6
Fender’s history
with modelling
amps goes all
the way back to
the original Cyber-Twin
from 2001, so it should
come as no surprise that
the company’s current
flagship modeller,
the Mustang GT, is
so impressive for the
money. Offering a
wealth of modelled amp
sounds from inside and
outside of the Fender
stable, artist presets,
app-based control and
wifi connectivity to
update the software and
add new features, the
Mustang GT promises
to keep getting better as
you do.7
It may not look
much like a
conventional
guitar amp, but
Yamaha’s THR10 was a
revelation when it first
appeared back in 2011
and continues to be a
hugely popular practice
amp today. One of the
first truly good-sounding
desktop amps, the THR
offers impressively
rounded and punchy
tones emulating classic
amps of various types,
while the battery-power
option and ability to
use it as a USB audio
interface further
cements it as a
home-amp essential.8
You may be
forgiven for
thinking the
Blackstar Fly 3
couldn’t possibly be a
proper amp, given its
tiny size, three watts of
solid-state power and
cheaper-than-an-effects-
pedal price. You’d be
wrong. The Fly’s
deceptively powerful
three-inch full-range
speaker delivers
impressive clean tones,
while the built-in delay
sound is great. With a
line-in for jamming
along to songs and a
headphone out that
places your guitar sound
at the centre of the
stereo field, the
Fly is the first micro-
amp that genuinely
sounds good and it’s an
office favourite.