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The THR10 has five electric guitar sounds, plus bass, acoustic and 'flat' (for keys, for example).

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• Review

Despite making more musical instruments than any other brand on earth, Yamaha isn't exactly the first name you'd associate with electric guitar amplification.

Although the solid-state GA-15 practice amp is still a fixture of the catalogue, the DG series modelling amplifiers have long since been discontinued, and you'd have to go back to the valve-powered T50 and T100 designed by Mike Soldano in the late 1980s to find a Yamaha amp capable of getting pulses racing. However, that could all be set to change thanks to Yamaha's newest foray into the world of guitar amps - the THR.

The THR theory is sound: most serious guitarists have a big amp that does the business at band levels, but is way too loud for home use. Many will also have a smaller combo for rehearsals and intimate gigs.

"With the master and volume controls pushed hard, there's remarkable bottom end on tap."

But even a low-wattage valve amp with built-in attenuation can be too loud in a domestic context, and will the other half let you keep an ugly practice amp in the lounge? Forget about it.

A THR? Well, it might just fill the gap. And then some.

Unboxing the units, we're struck by the smart retro cosmetics that bring to mind in equal parts a lunchbox amp head and a high-end DAB radio. Both models have a pair of full-range eight centimetre stereo speakers onboard so, unlike a mini valve head, you don't need an additional cabinet.

Neither THR model would look out of place on a shelf or desktop and they are certainly more discreet than a 1 x 12 combo, or a home audio system for that matter. Only the textured plastic section of the casing cheapens the appearance a little - some sort of wood veneer would be
a classier alternative.

That said, these aren't strictly living room amps; eight AA batteries enable you to hone your skills or jam along with your iPod in remote locations thanks to the 1/8-inch aux input. It's perfect for an impromptu Gobi Desert blues jam session, or more realistically, for blasting out the soundtrack to a summer camping trip.

You might assume that the chief difference between the THR5 and THR10 is one of output wattage, but in fact both units are rated at 10-watts (five either side) and house identical speakers - the model names don't denote output power.

The larger THR10 benefits from the versatility of three additional core sounds (bass, acoustic and flat), five memory locations for storing sounds, a three-band EQ as opposed to a tone pot and separate output controls for guitar and USB/aux.

Under the hood, both THR units use Yamaha's new Virtual Circuit Modelling (VCM) technology for core sound generation, with the control response designed to mimic the 'real thing' - valve amps. In this instance, the five amp models offer a range of Fender, Vox, Marshall and Boogie-style benchmark sounds that should be familiar to anyone who has used any amp modelling hardware of the last decade.