Vox V830 Distortion Booster

Price Paid: US $25.00 used

Ease of Use: 10
I mean it's three knobs. What's there to not understand.

Sound Quality: 8
There's a pre-requisite for this pedal that nobody seems to say; this should not be viewed as a distortion or overdrive, but as an effect like chorus or phaser (not that it makes those sorts of sounds). This pedal useful as something to either boost your main overdrive pedal or channel, or as an effect to your clean tone to give it something different. This EFFECT should not be considered for a main distortion or overdrive pedal. If you already have a good distortion pedal or an amp with a good second channel then this pedal can be used to great effect to broaden your tonal character. Also, the use varies greatly depending on where in your effects chain it lies.

Reliability: 9
Definately a solid pedal. Would use this on a gig in the way that I use it, NOT as an only distortion.

Customer Support: N/A
n/a

Overall Rating: 8
My guitar play styles range from Jimmy Page to The Edge to Dave Navarro and the pedal is most usable in the U2 tone as well as the clean but slightly dirty Strat tones like SRV and Gilmour. I've been playing for 7 years and in my set up I have it after my Vintage H&K Tubeman, and before my Crispy Cream Treble Booster. I've tried it in various positions in the chain and the best place is definately where it is. I tried it at the end of my distortion chain, but if you want to use it in conjuntion with any other O.D. pedal, it looses a lot of it's quality being later on in a chain. It also sounds very good with a TS808, TS9, or Treble Booster directly afterwards. ONLY complaint with it is that the LED was not very bright so I changed it to a flourescent blue to be able to cut through darkness better.

Submitted by qwerty at 07/15/2005 20:41

Price Paid: US $75

Ease of Use: 10
too easy.

Sound Quality: 6
bought this one a week ago,spent 3 hours on it and its for sale now...
go for the 2004 tubescreamer ts-808 reissue(vintage 808 are too expensive for the difference) or a vintage proco rat... this vox v830 can do a certain job but its crap compares to a ts 808. my gear is vox ac30+rickenbacker 360 and a gibson 335...
its like waisting your money on a fake guitar instead of bying the real deal.you know the routine,in the end, we all go for the real deal.

Reliability: N/A
probably good.
for those who are still looking to buy one,
i let it go for 30$...
surface_theband@yahoo.com

Customer Support: N/A

Overall Rating: 6

Submitted by dave at 11/03/2004 09:14

Price Paid: N/A

Ease of Use: 7
Volume, tone and drive...but u have to know what do u want to make this pedal sounds good

Sound Quality: 8
I bought this about 5 - 6 years ago...used for a while..and then no more...
About one years ago..i started re using this effect...now understanding it's real capacity.
I've a '69 50W Bass Plexi and a 2003 reissue ac30...it sounds best on plexi.

My setting are: level 2 o'clock, tone halfway, drive halfway.
I sound it with a yamaha sg3000 or a washburn simil strato...
The secret is to don't go over alfway in tone and in distortion...'cause too much distortion make any guitar sound the same...and too much treble make loose the bass...
This pedal has not a lot of bass...but my amply yes..so it's good for me!

So..at theese settings it's ideal for that '70 santana sound or eagles sound (think 70's live hotel california)

Good sustain...no hiss...truebypass and cleans very well with your guitar volume rolled back...

Reliability: 5
Switch isn't very good..i've to change it...
for the rest...all ok

Customer Support: N/A
Never dealt

Overall Rating: 7
i play mostly (live) '70's music...and i like very much santana...so...it's good for me...
On my plexi i use only truebypass pedal...another point for vox...

It's something like ts-9...natural sounding..and my plexi compensate the poor bass that the v830 has...

Submitted by GURU at 03/28/2004 09:53

Price Paid: 48 (€) used

Ease of Use: 9
Level, drive and tone, how hard can it be?

Sound Quality: 8
I play through these pedals varying: Ts-9, Ts-10, STL, V830, Ds-1, Cs-9 and Boss Me-50 and I have Laney GH50L and Engl 2*12" Vintage. Laney/Engl-combination has tremendous potential for heavier sounds that I'm yet to explore.

Only complain I have with this pedal is the tone knob, It doesn't go "mellow" enough. It stays harsh no matter what. I have to use my guitars tone to tame this biting devil down. But rolling tone down produces very good sounds, very similar to Ts-10 and Super Tube that I have, with a little bit of extra edge to go.

After I learned to use this pedal, it totally nailed the sounds I was after: Bluesy hard rock and so on. Still I would like to mod this pedal so I wouldn't have to use my guitars tone all the time. Any suggestions?

Reliability: 8
It's made in China but it looks rugged enough. I also took a peek inside and it was very tidy looking job. The LED is too dim, hard to see when your on stage.

Customer Support: N/A
Can't say.

Overall Rating: 9
I'm in a band that plays pop/rock -kinda stuff. My own music goes a bit to the heavier side or bluesy. After a little bit of tweaking I can use this pedal for both.

If it were stolen? If I got it as cheap as originally, I definitely would buy it.

Submitted by Jonzku at 03/05/2004 00:21

Price Paid: 100 (CDN)

Ease of Use: 10
If you can hit the bowl when you pee, you can operate this pedal. You aim in the general direction...
With a wee tweak it's easy to find the two specific sounds that IMO make this pedal a gem.

Sound Quality: 8
Excellent pedal for nailing British sounding rock. Sorry for that generic sweep, but it really does bring to mind Marshall Plexi tone. Eric Johnson would like this pedal if he was as poor as I am - a most satisfying violin-like, creamy, saturated drive with just the right amount of singing top. But you've got to keep the tone dial skinned back as it gets a bit shrill when pushing anything but the brownest amps, especially with single coil pickups.
Dime the drive, tone well below noon and bring the level to what you want, and it's my personal slice of inspiration pie. Round, corpulent and plenty of smooth harmonic distortion.
Also does a really nice Voxy grind. Pushes EL84's into that zone for sure.
To sum, tone-wise this is a 2 trick pony, and for a c-note, that's one more pony than usual. And what it does do, it does exceedingly well - in fact, mops up. I'd give it a 10 in its price category, but an 8 in light of the brittle top end. (others might actually like that)

Reliability: 10
Long after they make flutes from our bones, this sucker will still work - indestructable.

Customer Support: N/A
Made in China by the same folks who built the Great Wall. Customer support...who knows? Who cares? This thing will outlive all of us.

Overall Rating: 10
Great bang for the buck. I love this little monster for what it is - a cheap way to make any amp crunch and growl like an old plexi, or grind like a hot vox. Apparently it's true-bypass but I've never yet gone through a pedal or switch that didn't do something to my tone. THis one does NOT suck tone as bad as my other pedals - Boss, Rat, Tech21, Wahs or whooshers. It sounds best through my ancient Traynor Mark lll head and 3X12 cab. Also rips it up through a Princeton, vox-like 15 watter, and my Crate VC30 loves this pedal. With single coils, you better watch your high end. Humbuckers push it instantly into violiny tone-zone, and you can bring up the highs a bit more.
I love the chicken head knobs, the old chrome and black heavy duty construction and the word 'VOX.'
If you're looking for a cheap way to add girth, smooth and warmth to your leads, or a very convincing crunch for rhythym work, this little chrome monster is worth checking out.

Submitted by Bruce at 01/24/2004 09:52

Price Paid: US $30

Ease of Use: N/A
Is there a distortion pedal that isn't easy to use?

Sound Quality: 3
Ironically, it seems like the more the previous reviewers paid for their Distortion Booster, the more they like it! I guess if I had paid $100+ I'd try to convince myself that I liked it too!

How does it really sound? This pedal is okay at best -- has a certain mid-range honk to it that just can not be dialed out. If you like that sort of thing in your tone, then you'll love this pedal. Also, it is quite incompatible with some of my amps -- the Trace Elliot Velocette (like the Gibson amps) in particular. Personally, I wouldn't (and didn't) pay more than $30 for it. Sold mine on eBay some time ago -- more than tripled my money... It seems the value of these is coming back down to Earth now as people are figuring out that it just doesn't sound all that good!

Reliability: N/A
I never had a problem with it while I owned it.

Customer Support: N/A

Overall Rating: 3
Overall, seems to be very over-rated here on Harmony-Central. They couldn't give these things away before they were discontinued... Probably why they stopped making them, don't you think?

I am absolutely sure that I would NOT include the Distortion Booster in my live rig -- not useful enough. It might be okay to leave laying around your studio in case you need some crappy punk-rock tones. Well, maybe it's not quite that bad. But not much better! It does, however, look really cool though! And by the way, my rating is based on the $30 price point at which I had purchased it. The cheap Dano and Arion pedals are better.

Submitted by Anonymous at 01/23/2004 04:23

Price Paid: US $50.00

Ease of Use: 10
level,tone,drive and your off!

Sound Quality: 10
On single notes you get that singing Clapton howl...no fizzy fuzz buzz here.It's upper midrange makes it good for leads but seems to be somewhat compressed for much chord crunch.I boost it with a Reverend Drivetrain which is perfect for chord crunch so when it comes time for those hot lick solos,I just kick this beauty on and dance all night.The tone control is a real mystery as it's overloaded with treble so If you go past 12 on the dial,your sound will be so thin and cold you wished your big German woman Hilda would come home from camping to warm you up or at least let you use her mucklucks so your ears won't melt.You would think these engineers would have figuered out by now how to develop a tone knob that can cover the whole bass/treble spectrum or have a knob for each the treble and bass to open it up ad give it a balanced Eq. This ones a keeper though as it has a tone I like.

Reliability: 10
Built solid and heavy,expect it to last.

Customer Support: N/A
Vox is in The UK but probably have a US rep somewhere,never needed them.

Overall Rating: 10
Have played for 45 years and has that definate 60's vibe as it's good for rock and blues.I Play through a Marshall G50RCD and boost it with a Reverend Drivetrain.Compared it to many pedals,and if lost I would buy it again....if I could find one as their discontinued now.

Submitted by Anonymous at 11/24/2003 22:34

Price Paid: US $40

Ease of Use: 10
Easy as pie to use-the level controls the level in a very linear way, the tone works perfectly and the gain goes from subtle to screaming. Very versatile without being complex.

Sound Quality: 10
Used with a Fender style amp, this effect covers the heavy "Marshall" sounds very effectively. While it doesn't perfectly imitate an overdriven Marshall, it has a complex and heavy tone that lets a Fender cover parts a Marshall usually covers. I have a modded Tube Screamer, a DS-1, a Daddy-O (yuk!) and I've traded tons of other pedals. This thing has become an essential part of 'my sound' and I use it with my Tele, Strats, humbcucking guitars and my P-90 LP JR. It's equally friendly with every one of them, and is sufficently adjustable to give good results with everything.

Reliability: 10
True bypass and solidly built. Never a problem.

Customer Support: N/A
Never dealt with them, so can't comment.

Overall Rating: 10
I play mostly blues and classic rock, with a little country and metal thrown in. This pedal manages to cover them all. In fact, if I can get another one at a decent price I plan to use two set to a lightly distorted tone and one full-up to work like a two channel amp. Love it.

Submitted by Larry at 08/16/2003 17:42

Price Paid: US $80

Ease of Use: 10
Three knobs and a footswitch. A trained monkey could use this pedal...and maybe an untrained one, although I don't think an untrained monkey could play very good guitar. But who knows? Maybe the world is waiting for the first primate guitar player.
The manual is satisfactory. It tells what everything does.

Sound Quality: 9
I am playing through this with a homemade Telecaster (traditional setup) and a Deluxe Strat Plus with lace sensor pickups. I run my effects setup (mxr phase 90, crybaby, DD3 digital delay, tube screamer, vox distortion booster, jim dunlop tremolo) through a Fender Performer 1000. I dig the Fender's clean sound and slightly dirty sound completely, but sometimes you have to go crazygonuts with some mean distortion. This little metallic wonder gives me a close approximation of the meaty wonderful distortion I get out of my little Vox Pathfinder amp. It sounds great and adds some really nice roaring-but-melodic, classic distortion. Hint: use it with a tube screamer and amp distortion for relatively controllable feedback, which can be cool under certain circumstances. Sound quality is so subjective its hard to say "yes, Sonny, this pedal is what YOU need! Hallelujah!" But if you like tasty distortion for overdriven leads and rhythm, try it out. If you don't like it you can sell it to some gearhead on ebay, maybe for more than you paid.

Reliability: 9
Seems pretty reliable. The thing is made of chrome and tough black plastic. I'd say even though I haven't gigged with it extensively it should hold up as well as my other pedals, which aren't build as solidly. I'm not a wealthy musician so I use all my pedals without a backup. It's a hard fact of life, but sometimes you have to rock out ghetto-style. I take care of my gear so that's usually not a problem. It's always a good idea to keep the drunks away from your rig at live gigs, though. I don't think spilled Mai Tais ever made a pedal work better.

Customer Support: N/A
Haven't dealt with the company. As stated earlier I haven't had it a long time, but it shouldn't be hard to get someone with a basic knowledge of electronics to re-solder a few wires or replace a footswitch, whether they work for Vox or not. It's not rocket science.

Overall Rating: 10
I play music ranging from surf to hard rock and rockabilly if I were to put it in a category. A generous friend said we sound a little like Tito & Tarantula (we're not THAT good) This pedal helps me get the distortion I need for some of the hard rocking songs we do. I tend to look for a distortion that doesn't sound like everyone else. I try not to fall into that category of sounding like every jackass who plays a strat. SRV clones, you know who you are. The Vox delivers a sound that's not a cookie cutter distortion. It's capable of being rather transparent at low volumes, but when you turn it up, look out, Jack! You're playing with fire and it's going to be fun!
My favorite features of the pedal are the simplicity, ease of use, cool looks and wonderful sound. If you like the distorted sounds of people like Lenny Kravitz, the Clash, U2 and basically anyone that used a Vox amp you'll like this. I suppose you could get more distorted than that with this pedal but it sure would be muddy. (I'm no metal head, but this offers some dangerous sounds that don't sound like metallic cheesyness)
As compared to my other distortion unit, the Ibanez Tube Screamer (TS10)it can do everything the 'Screamer can do and more. Set it low for a slightly overdriven boost. Tweak it up a few notches and you are in rich distortion and sustain heaven. (be careful with that volume knob, son...It's a might powerful)
If it were stolen or lost....first I'd cry, since its attached to my pedalboard, most likely some jackass now has all my pedals. After assuming the superhero alter ego of Condor Man and doing some serious damage to the responsible party's cranium I'd...take my pedalboard back. But if I couldn't find it I'd probably replace it if I had the bread. Getting an AC adaptor is recommended. This is the best sounding distortion pedal I've used, and the price is nice compared to a lot of boutique pedals out there (Fulltone, Diaz, etc). It'll rock your ass ALL around. The rest is up to you, Grasshoppa.

Submitted by Hunt W. at 07/10/2003 12:55

Price Paid: US $55 used

Ease of Use: 10
Its very easy to use. This box is VERY tone sensitive so you can really dial in your sound, almost like a precise air strike of rocking.

Sound Quality: 7
Its great for achieving a Hendrix style fuzz bomb. Even when you've got the drive turned all the way over, you can still distinguish notes in the low, mid and high ranges. But seomtimes, its a little too much and you get this heavy robotic sound from it. Its easy to over do it with this box. With high tone and drive, the sound gets sort ofgrainy and robotic like I was saying before. Kind of bothersome.

Reliability: 10
I've never had a problemwith mine. Its solid metal, very hard to break. Just make sure to unplug the cable from the INSTRUMENT side of the box if you are using 9v batteries. Oh and don't step on it and turn it on late at night when your fumbling around your dorm at 4am to get a drink of water in the night. The battery goes out really quickly.

Customer Support: N/A
I haven't had any problems so I've never had to deal with Vox. Being a discontined item, I bet it would be hell trying to get help from Vox. Just a theory though

Overall Rating: 8
Its simple, and straight forward. I like the sound a lot. I use it on a thinline tele and a Reverend Hellhound amp and its a great effect for hard rock. But you can get frustrated with the tendency for this box, when you are messing with it, to breakdown your tone.

Submitted by Anonymous at 07/09/2003 00:18