Vox Cambridge 15

Price Paid: US $110 used

Features: 8
15W tube pre-amp hybrid; 1 x 8" Celestion Bulldog speaker; 12AX7 tube preamp (I don't know what brand of tube, but I think they came from the factory equipped with Sovteks); 1 channel; gain boost; treble; bass; mid-range boost; tremelo; headphone out; cab out; line out. You need the optional foot switch (which I do not have) to turn the tremelo on. This amp weighs about 18 pounds. No reverb but I have a Boss RV-2 .....

Sound Quality: 9
Love it, love it, love it!!!! I had played a Pathfinder 15 in a store, which I liked quite a bit, but the tube in the Cambridge 15 does give you some useful grit. I play mostly rock, but I am not a "shredder" ... will make some attempts at funk, country, and soul once in a while. The main thing I like is I can hear what my guitar sounds like - I hate amps that mask the sound of your guitar (although that could be good if you are playing a crap guitar ...). Fairly loud for a 15 watt amp with 8 inch speaker. I suppose you could use it onstage with a restrained drummer, but most folks will probably want to mike it or use the line out to drive a cabinet or go into the PA. The amp is best at clean and mild to medium distorted sounds. Using the gain boost sounds nice; using both boosts does not spin my top. I have a Tech 21 GT2 for harder distortion. The speaker will surprise you for it's size. Have not heard the tremelo, will have to get the footswitch eventually.

Reliability: 7
I would use it without a back-up, since I have a GT2 .... but really, it seems pretty solid for an import amp. It has nice soft rubber feet to sit on. Unfortunately, you have to take off the back panel and two top screws and disconnect the speaker to change either 1) The tube, or 2) The fuse. Not the greateast design ......

Customer Support: N/A
Purchased used, so no dealings with Vox ....

Overall Rating: 8
I've been playing since I was 13 - now I am 41, and have been through a lot of gear and a couple of bands. Just bought a house, and have a baby on the way, so my equipment acquisition days are over, at least for the next 18 to 22 years!! Would definitely look for another one if something awful happened to this one. I think it is the best amp out there in the $100 - $150 price range. Very light compared to the tube amp I am used to humping around. I considered the Orange Crush 15, but I like the tube hybrid sound (I had a MusicMan 110RD about a million years ago) and the Orange was so .... Orange. If you have been playing as long as I have and appreciate good sound, it is hard to get very excited about any amp in the $100 - $150 price range these days. I was not interested in a modeling amp - if you get a voltage spike in one of those things, you have lost the main reason you bought the amp in the first place. I think Vox made a mistake when they stopped production of this model. It's inspiring, and I am always happy to plug it in and hit the first couple of chords of the day .....

Other equipment in the stable: Washburn Mercury Grover Jackson, 1973 Guild D-50 acoustic with Fishman bridge pickup, Ancient Kay Classical guitar, Alvarez Bass guitar, Czechslovakian fiddle, Epiphone Mandolin, Ampeg Jet Amplifier

Signal Chain is guitar->Tech 21 GT2->Guyatone Chorus->DOD Digital Delay->Boss RV-2->Ampeg Jet ...... or straight into a Yamaha MT4x four-track.

Submitted by Michael at 04/05/2005 09:14

Price Paid: 70 (£) used

Features: 5
The Cambridge 15 is featured as described previously (15W, 1 x 8" Celestion Bulldog speaker; 12AX7 Sovtek tube preamp; 1 channel; gain boost; treble; bass; mid-range boost; tremelo; headphone out; cab out; line out). It's mostly solid state, and I think it has some digital shickanery in it, because there's a lot of chips when you open it up.

I bought the amp second-hand to use with a Vox Corinthian combo organ, which puts out very low, and wanted something at least approximating a tube sound. The organ, of course, naturally lends itself to '60s-type playing, and, sure enough, 'House of the Rising Sun' is a regular in the line-up. Normally, I don't use the gain boost switch, because high overdrive doesn't sound very warm, and much more solid-state-like than with low gain. Therefore, it needs outputting into the PA to compete with the rest of the group. At 15W I didn't expect any different, however.

Most here have expressed that the lack of (spring) reverb was a bit of an oversight, and I agree. The tremolo is, I believe, cruelly overlooked by many guitarists--I think if used subtly it can really add some life to rhythm parts.

Sound Quality: 7
As mentioned, when using a lot of gain the amp sounds not much like a tube amp, and produces very John Lord-type effects (which are sometimes interesting) from the organ. However, at low gains there is a noticable 'valvey' warmth; better than the kind that most modelling amps imitate digitally, though one couldn't confuse it with anything like a vintage Vox combo.

The amp is pretty limp at anything less than high master volumes, but I am really impressed with the qulity of the Bulldog 8" speaker--it sounds larger, I feel. As mentioned, though, you can't get very loud without putting a lot of gain on, and this just isn't what I'm after. At high gains it just sound like a cheap, small combo. At low to mid-gain it sounds warm and has character.

The treble and bass knobs also need a lot of twiddling to get the desired sound--you need to put in some effort to get a really good noise. For Vox-organ-playing, it's usually best to keep the bass fairly low (c. 2/10) and the treble high-is (c. 7/10), and you can use the mid-range boost to fill out the cheesier sounds at will. With gain at about 4/5 out of 10, there's a little bit of warm break-up on big chords, which is exactly what you need.

Overall, I'm very satisfied with the sound. I was after a reliable valve amp and stumbled across the Cambridge, which was close enough for me.

Reliability: 6
After about a month I am still mostly trouble-free, but there are a few niggling things.

The line-out jack doesn't always work, and never has been reliable. You need to jiggle it a bit, and, for some reason, switching the amp off then on again tends to restore order in this department (this has to be a digital thing). It could also do with some corner protectors, as, despite looking very well-made, I'm sure the covering will easily nick on anything. I'm also dreading the day the cloth tears (but you expect that with a Vox)

One final point--it is actually important to let the amp warm up. Even though there's only one tube, I found once that, after not doing so and playing straight away, high gain sounds were breaking up really horribly. This didn't subsequently go away until I switched it on and left it running for about an hour with the organ just plugged in. Thereafter it was fine again.

Aside from that, I don't really think that I'll be too worried about this amp. Like I said, it does appear to be pretty solidly-manufactured, and to a high-standard.

Customer Support: N/A
As this is used, I don't intend to go to Korg (or Vox, or whomever), and since I live in Jersey (the island in the English Channel, not the state), I have no Vox dealer nearby. Hopefully the local guitar shop will be able to help if I have problems. Any speculation would be spurious in this regard.

Overall Rating: 7
I decided to pursue this amp after looking for a while (in vain) for an old all-tube amp. I heard someone using a Cambridge 30RT in a blues bar, and was puzzled--the amp looked brand new (it was--about three hours in his possession), but sounded quite a lot like a vintage amp. Up until then I was very dismissive of these new digital modelling amps. Its sound may be attributable to the tube, or perhaps just the circuitry, but it provides exactly what I need and was cheap. I get a warm, round tone which perfectly complements the music and the instrument.

I'm a harsh marker (10 would be the best amp ever), so a 7 can be considered pretty good. The Cambridge doesn't blow you away, but it's definitely worth the money I paid. And it looks lovely, too.

Submitted by Andy Nowacki at 02/06/2004 16:37

Price Paid: US $179.00

Features: 10
This a is a follow up on a critique I sent in on 1-21-01, which is still posted. It's pretty obvious from reading it that it was written by a new guitarist with zero experience. After three years my experience is still limited, but I want to correct some of what I said. THIS IS A FABULOUS AMP, AS ARE ALL VOX AMPS. GET ONE. It only needs one thing - reverb. And now you'll notice Vox listened to all of you and started including reverb on most of their amps.

Sound Quality: 10
I play a heavily modified Strat, with factory everything, except for the addition of the Strat Lover's Strat modification outlined in the GuitarNuts.com website. The amp is ultra quiet, very smooth, and in contrast to what I said in the above mentioned critique, it has absolutely fantastic rounded distortion which approaches rich fuzz. It is totally devoid of distortion when set in clean.

Reliability: 10
The headphone jack briefly failed to return to amp speaker mode recently, but I don't use the phone jack often enough to keep it clean, so I don't blame the amp for that. Otherwise, no problems.

Customer Support: N/A
Never called them, never needed to.

Overall Rating: 10
Pretty much covered everything, except that in my last e-mail I raved about the Danelectro FabTone pedal - forget that. Leave the FabTone at the store where it belongs. This amp has enough of the right kind of distortion all by itself.

Submitted by Mark B. at 12/27/2003 18:25

Price Paid: US $185

Features: 7
best features:
- very responsive treble and bass control
- midrange boost for extra warmth
- gain boost for fat tones. I don't care for the volume boost.
I appreciate the differtent sounds it gives me.
- Celestion bulldog: great sound for a 8 inch speaker

other:
- gain control: adding just a quarter is nice,
from half to max. is noisy and muddy (rather use a peddle)
- tremolo is fun but I don't use it much
- line out: nice feature but haven't recorded yet
- speaker output: can be used for band rehearsals
but but without gain boost it's not loud enough with a drummer
- headphone output: all single coils too shrill, even with treble on low
only rockabilly tones on a jazzbox (don't use it much)

Sound Quality: 8
I've been using it for a year and tried all the settings and combinations with my guitars and peddles. The clean sounds are really beautiful. In the shop compared it with a H&K edition silver which has a rather warm sound too, but the Cambridge just had a better sound in my opinion.
The clean sound is better then my old AC30 solid state which sounds dull next to the Cambridge.
It can go from sparkling clean to warm (+midrange boost), to fat (+gain boost) to superfat (both).
That makes it very useable for all the three off my guitars which are very different in sound.
The cheapest is a Samick Telecaster with low output single coils. With the midrange- and gain boost on it sound fantastic. My Gordon Smith GS2 (very nice handbuild in the uk) with coil-tapped humbuckers sounds great in most settings. It can go from very fat to very sparkling.
My third is a Gibson ES175D which is the opposite in sound of the telecaster. This one don't need no midrange or gainboost. This one sounds best with a little bit of gain.
It's my only guitar which sound good with the gain control up (for dirty but not harch rock and roll sounds).

Generally I use a T-rex Alberta peddle for overdrive with a danelectro Spring King reverb sometimes combined with a Boss compression peddle or a Cry baby. I don't care for the valve in the pre-am because I love this amp for it's clean sounds, but perhaps I'll the tube just for curiosity.
I once used my AC30ss as an external speaker in our rehearsal studio. The sound was nice and rather loud but it doesn't liked to be cranked up to much.
(10 for the clean, 6 for the distorted , that makes an 8)

Reliability: N/A
After a year of daily use everything still works. When the tubes dies I'll change it.

Customer Support: N/A

Overall Rating: N/A
During the year I've been trying lot of other amps because it's nice to compare to this one. Only in the 'two-times-this-price'range I heard amps with nice clean sound like this one. Laney TF 200, Princeton Chorus (too loud, 15 watt is enough for homeuse). The Tech 21 trademark 10 had nice sounds but it only makes you yearning for the real amps and I missed the reponsiveness of the cambridge.
I would buy another one secondhand or else a pathfinder EXR 15R which seems good too.

Submitted by Anonymous at 12/18/2003 17:25

Price Paid: N/A

Features: N/A

On -off switch is junk.

Just a heads up for all of you that own smaller, cheaper voxes - suspect the switch if you suddenly have no power LED one day.

Well,not the first component I'd expect to go.I'd expect the valve in my Cambridge to have gone first. Almost two years old and the cheap on-off switch died.

Very bad. No other practice amp ive had has done that,in years of abuse..

Sound Quality: 9
Once fixed, fine. Or even better. ..because i've been at it again,the JRC455DD in the preamp has been swapped for a (chip socket and) a TL082..the distortion/gain boost side of the amp is certainly more toneful now. The TL072/82 chips are a worthwhile substitution for any JRC4558 variant.. well, that's my opinion. If you have to tinker with your Pathfinder of Cambridge,out of warranty,you may want to put a socket in and try these.

Obviously the tube does make a big difference, i currently have an Edicron [read el -Cheapo] ECC83 in there,which is ever so slighty more in the direction of a "Fender" sound,can't afford boutique valves,but, if you can.Try them too. It's a good amp design so sounds fine even with bargain basement bits in it.

9.5 out of 10 now.

Reliability: 8
Heads Up -<CRAP SWITCH ALERT> Everything else,including the Tube is still fine. February 2002 - Dec 2003 no troubles,used almost every day for several hours .

Customer Support: N/A
Customer Support,mm,Yes, that would be a good idea,in theory.

Overall Rating: 8
All as before. I wouldn't be without this thing now.It's a great practice amp and has outlasted several others. It's very musical and can do tones ranging between Clean Clapton (if you must) Beatles,Zep, up to Black Sabbath at a push..,it'll do Paranoid quite well though.

Simple reliability issues a pain otherwise everything else, ok.

Submitted by James at 12/11/2003 08:13

Price Paid: 150 Eu (Euro 150) used

Features: 8
As described by others. I read all the reviews here and the first thing I did was: To take out the russian 12 AX 7 WA Tube and put
in an old german Valvo ECC 83. And Man, woman, I tell ya, this DID
make a BIG change.

Sound Quality: 9
I use a Fender USA Strat build 1987, an another USA Strat build in
91, and since I changed the tube, the Amp ist loud, man is this amp
loud. The low frequencies and the high frequencies come a lot better,
the amp has won character. I have also a VOX Pathfinder 15, which is
a very good practise amp by the way, I wouldn-t sell it, because I
really like it. The Cambridge is more tube like, there are more
high frequzencies in the sound, but the low ones are absolutely saddisfying, since I put in the ECC 83. The Cambridge has "something"
like a much bigger VOX Amp. Its phantastic. Change the tube! Take a really good one.

Reliability: 9
Absolutely OK.

Customer Support: 8
Not dealt with it.

Overall Rating: 9
Very good amp. Wouldn-t sell it. I would take it for smaller gigs
without hesitating. My other practise amps are 2 Orange crush 10.
Not so strong and soundful but also exciting amps with a warm crunchy
tone.

Submitted by wiedema at 11/05/2003 12:15

Price Paid: N/A

Features: 7
Probably Korean, bought in NZ for NZ$600.00. No mid on eq, no reverb, no fx loop and unlike SS prectice amps you cant turn the gain off with a switch you have to turn down the gain knob. I only bought this as an affordable step from SS to hybrid - so far so good.

Sound Quality: 8
Good sound for practice. Clean is not crystal clean but has some thickness for a bit of character. Gain is limited but you can get 2 or 3 blues/rock sounds overall from tweaking with the gain boost and mid boost switches as well as the gain knob itself. At high volume and high gain my Epiphone Goldtop (.011 onward) with stock p-90's sound much much better than on my previous practice amp a ss fender champion 110 with the gain on. Havent tried it in a gig but it will probably fail in volume. As a practice amp I think its good as long as you're not looking for a budget version of crystal Fender clean. I give it an 8 because when I jammed against a megadeth CD the gain wasnt bad. Am not into trem but I like playing around with the trem when I'm bored so cant comment on the trem.

Reliability: 6
I dont know, but the cold winter and moist have probably messed up the speaker or the gain circuitry, theres some weird ugly sound at low gain on my bass strings when at low gain settings at low volume

Customer Support: N/A
n/a

Overall Rating: 7
Not my dream amp, but good as a transient practice amp. Not as cheap as other hybrids, but not rediculously expensive either. No regrets, but will not buy again because there are better things out there at dearer prices though. ADEQUATE but NOT fantastic

Submitted by chatpanzer at 08/27/2003 03:33

Price Paid: £120 (GBP )

Features: N/A
This is regarding the "trip posts" ie,trim pots.

Please note I'm not a qualified Electrical Engineer so only do these mods under advisement,you may overload the tube or other components with current or voltage .Any qualified electrical bods are most welcome to help out here.

Undo the 8 self tappers holding the panel holding the output jacks and carefully remove [don't let the pcb on the jack panel short to the amp's “head”]

Location: above the 2200Uf cap,”Under” the tremolo speed pot.

These are fragile components and need the correct screwdriver.

Adjusting the upper pot anti clockwise reduces the gain “level” -- IE: you have to turn the pot up further to get the same gain as before - This is what I did. The trim pot was turned approx 20 degrees anti-clockwise.

Adjusting the lower pot clockwise increases the “Overall volume level” -- IE: you have to turn the pot up less to get the same volume as before - This is what I did. The trim pot was turned approx 20 degrees clockwise. Make small gentle movements, this isn't a Mack Truck -and test the sound repeatedly.

These settings were made using only my ears and a screwdriver- it would be wise to MARK a line on the PCB and pot to show the factory setting.

Sound Quality: 8
The, highly subjective ,sound quality rating is 8/9 high/low [to mid] gain.

The 490 Set in my Gibson [and other high output humbuckers] clean up on low gain a lot better and give a clearer sound.

The sweet spot is “higher up” - at 1 or 2 o'clock as opposed to 11 or 12 o'clock before.

High gain settings do not mush up as much as before and it's a slightly more “classic” sounding amp now.

The amp can now give a ”heavy” overdriven sound at almost inaudible levels.

This is using the standard 12ax7.

To hard to describe, but, sounds better all round...hey, ho taste is all subjective.

Reliability: N/A
NB _ while you're in there you may want to tighten all the wood screws and speaker mount bolts - that has [almost totally] stopped my Cambridge vibrating and rattling at higher volumes.

I doubt it will die, but, I will keep you posted.

Customer Support: N/A
Without knowing exactly what the trimmers do, i wouldn't recommend going nuts and turning them to the extremes of their travel.

Hopefully these small tweaks won't damage anything..and congratulations you've just voided your warranty.

Overall Rating: 9
DON'T ATTEMPT THIS MOD UNLESS YOU ARE FAMILIAR WITH ELECTRICAL SAFETY PROCEDURES.

As a keen amateur amp and FX nut/builder I was curious about the “trip posts” so I took a look.

SO far it's been worth it .

If it dies I'll tell you.

Still lusting after a Laney LC15,although quite satisfied with the Cambridge 15 for now.

Good Luck.

Submitted by James at 05/12/2003 12:20

Price Paid: US $179

Features: 8
Bought a few years ago, so probably 2000 or 2001. Not as stripped down as a Fender Pro Junior, but seems to give a nod to old school styling and engineering (one channel, tremolo) while incorporating some modern features (mid boost, gain boost, hybrid tube/SS platform). I don't use the gain boost or even the mid boost that much anymore, I just plug in and go. I don't use the tremolo, but I like tremolo so it's nice to have. I basically do bedroom jamming and home recording with it, and it works great for this.

Sound Quality: 9
I use this with Telecasters and a Rick 330/12. I play mostly blues and classic rock inspired stuff, but love indie and shoegaze and write some stuff that veres into that realm as well. This amp does it all for what it is. I try to keep things stripped down, and normally use a Boss Super Overdrive, a TS-9 (use them both interchangeably to keep my ears from going stale), a Boss Tremolo/Pan (square wave tremolo), and sometimes an EH Big Muff NYC and NYC Small Clone reissue. Every once in a while I throw a Boss Dig Reverb/Delay into the mix. The Rick 330/12 gets an MXR Dynacomp. So much for stripped :)

The Cambridge has a nice range of gain, with the boost. You can get some pretty high gain sounds with it, but probably not the kinds that hi-gain aficianados would look for. I keep the gain pretty low. The amp plays well, with all my pedals...the SD-1 sounds especially cool through it...very gritty and rock 'n roll. The TS-9 is great for copping Oasis style grind. Overall, the amp reacts very differently and very nicely to both pedals.

The Rick sounds great through it, especially with the Dynacomp. Recording the Rick through the Vox sounds fantastic. You won't get that Rick/AC30 sparkle, but you won't be disappointed either.

The midboost helps the versatrility, and I used to just keep it on all the time, but I don't use it so much anymore. I do kick it on occasionally for the Rick though.

Basically, it's a great sounding practice amp. It's got plenty of volume, enough that you could probably mic it up for a gig without a problem. I love the way it just seems to accentuate the positive aspects of all my guitars. On tape, it doesn't sound at all like a practice amp. Of course, it doesn't sound much like a tube amp either, but it's still a nice package altogether.

Reliability: 10
This thing has been across the country twice in the back of a hatchback. It's spent time in desert locales and in the big city. Aside from battle scars in the covering, it has stayed solid and still pumps out great tones.

Customer Support: N/A

Overall Rating: 10
For $179, this thing is a steal. Great speaker, nice setup, cool Vox looks....it wasn't a tough decision for me. It sounds much more "mature" than a regular little old practice amp...it's not going to tease you with dual channels or reverb and it's not going to try and sound like a Mesa Boogie crammed into a shoe box. It has a very classic and old school feel and sound to it, but can handle modern stuff if needed. Highly Recommended overall!

Submitted by Anonymous at 05/07/2003 09:07

Price Paid: US $125

Features: 7
Year: 2000?
Gen. Features: Covered above
Use as a home amp and for song writing
Mid boost: Meh. Don't really use it.
Gain boost: see below in "Sounds"
Would rather have reverb than Tremolo if only could have one. For an inexpensive amp though, I'm not complaining.

Sound Quality: 7
I play a Gibson SG Classic (P-90's). Style-wise, I play 60's Beat, Blues, Ethereal moody stuff. It suits my style very well with the following additions:
Dunlop Uni-Vibe pedal, Electro-Harmonix Holy Grail (reverb)
I had to have some reverb, and the real tanks were too expensive. I LOVE the Holy Grail pedal. I run the signal into the Grail, then Uni.
Someone mentioned that the Tremolo on the amp doesn't really work, and I have to disagree. It seems quite flexible to me and is a nice effect.
Given the relatively low cost of the amp, (especially for one with a tube pre-amp) I can't complain about the overall sound. Oh wait, yes I can:
The Gain boost switch. I can't use it. IMHO, a gain boost switch is going to take the place of an additional channel. It's function being to give a you a quick boost of gain for "lead" playing. The gain boost on this amp increases the overall volume far too much, so I just can't use it. If I wanted it that much louder, I'd tweak the knobs, wouldn't I?
So I will need to add a gain pedal for that purpose. I recommend the Tube screamer as an inexepnsive option that doesn't overdo it.

Reliability: 10
So far so good, had it a year, played every day, no problems. I don't think of this as a gig amp, so I'm not going to evaluate it as such. More like a living room amp.

Customer Support: N/A
N/A

Overall Rating: 8
I love it. My other home amp is a 1971 Fender Champ, which is great, but to get the tube to distort it must be up around 7 (a bit too loud for my living room playing) and it doesn't have a gain knob. The Cambridge isn't all tube, but it's a great solid amp for the price.
I would buy it again.
Damn that gain boost!

Submitted by Anonymous at 02/24/2003 14:29

Price Paid: £120 GBP (Including Delivery)

Features: 8
Bought 2002,guess made 2001 Korea..features all listed below.

I wish it had reverb,find the tremelo a bit "daft".

Also wish it had metal corners - it doesn't go out of the house at the moment,but looks as if it would be prone to damage if it did.

1 tube in preamp (ecc83/12ax7? ,maybe),rest is solid state. I guess the guys below konw more about that stuff.

Sound Quality: 9
I use it with guitars ranging from a telecaster copy with low impedance pickups (350 ohms low enuff for ya?) to a Gibson.Also used with 2 strat clones and an SG clone.

Play everything from country/Elvis up to Black Sabbath,but usually vere off at Led Zep.[and stay in that area] and the usual rock .
cliche classics.

Ok, this ain't a 6000$£ boutique amp,it is a very good little practice amp and suits the variety of sound which i make.
They key is/are the treble/bass controls and the mid boost button. they allow you to tailor your sound.

Looking from the back of the amp (which is facing the controls,the correct way) put the T and B around 12 to 1 o'clock for a more 'M@rsh@ll' type sound . Futzing with the other controls,brings virually every tone which i have listed,although the Sabbath tones might be lacking in your ears...this is not it's designed sonic role.

It WILL do country to ZZ top sounds quite nicely and this is it's day to day use.

WARNING : Never,ever,put a trebley guitar through this with the treble control up or you will be saying "Ouch", "Whatsay" and the other things people say when their ear[drum]s have been ruptured by extreme high frequencies.

Use the "EQ" -what there is- in good health for a fine variety of tones,and I like the fact that you can use the volume as a master and get a good "cranked" tone at a low volume with volume at just off the 'stop' [half past 7] and all the other controls set where you want them.

Distortion is reasonable,but, this is a Dylan/Beatles/Zep/Stones amp not a Megatallica eardrum whupper.
>>>
Negatively, while the speaker is fair quality,the combination of build and speaker design mean that if you go over the "1 o'clock" position with volume control the T and B up and the gain at 12 o' clock ,moderate cabinet shake and speaker fartage result.

The gold trim cord comes out easily and looks a bit naff and that badge is so friggin' cheap they may as well have stuck a sticker on.<<< These are the only negative points I have found in over 8 months ownership.

The speaker cab and line out are a nice option and it does sound great out to a cab ,even through my cheap home built 2 by 10 thing.

I Like the sound of this thing very much,although I almost wish,i'd saved a few £$ more and bought a Laney LC15 which is all valve,less farty and will whup most ss amps up to 40/50 watts (RMS,whut??).

The Cambridge gets a high 8 - the Laney gets a high 9.

Reliability: 7
No problems since Feb'02 with almost daily use,and some laziness whereby I ocasionally don't switch off when changing guitars _ THIS IS A VERY,VERY NAUGHTY THING TO DO TO SUCH A CUTE LITTLE AMP,but, it survives,so far.

Doesn't seem the best build quality for the long term,I may be wrong.

Customer Support: 1
Ever try to get something out of Vox that they don't want you to have?

Hello Vox - major PR hole, you dimwits.

Service centre? I can't even find a bloody amp to try, from any dealer! I'll have to fix it myself and any half decent amp tech should also be able to fix this up with one eye closed.

1 yr warranty from shop.

Overall Rating: 8
Please note : I only play electric guitar at home,these days.
I *suspect* that if you put this through a bigger amplifier [line out] and hooked it up to a Marshall type cab you *may* have a giggable setup.YMMV.

I Like this thing very much,although I almost wish,i'd saved a few £$ more and bought a Laney LC15 which is all valve and less farty.

The Cambridge gets a high 8 - the Laney gets a high 9.

Most of the HC reviews and the Guitarist magazine online review about this amp give you a fair picture of what it is like.

Unfortunately these are not made any more and I think they just edge the Pathfinder 15 on sound quality,another unfortunate thing is that to swap the valve and speaker means your total spend has exceeded the price of the basic Laney - otherwise a better quality speaker and valve may "up your Vox's sonicality" (sic)[as some people have suggested below] ,you know what i mean.

On the whole I chose it because of a "friend"'s recommendation,plus reading through all of these reviews,Guitarist magazine and the price was right.They had none in any guitar shop in the whole of the south-west of England (apparently),so i had to trust to recommendations and a return policy (always VERY wary of doing that). So thanks,earlier HC reviewers, your comments helped a lot.

Two words - Want reverb.

Two more - Stuff tremelo.

End.

Submitted by James at 10/21/2002 06:43

Price Paid: 165 (euros) used

Features: 7
I just bought it second hand. It's a model made in Korea 1999. Looks new.
on the top panel you can find the following:
1 input(pretty solid...seems in perfect condition)
gain
gain boost switch
volume
mid range boost switch
treble
bass
tremolo speed
tremolo depth
imput for pedal switch
power switch

The tremolo is the big mistery for me....it doesnt sound very effective (the effect has little or almost no influence on the sound, no matter if the depth is at 2 or 10)...anyway,...I dont really miss this effect in the type of music I play so, as far as i'm concerned, i dont really care.

I really miss a second channal,and I'd rather have reverb than tremolo...

Speaker: Celestion Bulldog 8" , made in England (awsome sound!!!)

there's one 12aX7 tube in the preamp. (it does its job, but i think in my case its probably quite worn out...i might need to substitute it)

on the back there are:
headphones output
Line Output
8 ohm 15 W Ext speaker

Sound Quality: 8
I would give definitely a 10 for the clean sound (so what lowers the mark is the distorted sound, which doesnt score more than a 6.5).
At a low gain you can get a very distinct dry and clean sound(when you play a chord you can hear each string ringing).

Very warm and sweet when you switch the mid.range boost on.
The volume/loudness/ responsivness is really excellent for this size.
The sound gets a bit fat and greasy the more gain you add,...and actually I really dont like too much the sound with Half gain (But it's good if you play blues or 70's kinda old rock/ hard rock,....I play none of these styles, so it doesnt satisfy me at all when I play more heavy stuff)
To get a decent distorted sound I really have to put the gain on 8 or higher than that, and keep the volume not higher than 4 or 5 (and if you turn the gain boost on, with these setting, it can really ROCK !!!).
The sound does get pretty fozzy and muddy when i turn the gain higher than 6.
I use this amp with a Yamaha SG (2 Humbukers), boss super chorus, wha-wha dunlop, cry baby). I tried it also with a Fender Strat....very nice sounds with both.

I play many different styles,....from funk/rock to hard rock,R&B, to almost heavy metal. In gigs I use a Crate combo twin 80 Watts, which has a totally different sound than the Vox. I love the distortion on the Crate muuuuuuuuuch better than the one in the Vox, but as for the clean sound, the little Vox beats the big Crate 3-0.

I would not recommend this amp for Heavy Metal sounds.
I would definitely recommend it for rock-blues, funk, hard rock (a la deep purple, ac/dc) and even classic jazz (George Benson, Wes Montgomery...)

Reliability: 8
I just bought it as a second hand, and it looks new. It works perfectly. Not noisy at all. The tube might be a bit worn out,...tho...but hey...it's probably about 2 or 3 years old.
I had the chance to play with another Vox Cambridge 15, many times before I bought this one, cos a friend of mine had exactly the same amp model. At that time I didnt know it was only 15 watts...I thought it was at least 20.
One time, I had a problem with my Crate: the fuse blew up on a sunday morning and I had to play with my band on that afternoon...all shops were closed...Panick!!...Luckily I could borrow the little Vox from this friend of mine.
I was really worryed it would never cope with a full band, and I was very sckeptic ,...but in a desperate situation like that you just give it a try. And,...surprise!! once miked it, this thingy absolutely stood its ground with great dignity, even when surrounded by really noisy and loud full band settings . I could use it as a monitor and it was no problem.

Customer Support: 10

Overall Rating: 9
I bought it recently,...I wouldnt use it as a "gig" amp in big or open spaces. But in smaller places i'm sure it would do his job if you hook it to a good PA.
Very good ratio quality/price.
Very useful for small jams or recordings.

I wish it had a 10" speaker and a better distorted sound. (possibly 2 channals), ...Than I could really fall in love ....

Submitted by bestintown at 10/17/2002 21:15

Price Paid: US $180?

Features: 8
I think you know by now

Sound Quality: 8
I use a late model SG. I don't play super heavy stuff. Really into Rush, U2 & sounds like that. No real noise problems. It's not super versatile, it has a spike in the response around 200-250Hz that drives me nutz but it's hands down the best sounding amp of it size. It's also pretty edgy & harsh at high volume but again, for it's size....

Reliability: 10
Never any problems. I've used it for a few small jobs but can't compete w/ a full band. I've even run bass through it in a pinch wich sounds horrible but it held up OK.
It really makes me wonder, however b/c I just bought the 30watt twin version (hasn't arrived yet) and have heard some horror storis and as far as I know, they're almost the same amp & made in the same factory.

Customer Support: N/A

Overall Rating: 9
I'm a drummer who's played for some time but started fiddling w/ guitar maybe 3 years ago.
I really like this amp but would not buy it again as I would get something a bit higher end/louder/more expensive. I compared it w/ maybe 3 other practiced amps at the shop & have played through 4 others besides those & this was hands down the best.

Submitted by Silent Bob at 09/24/2002 21:38

Price Paid: 222.90 (€ EUROS)

Features: 8
Well, you know by now, don't you? Input/gain/gainboost/volume/mid range boost/treble/bass/tremolo speed/tremolo depth/foot switch/power on top. Headphones/ext. speaker/line out at the back.

Sound Quality: 9
I saw it in a shop and tried it with a Telecaster 'cause I wanted a compact, slightly overdriven, non-heavy metal, twangy sound using my '78 Fender Telecaster at home. Within 5 minutes I knew this thing could do the job. Had to buy it. It may not compare with an AC30 or other all tube amps, but it's great fun. Sounds also good with my Les Paul Junior. Haven't tried the Rickenbacker yet. Have to put some strings on that.

Reliability: N/A
Haven't done a gig with it. I only bought it last week. I don't think it'll be loud enough if there's no P.A.. Maybe I should get a second one.

Customer Support: N/A

Overall Rating: 9
For years I used a Fender Vibrolux Reverb and a Marshall (no tube) 30 watts combo plus any effect I could find. It's back to basics now. If the Cambridge were stolen I'd get another one. I like the sound and the looks. For playing at home I also have a little Park/Marshall thing that I bought cheap, but the Vox rules over that one. I like the tremolo and ordered a foot switch from the shop. I never use reverb so I don't miss that. The headphones output sounds crap, but they always do on guitar amps and I wouldn't use it anyway. No problem there.

Submitted by Burt Fenderwoods at 08/23/2002 16:22

Price Paid: N/A used

Features: 9
Small practice amp: 15 watt, semi-two channel (one gain and mastervolume)with shared EQ (bass and treble)and tremolo (dept and speed), one eight inch VOX/Celestion Blue speaker. Has a 12AX7WA tube in the pre-amp. Connections for footswitch, External speaker, headphones and line out. The amp has a switchable gain boost and mid range boost (via footswitch). The amp has a typical VOX vintage style look. I needed a small good sounding and good looking (living room)practice amp with a broad range of sounds. Compared to similar sized/priced amps from other manufactures, this amp beats them all in looks, sound and features. The build in tremolo is just awesome for this price range. The only thing that could be neat was a speaker simulated line- and headphone output.

Sound Quality: 9
I play mostly classic 70´rock (Thin Lizzy, AC/DC, Aerosmith, Led Zep). I use a modified Ibanez Talman with Gibson P-90´s and a Epiphone Les Paul Classic with Jeff Beck and ´59 humbuckers. For practicing i usually use no effects, but occationally i use a home made tube treble/mid booster to go with this amp.
This amp (althoug its a VOX and, not normally associated with hard rock) are capable to cover the tones from a clear, quite trebly vintage sound (with the Ibanez) to a quite monsterous overdrive with the Les Paul and booster. Angus, Scott, Joe and Jimmy can be dialed-in here (well allmost). The amp responds VERY well to the booster: it does not mud-out the sound, it just gets more drive and bite. Quite chunky. The tone controls are fairly effective and combined with the mid range boost you can go from a quite bassy/middle throaty sound to a trebly blistering tone. The amp lacks a bit of upper midrange, but with a suitable booster or EQ you can get good marshall crunch. The mid range boost is placed in an intermidiate stage of the overdrive circuit so it greatly affects the drive character of the amp. The 12AX7WA tube is the primary overdrive generator here. The little eight inch speaker does a very well job. It´s quite loud and starts to break up VERY fast. I have done a little modification to the output stage, and that is to reconfigure the feedbackloop to a "constant-current-like" (like marshall valvestate) with a higher output resistance, resulting in a lower damping of the speaker. Try to hook up this thing to a 4x12 or a full stack and get a spoongy kick!. If you know a little about amp repair, try to replace the capacitors in the signal path with some higher quality ones. I have replaced them all with Wima Block capacitors, and for the tube circuit i used some good polyester film´s and 1 watt metal film resistors for the anode resistor. The amp seems to come more alive with more original guitar signal character. This amp cannot compare to a real-deal tube amp setup (in comparison i would rate it 5-6) but in this price range, the tone is awesome. This is actually a practice amp you want to play!. The tremolo is done with a optocoupler. cool.

Reliability: 8
This amp seems to be build quite well, and critical components on the PCB are glued to the board. HF ferrite cores (like the ones used on PC monitors) are used strategical places to prevent interfeering from radios/mobile phones. The hardware of the amp seems quite sturdy, the VOX and Celestion logo on the front are quite "dinky" though. The tube is mounted directly to the PCB and are stronly hold in place by a retainer to the chassis. All in all it looks ok sturdy. It is not build like a tank, but used as a practice amp (this is what i have used it fore), i don´t think you will get into trouble. I would consider a flight case if i (ever) should use it live and regularely on stage. I have owned the amp for 8 months now, and used it almost every day. Never had a reliability problem.

Customer Support: 1
I traded the amp for an Celestion Vintage 30 speaker (GREAT speaker, but lying around for no use, i think i did a good deal with the VOX)from a guy who had modified the mastervoule circuit, so he could plug in a external volumepedal. But the lack of craftmanship led me to remove the "option". I asked through my local VOX/KORG/Marshall dealer if i could get a copy of the schematic, but that was just out of question. I tried to ask via E-mail at the official VOX web site, but i have never got a reply. THAT REALLY SUCKS!!. A big 1 (if there was an 0 i would have given it). I traced the pre/power- amp circuit my self and removed the mod. Now it work perfect.

Overall Rating: 9
I have been playing now for some 15 yers, and my main setup is a ´74 Marshall 1987 50watt head through a ´70 8x10 Marshall cabinet and an reissue Marshall Bluesbreaker Combo. For effects i use a Dunlop Cry Baby, home made tube mid/treble booster, a Guyatone flanger, a Ibanez Phaser Tone and a ROSS analog echo. Yep, delay in front of an overdriven amp is a challenge, but pays off. Sometimes i use my Marshall JMP-1 with a Yamaha E1005 analog delay for flexibility and convenience (and lower sound preassure). The VOX cannot compete with this set up at all, but for doing the practice-amp-work, it´s an ace.
It is not an all tube amp, and does not sound like it, but it has a very pleasant feel and tone. I would definately get another one if it was stolen or broke.
I have tried Marshalls/Parks, fenders

Submitted by RAS at 08/20/2002 07:31

Price Paid: £150 with 2 button footswitch (British Pounds)

Features: 7
Made in 2000. It is not actually very versitile at all. The footswitch is for a gainboost or tremelo. It is not a metal head's amp It is only a 15 watt practice amp. It has one TUBE in it.

Sound Quality: 9
Les paul custom, junior, 52 telecaster, Ibanez with dimarzios... Lots of vintage effects. It is a practice amp. For the price, you can't actually get any better. The distortion side is not huge but fat and blusy. Similar in a way to the AC30 I have. The clean channel is VERY good. The distortion side is OK but can be made incredable if you add an overdrive to it. Tremelo is a bit shallow. Clean channel is really very smooth!

Reliability: 9
I'd never gig a 15 watt amp! I gig with JCM 800, Ac 30... Never broken down. The fabrique can come off though. It is the 2nd best practice bedsite amp I have, after the Fender Champ.

Customer Support: N/A

Overall Rating: 9
Best non-tube practice amp ever. Nice and simple!! Very good sounds from a small amp!! I wish it has a switchable channel

Submitted by Alvin at 07/01/2002 07:01

Price Paid: US $140 used

Features: 7
This is a 2001 model. The amp sounds GREAT by itself, but with other pedals, I can't get nearly as good a sound as I get out of my Fender Twin. You have to turn the gain up pretty high to get any real response from overdrive or distortion pedals, which kind of defeats the purpose of using these pedals in the first place. Has 2 channels, as you know, one normal and one with gain boost. You can buy a footswitch to go between the two. To get a good distortion sound out of this thing, you have to have the gain up pretty high, so switching channels is pretty useless-- it's already pretty heavily overdriven by the time you turn the gain up enough on the clean channel; not good for going from really clean to heavily overdriven. A

Actually, I was surprised by how loud this thing gets. It isn't enough to get you over a drummer (the 30W with the bigger speaker would be perfect for this), but it can get LOUD. Fills a room easy.

Sound Quality: 9
This is where the amp shines. Has a surprisingly clean, crisp sound and can go to pretty high volumes without distorting. This thing gets real noisy on the gain boost channel with a single-coil fender, but sounds pretty quiet with a Gibson guitar with stock humbuckers. Sounds surprisingly comparable to my Fender Twin, just with lower volume and a distortion channel.

I was also REALLY pleased with the overdrive sound. With a tele or a strat, you can get some really great sounds, perfect for blues and rock. So the overdrive isn't too intense, but is still authentic, tube sound. Real cool.

Reliability: 9
Pretty well-built. I have tossed this thing around a bit and it still looks like-new. Never broken down or anything like that. I'd use it without a backup in a smaller-size gig setting.

Customer Support: N/A
Don't know.

Overall Rating: 9
One more thing I want to say-- a re-tube does WONDERS for this amp. I took out the stock Sovtek and put in a higher-level Electro-Harmonix Sovtek, and even with the slight upgrade in tubes, the sound increased GREATLY. The overdrive sounds even better. Now I can get really cool Hendrix-style Marshall amp overdrive sounds out of the amp (pretty cool considering it's small size).

This thing is dependable, sounds great, gets a lot of volume considering it's an 8" speaker and only 15 Watts. This is pretty much the perfect practice amp. Thanks, Vox.

Submitted by Anonymous at 05/27/2002 17:48

Price Paid: 1200 (FIM)

Features: 8
Headphone jack, line output and external speaker connections make this a very useful small amp. It has the traditional Vox-style interactive bass and treble tone controls plus tremolo. Gain boost and midrange boost (MRB) are also included. No reverb!!! Has a tube preamp.

Sound Quality: 9
I was looking for a practice amp to go with my Les Paul Deluxe two years ago, and found out about the new small Vox amps while searching. I tried the Vox Pathfinder also, but liked the Cambridge more because the distortion/overdrive was a lot better, so I bought it.

At first I was actually disappointed with the sound. It sounded sort of too trebly and too dark at the same time. After a few months I adjusted the guitar's pickups and the sound was much better. The Cambridge is very much a classic rock/pop type of amp. I'm into blues and blues-rock mostly and it works quite well for these too. This amp is bright and jangly in general, but with the gain boost it can sound a bit darker. Overdrive starts with a nice trebly breakup that becomes rasping and harsh with more gain. There's a sweetspot between one third and slightly past halfway in gain that I like; at this setting I can go from clean to overdrive just by picking harder. High gain settings sound unconvincing, but at the sweetspot the sounds are great. This amp doesn't have a completely clean sound at any usable (higher)volume, except for lead playing perhaps.

I tried the tube swapping thing, but wasn't that impressed. I got a rare nos Tesla e83cc, which was good for getting more clean headroom and definition, but the stock tube was better for versatility. So a lot depends on which particular tube you use. The stock tube isn't bad at all IMHO.

My impression is that a trebly input produces the best tone with this amp, so Strats and Teles should work best, as many of these reviews attest. The minihumbuckers on my Les Paul seem to work OK as well.

Reliability: 7
Not foolproof. It went mute one day, about a month after purchasing. The dealer had it fixed no questions asked (1 year warranty). No problems since.

Customer Support: N/A

Overall Rating: 9
I have 6+ years playing experience, 5 years on accoustic's, now I only play electric. The strength of this amp lies in the mildly overdriven bright Voxy sound. Sometimes I think an amp couldn't sound better, and at other times I get frustrated because I can't get the sound that it almost promises to deliver: long sustain and rich overdrive = more tubes = more bucks. A great practice amp nonetheless, if you happen to like the Vox sound. If not, there are other reasonable options especially for clean sounds and brutal distortion etc.

Submitted by Anonymous at 05/19/2002 02:41

Price Paid: US $140.00

Features: 6
Brand new assume it was made around 2001 or 2002
Same features as the other 50 or so Vox's reviewed..
In my opinion this amp has several useless features, the most useless of which is the tremlo. Some nice feature as well but I would trade most all of them for a second channel

Sound Quality: N/A
Used with a Tele equiped with Vintage Noisless Bridge, and a Texas Special neck pup. My kid also uses an Ibanez with Powersound pups (Crap) and an old Hohner "Z" with a nice set of split coil Humbuckers through this amp. This amp is awesome! for the money nothing that I know of even comes close! I just bought my son his own amp, a Marshall Valvestate 65 Watt, He and I tried everything under the sun under $300 (the Marshall was used) and nothing came close to the Vox in terms of clean tones, the Marshall edges the Vox in overall brutal distortion, but clean... no way and when I say Brutal Distortion I mean the kind that a 14 year old into Korn, and Blink 182 would like. The Vox sounds sweet with the gain dimed, If you ever wondered what "creamy" or "smooth" distortion was, listen to the Vox. At max volume the clean sound degenerates a bit, but overall this amp nails it for me. I gotta give it a 10 for the money, yeah there maybe better out there for double or triple the price... but for $140.00 nothing comes close.

Reliability: N/A
No problems yet

Customer Support: N/A
No experience with Customer Support

Overall Rating: 10
I am considering trading this amp in towards the purchase of the 30 watt version, I want the extra channel and volume, but I cant think of another brand I would consider in this price range, Again, clean it absolutly blows away the competition even at twice the price, get it dirty and it's a matter of opinion. I prefer it, 14 year olds might not, but thats why these "Nu-Metal" bands all use Marshalls and Mesa Boogies, this isnt a Gainiacs amp. Several people have stated that people are just wowed by this amps looks when they rave about it.. It is a sweet looking vintage style amp, but I would use it even if it looked like a P.O.S Crate amp, it just sounds good, the asthetics are just the icing.

Submitted by Anonymous at 05/14/2002 20:09

Price Paid: US $120

Features: 9
Volume, gain, bass, treble, tremolo speed and depth. 15 watts with 12ax7 preamp tube. Headphone and speaker outs, 8" celestion speaker. I don't ever use reverb, so I didn't miss it. I use it mostly for recording, and solo coffeehouse stuff.

Sound Quality: 10
I'm writing this review not only because this is a cool amp, but because of my experience at a session last night. I was in a room with a couple Marshalls, a Boogie rectifier, a Boogie MK.1, Fender Deluxe, Peavey Classic 50 and a few others. I must say that the built-in speaker on this amp doesn't do so hot for me at anything other than lowest volumes, because it seems to rattle the entire cabinet; maybe that's just me. But when you plug this amp into, say, a 4x12, it's one of the best and most versatile guitar amps I've ever heard. Every single time we needed a guitar sound I tried the other 20 grand worth of gear and went back to this little 100 dollar 15 watt combo through a 4x12. I used Les pauls, SG's, a Rickenbacker, an American tele and a Danalectro through it, and it sounded right every time. It took us 2 hours to get a sound with a Dual Rectifier, and about a minute and a half to get a sound with this amp. Turn on, put mic on speaker, sounds good, every time. The tremolo was also wonderful, as Vox tremolos always are. I can't exactly say that this amp sounds like an AC-30 per se, just that it nearly ALWAYS SOUNDS GOOD.
The gain boost wasn't too effective, and is kind of muddy at times; but turn up the normal gain, especially with humbuckers, and I would (and just did) put this amp up against any vintage, new, boutique or other amp out there in the studio. And last night, this one nearly always won.

Reliability: 10
There's really nothing to break on it. It just works. I will say that sometimes the internal speaker bottoms out, and it sounds like the paper is actually hitting the metal speaker basket, so I worry about blowing it if it's too loud; may replace sometime, but I don't use it all that much, I generally plug into a different cabinet.

Customer Support: N/A
Never dealt with them. I believe it has a warranty.

Overall Rating: 10
Awesome. If you do any session work at all, buy it. Also makes a killer practice amp because I got the sound of a pushed, loud-ass Marshall, and that feel, but at much lower volume. IT'S LIKE A HUNDRED DOLLARS, WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO LOSE. BUY IT. heh.

Submitted by Mike Ingram at 04/28/2002 11:02

Price Paid: US $139

Features: 8
I bought this for a practice amp because dragging out the Marshall just to play by myself is a real pain in the ass. However, this amp has some great features: line out, footswitchable gain and tremelo, and external speaker out (8 ohms). It's pretty versatile; I'd say you can play virtually anything on it except metal or anything else requiring high gain.
I took one point off because it has no built in reverb (would've much rather had reverb than tremelo) and another point because though the gain is footswitchable, since the amp is only one channel, there is a large jump in volume when switching from no gain to gain. Maybe enough that it isn't practical at all.
Oh, yeah. 12ax7 preamp tube, woo hoo!

Sound Quality: 9
Running a Fernandes strat into it with stock pickups and a Samick quasi-strat (the best name I can think of for it) that I'm fixing up: sounds great with both. Someone mentioned that they thought it sounded better with humbuckers; if so, I can't wait to hear that. (Though both my guitars have humbuckers in the bridge positions and I think the single coils sound better. Could be crappy pickups but I think this amp just works a lot better on the neck position for the sound I like.)
Clean channel is awesome: 9.
Gain also awesome, regardless of the setting: 9.
Not noisy at all, even with my halogen lamp on (that usually results in tons of hum from the rest of my equipment).
The Cambridge can get a great variety of tones. I play mostly hard rock and blues, works pretty damn well for both.
If you really want to know how "brutal" the distortion is (as the prompt asks), it's not. Like I said, not a metal amp.
My only complaint is once again the imbalance in volume when the gain is switched on. I guess that's the nature of the beast, though; it's called "gain" for a reason.

Reliability: N/A
Seems pretty dependable to me. I haven't had it but for a few days, though, so I can't say for certain. I doubt I would use it without a backup, but that's because I'm paranoid.

Customer Support: N/A
Don't know. Hope I never have to find out. Says it has a limited warranty, but for only 90 days.

Overall Rating: 9
I think this is an awesome sounding amp, especially considering the price. I have a slightly larger setup that I've been using, consisting of a mini rack (ADA MP-1 and Rocktron Exciter/Imager/Hush) going into an old Marshal 40 watt valvestate amp's power amp input. It sounds great and is actually very portable but I guess I'm lazy or something cause I wanted something samller to practice with. I think I'll likely end up using the Cambridge for jam sessions now and then when I'm feeling lazy, though, because it sounds mopre than satisfactory to me.
I had originally bought a little Kustom Tube 12, which sounded great (especially for blues, it had a killer gritty tone), but reneged when I thought about it and decided I'd want something with a little more power (for jam sessions) and more versatility.
Get one of these before it's too late because I heard they discontinued them. That would explain why there's no info on Vox's website about it and why it was on sale for so cheap.
Great practice amp and more for under 140 bucks. Just needs reverb.

Submitted by Dennis at 04/23/2002 21:02

Price Paid: US $149.00

Features: 8
Amp was made in 2001.I play mostly blues but if i turn down the volume knob on my strat I can pull some nice Jazz tones out of it. You know the features so I won't go there you can read the other reviews. I love the tremelo but I added a Holy Grail Reverb pedal and it sounds great. I use it mainly in the house But this thing can kick BUTT!!
The preamp tube is a Sovtek but I had a USA 12ax7 and the amp took on a whole new personality!

Sound Quality: 9
I have a '91 Japanese Strat that's my main guitar for the blues with no mods. The amp has a little white noise but no more than my '73 Princeton Reverb. The amazing thing is I get a better distortion sound with this amp than I do with my 1980's TS9 tube screamer and the only reason is the changing of the preamp tube to a good one-and I mean do it you won't regret it! The clean channel is a 8 out of a 10
the distortion is fabulous!!!

Reliability: 9
You can gig with this amp but you might have to mic it or use the line out which is a nice feature. So far so good as far as dependability.

Customer Support: N/A
Haven't had any problems!

Overall Rating: 10
Been playing for 15 years.I also own a '73 Princeton Reverb that's my pride and joy! But i bought a Electro Hamonix 12VBR speaker and this is pretty dam close to my Princeton-NO LIE

Submitted by Paul at 04/07/2002 09:22

Price Paid: US $180

Features: 8
Made in 2001, 15 watts, one channel, volume, gain, treble, bass, gain boost switch, mid boost switch, tremelo. A very good amp for all music styles except heavy metal. Loud enough for practice at home, or for recording (its not noisy). It has a tube in the preamp section to warm up the sound. The Celestion 8 inch speaker sounds pretty good.

Sound Quality: 8
Sounds better with humbuckers than with single coils. With my Fender Strat it sounds good but a little thin- with my Gibson Les Paul the mid range frequencies are boosted in a way that the mid-boost switch on the amp cannot duplicate- sounds very full and warm with the humbuckers, and works VERY well with chorus or flange pedals. This amp is a little choosy as to which distortion pedal sounds best with it- Out of my collection of a half-dozen fuzz pedals I believe that the Austone Fuzz Nutz sounds the best with this amp because that pedal has a ton of warm smooth bottom end that makes the Vox amp sound a lot bigger than it is. I can get some Allman Brothers sounds using that pedal pretty much with any amp, including this Vox.

Reliability: 9
I have used this amp nearly every day for two months and have had no problems. I have played it very loud for up to an hour at a time and all that happens is that the amp heats up a little, but it sounds great. So it passes my durability test as far as I am concerned. I really did crank the amp and put its 15 watts through the paces.

Customer Support: 9
Very responsive to e-mail questions.

Overall Rating: 9
Great practice amp that doesnt have the guts to cut over a drummer in a real live situation, but is perfect at home in an apartment. You can turn it up and get that sense of push and strain without it being too loud that your neighbors would complain. It would sound to them as if you were just playing your stereo system- the amp's 8 inch speaker is the same size as most stereo woofer speakers anyway.

Submitted by Jerome Wilson at 02/10/2002 04:15

Price Paid: US $179

Features: 9
2001 Model. Great for classic rock, blues, and jazz. Not good for metal or when a lot of distortion is needed. Single channel, headphone jack, ext. speaker jack, line out, foot switch. Has tremelo, but no reverb. Volume, gain, treble, bass, tremelo rate, tremelo depth, mid range boost, and gain boost. This amp is used mainly for home practice only, but I gigged with it the last 2 nights! Had to mic it, but plenty of power for practice at home. Has 1 tube in the preamp section. The 8 inch speaker sounds better than most 12 inch speakers I've heard. A lot of features for a 15W practice amp. Much better that my Fender Pro Jr. at 1/2 the cost. If it had reverb I'd give it a 10.

Sound Quality: 10
I play Strats with the standard pickups, nothing special, and the amp fits my style just fine. I can't get that power tube compression tone that most everyone craves, but then again I didn't pay $800 for it. Before I got this amp I thought that my Fender Ultimate Chorus had the best clean sound I've ever heard. This Vox is better! It's more glassy and fuller, very bright yet warm at the same time, thanks to the 12AX7 in the preamp. As you probably know the Fender has a 2 X 12 config, this Vox only has a 1 X 8 and it's better sounding! It stays clean all the way up too. The tremelo speaks for itself, true to the Vox legend, very delicious. The gain control is very useful when your after just a touch of clipping, kinda like Stevie Ray V. to Angus Young, but don't expect Mick Mars to come out of this rig. I've played it through a DOD Grunge pedal, and it wasn't bad really. But I'm not into thrash anymore. It's too bright of an amp for BB King, but just fine for Clapton. Of course you could always soften it up with the treble control. I only use 2/3's of it. Lenny Kravitz plays through a Vox on most of the songs on the "V" album, listen to "Mr. Cab Driver", that's Vox! I played a lot of Lenny and AC/DC the last 2 nights gigging, it's very close! I had the volume and gain both 3/4 way up, gain boost on, bass and treb 2/3, and it sounded great!

Reliability: 10
Hasn't failed me yet, and I've driven it hard!

Customer Support: N/A

Overall Rating: 9
Been playing for 20 years. I have a Marshall, 2 Fenders, a Kalamazoo, and the Vox. The Kalamazoo is for the "pure tube cravings", but the Vox is the main amp in the practice room. My Marshall sucks, but it's the MG series, so it's not a real Marshall anyway, but it still sucks! One Fender is the Ultimate Chorus, very nice, and the other is the Pro Jr. I wouldn't recommend the Pro Jr., it sounds like a little amp. Unless your driving the balls out of it, it sounds muffled and undefined, and it ain't cheap! Anyway the Vox is the way to go for a inexpensive practice amp with great tone. Again, the only reason for not giving it a 10 rating is because there is no reverb.

Submitted by S. Carr at 01/11/2002 21:37

Price Paid: eur (215)

Features: 7
15 watt amp with tube pre-amp and tremelo. Never use the latter though, as in my opinion tremelo sucks.

Sound Quality: 9
Great clean sound, nice smooth bluesy distortion. Be sure to buy this amp instead of the pathfinder! I compared both in the store for several hours and this one has a far better sound, clean as well as distorted. Especially when playing chords the you will notice the difference between the two as sounds get lost with the pathfinder. With the cambridge you're able to distinguish the different strings.
Difference is probably largely due to the quality celestion speaker featured in the cambridge.
Also compared the cambridge to a more expensive Marshall ATV20, liked the cambridge far better. Great sound for the price paid.

Reliability: N/A
Only had it for several months, did not give up on me. What can happen though it that every once in a while it generates a cracking sound (does anyone else have this?). Perhaps this is caused by the tube pre-amp?

Customer Support: N/A
N/A

Overall Rating: 8
Nice practice amp, great sound. Be sure to buy this instead of the pathfinder! (if case you were wondering whether the price difference is justified).

Submitted by Likkafella at 01/07/2002 12:59

Price Paid: US $175

Features: 9
HEAD PHONE OUT! My wife loves this feature. Gain, Volume, Base, Trebel, line out, and external 8Ohm cab out. Not shabby. Oh yea, tremelo. As others have expressed, I would much rather have had reverb, but this is a practice amp so I will cut it some slack.

Sound Quality: 10
I use an American Strat, one with standard pickups (to be remedied soon), and one with Kinman's. The amp makes a decent clean to a fairly tough distortion depending on the gain setting. I replaced the standard Sovtek tube with a JAN PHILLIPS tube from thetubestore.com. With the tube replaced (which was quite a chore since they burried it) it makes a musical buttery distortion that is a pleasure to play in my practice room. It is certianly no match for my gig rig, but it is tiny, and cheep.... and really has a nice tone! It is actually better sounding than some stage amps I have heard played live (not mine). Very nice VOX. This amp really utilizes the tube. Spending the $16.00 on the new tube was well worth the money.

Reliability: N/A
I haven't had it long enough to say how robust it is. I won't gig with it unless my main rig dies, and then it would BE the backup (with a mic of course).

Customer Support: N/A
Never talked to them.

Overall Rating: 10
I have been playing nearly 30 years. My main rig consists of a Digitech 2120 rack mount pre amp and a Fender Hot Rod Delux which has a Celestion Vintage 30 speaker replacement. While the little VOX that could is easily a match for the many amps I tried at the store, it isn't in the same class as my main rig. That is OK though. It is TEN TIMES LESS EXPENSIVE!

I love the tube amp sound. It is warm and buttery and everything one could ask for in a practice amp (except reverb).

I will never have to crate my main rig around again. This little amp is perfect for practice. I really love it.

Submitted by Scott Bolt at 01/05/2002 20:05

Price Paid: £125 (Sterling)

Features: 8
I believe this amp was manufactured in 2001. I bought it for home practice and it meets this need admirably. The features of this amp have been well detailed below, so I won't bore you with listing them again. Generally, the features are OK. However, as others have observed, it is true that it could do with a reverb and an effects loop would be nice. Though I do feel the tremelo compensates somewhat.

Sound Quality: 10
I use a Yamaha SG700 with coil tapped humbuckers, a Samick "superstrat" and a Fenix strat. I like to play rock, country, rock & roll, blues etc.

I feel that this amp is extremely versatile and provides superb tones. I can't tell you that I've AB'd it against Twin Reverbs and AC30's and that it smokes them. What I can tell you is that the tone and gain controls on this amp easily allow you to tailor your sound in a way that's really pleasing on the ear and makes playing your guitar the pleasure what it should be. The gain control in particular allows you to dial in anything from the lightest of crunches to some reasonably heavy distortion and if you experiment with the settings you will quickly find a level that will enable you to back off your guitar volume control for a cleaner sound, whilst giving you a nice lead sound with the guitar volume on full. The quality of such sounds, IMHO, at all times remaining musical and far from muddy.

With the gain on low, the amp has an excellent, warm, clean sound, throughout its volume range, which the mid range boost fattens up nicely. I really like the tremelo, but, like others, feel that it may be a little under-powered. The amp itself is capable of being very loud, but can be tamed very nicely for entertaining in the bed-room.

Reliability: N/A
I haven't had this amp long enough to have suffered any reliability issues. However, when buying this amp I did notice that it, and its brothers and sisters, did have a tendancy to resonate/vibrate when played at maximum volume. It doesn't do this at neighbour friendly volume levels and so it wasn't an issue to me, but it's good to be aware of this potential problem and check it out before purchase if you are concerned.

Customer Support: N/A
Never dealt with them.

Overall Rating: 10
I've been playing guitar for about 8 years. I love the tones of this amp and I also love its looks, but rest assured, even if it looked like sh*t, on tone alone, if it were lost or stolen I would be gutted. I feel this amp is great value for the money. However, if you're on a tight budget, check out the Pathfinder, as I feel that it is pretty close to the Cambridge and, pound for pound, it may offer even better VFM.

Remember, one man's meat is another man's poison, so check this amp out in person and let your ears do the choosing. Also think realistically what you want the amp for. If you want an amp for playing stadium gigs, you don't want a practice amp. Equally, if you want an amp for the bedroom/home, you don't want a hundred watt monster, no matter how many valves its got in it.

I wanted a practice amp and was persuaded by the positive reviews here to go and look at the Vox. I tried it in the shop and liked it and now I've bought it I am absolutely in no way disapointed with it.

Submitted by Anonymous at 12/17/2001 11:47

Price Paid: US $180

Features: 7
1 channel 15 watts 8 inch Celestion speaker and a tube preamp, gain and tremelo, made in 2000. Great for practice at home or for recording- very nice quality tones.

Sound Quality: 9
I use a 1981 Strat and it sounds very good and very loud- with all the gain up to max I get a ZZ Top/tube sound- a smooth distorted sound which I enjoy. Clean sounds good also.

Reliability: 8
Seems OK if you dont intend to move it around much.

Customer Support: N/A
Not sure but I hear VOX is a bit stuck-up.

Overall Rating: 10
Great amp- best on the market under $200- sounds warm and loud and you dont need reverb on a practice amp. Get this amp and not the Cambridge 30 which I did not like and which is getting really bad reviews.

Submitted by Anonymous at 12/10/2001 19:58

Price Paid: US $179.00

Features: 2
One channel, volume and gain, gain boost switch, mids boost switch, treble and bass, tremolo speed and depth. Can't use the tremolo at all. You can barely hear it. Why bother putting it in there?

Sound Quality: 1
I play through a standard telecaster (stock pickups), and a Gretsch Duo-Jet reissue. I need an amp with a bright clean tone and warm natural overdrive. I couldn't find this in this amp (doesn't help that there ain't two channels). The clean is dull and colored and the gain is too modern.

Reliability: 2
I would say that the Korg company that makes it doesn't even think it's reliable with the ninety-day warranty they put on it.

Customer Support: 3
The warranty center is nearby, but I got rid of the amp fast.

Overall Rating: 1
If this box said Korg on it, like it should, nobody would be talkin' about the AC-30, or the Beatles and Brian May. They're just looking at the name. This amplifier has nothing to do with Vox except the looks. People in these reviews talk about the 'Vox Tone'! Watch out-- that's when you know they're listening with their eyes! What is the Vox tone? If it has anything to do with bright, sparkley, chiming clean tones and a warm tube overdrive; then it has nothing to do with this amp...

Submitted by Chas Roberts at 12/08/2001 12:20

Price Paid: $315 (Australian)

Features: 5
Bought in 2001, I usually play blues, constantly searching for that old sound, Ive only been playing for a couple of years.

Delivers on old 60s tone, but rockers and metal boys best look else where.

I bought it because I needed a portable pracice amp for blues guitar classes, I played it instore it sounded warm and mellow and it was great value for the money.

At the time I was comparing it to a Squire 15 and a Fender Frontman 15, Drive 15w and a Yamaha 10w. This just had a fuller, warmer, more welcoming sound and it was on sale.

I love the way it looks!

As a practice amp its great, the tremolo is crap so it stays off. Doesnt really like the gain much higher than 1/4,so I run it clean and use a TS9 to fuzz it up a bit.

The gain boost is always off, unless I need a little extra volume then I have it on with the gain knob right down, to deliver a clean warm sound. Pretty grunty for a 15w valve amp.

The midrange boost is nice, adds alot of warmth to the sound, so its always on. I run the bass on 3/4 usually, with the treble on 1/4.

The headphone outlet sounds pretty bad, could be my headphones, so I dont use this much. Havent used the external speaker plug yet.

Forget the fancy features, they arent that good, keep it simple, enough power for the price, good practice amp.

Sound Quality: 7
Epi Les Paul with Gibson 57 Classic PUs, running thru a modded TS9, then to the Vox Cambridge 15.

Nice warm tone, clean and can still crank out a clean warm tone when turned up.

Doesnt like too much distortion or being overdriven too much, which is weird for a tube amp. It just gets muddy and the guitar gets lost in there.

I bought it because it could deliver the clean, old, warm tone I was after for blues, I didnt need too much volume as it was just a practice amp.

Doesnt like being turned up too much anyway, as the chassis and cabinet starts to buzz a fair bit from the vibration. More on that below.

Reliability: 2
Hmmm I was very dissapointed when I got home after buying it, I craked it up to 1/2 volume and there was a horrible loud buzz, that came from inside the amp head somewhere, only on bassey notes. I tightened all the screws on the cabinet and it didnt help.

Its not an electrical type buzz, more like something is loose and vibrating. This was expecially bad playing a 12bar in G, so basically it had to be fixed.

I returned to the shop the next day and tried all the other Cambridge 15s they had, ALL 4 made the same buzzing noise on bass notes, in fact mine was the least buzzy, probably cuz I tightened the cabinet screws.

I returned home with the same amp and opened up the amp chassis section, tightened all the nuts and screws, I think the screws on the transformer were not tight enough. Checked all the wires for rubbing. Bolted everything back together again with some sponge in the joints holding the amp section and the noise was gone or at least reduced to a bearable level.

This buzzing is the only reason I would recommend someone NOT to buy this amp, but it did deliver the sound I wanted for the price, so I felt it was worth fixing. Test it up in the shop before buying it, use a guitar with a humbucker in the neck position, see if you get the same thing.

If looked after it would give years and years of service, but its not going to be a Korean classic. Reliable (probably), but it scores a 2 because of the buzz.

Customer Support: N/A
Pretty sure its a 1 year warranty.

Havent had to call the support line yet.

Overall Rating: 8
Ive only been playing for 2 years, so Im no expert guitarist, but I have 11 years messing with competition high-end car audio, so I know good sound when I hear it

If it was stolen or lost I would probably look around for another small valve amp that was portable and sounded this good, but then I would probably get another Vox15, because its the best(possibly the only one)at that kind of money.

I love that sound when driven clean, just about everything else I can do without(except the mid-range boost).

I hate the buzzing, this was the only reason I decided to contribute this review, but its fixed and bearable now.

Still kicks ass over the Squire 15, Fender Frontman 15 Mexican, Yamaha 10 and Drive 15w, which I tried at the time.

Overall rating is 8, because for the money it delivers great clean, warm sound (if thats what you are looking for). Its great value for money, so in the category there is nothing else that comes close. Vox really need to fix this buzzing.

I consider the features like the Tremolo, headphone jack, ext speaker, foot switch control as extra bonus items that I dont use.

Its portable and just about perfect for a biggish practice amp. There are heaps of better amps around, but they are bigger, heavier and more expensive.

Submitted by Turbo_Groove Rob at 12/08/2001 06:43

Price Paid: US $180.00

Features: 1
read another submission

Sound Quality: 1
I play a 60's reissue strat. I love tube amps, vintage guitars, and vintage sounds. This amp has nothing. The gain is very solid state, cold, and shrill. The clean has no sparkle. I was looking forward to using the tremolo, hoping for deep, rich 'Crimson & Clover'. The tremolo feature is practically inaudible--beyond poor.

Reliability: 1
The tube is hidden up in the control box. You'd have to take it all apart to modify it as some suggest. The piping/trim is hopelessly cheap: embarassing! The gold trim consists of a rubber-band stretched around a groove in the cabinet...

Customer Support: 1
What warranty???

Overall Rating: 1
David Allen's review nailed it. His is one of the only ones I could identify with at all. I have no idea how all these musicians with fine instruments, other amps, and years of experience can praise this worthless wonder. It seems to me, having utilized this site to research every piece of gear I've ever owned (and much that I haven't), that most of the reviewers tend to see their new gear through rose-colored glasses and/or are not very discriminating to begin with. At first, when using this site, I tended to discount the negative responses as there appeared to be few in most catagories, but I realize now (having purchased some lackluster stuff) that many of those comments were accurate---more so than the glowing accolades..

Submitted by Banana O'Toole at 12/03/2001 10:31

Price Paid: US $180.00

Features: 8
Great features for the price, you dont miss a midrange contol...but I'd rather see reverb than the tremlo.

Sound Quality: 8
I bought this amp for my son, so he doesnt have to turn on my Marshall everytime he wants to play. We are playing a wolfgang,a couple Les Pauls and a bunch of EARLY 80's charvel's through it. After owning many different amps over the last 25 years, this is the best 180 bucks I've ever spent. Very good for a practice amp! The clean channel smokes my Marshall jcm900 and it breaks up for a nice distorted tone(NOT as nice as my Marshall or Soldano)Keep in mind it is a practice amp and will not go head to head with acoustic drums.

Reliability: N/A
Just bought it a few weeks ago, its still working

Customer Support: N/A
90 day warranty...never dealt with company

Overall Rating: 9
I've been playing for 25 years or more. My son has just started and that is who I bought the amp for, NEVER thinking I would like it too.For it's bang for the buck i give it a 9

Submitted by Brian at 11/19/2001 16:11

Price Paid: £130 (UK Pounds)

Features: 9
Features as stated by everyone else!

Sound Quality: 10
I've played my guitars (a fender strat and a les paul studio) through a marshall jcm800 for years. I'm a fool to have ever bought the heavy lump. This new little jem sits unobtrusively in my lounge and sounds perfect. Amazing - and even better with the 335 dot I've just bought. Jangly pop rock is just like the record, and beef up the middle with a les paul and it sounds just like mid seventies brian may. Classic! Shame I can't afford an AC30!

Reliability: N/A
never any problems

Customer Support: N/A
never needed to contact them

Overall Rating: 10

Submitted by Paul Burford at 11/19/2001 10:03

Price Paid: US $130

Features: 8
15w tube preamp, tremelo, Celestion bulldog speaker. Made in Korea. I believe it has one channel, which is perfectly fine for a practice amp. The tremelo sounds good but is basically useless so I never use it. It would have been better if Vox used a reverb instead of the tremelo. Has a headphone jack but I never use it since the volume can be kept under control. The midrange boost sounds great and I keep it on all the time. Gain boost makes the amp sound too artificial but is still useful. No effects loop but that doesn't bother me. I used this amp once with a full band and it was not loud enough. I put everything up to ten and it started to shake when I played chords so I connected it up to the PA. The amp is loud enough for bedroom playing but definately not enough to be heard over drums.

Sound Quality: 9
Compared to a Peavey Rage 158 and a crappy solid state 20w, the Vox Cambridge 15 is well above both in quality and sound. The amp would have been much more useful if it had reverb. I turned the volume up to 10 with no gain and it was still clean with a hint of overdrive. Very good clean, except it gets a little bit harsh. The gain on this amp doesn't sound that much worse than my friend's marshall valvestate. The vox gain is looser and more midrangey. I have a Fender HotRod deluxe that has an awful gain channel, I find myself using the cambridge for it's gain more now. Fairly versatile. For a $1xx 15w practice amp it sounds excellent

Reliability: 10
I gigged/jammed with it a few times and nothing went wrong. I've had the amp for almost a year now and nothing has gone wrong. Very dependable since I only use it in the house now.

Customer Support: 7
I emailed the company with some questions about the amp and the warranty, they responded right away. However the 90 day warranty sucks but since this is a dependable amp I wouldn't worry much about it.

Overall Rating: 9
Before the Vox Cambridge 15 I had a cheap 20w solid state amp. Compared to that old one the vox was tone heaven. Now I have a Fender hotrod deluxe and I still like the Vox. The clean is a bit harsher compared to the tube. If the amp had reverb it would be twice as good. The looks of the amp are classic Vox so I love it. It is also very light so you can take it anywhere with ease. If it were lost I probably won't buy it again. This isn't because it's a bad amp, I like to try different things. If anybody was just starting to play guitar, I would recommend the vox. Compared to other solid state or hybrid practice amps the vox is much better.

Submitted by User at 11/06/2001 00:11

Price Paid: US $179

Features: 9
15 watts, 1 X 12ax7 tube in the pre-amp, Gain boost, Mid range boost, Bass control, Treble control, tremelo, head phone jack, 8ohm speaker extension, foot switch (optional),8 inch Celestion speaker. Every feature included in this amp is very usable. Would be even better with reverb.

Sound Quality: 10
Ok, I purchased this amp while checking out guitars at a music store, I plugged into this gem out of curiosity and convenience, it was placed near the guitar I was interested in. This little amp is 100% amazing! The clean is rich and tight. There is no need for a mid range control - the bass and treble controls shape the tone perfectly for all situations. The little 8 inch speaker is unbelievable. The bass is rich and punchy and has the ability to make this amp sound BIGGER than one would expect from a 1X8. Turning the gain up gives a very VINTAGE 60-70s british style distortion. Engaging the BOOST on the gain brings about a more modern type of distortion. I have found that with the boost engaged and the gain at about 6 and a half(this is an approximation) I can get ridiculously close to an early Van Halenish sound - minus the reverb. Again, all the sounds here work very well, making this amp about the best value I can think of in the amp market. The mid boost is very friendly when compared to mid boosts I have heard on other amps (Peavey classic 30 -which I own- mid boost is not usable). The trem is cool but better suited for cleaner tones.

Reliability: N/A
Have only had this about a month.

Customer Support: N/A
Not needed them yet

Overall Rating: 10
I have been playing 16 years, I own a Peavey transtube 212, peavey bravo 112 all tube, and a peavey classic 30. I have always felt peavey was the biggest bang for the buck - there clean channel is better than Marshall, and there distortion is better than Fender -to my ears anyway. But this amp is the best value when compared to any amp I have ever owned, heard, or considered owning. This is a great little studio amp and an unbelievable practice amp - the lack of reverb really allows you to focus on your playing by not hiding mistakes, which is good thing for practicing.

The only limitations are: lower wattage rating makes it difficult to consider to play out with, unless its a small place.
Lack of reverb. Switching between clean and distorted sounds (This is a one channel amp) requires knob tweaking - making it inpossible to change mid song without the use of an overdrive or distortion pedal.

I have ordered a Celestion vintage 8 speaker for this amp. Why?
Partly because I always have to tweak my equipment out of curiousity and becuase I am a gear junkie. I think the 20oz magnet on the vintage will make for an even tighter bass response. I plan on making an extension cabinet using which ever speaker performs less to my liking. I also feel the 60watt rating may lend to longer life of the speaker when played at higher volumes, however I may have to trade off warmer sound - who knows? Again, I am NOT dissastified with the stock speaker, I just can't leave well enough alone sometimes.

If it were stolen or lost??? I would 100% replace it in a heartbeat. I may buy another one just to be able to use an ABY switch to change between clean and distortion.

Submitted by kurt at 10/29/2001 08:25

Price Paid: US $190.00

Features: 10
This amp is quite versatile for many types of music except maybe balls out thrash. Its best suited for clean sounds, they are probably the best and most varied Ive ever heard on a small amp. Has a headphone jack but Im not enthralled with the way it sounds, which leads me to believe the Line-out jack wouldnt be much better. I'll get back to you on that one. Its got Tremelo which is nice, im not gonna cry about no reverb, ive got a zoom505 that should take care of that. I use the amp in my basement and it sounds pretty good at low volumes although it sounds better louder. I havent played in front of a drummer yet but I think it could cut the mustard for basic rock drums. And oh yea, dont forget.....it has that cool as shit Vox look. Arent we all a little suckered for marketing?

Sound Quality: 10
Im using a Gibson ES-135 with P-100 stacked humbuckers and I play mostly Jangly Pop rock, like say Tom Petty, R.E.M. etc. It does the chime and ring thing quite well with open chords. I think the gain sounds worse the higher up you turn it. The best way to get the overdrive sound (slightly dirty) is to leave the gain all the way down and turn up the volume to about 4 oclock (from the front). I also like to add a little gain for a little more dirt. When you use the neck pickup, it sounds better with the treble higher and bass a little lower, opposite for the bridge pickup. If youve got the time you can coaxe some wonderful tone out of this baby. I really really like it. Yea, I know its not a tube amp (despite the 12ax7) but dammit, i just really liked the way it sounded, better than more expensive tube amps. I havent tried changing to a groove tube or anything but I will report in when I do. Bottom line---a fantastic clean sounding amp and a very versatile tool that you can get a wide array of tones.

Reliability: 9
I was concerned that it seemed to make a crackling noise but I havent heard it in a while so maybe it was just an isolated incident or my imagination. I was quite nervous about it for awhile but it hasnt given me any other problems.

Customer Support: N/A
I havent had to deal with them yet and I hope I dont ever have to.

Overall Rating: 10
Ive been playing for 14 years and I also have a Peavey Express 112 Transtube 65 watt amp. My Vox is better for clean and that is what I primarily play as a songwriter. I probably would get another one, I like it that much. When shopping for it, I tried the Pathfinder which sounded noisy and tinnier to me and Fender's Bronco among others. I thought the Fender sounded like shit to be honest. For a sweet shimmering chimey clean sound like what VOX is known for you cant beat this amp in this price range. No it doesnt sound like an AC30 but its the closest approximation Ive ever heard for under 2 bills. You get what you pay for usually but at $190, I feel the Vox Cambridge 15 is an exceptional value. Please feel free to E-mail me with any info anyone has on there own Vox Cambridge, I love to hear what others think and how they use it.

Submitted by Timm at 10/18/2001 12:57

Price Paid: US $210

Features: 6
The tremolo is a nice "deluxe "add for a pratice amp, but I don 't think the ausence of reverb is a good trade (authough more expensive).
I feel the ausence of channel switching too...
Overall is a very good option for the pratice price/range

Sound Quality: 7
I have used it with a Fender Telecaster reissue and a new Strat . The clean sound is very good for this type of amp, clean, with a lot of sparkle . I feel it a bit too bright though . With a Les Paul seems to be a better match. The overdrive is good only at max. Has not the dynamic of an all tube amp.

Reliability: N/A

Customer Support: N/A

Overall Rating: 9
I recommend this amp for a pratice or beginer amp.
If it has reverb, I would give it a 10

Submitted by Philos at 10/03/2001 21:59

Price Paid: 109 (UK Pounds)

Features: 8
Single input combo amp, switchable mid range boost and gain boost, tremolo feature (nice!), Celestion 8" custom speaker. Traditional VOX styling down to the basket weave covering and grille cloth. Proper 'chicken head' knobs, but... oh no! a modern rocker switch for the on off. How about a chrome toggle switch?! I might even replace mine for one. The cabinet corners are slightly exposed with no edge protectors.

Sound Quality: 10
I play an Epiphone Les Paul standard with the Gibson pickups. I play in a band, but was getting sick of lugging my Marshall 100W head and 1936 cab around to rehearsals, so I bought this amp. It kicks! The sounds are very VOX'y, the tremolo reminds me of the old AC30 amp used by the Shadows, and the full range of sounds is there from clean to breaky-blues to full on overdrive. The valve pre-amp certainly does its job, no problems with my stock valve at all. Volume wise, our band (SUBSONIC MELON) are loud with a capital L. ie. Loud! It cuts the mustard for practices no problem. For quality of sound and volume from this amp, it scored highly.

Reliability: 10
It has not broken down yet, and I don't expect it to. If it goes down in it's warranty period, it'll go back. Out of its warranty? I'm an electronic engineer, so shouldn't have any problems getting it back on its feet :o)

Customer Support: N/A
I've not had to speak to VOX at all, since I am entirely happy with this amp, so can't really comment here.

Overall Rating: 10
I've been playing guitar for ages now, using my Marshall stack for gigs, and an old roland keyboard amp for practice at home and our practice studio. The Roland is now a doorstop, and this little VOX does the job of practice tremendously. If it was stolen (Heaven forbid), my insurers would be told I wanted another one, no problems. I love the styling of the amp - it sits in the living room next to my guitar, and it looks entirely the vintage part. It's great. The only thing I would (and might) change on it is the on/off switch to a toggle for aesthetics. I compared this amp to the Laney LC15R, but it seemed unreliable from reviews, running too hot, and of poor construction quality. None of these factors are evident on this VOX. It's a great amp. If you love that British 60's sound, GET ONE!!

Submitted by Rob Greaves at 09/15/2001 13:16

Price Paid: US $175

Features: 8
Made in 1999 or 2000-one channel; trem, mid and gain boost/headphones - tube/solid state hybrid. I bought it because of the built in tremelo, but now would prefer a reverb instead. I use this amp at home and it sounds great at low volumes and through headphones. I wish there was easier access to the tube.

Sound Quality: 8
I have a bullet strat with fender custom shop fat 50s pickups. I've tried some of the replacement tube suggstions in previous reviews. tried a groove tube and another "newer" as my local shop told me - sovtek 12ax7lps tube. I also have a tube radio that I pulled the tubes from and tried them. I can't tell that big of a difference, but mine lately seems to have lost tone/power and sounds flat, but then the next day it sounds like I think it should. I don't know if its my inexperience or if the groove tube thats currently in there is going out. this is the first amp I've owned with a tube so its been fun messing with it. I may try the mullard suggestion.

Reliability: 8
don't gig and its never broken down. pretty sturdy

Customer Support: N/A
no reason to call...works great

Overall Rating: 8
I've been playing for off and on for about 10 years. I use it with a american big muff and if it was stolen, it would give me the chance to experiment with another amp, but I would be pissed because its a great amp. I like its looks, sounds and its lightweight. this amp is well made and sturdy. only thing I would change is to make it have easier access to the tube.

and if anyone knows....where's the trip posts that someone suggested that you adjust?

Submitted by Anonymous at 08/24/2001 22:59

Price Paid: 220 (Canadian)

Features: 9
This amp was purchased this year so I am assuming it was made in 2001. Quite a wide range of features for a budget amp. Most notable in my opinion is the mid-range boost. All too often boost swithces on lower end amps sound terrible and are rendered useless. However, with the Cambridge 15, it actually gives the player another dimension to their sound. Also, unlike some reviews, I feel that the tremelo is very useful. It can be used to produce some very nice subtle sounds. For a practice amp, this gets a 9. I know there is no reverb, but how many other practice amps in this price range have reverb? Not the Fender Bronco, nor any of the Danelectros.

Sound Quality: 10
For an amp that is basically solid state, this is a geat sounding amp.I know it has a tube in the pre-amp section, which is nice, but we cannot really call this a tube amp, contrary to what the salesperson tried to tell me! Still, this amp has a fairly wide range of tones that can be coaxed from it. I play primarly country lead guitar and the clean tones this amp produces are very nice, particularly with the mid boost engaged. Also, it can produce nice smooth overdrive for blues. Though I should note that I only set the gain as high as 3 or 4. I don't use alot of gain. Also, I should mention that I don't usually play very loud, which is actually an important point for me because I tried a number of tube amps (Fender Pro jr, Blues Jr, etc) and found that they are difficult to get a nice sound out of at low volumes. With those aforementioned amps, a slight turn of the volume knob and the levels become too loud for practicing in an apartment. At low to medium volumes this amp provides some very lovely tones. It actually has a voice of it's own, something one cannot say for many amps in this price range. For what it is designed for, I think this amp does what it does very well.

Reliability: N/A
I probably would not gig with this amp at a medium to large sized club. I have a Mesa-Boogie Maverick with two twelve inch celestion vintage thirties for that. I don't think this amp is really made for heavy duty work. I think it is plenty loud enough for a coffee shop gig or something like that. I would just be a little careful with the corners. I might look for some corner prtectors for it if I can find the right size and color (black). Nonetheless, it is very light and therefore very portable. I have already taken it out to a few friends houses and jammed with it (no drums however). I don't really see it giving me any problems in terms of performance however.

Customer Support: N/A
Never dealt with the company

Overall Rating: 10
I have been playing for seventeen years or so. I have owned a number of amps; Vox AC 30, Fender Twin, Fender Dual Showman, Mesa Boogie Studio 22, Marshal Mosfet 100 (crap!), Marshall Bluesbreaker. I eventually sold all of these for one reason or another. All of them had their strengths except for the Marshall Mosfet. I now own a Mesa Maverick which is my favorite amp I have owned to date. The Cambridge does not sound as good as my Mav. It does not sound as good as my old AC30...how could it? It surly is not meant to compete with amps of that caliber. However, after trying out 9 different practice amps in this price range(all of the Danelectros, some of which were not bad though somewhat limited, Fender Champ, Pro jr which is over rated, Blues jr, Peavey classic 30, which is nice but too expensive for a practice amp, Ampeg and the Vox Pathfinder), I feel that it is head and shoulders above the competition. Just try it along side a Fender Bronco! There is no comparison! It is marginally better than the Pathfinder, which might make the Pathfinder the best value for the money. However, I felt that the extra features of a mid-range boost, pre-amp tube and a celestion speaker might make it a better amp for the long haul. If you are looking for a small, reliable practice amp that can actually generate some nice tone and is versatile, look no further. My best advice however is to try it out side by side with all of the other amps in this category. You will be pleasantly surprised. Obviously, do not expect it to sound like an AC30! For what it is designed for, this little amp is wonderful. By the way, just because it is not all tube, do not presume that it cannot produce nice warm tones. I thought I would never own a small solid state amp. OK, I owned that peice of junk Marshall Mosfet, but that was fourteen years ago! Some of the new solid state amps are quite capable of producing useful tones in a practice situation, with the exception of the crappy Bronco. As a footnote, the Fender Bronco is'nt awful, it is just over priced for what it is and does not even come close to the Cambridge for sound quality. Great value for the money. I am very happy with it.

Submitted by Owen Thomas at 08/23/2001 23:25

Price Paid: £ (120 )

Features: 10
it got a line out a ext speeker out and tremlo

Sound Quality: 10
i run this into a power amp and 4 4x12 and it sound the dogs bo****cks! i play a prs and it un beliveable!

Reliability: 10
never had a problem!

Customer Support: 9
N\A

Overall Rating: 10
ive been playing it 4 6 months and live gigging 2 months and i love it!

Submitted by mark at 08/02/2001 12:25

Price Paid: US $179 + FOOTSWITCH

Features: 9
The features have been amply explained in many other reviews, so I'll not belabor the point here. Suffice it to say that there are enough tone shaping options to dig around and find amost anything you want. Very effective bass and treble, mid-boost is always on. So far, this is the only solid state/valve hybrid that I've liked in any price range. I give a 9 here because it's a practice amp at less than $200 and for that it's very well equipped. The line out, ext speaker, and headphone jacks are a bonus at this level.

Sound Quality: 9
This is the main reason I wanted to submit this review. Almost everyone agrees this is a great sounding little amp, and I'm a big fan too. I've played with mine for 7 months and feel I've put it through it's paces. As far as valve substitution...I bought this amp based on the reviews here. Ordered it sight unseen and crossed my fingers. I was surprised that it sounded quite good with the Sovtek 12AX7 that came with it. I popped in a Groove Tube ECC83 and it made a condsiderable difference. Then one day I did something that I questioned until I got it completed. I ordered a Mullard NOS CV4004 from KCA Tubes ($50). I doubted my sanity for spending $50 for a valve for a $180 amp. Until I put it in! Now I've got a $230 amp that absolutely is pure tone! The cleean headroom increased 20% The bass tightened up, and the gain took on a whole new dimension (meaning it's actually usable, quality gain now). Before the Mullard I only put the gain on about 3 to increase the volume some, and never used the gain boost. If the amp has a sound fault, it's the gain, but most combos have crappy gain, its a fact of life. After the valve switch I began using the gain more and now really like it. Sovtek tubes are used because they rate very high in stability for transportation, but test rather low in sonic properties. Hence the improvement with a NOS (New Old Stock) tube or good current off-shore tube brand like Ruby. It now has REAL VOX clang. The tone controls have much more voicing. In short, this is a different amp. If you can afford the $50, spend it..you will be happy for years to come (pre-amp valves last a long time if not banged around). I've got a Mesa Boogie Studio 22+ that doesn't have the cool clang that this Cambridge has. The killer is...I have a 65 Bassman cabinet tha I put just one (1) Celestion Greenback in. Plug the VOX into this and it's a poor man's AC15. I use a Cool Cat chorus to make up for lack of reverb. I play a 1999 American Strat and a Guild DCE1 with Fischman electronics. Both sound superb. I also play harp through this, but only using the 8" Bulldog that's in it. The 8" Celestion breaks up perfect with harp, and the rather week tremolo is just right for harp. I jam with a professional musician and we're both gear happy to a medium degree. He's always been astounded by the sound of this little "front-seat" amp. I love it and will probably never part with it just because for the money there's NOTHING out there that comes close, especially for a vintage clean clank (especially with the Mullard valve). If you can't spring for a Mullard, try a NOS GE or Phillips, RCA or something good for about $25. You'll be amazed like I am. Again, a 9 for it being this price range of amp...actually a 7 before the valve switch, a 9 after.

Reliability: 8
It's Korean, which 10 years ago meant crap. These days Korea is #4 in gear quality as far as I'm concerned. Good build quality, very tidy board wiring, spring-loaded valve sleeve. I've not had any problems and I've put lots of bedroom hours on it. I've carted it around to jam too. As long as you don't drop it or throw it it should last years. Again, for the price I've seen NOTHING that compares.

Customer Support: 1
Korg owns VOX now, which is better than the others that have owned them in the past 20 years. I didn't get an owners manual with mine, just the maintenance sheet. I emailed twice but never heard from them. I gave up. I ordered mine locally, asking for and receiving the equivalent of internet pricing, so I can take mine back to the store if need be. I doubt if I will have to.

Overall Rating: 9
Overall I would strongly recommend this to anyone looking for a small, lightweight, quality sounding amp with versatile features. It's not a one trick pony like so many "practice" amps. Oh yeah, you might want to steer clear of the Cambridge 30 series if you like tone. The valve is only on the gain channel on those, not the clean channel. Why they would do that I have no idea, but it takes away the possibilities of tube upgrades. So far I like every aspect of this little cooker. And oh yeah, it looks COOL. I grew up with VOX on the Ed Sullivan show, etc. I've only been playing this time for about 2 years. Played off and on for 20 but not very seriously. I realized I better get with it before I die. If I lost it or some turd stole it I would bum out. I've got other amps so not sure if I would replace it NOW, but if I wanted a small amp there is no other I would buy. The Celestion 8" just plain kicks ass. It's surprising how good they can make a small speaker sound. I'd like to thank the first 10 reviewers of this amp...it was them that made up my mind to give it a try. If you're reading reviews trying to decide which small amp to buy, like I did, look no further. This is the one!

Submitted by TheOldDogg at 07/14/2001 12:58

Price Paid: US $175

Features: 6
This is about the coolest looking practice amp you can find. It has that Vox style that I always liked. It's a little 15 watt, 8 inch combo with tremelo. Single tube in the preamp with solid state power. I think it comes from Korea. No reverb, though.

Sound Quality: 8
For what it is, it sounds pretty good. I just use it for practice around the house and it works great for that. I don't hink it has enough volume to be heard at a gig. I have a Fender Blues Junior thats also 15 watts, but it sounds much louder than the Vox. I use the BJ for playing out. But this is a practice amp and I got it to replace another solid state practice amp I had that sounded like shit. This one is so much better. I play a Strat and a Ric, mostly rockabilly, classic rock, and blues. It works real well for those styles/

Reliability: 9
I've had it for 9 months and I use it every day, almost. No problems.

Customer Support: N/A

Overall Rating: 9
I really like it for practice. It sounds pretty good and I like the style. It's not very loud, and it could use reverb. But compared to a lot of other practice amps out there, this is one of the best.

Submitted by Billy Towers at 07/10/2001 11:19

Price Paid: N/A

Features: N/A
CORRECTION to FenderCrate's submission on July 9, 2001. This amp is made in Korea, not China. Please change reference to "Britsh engineering and >Korean< labor." Sorry for the trubble. Thanks.

Sound Quality: N/A

Reliability: N/A

Customer Support: N/A

Overall Rating: N/A

correction...see above

Submitted by FenderCrate at 07/10/2001 06:46

Price Paid: US $179

Features: 7
Features are described fully elsewhere. Having a single boost button for midrange is rather limiting, but also simplifies things. Gain boost is tricky. Punching the button (or foot-switching it on) creates a huge boost in volume, unless the gain is already up to 75 percent or more. (We're using percents here because there are no numbers on the knobs!) I'm slowly finding some uses for the tremelo ( I think the really s-l-o-w speeds could actually induce puking with some listeners.) No reverb, but I don't miss it too much because it sounds so incredibly....

Sound Quality: 9
GREAT! It's the first hybrid tube/SS I've tried, but it sure won't be the last. I thought no little amp could sound better than my little Crate tube amps or the Fender Blues Junior. But this does! There's a lot more range in the clean end of the spectrum than the all-tubes I mentioned. And plenty of gain for shreddin.' Regardless of gain settings, the ample bass and treble boosts give it the full tone you'd expect from something twice the size. Wide range of sounds--all wonderful!

Reliability: N/A
Too soon to say, but there no rattles or other signs of pending trouble. It's only 17 pounds, with no corner protections, so I will have to be careful about bouncing it down stairwells.

Customer Support: 8
Got it mail order from a "friend" in the business. Maybe I should return it, then buy it back as a discounted "blem." Naw, that's not nice. Made in China, except for the British Celestion speaker. I assume my local techie can handle whatever comes up.

Overall Rating: 9
Been playing 35 years. Still got my '66 Fender Super Reverb, which I never use except for occassional reunions with my high school mates (Yes, I was playing Louie, Louie when it was on the charts!) Now using a U.S. Strat and a Samick Les Paul. The amp is totally quiet or has just a slight hum depending on pickup settings. I bought this on the basis of user reviews, and you could do the same. I expect I will also get the larger 30w 10-inch model in the near future, or as soon as I can sell some of these old amps I used to think were perfect. Go ahead and get the optional footpedal for this amp. It controls both gain and tremelo. Overall, a great pairing of British engineering and cheap Chinese labor. Looks great, sounds even better. Getcha one.

Submitted by FenderCrate at 07/09/2001 12:59

Price Paid: US $170

Features: 9
Ordered brand new from an online place, primiarily because I needed a small but good quality practice amp that could be used for home recording. Features are great for me. Dig the hybrid solid state - tube set-up. Has a gain boost and mid boost, along with temolo.

Sound Quality: