Mesa Boogie vs. Vox? ? ?

[Jon87]

Okay I would get a mesa boogie rectifier head,...but that means I would have to buy a cab and I am gonna be goin back to college. Well I was lookin at the new Vox AC-30. I saw that bands such as Switchfoot, and etc...uses that amp. Are Vox's capable of heavy distortion? I am not talking about metal distortion, but pop/alternative distortion...and does it handle that well?

Plus it is a hell of a lot easier to handle a combo amp right now.

 

[Jon87]

Re: Mesa Boogie vs. Vox? ? ?

And i will be puttin a Epi Les Paul with JB and 59 straight into it...with maybe a Rat pedal if needed. . .

 

[Voxman]

Re: Mesa Boogie vs. Vox? ? ?

i use my ac 30 cc for punk/rock!

 

[YJM_Rocks]

Re: Mesa Boogie vs. Vox? ? ?

The Mesa will give face melting unlimited distortion. The vox is probably more suited to more mildly distorted tones.

 

[jony]

Re: Mesa Boogie vs. Vox? ? ?

If you use pedals into it should not be a problem..

 

[Robert S.]

Re: Mesa Boogie vs. Vox? ? ?

I have wanted a Vox AC-30 for as long as I can remember but I want an old one and the price of the oldies or a ptp are simply out of reach. They want big bucks for the real deal.

I receintly bought a V32 Palimano from the local CG and got it out the door for $435. You have to have serious buying skills to pull it off but it is possinle, believe me.

I stick an un-modded TS-9 in front of it and I get six different levels of gain from fat cleans to STP type metal.

It's not a Vox, it's not my 2203 and it doesn't touch the flexability of my Mesa rack but for under $600 it's a rig that I am not ashamed to play and I can be very picky about what I plug into. For an asian pc knockoff amp this rig has serious balls. Even my amp tech who builds his own stuff thought it was a killer sounding amp for the money.

Just something to think about..........

 

[Gunny47]

Re: Mesa Boogie vs. Vox? ? ?

Don't forget that Vox AC-30s are loud. Just saying, you said you were going to use it in college (Im guessing a dorm) and there is no way that you can crank that thing up much. You will be forced to use a pedal and you wont get the best distorted tones with that. Just something to keep in mind.

 

[34029324079]

Re: Mesa Boogie vs. Vox? ? ?

And i will be puttin a Epi Les Paul with JB and 59 straight into it...with maybe a Rat pedal if needed. . .

that is my guitar setup basically...

If I were you I would consider whether I have time in college to join a band or not...

Yes? Vox would supply great tone, mesa boogie recto and mesa boogie mark IV come in combos

No? PODxt for recording would be a great option...

I have played vox and recto/mark IV and love the mesas

 

[TimmyPage]

Re: Mesa Boogie vs. Vox? ? ?

Don't forget that Vox AC-30s are loud. Just saying, you said you were going to use it in college (Im guessing a dorm) and there is no way that you can crank that thing up much. You will be forced to use a pedal and you wont get the best distorted tones with that. Just something to keep in mind.

Master Volume Control, friend. Sure it may not sound as sex-tastic, but its great for low volume practice. Then crank it to hell and bust into Somebody to Love.

 

[Gunny47]

Re: Mesa Boogie vs. Vox? ? ?

O yea...I TOTALLY forgot about that thing! Now I remember, I played a Vox AC15CC and used the master volume control with some good results. Some master volumes suck though, but the Vox one is pretty good. I think the AC-30CC is built better than the AC15 and has more stuff on the control panel, so if you are going to go Vox, go with the AC-30, and please do yourself a favor and spend the extra for the blue speakers.

 

[Binnerscot]

Re: Mesa Boogie vs. Vox? ? ?

If you are considering Vox and Mesa, try a Mesa F series like an F-50. It is a very cool amp, kind of Vox/Marshall/Fender meets Mesa. The cleans are great like a Fender, the distortion is kind of smooth like Santana, and the contour mode is like a mix of a Marshall and a Recto. It has a good amount of gain. The EQ on the lead channel is very subtle, unlike the Recto. I have an F-30 and a Recto, I love both equally.

It still sounds decent at low volumes, but it will beg you to turn it up.

 

[OlinMusic]

Re: Mesa Boogie vs. Vox? ? ?

I have never heard anyone compare Mesa and Vox (unless talking about the Blue Angel).

I agree the F50 is a nice amp. I think you should also consider the Rectoverb or Lonestar if you want some versatility

 

[Nite_Maresz_25]

Re: Mesa Boogie vs. Vox? ? ?

HUUUUUUUGE +1 to the F-series! I love that crap out of my F-50! damn fine amps!(very versitle too)

 

[daemon barbeque]

Re: Mesa Boogie vs. Vox? ? ?

fully driven AC30 and a Dit./OvDr. pedal are not a good combination.A tonesoup with no definition.But gain on 6/7 and rat gain on 5 will really get mad nice lead tones.I tried it with my rocktron rampage(rampage has 70db gain!!!) and it worked really well.
But the f 50 /f 100 are really great amps.I do not like any recto ,but the f series and marks are really great amps.And the f series are affordable too!!

 

[Robert S.]

Re: Mesa Boogie vs. Vox? ? ?

The only problem with the F-50 amps is that they aren't a class A amp.

I love all my class A/B amps but the class A and open-ended stuff really has it's own flavor. I think the Tremoverbs or Blue Angel series amps are a closer fit to the Vox tube stuff but everyone has their preferences.

The V series Crate amps really are hot for the money and even with my Mesa and Marshall stuff the V32 Palamino really does hold it's ground, especially with a TS-9 in front.

Until six months ago I would have said that all Crate stuff was crap. The build quality isn't as nice as with my more expensive amps but they do have tone, and if you don't abuse them too much they do tend to stay put toghether.

 

[bungalowbill]

Re: Mesa Boogie vs. Vox? ? ?

The only problem with the F-50 amps is that they aren't a class A amp.

I love all my class A/B amps but the class A and open-ended stuff really has it's own flavor. I think the Tremoverbs or Blue Angel series amps are a closer fit to the Vox tube stuff but everyone has their preferences.

The V series Crate amps really are hot for the money and even with my Mesa and Marshall stuff the V32 Palamino really does hold it's ground, especially with a TS-9 in front.

Until six months ago I would have said that all Crate stuff was crap. The build quality isn't as nice as with my more expensive amps but they do have tone, and if you don't abuse them too much they do tend to stay put toghether.

+1 The Crate isn't built as tough as a Mesa, but my V-32 with a 12H30 speaker walks all over the F-30 I had. I run a MI Audio Crunch Box and a Bad Monkey through it and get a lot of good tones for little coin.