Vox AD120VT Valvetronix 212 Combo

Price Paid: N/A

Features: 8
I'm using the ad120 for rock,pop,metal,country,and jazz music. It has enough range to cover all of these styles with some tweaking. I do wish it had midi capability to sync with my other gear. I had hoped that the stereo line outs would give an accurate signal to the board to eliminate miking hassles, but the sound was a bit fizzy and flat. I added a ART microcab II to tweak the house sound, and it worked great. If you can find one of these discontinued units, they can be used in many different applications.. The wattage selector is very useful for practice, though I find that the lowest setting is a little dull sounding, maybe because the speakers respond differently when they are not "pushed" I will usually keep the amp on the higher two settings to keep up in a loud gig situation.

Sound Quality: 9
the amp is very clean, the noise gate helps a lot with high gain amp models, and can be set to extreme levels for fast start/stop kinds of riffing. The super-high gain tones are very aggressive with good clarity, but to go completely over the top d8}, you might need an external pedal to goose it... I have found that the amp does not agree with all pedals, but that might be my tweaking skills..

Reliability: 10
Mine has not had the cut-out problems many others have had, but I understand that this is a computer/amp hybrid, not an old bulletproof fender or mesa-boogie (which I also own, but the vox gets more playing time because it is much more versatile) I baby this amp, and bought a flight case for it immediately. The case makes a nice amp stand, and the amp looks nice sitting on it instead of some old chair or milk crates..

Customer Support: 10
Never had to deal with them, I do enjoy the voxtalks forum for info on vox amps and related music stuff - you should check it out, mitch colby, one of the designers, is a regular on the forum http://www.voxtalks.com/cgi-bin/UltraBoard/UltraBoard.pl

Overall Rating: 9
I own fender,gibson,hamer,fernandes,prs,line6,danelectro,harmony,and dyko electric guitars, yamaha,taylor,harmony,and ovation acoustics, univox,spector,and fender basses, Line 6, vox, digitech, behringer, ART and peavey processors, fender,marshall,mesaboogie ,tubeworks,vox,peavey,SWR,harmony,ART,Line6 and supro amps. The ad120 can approach or match the sounds of all the amps, and it compliments all of the guitars. I feel the vc-12 footswitch is a must, as it is so solid and easy to use. The two control pedals are a plus, and it looks cool! I've got all kinds of compliments from audience members and fellow musicians on this amp. One drawback is that it is heavy and bulky, but that is the nature of most 2-12 combos, I play regular gigs in an orchestra pit for a local actors guild, and in those settings, I use the vc-12 with a vox tonelab and send it to the board. the tonelab is a bit more versatile as you can mix and match cabs to the amps, whcih the ad120 cant do. I wish one could choose multiple effect pedals at once on the ad120, such as wah and distortion, I understand the tonelab se has this ability. I haven't tried different tubes in the reactor section, but I've heard others have liked the change. Right now, my main rig is a variax 500/xtlive/peavey 50-50 tube amp/flextone stereo 2-12 cab rig because it is so versatile - guitar,amp,effect,guitar tunings can all be switched on the fly - strat in Eb through a marshall to a les paul in drop d through a boogie to a d-28 in g tuning to a sitar to a banjo...... It's pretty scary.. I still feel the vox series has a slight edge in tone .. It will never happen, but it would be interesting to see what Line 6 and vox could do if they got together.. Hope this helps! Joe

Submitted by smokinjoet at 11/11/2005 12:59

Price Paid: US $1395.00

Features: 5
It is a modeling amp and has some cool sounds in it.

Sound Quality: 9
I play an ErnieBall Music Man Axis and a Gibson SG.
This amp is fun to play with if you don't really want to hear what you are playing. No dynamics and the effects seem to take care of hearing any note definition or your mistakes for that matter, but the good thing is, you can sound good without really even being any good. THAT is the key to a great amp !

Reliability: 2
Half of the amp doesn't like to work, but if I lift it up in the air and drop it, usually it will come back on. I really hate doing this during a gig because it sometimes messes up the harmony with the other players, but we have lately been able to work it in as part of our act, so it works out swell! These amps are disposible, so when the other half quits, I will just dump it off in my neighbors lake and go buy something else. I hear the reissue AC30 is pretty nice.

Customer Support: 1
The service center is a waste of time. They don't want to actually troubleshoot the amp but rather just spray tuner cleaner over the whole thing and hope it helps.

Overall Rating: 1
If it were stolen, I would figure the guy had it coming to him.

Really, it is a fun amp to screw with, but it just doesn't have tone and dynamics of a real tube amp and that is what I am after.

Submitted by Professor Zorpk at 10/25/2005 13:57

Price Paid: US $1,100.00

Features: 10
Great features...very user friendly. No big glitches in changing banks from clean to dirty like the line 6 stuff...very smooth

Sound Quality: 10
I play Ernie Ball Axis and Peavey Wolfgang guitars in a christian rock band. We play out weekly and I continually recieve compliments on my sound ( that's no lie...I am a christian remember? ). For what it is the amp just rocks. I love the tone from this amp. It's alot easier to lug around than a half stack and a rack box.

Reliability: 5
Well since I am a christian I must tell the truth...I too am starting to have these "cut-out" problems. Facing the amp it is the right speaker that cuts out. I bought it on Jan 3,2003 and it's been acting up for about 6 mos. Never during a show or service thank God. I found that when I grab it by the strap on top and SLAM IT on the ground it would usually work fine for a while...seriously..I know you've tried this. Even men who love Jesus can get in the flesh sometimes and an amp acting up will do it sometimes. Well anyways, I finally took it to a Vox dealer to have it looked at. These amps are like dogs you want to do tricks for people...they never perform when you want them to. The amp worked fine for the guy!! He was gracious enough to let me watch as he did a "cleanup" on it. basically took apart some connections,sprayed them and re-connected them. I should've asked more questions but I didnt...I paid him the $39.00 he wanted and tipped him another $10.00. I love this amp,this amp is "me" but unfortunately I'm now shopping for a new rig...too many horror stories...cant afford train recks in this kind of ministry.

Customer Support: 1
Local repair guy was a joke but I blessed him anyway with a tip...The Vox/Korg guys are pretty pathetic too

Overall Rating: 9
I've been playing about 24yrs. I bought this amp for Sunday morning worship at our church. I've since joined formed a band and play live shows and services every week. ( Go to cornerstonefmc.org to the Sunday Night Live page and hear the amp on our new cd) I love effects...When used properly they can be very "tasteful". When set-up right this amp will fool alot of people. I'm not looking forward to replacing it. Email me if there is a cure!!!

Submitted by Tom Tarter the band " Providence" at 10/24/2005 20:22

Price Paid: N/A

Features: 10
I play in a covers band, and the songs we cover have quite a few different guitar sounds which I wanted to sound as close to as possible, so it seemed a good idea to get a modeling amp rather than lots of amps and stomp boxs on stage, which of course would have been stupid to say the least. I heard only good things about the Vox, it sounded great when I tried one in a shop, and the reviews on here were good, so I bought one along with the VC4 floor board. I did buy the VC12 as soon as they came out, which I don't regret one bit, although I wouldn't have bought the VC4 had I known the VC12 was in the pipeine.

Anyway, the amp has loads of features, and I can't think of any additional features which could improve it. Not being lazy, but you would be better off checking Vox's web site for a full list of features, as there are far too many to list here.

However, the power selector is very useful, although I did read on here that it can burn out if your don't turn your amp off before moving it. So from now on, that's what I'll do. Better safe than sorry I guess.

With regards to the fact it's stereo, perhaps someone could help me here. For live work, I mic up the amp, but with only one mic, on one speaker. If the output to the in-built speakers is stereo, I'm guessing there will be different sounds coming out of each speaker, which isn't good if I'm only micing up one speaker to put through the PA. Or, is it only when you use the left and right line outs that it's stereo? It dosen't seem clear from the manual. I did email Vox this question some time ago, but got no responce!

Sound Quality: 10
This amp sounds amazing. If I wasn't in a covers band, but was looking for my own sounds, I would have no problem.

There is one problem when using the amp live though. The pre-set sounds the amp comes with are pretty good, and in most cases I have just tweaked them, before writing them to the bank/channel.

However!!! As I said, the pre-set sounds are all pretty good with a nice tone, but if you run through the pre-sets, before tweaking them, the difference in volume between them is enourmous, so there is no way you could leave them as they are for gigging live.

Unfortunately, you can't write in the master volume for each bank/channel setting, so the only way round this is to adjust the volume and/or gain with-in the bank/channel you are using to get all the volumes about the same (allowing of course that you would probably want a lead sound louder than say an acoustic sound), but on some settings this does adversly affect the tone.

I have thought about getting the tone right, regardless of what the volume is, and simply adjusting the master volume while playing. I concluded however, that the chance of changing bank/channel, the master volume, AND my hand position on the guitar all at the same time was between zero and near impossible, so I have shelved that idea.

Although, if all the presets were bought down in volume to the least loud setting, that may help, but it would mean an awfull lot of work to find out!

One last point on sound. I have a friend who has a Line 6 modeling amp, so we put the two amps side by side, and even he had to admit the Vox had a much warmer tone.

Reliability: 2
The reason for writing this review. My amp which is 2 to 3 years old (serial number 1227), has cut out at least four times now, not for long, so each time I put it down the my guitar lead, or my guitar. As it's now cut out with different leads (all good quality), and different guitars (Fender and PRS), I have reluctently come to the conclusion:

IT'S THE AMP!!! (High or low input)

When you're playing live, the last thing that should be going through your head is:

WILL THE AMP CUT OUT, AND IF SO, WHEN, AND FOR HOW LONG

I have managed to download my settings onto my VC12, and then up-loaded them in to a AD60VT, so for the moment, I'm okay, but I don't want to write-off my amp. I am going to email Vox to see what they say, but at the moment I'm not holding up much hope.

I'm going to read all the reviews again, and take onboard all the advice given, as I really would like to make my amp work, even if I have to spend some money on it doing the mods, even though I shouldn't have to.

Just for the record, I position the amp pretty close to me at the side of the stage behind the PA, not as a back-line, but just so I can hear what I'm playing, which means I don't need it very loud, and normally I have the master volume set somewhere around 1 o'clock, and the power selector on 2x15 or 2x30, depending on where we are playing.

I probably use it about 8 hours a week max, so I don't think it's had a hard life!

Customer Support: N/A
Only emailed Vox once, but didn't get a reply!

Overall Rating: 5
Been playing guitar about 30 years now, and can't think of anything else I have owned that has stopped working, so I'm really ennoyed this amp is playing up.

I have always raved about this amp to everyone, until now that is. It seems pretty obvious to me however, having read all the reviews, that my amp is not an isolated case.

My overall rating is 5, which is just for the sound and features.

Even if I give VOX the benefit of the doubt, and say that they had no idea there would be a reliability issue when they designed and manufactured the amp, I wish they would now put their hands ups, accept there is a problem, and work WITH their customers, NOT against them, and tell us how to sort these problems out.

IT'S VERY HARD TO WIN CUSTOMERS, BUT EVERSO EASY TO LOOSE THEM!!!

Submitted by Jem at 09/05/2005 18:25

Price Paid: US $750

Features: N/A
N/A. It's all been said before. This is a very versatile amplifier.

Sound Quality: N/A
N/A Sounds great

Reliability: 1
This is why I'm leaving a review. Had the same speaker cutting in/out problem as everyone else after a year or two. I was sunk, and was ready to trash this thing, but tried the Deoxit Spray and jumpering solution mentioned several times. Low and behold this FIXED THE PROBLEM......FOR A WHILE.... For two months after this, it worked great, like new again. Now, there's a ridicously loud crackling hiss sound that has somehow developed. The spray/jumpering has no effect on this. Looks like I've ran out of options. This is a MAJOR P.O.S.

Customer Support: 1
J-O-K-E

Overall Rating: 1
I cannot express my utter dissapointment in this product. When it works, it is the most versatile amp I've ever used in my 15 years of playing. The built in power attenuator is a great feature. But unfortunately, this amp is a dud as far as quality control goes. I cannot express how deeply I feel that no one should ever get suckered into buying this. Too many of us have been stung by this, and the first time, as well as the second time(after I thought I had the magic fix) this thing wigged on me, it was both during shows. Mighty MIGHTY embarrassing. Shame on Vox for cheaping out on key components on this amplifier. I would have expected this from a shoddy low end Crate, but not on something this expensive, with the name "Vox" on it. Shame...

Submitted by Anonymous at 08/16/2005 10:57

Price Paid: 750 (GB pounds)

Features: 10
This is a Modelling Amp and I like half of the modelled amps that you can choose from. The rest just are not for me.

This amp comes with built in effects which are worthless in gigs but are alright if you are just playing at home.

There is a built in tuner which is also a nice feature.

Sound Quality: 10
Sounds really really good at any of the wattage settings on the back of the amp (from 1 watt per speaker to 60 watts per speaker).

I've never disliked the sound that comes out, the controls have good range so you can play most styles with this amp.. especially clean sounds.

Reliability: 1
OMG! Where to start!
If you want to gig with this amp FORGET IT!
Here goes my story.

Bought 1 and half years ago, within a year both speakers barely worked, smoke came out of the top of the amp at the gig, cannot express how gutted i felt.
After that they had a crackle, fizzing sound and would be very quiet so I replaced them with some Celestion GT12s and it worked again.. Yay
Then shortly after that (few months) the amp would break up at loud volumes. Still haven't sorted that out.
And last week the left speaker stopped working.

I'm sure this time though that the speaker is okay, its probably something inside the amp which is only sending the signal to one speaker.

Customer Support: N/A
Not bothered with them after hearing what others have already said

Overall Rating: 3
For the large sum of money spent on this amp I feel like i haven't quite got what i paid for. Perhaps if it cost ¿400 ($600) I wouldn't be too angry that it broke so much.

Unfortunately enough is enough and I'm going to try to get rid of the amp. I don't know who woul take it for ¿300 but thats what I want for it which doesnt seem very much for a 2 year old Vox amp but thats the point.

VOX YOU FAILED US! SHAME ON YOU!

Submitted by Jake at 08/14/2005 05:30

Price Paid: dont own one.

Features: 7
This looks like a new amp to me not sure of the year. The amp has loads of features and effects. This would be the perfect amp for me being that it is so versitile with the sound quality. Very warm sounding too, can be used for rock, blues, or Jazz good. It seems to have plenty of power for me, two 12's at 100 watts. I've always wanted a "Mesa Boogie" but this one sounds just as good to me. Maybe not as solid but it's a great sounding amp.

Sound Quality: 10
I tried using an "Epiphone Studio Dot" and an "Epiphone Regent Zephure". The pickup styles were humbucking and my style is basically Jazz and Rock/Blues. Very versitile sounds, very good clean and great distortion. Beautiful!

Reliability: N/A

I dont own one yet, I'm a little scared from the reviews but I may just take the chance on purchasing one. I would love to have one if it will hold up. I would not know where else to go, I dont like Line 6.

Customer Support: N/A
Never dealt with them.

Overall Rating: 10
I'm gonna give it a ten until I actually buy one.

Submitted by Anonymous at 07/25/2005 11:26

Price Paid: AU (1900)

Features: 10

Sound Quality: 9
I run a Epiphone Les Paul with a Rio Grande Crunchbox in the bridge and a Seymour Duncan phat cat in the neck position. I use this amp as my main amp and play mostly hard alternative rock, ala Smashing Pumpkins. The presets on this sound ok, but once you tweak around with it, and run an external EQ through it thats when it really shines. I can't imagine getting much closer to "the tone" that I have been looking for. Absolutely love it.

Reliability: 4
Very poor. I, as many other people did, experienced the problem of sound cutting in and out and left speaker problems. This is very fustrating, as I love the sound of this amp.

This is the main reason why I decided to post, I always had my amp at 60w. I changed it to 30w and now it WORKS FINE. For the moment anyway. I'm looking forward to seeing how it handles with the band this saturday though.

If this amp was more reliable it would be a dream machine, sadly it lets it down.

Customer Support: N/A

Overall Rating: 6
Best digital modelling amp. This amp kills the competition in this category/price as far as tone is concerned.

The only problem is the bugs it has! Rargh. I have a feeling its going to stay fine at 30w rather than 60w. Which might be ok for me, but its really not fair to have a 2x60w amp that doesn't run effectively at that output.

Submitted by Jay at 07/14/2005 20:07

Price Paid: N/A

Features: 9
+ features are wellknown and I¿m happy with most of it.
- The tap-button, you can¿t turn the blinking LED off - quite nerving.
- Has no Line in - so I can¿t plug in my drumcomputer or CD-player.

Sound Quality: 5
I wanted to use it with my flying V (Humbuckers)for Blues and Rock to play on stage.

It would suite pefect with my style if it would work properly...

I got the amp one week ago, and this weekend I started to test it at home.
I was NOT impressed by the loudness..even in my living room fully cranked up, I expeted a bit more output with 2X60 Watt.. so I went closer with my ears and noticed that the right speaker is only half as loud as the left and also lacks in sound-quality.

In my opinion both speaker should sound similary in soundquality and loudness - but they do not! - I don¿t know why - is that normal???

Reliability: N/A
I¿ll have to send it back before I¿m getting started.

And I wonder what¿s the better choice - ask for money back? or getting it repaired.
I think it would be a great amp for me, but what¿s the point to wait for a repair and get it back with the same or even another flaw.

Customer Support: N/A
I bought the amp in Germany via the internet.
There was no Vox Warranty in the package but in Germany we¿ve got a 24 month kind of warranty by the seller so a solution for repair or replacement should be worked out by my dealer with his distributor.

Overall Rating: 5
I¿ve been playing for 30 years now and have owned and tested all sort of gear, so I thought this amp will be all I need in the future.
Now, and the more after reading the comments on Harmony-central I have my doubts if it¿s possile to get an ad120vt which works properly and which is reliable in the long term.
To receive a factory-new item, that¿s not working perfect as I can expect - and not even knowing if a replacement will be better - it¿s a nuisance.
I¿ll have to make up my mind.. and possibly will wait for a repair.
Depending on the outcome - we¿ll see.

Submitted by Sunshinesigi at 07/11/2005 16:16

Price Paid: N/A

Features: 10
Extremely versatile piece of gear. Does so many things well. I've use(-d) it for band practice and playing live. That is...until...read below...

Sound Quality: 10
Best sounding SS amp I've ever heard. Leaves Line 6 in the dust. If it reliably worked, I'd never need a tube amp again...

Reliability: 1
Here we go again. I've had this for a year and half without worries. I started becoming a bit skeptical about all the bad reliability issues I saw in HC (only really really happy or really really disgruntled people post....right?). But, then it happened to me.... About three weeks ago, the sound started cutting in and out. I tried some of the home remidies suggested in this forum, and got it working again at max volume for a few days, and then it started cutting in and out again. Vox has a major design flaw in this amp. They REFUSE to acknowledge it, as I've emailed them about it. But, when a large percentage of folks who've posted here have experienced the same exact thing, it is pretty obvious. For all you folks who gave high marks for reliability, I wonder how many of you waited a year or two before posting? This is a trainwreck.

Customer Support: 1
I've tried contacting them via email with no sucess. They don't acknowledge that there's a design flaw with this. Opening up the back, and looking at the circuit boards, it looks pretty shoddy (I have an EE background...). Such a waste for such a good sounding amp. The warranty is a joke.

Overall Rating: 5
So yeah, this is a fairly bipolar review. The pros are that it sounds great, and is the most versatile SS amp I've ever owned. I have a Fender Twin, and a Marshall JCM602 (sorry...), which have both been put on the shelf since I got this. But, those amps have never ever failed. This went kaputz in the same exact way that everyone elses here in HC went. The conundrum I have is that I want another one. But I refuse to pay Vox a dime until they upgrade this model with a more robust one, or they acknowledge what a sh*t job of circuit board engineering this is, and offer to fix it for everybody (yeah right...) regardless of their weak warrenty. Vox had a winner here, but they cheaped out. I hate it when companies take customers for granted because of their 'brand name' and 'history'. An engineering abomination like this should not be tolerated by consumers today. We guitar players get snookered too often by history and vibe associated with a brand. If Vox feels like they can continue to rely on this, they should pay the price. I car company with this kind of track record would be out of business. DO NOT PAY MONEY FOR THIS KIND OF CR*P!!!! Been playing for 15 years, and have never experienced something like this before. I won't buy a Valvetronix again, until they prove to me that they've changed there business practices. This is a Pinto masqurating as a BMW. Don't get snookered! Rant over....

Submitted by blind_sublime at 06/27/2005 09:05

Price Paid: N/A

Features: 9
This is a first generation, first amp in town after they were introduced. Everyone knows the features by now, so I wont waste your time with theat stuff.

Sound Quality: 9
I use a wide variety of axes, all work well with the amp, great vox and Marshall sounds, good effects, overall love the sound of the amp.

Reliability: 5
Here we go. I have not experienced the problems with the pedal board, but sounds like insufficient power supply to me, I just never play that loud as I mic the amp and use in the ear monitors. The problems with volume changing appears to be one or the other channel dropping out, and I believe that the problems with my amp have been located and repaired! All of the effects loop, headphone and speaker jacks are Switching types. Forinstance, if you use an extension speaker, it is wired in Series with the internal speaker via the jack. This means that with no extension speaker plugged in, the jack completes the circuit to the internal speaker. Similarly, if you are not using the effects loops, the jacks have switches which complete the circuits. All of these jacks are British style, similar to original later model Vox, and just plain suck. So, either clean the jacks (I opened the amp, removed the plastic cover from the jacks and cleaned them all with Deoxit Spray aka Cramolin, problem fixed) or jumper the effects loops using short 1/4 in cables, and make a speaker jumper, a 1/4 inch plug with the two contacts shorted, yes indeed, this fixes the contact problem with the speaker jacks, I keep a pair in my spares box incase the cleaning I did goes south at a gig (has not yet). I suggest cleaning the rest of the jacks with cramolin as well, the stuff is magic! There you go hope this helps!

Customer Support: 1
Yaeh Right, try getting a human.

Overall Rating: 8
Been playing thirty years, 15 seriously, I am, in the words of my bassist, "queer for gear" so what equipment don't I own is a shorter answer.

By the way, just got a used Carvin Nomad 112 with the extension speaker. I am very impressed, and will review it after a while

Submitted by Richard at 06/14/2005 08:55

Price Paid: 1800 (AU)

Features: 10
I use this amp 2 to 3 times a week but I baby it to the extreme. It has more than enough grunt to play any venue.
The vinyl covering feels like paper and damages even if touched by a feather. Garbage and cheap materials. Dissapointing quality from such a giant in the amp world.

Sound Quality: 9
I use A ric 360 and a Squier custom tele (my favourite believe it or not) I pretty much concur with most of the positive Feed back.

Reliability: 2
OK OK, here is the sticking point (as my fellow sufferers will understand) I bought one new off the floor and on the first night the thing just gave up, like turning off the switch. I got another one replaced (thank you guys at Guitar world Parramatta) only to find a year later that i had to get the wattage selector replaced.......YES YOU DO HAVE TO TURN IT OFF BEFORE USING THE WATTAGE SELECTOR!!!!..... Apparently, this is a VERY cheap swith that runs at 240 Volts (in australia) and turing it creates an arc that burns out the pathetically cheap and tiny switch. I have since bought another one as back up and it sits in my room waiting to be called to duty.

Customer Support: 5
I had no real drama but i took it straight to a guru in sydney. Forget the so called Authorised Service centre.

Overall Rating: 8
If you look after it I do believe it will serve you well. It is however pot luck as to wether you buy one with gremlins or not.

I sounds VERY close to the real thing I AB'd it with a real ac30TB (pre china) and it held it's own.

Submitted by will siska at 06/10/2005 23:55

Price Paid: 450 (UK Pounds)

Features: 9
I got my AD120VT in 2004 after seeing and hearing a friends identical model. The ideal of having all the effects and a tuner in one stereo combo seemed ideal. The amp can pretty much cover all styles of music, some with astounding reality.

Sound Quality: 10
With care you can get just about every sound you will ever need. In particular you can get very convincing Van Halen and U2 tones so ideal for me.

Reliability: 2
This is the amps downfall. Mine went wrong a few months after purchase with one channel (It's a stereo amp) cutting out. As it was out of warranty I took it apart and fixed it myself. I wasn't impressed with what I found and I can see why so many others are having problems.

The cabinet isn't strong enough and allows to much movment, this means the actual metal enclosure the electronics are housed in sags down causing the mains transformer to hit the speaker if the amp is set down roughly.

The electronic construction is also pretty poor and is built like this.

At the top you have the Korg REMs pre-amp board. This is made quite well with reasonable soldering and good intelligent PCB layout. After this however it's all down hillz

Below the Korg REMS board you have another quite small PCB for jack sockets and stuff. Not much to go wrong here but the jack sockets are also switches in the signal chain so problems will arise due to poor contact. If you do get problems spray some WD40 on an old guitar lead and push it in and out a few times to clean the inside of the socket.
The socket for the footswitch is an Ethernet socket, normally used for network cables and totally unsuitable for use on this type of product. Yes, it gives a lot of connections in a small socket footprint but it won't withstand constant gigging.

Finally we have the main power amp PCB with their "Valve Reactor" technolgy. This PCB is where most problems will arise from. The soldering is sub standard, mine had several bad joints.

Some of the audio signal wires are tied with cable ties to the A.C output of the mains transformer, no wonder the things noisy.

The valves (2 x 12AX7) are hung upside down from the PCB meaning they work loose when the amp is moved around.

Not enough thought has been given to protect some components against damage through over heating. Some of the tranistors in the driver stage get too hot due to no heat sinks being used. The main output transistors are on a huge heatsink so no problems there. It is not good design to put 2 X transformers and 2 x valves on the same PCB. This is done for cheapness, built to a price rather than a standard.

Customer Support: N/A

Overall Rating: 5
I have been playing 20 years in covers bands. An amp like this is a godsend because you don't need to carry a load of pedals and leads about as all the effects you need are built in. The valve pre-amp helps it sound like a real valve amp despite the ouput stage being completely solid state. Trouble is as a gigging guitarist I need an amp to be reliable and the AD120VT isn't. If you only ever play in your bedroom you may never have a problem. If you amp gets loaded in and out of the band van all the time however you will.
I will be buying another amp as soon as I can. I will keep the VOX but I will modify the design, ie move the valve transformers, change the ethernet sockets on the amp and controller for robust sockets, panel mounted and wired to the PCB. The wooden box will have to be braced to stop all the movement as well. Once all thats done I will try it at a few gigs but will take a spare amp (Tech 21 Trademark 60) The reason I can be bothered with the VOX is it does sound very, very good !! (when it works :)

Submitted by Danny G at 03/12/2005 13:34

Price Paid: US $900

Features: 6
My amp, was made in 2004.I think my amp is versatile for the style of music that I play.I play in a rock band,we have our songs and also covers like guano apes, anouk, alanis morissette, pink..It is a modelling amp with some cool effects.But only problem is the power it has 2x60 watts but iam not happy with power, because it doesn´t have much power this is the biggest problem.

Sound Quality: 7
It has a lot of cool sounds, a lot of different distortions, like high bright, uk high gain, recto...Iam using an ibanez AR 300 hs(husu series).My pickups are super 58.For my style of music, but the bigest problem is the power that it made. I don´t know if only my amp works like this or it is the same in the other 120 vt amps?You can create some good sounds, your amp can sound like Brian May, or others rockers.The clean channel is distorted at high volume it is a little bit crunchy.Distortion it dos not have a metal sound. For rock it is ok.

Reliability: 3
Well, I bought it 4 months ago, and after this period it dos not work good, the sound was not clean.It was crunchy.Then my service repaired it and after one wekend it happened the same shit.I hope they would give me a new amp.I hope so!!

Customer Support: 8
After damage i sent an e-mail to my dealer about my problem.They answered me in 2 days, so this is ok.And they told me how to help me, and what could be wrong.

Overall Rating: 8
I have been playing the guitar for about 7 years. I tried a lot of different guitars and amps, and I have to say that I found that everything that i bought didn´t work good. I had a lot of problems with my gear, Iam disappointed with products bought in the music shops.Iam thinking of an hand made-custom made amp.I wouldn´t buy this vox again.If i had enough money I would buy a hand made amp.My friend make good guitar amps.I love the effects but not enough power is the problem of my amp.Before i had an fender roc pro 700 it had 65 watt, but it had much more power than this amp.

Submitted by Matej at 03/08/2005 12:36

Price Paid: US $950 w/footswitch

Features: 10
I believe it was made in 2002. I purchased new back in '02, October.
The features are incredible. The wattage adjustment is handy, although you lose some of the tube saturation feel if you try to play it on the 1 watt setting. Someone said in an earlier review that
it sounds thin and has characteristics of a solid state only. I disagree! Another cool feature besides the ones everyone else has already listed is a good realistic impression of a tube amp in sound and feel. I set the amp on each of the Fender models, and compared it to my Princeton '68 reverb silverface. I'd say the Vox captured the tone and sting dynamics to about 90% accuracy. If you are conserned that you might not get the same string sag/glorious tube saturated feel, this Vox doesn't disappiont!

Sound Quality: 9
The styles the amp can do? More like what can't it do? I play a Carvin dc-127 strat style, but it has humbuckers in it. I've also used Strats and the Vox handles them well. I mostly play classic rock
and I believe it does these sounds the best. I have a friend that has a rig I really respect, a Sovtek 50 watter that crushes. He plays a lot of over the top metal grind kinda stuff, and he thinks the VOX IS AWESOME sonding on the high gain models. The caps on awesome are from his expession, not mine as I don't really get into that kind of music. Overall the amp is pretty quiet. Obviously you will start to get more noise if you use more gain and effects etc. as you would on any set up.

Reliability: 8
I've landed a consistent gig at various VFW halls and play benefits for three weekends a month for the entire time that I've owned this amp(around 2 years now). I guess I'm lucky because i haven't yet had any of the cutting out or hissing problems that others have described. I agree this a delicate amp. I baby this amp horribly,changing the tubes every 3-4 months, and use a flight case.
It is my main stage amp and I leave the Princeton at home,so at my gigs I have no back up-so far the Vox has not let me down.

Customer Support: 2
I don't know what I would do if some thing did happen, The company doesn't seem approachable at all! I believe you're on your own after the warranty. 1 1/2 yrs?

Overall Rating: 9
I've had a lot of pleasure from this amp. I really believe in kick ass tone machines that can have a special relationship with your soul. I know this is all subjective, but IMHO after playing for 12 yrs. I think about 90% of the guitar players that have also played for 12 yrs. or more even, would agree with this review.

Submitted by t-rex trav at 02/03/2005 17:32

Price Paid: US $650

Features: 10
I've had this amp for over a year now so i think i know it pretty well. The word 'versatile' is an understatement with this amp. As everyone knows it can model many different amps from different eras as well as most every effect imaginable, including going overboard with offering multiple styles of reverbs, delays, etc. Realistically, i probably don't use 80% of the effects, but it's nice to know they are there. The only feature i can think of that would be nice to have is an adjustable level on the line out. I've used this amp to record, as well as play live shows. Live, it had plenty of volume playing without being mic'd...with good room acoustics this sucker can really roar in a live setting. I've received many compliments on this amp and how loud it gets while still sounding great.

Sound Quality: 7
I play a Rickenbacker 330 and 360 through this. It was used in a previous band which played hardcore and the Vox was able to keep up and hold its own against Marshalls and Mesa Rectos. Now it is being used in a rehearsal studio setting for a punkish-powerpop band as we can record our sessions via the line out for an accurate reproduction of the guitar tone. The variety is great, esp i would imagine if you're in a cover band. But nowadays i am pretty much playing one style that i don't foresee changing from so a "one trick pony" amp suits my style better. As good as the Vox is, if you know what sound you want exactly, then it's better to get a tube based amp that will give you that tone. As warm as this gets, if you compare it to a good tube amp side by side, you will realize how thin the Vox is. It's the nature of solid state, even with a tube preamp. But if you need that versatility, you can't go wrong with this amp.

Reliability: 5
I dont mistreat my gear but this amp has a tear in the cover (don't know how it even happened) and a corner protector plate is coming unscrewed (it's like the screw hole is stripped because the screw wont re-seat in place). that is minor stuff i can live with. The BIG PROBLEM is one i've head quite often and that is the volume cuts off/on intermittently. I'll lose a good 10-15% volume suddenly and then at some point it kicks back on, then off etc. DAMN ANNOYING! esp if you're playing live. but recently i ran a EQ pedal thru the effects loop and the volume seems to have stabilized and fixed the problem. (??)

Customer Support: N/A
never tried to contact Vox

Overall Rating: 8
If you need versatility, i dont think anything else can beat this amp. But if you know what sound you want, then get *whatever it is* rather than this amp. i think you'll be happier in the long run.

Submitted by Anonymous at 01/26/2005 20:26

Price Paid: US $799.00

Features: 8
you know all the features. serial #849.

Sound Quality: 9
I bought this amp new a few years ago. I am in a cover band and play every weekend. this amp sounds great. no complaints there.

Reliability: 5
Okay!!!! I have had the same problems as everyone else. I have been keeping up with reviews since this amp was introduced. this amp eats tubes if played alot at high volumes. I replace my tubes about once every 2 months. I also run a cheap fan in the back of the amp to keep it cool. this amp will get hot and start acting buggy. I also bought a $40.00 computer backup power and surge protection unit. this seemed to solve all of the problems. This is kind of a fragile tool. It must be taken care of.

Customer Support: N/A
whatever.

Overall Rating: 6
been playing 21 years. own too much shit to list and who cares. I really love this amp. when it started to act up a year ago I started to look for a repacement. I now mainly play Bogner Shiva. I keep the vox at the rehearsal space. Will never buy one again.....

Submitted by E. at 01/07/2005 14:48

Price Paid: 575.00 (GBP)

Features: 8
same features as that have been mentiones before, no point repeating them again.
exteremley versatile, i play in a covers band, anything from the jam, clash, 80's indie to the black keys (dirty blues), it's perfect can get all the sounds i want.
i would like to see a cheaper pedal that just switches between patches which is why it only gets an 8, i don't need the full vox all singing pedal.

Sound Quality: 9
i've had this amp for 11 months now, that shuold be long enough for a decent review i think. (why do people review things without using them for a while) to those of you who reviewed this after playing it in a shop, you really haven't got a clue so stop posting stupid reviews that mean nothing to anyone.
i play with a thinline tele (72 reissue with HB's), a les paul special dc with P90's, a modified kay jazzer with P90's and an ibanez les paul special dc lawsuit copy with P90's (ok i like P90's).
i think it suits the P90's more than the humbuckers (maybe that's just the pick ups on the tele), i run mine with just a lead, dunlop cry baby wah and a tuner.
i like the fender sounds especially with the tube overdrive engaged and the 70's and 80's sounds, typical marshall.
i won't comment on the recto sounds, i don't like them.
also think the vox sounds are good.
a really usable range of tones and very responsive to pick dynamics.
i won't comment on all the effects because i don't use many, only the chorus which sounds fine, great reverb and the treble boost is good as well.
i do find it very strange that people keep A/B testing this amp with the originals, it's not an all tube amp so it isn't going to sound exactly like one (which really doesn't bother me) if you want a fender twin, go buy a fender twin !!!!
One point, you really need to play with the eq to get the exact sounds you want (as with any amp) and they are very interactive.
i think some people tend to give amps a bad review just because they don't seem to know how to use the eq properly.

Reliability: 8
it's been gigged regularly, without a back up, dropped once (it still worked) and it's been run at full throttle for quite a while as well.
no reason to believe it won't carry on doing so.

Customer Support: N/A
haven't had to use them

Overall Rating: 9
i've been playing and gigging for close to 25 years and this is the most versatile amp i've come across, warm, punchy, loud and it has some truely great sounds on board, would definately buy another.
to all those tone heads, if you want a vintage valve amp go buy one.
i doubt in a blind test most of you wouldn't know the difference anyway.

Submitted by Andy H at 11/27/2004 07:23

Price Paid: US $650 used

Features: 8
This is a very good amp. I've had it for 6 months or so and have traveled throught the mid west with it. I'm an active musician playing out 8 times a month with a rock band. I'm the only guitarist and use the effects quite a bit. It has stomp boxes built in to it that are very useful however you can only use one at a time. I wish that you could select compression and a tube screamer at the same time but you just can't. Don't rely on the fuzz, tube screamer or any other distortion if you want to add auto wah or compression or some other really cool stompbox to it because you just cant.

However there are 16 amps to choose from. The delays, modulations and reverbs are all set up as if they are running through a loop. and thats cool. All of these work just like you want them to in the right order. as follows:

stompbox - amp - modulation - delay - reverb

Sound Quality: 9
I use a Les Paul with this amp and is sounds excellent. It does what i want it to when i want it to. As long as i have the master volume set between 2:30 and 3:30. don't worry about the volume because you can change the wattage on the back of the amp, just be sure to turn it off before switching. I've read about others that didn't turn their amp off before changing wattage and later their vox would cut out intermittantly during shows. I've never experienced such and i don't want to.

This amp sounds 97% true of a real tube amp. I can only say that it must be the valve reactor and the loud volume settings (very key).

Reliability: 10
Has never given me any problems.

Customer Support: N/A

Overall Rating: N/A
The vc-12 is a must. I look forward to buying another ad120vt to add on so i can have 2 tones at once controlled by 1 pedal.

Submitted by www.liptocoal.com at 11/03/2004 16:59

Price Paid: US $900

Features: 9
32 programs,16 amp types,22 effects. Only problem is wah, compress and o.d. effects are on the same dial so for each patch you can't use these effects together.

Sound Quality: 10
I use a american deluxe strat with stock pickups in neck and middle position and dimarzio hs3 in bridge. I play rock, funk, blues and I also play for church. I can pretty much get any sound I am needing with this amp.. sounds great.

Reliability: 5
I have been having the same problem that a lot of the reviews have noted cutting in and out etc. I got a computer power backup unit at best buy and my amp has been working fine. the unit is cyberpower425sl. It works like a power conditioner but is a lot cheaper.

I ended up getting cyberpower 425sl a power backup surge protecter from best buy in the computer section . The amp has been working fine eversince. 3 months so far.

Customer Support: 6
I sent it to
the shop and they couldn't find the problem. they suggsted a power conditioner

Overall Rating: 9
I've been playing on and off for 16 years. If it were lost or stolen I would propably replace it or get a good all tube amp. If your having problems with your valvetronix try the cyberpower power backup although it's meant for computers it fixed my amp problems for 40 dollars It's worth a try before you give up on such an awesome amp.

Submitted by Anonymous at 10/09/2004 15:19

Price Paid: US $1000

Features: 9
i bought this amp about 2 years ago, its great, ok.. if you want a mesa boogie, a marshal stack, or a soldano... save your money and buy one... BUT, you can get some increadiable tones out of this amp, just probably not near par w/ the high gain amps, one of the major things i LOVE about this amp is the added features, such as the effects, and tap delay feature, I play in an improv rock band and there are so many great things at your fingertips to experiment with, the amp is great,, DONT EVEN CONSIDER COMPAIRING IT TO LINE 6... i really the measlly 2 tubes (12ax7s) they put in the valvetronix makes a huge difference, especially at high volumes, sure you can crank the volume knob on any of the models, but the reall greatness comes from cranking both volume and master volume knobs,

Sound Quality: 9
DONT EVEN CONSIDER COMPAIRING IT TO LINE 6... i really think the measely 2 tubes (12ax7s) they put in the valvetronix makes a huge difference, especially at high volumes, sure you can crank the volume knob on any of the models, but the reall greatness comes from cranking both volume and master volume knobs, i play my PRS hollowbody spruce top through this amp, ... the stompboxes are above average, the only pedal i was hoping to be a little more realistic was the fuzz pedal, the octave on there is really good too, to get a really great blues tone however i use (i think) a fender clean tone, and my maxxon OD808 which is the best overdrive pedal i have ever played,

Reliability: 4
ok, this is my main reason for writing this review,... let me just preface this with,, i love this amp, but, recently (2 years old) i have been having some problems, my first step was to come to harmony-central and check if others were having the same problems and to see if they had any quick-fixes.. i noticed some serious trends,, almost everyone that had a problem stated that thier amp was 2 years old. and that they were experiencing volume issues (cutting in and out for several seconds, or volume depression and crackling), and many also said that at high volumes the pedal board would go haywire.. i experienced both of these problems, both are very serious, at high volumes, the pedal board (with all its increadable features) would become useless. (it apears that the amp is being restarted over and over on the board(lights flashing and reseting)) at first i thought i screwed the amp over long ago by running a small practice amp (from its output) into one of the speaker effects return loop. it sounded great at the moment, but then i decided to stop using the 2nd amp.. after repeated use w/ the little amp plugged into the back, i tried it just by itself and thats when i noticed the cutting in and out, I KNOW A CURE if you get a couple short cables, plug them into the effects send and return in the back, THIS WILL SOLVE VOLUME CUTTING PROBLEMS ( at least it does for me) my main problem with the amp is the pedal board screwing up... i read on one review that if you reset the amp to the factory settings, the problem is resolve,,, i have not tried this yet, but in a few minutes i will, (hopefully i wont need to take this amp into a shop for a minute proplem) and on a lesser note, there is some noticable crackle intermitantly on the clean channel, its bad enough that i wont record strait from the amp. ( i run an output into a PA system.) i think it might be the power tubes ready for a change out, but im still not sure.... buyer beware...

Customer Support: N/A
havent dealt with vox yet, but probably soon will...

Overall Rating: 9
for the 2 troublefree years i had it, its increadable,,, at least check it out, and i recomend spending the time to find a tone you like ,, then crank it,, if you are at all worried that it might not sound enough like a tube amp, you need to play it at high volume...

Submitted by Tyler at 09/26/2004 19:49

Price Paid: 720 € (Euro)

Features: 8
This amp has a lot of features, some sound good, some are less.I have an old '67 SF Super reverb and the 4 X 10 of the Vox misses basses and medium

Sound Quality: 8
My son and I use an AFFINITY strat, An SA 160 Ibanez, A Les Paul copy with Humbuckers, a recent standard Strat (2001), A japanese strat from the " E " series, a Washburn J6 full hollow body and last but not least, a 1962 Gibson SG with 2 P 90 Single coils. Make sure to use the right input in order to avoid undesired distorsion.
As I'm a Shadows fan, you can imagine what type of amp I tried first: AC30 TB. However the sound is very close to the original, I heard a "HUM " in the left channel, put all knobs to ZERO, and the HUM was still there. Only two positions had no HUM: 4X10 and 2 X 12 from Fender. All the other amps positions have it more or even more. I the disconnected the input cable and it remained the same. How can this amp give a clean sound with a HUM on top!!!!!!!!!
My son loves heavy Marshall sounds and there maybe hum is irrelevant.
I then put a scope on both channels with a 4 ohm load in serie , and saw on the screen that the channel with the HUM only gave half of the voltage (quart of the power)compared to the right channel.

So we brought it back to the store

Reliability: 1
Can't say, we had it only for one week.

Customer Support: 1
As it was brain new, and brought back to the store, it took about 4 weeks to reach the Dutch importer. I then contacted them directly to know what about, and only got vague answers even after (total) 10 weeks..................I called the shop to hear they had another one and were willing to give us this one. We switched it on and surprise................ exactely the same hum on the same positions.
In this shop the warranty was only for one year, however, in Europe it HAS TO BE MINIMUM 2 YEARS. The shop owner has been clever enough to give us the money back. Chapeau!!!!!!!!!!

The same day we went to the music shop in Brussels we were used to go where a Vavetronix was ther for sale, a little bit more expensive, but you know , when you want a certain type of amp don't give up.
We switched that one on and surprise................. exactely the same thing. So we left the shop without an amp.
We tried 2 other ones in a third sohp near Ghent and surprise..........exactely the same thing. we turned 180° in that shop and saw a Line 6 Flextone 3 XL, switched it on and big surprise....No HUM NO HISS even with pots almost fully open, in all positions of the 32 modelled amps!!! We took that one

Overall Rating: 5
I play since 1960 and my son since 5 years. I wanted to make him a present for his 18 years ans as VOX still is a dream (The AC 30 of course, not this one) I own a 1964 Dynacord Bassking, with delicious tone and a 1970 Faylon Studio 100, only full valves amps and believe me they have less "HUM" than the Valvetronix, even so old they are.
Finally the AC 30 look is the greatest feature of this amp. The Line 6 looks an AC30 too. Let the Korg engineers go back to the blackboard and get rid of the "HUM" like other companies can do. All candidate buyers in Europe should do this very simple test as described above and maybe you'll find a good one . We tried 5 an all five had the same HUM on the same positions. Oh by the way, I'm an engineer in electronics

Submitted by math at 08/01/2004 08:56

Price Paid: N/A

Features: 1
great the sound but....

Sound Quality: N/A

Reliability: 1
IT VERY VERY VERY BAD...we put all at "0" and there is a big sound like wind ..." storm at sea" and We test 3 and the 3 NEW had this problem.... i would like to put "0" but there isn't...
I recommand the Line6 flextone III XL it is the same, good price, and 32 amps in one, 150w with celestion, amps the desing is practically the same...

Customer Support: 1
IT WAS VERY BAD...6 weeks for found NOTHING...a new was sent and it was the same problem...the repairer should rather sell chestnuts... it is incredible

Overall Rating: 5
"0" for the problem and the customers support, but 10 for the sound (I can say its in spite of to have bought it in April, but 2 weeks after back to the shop and we are in July and I have just had it return, but I was done refunded...)

Submitted by Anonymous at 07/17/2004 08:12

Price Paid: US $699

Features: 10
2002 Combo 2x12...Really dig the variable output settings.

Sound Quality: 9
I have the amp set up with the vc-12 floorboard. Bank 1 is Fender Clean, Fender Clean Chorus, Fender Grind Flange, Fender Overdrive/ Wah. Bank 2 is Vox Clean, Vox Clean Chorus, etc...Bank 3 Marshall, Bank 4 Mesa. I can usually make anything in my style work with these settings. Plenty of room for tweakability.

Reliability: 10
2 years, almost daily use...no problems. Period.

Customer Support: N/A
not needed

Overall Rating: 10
I always feel the pull of tube amps (sold off my AC15's after 6 months with this amp). This amp is keeping my money in my bank account due to the onboard effects alone. (i.e the search for the perfect overdrive...fulldrive, hot cake, klon etc...chorus, wah etc.) Are they all perfect...no. Tweakable and usable for most listeners...certainly.

Submitted by Reynman at 06/21/2004 20:07

Price Paid: US $1100 included pedal controller

Features: 10
I bought my Valvetronix 2x12 about 18 months ago. Features are well-reviewed here and elsewhere so I won't repeat. I'm an ageing rocker-geek (50-ish) playing classic rock & blues w a bunch of other 50+ year-old road warriors. I have been playing since age 12 but mostly acoustic until about 10 years ago.

Feature-wise this amp is loaded. THat's one of the rasons I have quit gigging with mine. I spent hours tweaking patches for each song. I had probably 12-13 patches that I would use during a show. Big excel spreadsheet with song, key, lead singer, and bank-patch. 18 point font so I wouldn't have to fumble around for reading glasses. Last new years eve the keyboard player decides the list is way off from the crowd & starts calling audibles. Guess I'm not that much of a geek. I'm thumping around trying to find the blusey-with-chorus patch thinking I wish I had my Mesa studio 22 with a chorus pedal & I'd be set. You get the picture.

Sound Quality: 8
I use a PRS custom 22 & a Les Paul Custom tuned in open G for slide. Both guitars sound great through this amp. Also spent some time in the studio making a demo. The direct outs sounded great straight in to the board. For some reason there was a little 60Hz but a DI box with ground lift eliminated that.

Now the down side--The other reason I have taken this amp out of gig rotation however is an issue with output. With a clean patch this amp is louder than the rest of the band and then some. THe high gain patches however have an unusual behavior in that they seem to disappear when the band gets loud. THey simply don't cut through the mix. I run direct or mic'ed in to the board & get out front with a wireless but the sound just disappears in to the mix. Everybody quits playing & the amp is turned up so loud you can (now) hear it across town. I read something about "comb filtering" effect with modeling amps. Maybe. Last couple of gigs I went back to my ancient Mesa studio22. 25 watts but way louder than the vox. Especially on the gain setting which now slices through like a scalpel. So I'll be back with tubes. Probably a recto-verb or Mark IV.

I will miss the acoustic simulator (awesome), the auto-wah, the tremolo. I will not miss fumbling around for a patch on stage. I like the big boss stomp boxes (for chorus step on blue & so on).

BTW I always felt like the pedal board worked well live. The tuner is very sensitive. Who needs more than 16 patches at once?

Reliability: 8
I never had any trouble with this amp although the reviews here have certainly made me cautious. My amp is over a year old & has nary a nick or scratch. I have used it in bars but we tend to get a lot of private gigs that are easier on equipment IMHO. It is one heavy *&%$ and the extra handles are truely welcome. 8 just for being nervous.

Customer Support: N/A
No experience. I think my local GC would go to bat for me considering the $$ I have dropped there last few years.

Overall Rating: 8
I have played since 12 & intend to do so until they pry my guitar from my cold dead hands. I am very lucky to have fallen in with a bunch of players that are as good or better than I.

I will probably hang on to this amp unless a friend or relative wants it then let them borrow it indefinitely. Can't imagine selling it for the $550 that they're getting on Ebay. OTOH, I will only gig with it in emergency situations. If it dies I will part it out. If it's stolen I'll check the local emergency rooms for guys with hernias & blown out discs.

Submitted by David at 05/03/2004 20:37

Price Paid: 499 (UKP)

Features: 10
Bought new Jan 2004. Features are great for the price. Had it 3 months now and still learning some new sounds. Effects: I love the Treble boost and Tube OD. Plus Chorus is great (seems to be the only effect that is stereo --- am I wrong -- please email me if so bartlettpsj@hotmail.com?)

Sound Quality: 10
The Vox and Marshall AMPs are excellent. I really really love the Fender Tweed 1 x 12. I personally don't like the Dumble sounds -- they're just too different for me (personal taste and I'll probbaly get into them one day). I have a MESA MKIII and it doesn't compare to this for it's RECTO sound (the Soldano is better).

Reliability: 10
I haven't really moved it. I'm 40 now, so gigging days are past me (a little tear!). It hasn't broke yet. I've seen the scare posts so far. I hope my 2003/4 model is better.

Customer Support: N/A
Didnt need any.

Overall Rating: 10
I just hope, if I ever gig again that it has the balls for live work. It sounds great in the home studio, but I have this feeling when wound up it won't be so great. Lets be optimistic and give it a 10 as it really is a wonderful beast and one of the best amps I have owned (and for £499 --- wow)

Submitted by Paul Bartlett at 04/24/2004 11:47

Price Paid: US $1,000

Features: 9
This amp was purchased in late 2002. I won't go into features here as they have already been covered well enough. Just about every feature you could want is on this amp.

Sound Quality: 9
I use a Strat with a neck and middle Vintage Noiseless pickups (Eric Clapton models) and a Hot Noiseless bridge pickup (Jeff Beck model). The amp is little noisy even with theses pickups. The sounds are quite good compared to other modeling amps. The best thing about a solid state amp (this one in particular) is that you can get a good distorted sound at a low volume. Unlike a tube amp where you really have to crank it up to get it to sound its best. Not a real lot of volume on clean settings but plenty loud on high gain settings.

Reliability: 2
Here is where this amp takes a dive into the toilet. I don't use it that much and only play it at home. A month ago a friend borrowed it to use in the studio. We plugged it in and NOTHING! I took it home and read through all the reviews and came upon one that said he had the same problem and VOX/Korg told him to plug a jack in and out of the headphone jack a few times. That worked TEMPORARILY! Now it cuts out and then a half minute later it cuts back in. What a piece of shit. No repair centers near me at all and of course the warranty is only a year and its 18 months old.

Customer Support: 1
What can I do. The warranty is expired. Its a pathetic one at that. One lousy year. Why bother calling them. Read all the other interviews. Their reputation precedes them.

Overall Rating: 2
I am going to sell this piece of shit. I will go back to buying a less complicated amp and buy a few pedals. They finally made one that sounds good but that means nothing if it doesn't work.

Submitted by Mitch at 04/15/2004 10:29

Price Paid: GBP (600)

Features: 10
The range of features is superb. With the different amp models and effects available, the possibilities are almost limitless.

Sound Quality: 6
This amp does not sound like a valve amp. Period. It sounds wonderful at low volume but turn it up loud and it lacks all the warmth and richness of a valve amplifier. I used single coils and humbuckers. The tonal response is just not the same as a valve amp, not matter what the sales blurb says. Whatever amp model you use, it always sounds thin like a tranny amp. Because that is what it is. This is not to say that it sounds bad. Far from it. But if you expect this to sound like a real AC30 or a Marshall JTM or JCM at full volume, you are going to be disappointed.

Reliability: 8
I had mine for nearly a year. It was never gigged and only kept as a spare. I never had any problems except for the rubber feet coming off the bottom. In general I would add that the build quality is not that great. From a distance it looks like a very solid amp but look close up and the finish leaves a lot to be desired. I reckon it would get chipped, dented and ripped very quickly if you had to move it a lot without a flight case.

Customer Support: N/A
Never had to deal with customer support

Overall Rating: 7
As a versatile tranny amp it is great. But as an alternative to a valve amp it is not. I have given it 5 because I bought it with the expectation that I could get the same sound and response I get from my Marshall. In this respect I was disappointed. But, in fairness to Vox, this is still a good product - it just does not give me the sound I want. Taking aside the valve issue, I would still say that this amp is a jack of all trades and a master of none. But this is probably great for many people.

Submitted by Tim Gale at 04/07/2004 08:45

Price Paid: US $450.00 used

Features: 8
Tons of features, options beyond most needs...I won't bore you with details as you know the features of this amp by now. It gets an 8 here simply for features.

Sound Quality: 6
Pretty good, but still not quite there. A good basic modeling amp sound, a bit better than the Line 6, but not enough to blow my mind. It's a bit above average...6 here.

Reliability: N/A
Don't know....took it back after a couple of weeks. From what I have read below, some major issues here though. Check out other reviewers comments.

Customer Support: N/A
Never contacted them.

Overall Rating: 3
Just didn't cut the mustard for me. I've tried them all. Surprisingly, I settled on the Korg Ampworks, a cheap little $149 deal with the same "REMS" technology (Korg owns Vox you know), and actually, the Ampworks offered much better presence, clarity, and realism without all the garbage and WEIGHT of the Valvetronix amp. 1 pound versus 80 pounds....no brainer. I really bought this amp as an all-in-one package, but found I have better results with a good tube amp and some pedals. For recording, the Korg Ampworks smokes this amp, and won't bust your wallet.

Submitted by David at 03/04/2004 07:44

Price Paid: N/A

Features: N/A

Sound Quality: N/A

Reliability: 3
Just a quick answer to the people who had bad experiences with the reliability of this amp - thanks for submitting your comment. I have owned this amp for 3 months now, and I have already experienced problems. The output between the speakers is unbalanced. The left one falls out. Also, the loudness of the amp is weird. It's basically not loud at all (maybe only due to the failing left speaker, but I doubt it), and I remember trying to adjust the high notes, and all of a sudden there was an increase in loudness. I will definitely go back to the shop, and I'm puzzled if I should have it repaired or leave it alone completely. This unreliability totally freaks me out.

Customer Support: N/A

Overall Rating: N/A

Submitted by Sanne te Meerman at 02/27/2004 09:21

Price Paid: US $750

Features: 7
Amp is packed with features lots of great amp simulation, all the bells and whistles you could ask for

Sound Quality: 9
Amp sounds great with all my guitars, strats, humbuckers, soap bar and even accoustic guitars can all be programed to sound great.

Reliability: 1
This is the worst amp that I have ever owned, sure it sounds great most of the time, but crank it on stage and the pedal board goes haywire!!! speakers cut in and out. To resolve this I used the direct out, but then that too started to cut in and out.

Customer Support: 1
I have sent emails asking for help. I have made atleast 12 calls to korg, I have taken the amp to their SF certified repair place and they REFUSED to work on it. I had to take my amp out of the city to another repair shop and well after 2 weeks they haven't touched it.

As a pro musician this amp has been a nightmare, If you depend on your gear to win your bread be verry cautious before buying!

Overall Rating: N/A
I've been playing for 17 years, I have owned vintage marshall, hi watts, fender twins, suppers,deluxe, tweeds, mesa.... Over 100 guitars in my time.
love the sound but what does it matter if it doesn't work?
Compared this to all the other modeling amps and went with this one for the ease of use and tone.
I wish that you could use more effects in conjucton- like use a dirt box and a wah isn't possible, or the octave and compressor.
If this amp was stolen i'd feel sorry for the thief! I'd start using a roland g3 to g5 for effects and get a real amp without a circuit board in it!

Submitted by Clay Bell at 02/25/2004 13:29

Price Paid: N/A

Features: 10
Features that I don't even need! It is a great amp for studio work or session guitarists. The effects are spot on, they sound almost identical to the real thing!

Sound Quality: 7
I use this amp with a 2002 Les Paul Classic. I play the amp on the 'UK 70's' setting. It suits my playing style very well! I mainly play hard rock in the band im in, I really cant complain about the sound! I have it plugged into a Marshall 4x12. I recommend this to everyone. The sound before sounded good, but lacked a lot of balls. A 4x12 improves the sound so much. When playing, the amp is always at full crank. It is very loud. It overdrives when you get it above 6/7 but if you want it cleaner, this can be easily 'corrected' by the gain knob. The sound I get is wonderful, and it is also great for playing funk/jazz or blues. Wouldn't recommend to a shred metal player. The speakers are also quite pish, no definition or bottom end when cranked, get a good 4x12 and it's good though!

Reliability: 5
Ah, the downfall. I've had to send this amp back twice! It's away right now actually! This amp has never been neglected. It's played loads of gigs but hasn't fallen out of the car yet! The amp runs in stereo. The left channel keeps breaking resulting in a fuzzy sound in the left speaker. And when played at high volume, the preset channels go mad and start randomly flicking between them all! :( BUT! I did accedently spill Irn-Bru into the vents and it was fine! I'll give it a 5...

Customer Support: 9
Customer Support is great. They're Vox, you know they're good! Quite a long time fixing though. I live in scotland, their factory is in Surrey i think!

Overall Rating: 8
Great amp for someone who wants a lot of effects and amps for cheap. All the models on the amp are very close to the real thing. I was very impressed by the wah wah, octave, acoustic, Rat distortion and tubescremer. Delay is great! Reverb is excellent for something that is solid state! Chorus is brilliant as is tremolo. The phase is quite good, and u can get a really funny noise from the flanger which is also cool. :) Well built too. Also looks like an AC30 if you take the cheesy 'Valvetronix' bagde off, which i have done! Cool amp.

Submitted by Anonymous at 02/14/2004 06:53

Price Paid: N/A

Features: 9
Great features,would have been nice to use compressor with distortion though.This is perfect for what I use it for.I play at church and need to nail a wide vaiety of tones at low volumes.

Sound Quality: 10
I am using a Peavey Wolfgang Special.Does great on the clean stuff and the heavier distrotion.

Reliability: 2
Unfotunatly!!This breaks my heart to write this but I dont want to see anyone else go through what I currently am.I love this amp but,I have the new VC12 pedal board and am having problems.Sometimes it works sometimes it doesnt.Niether guitar center or vox is willing to do much.Send it to the shop and wait for weeks,maybe we will pay for it maybe we wont.How about "here's another one,sorry for your problems"No that aint gonna happen with these people.I have waited to write this review because I was mad ,well everyday I get a little more frustrated as I spend time and effort trying to figure it out.I will never buy anything from guitar center or vox again and will tell as many people as I can what I have expierenced.

Customer Support: 1
No phone number given with product,just Email address that they never answer.I finally got thier phone number but its an East Coast #.By the time I get home from work to call them the are gone.

Overall Rating: 1
I wish somebody would steal it,seriuosly I love this amp wish I could give it a good review,sorry vox reliability and service are important too.

Submitted by Ed at 01/29/2004 02:35

Price Paid: US $814.99

Features: 9
I love the abilities of this amp. I've been playing guitar for 8 years and have been in a band for the past 3 years. The style of music that my current band plays is adult alternative pop/rock, in the vein of Sheryl Crow, Counting Crows, etc. This amp fits in perfectly with the sound that I'm looking for. The clean sounds are so clear and sweet while the distortions are versatile in that you can get some nice mild overdrive to a harsh crunch to a powerful hard rock bite. The sounds of JUST the amp models sound great by themselves, so adding in the built in effects such as chorus, reverb, echo, only give you more options. I'm not a big effects person myself, so it has all the effects I'll ever need.

As far as power is concerned: it doesn't get as loud as I want it. Although I'm not in a METAL band, I still would like it if the volume would be a little higher. Nonetheles, the FULLNESS of the sound makes up for the lack of volume that it can reach. Because of the volume issue, I give this a 9 rating.

Sound Quality: 10
I use two guitars with this amp, a Fender American Fat Strat Texas Special w/ 3 single coil pick ups and a Ibanez early 80's strat with a S/S/H configuration. The clean sounds I can get with the Fender are simply awesome. Distortions are good, but not great, but that's mostly because of the pickups. I once used my friend's Les Paul on the Vox and the first thing I said to myself was "DAMN!! That's SOME BITE AND CRUNCH!!"

There are 2 great things about this amp:
1. It brings out the strengths of your guitar. Whether you're using a Les Paul with monster humbuckers or an acoustic with piezo pickups, the valvetronix can make your guitar sound the way it's supposed to be. Also, a friend of mine owns a cheap ass Fender made in Mexico strat that sounds AWESOME with it plugged into the vox.

2. This amp sound like a "real" amp in that you must have your chops down in order to play it. EVERY note you play is clearly heard (even distorted notes) so you have to be "on" while using it. In a way, using this Vox has forced me to become a better player...

Reliability: 4
Although I've had my Vox Valvetronix for almost two years now, I never bothered to post. I believe I've had enough experience with this amp to give a clear, honest opinion. Anyways, reliability IS an issue with this amp....

I bought this amp at Guitar Center (Covina, CA) on May 7, 2002. According to my receipt, my amp was an out of box piece, but my salesman assured my that it had been hardly touched... which was probably true, since most people hook up to the Marshalls and Mesas. I wasn't worried that it had been played with, no biggie. I was in a hard rock band at the time so it went to immediate use. For 4 months, it gave me no trouble whatsoever. After 4 months, things started to go wrong. Various problems occured, such as significant volume decreases, pedalboard malfunctions, loss of guitar signal. The reason why I never returned it back to Guitar Center was that these problems were only occasional. After 15 months of owning this amp, the left speaker just went out completely. Since my one year warranty was up, i had to go to a special repair store that specializes in Voxs (got the store location from the official Vox website). After one month, they fixed it. They basically replaced the entire computer portion. It cost me $300. I bought the amp for $800. Before i decided to go ahead and have it repaired, i thought long and hard about paying $300, but because I loved it so much, I just went ahead and bit the bullet. It's been working great for the past few months now.....

Sorry for my ramblings, but the JIST of what i basically wanted to say was that I think this amp CAN be unreliable. I don't know if it's the computer chips, but from all the research i've done on this amp (and believe me, I am a research fanatic) it seems people have been having the same problems as me (i.e. signal loss, unbalanced speaker output, malfunctions). Of course, 14 ouf of 15 people don't seem to have had any problems so far,...BUT.... how long have they owned this amp? I've owned this amp for almost two years and had 1 MAJOR prob. Food for thought.

Customer Support: 7
Basically, I remember getting an e-mail saying to contact an authorized service center to help with my problem. I found one easily and they charged me A LOT ($300) to fix it. One month later, it seems (and feels) like I have a brand new amp. In retrospect, I WISH I could've asked Guitar Center for some kind of extended warranty... especially with this amp.

Overall Rating: 7
Ahh, I love this part because I'm forced to step back and think of my total collective experience with this amp. With the reliability problems, cost of fixing, lack of "great" volume mixed in with the great sound, terrific options, and relatively low cost in comparison with other $1000+ amps, I must say, if I could go back in time knowing what I know now, I would probably go a different route. I'd probably get a Mesa Boogie or a vintage Fender. Although the Vox is my main amp now, I'm looking into purchasing another amp for main use while pushing back the Vox to become the understudy.

BOTTOM LINE:
Great sounds but unsure about reliability

Submitted by Andrew Okamoto at 01/22/2004 02:10

Price Paid: US $400.00

Features: 10
Not sure when the amp was made. It is extremely versatile as you would/should expect from a modeling amp. This is IMO by far the best modeling amp on the market, at the very least it stomps all over the Line 6's I tried... I went to Guitar Center with the plan to get a line 6, I saw this amp on sale and tried it on a whim...I didn't step away from it for 2 hours. I then went and played the Flextone 3 and there is no comparison. The Line 6 is very thin and twangy sounding on all settings...it lacks charecter...sounded like a toy to me...then again look at it's main customer base...15 year old boys who wont be playing in 5 years...just look at the advertisements and you can see who their aiming for. The Vox is very tubey sounding, more so than a lot of current tube amps...very warm and thick and silky - like buttuh - like a big stick of buttuh.

Sound Quality: 10
Unless you intend to spend your time just paying covers (which is fine if that's your thing), who cares if it sounds exactly like this one or that one? That having been said, here's the review. I play all different styles of rock, not too much new stuff as I personally find most of it kind of boring to play (you know there is a problem with the rock music scene when a group like Staind is a top band...they're pretty good, but not THAT good). I also play a lot of blues as far as leads, not the generic 70's les paul/marshall blues-rock, but stevie ray, gary moore, eric johnson, Satriani's blusier based stuff...modern electric blues. The numerous settings are listed in other reviews or on the vox web site. This amp is new so I am still learning the workings as there is a lot to know....but so far I've found that it can get an amazingly accurate "Brown" sound (played panama, and for the first time in 15 years it sounded the way it should..;) ), as well as anything else u can imagine, with the exception of some of the new metal sounds because a lot of the new metal is very processed...detuned guitars, solid state amps and heavy distortion. If this is your style then this amp is not for you, don't read on any further. You can however get that earlier Metallica sound - pre "and justice for all". [To the Nu-metal heads who are bashing this amp: you are simply using the wrong amp. The music you guys are playing is what people learn to play when they first pick up the guitar. Same chord shapes in every song and easy to learn. Then hopefully they progress on to bigger and better things. So for the most part, you are a beginner, regardless of how long u have been playing. Your opinion means nothing. Don't misunderstand me - there are a lot of extremely talented musicians in that scene, I just doubt you are one of them, if u were u would be happy with yourself, and happy people don't act like that. It's like a guy working at a local tire shop for 8.00/hr. talking about how the Goodyear Corporation is run all wrong. I hate to use this forum to comment about this, but I am sick of trying to get valid feed-back on an item and coming across "reviews" from these cynical untalented ass-clowns who bash everything but know nothing. I don't go on to ESP review pages and bash the guitars because I don't use them, I have no need to. Doesn't mean they suck, just not for me. Get laid and lighten up.]

(sigh)The multiple distortons are excellent for anything else...your tones through this amp are automatically more "sophisticated sounding"....the tonal quality is just better...warmer think "Eric Johnson" warmth with all the distortion you can ever need...you have to play this amp to understand. The flanger is based on the flange that eddie uses...the MXR. The tape echo is unbelievable...reminds me of Satriani on "Flying in a Blue Dream." All of the effects, in fact, are of the highest quality and eliminate the need for external pedals - excluding the optional foot controller, which is essential for gigging. Some sounds that are easy to get are Kravitz, stevie Ray, Judas Priest, Def Leppard, Eddie, old Aerosmith/Zepplin...that was just in 2 hours. I agree with others when They say that they dare anyone to do a side by side comparison with the amps that the Vox emulates. Yes it will not be exact, but either are any 2 amps/guitars -any instrument in fact. I honestly don't care whether the amp models are an exact replica of those they emulate, the bottom line is I have 16 settings of amazing amp sounds - each one unique from the other. Then there's numerous effects that are very adjustable. The possiblilities are endless. BTW....It is open back, if you prefer a closed back that can be an easy modification that is easily removed. If it were closed and you prefer an open back, that takes a bit more work. Better that it's open IMO. I normally prefer a losed back but so far

Reliability: 9
This is where I am "iffy." The amp feels very sturdy. However there is a lot of electronics involved, and in my personal opinion, the more there is to something, the more there is to break - especially with computer related hardware. So I think you CAN gig with this amp, just be VERY careful with it, jarring it around could very well mess something up. I guess time will tell. I am giving it a 9 based on my personal fear, but don't get me wrong the amp feels like a tank.

Customer Support: N/A
Based on the numerous reviews I am seeing it appears the verdict is that the customer service abslolutely sux. Hopefully I never have to deal with them.

Overall Rating: 10
Is the amp perfect? Nope. Is any? Nope. Is this the best buy I have ever come across? Absolutely. Try one. If you like it, buy one. If some dick is trying to drown you out playing an Epiphone Zakk model through a Marshall valvestate, just play anything pre-1993---It'll shut him up real quick, for some reason it always does. Just move quick, they're clearing out the VT120 and moving in the VTX...Which is 600.00 more...Thanks for your time.

Submitted by Throckmorton P. Thompson III at 01/07/2004 09:50

Price Paid: US $499.00

Features: 3
This review is about the Vox Valvetronix 120 watt 2x12 modeling amplifier. This is an open back combo with celestion speakers made specifically for Vox. The valvetronix line of amplifier is Vox's attempt to regain market shares being dominated by Line 6.To cut to the facts I have owned this amplifier for about 3 weeks. I own a POD pro , and ART Dst 830 (w/celestions).I have a medium size project studio in my home and have played guitar for about 20 years.For several hours per day I have compared features of the Vox with my other equipment. In almost every category the Valvetronix has come up short.Whether you are a studio musician,home enthusiast or gigging please check out a few facts on this amplifiers features.1 While this is a modeling amp you cannot mix and match pre-amps and cabinets. 2.NO MIDI this means no backing up pre sets, have to use dedicated control pedal, WORST of all no computer editing ( I know many people are saying so what dude just play. I say digital amp with poor engineering)3. Vox has advertised matching 2x12 extension cab for the 120. They don't tell you in any publication including the manual that the internal speakers shut down when extension speaker jacks are used. I am guessing this is because the power amp only supports 8 ohm per side load. You could re-wire the speakers and what not, o'boy. 4. When using direct out for recording the external speakers do not shut down without inserting headphones or accessing external speaker jacks.(weak)5. The effects loop seems to be post every thing. What the hell? 6. Open back sucks all modeling should be done with a closed back cab. ( I think the new VTX has closed back) I will say top panel is well layed out and easy to use. However the Vox features cannot touch or even slightly compete with Line 6 POD series or the Behringer V-Amp Series including V-ampire amp.Even my ART DST 830 completely smokes Vox on head to head features. Based on price and expectations I'm giving features a 3. Check this amps features out for your self before you purchase.

Sound Quality: 4
I currently play a 1978 Les Paul Standard with double wound pick ups(very hot) and a 1974 Gold Top Les Paul Custom with DeMarzios. The main stay of my playing has been metal; you name it I have played it. I am very well versed in modal theory and play, and have also dabbled in jazz and blues. I want to say I am going to review the sounds on their own,not whether the modeling matches the the amp being modeled, as I have not personally played many of the models not to mention all amps and conditions (guitar,Strings,Rooms) are not the same as to have an accuret point of reference. Let me say first if your an experienced player of the heavy styles dont even bother with this amp. Almost any power amp and good pre-amp combined with a decent 4x12 cab will sound far better. The distortions are thin and definetely not in your face.The rectifier setting is almost a joke with the others close behind. You will also constently battle pre -amp noise as the noise gate/suppressor is pitiful.You will also find yourself constently adding presence only to be adding more noise.Some of the Vox models themselves seem to have more life than the hi gain models and sound pretty decent. If your playing with humbuckers the acoustic simulator stinks. Some will say no -hit!! But the boss pedal and the digitech R-series processors both do a lot better job. I have read that many people like the Vox stomp box section. I did not care for any of them as they lack any distinct character.Stomp boxes are cheap find a couple you like and use them. I basically use no modulation effects ever (for guitar) so would have to call them OK.The delay sounds fair but lacks any way to set it up other than the Tap function.The reverb basically sucks I qualify this because you cannot edit the tone ,shape,pre delay ,density, or any thing. Also the direct out is very weak, at least for any thing heavy.The following modeling processors completely smoke it. V-Amp,POD,Digitech,SansAmp, Zoom and ART. I kid you not I have worked with all of these models and found each of them betterI have read a lot of people ripping Line 6 since the Valvetronix have been released. I dont under stand this. Feature for feature,sound for sound the POD PRO is 10 times better. I would like to say in my comparisons I took the time to run these sounds thru several mixes (drums,bass,Keys)When miking this amp my ART DST 830 Killed it ,clean or distorted. All I can really say is use your ears and avoid the hype. If you need big sound get a big amp.If you don't have alot of cash and want to get into some amp modeling check out the Behringer V-ampire.

Reliability: 5
Relatively cheap built

Customer Support: 2
I own a small business and like some human factor yet I could not get a human on the phone to answer any questions which was my first mistake. .

Overall Rating: N/A
This amp is going back. Woudn't recomend for hard rock at all.Very,Very over rated!!!

Submitted by J.G.Middleton at 01/02/2004 01:30

Price Paid: US $650

Features: 8
This amp is slammed with useful stuff. The greatest feature is the soud quality of the unit as an entity. Everyone should definately read the manual because I found stuff I didn't even know it had aka The noise gate. I just bought a noise gate for my fender (for the hum) and I dont even need it now. In my opinion the use of more than one effect at a time is useless when there are so many modeling choices on this amp. They work the distortion well enough to satisfy my tastes. I was easily able to get the sounds I craved. The only thing that would have made it perfect would be the inclusion of the foot pedal with the amp, instead os a seperat device. I had to go to another store to get a controller. my only gripe.

Sound Quality: 10
I use a strat with hotrails in the bridge(the hum factor), a tele, and a Les Paul. It effortlessly complements each of these guitars and accents their features and makes them sound as they should sound. Thats what it is all about.

Reliability: N/A
I haven't had it too long yet so, whatever.

Customer Support: N/A
havent needed it

Overall Rating: 10
I am only 18 so I haven't been able to play too long and I am primarilly a bass player, but I still know what I want my guitar sound to be. and I can achive that sound with this amp. My bass is a Warwick and I bought it for the same reason I bout this Guitar amp the sound. The features and effects just sweeten the deal.

Submitted by Jeff at 12/28/2003 22:23

Price Paid: N/A

Features: 9
got all kinds of doodads - onboard effects, built in attenuator for the output. nice delay/chorus/reverb section. effects loop is to be expected. too bad it's solid state.

Sound Quality: 5
flat, squashed even. i originally thought it was an amp with all kinds of sounds built in, but after trying it again i realized it was actually an effects box with an output stage and speaker. it had a great variety of sounds - none of them exceptional, many of them would prove unusable. not as bad as the line 6, but, is that really saying much?

Reliability: N/A

Customer Support: N/A

Overall Rating: 6
i've been playing for over 30 years. i was looking for an amp to replace my rack system, which i really don't feel like carting around. i've decided to go with a fender hot rod deluxe instead of this one, or the other amps i tried. what i really wish it had was a real tube pre and power section. by the way, the fender cyber online demo blows the vox demo webpage away. that would be a good place to satrt with comparisions, although the cyber is also rather undynamic sounding. i've got a mesa studio preamp which will give me all the distortion i'll ever need, but the more elusive element of a good sound, and the more fundamentally important, is a nice sharp kicking low end and a glassy transparency that allows the true nature of a guitar to shine.

my advice to anyone who wants to buy this one - do yourself a favor and listen to some real amps first. trying an amp in a music store will always sound better than it will onstage. so be really, really critical.

Submitted by gunslinger at 11/30/2003 18:57

Price Paid: US $1.000

Features: 10
I have the 120 Watt head and the 212 cab

Sound Quality: 10
no noise, very quiet, I use the ac-15 setting with a little verb . I like the MIDS of this setting. let me set the record straight, I have old super reverbs{1964} a tweed Bassman 1959 I am using a 54 tele, a relic strat, and a Prs artist 24. I play for a living and have for the last 30 years I spent years on the road with blues singer Delbert McClinton and also guitarist for Bobby Whitlock {Derick & the Dominoes} I have a good idea what a amp should sound like. this is a great amp I use it in clubs and outdoors at blues festivals so far so good as long as its working Im gonna love it.
Ive had it now for 8 months and if it went down I would get another

Reliability: 10
so far so good

Customer Support: N/A
havent had to use them

Overall Rating: 10
great amp for me ...the old amps are in the closet for now
check out my web site www.davemillsap.com

Submitted by Dave Millsap at 11/30/2003 17:06

Price Paid: US $699

Features: 9
Well, it's been covered in great detail already. This isn't a stand alone solution to replace a rack of effects. I see it as an amazing sounding amp with a few basics thrown in as a bonus. I generally use a simple effects chain, so it satisfies all my needs, with one exception. That is not being able to use wah with other "pedals". That gets it a nine from me.

The new floorboard is amazing. All the old reviews trashing the old "playschool" board may no longer apply, unless you are unwilling to shell out the extra $100 for the upgrade. The tuner feature on the board is better than that on the amp. More lights and more stable.

Some earlier reviews mentioned that there are preamp tubes in the unit, but I found out that this is a mistake. There are in fact two 12AX7's (Sovtek), but that is one for each stereo output channel. I took the unit apart to check out the layout, etc. The power amp board essentially consists of two nearly identical halves, each with a tube in the final output stage.

My main reason for poking around the guts was to check out how the speaker outputs were wired. I wanted to use my Marshall 4x12 on occasion with the amp, but without the internal speakers. Basically the speaker outputs are inserted in series, before the internal speakers (switching jacks, normally closed). Plugging into the external speaker outs essentially inserts the external speaker in series before the internal ones. This is why there is an 8 ohm max listed for the externals (8 ohm + 8 ohm in series = 16 ohms, which is the max impedience that most power amps are designed to push). Inserting a 16 ohm Marshall would put too much of a load on the amp.

Plugging into the speaker jacks does not bypas the internals. There is a simple workaround to this however. Since this is a series wiring, shorting the + and - leads to each internal speaker essentially takes it out of the circuit. This is easilly done by connecting each of the speaker leads to the same terminal on the speaker (i.e., plug black and white onto each of the two tabs the same terminal). If you do this, the caution here is to not run the amp without an external speaker (just like a regular tube head). There is actually a jumper inside that can be clipped and shunted to ground that will do the same thing, only through the switching jack. I am going to do this as soon as Vox tells me it won't void my warranty. That will give me the best of both worlds.

Finally, mine isn't made out of particleboard. I can clearly see the grain in the plywood on several of the panels. It is possible that some of the smaller panels are particleboard, but I can't say for sure. Anyway, my 70's Marshall 4x12 is a mixture of particleboard, pine braces, and plywood.

Maybe Vox has been listening to customer demands on the later production models. The certainly did with the floorboard.

Sound Quality: 10
When I first got the amp, I was extremely impressed with the Vox and Fender sounds. I thought that the Marshall and other high gain sounds were missing a bit though. This was immediately corrected when I plugged the amp into my 4x12 (rewired for 8 ohm stereo, 30 watt G12M Rolla Cellestions). I own two early 70's Marshalls, and these models can very much hang in there with them. Do they sound exactly like a Marshall? I think that's a strange question to ask, because my Marshalls will sound different over time for various reasons. I can't imagine someone being able to sit the Vox next to a Marshall, turn the knobs the same way and claim to get the same sound. Hell, my buddies and I laugh about how our lead 50's have had good years and bad years, pre-recapping, post recapping, etc. I look forward to having a consistent tone with the Vox, changing out the 12AX7's aside.

I also need to point out that the Vox and Fender models didn't sound as good through the 4x12. No big surprise I guess. There were still decent, but no longer authentic sounding, sort of like the high gain amps with the 2x12 open back. The amps work best in thier own element, which to me really speaks highly of the modeling.

I haven't experienced any of the noise problems discussed previously. In fact, mine is a very quiet amp, relatively speaking. My Soktek tubes are slightly microphonic though and I plan on swapping them out.

Reliability: N/A
I haven't owned it long enough to say. But looking throught the other reviews and the vox message board, it does seem that most of the reliability issues are related to the switches or switching jacks on the back panel. If that is true, then although it would be a real problem, it would also be an easy one to fix.

Customer Support: N/A
NA.

Overall Rating: 10
I can't imagine a better bang for the buck. I am completely satisfied. If I don't experience any of the noise or cutting-out problems that others have seen (and if they aren't simple fixes) than I can say that I found the perfect amp for me.

Submitted by Chris W. at 11/26/2003 20:17

Price Paid: 950 (€)

Features: 10
the AD120VT is a modeling amp with 120 watt and two 12" celestion speaker!! if u want to play it at home, no problem. u can also use it with 2 watts (it has a headphone jack). and it sounds still great.
the effect loop includes everything u need! the tuner on board is a nice feature...
nothing is misssing

Sound Quality: 10
I actually play this amp with a squire strat. but i also played it with a gibson les paul or a fender telecaster. don't mind the guitar, it sounds great. there isn't one song u cant play with it.
my favourite mode is the "4x12 tweed". with the right gain... it sounds like the srv-version of "littel wing"!!!
overall: awesome!!!

Reliability: N/A
i've only played it at home ar with my band yet (no gigs).
so i don't know what happens if u claim more of it! i won't rate that!

Customer Support: N/A
i'd never had a problem and i bought it from a private shop...

Overall Rating: 10
I LOVE IT

Submitted by Schrott at 11/24/2003 15:11

Price Paid: 16.000 (SEK)

Features: 9
Bought the amp (AD120VT) back in spring 2002. I scanned all the music magazines at the time, simultaneously was visiting music shops testing all sorts of gear and in the end found out that for the money it was difficult to get more. I mean its in stereo, with 16 modelled amps, all the effects you could wish for and with a loud 120W etc. there is hardly more you need. However, that does not that it cannot be improved. If I could write my own Xmas wish list it would look something like this:

Place the WAH WAH pedal in a separate pre-amp effects bank. Do the same with the compresser. Last but not least I do use the headphones, and the sound could be better. I don't know if you could connect a really good speaker simulater in there. I think that every other manufacturer, with this type function, offers the same sound quality level. So I don't think that VOX are any better or worse than the others in tnis respect.

Thas it. Easy! Fixing the above would mean that you could run the dist. pedals + univbe etc. as well as the wah wah and compressor all at the same time. At the moment its either one or the other.

Sound Quality: 9
I play a real mixture of stuff depending on the mood I'm in. I've got two strats: an Am. series Texas Lone-Star strat and an Vintage Amercan Series '57. The AD120VT has got about every sound covered. From Hendrix to SRV, from Blackmore to Brian May to Marc Knopfler. There is lots of headroom, so that you can play whacky chicken picken country sounds to blasting heavy rock/metal. All at high volume. The AD120VT is like any other big amp, the louder you play it the better it sounds. However, if you are looking for a death metal type sound I think that you will have to look elsewhere.

Background noise wise I guess it depends on the guitar. When playing my Lone-Star the amp is pretty nosieless, however, when using my guitar with the vintage pick-ups - well what can you expect?

Reliability: 8
Bit of a mixed bag here. I have gigged with it, however, did experience the "cutting out" problem occasionally. This was annoying and in the end I took it back to the shop, where I bought it (Freddans, Gothenburg, Sweden). The VOX agent here in Sweden soon fixed it. There was a loose cable and since then its been great. So all in all despite the problem I can easily recommend it. You have to remember that it is a VOX (built with help of KORG). They are both established players on the market and as such would NOT deliver a "non-tested" product out onto the market. So I think the reliability is good. A problem is a problem. As long as it gets fixed then its ok. Its when, after the problem has been fixed, and the same problem keeps on coming back time after time, then its time to start talikng about reliability problems.

Customer Support: 9
Has been good

Overall Rating: 9
Would I buy it again - yeah why not! I have been playing for over twenty years and I know what I like. The AD120VT is a good, solidly built, nice sounding rock machine. I've even recommended it to others. So go and buy on and dare to be different.

Submitted by Robert Ritchie at 11/20/2003 02:51

Price Paid: US $600.00

Features: 9
I got my Vox AD 120 brand new in July 2003.I got a very good price on it,welbelow what they normally sell for-$600.00 cash,out the door!I don't think I could do any better for the money & get a brand new amp.
I've giged w/it only a few times & have had no real problems w/it so far.The one thing I've noticed is that occasionally when I turn it on & set the controlles a certain way,that(ocassionally) when I just touch one of the knobs w/out even turning it,the volum will decrease substantially-like a ground problem.Has anyone else had an experience like that?If so,what can be done about it?
Other than that,has anyone bought the new VC-12 foot controller yet & what do you think of it?I haven't tried it or the VC-4 but by the looks of the VC-12,I'm sure it is far superior to the VC-4.

Sound Quality: 9
Suits my styles fine.I like & plat everything from Jazz,fusion,rock,metal,funk,blues,etc.
I agree w/what all the positive reviews on this site have said,& other than the minor above problem I mentioned,this has been a trouble free amp!
I use a variety of guitars: 1965 Guild jazz gutar,fender,variuos acoustics.

Reliability: 9
Seems to be sturdy,& reliable so far.

Customer Support: N/A
N/A

Overall Rating: 9
I'd definately get another one if stolen.If the VC-12 works well playing w/the AD 120 should be an even more pleasurable experience!
Any info. on the VC-12 & the "grounding" issue I have would be greatly appreciated.Thanks,C

Submitted by Anonymous at 11/09/2003 11:15

Price Paid: US $1100

Features: 8
This amp is absolutely feature-rich. It is the reason I purchased it. The switchable output power makes is playable in a variety of venues. It's headphone output allows you to play it at home when everyone's sleeping as well. The only problem is the $200 foot controller only allows you to half of the settings at a time. You have to get on the amp to get the other half. The other problem I have is the design. When the amp is tilted back in an amp stand, It's impossible to see or change the settings without having to walk behind the amp. That makes it difficult at a gig.

Sound Quality: 9
Fantastic Sound at all power levels.

Reliability: 1
I just experienced my worst time that I've had with any device I've ever owned. I purchased the amp at Guitar Center on Dec. 29, 2002.
The amp worked great until June (approx 6 months). It would intermittently stop outputting sound -- all lights worked. I would move it around and it would work. It eventually went out in mid-July. The repair shop sent away for new internal boards. The one board I needed was back ordered. It had to come from England. I just received my amp from repair. July to October -- 3 MONTHS!!!!
The amp has layered boards and I don't think it's durable enough for gigs. I tried babying it, but it still gets slightly jostled --- a lot less than my laptop. I intend to sell it or use it only at home and purchase a gig-durable, AMERICAN amp.

Customer Support: N/A

Overall Rating: 7
It's not a gig-durable amp in my opinion and parts availability is a big issue.

I would not purchase this for gigging.

Submitted by Ron at 10/16/2003 12:57

Price Paid: US $750

Features: 10
This is a follow-review now that I've had my Valvetronix for a few weeks and the 'honeymoon' has worn off. If you don't feel like reading much, then my bottom line is: this is the best ling amp on the market, period!

Features I'd have to give a 10 since all the features (stomp boxes, modulation, delays, reverbs, etc) work great. Sure, you could build a hundred of them into the amp, instead of a handfull, but at some point you reach oversaturation. The vox has just the right amount of effects available. The only complaint is that I'd like to be able to use the overdrives ALONG with the compressor, univibe, wah, etc.

Sound Quality: 9
OK folks --- here's how the ratings work on harmony central. Assuming there's a good number of scores to work with, (15 or more reviews that is) for a given product, then anything under an 8 is just crap. Anything over a 9 is fairly good, and a 9.5 or better is virtually perfect. This amp averages a 9.3 for the sounds (drawn from 108 reviews at ths time this was written), which is a very respectable score. That score is easily the best of all the other digital amps, and as good as many of the more famous valve amps rated on harmony central.

MAnd . . . there's a reason the amp scores so well. This amp is a fantastic value for the array of sounds you get, and for how close it comes to true tube sound and feel. I would give it a 9 and a half if we could use fractions, but gotta stick with whole numbers so I give it a 9.

This is a great amp in its own right -- never mind the digital preamp --- and it's easily the best ling amp you'll find.

Reliability: 3
no problems after a month.

Customer Support: N/A
unknown.

Overall Rating: 9
For a ling amp, I give it a full 10. Competing against $10,000 Dumbles, I have to be realistic and give it a 9.

Submitted by Russ at 09/01/2003 12:24

Price Paid: US $1000

Features: 10
This is a follow-up to my original review when this amp was first released - my review is probably way down at the bottom of the 100+ reviewers. I've now had the amp for almost 2 years - and yes I still like it every bit as much as I did when I bought it. I see that a number of folks are complaining about low-level hiss when the amp is just idling. Yes, mine has it as well BUT it's easy to get rid of any noise that the amp makes and here's my secret --- read the next section.

Sound Quality: 10
Go on Ebay and search for a DBX 117, 118 or 119 compressor/expander. It will cost about $40 or so. It's an old late 70s - early 80s piece of stereo gear. No one knows about them and hardly anyone wants them. But for noise reduction for guitar amps they are the bomb. Get one of these puppies, plug both stereo outputs of the preamp (if recording) or plug one in the efx in/out loop if playing out of the speakers. Set the mode switch to Linear, the threshold to about 11 o'clock, and the expansion knob to about 2-3 o'clock. Viola - NO NOISE, works great for recording directly into a PC as well. I kid you not, that's the secret - and because it downward expands the noise threshold, there is no difference in the tone or output, and it doesn't work like a noisegate and cut off the input signal. It just ducks the low level noise when you are not playing. When you are playing it doesn't effect the signal as it's over the threshold you've set. That's my solution and I'm sticking with it..... :?>

Reliability: 6
I replaced the original tubes with some old Mullard and Ampex tubes I had to increase the warmth and get rid of the brittleness of the cheap sovtek tubes.

Customer Support: 5
No issues, no problems.

Overall Rating: 10
Still the best amp I've owned in 35 years of playing - it's a keeper, I got rid of every other amp and efx I owned with one exception - the built-in spring reverb simulation is just so-so so I tried out dozens of spring reverbs and settled on an Orban 111B - best reverb I've ever heard in my life and it's dead bone quiet...... (no remote footswitch though and it has a wire strip on the back rather than 1/4" jacks as it's a studio piece). Vox Rocks!!!!

Submitted by Peter at 08/25/2003 06:44

Price Paid: N/A

Features: N/A

Sound Quality: N/A
Hello again. I forgot to mention I live in the USA and apparently all the UK people have no noise issues. So I'm assuming it's something to do with the electric differences. It is a UK designed amp after all. It does kind of sound like that may be the logical answer. I made this assumption a month ago and many of the UK people who emailed me back on the msg boards @ the website have had no problems. CASE CLOSED as far as I'm concerned. I'm waiting for the Tonelab preamp to see how that does since it's not powered by a transformer.

Reliability: N/A

Customer Support: N/A

Overall Rating: N/A

Submitted by Anonymous at 08/23/2003 17:17

Price Paid: N/A

Features: N/A

Sound Quality: N/A
Quote and response: "For you "hiss/hum" guys Is the problem there even if nothing is plugged to the amp?(like on mine)"

Yes.

another users quote and response:
"i've never had any problem with excess buzzing and have never heard one with this problem. that sounds like it would be a bad tube or loose or dirty socket though."

CAN YOU people READ? We've already discussed this and for the record I tried that, the noise suppressor, the high and low input, HEAD+cab version, combo version, different outlets. Don't tell me its a stupid tube. It's funny I had 3 of them and they all DID it! It's not a cheap crappy import guitar I am using either! Sheesh!

Reliability: N/A

Customer Support: N/A

Overall Rating: N/A

Submitted by Anonymous at 08/23/2003 17:10

Price Paid: US $1000

Features: 10
This is an update to my earlier review - I've now had my Valvetronix for a year, in which time I've rehearsed with it 2-3 times a week at high volume (on the 30w setting). Everyone knows the features - for the cash its unbeatable.

Sound Quality: 9
Again - for the price - this amp is capable of conjuring some amazing sounds. If you listen to the modelled amps "dry" the tone of this amp is pretty amazing. Some of the effects are better than others - the univibe is very cool, not as good as the original but the original will cost you $300 on its own. Modulation effects are pretty good in general.

Some have complained that you can't use the wah and distortion at the same time - well you can't use wah and one of the distorion effects but if you use the recto model (or one of the other high gain models) and crank up the gain and volume, there you have it.

The delay is a pain for me due to the tap control - I'd prefer to set it to a number (eg 100 ms) to get what I want rather than tap my finger indescriminately on a button until I hear what I want.

Reliability: 10
It has been *very* reliable for me. I have used it without backup and will continue to do so. I play this thing cranked at the 30W setting, although I've never had to use it on full power, several times a week in rehearsal and every now and then on stage without problem. Only problem I've had was with the foot controller (see below).

Customer Support: 10
I had an issue with the foot controller - it kept displaying "8" on the LED and would not work without switching the amp on and off and jiggling things around a bit. I called customer support and they sent me a brand new replacement no questions asked within a week. Great service!

Overall Rating: 10
This is a great amp - everything you could want for the price. With the VC12 foot controller this will make it even better - the VC4 is servicable but too small and the expression pedal almost unusable with my size 9 feet. This is a very versatile amp and I've had nothing but compliments from everyone who's heard it.

Submitted by Anonymous at 08/15/2003 11:39

Price Paid: 829 including foot board (pounds sterling)

Features: 9
I think the features have been well documented in previous postings.

Sound Quality: 10
I play a '78 hardtail strat and a Gibson LP classic gold top and play in a function band so I need many sounds to cover the range of material played. Both the Fender and Gibbo sound great through the amp and have had no problems whatsoever with hiss or hum (I live in the UK). Is this problem only confined to the U.S. market 'cos I've heard a number or other VOX's here in the U.K. and have never heard any unwanted hiss or hum. For those of you who say "its a pity I can't get to all 32 presets via the foot controller" jeeze, how many sounds do you want in a gig situation?? You've always got the mode whereby you can select a preset and then hit the "top" button on the controller to bring on the "manual" buttons for effect, modulation, delay & reverb. I've had to tweek virtually all the presets to make them "my sound" but all are usuable out of the box, okay some are a bit chessy but hey, everyone to his/her own.
I've found that by plugging in the Les Paul into the "low" input and Fender into the "hi" input is the best setup but if you mistakingly plug the LP into the "hi" input, it gets very dirty very quick!
Overall, great sounds are achievable even at high volumes, not thin and wimpy like some other modelling amps I've tried or heard.

Reliability: 10
As I've mentioned before, I've had my amp for approx 9 months and rehearse once a week with the guys and play atleast two or three times at home with it on 1 watt (great idea and so "wifey friendly")with no problems. So far so good..........

Customer Support: N/A
Bought it brand new from my local geetar shop with 1 year warranty. Not had to use it yet!!

Overall Rating: 10
THis amp was bought over a Marshall TSL/DSL. I tried several marshall combos and was about to embark on buying a TSL212 but the man in the shop said "Tried one of these before?" "No" said I. The rest, as they say is history. I was blown away with the ADVT's sound especially as I did an A/B with the marshall and Vox side by side. If you want versatility, power and tone........GET ONE NOW and do away with all those pedals and leads (I used to use BOSS gear but that has all been put to one side now)

Submitted by Mr Goldtop at 08/14/2003 04:47

Price Paid: N/A

Features: N/A

Sound Quality: N/A
this is an update on my earlier review and a responce to all the dogging this amp has been taking. the only problem i've had with this amp is that one of my speakers started cutting in and out on me. this was due to a flaw in the headphone jack. it was easily fixed by simply pluging and unpluging a cord in the headphone jack. i haven't had anymore problems with it since. i've also added the valvetronix 4x12 cabinet with it and it is so loud at about 6 or 7 you can't stand to be in the same room with it. i also tested it against my singers marshall jcm 2000 with the vox on the uk modern setting. i set all the knobs on the vox exactly the same as the jcm 2000 and if you weren't looking you wouldn't have known the difference. it reacts like a tube amp should. if i roll back the volume on my guitar it cleans up and the clean amps react to picking style. i've never had any problem with excess buzzing and have never heard one with this problem. that sounds like it would be a bad tube or loose or dirty socket though. as far as the volume pedal not having any range mine is fine.it works better than alotof volume pedals i've seen. if you don't believe me go to www.mp3.com/soberrocks and listen to something in the air. i used the volume pedal on the foot controller to record the lead line. as a matter of fact all the guitars on all three songs are the vox.

Reliability: N/A

Customer Support: N/A

Overall Rating: N/A

Submitted by moon at 08/13/2003 00:07

Price Paid: US $750

Features: 9
See numerous full descriptions in the other entries below!

Sound Quality: 9
I play a Tele Nashville, and a PRS EG3 (The PRS version of a strat -- now sadly discontinued). I like rock, blues and country, and this amp suits all three types of music very well.

First -- a comparison to the other brands of ling amps. I've owned 2 line-6 s (Flextone plus, AX2), and this one certainly beats both of those by a big margin. The AX2 could indeed get some good sounds, but only after mind numbing hours of tweaking, and even then I could get just 2 decent amp s worth playing in public, out of a list of 12 or more! And it's true that the AX2 sounds shrill and harsh at volume. I sold mine and don't miss it a bit.

The Vox, on the other hand, gave me a whole slew of really nice tones after just an hour of playing around, and still serves up surprises after a couple weeks of ownership. It's really simple to operate and to find good and even great sounds -- which is what we're all after in the first place! You DO have to give it a few minutes to find good sounds --- so don't just go to GC and twiddle the knobs for 3 minutes and give up. Spend a little time with it and it will be worth it.

I've also tried the Marshall and the Fender ling amps, and they just aren't as good sounding to me, and are much more annoying to use.

Now -- a comparison to tube amps. I've owned several of these as well (ampeg reverberocket, Fender twin, Fender super, V-series (crate) and others. The Vox compares very favorably to tube amps, In my opinion. I note a slight drawback to the Vox Valvetronix in that the sound from real tube amps seems to spring forth more freely and richly, and contains more a little bit complex overtones and wider ranging dynamics, etc. That is, the best of the tube amps inspire you to get totally lost in the instant gratification of playing. The Vox comes very close to this at times, too, but is still a tiny bit less satisfying to listen to. I'm not a tube snob, but want to be honest about the difference to tube amps. If you want to put a number to it, I'd say the Vox Valvetronix gives you 95% of the good stuff that a good tube amp offers. For the money though, the sounds are REALLY really good, and I'm very selective in my tastes. Which is to say that you'd have to be just insanely picky to find significant fault with sounds from this Vox. I give the sounds a 9 out of 10, only because tubes offer just a tiny bit more richness. Note though that I no longer own any tube amps, and am totally happy with the Valvetronix.

In the deal, you'll get a whole stable full of different amp sounds, compared to just a couple sounds with typical tube amps. I've really had some fun with the Fender Tweed simulations, the Marshall s, and even the Vox AC30TB . I'm not a thrasher, so the hi-gain US s aren't my cup of tea as I'm not into that type of music, but the Vox can certainly serve up some great metal overdrive as well.

So I regard this amp as a really great piece of work --- congrats to VOX for making a ling amp that sounds so diverse and so good, while being simple to use!

Reliability: N/A
Too soon to say.

Customer Support: N/A
Too soon to say

Overall Rating: N/A
I've had the amp for a couple weeks, and I'm very satisfied with it. I may do another installment after a couple months of ownership, to see how my opinion develops as the honeymoon wears off!

For now -- great amp!

Submitted by Russ at 08/11/2003 20:01

Price Paid: N/A

Features: N/A

Sound Quality: N/A
For you "hiss/hum" guys
Is the problem there even if nothing is plugged to the amp?(like on mine)
I´m interested in knowing that, because I want to be sure if it is the same thing we are talking about here.

Altso I want to mentoin the VC-4 foot controller. I don´t like to be negative (on purpose) but,but,but... Let´s call it constructive critic.
First it is way to small. With normal sized foot you´d be very lucky to hit the right button, -most likely you will push two buttons at the same time.
Next thing may not be such a big problem, but still it seems a little bit unfinished, that you can´t switch between all 32 programs from the controller. It gives the impression that maybe there are other tings about these products(amp/contrl.) that´s unfinished. Maybe something inside you can´t see?(what about the hiss/hum?)
Last issue though,is really the thing that makes this unit almost unusable to me. The problem is that the pedal only responds within the last 30-40% when you push it downwards. It reacts almost like a switch. When used as expression pedal ex wahwah, the whole idea of the word "expression" is lost when the limit of your expression lays within 2 cm of movement of the pedal. As volume controll there is absolutly no way it can work. If you ex after a solo try to lower the volume a bit , well it is practically impossible just to move your foot so little that it´s just adequate, and the result is that you turn the volume totaly down.
So too me this is a switch, not a expression pedal and not a volume pedal.
The manual describes a procedure to calibrate the unit. I´ve done exactly that, and guess what! -it does not help what so ever.

I´ve sometimes been attempted to push a schrewdriver into the little hole at the back of the unit and turn it around and see what happens.
This schrew is not mentoined in the manual. Does anyone know what it there fore??

The only good thing I can say about this controller , is the tuner. Because there are two more leds than on the amp, you can tune more exactly an steady. But still, if a tuner is what you need, then buy a tuner so you don´t have to pay for the extra features that´s supposed to be on this unit, wich I find practicly unusable.

Reliability: N/A

Customer Support: N/A

Overall Rating: N/A

Submitted by tj at 08/11/2003 10:18

Price Paid: N/A

Features: N/A

Sound Quality: N/A
Thank God others have had the "hissing" problem. I think it has something to do with grounding. When I purchased mine 6 months back and brought it to my practice space I heard zero noise. When I brought it to a studio for recording it hissed/hummed really loudly. The studio techs originally blamed it on my single coils / semi-hollowbody Hammer Vanguard, but I tried it with a series of PRS's, a Les Paul and an SG with the same results. As a result, I was unable to use it on the recording. Since then, I've had no issues with it hissing back at the practice space - but I'm afriad to bring it to a gig until I get this settled. Anyone have any thoughts?

Reliability: N/A

Customer Support: N/A

Overall Rating: N/A

Submitted by Anonymous at 08/07/2003 10:51

Price Paid: N/A

Features: N/A

Sound Quality: 9
This is in reply to the guy with the hiss, mine does not hiss!! My amp is quiet as a mouse!! And just to add, I solved the hiss problem with the OD pedal models by using the low sensetivity input instead of the high. Mine's from the UK though, so whether there is any difference I do not know.

Sorry if I sounded condescending in my review, I did not mean to.

Reliability: N/A

Customer Support: N/A

Overall Rating: 9

Submitted by Mark Adams at 08/01/2003 14:05

Price Paid: N/A

Features: N/A

Sound Quality: 9
Hi
First I have to admit that i´ve search´d the internet and these rewiews, if I could find anyone with the same problem that I experiensed with my valvetronics 120 ad, from the very first time i switced it on.
The problem is hiss.
The last rewiew I read on this board could the same have been written by me.
The hiss has nothing to do with the gain settings or amplifier type(though some amp.types are a little quieter)or adjustment of the noise supressor. I have tried all that.
Even when nothing is plugged to the amp an the master volume is fully down, there is such a loud hiss that I really can´t belive it is expected to be there on a amp produced past year 2000 by a serious company like Vox.
To me, it seems like the nature of the hiss has something to do with 50 hz buzz from the power supply. I´m not sure, but my suspicion is directed to the trafo that is mounted only a few millimeters from the right speaker.
Any way I have to say that the overall sound of the amp itself is really good and I like the versatility witch pleases almost all the needs of a guitarplayer that plays many styles(like me) - but still..... if I ex wanted to go to a serious sounsdudio to record something with my new amp(2 months), they would kick me and my gear out the same minute the amp was switched on.
So now I wonder if it is only me and the person that wrote the previous rewiew that experiense this problem?

My rating of the sondquality will only be for the overall impression(without hiss)

Reliability: N/A

Customer Support: 1
I called the store where I bought the amp, immidatly after I first exp. the problem(hiss/buzz),-ca 2 days after I recieved it.
When I was hangin in the phone, he(the salesperson) tryed out an amp in the store and came back to me and said, -yes I can hear this hiss and he was sorry but this was normal for the valveronics.

Well what can I do? I am the owner of a noname amp that my father bought to me 15 years ago. When set on the floor side by side, my noname and my Vox, I can say that the Vox is 3-4 times more noisy. Quite disappointing

This rating is a bit difficult because they tried to help, but to me the help was worthless.

So I really don´t know what to do.
The only thing I can do is maby to find somebody who ownes a valvetronics and and then compare them together. This way I can find out if it is just me(and the writer of the previous rewiew) that have a problem or this is a general to all the owners in the world.

Overall Rating: N/A

Submitted by Terje Johannesen at 08/01/2003 05:41

Price Paid: US too much

Features: N/A

Sound Quality: 6
Hi, This is for the guy who posted this comment about the hiss being a simple case of adjusting the noise suppressor. Hello don't you think I tried that?! I can read you know and it was one of the first things I tried. I also exchanged emails with many owners of this amp and they have the same problem and all have sent them back. IT SUCKS for recording unless you like hiss for an Effect. It is NOT a simple case of a noise suppressor.

Can you read? It happens even on clean setups...I don't call that high gain! LOL. Even on the pre-programmed settings I got the hiss and I don't call that manual mode.

GET THIS STRAIGHT: I AM NOT TALKING ABOUT HIGH GAIN HISS WHILE PLAYING, BUT WHEN THE AMP IS IDLE OR PARTS OF A SONG WHERE YOU DONT PLAY for a second or two then continue playing! HELLO!!!! The sound is kick ass and the best I heard, but that idle hiss is such a drag. I played on high game amps that cost 1/3 the price of this one with NO HISS at pauses OR during playing! This guys quote is BS and redundant. It's not my guitar either. I have 3 other guitars that do the same thing. The guitar is not the issue. I'm not playing with crappy non-shielded imported-crap-pickups on a slab of plywood.

FOR THE RECORD AGAIN, It sounds great when playing, BUT SUCKS BECAUSE IT HISSES WHEN IDLE OR A PAUSE IN YOUR PLAYING.

Here is his quote:
"The review below mentions a lot of hiss, well, if you're in manual mode, then yes you will get a lot of hiss as manual mode resets the Noise Gate, all you need to do is adjust it and the hiss is either quiet or goes away completely depending on your gain/volume settings."

There is, however, an issue when using the OD pedal models along with some amp models. For example, kick in the tubescreamer pedal model along with the UK Modern amp model and you get a fair bit noise and, if close to the amp, some microphonic feedback, and that's with my EMG pickups! God knows what it would be like if I had passive pickups! This is the ONLY bad thing though.

Reliability: N/A

Customer Support: N/A

Overall Rating: N/A

Submitted by J at 07/28/2003 20:48

Price Paid: £529 UK (The Pedal was £135 so call it £664 in total.)

Features: 9
I'll only run through the best features as all of them have been mentioned in the gazillion other reviews below.

Auto-Wah - a lot of people don't like this, and yeah it's not a patch on a proper wah-pedal, but it IS really funky and you can get a lot of usable tones from it.

Virtual FX loop - The Chorus in particular is very good, nice choices of three delay type (digital, tape & multihead) all of which sound great.

Noise Gate - yes there is a built in noise gate and you CAN adjust the amount of noise reduction to stop hiss (see more on this below).

Chromatic Tuner - No need to borrow my brothers tuner anymore, got my own now!!

The Power selector - This is the BEST feature on this amp, you can stick the wattage down to 1 watt per speaker and practice at stupid o'clock without annoying anyone, and then pump it up to 60watts to really roar!! It's fantastic.

There is the issue of the pedal-board however, it costs an arm and a leg and is pretty much essential, is it worth £135? Doesn't look it to me, £75 maybe, but not £135, especially since the expression pedal isn't that great and the setting for turning the wah on and off is on the other end of the pedal (major flaw!!). So I'm rating the features a 9, not 10.

Sound Quality: 9
Ok, I'm playing an Ibanez RG470L (lefty!) with EMG pickups (81-SA-85) straight into the amp. Now I believe there is something in this amp for EVERY style of player, from country music (which I hate) to screaming metal (which is what I love and play).

I'm a big Metallica Fan, there's a pre-set patch called "Puppet Master" which attempts to emulate Metallica's sound, and I'll be honest, I was impressed when I first heard it, not a bad attempt, I tweaked it though (added more gain, treble and presence) to get it sounding better. Word of warning to anyone who wants a good Mesa/Boogie Rectifier sound though, if you ask me, the Recto amp setting is crap and is the worst of all the amp models. BUT, the other models are great for ALL kinds of metal, from 80's hair metal to the nu-metal of today.

The review below mentions a lot of hiss, well, if you're in manual mode, then yes you will get a lot of hiss as manual mode resets the Noise Gate, all you need to do is adjust it and the hiss is either quiet or goes away completely depending on your gain/volume settings. There is, however, an issue when using the OD pedal models along with some amp models. For example, kick in the tubescreamer pedal model along with the UK Modern amp model and you get a fair bit noise and, if close to the amp, some microphonic feedback, and that's with my EMG pickups! God knows what it would be like if I had passive pickups! This is the ONLY bad thing though.

The clean sound is great, the Dumble model (Boutique CL) sounds great with some chorus and a little reverb for the clean Metallica sound. Or, if you’re into U2, the Vox models with some delay are great for The Edge's clean tone. Also, Nickelback use this amp for their clean tone, if it's good enough for them, it's got to be good enough for pretty much anyone!

I mentioned the great metal sounds above, and yes the distortion really is great!! I prefer the UK Modern, UK '80S and US HIGAIN settings, but the Boutique OD is a nice sound and if you like the sound of the Marshall JCM 900 amps then the UK '90S setting should suit you as it sounds exactly like my brother JCM 900 Dual Reverb amp.

I'm not rating this 10 because of the problems when using the tubescreamer and rat pedal models with higain amp models. But don't let that put you off, this amp sound AMAZING!

Reliability: N/A
Only had 4 days so I can't really comment much here, I have read several of the reviews below and the main issue seems to be the amp cutting out. One guy seems to think it may be due to changing the watt setting while the amp is still on, which makes sense to me as there's a reason the control for it is on the BACK of the amp, if it was meant to be fiddled with along with all the other knobs it would be on the main panel but it's not. So, if you're gonna change the wattage, turn off your amp and wait a little while, change the wattage, turn back on.

Customer Support: 1
I e-mailed Vox about the possible problem with it cutting out, I asked if they were aware of it and if so had they fixed it, no reply, so they get a 1 rating here as I sent that e-mail almost a fortnight ago.

I'll also mention the manual here, its MEGA cheesy, to go as far as saying its downright insulting (as someone did say in their review) is going too far I reckon as it really is helpful to the layman. They could have just toned down the cheesy quips. But it's not a BAD manual by any stretch. You want to see a bad manual? Get a Roland amp, their manuals SUCK!

Overall Rating: 9
I play at home only (rarely to I jam with anyone), before I got this amp I was using a Roland Cube30, which is a great little amp, but I wanted more features, more control over the effects etc. So I first looked at the Roland VGA-7, never managed try one out or the Vox as the music stores never had them, and even if they did, with me being a lefty I'd end up testing them on a pathetically set up piece o'crap. I went for the Vox because they have valves, which ALWAYS add to the tone.

If it were lost or stolen I'd probably buy it again, or maybe try a Line6 Duoverb.

What I love about this amp is the great metal tone and the fact that I can practice at really LOW volumes, I don't hate anything about it as it hasn't pissed me off yet. If there was something I would wish for it would be a better pedal-board, it's quite basic for the price you pay for it.

A word about the price of this amp, you shouldn't have to pay any more than £550 for the amp, one music store I went into wanted £799 for it, I told them I'd 'think about it'. I bought it online from www.soundslive.co.uk and they delivered it the next day!

Submitted by Mark Adams at 07/20/2003 16:02

Price Paid: US $1000

Features: 7
You should know all the features by now. The most noteworthy are the tubes and output selector. While it has nice sounding effects they are very basic, but sound good. The foot pedal is crap. Don't waste your money. IF you bought a package deal and it came with one sell it on ebay. As for the controls and the way they work it kind of limiting... It doesn't like other distortion pedals too well, but it depends on your taste. This was the best partial tube mimic amp I had less the noise. I cant stress that enough. This IS NOT A GIG AMP!!!!!!! Crappy footcontroller=no way in hell for gigging.

Sound Quality: 7
It has a great sound to it HOWEVER this damn thing has a low audible noise when idle. I tried contacting Vox and spent time swapping emails on the forum. I had the combo version. I also got the head and cab version. It was 'rumored' the hiss was from the speakers being too close to the transformer. It sounded like the problem because you could get close to the speakers and where the transformer was(right side) that speaker put out more hiss than the left. So I went ahead and sold the combo and got the head+cab version. To my disappointment the thing had the same damn hiss. I put in some electro harmonix tubes and it helped that problem a tad, but still not good enough for a freaking $1000 amp setup. The replaced tubes also enhanced its clarity. For those who say they don't have a noise problem are VERY forgiving! Just because it's drowned out when playing doesn't suit me. I mean come on! even on freaking clean sounds it does this. I have high gain solid states that are dead quiet when not playing. It's not a freaking 60 cycle noise or anything that can fix it. I've tried monster speaker cables on the head version.. Don't get me wrong the sounds from this are incredible. Also, if this bastard doesn't give you enough metal sounds get a BBE-362 Sonic Maximizer. It will give you a hard on. Also ad a Eq in the effects loop. You'll be surprised... but not good enough to make me settle for a noisey ass bitch. If it had no noise it will be untouchable.

Reliability: 8
First off the stupid ass gold pinstripes are a joke. You pick it up and they rub right off. It's pathetic. While I had no problems from this operating I rate the construction as cheezy. Please note... Swapping tubes are a breeze on the head and a little harder on the combo. All you do is turn it over and get double stick tape and pull. The BAD thing I noticed is if you F' up the socket you're screwed. They go right into the circuit board. Also, the warranty is one freaking year! I say work the hell out of it and try everything out the first month to make sure it's gonna last. I take care of my stuff, however I'm nervous about the plastic crap knobs and such. The cab for the head is sweet! It's built well and is like a feather compared to the head. Seriously! I was like woah!!! BTW, these are made in korea... also they are built better than fenders as far as the woods and such.

Customer Support: N/A
They don't give a shit. I sent them people many emails and not one damn word. ignorant jerks.

Overall Rating: 6
ATTN: Both the Combo version and the head+cab have audible noise. It kind of ruins the rest of the amp. The foot pedal does that too. Sorry if there are any typos.. I'm not writing a paper for an english teacher so go figure.

Submitted by Anonymous at 07/16/2003 23:18

Price Paid: US $1200

Features: N/A
amp was built 2002
the specifics are already well published here

Sound Quality: 2
I play older rock and blues with a bit of new and original material
I play a G&L Bluesboy, Stinger ( a tele knockoff) and a washburn strat type guitar (heavily modified with humbuckers, coil splitters, piezo pickups, effects loop switched from the guitar. 1 meg pots...)
the sounds are fine.
but mine is very noisy the hiss is unbearable. I took it to a tech who says all of them he has tried are the same ???
the amp also breaks up at high gains, not a desirable breakup.

Reliability: 3
I had the amp three months before its frst visit to a tech.
4 months to the second trip.
only had it for five months.

Customer Support: 5
company was freindly but unable to help.
I waited months for the foot controller.
In my opinion they over sold the line and have been running to fast to try to keep up with demand.

Overall Rating: 2
I have been playing for 40 years. I have owned fenders, and Marshalls I currently own a Marshall JCM900 with a vintage cabinet and a fender Por junior. The little fender is not as loud as the Vox but I think its twenty times the amp. I bought it for portability.I will be going back to a Marshall probably a DSL 40 as soon as I can find some unknowing soul to buy this amp. I am being nice calling it an amp too by the way. As I think it barely qualifies as a toy.

Submitted by Anonymous at 07/15/2003 14:15

Price Paid: US

Features: 10
well covered already.

Sound Quality: 10
i'm adding to my review that i wrote after having the amp for only 4 weeks. i've now had it almost two years and I STILL LOVE IT!!!!! as i stated before, my #1 influence in music is The Edge from U2. and this amp DOES deliver a very very good ac30tb! i have been using it for my U2 tones all this time and haven't needed to stray from the ac30 models much, but i have tried the blackface and the uk80's and loved them as well. the acoustic simulator sounds quite convincing as well.

i did change out the tubes about 3 months ago. i put in electro harmonix tubes, and i did notice a brighter and clearer tone after having done that.

i originally put my sdd2000 delays in the effects loop, but noticed some strange volume drop offs on the left speaker when i did this. not sure why. but i've since put all of my effects in front of the amp and that problem ahs vanished. it may be something with the stereo nature of the effects loop, since my delays are mono units.

if you want to go real lo-tech, stick an electro harmonix memory man in front of this thing and you have instand old school U2!

to be honest, i don't use many of the onboard effects though. i use the 'verbs occasionally, and the treble booster is nice. i don't use the wah that much because it's kind of a pain to access. i will prolly just buy a vox wah and use that.

overall, the tone is excellent...even after almost two years of living with it, i still discover new and pleasant things!

BUY THIS AMP!!!

Reliability: 9
so far the only issue i have had was the volume drop off when using the mono gear in the effects loop. i don't know what caused this. mitch colby at korg usa said he thought it sounded like a dirty or damaged jack socket on the effects loop. this may be. but since i moved all of my (considerable) effects to the front end, this problem has gone away.

and if you need help with vox/korg products, mitch is the man! that guy is so cool and willing to help you. you can talk to him over at www.voxtalks.com

Customer Support: 10
talked to mitch when i had one small issue and he was extremely helpful and supportive.

Overall Rating: 10
i've been playing since about 1984 and have tried all sorts of things...most of them crap. i was always limited by funds, you know. but i went out on a limb for this amp and shelled out a grand. and i've never been dissapointed! well worth the money. i love it still.

if you guys still want sound samples, go to my website at:

http://edgeworld.ameys.net

click on the "sounds" tab at the bottom left and check out some of my clips.

Submitted by chris henry at 06/21/2003 09:40

Price Paid: US $1,000

Features: 9
Really versatile and gets every sound "right". I've been playing through a Flextone II for my country gigs and a Digitech 2101 legend through a 4x12 for my rock gigs, but I'm going to get the 2x12 extension cabinet and switch to the Valvetronix for everything. If I need a 4x12 I can jsut bring the extension cab along. It's a beautiful thing. Only downside is the footcontroller. I play in Cowboy boots and you can't see the bank # when you step on the switch banks switch so you have to guess based on feel. Only reason it gets a 9.

Sound Quality: 10
Super quiet. Don't know if there's and invisble gate or what, but even with drpping distortion it's quiet as a mouse until you hit a note then it screams. I play Teles, Strats, Les Pauls and Explorers through it as well as banjo, dobro and an old 1930's lap steel and I've found great tones for all of them.

Reliability: 10
No complaints.

Customer Support: N/A

Overall Rating: 10
Absolutly fabulous! I've been playing a Flextone II for over a year and was going to upgrade to the Flextone III. I went in to the music store and just for comparison sake tried the Fender Cyber-Twin and the Valvetronix. The Valvetronix just KILLED both of them. It is a totally inspirong amp to play. I couldn't stop. The Line 6 and Fender are both fine working man's amps but the Vox plays like a "real" amp with the flexibility of modeling.

Submitted by Paul Jacques at 06/06/2003 16:04

Price Paid: 10000 (SEK)

Features: 10
Read below, it's been covered.

Sound Quality: 9
I´ve waited to contribute on my experience with this amp for some time since I really wanted a "walk-through" before sharing my opinions. I've had it for 7 months now and so far used it from bedroom to stage. EXCELLENT!!! is the short description. To me, a good amp is when you try it out, and you'll get stuck just playing the guitar! I'snt this what is all about. You fool around whith it for a minute and..oh yes, you discover you've been playing the same sound for 10 minutes, just sitting their playing, enjoing yourself! Thats what a good amp is all about.

I play various guitars with mostly humbuckers, with music ranging from playing in church to grinding metal and IT WORKS!
Some tip though: after spending some months with it, happy as a puppy, i was curious what a good parametric eq in the loop (programable if possible) would accomplish. Well...this REALLY pushes a great sound into an astonishing good sound! I mainly do this with the distorsion sounds (the Recto-mode is IMHO the least good-sounding one, which i regret since this whas the sound i would have prefered sounding great. Now do the usual, cut some low/upper mids, add BOTTOM and some highs and volia!! ITS FREAKING THREATENING!! Dry, neutral, massive sound. Try it plz).

To push some more air, i've made it convertible to closed/open cab.
If you try this one for the first time, try Boutique CL, gain at 5-10 and add lots of compression. Now i´snt that a good sound ;-)

With this amp swithing from blistering cleans to really dirty to insane gain, im totaly happy with it. I'll just keep playing!

Reliability: 9
Never had a problem so far. Rarely use the power selector. Allways on max for headroom. I would not like to drop it from any stairs though, but who want ;-)

Customer Support: N/A
Never been in contact with them. I´ve got a "noquestions asked" warranty from local dealer.

Overall Rating: 9
Ive been playing for 20+ years now with (of course) numerous gear. Higly recommended for its versitility. For my current situation this is THE amp, period! But as allways, everything is opinions so try it out and use your ears. No one is a better judge than yourself!

Submitted by Robert at 05/26/2003 04:06

Price Paid: US $1049 (with pedal)

Features: 10
Wow....this amp is great. It has many features, and while it doesn't have as many as a Line6 or the Cyber Twin, they all sound and work extremely well. This is the selling point; that everything sounds very good. You know the specifics already, or at least you should, but I must say that they are excellent

Sound Quality: 9
Here's where we dive in. I am currently using a Fernandes Nomad, Fernandes Decade, a Gibson 1970 SG Special, and A 1966 Gretsch Viking. The amp sounds spectacular, even with my cheaper Fernandes guitars. I really can not sometimes tell the difference between thos and a real blackface Twin. I must tell the truth however, and that is that I think the Cyber Twin has one thing on the Valvetronix; The Fender Deluxe. I really cannot get the fender deluxe setting to actually sound like a fender deluxe. So, as a solution, I run it through preset 4, 4, and turn on my Voodoo Labs Super Fuzz - Instant Neil Young (Everybody Knows...) tone. Not as good as the real thing, but a very good simulation. The amp itself sounds excellent and really does not have very much noise as long as you don't try to run a fuzz through it with everything dimed; and even then it really isn't bad. Unfortunately, there is no clean channel - you have to turn down the gain, which makes the amp too quiet - which makes a very unbalanced sound. The one flaw, IMO. The distortion obviously varies from model to model, and goes from Bluesy to brutal. You can get excellent metal lead tones from the more metal-oriented amps( I.E. boogie, TSL100), more bluesy sounds from the older, sweeter amps. (I.E - Fender Bassman, Deluxe), and some great Classic Rock type distortion from those amps(Ac-30, SuperLead, JTM45). Fortunately, it is also possible to get a very very nice distortion from the Fenders; I am not sure if it is like this with reg. fenders or they have added gain in the Valvetronix. Overall, this amp is extremely versatile and sounds impeccable.

Reliability: 10
6 months - no problems. No breakdowns, no problems - completely fine.

Customer Support: N/A
NA - no experience

Overall Rating: 9
Fantasic.....I do wish it had better fuzz, because the fuzz in the amp is not pleasant. I would definitely buy one again, and I really prefer it over the other Modellers I have tried.

Submitted by Anonymous at 05/24/2003 20:27

Price Paid: US $900

Features: 10
This amp was manofractured in 2002 and is most verytiled of all vox amps Ive a tried in a long while. I play ALL styles of music and equally well I must add. There are 32 channels of this amplofier. Yes, Yes, and yes. I wish this Vox had more features that I love in this amp and then some. Of the non-user features in the Vos there are none to many though some which are used are still half not used but rarely.

I use my Vox in my home under the living room. It has some power.
Steroids and solid, etc.

This amp smells great. Just fire here up and when she is hot like a virgin slut then put your nose on the vents and take a big whif. Like a new car smell only new amp smell.

Sound Quality: 10
I use a Dunlop style picks. And a Dobro. It fits my style like a glove. All styles and then more. On all settings it sounds the same. In all invronmints is sound s the same. Variety is same here and there. It can make all soudns that can be made. And with megga distortion like the Gods from on high. yes the clean chanel is very distorted at all volumes and that is good and even more distorted on the other 31 channels on all settings . Massive distoriton. Brutal, yes. Most bruttal of all amps made by Vos and then some. All distortion all the time on all settings and in all places and invronments.

Reliability: 9
I had my Vox for about 9 hours and still no problems. So, yes you can depend on it. with your life. I did not gig. but in my basement I gig and it has yet to break down. I only neglected the amp once when i had to go to bed. I have nothad it in for servicing yet but will take it back to dealer next week for its first checkup and tuning. The software is great and will take updates no problem. I looked at the software the first thing when I got it home and it looks great and solid. I will never neglect the software and I suggst that you dont either.

Customer Support: 8
I have dealt with the company off and on again for years and years. very helpful. yes. yes. every town has a autorized service center . the one in my town reparis sewing machines too and so when I take my grannies machine into town for repair I can have my software tuned as well. not bad at all!!

Custermer support is great I only contacted them twice so far and each time I gota email saying they got my email. Eat that mesa boogie.

Overall Rating: 8
I have played for 12 years. I own lots of other amps like steinberg vst amps and softwares but the vox is the best soft-hard amp. if it was stolen I'd find the steeler and bash his brain in with a shuvel and spit on him. and I'd get something else like a Roland.

I love the software. I hate the wait of the amp. It ways like 98 pounds and I nearly broke my tail bone getting it down into my cubby under the living room where My WORLD CALLS studio is situated. I hose this one vox over other voxes and non-boxes because it was the best. I wish it had more channels. I need 128 at least so I may be getting more voxes andmore channels.

I wish that vox would not use the dongle on this amp. if you loose the dongle the whole amp is useless. I lost my dongle only once so far but grannie found it for me. she made a necklace for me to keep my dongle secure when I'm not using the box.

Submitted by Steve Nightengale at 05/17/2003 23:45

Price Paid: N/A

Features: N/A

Sound Quality: N/A

Reliability: 5
This is a follow up to one of my previous posts.

I have had this amp for about 6 months now and I still love all of the tones that I get with it. but I have one MAJOR MAJOR complaint.

The cabinet is so poorly constructed that the power transformer has smashed off part of the magnet on the right speaker. There is a huge dent in the transformer and the speaker is now missing part of it's magnet. I wondered how this could have happened because I always babied the amp for fear that some kind of jaring would hurt the electronics. When looking at it they don't touch but you can easily pull the transformer down to touch the speaker with your hand. It is moving because the cabinet wood is so soft that the screws that hold the entire chassie in are moving around in the wood, allowing the transformer to touch the speaker.

I don't know what I am going to do at this point, probly put more screwes in it untill I can afford the AC-30 repro cabinet, and now I have to get new speakers too......

Customer Support: N/A

Overall Rating: N/A

Submitted by chris at 05/03/2003 23:44

Price Paid: US $800

Features: 10
This is a 2002 model Valvetronix AD120 that I picked up about 2 weeks ago. Everyone knows everything about the amp by now so I'll shut up about the features. It sounds pretty doggone tube-like and I'll leave it at that. It's plenty loud enough for anyone who likes good music.

Sound Quality: 9
I play through a G&L Comanche and a Epi LP. I prefer the Comanche (for obvious reasons) as it has a much larger array of tone to choose from. I play mainly Pearl Jam/Radioheadish rock with elements of god knows what else thrown in all over the place. It has sounds to suit every style ever. ever. it's noisy with my Epi because my Epi is a pile of excrament. It's very quiet with Comanche and has a very useable noisegate for the high gain models. I never play the amp above the 30x30 watt power setting anyway, because I only play in a medium sized room, so I don't know how noisy it would be if it were truly cranked.
The sounds you can generate are seemingly endless, and, as others have mentioned, the longer you spend with the amp, the more it amazes you. For instance last night I slapped some heavy but slow phaser on the black 2x12 model (I've always hated phaser) and found a truly incredible transy/blues sound, I fooled around with that for about an hour. good stuff. my point is, the more you explore, the more you'll find that everything on the amp is top quality in the sound department. and sweet mary! plug an acoustic/electric throught the amp with the acoustice simulator on. I've never even heard acoustic amps sound this good. wow.
to cut to the chase, if you need any type of clean sound, the amp has it. any type of distortion, the amp's got it.

Reliability: 8
apparently, the amplifier i purchased had been sitting on the floor at the stoor for about a year and it still looks and sounds like a dream. the tolex covering on it has me worried. it's too thin and not strong at all. however, i get the distinct impression that, as with any amp, if you take care of it, it will keep up well for you.

Customer Support: N/A
don't know

Overall Rating: N/A
I'm 18 and have only been playing 5 years but I live in music and know good sound when i hear it. if it were stolen, i'd buy it again in a few months after i saved up again.
This may sound strange but i love the smell of the amp. play it a while, let it get warm, and smell the vents. my heaven. I hate absolutely NOTHING about it.
by the way, the footpedal is fine. the expression pedal is crap but, unless you need an effect every 15 seconds when you play live the pedal will work just fine.

one final question. nobody laugh at me. this is my first vox, and except for listening almost religiously to Queen, the Beatles, and REM I have no idea what a real AC30/15 sounds like. so what the hell is "jangle"? for the love of all that's good. somebody try to explain it to me, because i haven't noticed any special quality the vox models have over any others on the amp.

Submitted by Jonathan Branham at 05/01/2003 14:51

Price Paid: US $789

Features: 10
This is an update to my first review dated 1/30/2003.

The Valvetronix continues to amaze me with its wealth of great tone and versatility.

I recently purchased a new Mesa Boogie Rectoverb 50 watt head because I wanted to have an all tube, high gain amp as an alternative. I really loved this amp during the Honeymoon phase.

However, the Honeymoon ended. I started finding myself buying extra equipment just to get some of the effects I took for granted in the Valvetronix. I purchased a Tonebone Hot British tube overdrive pedal to add distortion to the clean channel (effectively turning the Rectoverb into a 3-channel amp). Then, like a total idiot, I bought a TC Electronics G-Major FX rack unit.

At the end of the day, this only brought me bit closer to the functionality of what I already had with my Valvetronix. Also the G-Major colored a bit of the sound from the Rectoverb, unlike the seamless and complementary FX modules that are built into the Vox Valvetronix. With the Valvetronix, the FX really add to the tone rather than detract from it.

Today, I went full circle...from loving the Rectoverb, to realizing I could get all of the great tube tone from the RECTO model already existing in my modeling amp...as well as all the gain and FX I needed without outboard FX.

I played through both amps all day today, and the Valvetronix just has to much incredible tone and versatility, that I quickly realized I would be playing through this more than using the Boogie Rectoverb.

Money wasn't an issue, but I just felt I couldn't justify keeping the Rectoverb, the G-Major, and assorted pedal FX while I had the Valvetronix.

I wasn't happy with one great tone...I wanted lots of different great tones.

So now, I have at least put my long time yearnings for a true 100% high-end tube amp to bed. In my opinion, the latest generation of modelers was sounding as good (and better, considering the FX possibilities) to my ear as the tube amp.

So, after I ate some crow, I returned the Rectoverb to my local guitar shop for a refund, and will be returning the TC Electronics and Tonebone to the on-line musical supply company I purchased it from.

Just thought I share my experience...especiall for anyone who is on the fence in considering getting a new Valvetronix, versus a genuine all tube amp. GO FOR THE Valvetronix and don't look back.

Sound Quality: 10
Wonderful clean and slightly breaking up blues tones with the Fender Tweed, Fender Blackface, and Bluesbreaker models. The Vox models are downright eerie as to how close they are to the real deal.

The high gain models can give you classic Hard Rock/Heavy Metal 70's, 80's style. The British Modern high gain and Recto models are dangerous.

For the ultimate lead tone, I use either the Soldono model, or the Boutique OD (Dumble) with the Tube Screamer OD modeled pedal setting. Endless sustain with articulate distortion.

The Vox models and Fender models have wonderful clean tones , and the Vox models have the Vox "jangle".

Reliability: 10
HAve had the amp for 2-1/2 months and it has had no problems. I own the Head Version of the AD120 VTH

Customer Support: N/A
Haven't had to call Korg/Vox for any support. The "Voxtalks" website has been a great resource for information and helpful discussion.

Overall Rating: 10
I would purchase another Valvetronix head if this one was stolen. I am so happy to have finally found an amp that has all the tone and sounds I could possibly want.

Submitted by Anonymous at 04/18/2003 20:49

Price Paid: £960 (Pounds Sterling)

Features: 10
I went for the AD120, one, I was able to (luckily). 2, the whole AC30 shape is eye candy.3, louder. And 4, stereo output, a reason good enough on it's own.This amp has all the power I need for now, but I will invest in the 120watt cab in the not to distant future, along with the Brian May 'Deaky Amp' as a lovely pre-amp to this monster. It's tube, thus it sounds gorgeous, and for those ambient Brian May, Gary Moore or Eric Clapton tones, only a tube amp will suffice. The classic Vox styling makes this a must for anyone in love with the Vox image or affiliated bands (Shadows, Queen, Radiohead, Lenny Kravitz etc.)I also bought the pedal as I gig, most helpful, great expression pedal, solid metal construction, no risk of breakage from a rogue foot etc.

Sound Quality: 10
Me being a Queen and Brian May fanatic and owning a Burns Red Special, automatically means I'm inlove with this amp. The AC30 and AC30TB amp models sound awesome, and with the BHM Burns, well it's as close as you'll ever get. The additional Brian fans treat of having not one, but two Brian effects is fantastic, both superb. Tie mamma down is 100% accurate (i've played along with the track, no difference). I've created a few patches myself now, a few Hank Marvin, Shadows style ones, and they also sound great. What more can you ask for. Van Halen, Metallica, Hendrix, surely they're playing with our dreams. This guitar will suit anyones music style. I have friends who play Pantera and they're drooling over it. My teacher plays 50s rock n roll, and he's in love with it.

Reliability: 10
I've had no troubles, but then I haven't had it long. You expect to replace tubes, and you should to get the most out of any valve amp. (Tube, Valve, i'm going with valve being a Brit). I haven't had any need to replace anything. The amp is built like a tank, as heavy as one, and you can see where your money has been spent.

Customer Support: N/A
No need for it yet, but if I do I will let you know. Customer support is, however, only as good as you are persistant. If you hassle enough, you will get what you want, and fast. Be a pain, don't relent, it's the only way.

Overall Rating: 10
I've been playing 4 years, I'm 16. I've owned marshall stacks of various types and sizes, I can safely say I do not like Marshalls, I don't know why people rave over them. I own an electro acoustic guitar, a nice Crafter one, lovely sound. I own my pride and joy, the Burns Brian May Red Special with custom neck fitted for my big hands. I love this amp, it's brilliant. I love the Red Special, together they produce some gorgeous vintage tones, worthy of the hairy guitar god's backing anyday. If it were stolen, I'd claim on the insurance and most definately buy another, and then hunt the thief and kill him, twice. I love the amp, nuff said

Submitted by James Kirby at 04/18/2003 19:24

Price Paid: US $799

Features: 10
already extensively covered in other reviews.

Sound Quality: 10
there's something for every style of guitar player in this amp.

Reliability: 10

Customer Support: N/A

Overall Rating: 10
i didn't go into full details of everything, as this amp has been extensively covered as what it has in previous reviews. i tried this amp several times, and extensively read the reviews on it(thanks to eveyone who reviewed this amp!!). i'm in love with this amp. you can switch to just about any different type of sound/ style with this amp. one thing about it is it's very practical-- no need to lug around a cartful of pedals, cabinets, amps, chords, etc.... everything is included. also, the power setting switch is great-you can play it at the one watt setting at anytime w/o angering neighbors and law enforcement;likewise, at 120 watts, it can handle anything.i think the sounds are very authentic to those it emulates(sounds much better than other multi effects pedals and amps that i have tried)...if this amp was stolen i'd mostly contact a hitman to find the sucker that stole the amp. if you are thinking about buying this amp, do it. you won't regret it. i'd be glad to answer any ? people have about my experiences w/ this amp.

Submitted by patrick at 04/18/2003 01:37

Price Paid: US $800.00

Features: 9
I love the features. I've been gigging for awhile now and i love not having to hook in alot of pedal and spending money on power adapters and 9 volt batteries.

Sound Quality: 10
I love the way it sound. I've tried alot of amp modeling amps, like like 6, roland, and a few others, line 6 was good but alot of the modeling sounded cheesy. The Roland was good but i thought the effects sucked, but on the Vox with the tube i loved all it had to offer.

Reliability: 8
It is very reliable. It is one of the most trusted amps in studio recording and live sound.

Customer Support: 8
I haven't had any problems with the amp, so i haven't need customer support so i'll give it an 8

Overall Rating: 10
I love this amp it is reliable and the power selector is awesome. the tubes make this amp sound incredible. great for live sound and recording, even playing giant concerts. My favorite part was the price, it was only $800

Submitted by Jeff Banks at 04/17/2003 11:55

Price Paid: US $800.00

Features: 9
extremely versatile unit, and pretty much covers all the basics of effects, models etc...

Sound Quality: 7
liked just about all the models, some of the effects could use a little more fine tuning. noticed that with the gate it works nice and quiet.

Reliability: 8
hgad amp for 6 months with no problems, but have heard horro stories about them going down. since i havent had a problem yet i have to rate it pretty high.

Customer Support: N/A
n/a

Overall Rating: 8
its a solid amp with lots of nice features the majority of which are very useful. it would be nice if they couold fine tune some of the effects and definitely make it easier to work with a floorboard unit, because as it stands its pretty difficult to access without hitting buttons several times making it virtually useless for live applications.

Submitted by joe at 04/15/2003 00:37

Price Paid: US $1100(with vc-4)

Features: 9
Bought this amp two weeks ago, but have been demo-ing others for quite a while. I like the ease of use (compared to the cyber series)even I figured it out without the use of a manual. I bought the VC-4 controller at the same time, I'd recommend getting it: its the only one that will work. To me the amp is as versatile as it gets. Lots of effects that actually work, lots of sounds, and at usable levels, thanks to the power selector switch in the back.
I wish it had multiple channels, but it does well with the programming if your willing to get in there and change the presets. Oh, yeah, the presets...can't switch between the first 16 and the second 16 from the foot controller.
The foot controller itself is dedicated, you don't have a choice. LED's could be brighter too. But that would be another review.

Sound Quality: 9
I really like the sounds that come out of this thing. They may not be an exact copy of the amp your looking for, but its pretty close. The effects sound pretty good, and for the amount of goodies that you can add, there isn't that much white noise entering the system considering all the patching it would actually require. I tried another modeling amp and it was very noisy, which is one of the reasons I bought the valvetronix. I play a variety of music: blues, rock, country, and even some jazz and this amp is versatile enough to play them all. I even plugged my bass into this amp, it sounds pretty darn good.

Reliability: 7
Here's where it hurts. It died within 10 minutes of turning it on. But I found out what it was. The amp starting cutting out, even at the low volume I was playing. I touched the headphone level knob in the back and it died completely. It did not come back even after shutting it off. I plugged a headphone jack into the headphone jack and it worked. Pulled the headphones out and it worked fine. The cutoff switch inside the headphone jack had activated and killed the amp section. I have not had a problem since the day I brought it home two weeks ago. I hope this helps someone else. I've heard that others have had "cutting out" problems too. It might be the same thing. I have not had a problem since, but having a dead amp 10 minutes into owning it certainly kills a 9 or 10 rating.

Customer Support: N/A
My dealer had the service facility phone and address for me that same day it failed, but I figured out what it was. I have not had to access Vox or Korg for service.

Overall Rating: 9
Even with the cutout problem (which I fixed), I would buy another one. The sound is great, its very flexable and versatile.

Submitted by Anonymous at 03/22/2003 10:04

Price Paid: US $999

Features: 9
If you're reading this, chances are you probably already know the basic features of this amp. I'll just go over some that surprised me. It is stereo, and the chorus and rotating speaker modulations sound SUPERB. Built in tuner that isnt too shabby (not as great as a rack mounted strobe tuner, but in a pinch it'll do). Stereo line outs (great for running a signal to the front of the house) and something I appreaciate is the variable power selector (so you dont have to be running this at a full 120 watts in your mommas house. nice)

Check the Vox site for more info, or better yet, go down to your local guitar shop and try one out. In the end it is up to you the player to decide if you like the sound or not.

Sound Quality: 10
This is NOT a full blown tube amp, so I am not even going to compare it to Mesa/Boogies and Marshalls and Dumbles and the like. As a digital modeling amp, it blows the competition away. Lined up with a fender CT amp, there is no comparison. The placement of the amp modeling BEFORE an actual tube preamp is not a gimmick. It really does work.

THIS IS BY FAR THE BEST MODELING AMP I HAVE HEARD

oh yeah, did I mention it is LOUD?
The problem with other solid state amplifiers is that they never seem to be loud enough on stage. This beast couldnt be any different. Since it is run through tubes, you get that 'cut through any mix' sound that tube amplifiers give. (theres a reason for this, something to do with how the sound is amplified and certain frequencies are compressed or whatever..who knows) All I know is that this is one of the louder 2x12s I have ever heard.

As to the amp models, it does a lot. If you are looking for clean models though, there isnt much to choose from. Well, basically one, the model of the clean channel of a Dumble amp. All other ones are basically rock/heavy metal beasts. Which is cool for me...but if you dont like the metal mayhem, then this amp may not be as versatile for you. Once again, go play one for yourself.

Reliability: 10
I have heard people complain about the reliability of these things. Couple things though...if you bought it used, you have no say. It is impossible to know what an amp has been through with it's previous owner. And you cannot get a carfax report on an amplifier.

If you did not buy it used, send in the stupid warranty card. Seems common sense to me, but apparently some people dont get this. 90 day warranty on most things. In talking with other valvetronix owners who have had problems, Mitch Colby and the staff at Korg USA have been VERY helpful in replacing amps or fixing amps. Perhaps people who complained of problems dont know how to dial a phone?? Who knows...

Also, there have been people complaining about the amp just shutting off after awhile. According to other people, this is something to do with the potentiometer on the power selector (the thing that allows you to decide how many watts this thing will push). DONT MOVE IT WHILE THE AMP IS ON. Doing so seems to run the risk of burning out the pot, which will cause problems later on. When it is off, set it, and then DONT MOVE IT until the amp is off again.

Sturdy construction, weighs nearly 60 pounds, and I got mine w/a really nice leather cover. Couldn't be happier.

Customer Support: 10
Yeah, I talked about this in the above section. I haven't had to deal with them, but other people who have, have said that they were real easy to deal with and very honest and forthcoming.

I wouldnt worry about this.

Overall Rating: 10
This amp is great, and for just under a thousand dollars, I couldn't be happier.

Don't be deceived by the looks, this thing will put out some BRUTAL sounds. And then with the flick of a button, it'll take you right back to a dark bar in chicago with some smoking blues.

As I said before, as modeling amps and digital amps go, this one rules them all. Compared to an actual Mesa/Boogie or whatever, well no shit it doesnt sound 'exactly' the same. But since when did you want your sound to be just like someone else's? Exactly. Buy this amp.

Submitted by Matt at 03/21/2003 17:32

Price Paid: N/A

Features: N/A

Sound Quality: N/A

Reliability: 4
Update: I have had this amp now for 14 months with gigging every weekend. It is now cutting in and out and breaking up intermittenly. The breaking up is VERY nasty sounding with volume levels going from loud to soft. I called Vox but unfortunatly, I missed the warranty by two months so they basicly said "your on your own, here's the phone number to a service center"

Customer Support: 1
It's a shame that you only get a one year warranty with this reletivly new and untested technology. Had I known that this amp would crap out in 14 months I would have bought another amp.

Overall Rating: 2
If someone else has had this problem, please let me know.

Submitted by jim at 03/17/2003 12:53

Price Paid: N/A

Features: N/A

Sound Quality: N/A

Reliability: N/A

Customer Support: N/A

Overall Rating: N/A
UPDATE: Alright, I've been hearing about this thing called the Tonelab. I went to the website, checked it out, and it looks like it may be a winner. No big heavy amp to get jostled around (and make any connections loose), you plug it in wherever, and - it's got MIDI! An In, an Out, and a third MIDI plug that I don't know what it is - so the liklihood of my using a different controller with these amps has increased. Plus, I always wondered what a unit like this would sound through a Twin. Well, I may finally get the chance to find out now. But, I noticed that the sound samples from the website weren't that good. I don't mean quality of the clips, I mean the quality of the sounds themselves. There sounds like an abundance of a type of artificial, digital high end - not the grainy, gritchy "undersampled" digital treble sound, but like a Line 6 with the highs all the way up and the master at 0.5, if that makes any sense. Sounds almost like someone playing a Strat through it with a lot of treble and presence dialed in. Or, maybe someone using the digital output of the Tonelab straight to source. And it may very well be the Tonelab, because on one sample, they mention using the front end of the JCM 900 model with the JCM 800's power amp section. I say this because as much as I trashed the Valvetronix amp on these pages, the tones were very organic and warm, and the sound samples on the website's "jukebox" sound very artificial in the treble department.

Anyhow, just wanted to give everybody a "heads up" on what may be a fantastic version of this technology. There are several Valvetronix models that I really did love, and now I'd love to hear them through a tube power amp(!). Unless it sounds like the sound samples on the webpage, like, no matter what. We'll see, but so far, I'm optimistic...

Submitted by Jimmy at 03/14/2003 08:26

Price Paid: N/A

Features: 9
Realistic features that can definetly do the job. Would reccomend if you do not own any pedals and you want a versital setup.

Sound Quality: 5
Very very Musical - Does a great job at being a good amp with tons of versitility. HOWEVER, as a modeling amp that boasts exact recreation of a tube amp - it can never be. NEVER! even to its big brother the AC30. I test drove the vox valvetronics and the AC30 next to each other and there was no comparison - Though the AD120 is warm and the blanket thicker then most the AC30 made the AD120 seem quite thin. Pretty much a night and day difference. Although the ac30 has very little veritility - but then again who needs versitility if you have one incredible tone. I am merely creating some aguments here as other writers want to claim that this is AS good as a tube amp. It is not. I feel that this is a great, great solid state amp which with the preamp & post amp tubes this has a musical tone to it. But it will always lack in warmth to that of a AC30 or Brit amp. YOU GET WHAT YOU PAYFOR...

Reliability: 5
C'mon vox!

Customer Support: 5
Terrible - unless you have a good local store.

Overall Rating: 5
5 If your comparing it to a tube amp 10 if comparing it to other solid state amps. Although this thing kicks line 6 fag ass up and down the road.

Submitted by T at 03/04/2003 07:42

Price Paid: US $924.00

Features: 8
A very versatile amp! The amp modeling is excellent although some can be a bit noisy

Sound Quality: 8
With a little tweaking, this amp gets aome really great tones

Reliability: 5
I have owned this amp for almost a year. It has been in the shop once for foot controller / amp communication issues. It needed to be reset to factory defaults and then started working fine. However, recently the amp has been cutting off intermittently at practice. As if it is being overloaded some how! We have some important gigs coming up and I am getting very concerned! Hopefully this can be fixed easily. It's going back in the shop this week!

Customer Support: 4
Have not tried to contact as of yet!

Overall Rating: 7

Submitted by Eric at 02/27/2003 10:49

Price Paid: US $750

Features: 10
This amp is brand new (well, I bought it new a few months ago in 2002).
The amp is more than versatile enough for me, and I consider myself to be a rather eclectic guitar player. I like a lot of Mark Knopfler, Led Zepplin, Better than Ezra, Van Halen, Rush... how can you pick just one? The amp has more than enough power for me, but what I was more concerned about was "how will it sound at low volumes". I guess that'll come in later. Basically, it's got tons and tons of features to it, and everybody else will describe them for you because I'm sure you don't want to read 400 reviews of the effects loop. Also, I should point out that the foot pedal is quite clunky and really could benefit from a few extra LEDs, an extra expression pedal, and more buttons. It's *very* hard to navigate through your patches without making it look like Riverdance.

Sound Quality: 9
I'm mainly using a Hamer Duotone with a Seymour Duncan '59 in the neck and a Dimarzio Evolution in the bridge. It seems to "talk" to this amp perfectly. I also use a Fender Telecaster and an Ibaned RG470.

The Hamer, as I said, works perfectly. I can get a heavy-but-clear tone in the OD patches, then come back down and ride the neck pickup for cleaner passages. Very happy with how this works out. The Ibanez obviously works beautifully on the overdrive patches for that In Flames sound. The Tele is alright, but it honestly just sounds better running through a solid state fender amp and a tube screamer pedal.

It is not noisy at all. There is a noise suppressor/noise gate at work, but it works under-the-covers, and it has never really been an issue for me. There is no hum or buzz, and I've never had to move the unit away from any other electrical devices.

The amp can make a wide variety of sounds, although the manual should really be called "Dude, where's my factory preset patch?" or something to that extent. They must think that all guitar players are pot-smoking high-school dropouts. When I (finally get around to) opening a manual, it's usually not to get a chuckle. It's because I want to find out how to use something, or why something is a certain way. I kept looking through my box saying "there's no way this is the only manual it came with... they must have forgotten to include the *real* manual. Instead of being easier to read, it makes it difficult to understand, and downright insulting at times.

Another complaint that I see popping up with modeling amps is the inability to actually say what a patch means. Instead of saying "Led Zepplin", it'll say something cute like "Metal Balloon". Instead of "Van Halen", you'll get "Eruption". Cute. No. Granted, anybody who's going to put down money like this on an amp will know what they really mean, but it would be a nice feature.

My favorite feature (but I'm putting it under sounds.... so there) is the ability to control the poweramp via a multiplier on the back. You can select between a 2x1, 2x15, 2x30 and a 2x60 watt amplifier. At 2x1, you can rock out without waking up the neighbors. At 2x60 you could sterilize an entire city block. The sounds at lower volumes (which is what I was concerned about) still sound great. I can practice at night, knowing that when I jam with a band at almost-full volume, I won't be in for any surprises.

Overdrive is done very tastefully, and there is *plenty* of room between "clean" and "overdrive" for you to explore. I found that with my Hamer (see above), I can get a full range of tone on the "british" and "botique" amp models just by changing the way I attack the strings. Hitting the volume knobs or changing pickups allows me to change character that reflects not only in how the amp sounds, but how it feels. I've never played an amp like that before.

I'm going to give it a 9 though, only because it has all of these patches that I'll probably never use because they're too damned over-the-edge. I find myself dialing in the settings myself and never using the factory settings most of the time.

Reliability: N/A
No problems yet... although I'm deathly afraid of ripping the cover.

Customer Support: N/A
n/a

Overall Rating: 9
I love this amp, and I'll probably never have to buy another amp ever again (I don't play out, and only occasionally jam with other people). I'm impressed with its range of features, and definitely feel that I got my money's worth.

I almost got a Hughes & Kettner ZenAmp, but I really didn't like the way the effects sounded on it, and my main reason for buying a modeling amp was to get rid of all of the random effects pedals/racks I had around.

I *do* with it came with a real manual, and I wish the preset names weren't inside jokes. However, for just plugging in and wailing away, this is the best piece of equipment I've seen in a long time.

Rawk

Submitted by Jeff Bisti at 02/13/2003 07:56

Price Paid: US $1250

Features: 8
Wow, this amp has all the features you could need and then some. The foot pedal improves the features and functions greatly. They should make the footpedal standard. I don't really like the connector for the footswitch cable. it's like a phone jack. i expect to end up having to replace it. other than that this seems to be a quality amp. this is perfect for me, as i am a tone freak and am never satisfied. i'm always in search of the perfect tone and having 16 amps, various pedals, and other effects is going to be a lot easier on the old wallet. i do wish that the knobs had numbers so that it would be easier to find previous settings.

Sound Quality: 10
Regardless of what all the "purists" say this amp sounds great! they may and try and say that it doesn't sound just like the models but that in itself makes it accurate. go out get a dozen marshall 800 heads and see if they all sound exactly the same. most of the time not by a long shot. that's just the nature of tube amps. the marshall 800 setting doesn't sound just like the one i had but neither do any of the other 800 heads i've heard. now baqck to this amp after my little rant. the vox and fender amps sound good. i play in a metal band at the moment so they aren't much use to me. they do sound great though. the boutiques are realy good. i'm using the boutique clean alot. the marshall settings all sound superb except for the 900 setting. then again the 900 sucks so guess what , it does sound like the real thing. the mesa setting sounds stale and proccessed just like, guess what, the real thing. the soldano setting is awesome. i actually bought this amp just for this one setting. it was way cheaper to lay down a grand for this amp than two or three grand for the real thing. if i ever get to a proffesional enough level where i can afford the real thing i will gladly shell out the money though. until then this does just fine. the pedals and all the effects sound great. i've got the boss octave pedal and this one sounds better. i really like the rotary speaker effect. it acyuslly takes time to speed up and slow down just like areal motor would.

Reliability: N/A
so far no problem.

Customer Support: N/A

Overall Rating: 9
this is great amp. they really got it right by putting the tube in the power section instead of the preamp. i would reccomend this to anyone , wether you need versatility or just a good sound.

Submitted by moon at 02/11/2003 20:54

Price Paid: £750 (£ stirling)

Features: 9
2002 model, features numerous and listed in previous reviews.
Very simple operating system
ie Pedal - Amp - EQ - Modulation - Delay/Reverb.
Simply dial in your choice and save.
Wish you could name the patches though.
Tuner a little hard to use.

Sound Quality: 8
Ok,here goes. If you want an exact twin / Soldano or Marshall SLP sound then go and buy one, at £750 this amp will not faithfully recreate all these sounds. However it gets close enough to make it a very versitile gigging amp.
I play in an R.E.M. tribute and use an AC30TB reissue with various pedals and can nail Buck's clean / semi breaking sound. For the heavier numbers I needed another amp and tried a TSL, JCM900 etc and finally fell for the Vox valvetronix to use the recto patch as Buck used a Boogie for his "Monster" sound. One rehearsal I was forced to use the Valvetronix for both sounds (AC30TB and Recto) and was blown away. The AC30TB patch is fantastic and I now use just this amp for smaller gigs when I don't need to run through the PA. With the Ricky 360 it sings, gives me a great sound reacts to how hard I play the note just like the real thing / great flexibility and I only have to carry one amp. The stereo 60W is also loud enough for any big pub.
My advice......buy the footswitch and the chrome stand (for better projection), both expensive but worth it.
The modulation is utter crap, I use chorus on it's lowest setting and fortunately that calms it enough for the style of music I play. Acoustic simulation is OK for a couple of songs in the set but I wouldn't play it extensively.

Reliability: 7
A few issues, when you pull out the guitar lead it seems to cause internal noise within the amp that runs for some considerable length of time. Sounds like a bad earth or another patch cutting through your existing one.

Customer Support: N/A
N/A

Overall Rating: 9
For venues the AC30TB is my amp no question, but for smaller gigs this amp is a gift at this price especially if you can pick up a 2nd hand one.

Submitted by JB at 02/07/2003 06:53

Price Paid: US $1099

Features: 7
You all know the features if not check out the site www.valvetronix.com One concern I haven't been able to adjust the level on some of the modulation effects ie phazer & flanger. just depth and speed. The depth doesn't seem to take the effect out enough if a person only wanted the escence of the effect. No biggy though. would be nice to have a "toe on and off for the wah in the expression pedal. Powers an external speaker cab allong with the existing 2x12's in it. Lower power settings for quieter playing and still have the overdrive output tube sound. Floor pedal suits your needs but would much rather have a biger beefier pedal board like line6's. I had a hard time seeing the pedal buttons in low light where as the line6 floarboard has nice rugged shiny stomp buttons that are not to close together.

Sound Quality: 9
This amp sound like butter. It's simply beautiful. I've been playing for 15 years. Mostly heavier stuff ie earlier Queensrych, Metallica, Mega death, and alot of original from heavy to punk. Currently I've been playing in a cover band whom I've been with for roughly a year. I've been playing out with a Flextone II (OK amp)but couldn't get a true sound out of it not to mention the speakers would fart out if I add any low end and volume. The VOX does NOT have these problems. VERY F#$KING LOUD and lucious low end. Speakers do not fart out. This amp will shake your pantlegs off. Cool thing is the louder it is the better it sounds. Sounds as close to tubes as I've ever heard. I used to own a sunn model T (all tube baby)half stack the newer one (which I loved) and I can the vox to sound just like it. Effects are real nice, not transparent at all. Great Reverbs and Delays. Haven't played with the pedal effects too much but the Octave, Auto wah, and U-vibe are all great and a riot to play with. Tried vetta, flextone II, ZenTera, plus assorted floor board prossesor units and this is the best especially considering the other modeler amps that might kinda compete in sound, cost twice as much and have too much crap to muddle through to get a good sound. Valvtronix is definately the better buy

Reliability: 4
Well mine would shut off by itself every half hour or so when I was playing at practice and at one gig. It would wait about 30 sec and comeback on by itself. NOT GOOD. I sent it back imediately and was depressed that such a sweet amp could do this to me. I was scared of Vox. I waited for a while and decided it sounded too good to not give Vox a sectond try so I ordered another one it's not here yet but I will post again if there are more problems or if all is good for now I give reliability a 4. They aren't worth anything at all if they arent reliable

Customer Support: 8
Talked with Mitch Colby from Korg/Vox via email and he responded quickly and was nice.

Overall Rating: 6
Would have given it a 9 but had the reliability issues. Great sounding amp!!!

Submitted by mike at 01/31/2003 11:51

Price Paid: US $789.00

Features: 10
2002 model. New. Ordered online from American Music Supply
This is the Head version of the Vox Valvetronix modeling amp.
The amp has 16 amp models (see Valvetronix AD120VT combo for details), modeled stomp boxes, timed effects (e.g. tremelo, chorus, phaser, etc.), digital delays, tape echo, multitap delays, as well as spring, room and plate reverbs. Effects loop and headphone and line outs are standard.
While you can use all three post preamp effects (timed effects, delay, reverb) at the same time, you can only have one (1) stompbox activated in the signal path. Wish you could have at least two (2)...for example Wah and Tube overdrive. But this is not too much of a concern, as I have tried an outboard Vox Wah prior to the input to the amp, and it sounds great. The same goes for a pedal Tube Screamer. With that said...the onboard modeled stomp boxes (pre-preamp), are excellent, especially the Univibe, the Tube OD, and Fat OD. The Tube OD emulates the Ibanez tube screamer, and the Fat OD emulates the ProCat Rat pedal. Again, very sweet.

My style is mostly classical hard rock and blues, heavily influenced by Stevie Ray Vaughn, David Gilmore, Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, Richie Blackmore, and Santana. I also will break out of the standard blues structure by practicing Eric Johnson and Steve Vai compositions (and Richie Blackmore).

This 60 watt x 2 (120 Watt) stereo head has PLENTY of power for my uses. A unique and patended feature of the Valvetronix, is the "Line Reactor" power amp section. Featuring a 12AX7 tube in a negative feedback loop, with a high powered solid state power section, this innovative power amp gives the same characteristics of a full tube power section. Read the Vox website for more technical details on this feature. Suffice it to say, the power amp will automatically switch between Class A and Class AB duty, depending on the amp it is modeling...as well as responding to feedback from the speakers.

There are four settings on the back of the amp, to allow you to dial in the power amp level. 2 x 1 watt, 2 x 15 watt, 2 x 30 watt, and 2 x 60 watt. I am playing through a 4x12 Peavey Stereo cabinet, and have the power amp switch set for 2 x 15 watts. This provides more than enough volume for my needs. In combination with the power amp setting, you can adjust volume with the master volume knob. I never had this higher than 12:00 and this was screaming on the 2 x 15 watt setting.

Another note on this remarkable power amp feature. By cranking the master volume...it is just like driving the power tubes in a tube amp hard...getting you that great tone. With the swichable power amp settings, you can get this tone at bedroom levels, garage levels, or club levels.

Sound Quality: 10
I use a PRS CE24, an two Fender American Standard strats (one with rosewood neck, one maple neck). The Valvetronix head allows for two inputs--high and low. I use the low input for the PRS with the hot dragon humbuckers, and the high input for the single coil strats.

The sounds that this amp can conjure are endless. Again, there are 16 models of the most coveted amps...from Tweeds to Vox AC30TB, to Marshalls (various models) to Mesa as well as Dumble...and more.

The power amp section automatically switches from Class A to Class AB, depending on the amp model. How cool is this! I think this is a key ingredient in getting the most remarkably authentic tones out of this modeling amp. In my humble opinion, it is light years beyond Line 6 (Vetta, Flextone), Fender (Cybertwin), Roland, and Marshall Valvestate offerings. The sounds from this amp are just so natural and warm sounding. The Valvetronix tube amp sounds are equal to or better than many of the all tube amps on the market, including vintage and boutique models.

I seriously doubt if the self-proclaimed tube snobs would be able to finger this amp as being the digital chameleon, if they had to listen to a blind test between 3 tube amps and the Valvetronix.

Moreover, this amp doesn't just "sound" like the tube amps it models...it "feels" and "breathes" like the tube amps. The responsiveness to picking dynamics and attack, and the natural harmonics are just amazing. YOU HAVE TO HEAR THIS and PLAY this amp!

With tons of head room, the clean settings sound great at high volumes...with each individual note ringing clear as a bell. You can go from smooth, clean "Tweedy" sounds, to singing "Vox" just breaking up sounds, to the bottom crunch and high end sizzle of an overdriven Plexi----------> ALL the way to over-the-top creamy sustaining lead tones (Mesa / Rectifier) to in your face distortion.

I was really impressed with the onboard reverbs and delays. I was a little concerned how these were going to sound. After dialing in a tape echo and a tasty room reverb, my concerns disappeared. These effects were very natural and warm sounding, and trully blended with and complemented the tone I was getting, rather than sounding like some digital add-on. Very sweet.

Reliability: N/A
Can't comment, as I have only just purchased this amp. Build quality seems very solid, and the ventilation path seems nicely laid out. The unit arrived double packed...with foam bumpers.
Doesn't seem like there is much that could go wrong with this digital amp...but we shall see.

Customer Support: N/A
To early to tell. However, previous feedback from other forum posters as well as VoxTalks website have only good things to say about Vox's aftermarket service and support.

Overall Rating: 10
This amp replaces my Line 6 AX2-212. As much as I loved my AX2 (still a great product), the AX2 will become a back-up, and will probably be collecting dust.

I compared the Valvetronix to the Line 6 Vetta, the Roland VG-7?, the Fender Cybertwin, Marshall 2000 AVT Valvestate. Valvetronix won hands down. It is the leader of the third generation of modeling amps.

Submitted by Tritium at 01/30/2003 21:16

Price Paid: US $899.00

Features: 10
Great stompboxes! I put all of mine away!
Great amp! I wish they would've had it 20 years ago!
I took it out for the first time and everybody's jaw hit the floor!
Everybody kept asking me if it was an AC30 they couldn't believe it!
I love the power It has more than enough for what i need it for! Who needs the foot pedal?

Sound Quality: 10
I use a Fender 52 reissue tele with a jb strat in the middle position and a Austin 335 copy.
I play blues sothern rock and country and this amp kicks ass all over the place. Love the AC30TB and the US Higain amp models

Reliability: 10
No problems yet

Customer Support: N/A
Got it from Guitar Center.Jerks wouldn't give me a manual with it ! won't buy from there again! Had to download it off the web.
other than that i've had no opportunity to contact vox for anything.

Overall Rating: 10
I've been goin at it for almost 30 years and i'd like to say that the ADV120 is the best sounding amp that i've ever owned. I retired my 72 Twin Since i bought it!
I tried the Line 6 and a Johnson and found that the Vox sounded the best.

Submitted by G. Tronsberg at 01/30/2003 17:26

Price Paid: 850 (can$+tx)

Features: 9
You've seen other reviews. Bags of features. Liitle missing except compatibility with proper midi foot controllers. I'll never buy theirs, it works akwardly. FOr the rest, the part power settings are great for different moments: playing home or with the band or live.

Sound Quality: 9
PLaying in a band "against" a JCM900 (other gtr player) and the signer's modified JCM800 (1 added preamp tube for JCM900-like gain: it's actually meaner), the guys were blown away by the sound I get. The other gtr player just bought his MArshall -used- 6 months ago and it cost the same thing! He tries to deny his regrets but I know he'd love playing through my rig!! The tonal versatility, amp modeling is amazing. Must be the one single tube used in their tricky power amp modeling circuitry, but whatever it is, it sounds like the real thing. You gotta push it though. The Master has to be passed 60% at 15, 30 or 60 Watt settings for the amp+speaker combination to really speak out for themselves. You can get clean sounds pretty loud but never as loud as the distorted ones, obviously. Love the Boutique (read Dumble) overdriven sound for GnR type sound with the neck pick-up:hmmmmmm, tasty!

Reliability: N/A
It works! I'll let know know in a couple of years how it's been

Customer Support: 5
First request was very quick. Second one was about their foot controller and I asked for compatibility with other controllers...I am still waiting for a reply. I hate companies who force you to buy their accessories: if it's the best, I'll buy it so work your #@$-off to make it the best out there (like the amp) and I'll buy it. Until then, gimme compatibility.

Overall Rating: 9
I can't give it a ten, nothing's perfrect on god's great earth but let me tell you, if you play rock'n'roll (I can't comment for other genres) it's he best amp if you play covers and diiferent bands with different sounds. You'll never get that from Line6'o'plastic solide state-of-the-crap sound. It's cheaper than a line6 (the top end ones) and it has a tube and a Celestion Speaker. What else do you need? 50000$ to buy the real amps but who's a rock star here?

Submitted by Gab Sevens at 01/27/2003 13:20

Price Paid: N/A

Features: N/A

Sound Quality: N/A

Reliability: N/A

Customer Support: N/A

Overall Rating: 10
Please take note to my review on 1/21/03, That every amp/combo that I was seriously comparing for purchase was entirely tube EXCEPT the VOX hybrid. THAT ALONE SHOULD SAY SOMETHING. I tried All the other hybrids including some marshall models and the other varios solid state modeling amps and POO-POOED them just as quickly for their somewhat lackluster performances. Hope this helps someone. Thanx Keith.

Submitted by Anonymous at 01/26/2003 07:34

Price Paid: US $1100 w/ VC-4 controller

Features: 9
Go to the Vox site for specs. I love the features. I just go to the gig, plug in and rock! Little prep stuff needs to be done for each program you decide to use but the tone is perfect. The only down side is that you can not mix amp models.

Sound Quality: 10
I use a couple of PRS's, Strat, and an Ernie Ball Axis. This amp is perfect for every style!!! Low noise except on models with high gain like a boogie or Hiwatt type. All the effects are amazingly professional!

Reliability: 10
I have not had one problem with it and have owned it for a year. The amps SN# is 0940 which means it is one of the first off the line and not a problem!

Customer Support: N/A
N/A

Overall Rating: 10
This amp is almost perfect. I owned the Line 6 Vetta for a week and was so disapointed that I swore never to go modeler again but this Vox is so amazing!!!

Submitted by Stephen Tietjen at 01/23/2003 09:21

Price Paid: US $799.00

Features: 10
Amp made in '02 by our Korean friends @ Vox/Korg. Been playing longer than most of you Kids been alive 30+ yrs. VERSATILITY!!!! This bad boy ain't no one trick pony. Seriously, I do most types of music Rock,Metal,Blues and Jazz. Used to gig in younger days have recorded and now play for my own enjoyment. Needless to say, I've owned A LOT of different types of equipment and this Amp is equal to ANYTHING on the market PAST OR PRESENT. Being a Mastercraftsman by trade I can't believe some of the stuff written in previous reviews that is eroneous. First of all who said this thing isn't made of Birch Ply? Furthermore, even if it Wasn't Who said MDF is a Lousy thing to build a speaker enclosure out of? (I guess about 5000 speaker manufacturers and acoustic techs must be wrong about acoustic properties of this material! plus the shits strong enough to build houses out of.) 'Nuff said. THE SPEAKERS IN THIS AMP ARE DESIGNED TO BE NEUTRAL IN COLORATION!, why change them? You just added tonation that was not intended. If you want more volume, (this amp has plenty) Add the AD212 Extension cabinet you will be amazed or MIKE THE AMP!!! DUH.
I DEFY ANY COMPETENT PLAYER TO DO A BLIND TEST (THIS AMP AGAINST A TUBE AMP) AND TELL ME WHICH IS WHICH. Effects? more than you can use, do wish however there was a provision for more than one pedal effect at a time. I solved this by adding a Vox Wah to the mix. It Screams. If you are reading this review then you allready know all the specs anyways. Love this Amp. It warrants serious consideration. If you are a Metalhead and need to peel paint BUY A MARSHALL anyone else, give it a try. Of course my First was a Vox Buckingham (1967) so I'm a Tad sentimental about Vox stuff anyways.

Sound Quality: 10
Currently Using A Schecter C1 Classic That I rewired with a more conventional 3-way Telecaster switch in order to get Both Humbuckers on full in middle position with out any cutsy coil tap positions. Seymours (Real Ones!) JB in Bridge, '59 in neck. Combined with this amp is awesome. IT DOES EVERYTHING WELL From Crunch of UK's to Tube sag of '59 Fender. Hell, This things TWIN is cleaner than a REAL TWIN!
Yes this amp has some noise WHY? Because it EXACTLY REPRODUCES all of the modeled amplifiers characteristics. That includes all feedback loops A A/B amp class switching, rectifier hum EVERYTHING! And if you don't like that much realism it has noise reduction. ITS CLEAN ALL THE WAY UP AND ITS AS DIRTY AS YOU CAN STAND IT ALL THE WAY UP.

Reliability: N/A
Only had it Six months Can't tell yet. I'm still experimenting with its limits.

Customer Support: 8
I've never had a problem with the folks at Vox or With Korg with Various Marshalls. In fact, I've never had very much in the way of problems with any equipment I've owned. Just Lucky I guess.

Overall Rating: 10
Been Playing 32yrs. This is my only amp at present but got my eye on AC30 and cabinet to string into this rig. YES I WOULD DEFINATELY PURCHASE THIS AMP AGAIN. In fact I may just run 2 of these together. I compared this amp to everything in the one to +two thousand range and featurewise, portability, ease of use, and TUBE AMP SOUND this was it. IN final analysis my choice was between Mesa Boogie F100, Marshall DSL100/1960A, Marshall tsl122, Fender Twin and the Vox. VOX WON! Love it so far still wish for 2 pedals @ same time though.

Submitted by Keith at 01/21/2003 16:25

Price Paid: US $699.00

Features: 9
I have had my Vox Valvetronix Amplifier for about 6 months now.. and I orignally bought it for a little of $699.00 Brand new... Which was a much bigger insentive to buy the Amp (what a steal). Now that I own it... I LOVE IT!!! It has pretty great features on the Amp... the only thing that I dislike about this amp is the "tap" function... However this seems to be the case with almost all of the digital effects out there today. I wish there was a knob instead... It would make life much easier! Great Amp overall, however.

Sound Quality: 9
With its 2 Celestions... It could bring a house down. I believe its an incredibly reliable amp. And when you turn it on, with the toggle switch (An awesome touch) It takes a while to "boot up," just like how when u turn on a Hammond organ or turn it off, you can hear the note that is being held, wind up or wind down. A great touch

Reliability: 10
I have not had a problem with the amp at all. I have owned it for 6 months as well, and since I bought it, my other amp (*cough cough Fender cough cough*) has broken down numerous times. It is very dependable.

Customer Support: 9
My warranty is I believe 3 years or something like that... I am not too sure on that, However I bought an extended warranty which would fix my amp or replace it free of charge, and provide me with a spare amp of the same make, until I get mine repaired, courtesy of Dadddy's Junky Music, Inc.

Overall Rating: 10
I think this a great amp, period. I would suggest it to anyone who is willing to make this sort of investment.

Submitted by Adam Karian at 01/16/2003 10:35

Price Paid: 1060 (euro)

Features: 10
Digital Modeling amp with two 12AX7 tubes in the power stage(valve reactor technology).It emulates 16 famous amps,some famous pedals,modulation,delay and reverb equipment.4 channels in 8 banks,tuner.It's equipped with two custom voiced celestion 80 Watts.I bought it with the footcontroller that is optional actually

Sound Quality: 9
I play a Gibson Les Paul Standard '01 with original pickups and an Epiphone SG. I play almost everything comes from England's 90's years:Oasis,Blur,Travis,Supergrass,Stereophonics.It obviously suits this style coz' there are all the amps that made famous these bands:marshall,vox and fender. There's a wide choice of sound in each amp selected,i believe that they studied a lot dynamics and reactivness of the original,every knob plays an active role changing the sound as on the originals.I've been really impressed by the reproduction of Fender(named tweed 1x12)and Dumble Special Overdrive(named Boutique OD)for their great creamy distortion. It's possible to obtain clean tones just turning down gain knob and pump the volume(as the originals..),the most fascinating in this case is the Vox AC30TB(named AC30TB).I like the pedals too,tube od in particular. As i read on the other reviews there's something wrong with flanger and rotating speaker(in modulation sector)they're very loud also if u turn level knob all the way down,not well mixed(i'm quite lucky because i don't need them but that's a pity anyway...). There is so much distortion in some amps (US HIGAIN,RECTO)that u could have feedback with the amp in dining room and guitar in the toilet...

Reliability: N/A
It has never broken down but i own it just since a month.

Customer Support: N/A
never dealt with them....but i am a little bit scared here in Italy...will they fix any problem in the correct way?

Overall Rating: 9
I was looking for an AC30 but i couldn't get it for it's price and volume problems: it'd be quite impossible to obtain amp's crunchy notes at low volumes so diverted my opinion to this beautiful toy. I'll play my first gig with the new amp in a week.It just well impressed other members of my band on rehearsal last week.I'm waiting for crowd reaction!!

Submitted by Jacopo from Italy at 01/07/2003 07:57

Price Paid: £700.00 (Sterling)

Features: 8
Great selection of 16 amp models gives enough range for all styles. Effects are plenty but not as adjustable as on some other modelling amps. Plenty loud enough. Smart looking amp too. I'll compare a lot of features to the Cyber-Twin which is the only other modelling amp I have owned.

Sound Quality: 9
Using a couple of Fender American Series Stratocasters the sound is good. This amp has a better all round sound than the Fender Cyber-Twin. The Vox models are excellent in particular the AC15. The Fender Twin model is better than that on the Cyber-Twin too. I put the general sound being better than the CT down to the fact that the tubes are used in the power amp rather than pre-amp. Most of the effects are good, some are exceptional and some are just OK. The Acoustic sim, Overdrives, Compressor, Auto-Wah, Octave, Phaser, & Reverb are all excellent In fact the compressor is one of the very best I've heard including any pedals I've used, it doesn't thin your sound out or make it sound weak like some compressors do. The delays are Ok but not brilliant. They could do with more flexibility also they are mono which is disappointing, the stereo tape delays on the Cyber-Twin are the best I've heard. The flanger is the weakest effect here - the controls need to be set very low or it just sounds silly! You cannot get an authentic Andy Summers/Police flange with this amp - I could nail it perfectly on the CT. Some of the effects are a little basic in the amount of adjustment that can be made - most other modelling amps offer more tweakability. However, that said, many "boutique" or top class amps have just a spring reverb with one control! - so the Valvetronix is superior effect wise to any of these types of amp.
As for general tones: Great clean sounds, this is the only modelling amp that nails the Shadows sound. The Fender Twin model is better than on the Cyber-Twin! As for distortion and overdrive, The Van Halen "brown sound" as on "ain't talking about love" is exact! You cna dial in a SRV just breaking up tone with a Strat by using the Tube OD effect with any of the "Fender" amps and it is most convincing. I could not get "just breaking up" sounds to sound right on the Cyber-Twin but the Vox allows this and it sounds smooth. As for full on distortion - no problem - dial it in.
Through headphones the amp sounds excellent and you really get to appreciate the stereo reverbs.

Reliability: 9
Solidly built. I would say more solid and less likey to damage than the Cyber-Twin. Someone here complained about the build quality - why..? It's the most solid amp I've owned. Can't vouch for electrical/electronic reliability as I've only had the amp a week.

Customer Support: N/A
Can't comment.

Overall Rating: 9
Better sounding and better looking than some other modelling amps and at some £500+ cheaper than a new Cyber-Twin you could buy anew guitar as well with the money and still get a terrific sounding amp.

Submitted by GazzaBloom at 12/31/2002 15:12

Price Paid: US $957.00

Features: 8
First a complaint: Please don't submit reviews for products you don't own. Playing it for a few minutes at the music store hardly makes your opinion review worthy. Ok, that said, I have owned my Valvetronix for about 6 months now. I love this amp. I have three other boutique tube amps made by Top Hat, Bedrock and Crate. I find myself using the Vox because of the ease of use and modeling options. And the effects are very usable. I usually pick and amp model and use some reverb and add an effect by way of the footswitch. Its great.

Sound Quality: 9
I use a Les Paul Custom, yes a Gibson, a American Strat, a 2000 model with the improvements and an Epiphone 58' Flying V reissue with Seymour Duncan Antiquity pickups. The models of this amp are OFF THE WALL! Man they rock! I put my pickup switch in the middle on the LP, use the UK Blues patch with some slapback delay and I have Jimmy Page nailed. The best tones of any and I own an POD that never gets used anymore.

Reliability: 8
Hasn't broken yet!

Customer Support: N/A
Can't say. No need yet!

Overall Rating: 9
I have been playing for 38 years. I have done shows with Foghat, Blue Oyster Cult, Ronnie Montrose and Gamma, Savoy Brown. I mentioned my other gear above. I rate this amp a strong 9. Why bitch about the footswitch. That isn't what I bought the amp for. But used in a way that works for me, its fine. This is an awesome sounding amp with plenty of volume and the ability to change the wattage to suit the model. 15 watts for the AC15 model, 30 watts for the AC30. Awesome tone! Awesome amp!

Submitted by Dave at 12/30/2002 16:20

Price Paid: 1200 (euro)

Features: 10
i have this amp for a week now, and every day it impressed me more.
features to much to discribe.

Sound Quality: 10
great sounds after tweaking.
the vox is the ultimate tone machine.
i compare it with my boogie mark 2c and heartbreaker combo.

Reliability: N/A

Customer Support: N/A

Overall Rating: 10
i play for 20 years and have or own all great amps on the world.
me and my band go for a gig on newyearseve and i leave my boogies at home with the exception of 1 because i dont know the reliability that tells enough.
for the sound i gonna use the vox only.

Submitted by Boogieman at 12/25/2002 17:39

Price Paid: N/A

Features: N/A

Sound Quality: N/A

Reliability: N/A

Customer Support: N/A

Overall Rating: N/A
Well, after owning this amp for a long, long time, and messing with this and that, and ultimately selling it, I have a few points to ponder. The first is that I STILL think this amp has the best sounding models in it to date, on ANY modeling amp (including the Vetta and H&K ZenTera). Dry. By dry, I mean with no effects. None. Because they all, to some degree, cloud up the sound of the amp. The last reverb at the very bottom wasn't bad, and the tape delay (with low effect settings) sounded alright - dry, with new strings, and with the Master almost full up (has the "cheap and plastic" sound at low Master settings - probably why they put the wattage selector on the back). The majority of the rest of them are pure cheese. Both standard and pedal effects, with a few notable exceptions, sound horrible. The same with build quality. I don't mind a "cheapie" product using an inferior grade of wood, BUT, a particle board cabinet is just unacceptable on an amp that costs a grand when you finally get the (terrible) pedal board. All around cheap crap (it's baffling to me now why the dry models sound good, because nothing in the amp is quality). With both the Vetta and H&K, I don't like the dry models quite as well, but you can hear them much better through the very transparent effects on those particular amps. But hell, even a Flextone has much better build quality, and even the effects are still better.

However, the floorboard controller is what cinched it. Not only is it an act of congress (by stage performance standards) to change banks of four sounds - three or four clicks involved, one that you have to stand on for a second - but also, like someone else said on here (I thought "what a wuss" until I actually tried the footswitch), the footstomp buttons are way too small AND way too close together for my size twelves. I hit one switch (I think), and I see all of the little LEDs lighting up like Christmas tree lights, until finally the wrong preset is selected (kind of jarring when you're trying to go for a clean passage and get Pantera distortion). So, it's basically unuseable in a live situation. A bummer, because I still wanted to use it at practice and the occasional small club gig. Basically, I was limited to practicing right next to the amp, and reaching over and hitting a button on the amp when I want to change sounds (my fingers at least aren't too big).

Overall, I'm still upset over Vox's "screw you, just don't buy it" attitude towards customer complaints and suggestions for improvement. It's obvious they had a good design team at first, and then "big corporation-itus" got to them and the shareholders just couldn't take it, they had to weigh in with their obvious "expert" opinions on how to use this part instead of that one to save 15 cents here, and hey, why don't we use particle board instead of that costly wood - who cares if it rains, there's a rip in the cheap tolex, and the shell melts. I was hoping these were concerns that would be addressed by (perhaps) an upcoming "flagship" model. Not now, Vox can fall off the face of the earth as far as I'm concerned - and though I'd love to buy the new AC30HW, as it's most likely made in the Marshall factory with the other reissues (and won't fall apart if you look at it), I'm still not buying another Vox product. At least not until someone else buys and sells the company again for the 10th time. Then, maybe (hopefully) somebody will start doing something right. Maybe Marshall or someone will buy them. At least they'll be better built.

Submitted by Jimmy at 12/24/2002 11:21

Price Paid: N/A

Features: 8
First of all, I do not own this, so I'm not biased after dropping a grand. I did, however, consider it for purchase. This amp was HIGHLY hyped by Guitar Center, and for good reason. This amp comes the closest I've ever heard to sounding like tubes. BUT, it is not tubes. This is evident not so much from the tone, but from the amp's "feel". Notes just do not spring from this amp like a tube amp. There is a noticeable amount of compression and "harshness" which is still typical to solid state. This amp is awesome for the home studio guy, but it just does not compare to what I ultimately purchased--a Soldano SLO-100. Effects sound very good, but I use my vintage effects for a reason. I'd rather not pay for duplication.

Sound Quality: N/A
see above

Reliability: N/A
n/a

Customer Support: N/A
n/a

Overall Rating: 8
As close as I've seen to tubes yet, but still not there.

Submitted by Robert Levasseur at 12/22/2002 19:05

Price Paid: US $650, no foot controller

Features: 5
standard digital amp features, amp models, effects. 5 because it has nothing more than any of the other digital amps out there.

Sound Quality: 5
as far as digital amplifiers go this is the best sounding. The vox models are really cool. the delay is realy nice it sounds really good, for a digital amp. I use a prs ce 22 with dragon 2 pick ups. this amp really rocked when I was at home and I was pretty excited to use it with my band. I took it to the studio and it still sounded really cool, untill my band started to play. no head room man. all the cool little nuances it made when palyed with out the band were lost as soon as the bass and drums kicked in, bummer. not like my AC 30. I did a comparison and the valvetonix doesn't really sound like an AC 30. I took the valvetronix back. this amp would be great for home jamming or studio recording, not so good with the live band. 5 because it isn't total shite, but it isn't to bad.

Reliability: N/A
I don't know man, if a tube amp breaks down I can fix it myself, but if this sucker breaks, it is going to be fried circuts.

Customer Support: N/A
??

Overall Rating: 5
I have been playing for about 15 years. I have used Mesa's, Fenders, roland(jc 120), crate, peavey,and vox. I currently own A vox Ac 30, wich is the coolest amp I have ever owned. I returned the valvetronix. I figure get yourself a good tube amp and buy some really good quality effects, like fulltone etc... why setlle for the digitaly modeled version,when you can have the real thing. yes this method means more stuff to carry around, and is more expensive, but if you are serious about palying then get good tools man, and stop being so damn lazy.
the valvetronix is pretty cool for a digital amp, but not good enough for the live band thing.

Submitted by Anonymous at 12/22/2002 01:17

Price Paid: US $799

Features: 10
This amp was designed to be versatile, and the Vox-Korg combination got it right. I play rock and use the ADT120VT with a Marshall 100 watt amp in an A-B combination. However, I've been using the Vox more and the Marshall less.

The feature I wish it had was a foot switch included with the amp. The optional foot switch is way overpriced and has buttons that are too small for guys like me. Selling the foot controller optional seems to be the industry trend, however, so I guess Vox did what everyone else is doing.

Hooray for the three handles, too! That makes it easy to carry.

Sound Quality: 10
With a Trat PLus it sounds great, which is kind of surprising that the pickups could drive the amp so well. With my PRS it really rocks. There is a tremendous variety of tones, ranging from very nice clean sounds to Fender-y to Marshall. I used the Vox for the recording "Sink or Swim" that is available here: http://www.songramp.com/homepage.ez?Who=Blame

The Valvetronix amp has 13 built-in effect modelings, including a Univibe clone. That's the one that sold me. It goes from a mild shimmer to an all-out Trower-Hendrix stoned groove.

I really like any modulation or delay effect that is in stereo. They seem so spacious with the ADT120VT. It's noticeable the moment you switch on the amp.

My only complaint is that there is a perceptible buzz when I record direct using the stereo line outs on the amp. I had to go back and edit out the buzz during quiet passages. A noise gate would clean it up, but I didn't have one in use when I recorded the "Sink or Swim" tracks.

Reliability: N/A
Can't say. I've owned the amp for six months and have had no problems in it. However, one design problem to be aware of: if you buy the footswitch, be careful not to slightly bump the volume pedal. I did a few times and it turned the amp volume to zero. I would switch the amp on and off and it would be fine. It took me a few times to figure out what was going on. The footswitch is too damn small! My unit has an extremely low serial number (<100) so I'm hopeful that they were still excited about making this amp when mine rolled off the line. It shipped double-boxed from the factory in China to the US distributor (Korg USA) then to my dealer on the West Coast. It made the trip nicely.

Buy the optional cover, too: I ordered it online and it never arrived, so I canceled the deal and got it from my local dealer in less than 2 weeks. The vinyl on mine still looks great.

Customer Support: N/A
Haven't used it. Korg has been very helpful for Marshall dealings, though, so I would expect them to be helpful here, too. But I could be wrong.

Overall Rating: 10
Best value around. It's easy to carry, looks phenomenal (like an AC30), has different power settings (1, 15, 30, 60 watts x 2), priced right, and sounds great. It's definitely not a one-sound amp. I would like the next release to feature an alphanumeric patch display instead of the two digit numeric display Vox used. But hey, it can't be everything for that price.

Submitted by Brett at 12/21/2002 18:51

Price Paid: US $1099

Features: 8
This amp has alot of variety for sounds. Go to their website for the specs. They're plastered everywhere.

The only beef I have is I've played with so many pedals and multi-effect boards that the built in effects seem limited. The onboard effects sound excellent reguardless of the control options. In Short, I kept my Boss GT-6 to use it's EQ and other effects that the vox doesn't have or cannot operate at the same time.

I almost crapped my pants when I hooked my GT-6 up to this puppy! My old patches were tweaked in no time. My Boss GT-6 came to life! I could not believe this thing! I do make use of the vox effects in combination with or without the GT-6. I read that pedalboard for the Vox sucks and will just use the GT-6 for creating 4 readily available
channels. The VOX and GT-6 provide combined is a bad-ass array of LIVELY SOUND!

Sound Quality: 10
This is the best sounding amp I ever owned! Clarity and tone that really jumps out. It's super on every setting!

PLEASE NOTE: Don't use stock pickups.. for example lets say you got an Epiphone Les Paul, they may sound great on $100-400 amps, but you'll kick yourself later or assume a more expensive amp sucks because of your import CRAP pickups! They may sound bad ass and heavy on cheaper amps, but when you get a good amp they are CRAP! Trust, me. I've been there! I have one guitar that has stocks and it
totally rapes the sound and are extremely noisy! It's my crappy guitar incase my main one goes out.

When I plugged in my bitch with the Seymour Duncan Dime this amp spits fire out of the speakers!!!

I've have had the following amps prior to this:

Marshall MG250DFX(pretty good, it didnt like my Boss GT-6)

Randall RG100SC(it had an awesome UNIQUE clean bassy-treble tone. I do not recommend running this amp without a pre-amp because the controls are lowsy. It had 70-80 celestions that kicked ass!)

Fender Roc Pro or something(the one for $1000...it was built like crap and had problems so I sent that back)

Fender Hot Rod Deluxe(one trick pony for sound, my opinion)

Crate Stack 1200H(picked up radio stations; really pissed me off)

Peavey(my 1st amp, can't remember the model or the sound. It was a good starter amp.

Reliability: N/A
I've had this for 2 days, no problems yet. I've seen review that this thing sucked for reliability, but these people neglected to leave their email address on the hate reviews. I personally do not give out my email because of spam jerks. I am anal when it comes to the construction of an item I shell out $1000 for! It's nice and sturdy and the tubes are contained nicely(for example a fender amp has the damn tube out in the open where this has a only a little of the tube tip exposed. I didn't open it up however to see how easy they are to replace, but I don't care. I LOVE THIS AMP!

Customer Support: N/A
Didn't need them, I don't think I will. I got an extended 1 year warranty on this baby! That's a total of 2 years!

Overall Rating: 9
An EXCELLENT PURCHASE!
I am very happy.

One more note.. these amps come in a huge box that you cannot pick up with two hands because of the awkward size. Inside this box is a regular sized box, and is very VERY well protected. That shows they have minds for quality.

Submitted by Jason at 12/16/2002 00:21

Price Paid: N/A

Features: 10
Alot of people will say "THIS IS THE REVIEW YOU MUST READ." Well, I"m no different, but it needs to be said that no matter what you've played on in the past, VOX always comes through. IF you are gigging, buy this amp. If your fiddling around at home, buy this amp. If your a new player and you can afford it, BUY THIS AMP or borrow money and BUY this amp. You can do ANYTHING with this amp. If your doing covers or originals, you level of experimentation will be complimented by this amp.

Sound Quality: 10
I've mainly used tube amps till now. And was skeptical that this would not have the same "warm" sound. BUT THIS AMP. It makes up for it with all of the options, you can AND will find the same warm sound. BUY THIS AMP

Reliability: N/A
Still too new to say.

Customer Support: N/A
Still too new to say.

Overall Rating: 10
BUY THIS AMP!!!!!

Submitted by Matthew at 12/13/2002 12:37

Price Paid: US $800.00

Features: 10
I found the feature set to be everything I imagined and then some. Save a buttload of bucks by using the features of this sound machine as opposed to buying features separately. This Valvetronix is feature packed and chock full of value.

Sound Quality: 10
I play a limited number of guitars through them amp because of my musical shortcomings. I have, however, been playing for over 35 years. I currently use a Washburn Strat and sounds amazingly good through the amp. I have also played a RIC 360/12 through it to my utter amazement! The variety of tone and effect is probably far more than an average guy could use... covers the bases very well and then some. I can find no true shortcomings in the modelling amp at all.

Reliability: 10
I've had no problems. I have had problems with other products in the past from different manufacturers. Some people here would have you believe a problem out of the box is isolated to VOX. How sad an assumption. Manufacturing today turns out defective products as well as damage occurring during shipping. Ever seen how some products are handled by shippers. You don't want to know. I've had no problems and will rate it a 10.

Customer Support: 10
I know Vox folks (I won't mention names) talk with others on several Vox related discussion forums. Easy to reach and offer up info as they are able. Support should be an easy thing to obtain.

Overall Rating: 10
You want sound? Tone? Value? Kick ass for the $$$? Buy this amp. Don't walk... RUN to your nearest Valvetronix and pick one up! You will like it. At least listen to it with your favorite guitar(s)!!

Submitted by Ron at 12/05/2002 10:17

Price Paid: US $820.00

Features: 10
This amp was made in 2002, I bought it about a month ago, and it sounds great to me. Every effects pedal you could possible NEED, like reverb, flange, delay, phaser, Wah, or maybe even amp sims or cab sims in built in to the amp. It'll save you a lot of money on the overrated BOSS effects pedals that will break your bank. The amp can do anything from Classical to Nu-Metal music with jaw-dropping ease. This amp has 4 channels that can run at the same time. You'll need the optional VC-4 footboard to access the channels without reaching over and changing them manually. This is a must for live performances. There is an on-board effects loop as I said, but you can plug external effects into the back. The only thing I wish this amp had was easier access to the controls. Other than that, it's a 10.

Sound Quality: 10
One word. Infinite.

Reliability: 10
Haven't had a problem yet.

Customer Support: N/A
Haven't dealt with them yet and probably won't need to.

Overall Rating: 10
10, 10 , 10 , 10, 10 , 10, 10!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Submitted by Michael J. Smalley at 12/04/2002 11:34

Price Paid: US $600 used

Features: 8
Most everything is there for effects. Very straight forward layout and very easy to use. I like a little more control over the effects but these are more than adequate. The different power setting is a great feature. The stomp box effects are very good for the most part. The foot pedal is adequate. I have used it live and while it is not the most feature laden, it is usable. I have talked with Vox (ie Korg) and they appear to be working on a new pedal. There isn't much for me to complain about. For me I like the simple but usable layout. There could be some things better, like more control using the footpedal (like GT-3/6),but so has everything else I have tried, and I have tried about everything else. I wish it werent so heavy tough. 72 lbs.

Sound Quality: 9
I am using a Fender 62 Reissue Japanese Strat with Lindy Fralins in the neck and mid positions and a JB Jr in the bridge. I must say I do love the sounds of this amp. They are extremely usable. Cleans are great and distortions rock. You may need to noodle around with the programs to get what you want, but the amp just plain sounds great to me. Even my wife commented (which she never has before) how great this amp sounds. Use your own ears to judge. I played many different amps before this one. Actually didnt even plan to look at this one but was just wasting time and tried it. It really impressed me from the first sound on. I went back several different days to make sure and ran it against several amps each time. Still I felt very impressed how it sounded. So I got one and still love every minute I use it. No regrets (See reliablity however).

Reliability: 5
Ok, here we go. First one I got developed a few problems. Vox had me ship it to them ($30) and they would take care of it. They actually sent me a new one due to some shipping problems on their side. That one stopped working while I was practicing for the next days gig. Vox immediately sent me another one which I had 2-3 days later. They paid for FedEx to come and pick to bad unit up and ship it back. I didnt have to do anything. Very nice. I have used the 3rd one only for a few days now and so far so good. I will update later.

Customer Support: 9
Fantastic. They have done a great job working with me. Eddie at Vox was very curtiouse and helpful. He took great care of me. The shipping problem I mentioned above wasnt their fault, but they took care of me anyway. If you have any problems, fear not, they are very responsive and resposible.

Overall Rating: 8
I will give this thing an 8 overall. I love the sounds. The effects are also very good. Footswitch for me is usable though could be better. Reliability is somewhat a problem but they took right care of the thing. If this one hangs in there, It will be the only thing I will use for a long time. I just didnt care for the other amps that I tested. They each had some things that I liked, but some things I hated. This unit had the best package overall for my needs. Basically, I needed the thing to cover a wide range of styles, which it does well. I would recommend that you dont bye based on my opinion. I have had to many experiences of buying things that others have loved only to get rid of the thing because I hated it. Please take the time to go look for yourself. And enjoy doing it because playing guitar is a lot of fun no matter what you play.

Submitted by Anonymous at 11/25/2002 18:12

Price Paid: US $950 tax incl

Features: 10
You've read it all before. IMHO: Loud enough, sweet sounding, nice looking...especially on a stand. Wattage output selector makes this amp a 10.

Sound Quality: 10
I use mainly Duncan Vintage Rails (single coils, play many styles and this amp covers them all. Clean is clean when loud, distortion is fatso-crunch. Infinite number of sounds available *but* it's going to take some time as there are many controls on this animal. Oh yeah, it has a good noise reduction circuit, up to 2 second delay (an exact replica of the sound, adequate reverb.

Reliability: N/A
Time will tell on relibility.

Customer Support: 1
***BEWARE*** The user manual was written by a complete idiot. Not technical. You have to weed through stupid, familiar cliche's, "try to sound cool" expressions. The manual itself could be reduced to 10 pages if it weren't for the "Paulie Shore" type jargon. AND, literally, at least once on each page, they keep telling you to buy the footswitch. From what I've seen of the switch, it's worth about 10.00, not the 250.00 they're asking. Back to the manual: You could delete 90% of the words and it would be a great user's guide.

Overall Rating: 9
Best combo amp I've owned so far, been playing over 30 years. Wish it hads: A Cover, A stand, a "not so cool,dude" manual, easier to read controls (but I'm getting old, so..). Glad it has: Wattage controller, on board chourus, flanger, delay, reverb, all eq knobs, gain, volume, master volume, effects loop, fuzz, auto-wah, tuner, stereo output.

Submitted by Danzo in the sticks, NY at 11/23/2002 06:52

Price Paid: N/A

Features: N/A

Sound Quality: 10
I wrote before that Soldano sounded bad, but I like it now! Just had to back off the gain, and also putted a BOSS PW-1 in front, PW-1 is noisy as hell, but it opens up the sound, wow that Soldano sounds sweeeet now.I can't wait till tommorow to dive into the Mesa model!
but I won't write here anymore, but you get the picture, it's just fun playing through this thang everyday. Now I wish there were more memory for patches definately.

Reliability: N/A

Customer Support: N/A

Overall Rating: N/A

Submitted by teilHARD at 11/19/2002 12:52

Price Paid: US $899

Features: 7
You can see them at the www.valvetronix.com web site. Lots of toys to play with. The things that would have made it nicer are motorized knobs that reflect the current preset (I know, more expensive), more memory for storing user settings, and a more readable display for differenciating beween factory presets and user presets. The current format for reading patch settings was done by an engineer - not a guitar player.

Sound Quality: 8
I play a PRS CE24 with the HFS bridge pick-up. If it won't sound good with my guitar, it won't sound good.
I was after the Marshall sounds more than anything else. That is, the Marshall sound at low volume levels. Since I've never owned a Marshall, I can't validate the authenticity of the tone. However, I will say that the various Marshall settings do sound very good. If you're into 80's and 90's rock, you can get very, very close here. The rest of the amp models sound good too. So, no complaint about tone. The fact that you can "crank" the gain and master volume at the lowest (one watt) power setting means you can get great sounds at a reasonable level. This is the main reason I purchased the amp. Overall, very good sound and a large variety to choose from.

Reliability: 5
Unfortunately, I no longer own this amp because of reliability problems. The amp would randomly cut out on me. That is, the volume would drop to zero for several seconds and it would then come back on. I had read previous posts on HC about this same problem so I decided to unload the amp. I may consider the Valvetronix again in the future once the bugs are all worked out. For now though, I have decided to run my Boss GT-6 and Yamaha DG-Stomp through a Roland JC-120. I get great sound at low volume levels and I know the Roland will always work. At least it has so far...

Customer Support: N/A
Didn't try them. I wanted to unload the amp while I could still return it.

Overall Rating: 6
I'd like to give the Vox a better overall rating, but the fact that I don't own it anymore says it all. If the tone had been perfect, I would have worked through the reliability problem. However, the sounds were good, but not worth the hassle of one or more trips to a service center. For the price, I think it's a very nice amp. However, I would recommend waiting until all of the kinks are worked out.

Submitted by Toneaholic at 11/18/2002 13:53

Price Paid: 13000 /w VC4 (SEK)

Features: 10
Great features, had it for 4 weeks now but still noodling around in manual mode.Wish you could use wah+od or comp+od.Lots and lots of volume in headphones, this I like, no need for chorus because of this.
Tuner is a lot better than the POD & Korg AT-2, tracks fast, play a normal tempo solo and tracking no problem.

Sound Quality: 10
Fender strat with Dimarzio 2xhs3,1xyjm into high sensitivity input, sometimes with DOD Preamp.Good overdrive sound with older marshall models, lots of chunkiness.I also use Mex-Tele, sounds good on all models except soldano & mesa.Dearmond Starfire special sounds too harsh on bridge pickup with my boogie, but in the VOX it sound so sweet in all pickup-positions & all amp models except soldano and mesa.Have also 3 guitars with humbuckers but still haven't found any good settings yet, tend to play mostly the single-coil guitars 'cause they sound sooooo nice.Have no idea how soldano should sound like but I don't like it.All the effects sounds good except the chorus, I feel that something get lost ( volume or bass ) when activated, can be compensated with the other controls.In the POD it was the other way around,used stereo-chorus all the time because something was missing in the basic sound.Noisy in extreme settings but dead quiet with DOD at 50% and whatever other built-in OD at 50% with noise-suppressor at max.I can then fool around with 3 different crunch-level in one patch.

Reliability: N/A
I don't GIG, but read here in the reviews about keeping master very high(max), I also think it sounds better adjusting the volume with power-selector and gain&volume knobs.

Customer Support: N/A

Overall Rating: 10
Been playing for 20 years, owned several amps( mostly tube ones), and gadgets.I would of been rich by now if this AMP was available 20 years ago, not with my playing ability but avoiding the loss I've done over the years by trading in stuff over stuff over and over again in search of the "sound". And this one got several completely awsome "sounds" in almost different styles.And thats what I was looking for all these years, cause I don't GIG I tend to get into periods only playing blues to only playing metal to only playing whatever style I feel for that time in my life and this amp does it all.Only thing I wish it had is numberings for the knobs.I like having some presets in my head also but it would be a lot easier with nuberings definately.Never tried the vetta cause I couldn't afford it anyways, besides the VOX looks sooooo good. I'll give it an 11 just for the looks.I'm a so called "looser" guitarist, playing just for fun and wanting to sound like my favorites, I feel I get Yngwie/Rory/Stevie sounds from this amp, now if I only could come close to early Loudness sound I'll be in heaven.There's a lot left to explore in this amp.

Submitted by teilHARD at 11/15/2002 18:23

Price Paid: US $800 used

Features: 8
This amp is loaded with features, but not overloaded like some other modeling amps out there. I use this amp in my cover/original band to cover anyting from STP to BNL to U2 to Pear Jam.

Sound Quality: 10
I play a mexican strat(with noiseless pickups)
an epiphone les paul,
and a relic'd 60 strat.
I have only had the amp for a few days but the sounds are increadible, I have spend months looking at modeling amps and A/B testing them. The vetta is nice but it takes too long to figure out what is going on with that amp, the same thing goes for the Cyber twin. The CT just sounded like junk to me anyway, I guess if I tweaked it a little bit it would sound ok but who wants to fiddle with tweaking that maze of controls during a gig? After learning the vetta and playing with it in the store for weeks I was sold on it, untill the day that I went to buy one. That day TWO Vettas were returned to Guitar center because they crapped out. So I turned to the vox, which I hadent really looked at before. It is easier to use( I just feel so stupid every time I try to use the CT), better looking(why did they make the vetta so ugly?), and better sounding. The sound is where the Vox really shines. I can't stop playing it, it just sounds so good and convincing of the amps that it is modeling.

Reliability: 10
So far so good

Customer Support: N/A

Overall Rating: 9
I have been playing for about 10 years, if it was lost or stolen I would buy another one. There are a few things that I wish that it had.

1. a better footswitch - who designed this thing anyway? why is there no bank up bank down? Thats fine if they don't want to use MIDI so that you have to buy THEIR petal board, but why limit us to 16 presets? This is where the CT and the Vetta kill the Vox. Why couldent vox make a board like the Vetta? I would pay the extra money. Why are there only 16 presets available? It kills me. The expression petal is junk too, but I would use my crybaby anyway.

2. The cabinet - this cabinet is garbage as well. It treat my amps with care but it just looks so flimsy and cheep. I am probly going to buy an AC30 repro cabinet and transplant the electronics.

Submitted by Chris Blust at 11/11/2002 09:34

Price Paid: US $850.00

Features: 10

Sound Quality: 10

Reliability: 10
I hate when ignorant people give stuff crappy reviews just for fluke instances as listed above. You guys are giving this Revolutionary Amp a bad name. Its like if a product isnt flawless in any sense, that automatically it is crap... You guys need to lighten up. WHO EVER READS THIS!!!! GO BUY THIS AMP NOW...DONT LISTEN TO anyone that tells you this amp isnt reliable or is good. Everything about this amp can OWN Marshall/Fender/Mesa on any account. Thanks

Customer Support: 10
Do you guys know how to use a telephone... I waited 3 minutes, and was helped promtly and very kindly. I think the people that have Customer service issues, just have lack of patience and a brain.

Overall Rating: 10
GO BUY IT NOW!

Submitted by Ryan Puls, CA at 11/07/2002 00:13

Price Paid: N/A

Features: N/A
This is a real quick update to my earlier rewiews several months ago. I have owned this amp since January of 02'. After using it every weekend for loud club gigs, I recently started noticing degragation in the sound quality especially to the clean sounds. After speaking with Mitch Colby at Vox he reccomended trying some new tubes. I ended up ordering Elecro Harmonics EH-12aX7's and after using duct tape to remove the originals I installed the EH's. What a HUGE difference! The amp now sounds better then the day I bought it. Tubes make a huge difference with this amp, just thought I would let those of you know who own this amp or are considering it. All my programmed tones sound signifigantly better with these new tubes. I can also can get sustaininig Harmonic feedback with any tone even clean without microphic sqealing.

Sound Quality: N/A

Reliability: N/A

Customer Support: N/A

Overall Rating: N/A

Submitted by Jim at 11/04/2002 09:56

Price Paid: US $799

Features: 10
Everything you could basically need to replicate 99% of all guitar sounds from the 30's to the present, and plenty of room for experimentation. 2x12 combo, 120 watts, 12ax7 pre-amp/power-amp tube, celestion speakers, blue VOX grill and black tolex covering.

Sound Quality: 10
The JCM800 and the Dumble sounds are worth the price alone. I am still blown away every time I play this amp. All of the effects are excellent, all the amp models are entirely different and usable.

Reliability: N/A
No problems thus far

Customer Support: N/A
Never dealt with VOX.

Overall Rating: 10
For it's price there's nothing better. Certainly, nothing beats the original amp sounds and the versatility of having a dozen indiviudal stomp boxes... but Vox has done a marvelous job with everything. I would have never know this was a hybrid amp had I not been told or checked out the back of the amp. The wattage controller is excellent for apartment living. The greatest thing about this amp is that it sounds NATURAL, whereas the Line 6 and other modeling amps come out sounding artifical and processed.

Submitted by mbv at 09/24/2002 19:05

Price Paid: US $899

Features: 9
I'll spare you the technical details assuming that you will get them yourself. If you don't know, or can't find info then go to www.google.com and search on VALVETRONIXS.

I will however touch on a few things I find lacking. Let me first say, just in case your don't read any further, this is a great amp worthy of immediate purchase!

Now, on to whats missing:
1) Some type of channel switching pedal should come with it.
2) A bank of empty user programable channels should be available. As it is now, if you want to write your own amp configuration you have to overwrite one of the factory presets. Let me make it clear though that the factory presets DO cover just about every great sound this amp has and I wonder why I would ever want to change them other than a tweak here or there
3. MIDI control...But who cares? I don't. If I wanted MIDI I would have a Cyber Deluxe or Twin or somesuch (if I were willing to give up the tones of the VOX)

Go buy this amp...

Sound Quality: 10
I use a custom Strat type with Fender Vintage Noiseless pickups and a Megaswitch E allowing Strat AND Tele pick-up combinations. I also run my Taylor 510 with Fishman under-saddle pickup. I play a lot of rhythm stuff at church with either/both guitars. I play a lot of blues and fingerstyle stuff as well. Some rock/metal stuff but only for "play".

How does this amp sound? In a word...perfect. I was hesitant when I bought it because there are so many good amps near this price. Was I getting the best bang for my buck? In hindsight, I can't imagine owning anything else. This thing captures tones that other amps can't. I'm sure you are familiar with those musical adjectives like "sweet", "creamy", "cutting" or "raw". Well where do you find those defined? No book can do it thats for sure but this amp can! I'm going to avoid a long disertation on tonal variety but trust me, if you can hear it, this amp can produce it. Its that simple. From thrash to Chet Atkins.
Go buy this amp!

Reliability: N/A
No problems yet...time will tell.

Customer Support: 10
Unknown yet. Never needed them. I will say though that the support you get right out of the box, i.e. the owners manual is beyond expectations. What an easy document to read and understand. This is the first product I have ever owned that I have actually read the entire owners manual cover to cover.
Again...Go buy this amp...

Overall Rating: 10
If you're like me you have searched reviews, played many amps, listend to other folks and still have a problem parting with almost $1000 on an amp. You have to be sure about these kinds of purchases!! Well, after taking the amp home and playing it for a while now, I can tell you that I made the best choice!! If you're beating yourself up over what amp to buy, just go DO IT. You won't likely be sorry with this product.

Submitted by steve at 09/23/2002 06:05

Price Paid: US $775.00

Features: 10
i was looking for a versitile amp for 2 years; im very picky. i have a small studio and record label and have recorded punk rock/hardcore, country, clasic rock, "alt. rock", and emo with this amp and i have no complaints at all.

Sound Quality: 10
like the previous clean is clean and distorted is distorted!

Reliability: 10
ive had it about 2 months and have used the amp for hours on end without a hitch.

Customer Support: N/A

Overall Rating: 10
foot pedal visually looks kind of fragile but i just received it yesterday and havent put it to the test yet.

Submitted by Anonymous at 09/18/2002 08:25

Price Paid: US $1009

Features: 10
Everything I want - in fact more than I can handle. Love the amp models, I use the AC30 and UK '70s the most. The effects are amazing considering the price. A very nice phaser ans the univibe is awesome. I don't find the pedalboard too bad - I read all the reviews and was expecting a piece of plastic junk but it seems sturdy enough to me, although the expression pedal is *very* small.

Sound Quality: 10
Great natural tube sounds. I play britpop, garage rock, clean acoustic stuff and it fits the bill for all these styles. I use it with an Epi EJ160E John Lennon acoustic/electric and it is a match made in tone heaven. I also use a *very* cheap strat copy for my grungy electric stuff and it sounds amazing even with that. I think you could use it for almost any style of music.

Reliability: 8
No problems so far

Customer Support: N/A
N/A

Overall Rating: 10
This is just great little amp! I use it for recording and playing live and it cuts the mustard for me. Great sounds, great tone, great flexibility. I was worried about reliability after reading these reviews but I just loved the sound of the amp and bought it anyway. Funnily enough I haven't had any reliability problems, although I have been treating it very very gently just in case.

Submitted by James at 09/09/2002 13:13

Price Paid: EUR (1111)

Features: 7
I own the AD 120 VT. I just have to criticize, that I'm not able to use the Wah-Pedal all the time (e.g. with the tubeOD). Some ambience reverb type would be nice. The VC-4 is a fake - really!!

Sound Quality: 10
The Amp Models are really great! I'm using the UK '70th most of the time, but also the UK Modern for some leadsounds. The feeling is really tube-like and I WAS A HARDCORE TUBE PURIST!! I own two mesa-boogies (the DC3 and a Mark IV) and really loved the sounds. But I'm convinced now - the technic has improoved. I tested some line6 amps (spider 212, Flextone, AX2) and own the behringer v-amp (that sounds great for home exercises). And this VOX is like an revealment to me.

Reliability: 10
Not enough experience. Until now it works very reliable.

Customer Support: N/A
Not needed.

Overall Rating: 9
That's my new live and studio amp! U guys from VOX - you did it very well!!

Submitted by Heinz at 09/02/2002 02:34

Price Paid: US $90000

Features: 10
2001 VOX VALVETRONIX 16 AMP MODELS STOMP BOX EFFECTS DELAY AND MODULATON GOES FROM ROOTS ROCK TONE TO HENDRIX TO METAL AND BACK PLENTY OF VOLUME CUTS THROUGH AT GIGS 32 PRESETS ARE PLENTY TO COVER FULL RANGE AT ANY SHOW

Sound Quality: 10
I USE STRATS DANELECTROS LES PAULS ALL WITH GREAT SUCCESS BRING OUT THE NATURAL SOUND OF EACH GUITAR WITH EASE WITH STRAT SRV TONE IS AS EASY AS HENDRIX OR BECK CLEAN DUMBLE SETTING SPARKLES OVER DRIVE ON VOX MODELS JUST UNBELIEVABLE

Reliability: 10
HAVE USED AMP ON GIGS SINCE JAN 1 2002 TWICE WEEKLY WITH NO BREAKDOWNS THATS AT LEAST 64 4 HOUR SHOWS PLUS WHO KNOWS HOW MANY PRACTICES FINE

Customer Support: 10
THEY SEEM TO BE VERY RESPONSIVE TO CUSTOMER CONCERNE AS MITCH COLBEY HAS ANSWERD EVERY E-MAIL ABOUT QUESTIONS I HAVE HAD

Overall Rating: 10
BEEN PLAYING TWENTY YEARS I ALSO HAVE ROLAND JC AMPS AND TRADEMARK 120 AD120VT IS MY MAIN GIGGING AMP WOULD HAVE TO REPLACE IF STOLEN THERE IS NOTHING ON THE MARKET THAT EVEN COMES CLOSE GOOD JOB

Submitted by TEDDY at 08/10/2002 06:17

Price Paid: US $899.99

Features: 10
16 amp models (Some are closer than others)
21 effects types (10 drives, 5 modulations, 3 delays, and 3 reverbs)
2 x 60W of power
2 - 12" custom-voiced Celestions
High/low inputs
Stereo loop return
Headphone out
Stereo L/R line out
L/R external speaker out
Built-in auto-chromatic tuner (VERY NICE)
Size: 27.5" W x 21" H x 10.5" D (AC30 is 27" W x 21" H x 10" D )

I tried to decipher the Amp setting's. Here is my best guess
VOX AC15 , VOX AC15TB , VOX AC30 , VOX AC30TB , (well duh .....)
UK MODERN (high gain channel of Marshall 100W hybrid amp - )
RECTO - '94 Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier Tremoverb Combo
US HIGAIN - 89 Soldano SLO Super Lead Overdrive
UK BLUES Marshall Blues Breaker
UK ’70S '69 Marshall Plexi 100W
UK ’80S '83 Marshall 100W
UK ’90S No Clue !, It's a Marshall hybrid.
BOUTIQUE OD - Dumble Overdrive Special Drive Channel
BOUTIQUE CL - Dumble Overdrive Special Clean Channel ? - Fuzzy Red ?
BLACK 2x12 '65 Blackface Fender Twin Reverb
TWEED 1x12 '58 Fender Deluxe ?
TWEED 4x10 '59 Fender Bassman

Compressor - Jim Dunlop MXR M-102 Dyna Comp guitar compressor pedal
Acoustic Simulator - Auto Wah - Octave -
Vox Wah - VOX WAH Pedal V847
U-Vibe - Univox Univibe
Treble Boost - Vox treble booster
Tube OD - Ibanez Tube screamer
FAT OD - ProCo Rat simulation
FUZZ - definite 60's vintage, Fender?, Gibson ?

Modulation
Chorus - Boss CE-2 Chorus Ensemble
Flanger - MXR Flanger - MXR M-117 FLANGER
Phaser - yellow - MXR M-101 PHASE 90 - or MXR stereo Chorus
Tremolo - based on Fender twin reverb tremolo section
Rotary - Leslie

Delay section (Pretty nice !)
Delay - Multihead (tape delay)
Tape Echo - modeled on a Echoplex

Sound Quality: 10
....WARNING ! THIS AMPLIFIER IS ADDICTIVE ! (In a word GREAT !)

I originally demo'd the 60 watt version of this amplifier at a Guitar Center chain store. I used a Fender single fat strat and a Gretsch Electromatic firebird. I was able to get some AMAZING tones out of this amplifier. On the Marshall settings with the single fat strat, I was even able to get the amp give unlimited sustain on a "A" chord at the end of a lick with just the right amount of feedback overtones. VERY TASTY !

One note about demo-ing this amp. As the standard VOX advertising set up has the amp on the floor, the carpeting tends to absorb the high frequency overtones giving the amp a very warm almost dark sound. It was enough to sell me on buying the amp. When the 120 watt version arrived, the first thing I did was to get the amp off the floor with one of those $20.00 Amp stands. The color of the sound changes dramatically. Instant jangly Vox sound ! But please note the Marshall settings sound better with the amp on the floor.

I've been playing guitar too long (from circa 1965) and have heard or played through almost every amp out there, tube and transistor. Honestly, The Vox AD120VT sounds like a very good tube amp. Certain guitars sound absolutely fabulous throught it. real Fender Strat, and Fender FAT Strat owners will LOVE this amp.

Trying the valvetronix with an electro-accoustic is a definite MUST for any serious accoustic musician. My Charvel electro-accoustic has the best amplified tone I've ever heard through any amp.

Most important - How about that old liverpool Vox Sound ? First, I ran my '68 Rick -12 through it. The "Paperback Author" setting sounded a little shrill, but you can ring out the chords to Tom Petty's "The Waiting" pretty convincingly on the 1(dot) -2 "Mr. Clean setting" (Use the middle pickup setting) In playing a little more later with the gain/ bass/ treble controls and adding in the treble booster, I was able to get the Vox AC30TB setting to sound like most old British Invasion recordings.

The out-of-the-box "Mr. Clean" Setting worked best in creating a "Needles and Pins sound". In Playing "Ticket to Ride" with a Rick 350 on the out-of-the-box "paperback author" setting sounds just like the recording. This amp has a great sounding Marshall setting. You can get all the tones from George Thorogood to AC/DC. But remember the magic is in using the right guitar with the right settings. A strat will never sound like a Les Paul. The "Cream Badge" setting is excellent for doing a good vintage Eric Clapton impression.

Noise ? -
It's very quiet, but this varies with the guitar and amp model you select. Most everything I tried was quiet. Suprisingly, My 90's Rick 350 was noticeably noiser than my '68 Rick 336-12. I've read comments about this being a noisy amp. It's not. ..... It is quieter than most all-tube amps new or old. It's slighly noisier than a Fender Princeton65 (mostly 60 cycle hum). It's an order of magnatude quieter than my old Ampeg.

Reliability: 8
Reliability
I've read about a few people having problems with crackling noises. I don't see the problem. I haven't seen a schematic (and I'm sure I won't) There may be some issues with the adjustable power setting switch. As a good rule-of-thumb, never play with this switch with the amp on. At a minimum it's playing with the feedback loop of two 60 watt amps. At worst case, it's playing with the supply voltage and feedback of a 60 watt power amp attached to an inductive load, the speaker. Normally such circuits do not like transients and neither do speakers. It the switch has some dust on the contacts it could get intermittent. Don't play with it while it's on.

Re: someone had cracked circuit boards. Well I don't know about your UPS driver, but when my AD120VT arrived my shipping box was dented and torn with a big gash in the side. It was taped over and looked pretty manhandled. The top was dented in and looked like some big guy used it for a booster seat. The Vox inside the box , inside a second box looked pristine. No damage, it works fine. From the appearance of the box, it had to have been kicked around a little, so the Amp will take a beating.

Construction ? -
This amp has excellent curb appeal. It looks great ! Vox/Korg did a fantastic Job. Take this amp. Place it on a Amp stand and it has a high visual impact. The wood looks thinner than my old tube amps, but not too thin. Some of the reviews would make you think this amp is made out of cardboard. Don't believe it. It is sturdy.

FOOT PEDAL ISSUE:

And then there is the matter of the foot pedal. (Some Background) - When I received the amp and the pedal, I noticed a rattling inside the floor pedal board. Just in case those were solder balls or little metal pieces that could short out something, I removed the back to see what was going on. Two to three little plastic squares fell out. So I got to take a good look at the construction. The bottom is metal. The circuit board and the foot switches are all pretty much a one piece assembly. The switches do not look easily replaceable.

The switches on the foot pedal were not designed to absorb the shock from a drop. BUT the pedal is not junk. I believe I figured out what all the bad press is about. Korg/Vox is the victim of a bad shipping box packaging engineer. The shipping box is a horrible design. Is has cardboard to hold the pedal but nothing to absorb any real shock. My pedal arrived with two cracked switches. The pedal still works but, I had to reseat one switch and the other flops open easliy. This shipping box issue will cause long term harm to Korg/VOX's image. FIX THE SHIPPING BOX !!!!

My recomendation to VOX is to get rid of the cardboard inserts immediatly and replace it with foam packing sheets wrapped around the pedal. That would be an immediate short term fix to solve this issue. So my recomendation to the buyer is .... Buy the AMP from wherever but buy the pedal from a local dealer and insist on opening the box and seeing the pedal first.

Customer Support: N/A
With the exception of the foot pedal, which I chose not to persue, I have no issues with customer support.

Overall Rating: 10
G R E A T ..... It's a 10. for the AMP. The foot pedal board is a 5.

From talking to other musicians, store clerks, and watching how soon these go out of stock, These amps are in high demand. It would appear the AD120VT sells out as soon as they arrive. I'm starting to hear professional musicians refering to this as a "must have" amp.

This amp impresses me everyday with the sound I get out of it. It has great tone, It's very versitile. It does everything from Byrds to Metal. It's easy to use (even without the foot pedal). The strengths of the amplifier make up for the shortcomings of the foot switch. I read that vox may be releasing the "Super Beatle" sometime in the future. It will be based on his platform (so the rumors say). a month ago I would have waited or the "Super Beatle". After receiving the AD120VT, I can honestly say I'm not sorry. This is a great purchase.

Take the time to demo this amplifier, It will be time well spent. This amplifier may become a VOX legend. It's got tone ! I can Honestly say I am impressed by this amp.

Plusses
-It jangles !
- great sound with most amp models (a couple of the Fender models sound a little off)
- the variable power settings is a marriage saver. Even my wife likes the new amp, because you can practice quietly and still get the same great tone. I dare you to say that about any other 100 watt amp ! ... It even has a headphone jack, but then you lose the Celestion tone
- nice choice of effects
- almost the exact same size as a AC30 - the AC30 stand may work with this amp. I haven't tried it .... yet ....., but it's close.
- georgous appearance
- they used good quality potentiometers for this. As hearing is logarithmic, the volume control has a nice logarithmic curve and sounds to the ear as very linear down to zero - nice job on this. In all the amps I've played, no other amp was this nice. All have had dead spots and a high first step.

Minuses
- only major weakness is the foot pedal. All other issues are small by comparrison

Submitted by Crazy Al at 08/05/2002 09:40

Price Paid: NA used

Features: 10
Great features! I love the amps modeled and the on-board effects, ESPECIALLY for the price! The layout is logical and so easy to use. (And per Mitch Colby from Vox, it is NOT made out of particle board.) The foot contoller could be better, but it meets my needs and works fine.

Sound Quality: 10
This amp seems to sound better every time I play it! I have a variety of guitars from a Strat, 335, PRS and 12 string SB. This amp seems to bring out the best in each one of them. The range of tones is unbelieveable. To me this amp has a real "soul" - and that's what helps the models sound and ACT so tube-like. In my opinion, Vox really did their homework and have an incredible amp at a very reasonable price. If one knows tone and can tweak it properly (as with any amp), you will never get tired of what this amp can do. Of course, if a later version addds more models (Hiwatt, Twin Twelve, Ampeg), all the better.

Reliability: 10
My AD120VT was one of the first sold by GC. It was actually purchased by a good friend of mine, who later bought a AD60VT and sold this to me a few months later. I have had it since March, and it has been FLAWLESS. EVERY company has at least a small percentage of defective products. Even Mercedes, Rolls Royce, BMW, etc., do. I used to work for a large Japanese camera manufacturer, and have first-hand experience. If the few reviews here that describe severe problems right after purchase are real and not placed by competitors or to simply discredit Vox, I would only say that just as it was in the camera business, only the ones with problems will usually be so vocal. The VAST MAJORITY who love their amps and have never had a problem usually will not broadcast it. With those who have had more than one problem amp, I can only say that there are two sides to every story. Vox must have sold thousands of both models around the world based on the current serial numbers. I can only hope that no one will be dissuaded from buying this amazing amp from a very few reported problems.

Customer Support: 8
I have not had any personal experience with Vox or Korg. However, from reading Vox boards, it sounds like Mitch Colby is very customer-oriented. I will base my rating on the posts I have seen.

Overall Rating: 10
I've been playing since the 60s, and have always wanted a Vox. I was selling my Peavey Classic 50/410 and Classic 30 to buy an AC15 or AC30 when I heard about the Valvetronix. I have been in love with my AD120VT since DAY ONE. If you set it right (which means you have to know tone, of course), you will be rewarded with an almost unlimited pallette of musical expression. Don't listen to the few "nay sayers." If it meets your needs, BUY IT! It's worth every penny!

Submitted by Mrjammer at 07/10/2002 17:46

Price Paid: N/A

Features: 8
Enough has been said here. For a modeling amp this really works well. It's as simple as picking a pre-amp and selecting your efects and store. I do wish you could run a least 2 effects like distortion and compessor at one time but you can work around that.

Sound Quality: 10
Best modeling amp in this price range hands down. I'm very pleased with the array of convincing sounds here.

Reliability: 1
My first one lasted 3 days before it died. Called Korg(Vox) they were very nice and sent me a Fed Ex call tag right away and said that if they couldn't fix my amp right away they would send me a new one. Well, 7 weeks later they sent me a new amp. After dialing in my sounds on the new amp I took it to an important gig and halfway through the second song it started making a terrible noise. I switched to the bands back-up amp for the rest of the night and the next day I got it out and made sure it wasn't a cord or the guitar and sure enough it was the new amp. I took it back where I got it and their amp tech found out it was bad speakers so he ordered replacments from Korg. Six weeks later I still do not have it and I've talked with korg about this and they say all parts are back ordered and and Hugh at Korg would tell them to send me new speakers out of a new amp but that was 2 weeks ago and still nothing. I can not recomend this amp because of this. I wish it was not this way but I've owned this amp since March 2nd and been able to play it maybe 10 minutes total.

Customer Support: 1
Nice enough to talk with but don't do what they say they will.

Overall Rating: 1
It's really a shame because I think this amp has a lot going for it. If it works right it could make you life a lot simpler. If they don't make this good within the next week I am contacting my lawyer to get a refund or at least another new amp then I'll probably unload it and get out while I still can.

Submitted by Jim Miller at 07/05/2002 02:52

Price Paid: N/A

Features: 7
In theory, this is a very good amp. I was really impressed with its flexibility - it provides the user with a very broad pallette of sounds with which to work, and the variable power settings allow one to use it in a variety of live situations. Most of the players I know are pretty skeptical when it comes to modeling technology, but I thought most of the sounds on this unit were pretty convincing, particularly the Uni-Vibe emulator. The on-board delay unit is pretty cool, too. As far as the amp models were concerned, the AC emulators were pretty faithful to the originals (great for that Brian May tone), but I was most fond of the US Highgain setting (which I think is supposed to be a Soldano) and the Fender sounds.

Sound Quality: 7
The cleaner amp models (tweed, AC) sound pretty good, but I was most impressed with the high gain amp models (US highgain, rectifier). Even with a digital preamp, the distortion sound is huge. These settings can be a bit noisy, but the on-board noise reduction feature helps to clear that up a bit. Again, the variety of sounds on this amp is great, making it really good for session players. Well, in theory, that is...

Reliability: 1
Here's why I've been qualifying all of my positive comments by adding the tag "in theory" to each one. As far as reliability is concerned, this amp is, in a word, AWFUL. Immediately after purchase, the amp started making a harsh crackling sound every time I turned it on and off. I was able to live with this for a while, until the amp starting CUTTING OUT at critical moments onstage. Once this started happening, I traded the amp I had for a new one right out of the box (I saw the store manager open it right in front of me). Guess what? The brand new model did the exact same thing at a really important gig. I was extremely frustrated and mortified, and at this point, the other members of my group were understandably upset - in all, this amp compromised 3 GIGS IN A ROW. For all it's bells and whistles, this amp is practically worthless; all the cabinet simulators and on board effects are of little use when the amp itself DOESN'T WORK. My advice to anyone who gigs regularly: DO NOT BUY THIS AMP!

Customer Support: 4
In the midst of my troubles, I contacted VOX/KORG USA, and while the service representative with whom I spoke had good intentions, there was little he could do for me. This might sound like a bit of a contradiction, but not only are the amps crappy, but they don't make enough of them - it took my local dealer almost two months to get me a replacement amp because they were all back-ordered - in other words, VOX itself didn't have enough amps to go around. (I guess that's because everyone who buys one of these pieces of junk has to buy two - I've been told I'm not the only person who's suffered with this amp.) What's more, these amps leave even authorized repair people at something of a loss. I spoke with an authorized VOX repairman to see if he could help me, but he said he'd need at least two weeks just to get familiar with the layout of the amp, since it's such a new design. If you do buy this model, make sure you get VOX's tech support number from your dealer - you're definitely going to need it.

Overall Rating: 1
Wow. I'm finding it hard to express my dissatisfaction with amp in socially acceptable terms. My advice to any serious player - DON'T BOTHER. I've traded mine in for a good ol' reliable Fender, and so far, I'm really glad I did. I think whoever put this amp out should be ashamed of themselves, considering that those who purchase it are putting their careers and reputations on the line when they do. Call me old-fashioned, but I'm of the opinion if you pay $900 for an amp (plus an additional $200 for an "optional" footswitch that might as well have been made by Playskool), then the bloody thing should just WORK. Period. Sadly, this amp does not.

Submitted by Anonymous at 06/23/2002 22:47

Price Paid: US $749.00

Features: 10
This amp by Vox is a 2x12 hybrid amp, with 16 very cool amps and digital effect.Including reverb, tape echo, and many more time based effects. And also many modulation effects inluding chorus, flanger, phaser etc. All a guitarist needs no bullshit twang thang in this puppy. Two celestion sreakers, and an opptional foot controller with expression pedal, very cool.The amp also sports a power reduction in the rear, with can bring the amp from 60 watts to, get ready for this one watt.. You can crank the hell out of it and fry the two 12ax7s and get what I can only discribe as orgasmic.. That covers the features I believe..Oh and a breeze to edit as well!! For a change.

Sound Quality: 10
Ok, heres where the fun begins, I am and have always been a to die for tube fanatic, and I have lost thousands of dollars on both tube amps, and other digital solid state, trying to get the magic tone.. And I always thought I had a better chance of doing this by going hybid and or digital. Unfotunitly, that never became a reality, And frankly it still isnt.. However I am so blown away by the feel and sound of my vox ad120vt, and this thing can nail the jcm2000 and all series prior to that amp, I cant believe my ears,and the feel can only be discribed as spungie, is that a word? Ask boogie! The soldano hot rob setting is pure magic, dark rich saturation with sweet harmonics for days, and dynamic you ask, just the right amount to make you druel..Also a plexi sound the has got to be heard, I had a 100 super lead not to long ago, and for any one whos played through one will never forget the expierience, believe me.. The vox nails it, the funny thing is, I figured once I turned up I would lose it, No way bother this thing just sang.. However, for all you metal heads out there, it can do the recto as well as many high end monsters, gain for days. Also I would like to point out too, this is loaded with fucking real breathing amp sounds, and not one single space phaser swirling shit that is about as usefull as tits on a bull..Just really amazing how they got it to sound so good..

Reliability: N/A
I really cant comment on that, yet, cuz I only had it a couple weeks.

Customer Support: N/A
Never dealt with vox, but korg yes, they are cool, marshall support sucks.

Overall Rating: 10
I have heard this amp before, I just guess I didnt hear the right sound out of it, at the time.. When I took it home, I was like shit, I cant beleive it, The thing is this, All tube amps have a warm 3d tone, that you can feel..Alot of my other amps have this, meaning both the tube and hybid, But the one thing, as I discribe phyco acoustic presence, only a tube amp has this, but Ill be damn, this vox is so close its really scary!I suppose the reason is, as vox describes.. I am reading this from there manual-The valve reactor power stage is,to all intent and purposes,a bona fide valve push- pull power amp, it utilizes a 12ax7, two if you have the 2x12..with a dual triode device- meaning two valves in one, and is equipped with an output transformer, just like a real valve amp.Instead of connecting to the loud speakers this transformer is connected to a specially desinged variamp power circuit that increases the magnitude of the transformer output from its lowest level, one watt to 60 watts output. Because variamp power cuicuit stage is completly trasparent the resulting output tone is pure valve.There is much more here, but you get the idea.. For all, pros out there, you gotta give the a listen.. And to all the hobbiest, give it a go.. Most people above seem to feel the same way.. With the excetion of the talentless idiot who could run a train set..Well this may well be a keeper for me, So long as it continues to motivate my playing, I see no reason to part with it, However if it were lost or stolen, I would call Rambo to bring it back home..I would gig with this amp for sure,if I had a band. Still working on playing though!!! Its a real amp. Beleive it or not.

Submitted by Curt at 06/19/2002 19:58

Price Paid: US $850

Features: 9
I covered the features in a previous review, this is an update..

Sound Quality: 10
The sound has been much improved since I swapped the 80 watt Weber California's (1-ceramic 1-alnico), for 2-30 watt Weber Blue Dogs,$125-each,(these are ceramic versions of the Celestion Blue $200 each). I did'nt think they would but they sound even better with the vox than the others I raved about in my previous review. The original celestions are not even in the same league, not at all: more volume, more clarity and definition, tighter bottom, more upper mid harmonics, more "chime", more SRV tone with single coils, and they are so much lighter. I still use the models for the basis of my sound, but I still run the Valve FX for my effects, & certain overdrives (the heavy sustain on the FX with the US high gain or the boutique od is smooth and creamy (ie,santana'a europa. Give these speakers a try, I believe they are also available in a 60-watt version, I've had these for a while, Ted Weber is a class guy who stands behind their products. (www.webervst.com). To really max it out volume wise, I'll use an extention cab, with Weber's.
with these speakers I have to give this amp a 10 for sound quality.

Reliability: 7
Whatever you do, do not drop this thing. Mine was dropped prior to my purchasing it, atleast that's what the tech told me. When I originally was swapping the 1st set of speakers, it stopped working. I called Vox/Korg in NY and they gave me a of techs in my area. There was a cracked circuit board, and a loose header of some sort. It cost me $110. So it's not as sturdy as point to point wired, it's really a computer with a couple of tubes(that only run at about 1 watt regardless of the out put setting), and some speakers. Too bad there is'nt a birch ply option. The particle board will crack if dropped severly.

Customer Support: 8
Korg was very friendly. They advised me to try a couple of things before I took it in for repair.

Overall Rating: 9
Wonderful amp, great sound, simple but with enough flexibility. Still wish it had midi. There is a vox site (voxtalks.com) where there were rumours of a valtronix head, and of retro-fitting this amp into am AC 30 head, if so I hope they make it midi capable.

Submitted by james at 06/01/2002 12:01

Price Paid: US $850

Features: 7
Has been listed below

Sound Quality: 9
Sounds very good also has the feel/vibe of a real tube amp.
This is my second Valvetronix I first bought the 1x12 version, and loved the sound that I traded up for the 2x12 which to me sounds even better.

Reliability: N/A
so far so good had it for about 4 months

Customer Support: N/A
N/A

Overall Rating: 9
I will give this a 9 for the sounds, has some cool features,
Not as techincal as the Line6 or Fender Cyber,, BUT kick there ass
as far as tone goes.

Submitted by Fred at 05/30/2002 12:25

Price Paid: Traded

Features: 7
You've read all the features by now, and if not go to the Vox website where you can download the owners manual in pdf format. I give it a 7 because it's not bloated with features like the Vetta, however the features it does have are quite useful. The ability to step down the power is really nice.

Sound Quality: 8
My main guitar is a tele with a humbucker in the bridge and 2 texas specials in the neck and mid position. My musical style is all over the place 60's through 00's so it's great to have the versatility. I never thought I'd be raving about a modeling amp. I've always played tube amps except for a short ride with a JC120. This amp gets close enough for me which means it has a vibe. I know your probably reading this and thinking yeah right..but seriously try one out (not on the showroom floor) before forming an opinion. I must say, I like all the models so far. I haven't gigged with the amp yet but it's loud enough, and I play pretty loud. This review is a little premature but just in case there's someone out there going amp shopping tommorow, you should try this out. I think it's kind of silly to try and describe the sounds but I'll just leave it at it sounds great and I'm picky.

Reliability: N/A
Unknown (scary)

Customer Support: N/A
Argghh all of my dealings with Korg and Marshall in the past have been nightmares. Thats been a few years ago so maybe things have changed.

Overall Rating: 9
I've been playing since 1974. I've been through Fenders, Marshalls, Boogies, JC120, even had one of those Tom Sholz thingamabobs. If it were stolen I'd get the insurance money and get another one. I hate the cheesy plastic Vox logo on the front, at least it isn't as ugly as a Peavey logo (why don't they change that anyway). I've been looking at modeling amps for a couple years. Wanted to like the Line 6 but it was just to sterile. This site btw is wonderful, it's been a big help. I spent way more time shopping for an amp than I did my car or my house. One thing though, go try the amp before buying it, this is just my opinion, trust your ears.

Submitted by J Murphy at 05/22/2002 17:33

Price Paid: US $799

Features: 9
2 x 12 combo, features pretty much covered by everyone else. Made in 2001 I guess. I use this amp in my studio, and have not played out with it yet, but I can tell you it's loud enough to cover just about any club in my area. When I need more spread I use two Rocktron velocity 1 x 12 cabs as extentions and it absolutely kicks. It's exactly what I need, portable and modular.

Sound Quality: 10
I use two custom made strats--a Cameron custom and a Carvin bolt T, both with EMG SA pickups with a strat presence control (basically gives the pickups a humbucker like mid boost)and let tell you setup without a doubt kicks ass over anything I've used in the past ten years.
The really great thing is that it sounds like a tube amp, with all the low mid push and killer sustain. The effects are excellent, and while there could be more of them, I feel that if you have a great tone to begin with, you don't really need that many effects. Also, it's the first modeling amp I've used where the tone is completely usable through the entire range of the guitars' volume knob. Also, the effects that they've included are all really good at what they do. With the other modeling amps, I mean if you have to use all that crap just to get a good sound, what does that tell you about the basic tone of the amp?
This amp is definitely at it's best with the master on 7 through 10. Use the wattage selection to find the volume level you want, and then crank it. Absolutely sick in the studio, just throw a mike about a foot in front of it and go. I don't use the direct outs, however, since they come before the power amp stage, and then it sounds like a pod or a J-station.
How does it rate against other amps? Well right now I own a Johnson millineum 212 and a Mesa Boogie nomad 50 watt 212. Both are very versatile amps, but the Johnson sounds like an AM radio when next to the Vox, and the Boogie, while very good at some things, just can't compete overall when it comes to sheer variety and quality of tone. I also have a rocktron Chameleon, but the Vox was able to nail and improve upon any tone I ever got out of that. I've tried the Vetta and while it's a very good amp, it still does not capture the realism of the Vox. I had a beautiful Marshall 50 watt mark II lead combo, and for years I've been trying to find something that came close to that sound. When I first got the Vox, I put it on UK 80's sound, then used the exact settings from my Marshall, and guess what? It nailed it. While the other simulations may or may not be exact depending on what you are used to, they are all eminently usable and cover all my needs more than adequately.
As far as the footpedal goes, I like the simplicity of it, and the fact that all the tones are so usable means that you don't have to have 4 or 5 programs for just one song. When I'm playing guitar, especially live, I want to have fun and not be doing a tapdance on every song, and the vox enables me to do that. The volume pedal could definitely use a little more throw, however. The Johnson and the Vetta, while extremely versatile in the footpedals, I feel are overly complicated and basically require you to step on somthing every 30 seconds or so. And that's kind of a pain.
The other I love about the Vox is the programability. The Johnson and the Vetta, while extremely versatile, are like programming a synthesizer (I know, since I play keys too) and I would routinely spend a half hour to an hour just to program a sound. With the Vox, I just turn the knobs, pop in what effects I want and bam, it's done. When people are in the studio, you don't want to waste a day programming sounds and this is perfect for that.
All in all, just an awesome amp. And hey, if you need more volume, you should be buying a half stack anyway. This is a combo amp, folks. Plus, I used to have a half stack and every time I went to a gig, I could never get the thing past 3 without someone telling me to turn it down, even on the big stages. If I could buy 3 more of these tomorrow, I would.

Reliability: 9
Have not really had it long enough to make a judgement here, but the cabinet could be a little sturdier, and the covering and piping could be a little better. I didn't buy this amp for looks, however. I will be buying the 1 x 12 version for a backup, but I don't think I'll need it. If you look at the theory of the amp, the solid state power amp that's coupled to the tube amp, in order not to distort at high volumes, by it's very nature has to have gobs of headroom, so it's probably overbuilt, and looks that way. And the tube power section basically runs at 1 watt all the time, regardless of power setting. That means they aren't running a super high plate voltage on the tube, so it should last awhile. However, I do agree with the other guy below that they should have put the tubes in a spot that was easier to get at for replacement. But I'm going to give it a 9 for now, since I have completely abused the thing for 3 to 4 months now and it's held up perfectly.

Customer Support: N/A
I too, have heard horror stories about Korg, but have not had to use them yet, so I will reserve judgement on this one. Innocent until proven guilty.

Overall Rating: 10
I've been playing mainly guitar, but also drums, bass, and keys for about 23 years, with my first paying gig at 15 years old. I also have been a recording engineer for about 18 of those years. I have a rather large collection of all kinds of equipment, and if I haven't owned something, chances are I've rented or used it at sometime. I have to say that overall this is the best sounding and most versatile guitar amp I have ever owned, and you will have to pry it from from my cold, dead fingers after I'm gone. Would I buy it again? Without a doubt. And if you do U2 or Queen covers, you definitely need this thing. It really can sound like a class A amp. A mainstay at my studio. And for the price, it's unbeatable.

Submitted by Peter at 05/14/2002 18:06

Price Paid: US $850 used

Features: 9
This model is 2002. It more than covers the music I'm into blues & jazz fusion. The amp models are outstanding, best I've heard which is why I purchased the amp. The stomp pedals, & effects are ok, not enough depth for the delays & choruses. I use a valve fx in the effects loop for the effects that the Vox is weak on. This enables me midi control of the type of overdrive, delays, modulation. This set up is like having one amp with several options or one effect with several different amp models. The AD120VT has plenty of volume, but I run the line out into a peavy classic 50/50 (8-EL84 tubes). I've also coupled this amp with a couple of speakers by Weber VST (a Ceramic California and an Alnico California). These speakers make this amp sound 25% better. More of a woody tone comes through, and more volume-whether it's my '74 Les Paul, or the PRS custom, a strat with P-94, or my Joe Bardened Tele. Many say they hate the controller, Midi would have been better, but it's not there so get creative.

Sound Quality: 9
The tone is awesome, I sold my '65 reissue twin to get this unit. It can sing like I need it. It's my voice, I'm not really into paint peeling distortion. This amp has a voice of it's own for each model. They all tend to have a sublte "Vox vibe", to my ears anyway. I'm into Santana, SRV, Gary Moore. I don't have a problem with noise since the valve fx's effects are fairly quiet and there's gate, except the grunge. I'm still experimenting. Also, I've set up a bank of four models for each guitar.

Reliability: N/A
no problems yet

Customer Support: N/A
I e-mailed Vox about getting some grill cloth, no response yet. If anybody has info please contact me 12587@msn.com

Overall Rating: 10
I've been playing since 1969. Ive had HIWATT, Boogie, several Fenders, and a full 8 space rack. I currently am using the Vox with an extention 2-12 being fed by a peavy classic 50/50 power amp. With the vox being used to shape the voice. Tremendous full spacious sound.

Submitted by JAMES H. BARNES at 05/11/2002 16:51

Price Paid: US $899

Features: 8
Have been covered estensively in the past. All I can say is it has more stuff on it than I use.

Sound Quality: 9
I play a Fender strat (american standard 1994) with tone zone and vintage blues pickups and also a Schecter c-1 elite. I play everything from praise music for church to the heavy bands heard on radio today(Korn, Metallica, ect.) This amp has some amazing tones. The more I use it the better I like it. I've had it for about a month now. As far as being loud enough, I have no doubts anymore. Two days after I bought the amp I took it to play a cancer benifit with three other bands in a medium size room. The sound guy ran out of imputs on the sound board and I was forced to run unmiked. I was a little unsure after reading some of the reviews. Not only did I not need the mike but everyone commented on my great sound. The volume just dosn't work like some of the "cheap" amps, it works like hi-fi stereo equiptment. Great tone all the way up to full power. This one dosn't crap out after half volume. By the way, the guy using the Hughs and kettner amp ran everyone off to the hall and outside he was so loud. There is a thing as too loud. If your audience leaves you may be too loud. If I start playing stadiums I may have to get something bigger, but for now, this is great. I may add a 4x12 cab for more definition. Don't be afraid to turn this one up, you'll be pleasantly suprised

Reliability: N/A
Not sure. Never owned anything by vox or korg.

Customer Support: N/A
Never dealt with them

Overall Rating: 9
I've been playing off and on for 10 years. Practice used to be a chore that was needed for all the fun aspects of music(gigging). Now I look forward to coming home and turning this baby on. I can get a new sound and new ideas everyday. I feel that this is what your gear should do for you, keep you motivated and inspired to play the music you love. For me this amp passes that test with flying colors.

Submitted by Brian at 05/08/2002 19:39

Price Paid: N/A

Features: N/A
Read my previous reveiw.
I use the pedal for channel switching and delay on/off. I like Fulltone wah's much better.

Sound Quality: 10
As I have used this amp for 2 months now I am totally impressed with this amp. I have figured out a few things that reveiwers should concider before dismissing this amp.
The models in this amp are not from input to microphone, but from input to speaker output.
If you hook up a JCM 800 to an open back 2x12, they are almost Identical in 95% of the tone color.
So you can experiment with speakers and outboard cabinets to your hearts content.
And for you idiot tube purist who insist that your ears are so discriminating,at least try to prove me wrong instead of making up some bullshit story about your massive experiance with all the modeled amps, and how this amp supposedly falls short. This is not a line 6. So give up the comparissons.
The tubes do make a big differance. I replaced the tubes with a premium matched set of chinese 12ax7 tubes.
The differance is really noticable. I don't like the rectifier tones as much now for high gain. I am happy with the Marshall Hi gain tone.
The Vox tones glow with tone.
I have maid the best amp purchase of my life so far.
I am going to change the speakers out for celestion century speakers as soon as I can. I'm for taking 16 pounds off of this amp since I live in an upstairs apt.
I have tried paul reed smiths through this amp since my last reveiw, and I will forever be a Diehard APC (Adder Plus) pickup fan.nothing, I mean nothing will make your Vox sound better than these pickups do. I seriously advise anyone to invest in these pickups for what ever guitar they have. You can make a mexican strat sound like a thousand dollars more than the best fender custom shop easy. Just imagine what they would do for a custom shop strat. I firmly beleive you get what you pay for. But yo don't always actually hear the guitar. you hear the pickup in most cases.
Anyway, this amp is worth more than I payed for it just for the tone alone.
Oh ya" this is a reveiw for the sound. Not footswitch rating. So for those of us who took points off the tone for a feature problem. Shame on us.

Reliability: 9
No problems here

Customer Support: N/A
What Korg? Who are we kidding here?

Overall Rating: N/A
I would buy another if this were lost or stolen. But I will still buy an H&K, but a duotone.

Submitted by Matthew at 04/21/2002 21:13

Price Paid: N/A

Features: N/A
After you spend some time with this it you'll realize that the features are very well thought out on this amp. The "pedals" are well chosen to give most players what they would want, the limitation being that they can only be used one at a time. If you want to use the Comp and the Tube OD at the same time, for instance, you're out of luck.

Sound Quality: 9
As a modleing amp this one seems more life-like than the others. I found the Cyber-twin to be many variations on the same type of tone and the computery interface a turn-off. The Johnson is ok at low volume but less natual sounding than the Vox.

Reliability: 7
A little weak on the quality of some of the materials, but understandable at this price point. Like the other guy said, put better grill cloth on it yourself after the stock stuff rips (on the first gig).

Customer Support: N/A

Overall Rating: 10
The thing with this amp is that not only does it sound good, and I'm a tube guy all of the way, but it's also THE BEST VALUE around right now. I'm a Univibe freak and this is the only modeling amp that I know of that has one build in. Those alone go for $300.

Add up all that you could spend on each effect pedal plus the collection of amps in this thing. Just for kicks let's say you bought each of the 16 effects for $100 (impossible, but stick with me) and each of the amps for $500 each (on average). That's $9,600 total - and you know that's not actually possible (more like double that).

The Valvetronix may not emulate each effect and certainly not each amp to everyone's satisfaction but cummon!!! PLAY ONE mister I-love-my-$3,600-boutique-amp-that-gets-two-sounds: clean and not clean. This thing is a bargain. I wouldn't say that it's game-over for the high dollar boutique tube amp companies, yet, but I would say that the economics are quickly changing and not in their favor.

And remember this thing is a stereo combo.

Submitted by Adam at 04/09/2002 22:46

Price Paid: US $800.00

Features: 9
The features of the VOX AD120 have been discussed in previous reviews to the extreme so I will focus on how I chose this amp over the others I considered. My playing backround was in a five night a week house cover band. We played most styles of music, but 25 years ago I was relegated to a Fender Twin and my Les Paul Custom (which I enjoyed playing a great deal but would be considered limited by today's standards for a gig of this type). When I decided to jump back into playing (for pleasure and an occasional session) I was seeking a great sounding stereo amp that would allow me to model and store sounds. I also wanted direct outs and a reasonable assortment of effects (as I did not want to begin another collection of stomp boxes). I feel I have found this with the AD120. I am not a heavy effects type of player so the on-board offerings are more than adequate for my needs. It's obvious by their design (and the price point of this amp), that VOX never intended to create the most unbelievabale effects package known to man. They simply provided a handful of the most common effects, added some basic variability to them and let it go at that. As a music producer, former engineer and the manager of a large recording studio that creates music for nearly every major network on the air, I can vouch for this amplifiers capabilities. But it is not without it's drawbacks, some of which I have overcome and others which I will learn to work around.
First, when I tried the direct outs into our Euphonix console, there was an unacceptable hum. My tech built an inexpensive transformer box to put in between these outputs and the console...problem solved (also solved for the other guitar players who play at our facility, who's direct outs also hum...Johnson, Marshall, Line 6, etc.) Im sure for a few buck more, Vox could have included these parts in their design and should consider doing so in the future. Second, the foot controller is marginally annoying, however less for me than a live player as I have the time to change sounds between takes on a session. Thank heavens I am not trying to play live with this pedal board.
As a curious person, I pulled the amp completely apart to look inside. I was pleased to discover that the preamp tubes VOX cared enough to install, were not chepos (a conclusion a previous reviewer jumped to) but Sovtek 7025 (12AX7's). The real problem with the tubes is the location. I have never in all my days seen a less accessable place for a tube. Unless I'm missing something here, you need to dismantle the amp just to replace the tubes. For the life of me I cannot figure out what the designers were thinking when they put them where they did. There are also some internal fuses on the circuit boards that are hard to reach. Probably the biggest design complaint that I have about this amp is the location of the transformer. For some reason the designers chose to hang the transformer underneath the amp chassis within 1/2" of one of the speakers! Needless to say, this decision doesn't help the hum situation any. I am planning to install some u-metal between the speaker and the transformer, which I expect will reduce the hum even further. I don't want ot make it sound like this amp hums like a banshee, it doesn't. But to be truely quiet (acceptable for studio use), I will have to do a couple of things to arrive at that point.
In spite of these minor problems, this amp sounds excellent. The common problem I ran into with other amps I auditioned, was that they either sounded great clean, but didn't sound good in overdrive or visa versa. The VOX does both with great conviction. Warm, punchy and defined describes this amp. As one reviewer mentined, the VOX modelings are ok but the other models are truely useful. Cosmetically, I am repulsed by the bluish grill cloth and am planning to "restore" it to the way a VOX grill cloth should look...BROWN! I know Vox chose a different color to set this amp apart, but blue?? I can s

Sound Quality: 9
I have always loved the sound of a strat, but for some reason or another, have never owned one. I finally went out and bought an American Strat and installed a Little 59 pickup in the bridge position. This guitar is a match made in heaven for the VOX AD120
With a Strat, the pallet of sounds you can create is virtually endless. Also, I failed to mention what great smooth overdrive charachteristics you can create with this amp, not ragged and irritating like many other solid state amps..."must be the tubes". The noise level of the amp is normal for amps of it's kind. I have modified it (as described above) to improve it. Don't let this minor problem keep you from considering it.

Reliability: N/A
Too new to address this point. As with any solid state amp, I would certainly carry a backup amp to the gig, just in case...

Customer Support: N/A
There are an abundance of horror stories about Korgs reputation for poor customer service. I have found that when there is that much said about a company, there is usually some truth behind it. I hope Korg has the wisdom to read the many comments about their company and do something about it before I have to deal with them.

Overall Rating: 9
I've said my peace, so I'll cut to the chase - overall rating 9

Submitted by Anonymous at 04/09/2002 09:49

Price Paid: US $849

Features: 10
OK- You know what the amp has- Coming from a tube amp ONLY background this thing has a wealth of features- Amp sounds, footpedals, delays, reverbs- Wow. If you're a certified techno junkie then maybe you need another 6,000 options, but there's more stuff here that I'll NEVER use anyway. Can't Imagine how smoe folks submit reviews here when they played on in a music store- but I've owned this for a few weeks, played out with it twice. Complaints about not enough volume seem like bullshit to me- Coming from a 63 JMI AC-30 and a couple of old Marshalls this thing is plenty loud. Maybe some folks here aer coming from other solid state amps, which are piercing and brutally loud- not the case here it sounds, and most importantly FEELS like a tube amp. I'm a tube amp guy 100%, never, ever had any desire to play anything but a vintage tube amp, but the gig changed and I experimented with pedals, multi effects units and finally modelling amps. I've owned the Pod, the Johnsohn, a Yamaha DG-80, a Line 6 Flextone and a handful of other amps. To varying degrees they all do the same thing- they do a tremendous variety of amp sounds and effects, all of which ultimately lack the feel that I'm used to. When playing live there's always something missing. The Vox changes that. SOmehow they're using the output of that one 12AX7 to change the damping and response of the power amp. It works so well that it's scary. Side by side with a $3500 Kendrick tweed 4-10 the Vox is just as sweet, just as soulful and just as round. It's friggin amazing.

Sound Quality: 10
The most incredible thing about the amp is the sound, feel and decay of the distortion models. While the sounds themselves are not dead ringers for the original amps (My AC-30 seems much more complex than their AC-30 model), The feels are right on. The Tweed Deluxe model is spongy and compressed with a nice crunchy edge. The Marshall models are just thumping vintage tube sounds. I've been playing this thing at full volume for a while now, and it just absolutely feels and sounds like a tube amp. The various pedal effects are just as good- especially that Brian May treble booster- makes the AC-30 models get real tight and focused with a crisp edge. The Tube Screamer model is also very, very good. As mentioned before the Vox wah is a waste because the footpedal is too damn small and the sweep is so uneven- but for the one tune a night where I need wah it's OK. The delays are great- especially the tape delay which really feels right. The reverbs are also very warm and round, not that shiny glassy Line 6 delay quality. Of course the greatest feature is the power control on the back. 1 watt for jamming at home- 60 watt for gigging. The output section modelling is so critical- Just plug in the headphones and check it out- the headphone output is pre-output section- It sounds JUST LIKE a POD- realy crunchy with a hard, glassy edge to everything. To record this thing I've just bypassed the hard digital-line outs and stuck a friggin SM-57 in front of the cab- glory! Frankly- this amp is so much better than I thought it would be- I believe that finally we've reached a point where the only use for vacuum tubes in amps is as collectors pieces. I'm keeping my amp collecton but this amp is just spot-on. Future products? Love to see this amp in a stripped down, minimalist 1-12 model for like $499- The perfect Bedroom amp. Love to see a full-blown version with better sounding speakers, more amp models (Tweed Champ-JC-120-DC-30-Supro,Valco-Hiwatt!!!), two banks of effects to feed the Tube Screamer into the Wah, Much better footpedal, and maybe build the cabinet out of friggin PLYWOOD instead of 300lbs of particle board- and use the correct vinhyde! The shiny Korean stuff looks wrong and rips way, way, way too easily. BUT- I don't mond the footpedal layout- It's simple and works fine- I set up all of the models (You've got to wipe those damn Korg USA programed presets) so I switch between dry guitar sounds, then immediately switch the patch into manual mode with the little toe switch you hit. Now it's a stompbox pedalboard- Pedal on-off, Chorus etc. on-off, delay on-off, reverb on-off. Since you can only switch 4 preset on 4 banks from the footswitch I have Channel 1 set up as four patches of Tweed Bassman, Channel 2 as four patches of AC-30, Channel 3 as four patches of 80's Marshall (Super Lead) and Channel 4 as four patches of 90's Marshall. (JCM-900.) Each of the four patches has different levels of tube screamer kicked in, as well as chorus versus phaser. It's super easy and simple to gig with. Now I always know where I am, rather than trying to remember some obscure patch. The key thing is to use the footpedal as a volume control- Don't know how I lived without a volume pedal before, but it's critical! The amp responds just like a tube amp- different guitars respond way differently- Unlike the Line 6 high gain models, you can still hear the difference between a strat, a tele and a Les Paul with this amp- just like the real thing!

Reliability: N/A
Seems as reliable as any piece of electronics- we'll see.

Customer Support: N/A
Korg USA? Hope it doesn't need service...

Overall Rating: N/A
Bottom Line is if you're into the right sounds- real tube amp sounds and feels, then run out and buy this right away. Certainly the Line 6 Vetta does a billion more sounds, but the amp feels all wrong and to my ears sounds very hard and tight. This amp breathes. In fact the one knock is that in a quiet room yuo can actually hear the amp model breathe in and out- There's a little decay at the end of each sound that sounds a little like snare rattle- Must be some internal NR that can't be turned off. Anyway- Love this thing to death!

Submitted by AC-30 Lover at 03/27/2002 07:01

Price Paid: US $899

Features: 6
This amp was made in 2002. The amp has great tones to offer. but the pedal leaves a lot to be desired.
I play rock, Metal, and what ever pays in Branson Missouri,
This Vox has 16 Models, 8 patches, & 4 presets per patch.
Sterio effects loop for real( No special cables needed to use it).
Headphone jack, left right direct outs, still need a direct box to switch to low Z.Power output is selectable from the rear panel and is a life saver for those of us still in apartment living.
This amp could have used a MIDI section so I could ditch this pedal they made for it.XLR outputs would have helped eliminate one more peice of out board gear where going directly into the board is best.
I wish it had a real pedal, and not this fisher price looking thing they made for it.
I use this amp in my apartment, clubs, church, and theater's.
there is plenty of power and power options.
The power amp section makes this amp sound great, and with the switching between class A and class A B models it really comes close to the amps modeled.
I am rating this amp a 6 on features because of the footswitch and lack of MIDI.
Sorry Vox but you dropped the ball in these two very important and relavent areas of user interface. I hope you can at least fix the footswitch situation for those of us who already bought this amp. and if it has to be a total overhaul of this feature give us a trade in offer so we can get your product onto the stage with pride. I am a proffesional musician and not a part timer so this would be good for you to do.

Sound Quality: 9
I am using a Charvel 650XL with the holy grail of pick ups APC's
I prefer jacksons and Charvel's for the necks and tone. The APC's react with any tube amp as if they were meant to bring out the tones the amps have never given before. and thats no joke. Even a homoginized Ibanez can rock in ways never heard before.
The amp suits my style just fine. I play in the styles of Lynch, Rhodes, Metheny, SRV, etc, etc.
as fa ras noise it depends on the environment, like any amp.
Lighting systems, power conditions, and other things will effect any tube based amp, so you will always find a use for a noise reduction unit. I suggest a Guitar Silencer from Rocktron, and leave the processeing in the amp to your tone.
As far as sounds all the amps modeled are more than high quality, they are dead on in most models.
I have used almost all the amps modeled accept for the boutique amps they say they modeled.
The Soldano model fails to capture the true brilliance of the bottom end punch. But a pretty good try, its a complex tone to capture.
al the models improve once you change the tubes with a premium chinese tube that has been tested for microphonics and strenth.
Treat this amp like a tube amp and treat it to good tubes. I suggest Ruby Tubes, or Mesa SPAX7's. They are the best bar none.
Turned up to 7 or 8 on the master on half or full power is shear jamming bliss.
I like the effects just fine. They serve my utility purposes just fine. I won't rate the wah or front end effects since they are wasted on poor pedal interface. I'll just use outboard gear and use the footswitch for channel switching.
The distortions are great and usable. Can't complain, just praise.

Reliability: N/A

Customer Support: 2
Its a KORG product. They have never had a clue about how to SERVE the customer. Maybe they will come around. I have some hope.

Overall Rating: 7
Been playing 19 years.
Have owned Marshall JCM 800 2ch head, Line6 POD wich I still love, and Jacksons, Jacksons, Jacksons,.
Lee Jackson combo which rocked.
I would buy a line6 flextone if the footswitch were not fixed in the event of it being stolen.
Truth be known I will eventually trade this in on a Hughe and Kettner Zentera half stack.

Submitted by Matthew at 03/11/2002 16:24

Price Paid: US $899

Features: 10
Features a' plenty! Enough stomp boxes and amps models to satisfy the pickiest gadget freak.

Sound Quality: 10
I wanted to wait at least until I gigged w/ this machine before I reviewed it. Lets just say the the more I play and understand this amp the more I love it! We play a wide range from Clash, Nirvana, STP, Jimi to old Vox Beatles to clean Eagles. This thing covers the gamut, and not just adequately. The Marshall models are right on. W/ both my Les Paul and Strat w/ Tx special p/u's I get a huge fat sound. I can get a dead-on Hendrix brown sound w/ the fat od or tube od pedal and UK70's or AC30 model. And w/ the US HiGain or RECTO model w/ treble boost pedal i.e. Mesa Boogie u can get a perfect AC/DC crunch or even Metallica-like tone.

The possibilities are pretty much endless. And that is initially a problem--too many choices. I spent hours finding just 3 or 4 great sounds and programmed them in. How many do u need anyway? The tremolo/rotary/octave stuff are nice to have but will probably be used seldom. Acoustic sim is surprisingly good--much better than Marshall AVT275's.

After my gig last Sat nite people kept telling me how sweet my axe sounded. And it did! This twin cuts right thru the mix. And the chorus and reverb are just so nice. The delay is good too. All around winner side by side w/ anything I've ever played.

Reliability: N/A
so far no complaints. sweet out of the box!

Customer Support: N/A
no experience yet

Overall Rating: 10
I'm giving this 10's across the board. I've been playing steadily in bands for 20+ yrs and am fairly picky about good sound. I was looking for some time to replace my Fender Twin and all those darn boxes, patch cords, and power cords. I bought this amp after months of shopping around. Talk about one-stop shopping! I was just about set on a Marshall 122 or 602 combo but this rig just intrigued the hell out of me. I spent several hours twiddling w/ it at GC. Initially the vast number of sound combinations is a bit overwhelming. And to get max benefit out of is you actually have to study the entire manual for both amp and floorboard. But after getting this home and programming it more logically than the factory presets this thing just brings a smile to my face (and that of my bands!) every time. The ability to play any rock song out there w/ this one box is a great feeling. And the sound is just pure sweetness! I challenge any purist to tell me this amp doesn't blow away anything else at any price! And the fact that its $1k less than competitors doesn't hurt. I preferred the 1x12 for size/weight but got the 2x12 for larger gigs and because the 1x12 is too quiet played clean. But both have a great line out to PA anyway. Sure, the floorboard does have some limitations (mostly detailed in other reviews) but is still very useful if its understood! I use it for changing banks then put it in individual mode to control effects directly. Built in tuner is more accurate on floorboard than amp face too. I would be really nice if the wah was totally separate from other effects as the treble boost, fat od and tube od boxes are just perfect w/ some of the marshall models but can't be used at same time w/ wah...kinda lame. If anyone wants some ideas how to program banks better drop me an email. And same if u have some good ideas yourself I'd love to hear 'em!

Submitted by Ted at 03/11/2002 13:29

Price Paid: US $750.00

Features: 10
this amp blows the vetta out of the water!!!,i a/b them both for a month in my studio and while the vetta had more bells and whistles the tone on the vox was the winner....easy to use as well.
Vox/korg got the tone down....which in a modeling amp is the whole issue,,effects and options are easy to add in a second generation amp but the basic tones(no effects)..really sing..are very 3 dimensional and warm and very tube like -at any= volumes played!!

Sound Quality: 10
amp models are killer...acoustic simulation with the fender amp is amazing...cleans shimmer...whether you use a p90-single coil or hum..this amp is sweet...really responsive to guitar vol and playing style...

Reliability: N/A
unsure yet

Customer Support: N/A
unsure yet

Overall Rating: 9
i give it 9 cause it can always be improved upon...how?
well....add another dedicated stompbox array so there are 2 sets of stomp boxes...also more amp models..like matchless and botiques..
and also one more tweek know per modulation settings /delay settings and reverb settings..for a bit more tweetability to the effects...
midi? well it would be ok but not needed...
and the floor pedal works fine for me....

Submitted by alex at 03/05/2002 18:18

Price Paid: US $899

Features: 9
OK - I get upset when someone writes a review after a few hours of playing their new amp aquisition. That being the case I made sure I used the new VOX on a few gigs before making my comments public. I refrained from going down the modeling amp road since the first few I tried never really sounded as full as any of my tube amps. I figured "Give the manufacturers a few years to get it right". I have an AC30TB reissue and was surprised when it was Vox that made the first one I really liked. Versatility? You got it. I have managed to change the way I use the footswitch compared to my trusty Boss GT-5. This category would have been a 10 with a better designed foot controller (toe switch for wah/expression instead of the far left button, a better "feel" for the expression/volume pedal, dedicated LED's with better resolution for the tuner would be nice)

Sound Quality: 10
Some of the models are done extremely well. I steered clear of the modeling amps that sound digital and you can tell that Vox did something right with the tube circuitry they incorporated into this amp.I use the Vox and UK (Marshall) mostly. I like the power attenuator allows my to control my stage volume better that and headphone out is great for practice. I still mike the amp and I do not have aproblem wiht lack of volume.

Reliability: 9
I don;t think it is built anywhere close to the standards of the AC30TB. I noticed the gold piping on the side of the cabinet needed to be pressed in and the grill cloth looks good but not as high-end like the brown cloth on the AC30 amps.

Altogether the switches and other components seem solid. I steered clear from Line 6 because of the horror stories I've heard and the Flextone that was used by the co-guitarist that used to play in my band.

Customer Support: N/A
Korg. They have a decent rep. I have had amps from companies that went out of business (Kitty Hawk for one) and it's tough when you have No support.

Overall Rating: 10
This is the first modeling amp that I even considered buying and it has amazed everyone on my band. The more I use it the better it gets and although there is alway sroom to nit-pick, this is a great amp from Vox that puts a lot of its more expensive competitors to shame.

Submitted by John R. at 03/02/2002 10:38

Price Paid: N/A

Features: 8
If you've read any of the reviews or looked at their website you'll know all this. A few comments...loudness has been an issue for gigging and probably will continue to be an issue. In my opinion it's loud enough, but I believe in mic'd amps and ear monitors. I know it's expensive for the in-ear but it's worth it if music, not noise, is really what you love and mic'd amps allow the audience to hear the little things that all of you love in your sound. I believe this amp's features are built for rock or ambient alternative, not thrash or anything really heavy although with the right pedals it could be done. With that in mind I'll limit the rating until we find an amp that literally does everything for under $1000.

Sound Quality: 9
I listened to this at a shop with a Ibanez LP copy. A AC30/6TB was sitting next to it. So I compared the two, I definitely could get very close to the AC30 (I won't say that it'll nail it because nailing it means that every setting of the AC30 would have to be duplicated, but it's very very close.) I think all of you should keep in mind that most of the great guitarists that use the AC30TB love their vintage ones (circa 1970) and get very upset when they have to use a new one. The Edge's 60's AC30's burst into flame sometimes and he has bunches to back them up so he doesn't have to use the new ones. So...are you going to get Brian May or the Edge from a 2002 AC30TB or a Valvetronix? Probably not, but if you're happy with it, buy it. Some of the comparisons are ridiculous, there is no reason why this should be compared to the Vetta unless you happen to have an extra 1000 around. Comparing this to a Flextone Plus 2X12 is (which is closer in price and features) leaves the Vox in a great position. In my opinion, if you've got $750 to spend on the Flextone, take your brother's stereo to the pawn shop and get $100 to buy the box. It has less models, but better all around features and sound.

Reliability: N/A

Customer Support: N/A

Overall Rating: 9
I'm sticking with power amps for my POD because I want to grab a couple of Lovetone pedals before they stop selling (the vox or something new will be here.) My basic setup is '61 re-issue SG with Digitech Whammy, 3ms Phaseur Fleur, Lovetone Big Cheese, Line6 Filter modeler, and Ebow plus run direct thru my POD into a Power amp or Laney LC30 or PA.

Submitted by Billy Miller at 02/28/2002 11:16

Price Paid: N/A

Features: N/A
This is an update to an earlier review on this amp. You probally know all of the features already so I won't go there.

Sound Quality: N/A
The more you work with this amp, the better it sounds. Don't even bother listening to the factory presets. If you are trying out this amp for the first time, press the manual button and start turning knobs. Be sure to crank it up because it does sound better at louder volumes. The amp is definitly loud enough for a big gig (I used it at The Hard Rock Cafe Chicago) and it will keep up with a drummer with a loud stage mix. You will have to turn the master volume up to about 6 or 7 to be heard though. Also, at that volume, you may get howling with high gain settings. Be cautious with a hollow body! Getting harmonic feedback is attainable but tricky. It is much easier without a distortion pedal effect in use. Try turning up a bit instead or back off the drive setting on the distortion effects if you want singing feedback. Be sure to set the channel volumes lower for higher gain models or you will not be able to match the clean volumes for live use. I would suggest to turn the channel volume all the way up on clean settings and set the channel volumes at about 6 for high gain sounds. that will give you fairly equal volumes.

Reliability: N/A

Customer Support: N/A

Overall Rating: N/A
I mentioned in an earlier submission that the foot pedal stinks. It doesn't compare to the flexibility of the line 6 but I did find a way to use it more effectively. Try setting the board to the effects on/off mode and change your sound banks directly on the amp's control panel. It's a little more hassle playing live but for me, that works better rather than trying to hold down the bank button for 4 seconds to change banks. When you compare the tones to the Line 6 Vetta, the Vox beats it hands down in my opinion. I have spent many years with a Marshall that only has two tones, clean and dirty. This amp is half the price of the Vetta so it's well worth it to me to save $1000 and live with a little less flexibility. It is also the only digital amp that FEELS like a tube amp. I would be willing to bet that Vox will come out with a better floorboard in the near future. I have been using this amp week after week in the Chicago clubs playing a wide variety of rock covers. While using a Les Paul Custom and a Strat Plus, I have concluded that the tones of this amp offer the closest thing to tubes that any digital amp currently on the market has to offer. Feel free to contact me with any questions. I have spent about many hours tweaking this thing.

Submitted by Jim at 02/27/2002 12:13

Price Paid: N/A

Features: 7
This amp has a lot of the typical modeling amp features. Many different amp settings, some good pedals and effects and it is very easy to use. I like the way they laid it out compared to the line 6 flextones. With the Vox you can adjust the effects independently. The only reason I give it a 7 is because of the horrible foot pedal. I read the reviews that stated it sucked. I thought it couldn't be that bad...it really is. In all the pictures the pedal board looks like it is a similar size to the old Line 6 boards but it is very very small and rather cheap looking. The expression pedal is very small and the buttons are a little too close together. The overall layout of the pedal board really does suck! I was really looking forward to buying this amp but the pedal board really ruins it for me. I switch channels and effects a lot and this board isn't set up well for that.
Other than that, the amp itself is a good amp. I did really like the layout of the effects and I really like the power select in the back where you are able to select between 2,30,60, and 120 watts.

Sound Quality: 10
I don't own this amp but I have spent a good deal of time playing with it. The sound is GREAT! I think the effects are GREAT! It had a great tone out of both single coil and humbuckers. I was able to get a nice clean sound with lots of tone and a great distorted tones as well. I think the tone out of this amp is better than both the Cyber Twin and the Line 6 Vetta. The killer is the floorboard.

Reliability: N/A

Customer Support: N/A

Overall Rating: 7
All in all, this amp is decent. It's cheaper than the Cyber twin and Vetta amps but for me the floorboard ruined it for me. The sounds that come from this amp are awesome but it you are constantly switching sounds live this amp just wont cut it. I was set on getting this amp until I actually saw and used the floorboard. It's way too small and the layout stinks! I have since checked out the Line 6 Vetta and I am leaning towards that amp. It is about $1000 more but it has a lot more features and the pedal board is very well thought out.

Submitted by Leif Ramos at 02/24/2002 20:49

Price Paid: US $899.00

Features: 9
There are many great features to this Hybrid digital modeling amp. First of all it is the only digital modeling amp to my knowledge to use real tubes in the preamp section. There are 16 amp models to choose from ranging from Fender, Marshall, Boogie and of course Vox. The difference with this amp is that it actully sounds and feels like a tube amp. There is a multitude of digital and stomp box effects as well as a feature that allows the user to choose the output wattage. The amp as 32 user programable sounds, a headphone jack and an effects loop as well. This is a brand new product that is just hitting the stores in early 2002

Sound Quality: 8
I'M using a Les paul and a strat with this amp playing a wide variety of rock covers. The amp is a little noisey when the gain settings are high but the tones are great. I have been using a Line 6 Flextone for some time but this amp is far superior in tone quality. I wish some of the clean tones had a little more sparkel to them to cut through the mix. I could have done without all of the Vox models as well. To me they don't sound as good as the other models. The stomp box effect are pretty cool. There is a compresser, Wah, auto Wah, acoustic sim, univibe, octave, treble boost and 3 distortion boxes to choose from. Unfortunatly you can only use one at a time. The acousic sim sounds great but it is noisey. The others are pretty convincing and do have adjustabillity as well. The digital effects sound good as well. On the modulation bank you get Chorus, Flanger, Phaser, Trem and rotary speaker which are all very vintage sounding. On the delay bank you get a pretty decent sounding digital (up to 3 seconds), multi-tap and echoplex type sound. The reverb bank has a spring, plate and a room setting which all sound pretty good as well.

Reliability: N/A
The amp is only a few weeks old. So far no problems. I have used it on 3 gigs so far.

Customer Support: N/A
Have not had a reason to contact them yet.

Overall Rating: 8
I have had many amps over the last 20 years. The reason I like digital modeling is because of the tonal versitility in a cover band. I have been using a line 6 flextone for the past year and have been pretty happy with it for the most part. I looked at the new Vetta before buying this amp. I bought the Vox because I missed the feel of a tube amp. This amp has far better tones then the Line 6 but I will say that the floorboard stinks! Line 6 wins hands-down in their floorboard design. The vox floorboard is too small. Forget about wearing boots when you play because you'll never avoid stepping on two buttons at once. The way you change banks stinks because you have to hold down a button until it's flashing and then select your bank. It's so frustrating live that I end up swithing on the amp's control pedal. You cannot use the Wah without sacrificing the volume pedal unless you purchase and additional volume pedal. The entire pedal seems like it was an afterthought from a design standpoint. If only this amp had a floorboard like the line 6 vetta! The amp itself though is half the price of the vetta with much better tones in my opinion. Hopefully, they will come out with a better floor board. Overall, I'm happy I chose the Vox.

Submitted by Jim at 02/15/2002 14:47

Price Paid: N/A

Features: N/A
This is an update to my previous post. After using the amp live night after night it is getting even better. I was using a Boss gt-6 in front of it then it crapped out in the middle of a song. The next day
I found a local Guitar center and bought the Vox pedal board.It really enhanced my amp greatly. I use an ernie ball volume pedal and leave the pedal on the board for expression mode.I use a line 6 delay modeler in the loop in stereo. I use the amp on the 15 watt setting and crank the master and have it loud as hell in my monitor.If you are wondering if it will be loud enough don't worry.WE PLAY LOUD!
The Vox responds much like a tube amp and has so much variety that I may never buy another amp.
Contact me if interestd.

Sound Quality: N/A

Reliability: N/A

Customer Support: N/A

Overall Rating: N/A

Submitted by Terry McIntyre at 02/14/2002 10:03

Price Paid: US N/A

Features: N/A
Ya know, everyone is knocking the footcontroller for this amp and I just tried it out and didn't really find anything wrong with it. No, it doesn't do everything that the Line6 footcontroller does but who cares--it does what it needs to in my opinion. I've been looking to get one of these amps for a little while now and have heard such negative things about the controller that it was beginning make me doubt the capabilities of the amp. I thought it works fine. I am a fairly experienced guitar player (been playing for almost 8 yrs.) and play through a decent tube amp (boogie rectoverb combo) using an asortment of stompboxes (bluesdriver, DD5 delay, chorus ensemble, vox wah, ibanez lo-fi) and had no trouble navagating through each preset with the footcontroller. Why did I mention my setup? Because anyone who uses stompboxes realizes that it takes some toe tapping to get back and forth between certain sounds. The main problems mentioned were the use of the wah, the fact that you have to hold down one of the buttons for 1 second to change the bank and the fact that you can't switch between the two sets of banks from the footswitch. I realize that alot of people want a single unit to do everything (amp, built in effects, etc.) so that all they have to have is the amp, a guitar, a cable and the foot controller. That would be nice but really is there anyway to do what everyone wants with a mass production amp? To use the wah you have to program it in as a pedal effect and then switch it on and off just like you would switch any of the other pedal effects on or off. The switch is not on the expression pedal but on the opposite side of the controller (a whole 10 inches). I know this isn't the most convenient layout to use the famous vox wah sound, but if you really gotta have it you CAN do it. Personally I would probably just use my real vox wah and save the pedal preset for something I don't have but this is a luxury that I know many can't afford or don't want to. About changing banks--It would be a pain to do in the middle of the song but who needs more than four presets in a song (not to mention the hundreds of usable sounds within those presets). I have made it through many gigs using a bluesdriver, delay, chorus and MY VOLUME KNOB. And finally, the two sets of banks. It is inconvenient that you can't access all 32 presets from the controller. However, just because you have 32 presets does not mean that you must use them all, every time you play. Most great guitarists are known for one or two great tones not fifty. Now, if you absolutely need to have 128 presets at your disposal at any given moment than maybe this isn't the amp for you but for those of us who find a few good sounds and stick to em this amp has something going for it.

Sound Quality: 9
I thought the sounds were great and I have been a hardcore tubeamp user for a while. Effects sound right. There isn't a whole lot of tweaking you can do but you wouldn't need to--they sound good. I've read about people wondering if the amp can compete with a band. I was a little concerned about this at first as well because the master volume doesn't really get sensitive untill about half way up but since the poweramp cannot distort, the master is usable at all positions (including "11"). On just about every other amp I've ever played (including mine), the volume controls are only good untill about half way up and then either bad sounds start to happen or the cops show up. Also, you can actually turn it down just a hair which is nice. Most tube amps I play do nothing till you reach 1 1/2 or 2 and then boom they're loud and there's no inbetween.

Reliability: N/A

Customer Support: N/A

Overall Rating: N/A
If your thinking about getting one of these, go and check one out WITH the foot controller to be sure of what your buying. I would never buy something without knowing everything about how it performs.

Submitted by Peter at 02/13/2002 01:27

Price Paid: N/A

Features: N/A
.....Just writing a semi-review add for the buyers out there and hopefully VOX will come up to speed. Like most I really like VOX and The valvetronix seems like the best thing since sliced bread. I have not yet made the purchase, But being a singer/guitarist I am very worried about purchasing this amp and using it for live settings. Especially after reading the last review. A foot controller that Works with an anolog feel is priceless and the Anolog "FEEL" is Vox's biggest selling point here - The Foot Pedal Seemed Cheezy When I checked it out. Also it should have a toe trigger for this effect I mean danm, what an upset. I have a huge curiosity of how this stands up to a drummer and a Bassist In a loud live setting. If anyone has any Info, Please email me. I've been dieing to get this amp and It is about ready to go off my most wanted list due to the overall "bugs" in the design. It seems all good on paper and the sound quality seems there but who cares about all the features if you cannot use them on the fly. This really blows some donkey dick. Have a good marriage of Best of the Brits and All american horsepower, but no Corners are cut and the modern technology and corporate BS fails again. Very dissappointed. This is amp created a win or loose situation - It is either an all or nothing deal for the perfomer. and right now this doesn't seem like it will cut the band situation.

Sound Quality: N/A

Reliability: N/A

Customer Support: 1
Called Vox for info regarding the features and Got transfered 10 times - very unproffessional.

Overall Rating: N/A

Submitted by Tom at 02/06/2002 06:54

Price Paid: US $899

Features: N/A

Sound Quality: N/A

Reliability: N/A

Customer Support: 1
Not the most friendly company, apparently. I've talked with numerous people who have called Vox (mainly to complain about the crappy footcontroller - more on that below), and they seem to not want to talk to anyone about this. Or about anything, for that matter. Apparently you get the "15 different people who still don't know anything and don't know anyone who does" mentality. If you press them, they get pissed, verbally assault you, and hang up. Forget waiting for an e-mail response.

Overall Rating: 6
*** POST SCRIPT ***

This is an addendum to my earlier review. Before I submit a second "real review", there are some points I think I need to address. When I got the amp, no store in town had the footcontroller (there still isn't one locally - I guess they figured they'd ship one for every three amps). Anyhow, when I wrote my last review, I had no idea just how inept this footpedal really is. I thought it looked limited from the ad. Bottom line is that it's a big huge pain in the butt to change sounds in different banks from the footpedal. No problem if it's one of the four presets inside of a bank, but going to another bank requires quite a few different clicks, one of which you have to hold down for a second. Not rocket science, but not real handy to do while you're onstage (I mean, how hard could it have possibly been to add a couple of buttons for "bank up / bank down"). Especially if you have to sing and play guitar at the same time, which is hard enough by itself.

AND (if that's not enough), you can only access four (4) banks at a time from the footcontroller (there are eight banks, 1-4, and then there are 1-4 with a "." after the number. For instance, if you're in banks 1, 2, 3, or 4, and want to access a preset that's in banks 1., 2., 3., or 4., you have to manually change over from the amp, you can't from the pedal. That really sucks. Actually, it's really sad, and I have no idea who was responsible for this horrible controller, but whoever it is should really be in another department, like maybe the basketweaving department. I hate to see such a great amp marred by such an idiotic device. It's really like the just ran out of money in the middle of finalising it, because the boss wanted 'em shipped "yesterday" - then again, that can't be, either, because it seems that still, for some reason, nobody has these yet. Though I feel fortunate to have found this one, I'm starting to wonder. Even though I still love the sounds I'm getting on this amp, I'm really starting to feel taken advantage of. This amp, because of all of the above, is going to be very, very difficult to use live.

OPEN LETTER TO VOX:
(assuming you read this)

I mean, really, what happened here? PLEASE tell me you ran out of money and had a deadline - and tell me you're coming out with a new version that has all that "stuff" corrected. I'd really like to be able to use wah over any patch, AND I'd like a better wah. The ability to use at least two pedals at the same time would be absolutely lovely (The univibe actually reduces gain a bit, making accurate Trower covers difficult - which is, after all, the best reason for having a univibe model in the first place). And more memory space (i.e, more presets available) and MORE VOLUME. Please, please light up my life by telling me that you're coming out with a "Version 2.0" or something. Anything but "Yankee go home"!!!! YOU BASTARDS!!! Okay, maybe that was a bit harsh, but so is this damn footpedal situation. By the way, I'm REAL, REAL sorry if this put off anyone from buying one. -- Bottom line, I love this amp, but if we, the consumers, keep getting treated like the proverbial red-headed stepchild, I will play something else, and bad-mouth Vox the rest of my life (or, as long as you guys own the company). There really is just no excuse, on an amp this good, for such HORRIBLE control options. Yes, your amp sounds much better than a Line 6 Flextone, but I'm gonna be playing one if you people don't WAKE THE #*@&% UP!!!!!

So, in light of current events, I'm reducing my overall rating to "6" until something is done one way or the other. C'MON VOX, I've got to be able to use this live! I was really hoping Vox wasn't going to suffer from the "big corporation mentality", but I guess I was wrong.

Submitted by Jimmy Owen at 02/05/2002 18:11

Price Paid: US $800.00

Features: 10
LOTS OF FEATURES AND IT SOUNDS GOOD ALSO,BUT VOX DROPED THE BALL ON THE FLOORPEDAL. TO GET TO THE WAWA IS A PAIN IN THE ASS AND TOO TIME CONSUMING FOR ON AND OFF WAWA PEDAL WHAT A FUCK UP.TRY GIGGING WITH THIS SETUP FOR WAWA AND YOU WILL SEE WHAT I MEAN. YOU HAVE TO INCLUDE THE WAWA IN YOUR PRESET TO USE IT AND THEN YOU CANT USE ANY OF THE OTHER FXS IN THAT SECTION. HOW FUCKING STUPID ARE YOU DESIGNERS. YOU CAN MAKE AKILLER SOUNDING AMP AND SCREW UP THE FLEXIABLITY. NEXT TIME VOX WILL GET IT RIGHT... I HOPE

Sound Quality: 10
SOUNDS GOOD CLEANS COULD BE LOUDER. GREAT SOUNDS ABOUND HERE BUT POOR POOR POOR PEDAL LAYOUT . MY "FEETS" IS TOO BIG I MUST CAREFULLY AIM MY TOES TO THE CORRECT BUTTON AND TRY NOT TO BUMP THE OTHERS. LINE 6 FLOORBOARD IS THE WINNER HERE.

Reliability: 10
SO FAR SO GOOT. I AM REALY PISSED OFF BY THE WAY YOU CANT USE THE OVERDRIVE WITH THE WAWA OR WITH ANY OTHER FX IN THE FIRST SECTION POOR PLANNING ON VOX'S PART, YET THE DESIGN MADE IT TO PRODUCTION. I'LL BET VOX WILL CORRECT THIS ON THE NEW VERSION . I WOULD PAY MORE MONEY FOR THIS THING IF I COULD USE THE COMP.TUBE OD, AND THE UNIVIBE AT THE SAMETIME AND THEN BE ABLE TO STEP ON THE WAWA AT WILL. THATS ALL I WANT..SO I CAN JAM WITH ALL THE BASIS COVERED.

Customer Support: 1
I'M GONNA WRITE THE FUCKERS A LETTER ABOUT THE WAWA LAYOUT. HOW STUPID CAN YOU GET A VOX WAWA THAT YOU CANT TOE ON AND OFF WHAT WERE THEY THINKING!

Overall Rating: N/A
THE PEDALBOARD RUINS THIS AMP. WHAT A PAIN IN THE ASS. THE LINE 6 BOARD IS SO MUCH BETTER. YOU CANT USE A UNIVIBE AND A WAWA AT THE SAME TIME....STUPID! YOU CANT USE ANY DRIVE FXS AND WAWA TOGETHER...ASSHOLES. THIS IS A VOX THE WAWA SHOULD BE AVAILABLE AT ANYTIME LIKE ON THE LINE 6. THE FLEXTONE WAWWA BLOWS THE VOX WA AWAY.
CANT USE COMPRESSOR IN CONJUCTION WITH THE OTHER FXS IN THE FIRST SECTION. I WANT COMP UNIVIBE AND WAWA AT THE SAMETIME. C'MON TERRIABLE WAY TO TEASE US. I WANT WAWA WHENEVER I FEEL LIKE IT,BUT I CANT HAVE IT. THE AMP LOOKS SO GOOD AND SOUNDS AWSOME AND THEN THEY FUCK UP A GREAT AMP BY LIMITING YOUR CHOICES OF FX THAT ARE ALREADY IN THE AMP YOU JUST CANNOT USE THEM LIKE A GIGGING PLAYER WOULD WANT TO.I'LL BET MY HOUSE THAT VOX WILL OFFER A NEW VERSION WITH THE PEDALS LAID OUT LIKE THE LINE 6.THIS WOULD BE THE PERFECT AMP IF THEY WOULD ALLOW THE CORRECT COMBINATIONS OF FXS AVAILABLE AT THE SAME TIME.IT MAKES ME SICK THE UNIVIBE SOUNDS SO COOL I GET THE PERFECT ROBIN TROWER TONE BUT I CANT USE THE WAWA WITH IT OR THE TUBE SCREAMER OR THE COMPRESSOR, POORLY DESIGNED IN THIS AREA. LETS FACE IT WE ALL HAVE THOSE PEDALS BUT WE DONT WANT TO CARRY THEM AND PUT ALL THOSE BATTERIES AND WIRES IN EVERY FRIDAY AND SATURDAY NIGHT.WE WANT A SIMPLE 1 WIRE PEDAL BOARD LIKE THE FLEXTONE TOE THE WA AND THERE IT IS TOE AGAIN OFF SIMPLE BUT VOX FUCKED UP ROYALY.I WISH I COULD GET MY MONEY BACK AND WAIT FOR VERSION II I'M SURE THEY WILL HAVE TO CORRECT THIS STUPID MISTAKE. I WOULD LIKE TO GIVE A NINE BUT WITH THE FLAWS I'VE MENTIONED IT GETS A 2, STUPID STUPID STUPID!!!!!!!!!

Submitted by JOHN at 01/24/2002 18:58

Price Paid: US $899.99

Features: 10
the features have been well covered by others.

Sound Quality: 10
perfect! i play mostly U2 stuff, and the edge sound is in there! believe me! but this thing is so versatile that i can go from nice clean edge to super fat o.d. with the push of a button. and all this with my 78 strat with relatively low output single coils! plus the acoustic simulator on this DOES sound like an acoustic if you use the low gain input and your neck pickup.

Reliability: N/A
not sure..i've only had it for 4 weeks but it seems well made.

Customer Support: N/A
haven't needed it.

Overall Rating: 10
great great great! this amp will do everything you want. but i say this for the other would-be EDGES out there: BUY THIS AMP IF YOU CAN'T AFORD AN AC30 (LIKE ME)! with all of the gadgets on this you won't need your A3 anymore! just this and an sdd 3000 and you ARE the Edge. if anyone wants sound samples, email me and i'll send them. BUT BUY ONE AS SOON AS YOU CAN!!!!

Submitted by chris henry at 01/23/2002 19:08

Price Paid: US $875.00

Features: 8
It has all the effects and amp controls but no way to dive in deep and edit them. Also no midi so you have to use the Vox controller.
I am not saying this is bad but I already have a controller. I do like the stereo effects loop so I can use my own pedals.

Sound Quality: 10
This is really where it shines. Fat and tube like. (I can feel the air moving my pant legs) I mainly play Teles and Strats but it sounds great with all of my guitars. I use mostly Vox & Fender type tones but the overdrive sounds are dead on. It does not get loud enough to stay pristine clean, but I like the edge it gives at high volumes. I will glady add a second one to my collection so I can have the sound with more headroom.

Reliability: N/A
I have no idea

Customer Support: N/A
Haven't had to use em.

Overall Rating: 9
I have been playing for 24 years and own or have owned just about every amp you could ever desire. I would say the Vox hangs with the best of my amps. My vintage amps do not have all the bells and whistles either. I also own other modeling amps (Line 6 AX2, Fender cybertwin) and the Vox feels the best so far. I can get both of my other modelling amps to sound great but not feel like a tube amp. The cybertwin is close though and in the mix no one can tell a difference anyway. I wish it had midi control no biggie though. I make my living playing music and you will likely see 1 or 2 of these Vox amps on stage with me every night.

Submitted by Terry McIntyre at 01/08/2002 14:57

Price Paid: US $1100

Features: 9
As described by others here already.

Sound Quality: 9
They are great yet not quite the full tube glory and that's my
main point here: while this amp delivers good simulation
(what others rate ''10'') it is still for the price an approximation.

If you buy - say - $800 Fender Prosonic combo that has
true class A and AB and solid state rectification
and all elements in tube ... you get true divine sounds
and you can still add the Lexicon MPX200 into the
effects loop and end up with the best combo there
can possibly exist i.e. that gives you the true Bassman,
Twin, Bluesbreaker, Vox AC30 and Mesa Boogie sounds
plus any effect that you may like (TC Electronic is also
an option here) ...

So this thing here gets 9 and that's a compliment
and a true statement of a Master who plays since
the days of Elvis ...

Reliability: N/A

Customer Support: N/A
Vox xan be tricky ... wait and see.

Overall Rating: 9
If you are desperately in this mimicing market chack the new
ZenAmp from Hughes and Kettner as it has the 32bit quality
of ZenTerra without the price and weight ...

Have a look at Fender Twin Head too and verify the new
Line6 VETTA that's currently the best as it mimics two
amps at once ...

Yet to tell you the truth, the best deal remains Fender Prosonic
as it is ALL TUBE and class A, AB and even SS and has
special Calkestions and the loop that will accept any
of these digital (or analog) effects and will give you all
the combo classic sounds from Bassman to Twin, from
Vox to AC30 to Mesa Boogie or boutique Cornford for
$800 - try that with Vox ... it is great for the price if
you are desperate to try these digital toys and if your
ears do not hear the subtle decay differences that
are inherent in a non-tube design.

Recommended for digitral freaks and new generation
(<25) who have never heard warm live tube sound of the
hot class A amp after midnight ... the latter is unpredictable,
so if you need 100% reliable 'cold' sound machine give this
Vox a try, yet check competition ... for Fender classics the
Cyber Twin is superb (try ''dry'' Bassman A5 !).

In any case, it is better to buy both: Fender Prosonic AND this Vox
then the zenTerra OR the Vetta - and it's cheaper too :-)

Submitted by jim at 01/06/2002 00:48

Price Paid: US $899

Features: 10
I just bought this amp at Guitar Center (who appear to be the only store that has them in stock - forget the web), brought it home, plugged it in with the footpedal, ran through the presets, and then started tweaking the controls myself. I'll state right here and now - this amp is absolutely everything that it's hyped to be and as the positive testimonials below say it is. It has a lot of guts, tonal variation, and doesn't sound digital or transistorized at all. In fact, the sounds it puts out have convinced me it is the best combo amp I've ever had period, and that's only after an hour of cranking it. Forget the smaller 60 watt mono version, spend the extra $200 and get the 120 watt stereo unit. This amp is so versatile you can obtain any type sound you can imagine. The controls are logically laid out and the manual is easy to understand. You should get the footpedal so the amp can be used like a "stompbox" to turn on/off the efx modules and once you've saved your various settings in the memory slots, it's very easy to switch to them with the footpedal. This amp has so many features, not the least of which are the efx modules which are all pretty good (not an A+ but at least a B+), but where the amp really shines is the tone, drive, amp modules, and variations you can obtain quickly and easily. The 120 watt stereo power amp (which is switchable all the way down to a couple of watts) is very strong, and you can easily rattle the walls and your head (but not the amp itself) - great feature. It also has stereo line outs to feed directly to a mixer, stereo ext. speaker outs to hook up to external cabs, built-in tuner (which works very nicely), variable noise-reduction on all settings, a full compliment of overdrive/distortion "virtual" stomp boxes, phase/flange/chorus, etc. (pretty good), echo (3 types), also pretty good, and reverb (3 types), passable. In fact if you have this amp you pretty much don't need any external efx units at all.

Now, I'm a straight-ahead tube amp man from way back, I've tried and owned quite an assortment of digital modeling amps and boxes, and come away selling them all after a short time. I've always been a Vox amp lover and owned Vox AC50 and 100 series amps with the old 4-12 cabs in the 60s (I sold them before I realized I should have kept them forever but that was a long time ago), I've owned the most recent Vox Korean series amps from the Pathfinder up through the Cambridge Reverb Twin. Most of them were pretty good considering the low cost but I sold them all. The only other amp I have now is a 1961 Silvertone Twin-Reverb combo which is completely restored and hot-rodded. The AD120VT is SUCH a good amp I'll probably even sell the Silvertone as it's going to sit around gathering dust.....

Sound Quality: 10
I use a 1973 stock Fender Strat but it wouldn't matter what guitar you use with this amp, you can shape any sound your mind can think of without any difficulty. I play mostly original music and some old stuff from the distant past. I'm mostly a hobbyist now, but used to be a full-time musician/performer for many years while I still had it in me to drag my butt all over the place and stay up until 4 am burning the midnight lamp. I sure wish I'd had this amp when I was a stage musician, it would have made things much simpler. Even though this amp is a digital modeling device, it doesn't sound or feel like you're playing anything other than a real tube amp. The various amp settings, especially the Vox and the Fender selections, are extremely expressive and "breathy" and once you turn the gain and tone controls a little, it becomes apparent that there are "virtually" no limitations on what sound you can conjure up tone-wise. This is all without even using any of the overdrive or efx modules. And should you wish to use the overdrive module, you can either fatten up the sound or send it into overdrive hyperspace with any many tone variations as you want. The clean settings sparkle and spank, without any flatness or harshness, and the amp has so much bass and warmth, if you didn't know any better you'd think it was an AC30 tube model. What is failing me here is the words to describe what this amp can do, if you think I'm "foaming at the mouth," you're right.

Reliability: 8
No moving parts, just 2 12ax7 tubes, one for the preamp section, one for the power amp section. I assume they're cheap Chinese tubes but I haven't had a chance yet to take them out and replace them with some high grade 12ax7s I have, which should make the amp sound even better than it already does. You probably have to be pretty careful slinging this amp around, as it's a circuit board type - no point-to-point wiring here. The case is made quite strong, the fit and finish is first-rate throughout.

Customer Support: 8
I do know that Korg tech support has been very responsive when I've emailed them in the past.

Overall Rating: 10
I've been playing 40 years (a 60s relic), I've owned just about every brand and type amp I ever wanted. When I paid for this amp I thought I must be crazy paying $900 for a Korean made Vox amp but I figured if it didn't live up to the hype I could take it back to Guitar Center within 30 days. After playing this amp for only 1 hour in my bedroom studio, you'd have to shoot me to get it back. Other than the original AC50 and AC100 amps I had, and an old Marshall Major 200 watt and 120 watt PA head I used to use, I haven't had this much fun playing an amp in a long, long time. It is a keeper period. Anyone want to buy my 1961 hotrodded point-to-point wiring pristine Silvertone combo?

Submitted by Peter at 12/27/2001 06:15

Price Paid: US $899

Features: 10
Okay, folks, read Annonymous' review on this product below. Now go to the Line6 Vetta reviews and read the review that this same person did. This jerk's Vox Valvtronix and Line6 Vetta reviews are exactly the same. He just changed the names around. So what's my point here? I've read a lot of reviews in the past few years, and Mr. Annonymous, who's affraid to leave his name, sounds like one of the most ignorant, self obsorbed people around the mostly wonderful Harmony Central users. No amp, unless it's a bunch of wires in a lunchbox with a 3" speaker will get a 1 rating. Sounds like this guy just wants to vent on those folks embracing new technologies. Forget Annonymous' review and read the others here which are written by tastefull people who aren't affraid of change. By the way, I'm a tube purist. I'm planning on getting the VD60VT, and haven't heard the 120, but I am going to give this review 10's all the way down to help combat the ignorance of the last review. Sorry if this seemed like a vent, but I try to weed out stupidity from our race as often as I can.

Sound Quality: 10

Reliability: 10

Customer Support: 10

Overall Rating: 10
It's about time somebody invents a digital modeling hybrid amp with tubes in the power-amp! And, they give you variable wattage power rating. This is quite honestly the coolest amp I've ever seen. Everything to give you screaming tube amps sounds at any volume level. Thanks Vox! My tinnitus thanks you, too.

Submitted by David at 12/24/2001 10:55

Price Paid: US $899

Features: 10
C'mon People! Give it a ten here too. Unless you play Vegas shows and need 50 different rigs sync'd up via midi, you can't ask for anything more for a club musician, as this has all the things (pedals, fx, amps, etc) internally that you need midi to control (and I think it even does have midi control, if I'm not mistaken - I can't imagine an application, unless you wanna sync up your stereo, laptop, and refrigerator). I'll let all the other reviews speak in this section.

Sound Quality: 10
NOTE: I have not had much experience with this (which, subsequently, is why this is so short, and the reason I'll write another, more detailed review later - and how many times have ya heard that one?!). Hey, they're new. But I figured I'd write anyway...

However, what I will say here is that it is everything I'd hoped it would be, and more. First of all, I didn't think modeling technology would be able to produce an amp that sounded this good yet, marvelous though that the technology had gotten as far as it had. With Line 6, I was able to get some good sounds, but to say that they actually sounded like their models is a bit of a stretch. You could get a Marshall-y sound, or a Fender-y sound, or, an anything-y sound. With this amp, you can definitely delete the "-y" suffix on those. And I'm a tube amp boutique snob. I'm not worried about stretching my credibility any when I say that unless you're Eric Johnson, you'll probably have trouble with a blindfolded comparison if you have the real thing there, and do an A/B test - that is, if you dial in the model to try and match the eq and response of the original. I'd say that's true with most models. And the Marshall models sound very accurate despite the fact that this is and open back 2x12 combo (Though it works advantage to the UK BLUES model - 'Allo Clapton). Still, I wouldn't say it sounds like a 4x12, but it sounds lovely still. You can oversaturate most models, but only to a certain point. For example, you'll never get the Twin to have the overdrive to the point of a "Recto", or even a Bassman (at least not without "pedals" - another cool feature!), but you can get it a little gritty in a very musical way. You can get the AC30-TB gain-ier than the original, though not much more. It's advisable, however, to back off the gain on some models (like the vintage Marshall sounds) because the excess gain will compress some. But if you excercise it judiciously, you can get some serious crunch, big and 3D. And if you back off the effects, you can REALLY hear the amps dry, and some may not be exact, but they still sound like a real amp. For another example, The Bassman doesn't sound exactly like an original 50's that I've played, but it sounds VERY close to some boutique Bassman clones I've played (like Victoria, Kendrick, THD, Clark, etc).

AND, it's got DUMBLE models (Boutique OD is the Overdrive Special's gain channel, and Boutique CL is, I assume, A Steel String Singer, or maybe an Overdrive Reverb, or other obscure model of an already obscure make - it's not as spelled out as the OD Special in the manual). And, though I can't vouch for the accuracy of these models, having never played through an original, I will say that, when dialed in just right, it's not real hard to use your imagination and let your fingers soar. If you've never played an original, you'll probably be very happy with the sounds you get here if you dial them in right. Maybe I'm not really the guy to comment on these particular models. I'd really be interested to hear what Dumble owners would say if they got a chance to compare and really dial it in (I'd like to be there, myself - hehe!). If nothing else, both amps are very musical. The CL sounds good with the gain all the way up (it's kinda the cleanest sound on the amp), and the OD sounds best (as everyone with an ODS has said, and I agree here) with the gain restrained a bit to fully take advantage of the patented "amp on the edge" sound, where it's still pretty clean, but if you really dig in it cries real nice. Still sounds good when really overdriven in its own unique way, so you still might want to maybe make a lead patch with that fat and sqwaky lead sound.

BEWARE THE FACTORY PRESETS: Admittedly, I haven't heard but two (I've mostly just been scrolling manually through amps and effects), but the ones I heard were cheesy. I dunno, maybe the others weren't bad, but I figured I'd mention tha

Reliability: N/A
Can't say. It's lasted me these few days so far. I assume, however, that it will go on lasting for quite a while.

Customer Support: N/A
Don't know. Never dealt with Vox nor Korg nor Roland.

Overall Rating: 10
I've had many tube amps over the years. Some were dogs, but most (because I want good stuff) were pretty good, if not excellent at one thing or another. I've owned old Fender, Marshall, Dr.Z, Diaz, Bogner, Kendrick, THD, Matchless, Carr, a late 60's Park head, and even a little 25w tube Peavey combo that's real nice for practice (still got it, and some Carr and Fender stuff). And except for the Dumble, I've played everything on anyone's modeling list and way beyond (this truthfully borderlines on obscession, but no, they don't have 12 step programs for gearheads)...

OKAY, OKAY, the models might not sound EXACTLY like the original in an A/B test, but man, it's close enough. I will say that most people would have some trouble with the blindfold test with a well set amp. The amp does add a very tiny measure of its own color into the mix, but the people at Vox seemed to be aware that even with clever software, the amp itself needs to have an overall good sound. And they've made much ado about the Valve Reactor concept, but in this case (an admittedly rare case), the sales hype seems to be justified by the finished product, AND it doesn't cost as much as a new compact car (<ahhm..*Hughes&Kettner*...fffppb> - oops, did I say that out loud?). This is a very "alive" amp. It feels like a real amp and not a make-believe one. The Yamaha DG combos really feel like guitar amps, but the sounds are too non-descript and the high end has that scratchy sounding, nails-on-chalkboard, teeth-hurting digital quality. Wheras the Line 6 stuff sounds organic, but distant and vague, almost cartoon-like. With the Vox, there's really nothing soundwise for me to pick at, and I can't imagine that there will be.

It gets even better live. I practiced with a drummer and bass player in our jam room (small, but not that small), and the speakers (Celestions, I think designed specifically for this amp) really make the sound come alive. At stage volume, the jumpin' speakers fill in all the gaps for me. But, there's one caveat. I was almost halfway up on the Master Volume to hang with bass and drums at practice (though we were practicing at regular club volume - we're fortunate to be able to). Yeah, it had room to go left, but it seemed like it should've been a little louder for a 120 watt amp (60 in stereo). Having said that, it should be loud enough for just about any application. And though the Recto patch has that signature fire truck engine grind and fizz, the amp probably can't be turned up to the deafening volume live that Mesa Recto guys like to play at - so if you need THAT kind of volume, you're probably playing a Mesa Dual Rectifier already.

Also, I was semi-dissapointed with the Soldano patch - it's a little more Hot Rod than SLO-100. But, almost all of the others will probably be used at some point. Another small issue is that the pedalboard looks pretty sad. They didn't have one at the store, but from the ads it doesn't look to give you much control. But, I bet you could use a Line 6 board with it (same kinda jack -- hmm, was that on purpose?). The question was asked, "Anything you wish it had?" when submitting this review (standard form). I chuckled when I realized the question blew my mind. I can't imagine what else is there to put in a guitar amp. A 1959 Les Paul Standard maybe. Or if they had made models of all the weird Lovetone stuff (infinite sounds from one pedal). Really, I just want there to be a way to store at least 32 patches from my Line 6 Filter Modeler, instead of the provided 4. Then I'd be set for any sound in live performance. There are probably a few amp makes that actually sound better, but not by a very large margin. I predict an easy five-star rating by anyone's scale in the "bang-for-buck" category. Go check it out if you have the chance, and for God's sake man, tweak it till it sings! Maybe I seem too enthusiastic, but there is a legitimate reason for

Submitted by Jimmy Owen at 12/17/2001 01:02

Price Paid: US $744.99

Features: 10
This vox valavetronix amp was supposed to be relased on january 25 2001 but guitar center in San Marcos happened to have only one so I bought it. This is a really nice amp its almost like the fender cybertwin but the vox is better. The sound on the amp is great!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! you can get sounds from Santana to Brian May Jimi hendrix to ACDC...etc This amp has everything! There are 32 channels two effects loop for each side of this stereo combo and a headphone jack. u can select between 2 watts, 30 watts, 60 watts or 120 watts. This amp can also switch between Class A or class A/B.

Sound Quality: 10
this can model any other kind of amp out there. the sound on the amp can be very clean to fuzzed to compressed it depends what kind of fx u select in the amp. it makes any guitar sound extremly good.

Reliability: 10
very reliable brian may used this kind of amp but it was just an ac30. this amp can be an ac30 an ac15 tweed ...etc

Customer Support: 10
never needed to. the vox was built very well.

Overall Rating: 10
you can't find a better amp period.

Submitted by M C at 12/15/2001 07:53

Price Paid: US $899.00

Features: 10
Brand new 2001 2x12 combo has a maximum 60x60 watts and a minimum 1x1 watt. Very versatile as I play in a funk rock band, a pop band and a wedding band. It is useful for all styles.

Sound Quality: 10
So far every sound I've dialed in has been usable. With its great models, separate reverb, delay and modulation effects, and its choice of effects -it can do no wrong in this category. Low noise, good volume - great tones!

Reliability: N/A
Too early to tell - but I have dragged it around for a week with no problems.

Customer Support: N/A

Overall Rating: 10
I have been playing for 20+ years now and have been through many maps including Fender, Boogie, Roland, Peavey etc... I highly recommend this amp. For its price, this one is hard to beat. It has tone, versatlilty and is actually a joy to play. It comes real close to its intended models. Buy it...Buy it now!

Submitted by Steve at 12/12/2001 06:27

Price Paid: US $899

Features: 9
You cant get much better here. Different amps, nice effects including reverb, delay, chorus, fuzz pedals etc...

Sound Quality: 10
I just bought this amp and I have no associations with vox or Korg but I'm telling you - dont waste time - buy this amp before its sold out. Sounds incredible no matter what you do with it.

Reliability: N/A
Dont know - just got it but I wouldnt bang it around.

Customer Support: N/A
no idea - but Im figuring its a huge company so I wont get much help - lol.

Overall Rating: 9
WHOA! unreal!! just what Vox promised it would do with this amp. I feels as good as it sounds and looks!

Submitted by Steve at 12/10/2001 17:06

Price Paid: US $860.00

Features: 10
This is Vox's entry into the world of guitar amp modeling. It has all of the typical features most of the other brand models offer. The Fender,Marshall,Vox (of course),Recto's,and Boutique amps. Pedals are in there like univibe,treble booster,wha-wha,auto wha-wha, octave,tube overdrive,fat overdrive,compression,fuzz,and an acoustic pedal.Then there are all your reverbs,delays,choruses,flanger,tremolo,phaser,and rotary effects.There is a programable NOISE GATE! There is probably more but I just got my hands on mine and just going into it!

Sound Quality: 10
So far what I'm hearing out of this baby is pretty impressive I must say! This is a real feeling, tone producing marvel! At least for right now in my studio. I'll really know when I play out at a gig with this piece.All I know at the moment, is that the clean sounds are fantastic,the distortions are way cool, the pedals being placed in the position they should be(very good Vox),the effects, all sound very authentic,crisp,sweet,and satisfying so far!

Reliability: N/A
DON'T KNOW YET!

Customer Support: N/A
Have'nt dealt with Vox yet either really. But I did contact Vox back in September when I ordered the AD120VT and the gentleman I spoke to (his name was Hugh)was very helpful and very receptive to my questions,which to me was a good sign to start with.

Overall Rating: 10
I have been playing guitar for 28 years, been gigging for 15 years,buying every damn thing that has come down the pipe,and I mean all of the new as well as the vintage, tubed or solid state, modeling,simulated what ever you want to call them. I play a Fender classic floyd rose strat,a Peavey EVH wolfgang,1950's Gibson ES5,a Martin J40,an Ovation Elite Special, and mandolin. My music styles go from country to heavy metal and every thing in between, so this kind of a guitar amplifier is perfect for me! I have played the fenders, the line 6,the crates, the marshalls,peaveys,mesa boogies (rectos and all)pre amps of all kinds,pedals of all kinds,I can go on and on but all I have to say is this,if this unit sounds as good out as it does in the studio, all you other manufactures take heed to this design, because I believe this is definantly the next generation of what a modeling amp should be! I will follow up this forum with a conclusive one after I test this baby out!

Submitted by Carl James Steen at 12/10/2001 16:52