Vox AD30VT Combo

Price Paid: 169 (GBP)

Features: 9
This was made in 2004 - I got it because I wanted a practice amp that I could play in my terrace house but would do everything at least moderately well. The rest of the gubbins everyone knows about and if not, they can read the other reviews. In all it has enough bells and whistles to keep you happy.

Its headphone socket is also not bad as a di box for home recording - in fact it sounds much better as a di box than as an amp (due, i think to a crappy speaker)

Even though the thing broke down (see below) it has alot to offer a practice amp so i'll give it a 9 for

Sound Quality: 7
I am using a Strat with Bare Knuckle pups or a Fender Esprit (Les Paul double cut type guitar).

The amps modeled were ok - good enough for a practice amp - the effects were ok too - particularly the tremolo/reverb.

No Overdrive or stompbox distortion however.

One thing - it is not a very loud amp and there is a noticeable drop in volume between Fenderish sounds and Mesa Sounds.

Also if you switch amp from say Blackface to AC30 your effects suddenly change.

It also has a stealth noise gate - you gotta read the manual about controlling this - its quite good but for practice I dont care about hiss and hum so I just turn it off.

Reliability: 1
When I got it it was fine - a month later it was either very loud or very quite - if you fiddle the volume and gain knob backward and forward between 10 and 7 you suddenly get a volume boost.

The wattage control on the back is a joke - its just another volume control - if you turn to, say, 10 watts you just turn the volume down and get the drop off in sound that

After 2 months

After 3 months it just stopped working - well, not quite - I can play through headphone (it sounds great through headphones by the way, but thats hardly what you buy an amp for).

I know all electrical goods have 'critical' stage of about 6 months where they either go or dont, but its like there was no quality control on this thing. I'm going to have to lug it back to the shop to get them to send it to Vox/Korg, which is kinda annoying.

Customer Support: N/A
1 year warranty

I haven't sent it back yet

Overall Rating: 3
I played for ten years and then gave up for fifteen so I rate myself as an advanced beginner - I had a Session Rockette 30 in the 90s which I never got on with - this is much more fun.

It unfortunately has too many faults to recommend it - its like a prototype and needs a 2nd edition to be any good - it also needs Korg to institute quality control at the amp end.

If it didn't have the faults i'd give a 8 as a good above average amp but as it is - it gets a 3

Submitted by E Veron at 02/06/2005 03:04

Price Paid: US $259.00 used

Features: 10
This amp is loaded with features for a very low price, I purchased one off of E-Bay in Dec 2004 that had been made in 2004 with very few hours on it, With all of the vintage amp possibilities, 11 in total offering a full range of clean and dirt, it is very easy to find great sounds for my AM Dlx strat. Feature wise this amp is loaded with a full compliment of effects (reverb, tremlo, delay, chorus, Flange, Phaser, autowah, compressor, and rotary. Vox has preselected which effects will be used together, and one small quirk is that you can't use the reverb with all effects. That being said most of the effects are very good. I use the reverb, reverb/tremolo and delay functions the most with occaisional chorus. There are two manual presets that can be used to set up your own sound and the preset channel which addusts the amp that you want to choose. bottom line it has more functions than the average guitarist will ever use and most of them sound very good.

Sound Quality: 9
I use and AM Dlx Strat with Lace Holy Grails. I like clean sounds so this is very important that the amp do a good job here. I also like some distortion as I am one of those early baby boomers that loves rock, jazz, country. This amp is dead quiet and has a noise suppression circuit if you feel it is needed which I never have. I use the Boutique clean and Tweed channels the most. For a little gain I prefer the AC15 and UK-70's (marshall plexi emulation) the best.

Sound wise I was a little apprehensive at first, but as I grew more familiar with the controls and the speaker broke in the amp is a definite keeper. The amp does a good job of emulating the choosen amp styles, but it is not a MArshall stack or a Fender Blackface so I wouldn't advise buying if if you want the real in your face sound that these types of amps produce. Its a 30 watter that does a great job. I not sure how it would sound miked, but for a bedroom or small group setting it will amaze you. The position of the amp is important, placing it on a carpeted bedroom floor will muddy the great base tones it can deliver.

Reliability: 9
So far no problems, it does have some quirks, when selecting amp presets you have to adjust the gain, volume, tone controls and sometimes effects switch to get it to work correctly. I believe the vox maunual goes over for each style selected how to adjust for the best use of a given preset. Other that that the amp has been flawless.

Customer Support: N/A
No opinion yet , haven't had to use them

Overall Rating: 10
I have been playing off and on for over 30 years. Besides the Strat I own a Gibson ES-125, an Ovation accoustic. I have a Crate accoustic amp and two Fender Blackface amps that have been customized to my likeing. I love this amp and would hate to part with it. It just blows everything else away for the money. I also like the Marshall Mg 30dfx and the Rolans cube 30. For the money the Vox does more hands down.

My advice is to try this unit our before buying another amp.

Submitted by Anonymous at 01/29/2005 08:08

Price Paid: US $239

Features: 6
You know the features. the sounds are good and the fx are decent. It really needs a spkr. jack, a cd input and they need to include the footswitch. Now the bad part!!!!!

Sound Quality: 7
wont bother listing features

Reliability: 1
HERE is why I am writing. Between me and my sister we have had TWO of these show up DEAD!!!!! this is very scary. as of now they are sending another and I probably should just go with another but its a gift so... Anyway, if you're looking at buying wait if you can 6 months or so- I have been watching these reviews fo 8 weeks to see if others pop up but many could have had dead amps and dont write reviews so...

Customer Support: N/A
N/A

Overall Rating: N/A

Submitted by Anonymous at 01/24/2005 15:52

Price Paid: US $239.00

Features: 10
Well for my normal tastes, I think it is overkill but I gave up on the rackmounted/programable thing years ago. Was looking for a good practice/demo/recording amp and this is the ticket. What bases aren't covered? None!

Sound Quality: 10
All of the sounds are good and useful. The AC30TB cops the vibe & I love the Boutique OD model as well (is it supposed to be a "Dumble"?). The Modern UK, NuMetal, & US HighGain models do their thing well. Have found the NR to be rather sensitive & would just as soon leave it off & deal with the noise, but I don't play on the 3 previously listed models that much anyway. Haven't tried slamming the front end with any pedals yet, so the jury is still out there. Being programable, I like the limitation of 1-2 channels. That plus the "Manual" setting still make a great sounding, 3 channel amp.

Reliability: N/A
Jury's still out on this one too. No problems, yet, but have heard stories.

Customer Support: N/A
NA

Overall Rating: 10
For what I wanted it for (bedroom practices, demo recording, song writting jams), this amp is perfect. Would I gig with it? Don't know. Maybe something low-key. I have both an AC15TBX & an AC30TBX as well as a Marshall JCM800 50watt 2x12 that would be called in before this but again, in the right situation, you never know. Was mush better sounding than the Line 6 Spiders. What can I say, I am loyal to American guitars but English amps.

Submitted by Michael at 01/06/2005 11:44

Price Paid: N/A

Features: 5
Lots of features. You have to get people to buy this amp. If it didn't have all the features, it wouldn't be worth the price they ask. Its a cool toy but it won't last for a serious musician. Its a novelty at best, like most modeling amps.

The "power soak" feature is a complete joke. I cranked the amp up and used the "soak" to control the volume and all it did is compress the high end a bit.

The other joke is the reference that this is a tube power amp. No a tube power amp is when the tube(s) is generating the output power. This had a tube buffer before the SOLID STATE power amp. Sometimes I'm ashamed to be in marketing when companies like this take license on these features.

Sound Quality: 3
Well, it is one of the better modeling amps out there, but that's not saying much. I did find myself saying "Hmmm, it sorta' does sound like a Tweed, or a blackface Fender". Notice I said "sorta does sound". I've owned those amps and it does have some of the sound, but its not even close to the playability and dynamics of those amps. At best, it sounds like a recording of those amps. The hi gain sounds were totally useless in my book unless you like really thin, nasally distortion and don't care about dynamics and tone. I was really dissapointed in the hi gain tones. The Tweeds, AC15, and blackface had more believable distortions than the hi gain ones.

If any of you ever played a real class A power amp or any of the amps this thing is supposed to model you'll see what I mean...but in all fairness, I know musicians who've been playing for a long time who can't hear any difference. I've learned that Tone Deaf is actually a true condition. A lot of people can't hear the difference in harmonics, dynamics, timbre, etc. From what I heard its actually more the norm than anything else since humans are more visual than auditory.

In fairness I would by it as a bedroom / deck goofing around amp just for the left side of the amp modeling dial (tweed, blackface,ac15, etc.)

Reliability: N/A
I wouldn't be too enthusiastic in this category. Korg builds crap. The two amps I tried had the tolex / vinyl bubbling up in several places. That's shoddy workmanship folks.

Customer Support: N/A

Overall Rating: 5
Its a toy that will do the job. Yes, you can play live with it. You can play live with a marshall mini stack or a pignose for that matter. Whether it sounds good or not is totally subjective. If you like the amp, more power to you...you'll save LOTS of money.

Me, I demand more for my equipment. I own a Fuchs OD50 head (can you say "Dumble"), and a handbuilt Champ and Matchless Spitfire clone. Yes, I'm spoiled by good tone and I won't settle for less. I've been playing for over 20 years and owned lots and lots of amps - boutique to store bought. I base my ratings on that. If all you've eaten is fast food, then Burger King is pretty damn good. Once you go to a good Italian / French joint, your tastes change pretty damn quick! Then again, there are people who think it all tastes the same anyway.

Submitted by Mario at 01/04/2005 09:58

Price Paid: US $239.99

Features: 8
Made in Korea. Tons of features, as described in previous reviews. I deduct one point for no footswitch and another one for no external speaker jack.

Sound Quality: 9
Beuatiful sound, but lacking in bass due to the cheesy 10" speaker. The speaker weighs in at 3.5 pounds, and I'm guessing it has a 20 ounce magnet. The power level control on back is nice. I use an Am Series strat, sounds kinda thin, but nice. Humbuckers would probably be much better for this amp. Effects sound incredible, but a little noisy. I have noiseless pups, so it is annoying to hear the hiss when I spent $1000 for a guitar. The overall sound is way too mid-scouped. The models sound great and the two or three that I know are well mimicked, (twin and that 80's UK amp). Botique clean sounds the best.

Reliability: 1
Worked great - for three days. Too bad, I loved playing with this amp. But it is made by Korg, who also makes Marshall's tranny amps and I have had 3 or 4 (50% failure rate) of those die in the last 3 years also.

Customer Support: 1
I'm not even going to try. That's how much faith I have in Korg.

Overall Rating: 2
I own Fender and Marshall tube amps. I would laugh my ass off if some one stole a fried amp and tried to pawn it and got caught.

Submitted by Anonymous at 12/26/2004 20:33

Price Paid: US $239.99

Features: 9
30 watts, 10 inch speaker, 11 different amp models and some pretty good built-in effects.

Sound Quality: 10
I LOVE the sound on this amp. It's much more authentic sounding than every other Line6 amp Iv'e tried out in the past. I can't explain it, but it just has more warmth to it. The models are pretty accurate, and the amp is suprisingly loud. Effects are prett good too. But I think the greatest feature of this amp are the factory presets. Most other modeling amps or pedals, you really have to tweak thier sound alot because most of the factory presets sound like crap, but not this one. The moment you turn it on, you'll have lots of very good tones out of it.

Reliability: 7
OK let's talk about the reliability. I had this amp for 3 weeks sitting in my bedroom and one day, I pulled the guitar cable out of the input jack on the amp and the input jack fell inside the amp. I called up GuitarCenter since that's where I purchased it, took it back and they replaced the amp at no charge. But the guy at the counter told me this is an easy problem to fix, just open the top cover of the amp, screw the jack back in and screw the top back on. I didn't know this, if I did I would have just fixed it myself instead of taking the long drive. If you're comfortable with doing this, then buy the amp anywhere you get the lowest price for it(like Ebay). But if you aren't comfortable with this, I would suggest buying the amp from an actual retail outlet like GuitarCenter because if this happens, they'll just replace it with another one, where as if you buy it off the net somewhere, you'll probably have to go thru the hassle of shipping it off somewhere and perhaps getting stuck with shipping charges. But other than this minor problem, I've noticed nothing else wrong with it.

Customer Support: N/A
Iv'e never dealt with Korg/Vox diectly.

Overall Rating: 10
I've been playing for about a year, so take my opinion with a grain of salt if you want. The only other amp I've owned is a Marshall JTM-60(great amp, but too loud for a bedroom player like me) and I wanted something more versatile so after alot of research, I decided to get this amp. If it were lost or stolen, I'd definatly get the same thing. The only complaint I have about it is tweaking the effects is a little confusing, but not too hard. Overall it's a fantastic effect and definatly one of the better "bang for the buck" amps on the market.

Submitted by Mark at 12/22/2004 13:47

Price Paid: US $220

Features: 9
This is supposed to have a tube amp sound to it, based on one tube in the pre-amp. With that being said it sounds to me to be about in the middle between solidstate and tube. I base this on having an old "77 Epiphone bass amp with no less than 4 tubes, some were added later, but it sounds amazing. Also it has a power setting, ie wattage selector, on the back so you can turn that down and crank it at full volume, which sounmds great. Actually using the bassman amp model with the wattage to about 15 and the volume cranked it was a nice blues sound with warmth and just a touch of distortion to it, an excellent tone.

Sound Quality: 10
I use onle a Epiphone Doy, which has 2 humbuckers, its something with the name Epiphone, I don't no why. My music style is a varied one, ranging from Beatles (just getting into the Stones) all the way to bands like Jimmy Eat World, Movielife, H.I.M.. So I would say anyting but really heavy sruff, where you can't hear what is being played or sung. With that being saidthis amp only has a small amount of brackground noise, however Vox says this is part of the design, simulating a speaker and the tube's power usage. This amp based on what amp model you use, sounds pretty damn good for $220. I love the bassman setting, the uk 80's is actually pretty good, I feel the uk 70's is a little lacking , the mesa 100 watt solo head setting is great for blink tones, or if you play with the gain and a few other knobs, to make it a little less ditorted, you can get excellent Jimmy Eat World sounds and Rolling Stones.

Reliability: 7
Thinking about the metal covered grill in the frontg and the weigth it must be built to last. However, when I was playing the other night it cut out for no reason, I trhen turned it on and it worked fine and has not done anything like that again. Because of that I gave it a lower rating than a 9 or so.

Customer Support: N/A
N/A, but might be calling if it cuts out again.

Overall Rating: 9
I have been playing for almost five years, start with bass and moved to guitar. I own a Epiphone Dot, and formerly a Fender Frontman 25R. If it were stolen I would either get another ADVT 30 or move up to the 50, but I would stay in the Vox family for sure.

Submitted by Anonymous at 12/20/2004 06:53

Price Paid: US $207

Features: 10
The 2004 AD30VT has a ton of features which you can check out at the Vox website. Notably, it has the Vox "valve reactor" circuit which includes a 12AX7 tube in the power amp circuit. The result is that you are really get the "tube" sound not just a simulation. It also has some great onboard effects which are a little on the complicated side, but they work darn well.

Sound Quality: 10
This amp sounds great. The 11 different presets are great and the onboard effects work very well. I've played a variety of guitars through it and haven't been disatisfied yet. Using a U.S. Hwy 1 Strat I got great bluesy sounds. I played a 50's telecaster through it with the tweed and blackface settings and it sounded as good as the originals. I'm partial to Fenders, but I had a buddy hook up a Gibson SG Standard and it rocked. Nice whether using the presets or making up your own sounds. The sound is fuller, richer, and more authentic than any of the straight solid state amps I've used inlcluding the Line 6 and Crate models.

Reliability: 9
It's built solidly and should hold up very well.

Customer Support: 9
Haven't had to deal with them, but the website is great.

Overall Rating: 10
Been playing since the late 70's off and on. This is a great amp. So good in fact that I bought two! I've been playing with the amp for several months now, so take the review for what it's worth. I ain't some kid in love with a new toy... this really is a fine amp.

Submitted by Anonymous at 12/19/2004 14:55

Price Paid: US $239.00

Features: 8
At this price point the features are amazing. They have all been covered already, so I won't go into detail on them.
I would give it a 10 if it had independant reverb, an external speaker jack and a tuner, but at this price....
I especially like the variable power control for getting the dirty tones at a civil level, but for clean tones I find it best to run it full on and use the master volume to set the level.

Sound Quality: 9
I'm using it almost exclusively with single coils, primarily a G&L ASAT Classic and a DeArmond T400. Both guitars sound great through it, with each excelling at different settings. I'm playing mostly Classic Rock and Blues these days, with some harder rock, traditional Folk and a bit of Surf thrown in. The amp works great for all of those styles. I would expect for most others as well. The metal settings seem alright to me, but I don't play that style at all, so I'm not really qualified to rate them.
My favorite settings are the AC30 for clean, and the UK 80s for dirty, but there are lots of other great tones to be had if you take the time to tweak and experiment with it.
I am surprised at how usable and good the presets sound. Most of the time manufacturers go overboard on all of their factory patches. Not so here.
I'll echo the others sentiment that the effects won't make you want to dump your outboard gear, but they are all pretty usable. I think the reverb sounds particularly good. Wish it were seperate from the other effects.
The amp is pretty quiet, partly due to a noise gate, but mine has an audible hiss that can be heard in quieter environments. It's not noticable in a jamming situation, but playing alone in the living room it is. I accidently left it powered on overnight once, and I started noticing it right after that. I plan to replace the tube with a high quality one soon in the hopes that it clears it up.

Reliability: 9
It's been solid so far. I've hauled it around a little, but I'm pretty carefull with all of my gear so it hasn't been torture tested, unless you count leaving it powered on overnight.
I haven't brought a backup to any of the jams I've taken it to, and I think it would be alright to gig it without a backup, but that's taking a risk with any gear.

Customer Support: N/A
No need for any support yet. Mine didn't come with a manual but Vox has an excellent website with lots of information and manuals for their various models.

Overall Rating: 10
Been playing for 25 years and have gone through a ton of gear. Along with the guitars mentioned above I have a G&L Legacy, Martin D35(67) and a Taylor 555 12 string. I still have a Seymour Duncan Convertible 100 (great amp, but loud) and a Vox Pathfinder. I would definitely buy this again if anything happened to it, or maybe the AD50 instead, since it has the external speaker jack and a 12" speaker. For the price nothing compares.
I love that I can finally get a convincing Vox tone at a reasonable volume and price. The versitility of this amp makes it a wonderful practice tool and a suitable gigging amp for smaller venues or miked for larger ones. There's nothing I hate about it, but I wish it had an external speaker jack, a tuner and a seperate control for the reverb.

I had been eyeing the amp market for a couple of years hoping for something like this. I looked at the Blues Jr and the Pro Jr, the larger Vox ADs and countless other offerings, but they were always too loud, too expensive or they just didn't have the tone I wanted. I bought this one thinking I would give it a couple of weeks audition in the home, be dissapointed, and return it to GC to continue the search. It didn't go down that way, instead I fell in love with it.
I've owned other modeling gear, but in the long run always found them unsatisfying. I'm not worried if something sounds exactly like the amp it's modeling, just as long as it sounds good to my ear. This Vox has the best Vox AC tones of anything I've tried, and it has definitely held it's own against some pretty good sounding amps in a jam setting. That's what I wanted when I bought it.

Submitted by Mike Bignon at 12/18/2004 22:22