JeffB
Let it B
As some of you may know I've had the original Vox AD15VT for a few years, and I've owned the 50 & 30w AD models as well as a AD30XL. IOW-I'm really **** familiar with what these amps can do/are capable of. My Ad15 has been dying a slow death for many months and finally replaced it with the new VT15. Although at retail the VT is only $10 more than the AD is/was, it's a definite step up. Here's some of my observations so far-
1) The power soak works better than on other valvetronix amps Ive used that had this feature-it sounds more natural and less splatty in the low end when ya juice the amp and cut the watts way back to bedroom level. Also the tube is ventilated better.
2) The cabinet low end punch is still there, but it's not as boomy as the previous models. Seems to take my Hothead distortion (DS1 clone) pedal better than my AD15VT did.
3) There are a ton of new models, and even the few models that were on the previous version are tweaked a bit and sound better (800 & Dumble Clean, for example).
4) There are SEVERAL variations on the Vox amp theme now, and the Trainwreck is another Vox-ish sounding amp. The Handwired AC30 heritage model is particularly good sounding- I was able to mold it into a nasty (in a good way) sounding AC15, or a fatter sounding AC30- very cool. I think there is some overlap , but all of these sound good.
5) There are several more Fender flavors as well- the new Modded Twin Reverb is MUCH better than the original model and the various "deluxe" amps are excellent- especially the tweed 2x12 (and goosed with the DS-1 clone is really sweet). The Super4x10 like certain real Fender amps is better suited to cleans- it gets pretty brittle/nasty when cranked. I was surprised how realistic sounding this was.
6) The Marshall JVM is much better than the TSL model Vox had been using- it's less buzzy, less bassy, and more punchy. The Jubillee is pretty bright but with the gain and treble rolled back it does a nice Plexi type tone. The 900 is absolutely wonderful- which surprised me! It sounds like a Hotrodded Plexi type amp more so than the thin buzzy dual reverbs. Probably modelled after a MKIII, or maybe a SL-X? Don't know. Don't care. sounds bad@$$.
7) The PV 5150 is probably the best model of this amp I've heard. The Roland/Boss 5150 doesn't sound all that much like a 5150, and the Line6 is not much better. Both are compressed all to hell.Vox got this one right, and I like it much better than the Soldano model it replaced. I wish I had some humbuckers around to really give it a go.
8) Effects are tweaked and improved- reverb, delays, rotary,phaser are the noticably improved versions. Nothing major, just tweaked to sound more authentic/natural. The pitch shift is fun, as is the new Ocatve/Chorus (Difficult to Cure, FTW). I've not messed around with alot of the parmeters as I don't use much in the way of effects but everything seems a bit more muscial off the bat.
9) Tone controls on all amp models seem more effective- A couple models I was unimpressed by with neutral settings but totally changed character when I tweaked . On the previous Valvetronix amps, this was not always the case.
My only nitpicks are- NO MP3 jack which is a really great practice tool, and a basic tuner would have been nice. That said, I'd rather not have those, than sacrifice tone/effects.
Bottom line- A very nice update- higher quality models, better voicings, and more natural effects. The power soak is less splatty, there are more slots to save your patches,along with higher quality knobs/input jack, better ventilation for the tube, etc.
I can only imagine that new high end Modeller coming out is going to be seriously bad@$$.
1) The power soak works better than on other valvetronix amps Ive used that had this feature-it sounds more natural and less splatty in the low end when ya juice the amp and cut the watts way back to bedroom level. Also the tube is ventilated better.
2) The cabinet low end punch is still there, but it's not as boomy as the previous models. Seems to take my Hothead distortion (DS1 clone) pedal better than my AD15VT did.
3) There are a ton of new models, and even the few models that were on the previous version are tweaked a bit and sound better (800 & Dumble Clean, for example).
4) There are SEVERAL variations on the Vox amp theme now, and the Trainwreck is another Vox-ish sounding amp. The Handwired AC30 heritage model is particularly good sounding- I was able to mold it into a nasty (in a good way) sounding AC15, or a fatter sounding AC30- very cool. I think there is some overlap , but all of these sound good.
5) There are several more Fender flavors as well- the new Modded Twin Reverb is MUCH better than the original model and the various "deluxe" amps are excellent- especially the tweed 2x12 (and goosed with the DS-1 clone is really sweet). The Super4x10 like certain real Fender amps is better suited to cleans- it gets pretty brittle/nasty when cranked. I was surprised how realistic sounding this was.
6) The Marshall JVM is much better than the TSL model Vox had been using- it's less buzzy, less bassy, and more punchy. The Jubillee is pretty bright but with the gain and treble rolled back it does a nice Plexi type tone. The 900 is absolutely wonderful- which surprised me! It sounds like a Hotrodded Plexi type amp more so than the thin buzzy dual reverbs. Probably modelled after a MKIII, or maybe a SL-X? Don't know. Don't care. sounds bad@$$.
7) The PV 5150 is probably the best model of this amp I've heard. The Roland/Boss 5150 doesn't sound all that much like a 5150, and the Line6 is not much better. Both are compressed all to hell.Vox got this one right, and I like it much better than the Soldano model it replaced. I wish I had some humbuckers around to really give it a go.
8) Effects are tweaked and improved- reverb, delays, rotary,phaser are the noticably improved versions. Nothing major, just tweaked to sound more authentic/natural. The pitch shift is fun, as is the new Ocatve/Chorus (Difficult to Cure, FTW). I've not messed around with alot of the parmeters as I don't use much in the way of effects but everything seems a bit more muscial off the bat.
9) Tone controls on all amp models seem more effective- A couple models I was unimpressed by with neutral settings but totally changed character when I tweaked . On the previous Valvetronix amps, this was not always the case.
My only nitpicks are- NO MP3 jack which is a really great practice tool, and a basic tuner would have been nice. That said, I'd rather not have those, than sacrifice tone/effects.
Bottom line- A very nice update- higher quality models, better voicings, and more natural effects. The power soak is less splatty, there are more slots to save your patches,along with higher quality knobs/input jack, better ventilation for the tube, etc.
I can only imagine that new high end Modeller coming out is going to be seriously bad@$$.
