Valvetronix woes

[TS808]

I keep going back and forth on this, but the longer I own my AD100VT the more I'm not so sure about it.

There are some good tones on the amp, but none that really overwhelm me.
The UK 70's is a really good model, but the cabinet emulation is just a bit much. I get some really good top end on this model, but the "thump" (cab emulation) on the wound strings really is a bit much, especially through a 212 cab. The US High Gain model is very bass/midrange heavy, and above 10:00 on the gain, the notes sound muddy and overly distorted. The Boutique OD model is very good, but on lower gain settings (10:00-11:00) there's that low end "thump" again from the cabinet modeling. UK 80's isn't bad, but then again, either too much gain or on lower gain, the thump again..lol.

So far, the models I'm the most pleased with are the Bassman, Blackface 212, and Vox AC30.

I realize this is the "budget model" Valvetronix, but I expected a little better.

On most of the models, because of the low end thumping, I usually EQ the amp with the treble at 2:00, mids at 1:00, and the bass anywhere from 9:00 to 10:00.

On the Vox, I up the mids even more to about 3:00, with the treble at about 1:00 and the bass at around 11:00-1:00.

Just wondering, if anyone has experienced similar issues? Or, what do you find works best for you? This amp has been a little frustrating for me with my strats. My Duoverb, which I traded for this amp, had much better tones, just way too loud, and it was much easier to dial in a good tone. If the Duoverb had the power attenuator, I would've kept it for sure.

Would maybe switching to a better speaker make a difference?? If so, which speakers would be good besides the Neodogs? I like this amp, but am having a real hard time finding a "sweet spot" that works for me.
My H & K Tube 20 is so much different, great tones at almost any setting.

[Robert****]

I have no issues with my AD50VT. Been thinking about replacing it with a AD100VT head, since I now have a good cab.

Have you tried yours with an external cab? It makes a huge difference for me.

I really like the amp, I have not tried anything that gets close to its versatility and tone for the price.

I am really interested in the H & K you have though. Can you start a thread about it and maybe some audio clips? I'd like to know more about it and how it compares to Fenders, Marshalls, etc.

[TS808]

I have no issues with my AD50VT. Been thinking about replacing it with a AD100VT head, since I now have a good cab.

Have you tried yours with an external cab? It makes a huge difference for me.

I really like the amp, I have not tried anything that gets close to its versatility and tone for the price.

I am really interested in the H & K you have though. Can you start a thread about it and maybe some audio clips? I'd like to know more about it and how it compares to Fenders, Marshalls, etc.

Robert,

Here's what I'm finding. Despite what alot of people recommend regarding turning the master up to 3:00, I'm finding that all that does is really muddy up the tone and take away alot of the character of my strats.

Last night, I turned up the attenuator and lowered the master, and all of a sudden the amp came to life so to speak. The distortions didn't sound overly muddy or noisy, and there was more presence/brilliance with the strat.

I find that the lower I turn the attenuator and the higher the master, the muddier the tones get to the point where you have to tweak more on the EQ for a good tone. I think these amps are made to turn up the attenuator and "open them up more".

The H & K by the way is awesome and an unnoticed amp by alot of folks, mainly because there aren't alot of H & K dealers compared to Fender, Crate, etc. It has a bigger cabinet than a Traynor, Blues Jr. or a Crate 15 watt, and the cleans are very good. The overdrive goes from a nice bluesy grit to a full, all out, hard distortion. If I can get some clips up soon, I will.

[marnold***]

Here's what I'm finding. Despite what alot of people recommend regarding turning the master up to 3:00, I'm finding that all that does is really muddy up the tone and take away alot of the character of my strats.

Last night, I turned up the attenuator and lowered the master, and all of a sudden the amp came to life so to speak. The distortions didn't sound overly muddy or noisy, and there was more presence/brilliance with the strat.

TS808,

I've found the same thing to be true. I keep my master at about 1:00-1:30 and that seems to work great. When I had the master up higher, notes lost definition on my AD30VT. My guess is that a speaker upgrade would help, but at this point that's very low on the priority totem pole.

[TS808]

TS808,

I've found the same thing to be true. I keep my master at about 1:00-1:30 and that seems to work great. When I had the master up higher, notes lost definition on my AD30VT. My guess is that a speaker upgrade would help, but at this point that's very low on the priority totem pole.

I've been running the amp at about 1/4 to 1/2 way up on the attenuator with the master at about 11:00. More clarity in the distortion settings (also at 11:00) without the muddiness. I also purchased an amp stand to get the thing off the floor...212 cabinets tend to have alot of bass to begin with, and even on a carpeted floor, they really thump.

[Leonidas]

TS808,

I had found the exact same thing now that I think about it. When I first got the amp, I was always setting the volume by turning the attenuator down. I always thought it was OK like this, but then I played it loud jamming with friends and it sounded 10x better. Much more high end. I actually couldn't even use any of my presets because they were too bright. When I got home, I tried keeping the attenuator up and turning down the master, and it worked GREAT. Since then, I usually leave the attenuator at half, and adjust my volume with the master (keepin it below half most of the time). This has worked great for me. I wonder if the lower end valvetronix amps' attentuator is an inferior make to the higher end models? Does that make sense?

[TS808]

TS808,

I had found the exact same thing now that I think about it. When I first got the amp, I was always setting the volume by turning the attenuator down. I always thought it was OK like this, but then I played it loud jamming with friends and it sounded 10x better. Much more high end. I actually couldn't even use any of my presets because they were too bright. When I got home, I tried keeping the attenuator up and turning down the master, and it worked GREAT. Since then, I usually leave the attenuator at half, and adjust my volume with the master (keepin it below half most of the time). This has worked great for me. I wonder if the lower end valvetronix amps' attentuator is an inferior make to the higher end models? Does that make sense?

I don't know if it works the same, but alot of people who own THD hotplates or Marshall Power Brakes say that an attenuator does suck tone out of their amp. Granted, the VT attenuator is probably a different type of attenuator, but I'm finding that the more you open up the attenuator, the better the tone from the amp. If I'm running my gain, volume, and master all around 11:00-12:00, with the attenuator up at least 1/2 way, the amp really comes alive, and yes, there is much more high end from the amp.

I've also tried both an EQ in the loop, as well as a BBE Sonic Stomp (also in the loop despite BBE's recommendation to put it before the amp), and both also add a different dimension to the amp.

[Tone2TheBone]

When I had a Valvetronix I ran the attenuator at 75%. That gave the amp plenty of drive and crispness that it needed. I also tweaked the noise gate down to almost nil. Just barely on if at all....just enough to take out any background hiss but the gate was set much much lower than the factory setting. You might want to mess with the noise gate and bring that down from the factory too as that will make your models sound differently and react differently.

[TS808]

When I had a Valvetronix I ran the attenuator at 75%. That gave the amp plenty of drive and crispness that it needed. I also tweaked the noise gate down to almost nil. Just barely on if at all....just enough to take out any background hiss but the gate was set much much lower than the factory setting. You might want to mess with the noise gate and bring that down from the factory too as that will make your models sound differently and react differently.

I do pretty much what you describe. I turn the noise gate off on some models and use it very little on the high gain models (just enough to eliminate some noise). Noise gates tend to really color the tone and really effect sustain.

[TS808]

TS808,

I've found the same thing to be true. I keep my master at about 1:00-1:30 and that seems to work great. When I had the master up higher, notes lost definition on my AD30VT. My guess is that a speaker upgrade would help, but at this point that's very low on the priority totem pole.

Here's a suggestion I got from Voxman on valvetronix.net. Forget the speaker swap unless you really want to do it. Run a 7-band EQ through the effects loop.

I was able to set the tone stack for the bridge pup, and for the neck pup, I just raised the treble one notch, and lowered the mids and bass by one notch. Tone heaven for sure. An external EQ in the loop makes a HUGE difference.

I also put the BBE Sonic Stomp after the EQ and tried that. It also makes a big difference where you can hear the "separation" between the lows and highs. Works great on low settings. Too high and the tones sound too processed and digital.

[marnold***]

Here's a suggestion I got from Voxman on valvetronix.net. Forget the speaker swap unless you really want to do it. Run a 7-band EQ through the effects loop.

My AD30VT doesn't have an effects loop.

[tremoloman***]

I had my AD50VT for only a couple of months due to its reliability. The effect channels kept going nuts on me after only playing through it for 15-30 minutes. I reset the amp dozens of times and it kept happening. I traded it in for a Fender Hot Rod DeVille and never looked back.

I know many people here are huge fans of these amps, but my experience was sadly not as enjoyable.

I do love my Vox Wah-Wah w/the bypass I installed in it. Their Wah is perfect for my style of use. It blends in rather than overpowers your tone.

[TS808]

My AD30VT doesn't have an effects loop.

I'd run one in between the guitar and amp or get the BBE Sonic Stomp.

[TS808]

I had my AD50VT for only a couple of months due to its reliability. The effect channels kept going nuts on me after only playing through it for 15-30 minutes. I reset the amp dozens of times and it kept happening. I traded it in for a Fender Hot Rod DeVille and never looked back.

I know many people here are huge fans of these amps, but my experience was sadly not as enjoyable.

I do love my Vox Wah-Wah w/the bypass I installed in it. Their Wah is perfect for my style of use. It blends in rather than overpowers your tone.

I hear you. Like I said before, I have a love/hate relationship with the AD100VT. There are times when I wonder why I got this amp, but I did try it in the store and thought it sounded great.

The HR Deville is an excellent amp. I had a 212 at one time...just too freakin loud for home. If I could use one where I live (a town house) I would get another in a heart beat.

[just strum]

When I had a Valvetronix I ran the attenuator at 75%. That gave the amp plenty of drive and crispness that it needed. I also tweaked the noise gate down to almost nil. Just barely on if at all....just enough to take out any background hiss but the gate was set much much lower than the factory setting. You might want to mess with the noise gate and bring that down from the factory too as that will make your models sound differently and react differently.

I have no idea what is being said here - what is a noise gate?

I am running my guitar into my Jamman and then Jamman into the amp. I purchased a better cable and last night it seemed to resolve the hiss problem I was having prior to purchasing the cable. Tonight it is acting up again. Different amp presets cause the hiss to increase, as does different effects. I also notice that there is little hiss when the guitar isn't being played, but as soon as I strum, the hissing increases.

I have the amp plugged into one socket, the Jamman plugged into a socket in the other room and also tried it in power strip.

[duhvoodooman***]

I have no idea what is being said here - what is a noise gate?

A "noise gate" is a basically a circuit that establishes a volume threshold where signals above that threshold are passed through and those below are not. This is useful for removing low-level background noise like hiss or the ubiquitous 60Hz hum.

The Vox ADxxVT amps have a built in noise gate that is adjusted as described on Pg. 13 of the amp manual. Very useful when dialing in manual settings for the higher gain amp models, which tend to be noisy. The noise gate is set automatically when you use the amp model presets.

[just strum]

Ok, I read pg 13 of the manual (I have to read that thing someday) and I understand that portion now. Although I get the background hiss on the high gain models I can now filter that out (I'm not sure if that is the term that I should use). The problem is much more prevalent with the jamman connected. Are their filters that might reduce the sound?