Vox Amps!

[TelePaul]

Well both pretty much suck in my opinion.

Ah, okay.....

 

[noisedude]

I have an AD15VT ... the high-gain sounds are shite but the rest of it is quite good fun. The build quality is not good at all though, I wouldn't want to gig with one. At the end of the day, how many sounds do you need your amp to make? Get two or three decent sounds and that's enough for most people - modeling seems to make more sense for covers bands who have to play loads of styles reasonably accurately to me.

As for AC stuff ... I wouldn't bother right now. I'd get a Laney VC series equivalent, a proper British-made (the Vox AC stuff is all Chinese now) all-valve amp for just over half the price of a Vox. The Laney valve stuff really is superb, the VC15 and VC30 are good old-fashioned valve amps with the sounds you'd expect and hope.

Oh yeah, and Marshall MGs really do suck. We call them boomerangs because half of all the ones we sell come back for repair. In fact, we're upping our Laney, Kustom, Hartke etc so that we don't need Marshalls at that price point any more.

 

[jonnyc]

I have an AD15VT ... the high-gain sounds are shite but the rest of it is quite good fun. The build quality is not good at all though, I wouldn't want to gig with one. At the end of the day, how many sounds do you need your amp to make? Get two or three decent sounds and that's enough for most people - modeling seems to make more sense for covers bands who have to play loads of styles reasonably accurately to me.

As for AC stuff ... I wouldn't bother right now. I'd get a Laney VC series equivalent, a proper British-made (the Vox AC stuff is all Chinese now) all-valve amp for just over half the price of a Vox. The Laney valve stuff really is superb, the VC15 and VC30 are good old-fashioned valve amps with the sounds you'd expect and hope.

Oh yeah, and Marshall MGs really do suck. We call them boomerangs because half of all the ones we sell come back for repair. In fact, we're upping our Laney, Kustom, Hartke etc so that we don't need Marshalls at that price point any more.

I'm not sure that other than build quality that being Chinese made is all that big of a deal. I know the tone isn't what a british AC is but damn it still sounds really sweet, I mean really sweet. You just need to get lucky and get one that isn't built like crap. I've personally witnessed an AC30CC blowing up but it sounded so good up until that point I really couldn't resist. I think when you consider tone v. cost the AC30CC is a great deal. Plus from everything I've heard about the British AC's they were constantly in the shop also.

 

[noisedude]

I'm not sure that other than build quality that being Chinese made is all that big of a deal. I know the tone isn't what a british AC is but damn it still sounds really sweet, I mean really sweet. You just need to get lucky and get one that isn't built like crap. I've personally witnessed an AC30CC blowing up but it sounded so good up until that point I really couldn't resist. I think when you consider tone v. cost the AC30CC is a great deal. Plus from everything I've heard about the British AC's they were constantly in the shop also.

Oh yeah, I'm not talking Vox down for a second, I just like that I can ring up the factory in Birmingham and speak to one of the fellas who actually is building the Laney amps that we're ordering ... and they still come in at a peanuts price! You can get a VC30 210 combo (2x 10" Jensen) and a 1x12 Celestion matching extension cab and still have maybe £100 change from an AC30CC.

I am much too young to associate Laney with their 80s output so I was a blank slate when I started to get to know their recent stuff. I think they're making proper British amps ... perfect for blues and indie but not high-gain or modern sounding.

Vox, on the other hand, are a subsidiary of Korg now and that comes across in their production values. But with the pedigree they have they will always have a place I think.

 

[jonnyc]

Oh yeah, I'm not talking Vox down for a second, I just like that I can ring up the factory in Birmingham and speak to one of the fellas who actually is building the Laney amps that we're ordering ... and they still come in at a peanuts price! You can get a VC30 210 combo (2x 10" Jensen) and a 1x12 Celestion matching extension cab and still have maybe £100 change from an AC30CC.

I am much too young to associate Laney with their 80s output so I was a blank slate when I started to get to know their recent stuff. I think they're making proper British amps ... perfect for blues and indie but not high-gain or modern sounding.

Vox, on the other hand, are a subsidiary of Korg now and that comes across in their production values. But with the pedigree they have they will always have a place I think.

Was not aware of these Laney's. Look really nice, now I might have to buy one of those. I'm gonna have to learn how to play guitar someday.

 

[soundchaser59]

Having had both, I can tell you from experience that the VoxAD50 is not even close in tone quality or build quality to the Vox AC amps. AD series is ok for a first introduction to modellers and tubes, but if you start doing side by side compares with all tube amps or with the AC amps, you will not spend more than 5 minutes convincing yourself to save for the better amps.

The Vox AD amps are noisy to record, and they are made of particle board. The screws in the back frequently are stripped and do not grip anything as soon as they come from the factory. I was able to remove the back from mine without removing any screws, and that was the same day I brought it home from the store, new in box. The screws that go into the metal chassis do not grip anything either. This amp will definitely not stand up to heavy road use. And it didn't seem to matter what kind of speaker cab I plugged it into, it still sounded kinda thin and brassy. Side by side, the all tube amps blow it outa the water.

But then the all tube amps cost twice as much, too..... The AD is a great trainer to learn with, but if you get serious you will end up selling it and buying a better amp. For the money, I would have been a lot happier with a Blues Jr (the yellow reissue with the Jensen speaker) or a Traynor YCV20WR and a couple of pedals.

But aint nuthin other than absence of funds stopping me from buying that AC30.....

However, all that being said, my final word to myself is this: If you held a gun to my head and made me start giving away my amps, the Marshalls and the Vox and the Line 6 stuff would be the first ones to go. I'd have to sweat a bit before I'd let go of the Traynor, but man you'd have to shoot me in the foot or something more serious before I'd start giving up my Mesa or my Twin or my Orange.

 

[antichef]

I have an AD15VT ... the high-gain sounds are shite but the rest of it is quite good fun. The build quality is not good at all though, I wouldn't want to gig with one. At the end of the day, how many sounds do you need your amp to make? Get two or three decent sounds and that's enough for most people - modeling seems to make more sense for covers bands who have to play loads of styles reasonably accurately to me.

I have the AD15VT, too, a floor model. I put a Weber alnico 8 inch speaker that I had in it, and replaced the EH 12AX7 with an old 12AT7 that I also had - the speaker helped a lot with the tone (which was way too bassy and had no mids - weird for a small amp with an 8" speaker), and the tube increased volume, lowered noise (a *lot*), and improved the tone a bit. I also took the back off and left it off to further reduce the bass.

Mine was made in Korea - I heard they're also coming out of Vietnam - origin is meaningless, I suppose. I haven't had any quality problems with mine, but I can say that if it broke, it would probably be finished, since it's mostly circuit board and chips.

Now, I like it - I've recorded a little on the direct out (OK), and I'm just learning how to mic amps with some others I've got, and haven't tried the Vox yet.

Obviously, your mileage may vary, and I'm not advocating getting one of these and doing the mods I did, because that would likely make your mileage vary even more. But for the record, I dig mine quite a lot, although I wish I would have got the AD30VT because of the bigger speaker and the attenuator.

 

[Mark7]

Do the VC series amps use printed circuit boards or point to point?

And does it really matter?

 

[soundchaser59]

I forgot to mention that the biggest disadvantage with the AD30 is the 10 inch speaker. For another $100 bucks, the AD50 with the 12 inch is a much better buy.

 

[dkelley]

interesting comments about the ad50. As I said, I disagree with many of the negative comments about it. I have a mesa that I absolutely hate, it lives in the studio for the shredders only. I have used an orange which was a fantastic amp, but it's also much pricier than an ad50. I do really like the older marshall combo amps, but I find the marshal sound in my ad50 quite close, not a replica, but a really similar and very musical sound.

And my amp isn't noisy in the slightest. Don't know where you're getting that idea. It's incredibly quiet, much quieter than the real vintage twin I used to use (had to sell it, way too noisy for my needs, although it sounded really good when driven very hard).

It is definitely poorly made, but then so are all of it's competition. It still sounds amazing, best amp FOR THE PRICE I've ever played, which is why I bought one and use it more often than any other amp for recording and live gigging. With a u89 it sounds perfect, that mic is the right match for it. It's really challenging to find the sweet spot for micing unless you have a good room though, so taking off the metal grill helps a lot and is highly recommended (replacing it with regular grill cloth of course for safety). That does wonders for the sound and ease of micing.

Cheers,
Don

 

[soundchaser59]

And my amp isn't noisy in the slightest. Don't know where you're getting that idea.


.....for micing unless you have a good room though, so taking off the metal grill helps a lot and is highly recommended

I think the noise is worse when the compressor is cranked and the noise gate is turned off. It will make quite a bit of hiss if you have it set a certain way and then crank the power gain and the pre gain.

I should have tried that idea about removing the grill......but I still dont like the sound of Celestion speakers. I liked my AD50 a lot better after I put a Weber speaker in it. Even a Celestion G12T-85 helped a lot.

 

[Rickson Gracie]

I have an AC15CC and its pure vintage vox tube tone. loud enough for gigging and jamming too. really a great amp.

north coast music bench tests and breaks them in before shipping.

by the way i didnt like my AC30CC so i sold it off. i now have the AC30BM and its a way sweeter sounding amp than the CC.

i really wanted to like the AD series but my ears are just too spoiled from tube amps to get into modeling amps.

 

[Ed Dixon]

I still have a Vox Super Beatle amp vintage 1965. Three channels, chrome stand with rotating speaker cabinet with 4 12s and 2 horns.

Any idea is that this is worth? It is something I no longer use and have no plans to use again. Still works fine. Very loud.

Ed

 

[jonnyc]

I still have a Vox Super Beatle amp vintage 1965. Three channels, chrome stand with rotating speaker cabinet with 4 12s and 2 horns.

Any idea is that this is worth? It is something I no longer use and have no plans to use again. Still works fine. Very loud.

Ed

Give you 250 for it.

 

[kojdogg]

I still have a Vox Super Beatle amp vintage 1965. Three channels, chrome stand with rotating speaker cabinet with 4 12s and 2 horns.

Any idea is that this is worth? It is something I no longer use and have no plans to use again. Still works fine. Very loud.

Ed

I just deleted a post about this that I made before that was misleading (not intentionally). I find that Harmony-Central Reviews can sometimes be helpful in pricing out used stuff (seeing what other people paid for the same thing).

 

[rotren]

I have had my AD50VT for over a year now, and I am still happy with it. It is what it is - a modeling amp. It gets close to the real thing, bla bla, but it isn't. A Vox AC30 is gonna have a better tone, no doubt about it.

However, it does sound good for the price. I use mine with an external 2x12 cab, and boy it improves the sound quite a bit. The combo cab is not exciting at all, but run it through a good cab and it starts sounding really good. I get rid of the overly sparkly, jangly sound the combo tends to deliver.

I have a web page about the AD50VT you can check out if you are interested.
http://www.dolphinstreet.com/amps/vox_ad50vt
It has a some video clips too - scroll down the page a little to find them.

I really like gigging with this amp - which surprised me. I don't like it being inflexible with the lack of switching of models, but that's how Vox get you to buy their 60 and 120 versions. However, even the ADxx series amps cut through really well in a band situation, and I nowadays often leave my tube amp at home for gigs, especially if I can't play loud. The Vox sounds really good a low volumes compared to my tube amp, who wants to scream loud.

 

[allrics]

I still have a Vox Super Beatle amp vintage 1965. Three channels, chrome stand with rotating speaker cabinet with 4 12s and 2 horns.

Any idea is that this is worth? It is something I no longer use and have no plans to use again. Still works fine. Very loud.

Ed

I am pretty sure the Super Beatles were made from 66 to 67. They are worth $1700 to $2,200, according to my Vintage Guitar Price Guide. If you are looking to sell it I would recommend that you visit BeatGear forum and post it there.