The word “portable” is one of those marketing words that companies often use when they suddenly think to add a handle to a 100 pound piece of gear. As most of you know by now, I’m a frequent flyer and I’m always looking for gear that is truly portable. This means that the gear in question should be small, light, easy-to-carry, and provide few hassles when going through airport security.

I’ve played with various portable amps and found very few that actually fit this definition. Most, even if small, are too blocky or ill-designed to carry efficiently and the really small ones just don’t have respectable sound quality. Fortunately, I was sent a relatively new product called the “Thin Amp” from AXL. As we will see, it is a nifty little portable amp with some really intriguing features.

The ThinAmp from AXL

The first thing I noticed when I opened the box was the included carrying case. For a very brief moment, I thought that maybe somebody made a mistake and I was sent a laptop instead! I mean the case looks exactly like a laptop case – shoulder strap and all. This baby was meant to travel.

Opening the case revealed the amp sitting snugly within – held in place by a Velcro® strap. A power supply and a car adapter are included in the case. I felt that the car adapter was a nice touch since I could instantly see plugging in during a road trip or tailgating party where a standard outlet may not be available. There is an optional rechargeable battery pack available that adds up to three hours of wall-wart freedom. The amp does not support the use of standard batteries, so I was disappointed that this was a separate purchase. You should be aware of this if you require an amp that needs to be battery powered.



The feature list suggests that this amp has 18 digital effects. However, in truth, there are really five effects – each with various setting variations. All of these effects are manipulated by using the front panel. The easiest of these is the digital delay on the right hand side of the panel. Unfortunately, one of the drawbacks of this amp is that changing the other four effect settings can be a bit confusing. In essence, the large knob on the left turns to one five presets labeled Bypass, A, B, C, and D, which correspond to clean signal, ambience, vibrato, flange, and chorus, respectively. Each of the lettered settings can then be positioned to one of four settings. It is much easier to modify the EQ by using one of the three knobs available corresponding to bass, middle, and treble.

Of particular interest to me were the input and output options. First, the ThinAmp has a ¼” output jack principally designed for headphones; however, this jack can also be used to send a pre-amplified signal to a recording device. Second, you can also open a hidden panel to reveal RCA inputs and outputs. This is particularly useful for hooking up audio devices such as MP3 and CD players for play along practice and jamming to backing tracks.



Features at a Glance

• 10 Watts RMS driven through two 4 Inch Speakers
• 18 Digital Effects based around delay, ambience, vibrato, flanger & chorus
• 3 Band EQ (Bass, Middle, Treble)
• Dimensions of 13” x 11” x 2” inches
• Retractable legs allow amp to stand at approximately a 45°
• Very light at only 5lbs
• Multiple inputs/outputs including RCA and Headphone Out
• DC Transformer and Car Adapter included
• Includes Carrying Case
• Rechargeable battery pack available as an optional accessory


Setup and Sound Test

The ThinAmp was a breeze to setup. Simply press the two buttons on the side of the amp and two legs extend to provide support for the amp to stand at a 45 degree angle. Plug in the power supply, a guitar, and press the power switch and you are ready to rock. The ThinAmp also breaks down easily and the case has enough room to put your guitar cables, picks, a book or two, and maybe a tuner. The amp itself does not have a built in tuner so you will want to make sure you bring one along.

Let’s get this out of the way. This amp is not going to blow you out the room. It is a 10 watt amp with two 4” speakers. If you can get past the idea that all amps should sound like a giant Marshall stack then you will definitely appreciate that this amp provides the perfect amount of volume for an office, a hotel room (maybe even too loud for a hotel – bring the headphones if you plan on playing late!), or a small setting like a campfire or living room. So, while this amp is probably not loud enough for street corner busking – it is certainly adequate for bedroom practice and lunchtime jams at the office.

I tested the sound of this amp using an Alvarez AF60CK acoustic guitar and a Greg Bennett RL-4 semi-hollow body electric guitar. I also hooked up a CD player using a mini-plug to RCA cable.

Given that this amp is 2” thin, I thought the sound quality was pretty good. Overall, I think the digital delay was probably the best effect, with reverb coming in second. I learned quickly that you must use the gain knob judiciously on the ThinAmp since turning it up can easily send this amp into overdrive.

Between electric and acoustic guitar, the electric certainly sounded the best – especially for classic rock and blues – however, by using the “Bypass” setting I was able to get a nice clean signal for my acoustic.

I did notice that the amp was sensitive to RF interference. I briefly picked up a television signal through the amplifier when connected directly to the wall. Thankfully, power conditioning using the Furman Power Factor Pro eliminated this unwanted noise.

Conclusion

The AXL ThinAmp represents a new breed of truly portable amplifiers. I really liked that this amplifier was light and easy to set up. The laptop style case makes this amplifier a breeze to haul around. Although the effects are a bit confusing, you can generally tweak your way through the settings to find an acceptable sound. My favorite for electric guitar was to run a bypassed clean signal with some gain and a touch of digital delay – then I used the guitar’s volume knob to go from clean to dirty. Nevertheless, this amp is not enormously loud, but should provide enough volume for practice settings. The ability to plug a music device into the amp really improves its versatility.

In future incarnations of the ThinAmp, I would like to see the battery pack included in the package and the effects panel simplified. The internal workings might also need to be shielded a bit better to avoid RF interference.

Depending on your needs, the ThinAmp may or may not be for you; however, in my view the ThinAmp sets a new standard in portable amplifiers. As such, the ThinAmp from AXL is awarded the GearHead Approved award for 2005.



Written by Daniel L. Halberg

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