though
Remember, it's easier to criticise than create!
Good
- Exceptional value for money, you will not get better for < £100
- Nice selection of tones and effects, especially if you plug it into your PC and tweak with Insider, but also fine on its own.
- Its a good size, mine is sitting on top of my desktop pc.
- The current v2 model is presumably a bit better, so that's good.
- Good basic recording ability through USB, can track straight into audacity for quick and dirty recording.
Bad
- Stupid issue with hiss, that they frankly should have fixed in v2 and apparently have not, that seems to be a circuit board design problem. This isn't THAT bad.
- I guess, probably there are reasons why this is £100 and a THR is £250...
People love and swear by their THRs but they cost 2.5 times as much, so they need to be somewhat better.
If you have a £250 budget, that brings dozens of amps into your price range, you start getting up to little valve combos, or an organge micro terror and a little cab. Whatever you plug in, turn on and do a quick strum and you are like "YERSSS!".
Go into a decent store and say you want a nice practice amp and you have a £250 budget and you have a fun afternoon lined up!
I'd consider the Katana if size isn't an issue.
Not sure what a second hand Core 10 might go for of course (which is a fair comparison), I'd imagine about £75 or so, which is a ludicrously small amount of money for something so capable.
We should love this age of cheap electronics while it lasts.
I've had some decent solid state amps but they just didn't sound right when turned down to whisper volume. My valve amps are not at their best at this level either so the combination of sounds and convenience of the THR means it gets used almost every day.
Obviously pros & cons for each of alternatives. I've got a THR10C, and love it. The Blackstar wasn't on my menu, and the Yamaha is a very very good solid piece of kit. A good quality second hand would be a great buy, but you won't get the guarantee when buying new.
Ask yourself, what's important. Draw up a list of criteria, then get yourself to a Yamaha/Blackstar/Fender dealer and work your way through the options. You might come away surprised, but satisfied you've done the due diligence bit.