danglybanger
ReelItInologist
ok... so I own a Vox AD30VT... and for the past week or so I've been custodian of a cheapass Crate 15 watt solid state POS that I'm not even going to bother to look up the name...
Guess which one I've been playing more.
Alright, the Crate is by no means a great amp... it's pretty much mud city, but believe it or not I can get some more than decent tones out of it if I tweak it enough... The lead channel isn't the most useful thing in the world, but I've found a few settings where it actually sounds good, especially using the clean channel...
I've been ABing the Vox and the Crate, and come to a truth: I like playing through the crate more :smack:
Somehow it allows more nuance to show through when you play... The Jag really sounds like a Jag. Strat like a Strat. Mustang like a Mustang. Well, not that those guitars didn't sound that way through the Vox... but it's even moreso on even this "****ty" solid state thing.
The only analogy I can make... A modelling amp sounds like a recording of a guitar. Any other sort of amp sounds like you're actually in the room, playing the guitar :laugh2:
I'm not comparing the Crate to even a little Fender Champ or a JCM2000 or something... I know either of those amps would blow EITHER of these away...
By no means is the Vox a bad amp. But it's got the same issues I've always hated about modelling amps.
My first amp was a Line 6 Spider I 50 watt, which is honest to god the ****tiest amp ever. I gave it away, because I felt too guilty about selling it to someone who didn't know what it sounded like :laugh2: sounded like there was a blanket over it, sounded fake, indistinct... it was awful. A few years ago I heard some salesman demoing a Spider II... thought they would have improved, in reality it was bad enough that I just walked away...
I had (still have) a 5 watt Johnson practice amp about the size of a slice of bread that is SUPPOSED to be the ****tiest amp ever, but actually sounded good compared to that Line 6.
Traded the Line 6 in for the Vox, which sounds MUCH better... there are a lot of things I like about the Vox, and modelling amp technology in particular: Lots of models in case you're flighty and want a different sound, and this Vox CUTS... I'm not going to sell it. It's easy to lug around, doesn't sound BAD... I'll record with it probably. But still, it's got that detattched feeling... like listening to an MP3 instead of a record...
I broke it out that old Johnson 5 watt today. Maybe it's not the best sounding amp... the Vox can definitely sound better from a listener's perspective... but it's responsive... it retains nuance... it feels like a real amp. I feel like I can connect with it.
Am I speaking an alien language? Chime in if you know what I'm talkin' :laugh2:
Good news
I DO still have that 100 Watt Fender Libra lying around that I've been neglecting to fix up just because it's solid state...
And since my mini-revelation is "I don't happen to hate solid state that much" today, maybe I'll at least find it better than any modelling amp
Guess which one I've been playing more.
Alright, the Crate is by no means a great amp... it's pretty much mud city, but believe it or not I can get some more than decent tones out of it if I tweak it enough... The lead channel isn't the most useful thing in the world, but I've found a few settings where it actually sounds good, especially using the clean channel...
I've been ABing the Vox and the Crate, and come to a truth: I like playing through the crate more :smack:
Somehow it allows more nuance to show through when you play... The Jag really sounds like a Jag. Strat like a Strat. Mustang like a Mustang. Well, not that those guitars didn't sound that way through the Vox... but it's even moreso on even this "****ty" solid state thing.
The only analogy I can make... A modelling amp sounds like a recording of a guitar. Any other sort of amp sounds like you're actually in the room, playing the guitar :laugh2:
I'm not comparing the Crate to even a little Fender Champ or a JCM2000 or something... I know either of those amps would blow EITHER of these away...
By no means is the Vox a bad amp. But it's got the same issues I've always hated about modelling amps.
My first amp was a Line 6 Spider I 50 watt, which is honest to god the ****tiest amp ever. I gave it away, because I felt too guilty about selling it to someone who didn't know what it sounded like :laugh2: sounded like there was a blanket over it, sounded fake, indistinct... it was awful. A few years ago I heard some salesman demoing a Spider II... thought they would have improved, in reality it was bad enough that I just walked away...
I had (still have) a 5 watt Johnson practice amp about the size of a slice of bread that is SUPPOSED to be the ****tiest amp ever, but actually sounded good compared to that Line 6.
Traded the Line 6 in for the Vox, which sounds MUCH better... there are a lot of things I like about the Vox, and modelling amp technology in particular: Lots of models in case you're flighty and want a different sound, and this Vox CUTS... I'm not going to sell it. It's easy to lug around, doesn't sound BAD... I'll record with it probably. But still, it's got that detattched feeling... like listening to an MP3 instead of a record...
I broke it out that old Johnson 5 watt today. Maybe it's not the best sounding amp... the Vox can definitely sound better from a listener's perspective... but it's responsive... it retains nuance... it feels like a real amp. I feel like I can connect with it.
Am I speaking an alien language? Chime in if you know what I'm talkin' :laugh2:
Good news
I DO still have that 100 Watt Fender Libra lying around that I've been neglecting to fix up just because it's solid state...And since my mini-revelation is "I don't happen to hate solid state that much" today, maybe I'll at least find it better than any modelling amp
