Purchased Vox AD120VTH Head plus port city cab.

Re: Purchased Vox AD120VTH Head plus port city cab.

Gearjoneser said:
I'm a firm believer in these amps......so much so that I hope Vox comes out with an improved version. I was disappointed this year when I saw Vox didn't have a Valvetronix II.

I was a HUGE tube snob before. I'd given some Line 6's a chance, by owning Flextones, but I sold them and said I was done with modelers. Then, I got hooked onto the Vox heads, and love them. The combos aren't bad, but in order to go head to head with tube amps, you should use them with the same cabs you'd use with your tube amp. That's why I love the AD60VTH and AD120VTH blue grill heads. IMO, those are the ones to buy. Like Scott said, they love Vintage 30 4-12 cabs more than anything else. It allows the Marshall models to sound more realistic. And speaking of Marshall tones, the Marshall models aren't always the best ones to use. Like Stratdeluxer97 says, try the Bassman 4-10 model along with an OD model, and crank it up. He A'B'd it with his ACTUAL PLEXI and got his Vox to sound almost the same!
And he uses the Vox live, when he even owns a vintage Fender Pro Reverb and 50W plexi with a point to point board! For someone that owns classic amps to rely on the Vox as a gigging amp speaks volumes about it.

This isn't an amp that will floor you when trying it in the store, with their junky speakers, and guitars strung with 9's and stock pickups. You need to take it home, listen to it with your guitars, and plug it into a high quality cab.
Then, you'll realize it's potential. It's a fun amp. From Blackface to Tweed, to Marshall, to Dual Recto? For $400?
Click to expand...

Wow buddy what a great memory you have! Yep....All still true,in fact I used my VTH 120 through the Vox V30 2x12 again the other night at our gig and as always,got great tone.....Lately I've added a very cool SLO 100 type tone from mine and then I'll use the BF clean setting with my different pedals..I love using the foot controller to add or subtract effects on the fly and it makes for a very versatile setup..Just always happy with this setup and I use the Marshall less and the Vox 100% at our gigs now....I Leave the older vintage stuff at home or use them at practice...
 
Re: Purchased Vox AD120VTH Head plus port city cab.

BluesGuyJ said:
Are the Vox AD ext. cabs closed back?
Click to expand...

If I were you, I'd sell the Mesa locally instead of trading it in. GC will try to take the amp for 1/4 of what it's worth.

I'd also suggest buying this amp in the head version, rather than the 2-12 combo. Even if you have to buy it from an online dealer sight unseen. So many of the models in the amp prefer a closed back cab.
 
Re: Purchased Vox AD120VTH Head plus port city cab.

GC took 60% of the going cost when I traded my Laney combo in for the 6505. So basically, i bought it 2 years ago for 550 and got 500 back. Just see what they will give you.
 
Re: Purchased Vox AD120VTH Head plus port city cab.

Gearjoneser said:
If I were you, I'd sell the Mesa locally instead of trading it in. GC will try to take the amp for 1/4 of what it's worth.

I'd also suggest buying this amp in the head version, rather than the 2-12 combo. Even if you have to buy it from an online dealer sight unseen. So many of the models in the amp prefer a closed back cab.
Click to expand...

100% agree with GJ once again! The combo version of this amp isn't as good as having the seperate head into a better cab....I also think the cab on the VTX series is particle board?

If the combo is still open backed,you get nice clean tone dimension out the front and back of the cab...You also get a looser and more compromised overdriven tone with the open back with this particular amp and you lose the frontal projection that most of us like when playing overdriven and you'll lose tight lows...I use my head through either a Marshall V30 4x12,but mostly just through the 2x12 cab.

I can't stress enough how much better my VTH 120 sounded through a pair of V30 speakers vs the stock NeoDogs in my matching Vox cab.The V30s or something comparable to these speakers seem to be a great match for both clean and overdriven tones.
 
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Re: Purchased Vox AD120VTH Head plus port city cab.

This is my understanding of the 4 channels in the 120VT version:

Each channel holds 8 programable settings. the first button on the VC4 box cycles through presets 1-8, the second button cycles through 9-16, so on and so forth? OMG, almost 1,000 posts, I feel semi important! haha
 
Re: Purchased Vox AD120VTH Head plus port city cab.

BluesGuyJ said:
This is my understanding of the 4 channels in the 120VT version:

Each channel holds 8 programable settings. the first button on the VC4 box cycles through presets 1-8, the second button cycles through 9-16, so on and so forth? OMG, almost 1,000 posts, I feel semi important! haha
Click to expand...

I use my F/C only to turn on and off things like reverb,delay,chorus,and the univibe....I honestly only use about 6 total presets and use this great BF Fender clean tone with some different overdrive and or distortion pedals...After that I use a sought of Soldano tone and a Vox AC 30 preset for the Tom Petty stuff...

There are tons and tons of really nice things you can dial up on this amp....Some key things about the amp.....Crank the master volume on it to push the 12AX7(s) in the output stages harder and use the Treble Boost effect to help enhance some of the British Marshall type presets...Just a wonderful and very convincing amp tonewise! I really love this thing.
 
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Re: Purchased Vox AD120VTH Head plus port city cab.

The pedal effects are what adds the 3 dimensional qualities to the sound. Turning them off makes the amp sound slightly flat in comparison. I think this is the special sauce on the top that makes the AD series (blue grillcloth) seem to have a slight edge over the BBQ grill versions. The difference isn't huge, but I'm still glad that I have the option to use them as opposed to not using them. I think that if you use a good OD pedal in front of your BBQ amps they may just get a touch of that 3D sound to them too. It's worth a try anyway. I think that's what drew me to the blue grillcloth series in the showroom. They just seemed to have a little more sizzle on top for some reason. Couldn't pinpoint it before, but I can definitely hear it now.

Played the wave cab some in my normal setting. It blows the Edana's mojotone cabinet away in terms of bass and the Edana can crank out the bass. Very impressive. Elevating the cab off the ground alleviated the kind of oozy quality the bass had before. Took some of the indistinct nature of it out and gave it a tad more definition. Definitely a worthy buy. Very happy with my purchase. (I was satisfied before, but I was still astonished at how the 4x12 cab stood out in comparison). The 4x12 is harder to carry and impossible to fit in the back seat of my truck though. Good product and it does almost measure up to a 4x12 when compared side by side with other 2x12 cabs.

The head continues to impress me. The more the volume goes up the better it sounds (of course). It doesn't lose much when turned down, but the depth of the models really shines with more volume. This amp is a solid pro peice of gear. I can see how Stratdeluxer gigs exclusively with it. Why would most people need anything else? The versatility is amazing and the quality of the sounds is very much what any guitarist has wet dreams about. I'll bet 95% of guitarists couldn't tell they were playing a modelling amp if you hid the amp from them and let them play through a single patch at a time with it set up by someone who knows the little tricks to get the best tone out of it. They would be convinced that they were playing through the real deal almost every time. Most modelling amps leave the feel component out of the equation and the amp just doesn't respond to your touch like it should. Nuance is lost and the guitar doesn't react in your hands like a cranked tube player would expect. The AD120VTH responds just like the real thing every time. The guitar comes alive in your hands and responds like a desirous lover. The response is diminished in the clean settings but the correct feel is still there. Regular modellers leave the guitar feeling flat and dead by comparison.

Inspiration abounds with this amp. I've played new stuff I've never even thought of playing with the different presets pushing me in new directions. The Edana inspires me in certain directions when I play. Usually towards Angus Young type stuff when cranked or playing around with classic rock tones in the semi-clean stages etc or Peter Green type stuff when really clean. The Vox takes me anywhere else I want to go and pushes me to play something off the wall and not "like me" per se. Something I don't even regard as my style comes out sounding pretty tasty in my unsteady hands. I did more unusual and out of my comfort zone stuff tonight than I have since I got the Edana. New gear pushes you in new directions a bit, but only when the new gear inspires you. The Edana inspires me and now the Vox inspires me. The other stuff is getting sold.
 
Re: Purchased Vox AD120VTH Head plus port city cab.

BluesGuyJ - Congrats on the post count! Keep 'em coming. :D :smokin:

As others may have said, skip the combo. Skip any vox cabinetry you can and use something else. Avatar, Mojo or Marshall will fit the bill nicely as long as it's loaded with vintage 30 speakers or the equivalent. Have guitar center transfer the head in from another store for you at the clearance price. Don't worry if it's not in it's box etc and just inspect it for cosmetic damage. Use that as bargaining leverage if possible. The salesman will probably balk at any further bargaining because the amp just lost $200 in overall price as most folks don't know how to juice the amp for good tone and most consider it inferior. Get a different better made cab to go with this head and you're in for a treat. Mojo makes a good 4x12 cabinet and their prices aren't too bad. They will happily coat it in Vox Basketweave Black tolex for you too, but they won't put the vox diamond grillcloth on the cab though as Vox has them by the short hairs when it comes to that grillcloth. They stock it, but only for repairs to vox products. Micheal McCorder is a great guy to deal with and he's fair.
 
Re: Purchased Vox AD120VTH Head plus port city cab.

I think the amp looks pretty cool, but I've had thoughts about making or buying a nicer headshell. Something that looks like a Trainwreck or plexi type box, and install the chassis the same direction it sits in the original Vox headshell.
It's low in my priority list, but it's something I've pondered.

I saw a picture on the net awhile back, where a guy installed a Valvetronix chassis into a nice 2 tone boutique style combo shell. He made it look like a Tone King or Badcat. You could really fool people, who have no idea it's a digital amp.
 
Re: Purchased Vox AD120VTH Head plus port city cab.

I am torn between this and the Randall RM series... The Vox is more versatile, cheaper and can be used at pretty low volumes though...
 
Re: Purchased Vox AD120VTH Head plus port city cab.

Gr8Scott Wrote

The head continues to impress me. The more the volume goes up the better it sounds (of course). It doesn't lose much when turned down, but the depth of the models really shines with more volume. This amp is a solid pro peice of gear. I can see how Stratdeluxer gigs exclusively with it. Why would most people need anything else? The versatility is amazing and the quality of the sounds is very much what any guitarist has wet dreams about. I'll bet 95% of guitarists couldn't tell they were playing a modelling amp if you hid the amp from them and let them play through a single patch at a time with it set up by someone who knows the little tricks to get the best tone out of it.
Click to expand...

Yep....You need to drive the piss out of those 12AX7s and then this amp really has great tone and you also can get great sustain out of this amp...I Like the effects and the versatility I get from this amp at our gigs....Easy amp to work and consistent great tone....I trust my ears and I've really dialed up some very good tones with mine! I've had mine for over 2 years now and love it every bit as much today,as I did when it was new,except I know alot more about the amp now.
 
Re: Purchased Vox AD120VTH Head plus port city cab.

I have a Marshall cab with 2- G12 vintage speakers, would that sound good with the AD120VTH Head?
 
Re: Purchased Vox AD120VTH Head plus port city cab.

This thread makes me feel so stupid and incompetent that I wasn't able to dial in my tones with a valvetronix amp! I feel that my ears are messed up badly! It's so embarassing seeing so many people loving these amps and at the same time knowing that I can't make the amp work for me...
 
Re: Purchased Vox AD120VTH Head plus port city cab.

KGMESSIER said:
Sounds to me like you've just solved your own problem. :)
Click to expand...



My only question is which of the two captures a tube tone better. The Randall is ALL tube while the Vox is a hybrid. I am fine only ball parking tones with the Vox, but does it fully replicate a tube tone and feel is my main concern...?
 
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