Vox Pathfinder 15r

[piebaldpython]

Hey Duff, back in June 2007, you did a "product review" of the VOX Pathfinder 15R. How did that do with pedals?? Do you still like it as much now as you did then? How is the 8" Bulldog speaker in that?

[Duff]

I really like the Pathfinder 15R and it goes great with pedals. It has been extremely dependable. I take it to lessons and jam with it. It has a really neat built in vintage style tremolo. It produces great overdrive and has a boost button. Gets very loud for fifteen watts. Looks really cool but comes across with the goods. This is a player's type amp not some super flashy super expensive status symbol amp, although there is nothing wrong with them either, like for instance an AC30 or one of the top of the line Fenders or Marshalls, needlesstosay.

It is loud for a small practice amp though. Enough to rile up the neighbors. I have mine sitting right next to me right now to grab and go. I have a new Super Champ XD plugged in that I'm learning how to get the best out of right now. The SCXD is small but has a ten inch speaker and is more complicated than one might be at first led to believe. Lots of amp models and an effects dial that can be tweaked with a level dial to get sounds that exceeded my expectations both in quantity and quality. There is room for mastering this amp and it is taking me some time but gaining depth as I learn better how to use it. Speaker is not broken in yet but I will see about a ragin cagin anyway.

The pathfinder bull dog speaker has been great, no complaints. The Pathfinder is a really quality amp in my opinion that is like a underadvertized little gem but people that find them tend to really like them. A great basic amp that you can add pedals to to get a lot of other sounds out of it. Like a Crate Palamino V8; put a multi pedal with wah in front of it and it is beautiful for a three knob five watt amp. The sixteen watt Palamino on sale at GC would be a great amp.

Hope this helps,

Duffy
Winfield, Pa.
mbolduc@dejazzd.com

[mwagnerch]

Is it loud enough to gig or be heard over a drummer. What about a church type setting?

[Duff]

Super great little amp.

Only a soft drummer, rare, wouldn't yell at you though.

For the average rock drummer you will need around 100 solid state watts or maybe a 65. A 30 watt tube Peavey classic or delta blues or a 40 watt Fender Hot Rod Deluxe or Blues Deluxe will also have the drummer yelling at you but it's better to have him yelling for you to turn your amp down than telling you to get a real amp.

The Pathfinder is great and would do good in a chruch with a soft drummer. The Fender Super Champ XD has a DI output on the back to go to a mixing board.

The Pathfinder is great for home or small size shows with a drummer who knows how to play less than full blast. Lots of them only play full blast, probably because they had to struggle to cut through super loud guitar players.

A hot rod deluxe or such should drownd out almost any drummer. You don't need a big tube stack. Just a thirty to fifty watt tube combo.

Guitar Center is blowing out solid state Retroflex three channel with controls for each channel and 200 stereo watts and two twelve inch Celestions for 299. Call GC in Scranton area of Pa. for one. I'm sure they ship. Super loud and has great tone for a solid state and has some great effects including a great autowah. Any GC can give you their phone number. You local GC might even have one. I played one and like it a lot but got a Peavey Delta Blues instead. GC in Lincoln, Nebraska will ship you a floor model Peavey classic 30 for 399 including shipping. Ask for the manager and tell them Matt told you about it, Matt from Pa. The Peavey costs four times as much as the Pathfinder though but will blow out a drummer, which is what you want to be able to do so you don't get yelled at to get a real amp. You can always turn down.

Some of these items are always for sale on ebay for less.

The Pathfinder is a classic style with tremolo like the Delta Blues and has a very cool vibe, tone, feel for an inexpensive solid state amp that looks and sounds like a real tube Vox, just quieter.

Lots of times I take my Pathfinder to my guitar lessons. Great tone at low volume.

To overcome a drummer remember that 3 solid state watts equal one tube watt. So a 40 watt tube amp is roughly as loud as a 120 watt solid state.

The old Fender Twin Reverbs were 80 tube watts +/-. The reissues are around a thousand new or more. And they were combos. Nice amps. No problem winning almost any battle of the band.

Duff

Get at least a 100 watt solid state if you want to be able to drownd out a loud drummer. And you can turn it down less than full blast to blend in perfectly. You'll be glad you did and the drummer won't blow you out, he'll be able to hear you.

I'm sure other people use other methods, but this works for me and a loud drummer.