Mr. B
New member
I finally broke down and bought one of the new Valvetronix Pro amps from VOX. I had one of the older Blue Face AD60VTX amps for years and really liked it, and I have one of the newish VT40+ models that I am not thrilled with.
Here's my take on the Pro, and I may add some more since I've only played it for a day:
The amp is VERY light. With that neo magnet in there, it feels lighter than the smaller VT20+ models. It has a much classier looking grill cloth and tolex covering. the handle feels like faux leather. It feels nice and looks sturdy enough. Would it stand up to being dragged to 200 gigs in a year. I dunno.... I don't plan on beating mine up.
The layout is almost identical to the VT+ models. You have the regular led-lit green/orange/red amp models on the dial, but then there is another layer of blue amp models that are new.
I am not going to try and break down each amp model, but I will sum up.
Overall, the amp has a very organic feel to it. Is it as 3 dimensional as a really good tube amp? No. Does the EL84 tube make a huge difference? I don't know. It definitely gives the older Blue face models a run for their money tone-wise and is in a whole other league of versatility. It has a more organic tube feel than any other modeler I have played, and feels/sounds more natural than a few tube amps I have owned.
There is an amazing pallet of clean amp models and they all sound worlds better than the models on the VT+ amps. This amp is definitely NOT the regular VT+ models in a fancy dress. They sound more organic/woody and have a more natural feel. There is also a wonderful selection of amps that do the "just on the verge of breakup" thing well. The EQ tone controls have a real effect on the character of the models.
The Vox Ac15 and AC30 models are well done, but they have never been favorites of mine. At first, I was a little disappointed in the Marshall models, but they sound much better cranked a bit. (haven't been able to play loud due to thanksgiving guests) There are several models on this amp that are in JCM800 and Plexi territory, which are still my favorite rock amps of all time. It also has a few models designed specifically for drop tunning and 7 string guitars. They don't sound bad with a regular 6-string in standard though. There are a few models that I don't like, but then if you made a list of 44 anythings, there would be some I didn't like. They aren't Line-6 insane channel bad, just not my thing.
The effects are very useable and I like the addition of 4 overdrive/distortion pedals and separate reverb. I haven't spent much time really digging into the effects or the effect preset and song preset channels. I've mainly used the 3 reverb types, echo delay, and the overdrives. I like all of those.
Once again, I would say that VOX is on the top of the tone list when it comes to modelers. I have always liked having the controls layed-out on the amp physically instead of scrolling through digital menus.
Is the pice a little steep at 800 dollars? Probably, but several online retailers have been blowing them out for $500, which is why I bought this one. I feel like it is well worth that price.
Here's my take on the Pro, and I may add some more since I've only played it for a day:
The amp is VERY light. With that neo magnet in there, it feels lighter than the smaller VT20+ models. It has a much classier looking grill cloth and tolex covering. the handle feels like faux leather. It feels nice and looks sturdy enough. Would it stand up to being dragged to 200 gigs in a year. I dunno.... I don't plan on beating mine up.
The layout is almost identical to the VT+ models. You have the regular led-lit green/orange/red amp models on the dial, but then there is another layer of blue amp models that are new.
I am not going to try and break down each amp model, but I will sum up.
Overall, the amp has a very organic feel to it. Is it as 3 dimensional as a really good tube amp? No. Does the EL84 tube make a huge difference? I don't know. It definitely gives the older Blue face models a run for their money tone-wise and is in a whole other league of versatility. It has a more organic tube feel than any other modeler I have played, and feels/sounds more natural than a few tube amps I have owned.
There is an amazing pallet of clean amp models and they all sound worlds better than the models on the VT+ amps. This amp is definitely NOT the regular VT+ models in a fancy dress. They sound more organic/woody and have a more natural feel. There is also a wonderful selection of amps that do the "just on the verge of breakup" thing well. The EQ tone controls have a real effect on the character of the models.
The Vox Ac15 and AC30 models are well done, but they have never been favorites of mine. At first, I was a little disappointed in the Marshall models, but they sound much better cranked a bit. (haven't been able to play loud due to thanksgiving guests) There are several models on this amp that are in JCM800 and Plexi territory, which are still my favorite rock amps of all time. It also has a few models designed specifically for drop tunning and 7 string guitars. They don't sound bad with a regular 6-string in standard though. There are a few models that I don't like, but then if you made a list of 44 anythings, there would be some I didn't like. They aren't Line-6 insane channel bad, just not my thing.
The effects are very useable and I like the addition of 4 overdrive/distortion pedals and separate reverb. I haven't spent much time really digging into the effects or the effect preset and song preset channels. I've mainly used the 3 reverb types, echo delay, and the overdrives. I like all of those.
Once again, I would say that VOX is on the top of the tone list when it comes to modelers. I have always liked having the controls layed-out on the amp physically instead of scrolling through digital menus.
Is the pice a little steep at 800 dollars? Probably, but several online retailers have been blowing them out for $500, which is why I bought this one. I feel like it is well worth that price.
