Guitar Heads: Y'ever Played A Vox Valvetronics Amp?

Damn! They are SO sexy-looking. Saw one in my local Guitar Center a few months back and just lost all control (my grip is tenuous at best).

To start with, you can tell, just from looking, that these beasties are truly Vox creations--but the Pure Sex moments begin when you plug a guitar in. I asked my Helpful Sales Rep if they had a Rickenbacker in the house and was rewarded with a GREEN version of the six-string model that George Harrison played now and again.

I set the amp to "Vox AC30TB" and turned up the compression, then played the opening riff to "She Said She Said." Oh. My. GOD! I was INSIDE the "Revolver" sessions with nary a lungful of herb.

I spent two joyful hours trying out every other model that the amp featured and could NOT find a bad one. But the coolest thing was, that the Fender models FELT like Fenders!! I can't speak for the other ones, feel-wise, because I haven't had the bucks or the desire to stray outside my home base of '66 Band-Master.

I believe these amps are the freakin' Holy Grail Itself--and my new ambition is to play pedal steel through a Vox Valvetronics! Anybody else tried one?

:bounce:
dbt

I'm a luddite. Give me an AC30 or a JTM45 any day!

Which model did you play? There's a couple, some with one 12", some with two 12"s. Some are 60W and some 120.

I'm looking for something with some chunk, but I'd like to keep the weight under 50 lbs.

Rick's & Vox's are usually a little too $ for me.

60 watts and 1 X 12, not that heavy as I remember. Priced around $650. 'Scuze me while I drool some mo...

:loveya:
dbt

FlashHarry: both yer faves are modeled on this amp, I think!!!

...into the 21st century!!! Actually, if I were in a cover band or some other band where I needed a ton of different tones, it would probably be a godsend. Personally, I have one tone and one tone only...RAWK! Actually, my favorite combination is my Gibson SG plugged directly into my Marshall SuperBass 100! Withering!

I'll let you slide all you want! But Gibson > Marshall = Home Run Every Time, so the pickups are just gravy in one form or another.

Magnanimously Yrs,
:hippie:
dbt

...I'm afraid I prefer PAFs. Why use a ball-peen, when you can use a sledge? Actually, I'd love a p-90 SG or Melody Maker. I'll check my bank account and get back to you...

...but I sure do like the sound of an AC30. I prefer Orange amps, though -- if it's good enough for Sonic Smith and Wayne Kramer, it's good enough for me.

And ya gotta give 'em cool points for sheer nerve! If I had the money, though, I would abandon Fender for a Valvetronics. Yeah, I know it's heresy in some circles...

:smoke:
dbt
I've got blisters on my fingers!

I think of the digital modeling amps I've tried, the Vox Valvetronix is the best. The individual amp setups are not as sensitive to knob tweaking as the real thing (especially on the M-B rectifier and Marshall models), and some of that really drippy, juicy tube funk is missing from the overdrive, but all things taken together it's a darn fine sounding roomful of amps for less than one of the real things would set you back.

I've heard that the Fender modeling amps coming out are supposed to be good too. I know from experience that the Line 6 are totally weak... volume knobs only affect the volume!! What's up with that?!?

Wish they would come up with similar technology for bass, as I play bass exclusively now. I've got an Ampeg SVT head and 410HLF cab, so I'm not sure how much better my sound could get (I like a traditional, retro bass tone, none of this popping and slapping nonsense for me!). But it would be cool to footswitch between the Ampeg and a G-K or SWR sound.

Your search is already OVER, Main! Howevah, Korg makes a nifty little "modeling amp" stompbox for BASS PLAYERS that might be worth a look. Check it out here. Oughta KILL thru an AMPEG!

Cheers,
:toast:
dbt

I agree they're nice, but i don't like the modeling stuff. I've become increasingly convinced that one must find the amp that provides the basic sound they hear in their head. Effects can be make-up and earrings, but the basic sound has to be IT!

So, i would never switch from my Boogie. When clean it's GLASSY clean. A Tele through that tone is just so cool!

Then, fully saturated, it's killer. It's the sound i hear in my head. Give me my Ibanez with the whammy and humbuckers, clear the house, and let me roar.

For all the things i did on keyboards, (all my own programming, all the weird beeps, clicks, and thumps used in live performance, everything MIDI'd, etc.), i'm a bit of a purist in terms of guitar tone. Not in playing style, (i'm decidedly "unusual"), but in terms of tone, i just want it simple and consistent.

But, if you like this Vox amp, it really doesn't matter what i think, now does it?
The Professor

Newbies might overlook a Mesa Boogie in the middle of all this Vox Worship. And it bears pointing out that the TeleWhacker is correct for ANY occasion!

:toast:
dbt

(Ibanez builds NO trash.)

but Vox made great vintage stuff.