New Vox amps?

T

Thurisarz

New member
I want to step up too a hybrid/all tube amp and i'm going to use it for practice at home and gigs and rehearsals at church. I have always liked Vox and i want to continue to use it, is there something for me in there catalogue today? How many W do i need (It's not a big church, around 80-100 people)? I don't need it to be good with hi-gain.

Has anyone tried the VOX VR-30, Valvetronics 15/30? How was the sound, quality etc? What sort of tubes have the classic Vox sound?
 
Re: New Vox amps?

I had an AD30 for a while - it could get decent loud but probably not for 10 people setting - also had some rattle at full bore. Better bet would be the AD50 with the 12" speaker - more tone, little more power especially if you want to push a clean tone out to the masses... Great amps tone-wise!

Dano
 
Re: New Vox amps?

Def go for the AD50. I have one myself and love it. I needed something quick when my Marshall's PT got a short and the cost to fix it was more than replacing the amp so, I at the recommendation of a fellow forum bro, I checked it out. Perfect fit. It's the best sounding modeller I've heard to date, IMO.

Check out the wattage selector on the back. Read the manual online at the Vox site about what it does and then take your guitar to the store to check it out and play with that wattage selector. It's a great feature that I wish more amps had.
 
Re: New Vox amps?

Our music director has a Valvetronix 30W. I played through it at rehearsal last night (I wasn't expecting to play guitar). I was using a NAFTA tele and a TS9 Tubescreamer. I didn't play with the settings/effects, but I was quite impressed with that amp.

I was amazed at how well it responded to the TS9. The amp seemed very responsive overall, and I'm sure the other settings would be :cool3: as well. I could dig it, I believe.
 
Re: New Vox amps?

Just got back from band practice today. I used the Tweed 4x10 (Bassman) model for most of the day and switched to the UK 80's (JCM800) for higher gain stuff. For the first time in forever, I played straight to the amp. The last few times I had a booster out front that I built last year but today I decided to have a go without it. Wow, I love the Bassman model in this thing. It is so touch sensitive, fat, cleans up nice when rolling the guitar volume back and cuts through wonderfully. With the gain and volume up full, which is how I use it, it just has this wonderful growl to it and you can hear the natural sag that is in the actual amps. It's great.

The Wattage selector is the coolest feature ever on an amp that I've used. I had the Master Volume at 2 o'clock and set the Wattage selector to about 1-2 o'clock, making it probably 30-35 watts output. No problems cutting through. I mic it through the PA anyway but wow, it sounded good.

I did crank the wattage selector up to the full 50 watts with the MV at 1 o'clock and shook the walls for a minute or two. :D

I'm getting some really cool tones out this thing. It's easy to tweak which is a big bonus for me. I don't like to fiddle much, but I do fiddle more with it than any other amp I've had. Just trying to see what else I can get out of it after the last practice, and I'll fiddle again this week a little I'm sure. :)

On yeah, the Brobucker SCREAMS through this thing in my Strat. :D
 
Re: New Vox amps?

I wrote this in another thread, but I just picked up the AD100VTH (100-watt head version) earlier this evening. I've been trying this out for a couple hours now, and man does it sound great! I've got it running into a Mesa 2x12 recto cab loaded with Celestion Vintage 30s. I have yet to scratch the surface of possibilities with this amp. Going to try those Bassman settings now, Erik...

- Keith
 
Re: New Vox amps?

So, Keith, how did you like the Tweed 4x10 with those settings? Also set the treble and bass to around 1 o'clock on the dial and the mids at 3 o'clock.
 
Re: New Vox amps?

Hey Erik,

I like the Tweed, but since I was playing it around midnight I couldn't get the full flavor. It's cleaner than I expected, even with the gain cranked. I'm going to try the EQ settings you recommend; I only changed the Volume and Gain settings from the preset when I tried it.

What are you using for a cab, or is the 50-watt a combo?

- Keith
 
Re: New Vox amps?

The 50-watt is a combo, it has a 12" Celestion in it. Sounds great as it is. There is an external speaker jack on it but I haven't run it through my 4x12 yet. I'm liking what I hear out of the Celestion enough not to want to.

The Bassman is definitely low gain but it just has this big full sound to it. When I first got the amp, I used that with a pedal, then I went to using the others, UK 70's and UK 80's, but I went back to the Bassman for most things. I still use the UK 80's for higher gain stuff and US High Gain for serious high gain stuff. I like the Bassman better for clean work just by rolling the guitar volume back or picking lighter than using the Blackface or Boutique CL models.
 
Re: New Vox amps?

Hi the best tips I 've been given for these amps Is to turn the Master Vol right up as this controls the tube saturation (use the volume on the top to balance between channels) and adjust the noise level right down on the high gain models (the preset cuts sustain as it's set a bit too high), then these babe's really start to sing!!!
 
Re: New Vox amps?

ErikH said:
So, Keith, how did you like the Tweed 4x10 with those settings? Also set the treble and bass to around 1 o'clock on the dial and the mids at 3 o'clock.
Click to expand...

For some reason I had it in my head you wanted me to check out the Black 2x12, not the Tweed 4x10. Duh.

So I tweaked around the 2x12 (Fender Twin?) model this evening and got a nice Jeff Beck "You Know What I Mean" tone with my Tele. I feel like all it needs is a little more push to get that nice fuzz tone going, so tomorrow I'll try putting a booster in front of it. (I've got a few different ones I can try.)

I also threw a reverb box in the effects loop for added space, since I was using the on-board compressor on the Effects dial and can't run that and the on-board reverb simultaneously.

Wow! This amp becomes more and more valuable to me every day...and I've had it for a little more than twenty-four hours! :dance:

- Keith
 
Re: New Vox amps?

All I can say is an AD50 is an amp that'll make you want to practice more, especially if volume is always an issue. I prefer the Valvetronix heads with a good quality cab, but for a versatile combo that's easy to lug around, it's hard to beat these amps. If there's one thing I like about modelers, it's the rotary dials with all their voicings.

I've found that the best tones come from mixing the amp with an OD model, to give it extra punch. I do it on all the amps, whether they're highgain or clean. Using the OD models allows me to shape the gain structure 3 more ways......since there's 3 OD models. A good way to capture a vintage Plexi is to use the bassman 4-10 with gain heaped on. On clean amps like the Blackface and Vox's, the Top Boost OD adds some punch and sparkle.
 
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Re: New Vox amps?

Gearjoneser said:
All I can say is an AD50 is an amp that'll make you want to practice more, especially if volume is always an issue. I prefer the Valvetronix heads with a good quality cab, but for a versatile combo that's easy to lug around, it's hard to beat these amps. If there's one thing I like about modelers, it's the rotary dials with all their voicings.

I've found that the best tones come from mixing the amp with an OD model, to give it extra punch. I do it on all the amps, whether they're highgain or clean. Using the OD models allows me to shape the gain structure 3 more ways......since there's 3 OD models. A good way to capture a vintage Plexi is to use the bassman 4-10 with gain heaped on. On clean amps like the Blackface and Vox's, the Top Boost OD adds some punch and sparkle.
Click to expand...

The thing about the newer Valvetronix amps -- whether or not this is a good thing is up to you -- is that there are no separate OD models. I haven't played the older Valvetronix (AD60 or AD120) yet, but on the newer Valvetronix there's a gain control knob to adjust the drive on each amp model; the other eleven effects are on a separate rotary knob.

How does the OD work on an AD60 or AD120?

- Keith
 
Re: New Vox amps?

Yup, Joe's right on. I wish the newer ones had the OD pedal models, or at least 2 or 3. That wasn't a deterring factor for me anyway because if I want to use an OD or booster with any of the models I just one out front, and have with great results.

Keith, the Blackface 2x12 sounds nice with a little drive in front of it. I also like taking the Boutique CL model, cranking the gain and volume so it breaks up and then hitting it with a booster or OD. It's such a sweet and sustaining overdrive.

The Tweed 4x10 is one of my favorites on it. It's just so dang diverse.
 
Re: New Vox amps?

i went to gc this weekend and played a les paul thru a ad120 i think or something like that , and WOW im impressed , sounds just like a tube amp! im gonna get the ad50 !
 
Re: New Vox amps?

Just wanted to mention that I've got one of the AD60 combo's, the blue cloth grill. I traded my advt 30 for it. Not just because of the wattage, but for the few extra bells and whistles it offered. But most importantly, and it could just be that I got a good one, or the 12 inch speaker vs. 10 inch speaker, it just had better tones in it the 30advt.
 
Re: New Vox amps?

These sound like great amps!

Nothing really can beat a modeler fun though, they're the most fun to play hands down.
 
Re: New Vox amps?

I might be trading my AD30vt in on one soon.

I love modelers for clean/compressed tones.
 
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