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Sophisticated modeling technology combined with the Vox Valve Reactor power amp circuit that uses a 12AX7 vacuum tube results in sound quality that overwhelms the competition. Announcing the VT series — the latest combo amps in the Valvetronix series, featuring simulation sounds of famous guitarists.
Amp Models
BOUTIQUE CL, DELUXE TWEED, SUPER 4X10, AC15TB, AC30HH, EXPRESS TRAIN, AC50CP2, UK 25TH,US ‘90S, UK MODERN, BOUTIQUE METAL, MODDED CL, TWEED 2X12, TWEED 4X10, AC15, AC30TB, BOUTIQUE OD, AC30BM, UK ‘80S, CALI METAL, UK ‘90S, METAL BULL
Effect Models
DELAY, TAPE ECHO, CHORUS, COMP, OCTAVE, FLANGER, PHASER, ROTARY, TREMOLO, PITCH, REVERB, NR(Noise Reduction)
Number of amp types: 22
Number of effects: 12
Number of programs: 66 preset, 8 user
Input/output jacks: 1x INPUT,1 x FOOT SW jack, 1 x PHONE jack
Power amp output: maximum 15W RMS @4 ohms
Speaker: VT15=1 x VOX original (8 inch,4 ohm)
Signal processing A/D conversion: 24-bit, D/A conversion: 24-bit, Sampling frequency: 44.1 kHz
Power supply requirements: AC, local voltage
Power consumption: 28 Watts
Dimensions (WxDxH): 428 x 224 x 395 mm / 16.85) x 8.82 x 15.55 in.
Weight: 10kg / 22.05 lbs.
Included items: power cable
Options(Sold separately): VOX VFS5 foot switch
*Appearance and specifications of this product are subject to change without notice.
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I primarily use my '93 American made Strat Deluxe with the lace pickups. This guitar is great… it can make any amp sound better. But how did this amp work with it. Ehhh.. so-so at best. On the plus side, one thing I really liked about the amp is that all the factory presets were at least USABLE… unlike many others that are just too damn wierd for my "classic" approach. But, that being said, I had to tweak FOREVER to find a sound I liked. Finally settled on one of the botique style over-driven amp models. It suits my purposes for now, but it still isn't "IT". I find that unless you're standing directly in front of the amp, with the speaker pointed at you, that it can be rather hard to hear in a practice/live situation with other musicians. Must be due to the "box" style of the amp and it only having the single 12" celestion. I HATE the effects section. Never been much of a Korg fan anyway. I prefer Roland/Boss by a LONG SHOT. I WILL say, that once you get the hang of it (it's rather easy, really), programming the unit is a snap. Over-all, the amp is DECENT for what it CAN do… all the tones are usable to one extent or another, but finding that one truly GREAT tone has been an ongoing chore with no end in sight.
I believe my amp is a 2001 or 2002 model. Bought new at the Musician's Friend factory outlet store in Kansas City. Since enough has already been said to define the features of this amp in previous posts, I'll not waste any more time on them here, other than to point out what I LIKE or DISLIKE about them…. LOVE the looks! This is a classy looking combo… I've gotten tons of compliments on it. Perfect for small clubs. I am also fond of the power dampening feature that lets you switch between 1,15, 30, and 60 watts of power. Makes practicing easier on the nieghbors when you live in a small apartment building like I do. Sounds are good. HATE the footswitch, (except for the fact that it is phantom powered by the control cable) which is what forced me to give this amp a 7 in this department instead of an 8. Why do I hate it? For all the same reasons that everyone else does in the other posts. It just ISN'T flexible from a working musician's point of view.
Here's where this amp REALLY sucks, to me. I feel like I have to BABY this thing to keep it intact. Don't get me wrong… I take VERY good care of my gear. I can't afford not to. But this thing is just TOO fragile. Need I mention… only a 90 day warranty on this thing. One more time for emphasis… ONLY A 90 DAY WARRANTY ON THIS THING! I already had to take it in for repairs less than a year after purchase and since the 90 days had already elapsed, this amp cost me an extra $60 within the first year. Though my local tube-guru said it was more than likely a problem from shipping, it still wasn't covered under warranty and I had to pay for it! ARGH!
The cloth grill, though pretty swank and pimp looking, could EASILY tear, so beware sharp edges poking it.
And finally… Within a couple weeks after purchase, the black chicken-head knob on the back that controls wattage fell off and would never stay on after that. I remedied the situation by using some of what's called "Gorilla Snot"… a type of resin used by musicians to help keep a better grip on picks or drumsticks… and there hasn't been a problem with it falling off since.
Soooooo… with all that said, I just feel like a bundle of nerves when I'm gigging with this amp because it is so fragile… and I don't have a backup.
Overall… if I had it to do over again, I WOULD NOT buy this amp. In fact, I intend to have it replaced by this spring or early summer. Probably try out a "regular amp" this time. Kind of burned/disappointed with the modeling amps… especially since all I want is ONE REALLY GOOD TONE. Maybe I'll try the Vai Legacy amp from Carvin… if I don't like it, I'll send it back and just buy a Fender… they have 5 YEAR WARRANTIES anyway.
What I can't get over: Fragile construction of amp… Lack of thought put into footswitch… Korg effects… Lack of "sound spread" (Doesn't circulate sound well).
What I like: Not enough to make it worth keeping. It'll do until I get something better… This amp would be ok for studio musicians, but it isn't sturdy enough for the road. I like the tap-tempo feature for delay, and I like the phantom power that runs the footswithch…. the built in tuner in both amp and footswitch is nice too.
Brian (01/09/2003)
I have owned valve amps such as Marshall DSL50, Laneys (LC and TT20). Modelling amps such as Line6 old flagship the AX2. Every FX unit going (GT6, PodXT, Pod2, VAMP, GNX2).
The Valvetronix sounds like it has a blanket over it, cab sims are too heavy handed. Just try one in the shop and you'll see. I took the stock speaker out and tried a Celestion V30 and it was the same. The line outs are even darker.
I understand why people think this is the least digital sounding and the smoothest modelling amp – it has no hi-frequencies! But no real amp sounds this dull.
To get the same sound from any real amp and a Pod or modeller:
Set the modeller to Direct/PA mode with cab sim on!
Another point to remember, the modelling and FX is done by Korg so essentially this is a AX1500 in a valvestate combo.
See website, other reviews. Fully featured.
I owned this amp for 3 days before sending it back. I tried another one at the store because I was sure it must have been faulty. Wished it lived up to all the other reviews here but I need frequencies above 3khz from my amps…
Anonymous (07/22/2003)
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The AD50VT2-XL is part of the NEW VOX Valvetronix XL line, an exciting new range of tube-powered modeling amplifiers that delivers the power and punch that modern rock players require, with a selection of hi-gain sounds that span the entire range of heavy rock music.
Features of the AD50VT-XL include:
Eleven amp sounds.
Sophisticated modeling technology is used to provide eleven different amps, including classic vintage amps of the past, costly, modern high-end amps and high-gain hybrids, all accessible at the turn of a knob.
New Models
Glass: Modeled on the Clean channel of a collectible 100-Watt head named the Overdrive Special
Funked: Modeled on a classic American black-faced 2×12 combo
Buzzsaw: Inspired by the British-made 50-Watt head that created the sounds of ‘70s hard rock and metal
Crunched: Based on a very rare modded VOX AC30/6TBX Top Boost combo, adding new hot-rodded gain levels and EQ
Thrashed: Modeled on a 1983, all tube, single channel, master volume 100-Watt head
Raged: Based on the high gain channel of a modern, all-tube 100 Watter, with boosted bass and mid frequencies and even more gain
Modern: A still higher gain modification to the “Modern High Gain†channel, with scooped EQ
Fluid: The UK Modern setting with maximum gain and mid-range EQ, modified to emphasize a vocal-like tone for legato-style playing
Molten: Based on VOX’s US Hi-Gain model but capable of even more powerful, heavily saturated sounds, with an Octave effect mixed into the preset
Black: A version of the UK Modern mutated to Class A, rather than Class AB
Damaged: Rooted in VOX’s US Hi-Gain model with more gain and a completely re-voiced and modified EQ to be thicker and darker.
Eleven high-quality effects
Eleven effects are built in, including compressor, delay, reverb, compressor & chorus, compressor & phaser, chorus & delay, chorus & reverb, flanger & reverb, tremolo & reverb, and rotary & reverb, plus Noise Reduction. New for the XL series is an Octave effect for massive lead tones. Effect parameters are fully adjustable and a Tap button makes it easy to set your delay time or modulation speed.
Store amp and effect settings.
Store your favorite amp and effect settings as a program, containing two different settings (CH1 and CH2). Switch between these settings from the top panel, or by using the optional VFS2 foot switch connected to the rear panel. In addition, there is a preset program for each amp type.
Manual mode.
In Manual mode the sound you hear reflects the physical settings of the knobs.
You’re in control. Connect an optional VFS2 dual foot switch (sold separately) to switch programs or bypass effects. A power level control (not available on AD15VT-XL) adjusts the output wattage of the power amp. This means that even when the master volume is turned up all the way to drive the Valve Reactor power amp, you can adjust the volume without losing any tone.
Number of amp types: 11
Number of effects: 11
Noise reduction: 1
Number of programs: 11 preset, 2 channel
Input/output jacks:
Top panel: 1 x input
Rear panel: 1 x foot switch jack, 1 x line/phone jack, loop send jack x1, loop return jack x 1
Power amp output: maximum 50W RMS @ 8 ohms
Speaker: VOX original (12 inch, 16 ohm) x 2
Weight: 23 kg / 50.7 lbs
Options (sold separately): VFS2 dual foot switch
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" Short and realy sweet"
no amp is sexy but the look is great as well as it sounds
Plenty of bang for the buck at this price
built like a tank a pound a Watt its a Vox
Have three and have had no problem
a customer from charter.net (11/18/2008)
I play ESP guitars with EMG 80 & 81 pickups and the heavy tones are top notch for any modeling type of amp or pedal. I use the amps distortion instead of the distortion on my Boss GT-8. It also shines on the clean amp models which was a major attraction for me. If you want massive gain and crystal clear clean at the stomp of a switch this is your amp. There is no distortion on the cleans at any volume. In this one way its actually better than a real tube amp and cab. There are also some decent crunch tones in between on other amp models, but if thats what you're looking for get the standard version. The XL is meant for heavy tones.
It has a built in noise reduction circuit that is always on and it works pretty well for getting rid of any fuzz or hum. But it will feedback pretty badly on some high gain settings when the wattage control is all of the way up (@ 50W). For this reason, I've usually got the wattage selector at about 75%.
The digital effects are really good and that was a surprise to me. But again, due to the lack of preset controls it can be tough to use them live. I bought the footswitch for it which allows you to switch between the 2 channels and turn effects on/off. You can have a unique effect tied to each channel preset which is nice. But for me, its just not enough control so I still use a multi-effects unit. They would work in a pinch though. For recording situations they would probably work very nicely as they are surprisingly high quality. In some cases, even better than my GT-8.
First off I play in a working modern rock band. I was tired of lugging around a 4×12 and a head and was hoping to find a combo that I could get legitimate tones for hard rock music in the vein of Tool, Breaking Benjamin, Foo Fighters, etc. You wouldn't think VOX would be the brand to look at for there requirements but this amp is unlike any other VOX amp you've ever played, I promise. Its the high-gain version of their standard Valvetronix line, hence the additional XL and the more metal-worthy looks.
It is a 50-watt 2 x 12 amp-modeling amp with built in digital effects. It features 11 amp models and 11 effects and built in noise reduction. It also features a wattage control knob on the back which allows you to get effective tone at lower volumes. Now, that might lead you to wonder why you would need a wattage knob on a solid state amp. Just turn down the volume since there's no tube to drive it should sound the same right? Well, the trick here is that VOX has integrated a scaled down power tube section to create power fluctuations the same way a massive real tube amp would. This is their "Valvetronix" technology.
This is a two-channel amp with the two channels being assignable to any sound you can get out of this thing. Being able to assign sounds is great, but it would be SO much better if you could assign more than 2 presets. This is my number one complaint about this amp! You can get so many great tones out of it, but you're forced to pick just 2 for any live situation. If they would come out with a footswitch that gave you instant access to like 5,6, 10, 12 presets I could almost get rid of my Boss GT-8 for live shows.
Volume level was of some concern before I got it, but its pretty much loud enough. When we play live its just mic'd and coming back at me through the monitors so volume's not a huge issue. I usually have to turn it down a bit. It does lack just a little bit when competing with our other guitarist's 100 watt tube head and 4×12 cab along with a huge bass rig and drums all being played in a basement practice area. But even then its workable and no one should be playing that loud any way.
I believe this model was released in late 2007. Got mine in January of 08.
Playing a solid state combo that sounds nearly as good as a real tube amp really reduces fears of tubes crapping out or other potential issues with analogue circuitry. So, in that way its very reliable. I'm currently gigging with it with basically no back up. If it died I'd have to run my GT-8 direct (which doesn't sound too great but at least we finish the gig).
BUT I DID HAVE ONE PROBLEM! Recently I pick up the amp in a rush to clear the stage for the next act and the handle broke clean off! It seemed to be a pretty well built handle because the pin that broke was metal and about 3/8" in diameter. Kind of like the metallurgical content of the material was screwed up.
I've been playing for about 12 years now and gigging on and off for the last 5 or so. I've played Mesa Boogies, Marshalls, Peaveys, and to be honest most those 100 watt tube monsters can't be beat for sheer heavy tone. But, for a working musician or anyone on a budget this amp is a very very nice and convenient option.
If it were stolen I would buy it again and put a bounty on the person who stole my other one.
JT Cole (03/30/2008)
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