Vox AD60VT Valvetronix 112 Combo

Price Paid: US $699 ?

Features: 10
I suppose it was made in 2002. Versatile? gimme a break. If this amp is NOT versatile to some mamby pamby guitar players, just go away. For me, the features are plentiful. However, I probably use this amp differently than most. I play solo Instrumental jazz/blues guitar and I don't use a pick AND I play at relatively low volumes AND I predominantly use very clean sounds. I have the gain at 12:00 on only one amp sound. All the other sounds I have the gainn between 9-11:00. Distortion sucks (usually) to me, unless it's mild dist. Yeah, it has plenty of power for me. I have a ported, closed back single 12" cab (bag-end) I could use for a little more dispersement if I need it.

Sound Quality: 10
I use strat type guitars w/ med/power alnico 2 type pups. It suits my style perfect, EXCEPT I'll never use any of the "right side" amp models. (all distortion models). Am I the only one who would like a modeling amp that specialized in clean & vintage sounds for various jazz & blues sounds??? Not everybody plays pop, rock , Indy or metal(although I enjoy listening to them)!!Is the distortion BRUTAL???What mentality is this questionaire aimed at (only kidding).SOOOOO- my avorite sounds are the 3 fenders, the AC30 & AC15 ((the TB models are too harsh )AND lastly but no leastly: the Marshall Bluesbreaker!?(it's called UK Blues). This setting, (with the bass all the way off) is my favorite for clean, warm tones. Incidentally, for those complaing of lack of headroom and unwanted distortion; try turning the bass WAY down or even off in the case of the "UK BLUES".

Reliability: N/A
I turn it on & off frequently. No problems, yet.

Customer Support: N/A

Overall Rating: 9
I've been playing for 30 years (so what)The effects are either decent or very good. I just use a guitar, 1 guitar cable and the amp! How awsome is that??? The more I play it the more I like it and the less "special" my tube vintage amps seem to me. I'm giving it a "9" and not a "10" because all of the unusable dist/metal features for me and the stupid teenager language of the manual.

Submitted by Kurt Kish at 08/26/2003 06:02

Price Paid: US $625

Features: 10
US $625, VC-4 pedalboard included. Made in Korea, I guess, 2002. Has everything already described in previous posts. 1-15-30-60watt switch is probably the best thing I ever had!

Sound Quality: 10
Custom Tele, 1982 Strat, 2002 LP,Tokai Love Rock, Rickenbaker - they all sond VERY good (provided you have a custom sound for YOUR guitar). I totally disagree with a couple of angry men, who just failed to understand the structure of the amp. There is a big difference in a tonal structure of amp modelling in this machine between, say, VOX and Marshall. It is EQ. Sometimes the EQ is put BEFORE the preamp, sometimes - AFTER. Once you get it - you are in the sound heaven, no doubt about it. Besides, YOUR guitar is the Master. Ajust the sound wich suits your guitar. Have a Strat? Turn treble counterclockwise etc. And always pass 2 o'clock in Gain and Volume. That's it!

Reliability: N/A
Don't know yet. It sits in my studio, probably forever.

Customer Support: 3
Good website, very poor quality demos. That's about all.

Overall Rating: 10
Was using lotsa amps. Marshalls, Fenders, German stuff, both tube solid-states. Found them all in this little box, let alone array of stompboxes. Line6, Fender Cyber-Twin are way more digital, if you know what I mean. You can't be wrong with this amp. Just BE PATIENT, read the manual!

Submitted by Vladimir at 08/25/2003 06:07

Price Paid: N/A

Features: N/A
See website, other reviews. Fully featured.

Sound Quality: N/A
I have owned valve amps such as Marshall DSL50, Laneys (LC and TT20). Modelling amps such as Line6 old flagship the AX2. Every FX unit going (GT6, PodXT, Pod2, VAMP, GNX2).

The Valvetronix sounds like it has a blanket over it, cab sims are too heavy handed. Just try one in the shop and you'll see. I took the stock speaker out and tried a Celestion V30 and it was the same. The line outs are even darker.

I understand why people think this is the least digital sounding and the smoothest modelling amp - it has no hi-frequencies! But no real amp sounds this dull.

To get the same sound from any real amp and a Pod or modeller:
Set the modeller to Direct/PA mode with cab sim on!

Another point to remember, the modelling and FX is done by Korg so essentially this is a AX1500 in a valvestate combo.

Reliability: N/A

Customer Support: N/A

Overall Rating: N/A
I owned this amp for 3 days before sending it back. I tried another one at the store because I was sure it must have been faulty. Wished it lived up to all the other reviews here but I need frequencies above 3khz from my amps...

Submitted by Anonymous at 07/22/2003 05:46

Price Paid: 930 (Euro (con VC-4))

Features: 10
16 simulazioni di ampli (...e tutte buone!!), sezione 'pedali' (piazzati tra chitarra e pre) con Overdrive (Ts E Rat), Wah (Auto e a pedale (Vox)), U-Vibe, Compressore, Octaver, Treble Booster e Acoustic simulator. Sezione modulation (tra pre e finale) con: tremolo, chorus, flanger, phaser . Sezione delay (tra pre e finale) con: Delay, Tape echo e Multihead echo.
Regolatore di potenza da 1, 15, 30 e 60 watt.
Altoparlante da 12" Custom Vox (Celestion Made).
32 locazioni di memoria dove salvare i propri preset.

Sound Quality: 10
Ragazzi come suona !! Le 2 recensioni precedenti sono state redatte probabilmente da sordi....o dalla concorrenza !
L'ampli e' veramente versatile e, come gia detto, suona alla grande; i suoni sono sempre pieni e ben definiti (nessun effetto 'zanzara', distorsioni piatte o peggio ancora "digitali") con qualunque modello di ampli prescelto e con una grande sensibilita' sulla dinamica.
Io lo uso con una Gibson LesPaul custom e una Fender MIM '72 e con entrambe le chitarre l'ampli 'si comporta bene'. (meglio con la LP ...ma e' solo una questione di gusti e .....affezione !)
Se lo provate in negozio, tirategli il collo ! Selezionate la potenza almeno a 15 watt (..meglio 30) e mettete il master a 3/4; in questo modo il finale comincia a 'lavorare' ed i suoni prendono respiro.

La stessa qualita' di suono non l'ho trovata nel line out (qui il suono risulta parecchio zanzaroso come se si fossero dimenticati il cab simulator)....ma per questo c'e' sempre il vecchio caro POD.....

La VC-4

E' abbastanza solida e compatta (forse un po' troppo...). Facile e veloce il passaggio da una patch all'altra nell'ambito dello stesso banco. Un po' meno veloce e' invece il passaggio da un banco all'altro: bisogna essere molto svelti di piede ( e poco sani di mente...) se si ha la sciagurata idea di settare, per lo stesso brano, i suoni su due banchi diversi.
Il pedale d'espressione non ha una gran corsa quindi bisogna fare attenzione nel dosare i movimenti.

Voto ulla pedaliera : 7

Reliability: 8
La costruzione e' abbastanza solida. Lo strato di vinile e' un po' sottile ed i paraspigoli sono in plastica quindi, trattatelo con cura !
Lo uso tutti i giorni in casa e 4 o 5 volte al mese dal vivo (settato su 30 watt e microfonato)

Customer Support: N/A
boh !

Overall Rating: N/A
Suono da piu' di 25 anni e ho usato un po' di tutto, dai solid state agli ibridi fino alle tanto amate valvole (che non sempre sono sinonimo di bel suono (ho qualche esempio alla mano.....e in casa)). Bene, il "calore" e la compressione delle valvole e' veramente riprodotto bene da questo ampli specie sui modelli Vox dove il finale passa in classe A.
Prima dell'acquisto l'ho confrontato con il Flextone III e lo H&K ZenAmp combo (lo ZenTera "semplificato").

- Il Flextone suona bene, ha qualche funzione in piu' (tipo l'utilizzo via MIDI), suona meglio nell'uscita simulata ma decisamente non ha lo stesso feel del AD60 quando deve "fare l'ampli" e tirar fuori le palle !!

- Lo ZenAmp e' veramente un bell'ampli ! In termini di costruzione ed "equipaggiamento" e' decisamente meglio del Vox ma, in termini di suono (....e prezzo), continuo a preferire l'AD60.

Soddisfatto dell'acquisto?
- SI !

Lo riacquisiteresti ?
- SI ! (Magari il 120 (2x12))

Lo consiglieresti ?

- SI
a chi della chitarra elettrica ne ama i suoni e la versatilita'

- NO a chi suona un solo genere di musica ed e' affezionato a QUEL suono. Meglio una "macchina" dedicata.

Submitted by marco at 07/21/2003 03:58

Price Paid: US $500 used

Features: 5
Okay alot of digital features... But wow... what digital peice of equip doesnt... You can't even use the built in wah with a distortion because the wah and distortions are on the same knob.

Sound Quality: 1
If you what good sound is.. Don't buy this amp. I play through a 1968 SG custom. This amp is the mostweakest sounding, tone-less, digital hunk of crap I have ever played. This thing shouldnt have the vox name on it, I read the reviews here and was real excited and tried one at the store at low volume and it sounded ok... But I spent hours and hours trying to get a decent sound out of this stupid amp but it just didnt give me one. This amp sat unplayed next to an old princeton reverb with old tubes that thankfully I could plug into and get some real sound out of it. Analog sound people, not 1s and 0s. Digital is a joke. I would give it a 0 but it still makes sound so I guess it gets a one.

Reliability: 2
Id like to see one of these amps in 20 years. Hah!

Customer Support: N/A

Overall Rating: 3
I've been playing 6 years and I know what good tone is. This thing couldnt even get close to getting one good sound from its hundreds of crappy features. It made me not even want to play. Thankfully I just sold it on ebay because other people come in here and read all these good reviews people put out and think its a good amp. Like I did. But hey I'm sure it works fine for all the trendy-type of guitar players. ROCK ON!!!! Overall... very dissapointed in vox for releasing this amp. You guys should know better.

Submitted by Phil at 06/29/2003 13:55

Price Paid: US $450.00

Features: 10
This amp has every bell and whistle that they claim. To many options in my opinion. It is really fun to play around with, but I never really know when to stop PLAYING around! The features are so numerous that I'll direct you to their website. The nicest thing is the switchable power settings...1 watt up to the full 60 watts!

Sound Quality: 6
I play Telecasters with a few select stop boxes. This amp sounds pretty good by itself but it seems gimmicky to me. I thought I would try it out based on the Vox website (sales tactics!) and the other reviews I've read here. I don't really care for the factory presets. They are either clean and overprocessed or triple-rectified! My beloved Teles have no personality through this amp! A 30-year-old Danelectro will sound like a PRS with this amp. If that sounds cool to you, you'll probably like this amp. It models (mimmicks) other amps very well, just nothing original or organic about this unit.

Reliability: 4
I've had it for about three days...so I think it will last forever!!! Really though, a 6 month warranty, crappy construction, and pc boards all lead me to believe that this amp is not very rugged. I'm sending mine back to Musician's Friend as soon as my new tube head arrives. Free shipping and the ability to try this Korean-made, crappy toy for 45 days...what did I have to loose!?

Customer Support: N/A
No idea, but I've heard some horror stories. I do trust Musician's Friend though.

Overall Rating: 2
I've played guitar for 21 years. I play all kinds of rock based music, i.e; The Replacements, The Refreshments, Weezer, and the old guys too; Stones, Jimi, Robben Ford, SRV, ect. If this amp were stolen I would be pissed because I wouldn't get my $$$ back! This amp is kind of fun to mess around with, but I really hate messing around when I could just turn up a tube amp, step on a Tubescreamer, add a little chorus and wha and woodshed (that's practicing for you nu-metal dudes!)all night long! If this is the cream of the crop in modeling amp...well, the rest must SUCK! I sold my Fender Blues Deville because it was just to heavy and clean. I was running THD Yellowjackets which really helped, but I just wanted to lighten the load. After a couple of days with this Vox thing...I wish I had my Fender back! At least it was real tone, and not computer-generated noise. I'm waiting on my new (very basic, strait-ahead, tube)Pignose 60 watt head which I'll run through a Carvin 4x10 tweed cabinet. It may not be fancy, but my Teles will sing, and scream again! If you're into amp modeling (copying alot of other true sounds) you'll probably like this amp. The variable power switch is very cool but a guitar should be a little too loud. Right?

Submitted by Ryan Horyza at 06/23/2003 01:50

Price Paid: 1000 (Euro (with VC4 foot controller))

Features: 10
Made in 2002. Versatile enough to cover every style of music! 16 amp sim, 10 stomp boxes (included a good Vox Wah),Modulation efx (chorus, phaser, flanger...), delays (delay, tape echo, multi head tape echo), Reverbs (spring, room, plate), 32 user presets, 60 W, class A or AB depending on the amp model, EXF loop, Ext line out, headphones out ! Who need more ? Me ! A boost control...

I play in a 5 pieces rock cover band and I use this amp for gigs and practice. During a gig I place a shure mic in front of it, during home practice I set the power selector to 1 watt. When I practice with my band I put the power selector to 60 watt and the master volume at 6 out of 10 and the volume is loud enough to compete with my "iron hands" drummer ;).

Sound Quality: 10
I use the AD60VT with a Gibson LP custom with two Seymour duncan ('59 on neck, Custom 5 on bridge) and I think the sound is absolutely great! Some hiss in high gain amps models...just like the original...

- Amps section

Fender (Blackface 2x12, Tweed 1x12, Tweed 4x10)
Marshall (JTM 45, Plexy 100, JCM800, JCM900, JCM2000 (DSL) )
Mesa (Dual rectifier)
Soldano (SLO 100)
Dumble Overdrive special (Clean chan & Lead chan)
Vox AC15, AC15TB, AC30, AC30TB (The power amp switch in class A)

All the amps models sounds good and responsive to your touch !
With the JTM45 you can crank the gain to 10, roll back the volume control on the guitar and play a GREAT clean tone !
My favorites ? "BlackFace 2x12" and "Doumble Clean" for cleans,
JCM2000 for heavy riffs and lead parts, Tweed 4x10, JTM45 and Doumble OD when I'm in the blues mood (..every time I don't play with my band!)

The only thing it miss (IMHO) is the boost control. Yes I could replicate the same patch with different volume settings or turn on one of the two OD on the pedal section but a boost pedal don't change the colour of your sound in any way.
Thanks to the EFX loop I've now my boost control with a seven band EQ in flat position with the volume level to 7.5 out of 10 for some db when I need to 'come out' during my solo !

- Pedal section

COMPRESSOR
Good on lower settings, add some hiss on high settings (like every compressor when cranked...).

ACOUSTIC SIM.
Good enough to get an hollow body sound from a solid body guitar but for shure can't emulate an Ovation acoustic ;)

AUTO WAH
VOX WAH
I like it very much ! Very well modelled.

U-VIBE
OCTAVER
A little limited. It works only with 1 octave down.

TREEBLE BOOST
Sorry, I don't use it.....

TUBE OD
FAT OD
Tube OD (tube screamer) and Fat OD (?) are great !
No buzz or digital distortion here !

FUZZ BOX
I don't like it but it's a matter of taste as I hate also the original !

- Modulation EFX

I'm not a big efx lover; I use just a touch of chorus for cleans, some delay and reverb for rithm and lead parts.

- Delay and reverbs

DELAY
Mmmmmm...ok, but not at the top. Can be drived to a maximum of 2 seconds

TAPE ECHO
As the delay but with a 'low-fi' taste. I prefer this one to the delay

REVERBS
With three choices (spring, room, plate) I can obtain every reverb I need.

Reliability: N/A
I use it without a backup, so I'm knocking on wood !!

Customer Support: N/A
1 year warranty.

Overall Rating: 10
I'm not payed by Vox! I'm only happy to have found a great amp at a good price! I don't care if an amp is solid state, all tube, hybrid or digital; the only important thing is TONE! I've rated this amp at 10 because of TONE. Can the Valvetronix sounds like a vintage Blackface or Tweed or AC15? No! But can emulate/replicate so well the sounds and the 'taste' of these amps that, for shure, your audience (and your ears) will not be disappointed!

Submitted by Mark at 05/29/2003 07:42

Price Paid: N/A

Features: 9
This is an update to my posting from February, 2003. I have the model that c-r-u-m-b-l-e-s with static in dry/cold weather. Now that I have had almost 6 months and a dozen "gigs" under my belt, I'd like to comment more about this amp.

Bottom-line: This amp is so versatile, it has taken my playing to a whole new level. With an arsenal of the best amps in the world, you can create any, and I mean any, tone you want. I have added some external pedals (Boss acoustic, phase shifter and a Marshall Supervibe chorus)to run several more effects at once. I found the acoustic pedal on the amp not to my liking.

My only negative comment - when I have the gain "maxed", any note or chord on a long sustain crumbles at the end (after about 6 seconds). The amp does it consistantly - so - it is not a static issue. Luckily, the only time it makes a difference is when I'm practicing by myself and having "a little fun."

If you want one amp that can "do it all", this VOX is it. My only resentment - I wish I got the AD120VT instead!! The stereo effects would be nice to have.

Sound Quality: N/A

Reliability: N/A

Customer Support: N/A

Overall Rating: N/A

Submitted by Anonymous at 05/23/2003 12:42

Price Paid: N/A

Features: 9
This has been covered pretty well in other reviews. I'm giving it a 9 because there is 2 Vox models too many that could have been replaced with something else (Hiwatt, Matchless, Supro, ect.)

Sound Quality: 10
This is the best modeling amp BY FAR (at least for under a grand, I haven't tried the line 6 Vetta or the HK Zenterra). The reason it's the best I would guess is mostly because of the tube.
I'd say it's 80 to 90% comparable to an all-tube amp. BUT, that missing 10 to 20% can and probably will bug you occasionaly if you play or have played a good all-tube amp.

Still, I'm rating this for what it is, and for where the technology is now you really couldn't ask for better.
Your getting 16 amps for less than the price of any one of the amps modeled.
The Marshalls sound like Marshalls, the Fenders sound like Fenders, the Vox is excellent, and although I've never played a Dumble I instantly nailed a dead-on Stevie Ray Vaughan tone with my Strat on the clean Dumble model. I know he played Dumbles so I gotta assume this is good modeling. I play a Les Paul standard, American Strat, American Tele, Gibson 335 and an Epiphone Casino. Each guitar retains it's unique personality through the Valvetronix. The Strat and Tele sound best through the Fender models, the Les Paul through the Marshall - as it should be. The Casino through the Vox AC30 is unbelievably Beatles-like. Strat through the Marshall Plexi model is very Hendrix, and so on and so forth. Even the Rectifier model sounds like the nu-metal stuff, although I could care less about nu-metal.

Effects are ok, don't sell your pedals.
But, they're good enough that if you don't have any pedals or aren't a big effects person they'll do you just fine. The chorus, delay, reverb and tremelo are actually pretty damn good (these always seem to be the best effects on modeling amps). I'm big on the univibe and Leslie sounds, so these versions in the Valvetronix were not even going to do it for me. I have a Captain Coconut 2 to cover my univibe needs and a H&K Rotosphere for the Leslie sounds (dead-on pedal if your a Leslie fan). These 2 pedals cost as much as the Valvetronix, so if you have to make do with the versions in the Valvetronix for awhile, you'll be ok, and think of the money you're saving.

Reliability: N/A
Here's where the fat lady sings. From what I've heard and what I sense you can't rely on it. It's like your friend is going to set you up with a really hot girl but she's only got a few days to live.
I've test driven this from Guitar center for 30 days twice now and it's gone back both times because I can't trust it. It's not just because of all the problems I've read about, it's a gut feeling. I mean come on, it's made in Korea, it feels flimsy, it's basically a computor with one tube and a speaker, no one locally can fix it, and the warranty is ONLY 90 DAYS!!! What the f***!! Obviously the company has no faith in their own product whatsoever, Sorry, but there's too many cool things you can buy for $700 to just throw it away. I won't rate this category because I haven't had a problem, but ...
And yet still I keep coming back to this thing like a moth to a flame. Make it better Vox, Korg, or whoever the hell you are. Iron out the bugs and put a realistic warranty on it. I will buy it if you do.
Otherwise I'm sticking with my Fender amp that has all tubes, a 5 year warranty, and one sound ... but a damn good one.

Customer Support: N/A
A 90 day warranty doesn't exactly scream "customer support" to me.

Overall Rating: 8
Ok, now that that's off my chest, this is a real good modeling amp that looks like a Vox AC30. It would be a good amp for someone who's starting out because it would give them an idea of what sound they're going for and what effects they may like. For example if they find themeslves favoring the Fender Twin model with the tubescreamer. They can go out and get themselves a Fender Twin Reissue and a TS9 pedal. If they favor the Dumble model though, they might have to start robbing banks.
For experienced players this is a great way to have a variety of amps in addition to their favorite tube amp. The Vox AC30 model is pretty much worth the price alone.
But your taking a chance with that warranty, so I'll give it an 8.

Submitted by Scott at 05/02/2003 16:15

Price Paid: US $640

Features: 10
I give it 10 because there is enough features to please almost anyone.
I like the delays and reverbs,as well as the pedal access from the footboard.
I gig with this amp with no hassle.

Sound Quality: 10
I play blues with a strat, es137 ,and a tele,this amp let the sound of each guitar come right through.You need to use your ears to tweek this amp,you will be treated to wonderful tone.
Great for BLUES,both traditional and modern.
Plenty loud when needed.
Plenty soft when needed.

Reliability: N/A
No problem so far

Customer Support: N/A

Overall Rating: N/A
A 10 based on tone and flexibility to fit any room I gig in, and I gig alot.
Good price too!!!!!!!!!!

Submitted by rich at 03/25/2003 20:33