VOX AD30VT super quick review

[deeaa*]

So, I swapped my beloved TM-10 for this amp.

Going thru the presets it appears the amp usability ratio is very high; super simple to adjust and understand how it all works. For a modeler, couldn't be much simpler.

Then the sounds...well in short none of the 'gain' models work for me at all, but that was expected. The first clean sound is quite useable and nice, although I use such a pristine clean very little usually. From then on the AC15 seems interesting - will have to get back to it to see how it yields drive sounds - but then the AC30 model hits the jackpot for me. Really nice. With a slight reverb it really does sound very very 'real' and tubey ans airy. Plenty of the 'british' ringing driven slight crunch and very good string separation. Just smack on some open chords and you get those sounds á la 'Friends' theme and The Who etc as well. The sound is *big* if any sound ever was.

In comparison to how good that sound is, all the rest of the amp models are really MUCH inferior to me. Can't really get a tight driven tone out of any of them that didn't sound artificial. Jury's still out on th AC15 model and maybe the final OD channel - am not impressed as of now but they may yield better results by tweaking. But I do doubt I will ever get a good distorted sound out of it.

Well, I tried a H&K Warp Factor in front and it can work quite well for a lead booster/drive for the AC30 model, which is great - means I can have three very good sounds now at my feet switches. But even the warp can't make the amp a heavy-sounding metal amp, which is kinda amazing given the extreme range of drive from that 18 volt monster of a drive pedal...but no matter, as I don't really use much any extreme drive.

The sound in general is sufficiently different from my other amps, it instantly makes me change my playing style. Whereas the Tech-21 and also my Ceriatone 4x12" setup are kinda Marshall tight and beg for tight playing and damping and are punchy and in-your-face, this amp is the opposite, it simply begs for ringing open chords and loosely chunky full-chord rhythms.

As it happens, it's pretty much exactly what I need for my Whobody band, which is kinda pop-rock music.

So, so far so good!

[marnold***]

I think you basically hit it on the head. When I changed the speaker in mine to a Ragin Cajun it made the clean models even better, but unfortunately I was never able to find a high gain setting that I liked for more than two minutes.

[Eric***]

So, so far so good!

Interesting review. Glad to hear you like it, anyway.

[deeaa*]

OK I was maybe too quick to judge the drives in one respect...

It appears the sounds when using the amp 'live' are NOTHING like the sounds on the D/I-phone output. For those you need all different setups and settings it seems.

BUT it seems from the D/I out the drives can be quite OK and useable too, at least some of them.

Here's a super quick demo of the AC30 model behind an UK80's model for lead, recorded via D/I.

While the AC30 is nowhere as 'big' and cool via D/I, the drive sound in comparison to it is quite nice, actually, too. And it does seem it can give pretty nice D/I sounds as well. Only that I need to build settings for each separately - i.e. 'live' sound and D/I.

Here:
http://deeaa.pp.fi/clips/voxtest.mp3

[Eric***]

Here's a super quick demo of the AC30 model behind an UK80's model for lead, recorded via D/I.

Hmm. The AC30 backing almost sounds like it's two tracks: one clean & chime-y, one dirty. The lead is decent, but seemed a little flat (tonally, not pitch-wise) on some of the sustained notes.

[bigG]

I'm glad to hear you like it, deeaa. I know you took a big gamble in the trade.

I love my AD50VT, and plan to keep it. I finally realized that for what I do, in my apartment, that the AD50VT was the keeper, and more iconic amps that I had were the ones to sell (my Vox AC15 and Peavey Delta Blues 210, and were worth more on the market) to help finance my Martin purchases.

Nice sound clip, too, although I think you can iron out some rough edges once you get more familiar with its capabilities. Good choice, imho!

G

[deeaa*]

quite right there eric; I always also record the actual dry guitar signal and it can be heard some in the track, shoulda killed the track but I did this literally in 5 mins and I forglt to mute the direct line...the od model is more 'wide' sounding but in the presets this one seemed the one to have some 'squelch' and life on it. I suppose I like sort of dry-midrangey lead sounds...I dislike a too warm and thick saturated lead a lot...such as Slash and Moore and even Santana...you know...or van halen...I like it kinda raw.

[aeolian]

If you have a cabinet that matches the AD30Vt impedance, try it and see whether you like the sound better. The reason I'm suggesting this is because a good percentage of AD30VT owners (including myself) swap out the speaker for something better quality.

I agree with you about the useable voices, but I actually also like the Boutique Clean and even the Boutique OD. And by all means use the save function to save a setting you like, the only bad thing is that you can only save 2 settings.

[deeaa*]

I do have a 10" celestion from a marshall 4x10 here...maybe Ill just try that for a test :-)

[Duff]

I have put the Eminence Ragin' Cajun in my Fender Super Champ XD. I put it in shortly after getting the amp, based on the recommendations of Bill M. and his testing of speakers. It made an AWESOME change in the sound.

It is supposed to be a relatively neutral speaker in that it is not supposed to alter the model sounds on the SCXD dramatically, like a particularly "voiced" speaker would probably do. Plus with this speaker you get a major increase in sensitivity that results in a MAJOR increase in "perceived" volume from the amp, especially good for thinner sounding models - give them some volume.

I will probably get a Vox modeller some day. Right now I have a line on a NOS AD60VTX with the blue closed back and Vox vintage style grill cloth. It sounds good, but not as good as a real decent tube amp. For instance, not having a/b'd it to an AC15 or 30, I seriously doubt that it would hold a candle to the tone of either in any real way.

It has several settings on it that I like a lot as well as some effects that are good.

My Fender SCXD never ceases to inspire me with new sounds out of different amp models that I at first dismissed as thin or uninteresting: then I found out about needing to tweak each model, just like the amp modeled, to get the sound you want out of it. I played like twelve models the other day and tweaked them and every one was really great sounding, especially the Fender models, and even some of the gain models were real nice, especially with a hot guitar.

Good luck with the AD30VT. I wouldn't be surprised if it has some growing room hiding in it, hidden secrets that you may still not have discovered.

[deeaa*]

Still more...

I got a chance to play it loud, and I found out one more thing: when played loud the different models start to work pretty well. Even very well. Still don't like the harder drives too much, they all tend to be too buzzy, and you just can't get a 'tight' low end on them...but toning down the gain some gives pretty nice sounds still.

This amp is a strange beast. Its sounds change a lot according to the volume they are used at, and you have to adjust it differently for every volume setting. Played LOUD the preset models work very well (just change the FX to basic verb setting though) but when you play quieter, they need to be differently adjusted. For instance, when I get the AC30 model sounding great at pretty low volume, it's way too blurry and driven when played loud.

You'd think the master volume reduction knob in the back would help, but I dunno...it just makes it more complicated for me. You can use it well for achieving the 'loud' sounds also quieter, but it's not enough alone, you also need to adjust vol/gain to keep it rather similar.

And to top it all off, it REALLY sounds very different with different guitars. I mean, ALL my guitars have the same pickup config/pickups but STILL my Davette and Strat sound totally different thru the Vox. Way more so that thru my other amp.

Then there's the third way to use ut, the D/I output via the headphone jack. And that too sounds quite different from what the amp sounds quiet and loud. And also, the output level to the soundcard via it seems quite low. And...If I now adjust the sounds to be nice via d/i they aren't too good thru the amp then. Damn!

So it has like three quite different tonalities according to how loud you play it or use d/i or not, and that bugs me.

I really do like many of the sounds now when it's played loud; AC30 and 80's british for lead for instance work really well together with some tweaking. All the sounds are curiously quite 'big' sounding yet they clearly lack body, which is no wonder from one 10". But I bet they do cut thru very well, they're pretty bright and midrangey-punchy. Initially it sounds too bright and jangly but the ear quickly adjusts. I bet it's gonna work well with drums and cut thru. I played my Ceriatone right after the Vox and of course it's completely different - like talking on the phone with the Vox and its small speaker and then speaking face to face with the big rig...but still, I do like the bright jangle of the Vox too.

It's kinda annoying that it sounds good loud, because I can seldom play loud :-( so it sort of bugs me that I know it has better sounds, but just can't get them so good when quieter or d/i. It's like it's teasing - hey I can sound this nice, but nah nah nah, u can't get that quiet, althought it's a modeler! I said it was very simple to tweak but didn't expect it to be this fussy about how it's set up. Turn the volume up 1/4 turn and you need a totally new EQ setting! Man, I'd need to take pictures of the settings plus the 'master vol' setting on the back :-)

I'll probably use it the most with not very much volume for monitoring purposes. I plug into a D/I box from where a clean signal departs to my DAW and I record the dry signal only, and there is a bypass signal going to the amp, so I can have amp sounds when I play and record, but actually only record a clean signal from the guitar. It should be very good for that purpose.

Perhaps I can also find some sweet spot where it's not terribly loud yet, quiet enough to still sound warmer with the small speaker, and also mic the amp. It seems like it could give some very nice mic'd sounds if I can only find the correct settings.

But summa summarum - although it's a modeler its sound varies astonishingly much according to the way it's set up and at what volume, and what guitar.

[Duff]

Years ago some engineer/tech expert did an extensive report on how Vox "should" have designed the valvetronix amp circuits; and he suggested how it should be redesigned. Supposedly the new models had taken some of his ideas into consideration.

His report was on the "patchtronix" forum where there was a lot of info on the vox amps and suggested patches, etc. At least that is where I found out about his report. It is probably still on the web somewhere.

Evidently there are a lot of areas where the chromies, in particular, can be improved. Supposedly they had the potential of being really awesome amps but the design element did not do their job very well, skipped over things, did things backwards, etc.

As I said, the new chromies are supposed to be improved, but by how much I don't know.

I like my little DA5 for camping trips, etc. I can see where modellers have a big potential.

The Fender Super Champ XD seems to do a good job, but is not nearly as complicated and computerized as the Vox version.

I also thought the Vypyr sounded a bit weak and thin compared to the real amps and effects that they are supposed to model. WAY too bells and whistles with the Christmas Tree vibe with all sorts of lights, etc. Dam that thing must be bright in the dark.

[tjcurtin1]

Having owned both the 30vt and now the vt30, there is a big improvement in the amps sounds in the VT, and the expansion of saved patches to 8 from 2, which is a great help, although I still find the high gain amps to sound as Deeaa describes here. It also has the same characteristic of sounding very different at low and high volumes.

[marnold***]

Once again, +1 to everything deeaa said. It's just that it took him three days to figure that out. It took me three years.

[SuperSwede]

although I still find the high gain amps to sound as Deeaa describes here.

Does the hi-gain amps on your VT sound fizzy and sharp? The only usable hi-gain models on my VT50 is the UK80´s. I think that the speaker is voiced for the vintage style amphs.

[deeaa*]

+1 for the UK80's. It's Ok. Very midrangey and sort of 'hollow' sounding but the drive is not bad, and it has a nice scream to bends and such.

I guess I'll just HAVE to try bolting a Marshall 10" on it...might be totally different. But it may also ruin the AC15/30 sounds I like a lot on it, thru the original speaker. Hell why not, I'll give it a shot today. It's not like it's a huge task .-)

[SuperSwede]

Dee, does yours have speaker out? If so it would be interesting to hear how it sounds like with your 4x12 cab. I think the key to the hi-gain models is the speaker setup.

[deeaa*]

Sadly, no speaker out at all

[Duff]

You could easily make a speaker out by clipping the speaker wires from the amp section to the speaker, in between; and attaching a male quarter inch jack to the speaker side and a female quarter inch jack to the side going to the speaker from the amp section. Plug these in to use the built in speaker.

Unplug the quarter inch jacks and run a speaker cable to a properly matched ohm speaker cabinet from the female jack coming out of the amp section.

Wouldn't this make for a versitile way to use your amp as a head for a properly matched cabinet?

I have always considered doing this to a couple amps but haven't gotten to it.