ordered one of these .......

Lt. Bob

Spread the Daf!
Vox StompLab IG Modeling Effects Pedal | Sweetwater.com

While I much prefer tube amps up to and including just using a little Epi Valve Jr. for very small quiet gigs, there are some solo gigs I do where an amp just isn't worth the effort or can even be in the way.

So on those gigs, reluctant as I am, I've done them with a modeler direct into the PA.

For about 7 years I've used a Rocktron Utopia which, in my opinion, was far and away the most amp-like modeler around at the time I bought it. And I tried a lot of them.
Sounds really good clean and fairly good distorted.
But it has started glitching out and stranding me ...... it'll go a month or two and then won't work. I can always fix it but if something doesn't work on a gig I can't trust it or use it anymore.

So for the last few months I've been using my Behringer V-Amp 2. I have a POD and a couple of older Digitech modelers like an RP-7 but I really think the V-Amp sounds the best.
Nevertheless it's a piece of crap and doesn't sound that great except compared to the even crappier sounding POD and the rest of the modelers I have.

So I need something but I'm really, really poor right now.
70 bucks though?
I can do that!! Well .... actually 70 bucks is a LOT of money to me but I have to have something better and I can come up with that.
It's much newer so it's bound to sound better than the V-Amp plus it can be battery operated so it's a perfect thing to just keep in the truck if an amp glitches out on me.

Oh I hope it sounds good .... I hope it sounds good ... I hope it sounds good .... I hope it sounds good ... I hope it sounds good .... I hope it sounds good ... I hope it sounds good .... I hope it sounds good ...
 
It's certainly cheap enough! Got that goin' for it.

I almost got the IIG becuase it has an expression pedal until I realized the pedal's only 4 or 5 inches long!
:eek:
Don't thinbk I could use that plus the opening a pedal needs would let sand and salt into it and in Florida that's a serious concern.
 
Have you found a list of preset patches? .
I have not but I haven't really looked either.
Since I have one ordered it kinda doesn't matter ..... the card's been charged! :D.
I'm pretty comfortable with these things and I NEVER use any presets anyway.

But I will let you know all about it soon ...... the very first thing I'll do upon getting it'll be to sit down with a drink and spend an evening programming 4 or 5 patches in depth thru a PA cab until I get them as good as I can get them.
That's when I'll know how good can it sound ...... well, actually I won't know for sure until I gig with it. Gigs are always different.

I need about 5 patches in a modeler .... clean/clean chorused/crunchy/sustainy lead/sustainy lead with delay.
The V Amp only does clean very well ..... The Rocktron would do leads and clean fairly well.
I'm hoping this one'll do all my needs acceptably well.
I'll definitely let you know the details but I prolly won't get a chance 'till one night next week.
 
I watched a few youtube videos and I wasn't impressed. The cleans were ok but the distortions sounded really lame. I don't think that it sounded any better than the V Amp.
 
I watched a few youtube videos and I wasn't impressed. The cleans were ok but the distortions sounded really lame. I don't think that it sounded any better than the V Amp.
definitely sounds better than the vamp in the demos I watched but really ..... youtube demos mean almost nothing IMO.
It'a pretty amazing to me how the vast majority of those putting on demos don't know how to get a good sound outta stuff.
I don't think I've ever seen a youtube demo be very accurate on stuff that I own and use and know well.
So I doubt they're accurate on anything else either.
You have to gig with it to really know.
Or record if that's your primary purpose. For me it's gigging.

In any case I needed something and this what I can afford so I'll let ya' know for sure.
If it sucks I'll say so ... I don't get protective about gear I buy like some people who seem to get mad if their gear gets critisized ....... I'll be the FIRST to bash it!
:D

But for live use the V-Amp is pretty poor ..... especially the distortions. Bad enough to be a distraction while playing and I'm pretty good about ignoring bad sound when it's unavoidable. But it's hard for me to totally ignore that buzzy anemic distortion.
 
If you like the Behri unit well enough, my son has a V-Amp Pro (1-space rack mount) he never uses. Guys come into the studio, they have never used that unit, and the choices and option overwhelm them- in the studio, time is money, no one has time to figure out how to get their sound from a strange piece, so it never gets used. He got it with a bunch of other equipment. You can get his phone number from his website, studio101nola.com He'd probably let it go for $70, maybe less, as it's just gathering dust. He may well also trade it for a more straight-forward pre-amp, something from Marshall would be of particular interest, as he has no Marshalls in the studio.
 
but I said I didn't like the Behringer.
.
.... it's a piece of crap and doesn't sound that great except compared to the even crappier sounding POD .....
.... for live use the V-Amp is pretty poor ..... especially the distortions. Bad enough to be a distraction while playing .....
Which is why I'm getting something else.
And the Pro has the same sounds as the Vamp .... it just adds a lot more connectivity, so I would be swapping one unit that sounds bad for another that would sound the same
 
Got it yet??? Anxious to hear how it does for you.
got it ..... it sounds way better than the VAmp ...... maybe even better than the Rocktron though I've only had a few minutes to fool with it. I may slip it into a set at today's gig.

Here's a VERY early review I did for a guy at A&A who wants it strictly for the FX and doesn't need the amp modeling. It's based on only a little bit of fooling around with it and using mostly the built in presets which always suck.
And the negatives in the review were mostly because of limitations it had in that specific area:




"The following review is based on a grand total of 90 minutes with the thing and in general I find it takes some weeks to get a modeler tweaked as I like it to be so this is a very early review.
And this is the model without the expression pedal.
And lastly let's bear in mind that this is $70.

First off ..... I like it. It definitely sounds better than the VAmp by a considerable margin.

It's not as easy to deal with as a VAmp though because the VAmp has knobs for everything and that wonderful led-system of letting you know where the settings are regardless of where the knobs point.

This thing has limited knobs so you do have to look at the appendices a lot while figuring it out.
Having said that it's pretty straightforward and you get it down quickly.
It seems built solidly except for the plastic endcaps which are a little flimsy but don't really have a structural duty so it should be fine.

For use primarily as an FX it does have some significant limitations.

It says you can use 8 fx at a time but amps and cabinets are considered fx so you can really only use 6 actual effects at a time.
I never use even that many at one time so not a problem for me ..... if you need more than 6 at a time however, you're outta luck.

And they're grouped together and you can't use two fx in the same group at the same time.
So you can only use one Modulation fx at a time .... you probably wouldn't ever use a chorus and a rotary at the same time but if you would, you can't.

An example of a fx grouping:
'PEDAL' ..... comp is here plus fixed wah/auto wah/octave/univibe tone knob/ ring modulator.
You would not be able to use comp with any of those or anything in that group with anything else in that group at the same time.
I don't use comps anyway but I might want a univibe on an octave-up .... but ya' can't.

Delays .... well, you're really not gonna need multiple delays on a guitar .... same with the reverb group.

The distortions and fuzzes are all in a single group so you can't cascade them.

The parameters you can adjust are pretty basic.
You have Bass/Middle/Treble/Presence for your tone plus a tone knob in the PEDAL group.
Chorus you can adjust speed and depth ......
Reverbs you can adjust Length and Strength .... er, ah mix I mean Mix!..... I started thinking bout my dick there! HAR

Anyways ...... you get the basic parameters and that's it.

The sounds do sound good and it depends on how picky you are about tweaking all the details in an FX.
I'm usually content with very basic adjustability as long as it sounds good ..... but some people get frustrated if they can't tweak it into submission.

I'm happy with it but I'll be using it for amp replacement.
You said you want it mainly to be a multifx unit and so I think it's suitability really depends on how you use and tweak effects.
It sounds pretty superior to the Behri though based on my so-far brief time with it.

I think for 70 bucks it's a sweet deal though for those looking for a cheap modeler.
 
Cool, good review. So you'd use this thing by itself with no amp? You just drop this thing on the floor and hook it into the PA?
 
Cool, good review. So you'd use this thing by itself with no amp? You just drop this thing on the floor and hook it into the PA?
yep. On some of my gigs bringing an amp makes no sense.

They may be so spread out, like on a beach gig, that they're ONLY gonna hear what comes thru the PA and using a modeler direct makes it very easy for me to hear the mix whereas with a mic'd amp I hear so much from the amp it can be hard to know how much guitar the audience is hearing.

This is ONLY on solo gigs ..... I never use a modeler on band gigs and even on solo gigs, if it's something where I want to sound my best I'll use an amp.

Something else about this Vox Stomplab ...... it's small enough to just have in your guitar case and can run on batteries.
The thing is tiny ...... I don't see how anyone could use the one with the expression pedal on it since that pedal can't be more than 4 inches long and that units substantially bigger than this one ..... the thing's really small .
So in an emergency where your amp goes out or someone suddenly wants you to play a gig, you always have a spare 'amp' handy.

This thing will have a spot in my truck where it will always be waiting for its chance to come out and play.
:D
 
got to add a jpeg...that is more than I was expecting for $70 and a tuner to boot!
 

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