JumpMarine
18 watts of Mayhemologist
After following Stratdeluxer's reviews of the AD120VT head the last few days I just had to check one out for myself. Went to Seattle yesterday with my wife and another couple. My buddy and I ditched the girls at the mall and beelined to GC. We spent about 3 hours in the sound room putting the ad120VTX combo through the ringer. Played a variety of guitars through it including: PRS C24, American Standard Strat, Nashville Tele, Lite Ash Tele, Faded SG Special and a beautiful but used LP Standard.
Back to the amp. The floor model wasn't in the greatest condition and it had some serious grounding/squealing issues for the about the first 10 minutes of playing with it. Then it seemed to go away. The presets had all been tweaked badly so luckily my buddy had printed out the manual and we figured out how to do a factory reset. In doing that we were able to start with a clean slate that followed our printouts of the presets.
Went through each preset and low and behold.....they all sounded pretty good. Like John has said before, "Play with the knobs".......the amp you guys! The presets are just the tip of the iceburg to let you know what this amp is capable of. I was especially impressed with the "Unplugged" accoustic preset. While it didn't sound like a pre war Martin, it was VERY usable and a super clean, sparkly top end setting. It sounded incredible with the single coils. I couldn't get a bad sound to come out of this amp. It is loud, not nearly as loud as my JCM but very usable. The power switching was really cool, from 1, 15, 30 to 60 watts all to two channels. Personally, I am sold on this to be my next amp and so was my buddy Keith.
As far as how the amp took to the different guitars, you could easily hear the tonal differences in each guitar. Each had a flavor all to its own and wasn't overshadowed by what some may think a modeling amp will do.
Quick and dirty review of the Guitars:
American Strat-Can't seem to get comfortable with the feel of a strat. But Keith loved it. Nice fit and finish work.
Nashville Tele-OK, but not very impressed at all with fit and finish or over all feel.
Lite Ash Tele-LOVED it, beautiful fit and finish(Clear Natural). Neck was nice and chunky and it played effortlessly. Loved the APSII's, I hadn't ever heard them before firsthand. Very rounded, smooth and warm. Especially so when compared to the Broadcaster in my Tele.
SG Faded Special-This was the biggest supprise of the day for me. I had never picked up an SG before. I had no idea how thin, light and comfortable they really are. Finish was very thin satin and I really liked it(Faded Cherry), no stickyness. The neck was perfect and it played effortlessly. I loved this guitar and for $650, you can't beat it. I am now wondering, "If this is the cheap model and I liked it this much, what are the upgraded models going to be like?"
PRS C24-What can I say about this: incredible fit and finish(Dark Blue Trans Flame Maple top), wonderful neck, played like a million bucks. Just a bit too flashy for my tastes.
Used LP Standard-This is it, the one that really talked to me yesterday. I have never played a real Gibson LP before. I kind of wish that I hadn't because it's going to cost me alot of $$$. I love my Tele to death, but I do believe that I really am an LP guy after playing this guitar. It just fit me like a glove, sounded incredible even with the 490/498's. It had a perfect action.......played like a dream! Why oh why do they have to cost so dang much! It will be mine....oh yes....it will be mine! LOL
But the amp is first.......
Back to the amp. The floor model wasn't in the greatest condition and it had some serious grounding/squealing issues for the about the first 10 minutes of playing with it. Then it seemed to go away. The presets had all been tweaked badly so luckily my buddy had printed out the manual and we figured out how to do a factory reset. In doing that we were able to start with a clean slate that followed our printouts of the presets.
Went through each preset and low and behold.....they all sounded pretty good. Like John has said before, "Play with the knobs".......the amp you guys! The presets are just the tip of the iceburg to let you know what this amp is capable of. I was especially impressed with the "Unplugged" accoustic preset. While it didn't sound like a pre war Martin, it was VERY usable and a super clean, sparkly top end setting. It sounded incredible with the single coils. I couldn't get a bad sound to come out of this amp. It is loud, not nearly as loud as my JCM but very usable. The power switching was really cool, from 1, 15, 30 to 60 watts all to two channels. Personally, I am sold on this to be my next amp and so was my buddy Keith.
As far as how the amp took to the different guitars, you could easily hear the tonal differences in each guitar. Each had a flavor all to its own and wasn't overshadowed by what some may think a modeling amp will do.
Quick and dirty review of the Guitars:
American Strat-Can't seem to get comfortable with the feel of a strat. But Keith loved it. Nice fit and finish work.
Nashville Tele-OK, but not very impressed at all with fit and finish or over all feel.
Lite Ash Tele-LOVED it, beautiful fit and finish(Clear Natural). Neck was nice and chunky and it played effortlessly. Loved the APSII's, I hadn't ever heard them before firsthand. Very rounded, smooth and warm. Especially so when compared to the Broadcaster in my Tele.
SG Faded Special-This was the biggest supprise of the day for me. I had never picked up an SG before. I had no idea how thin, light and comfortable they really are. Finish was very thin satin and I really liked it(Faded Cherry), no stickyness. The neck was perfect and it played effortlessly. I loved this guitar and for $650, you can't beat it. I am now wondering, "If this is the cheap model and I liked it this much, what are the upgraded models going to be like?"
PRS C24-What can I say about this: incredible fit and finish(Dark Blue Trans Flame Maple top), wonderful neck, played like a million bucks. Just a bit too flashy for my tastes.
Used LP Standard-This is it, the one that really talked to me yesterday. I have never played a real Gibson LP before. I kind of wish that I hadn't because it's going to cost me alot of $$$. I love my Tele to death, but I do believe that I really am an LP guy after playing this guitar. It just fit me like a glove, sounded incredible even with the 490/498's. It had a perfect action.......played like a dream! Why oh why do they have to cost so dang much! It will be mine....oh yes....it will be mine! LOL
But the amp is first.......
