Vox Cambridge 30 Reverb

Price Paid: US $199.00

Features: 7
Vox Cambridge 30 reverb. 2 channel.reverb.tremolo.30 watts.

Sound Quality: 3
GAve this new toy a good run with strats, tele, and my hamer with humbuckers.Plenty loud.Speaker clipped in the clean channel on about a 3 setting. I thought the celestion would have done better, unless the amp is rated too low for the speaker. Bottom line for me is this thing has no bottom end. bass up/treble down+still very thin.

Reliability: 1
owned it for 2 weeks

Customer Support: N/A
N/A

Overall Rating: 3
I've been playing for 26 yrs. Been though the big equipment in the past. i just play at home now for my own enjoyment.I currently own solid bodies with humbuckers, tele, strat, a jazz box, and a semi hollow body. I brought this amp back to the store today. I picked up a used fender frontman 25 watt with reverb for 70 bucks.

Submitted by Mike at 03/20/2002 17:36

Price Paid: US $199

Features: 5
The features were as good as could be expected for a $199 cheeseball amp.I got this at the Guitar Center March sale a few weeks ago. Could have used a footswitch as an included item. The tremolo was sweet.The worse feature was the quick and sudden death.

Sound Quality: 7
Had a real nice tube sound for about 45 minutes in the second channel for a nice 60's rock sound.

Reliability: 1
This piece of crap died on the second half-hour of use. I haven't had any amp tick me off as much since my little Danelectro died in the second week after the warranty expired. Junk....and considering what the other reviews have reported, I think this is as good as it gets.

Customer Support: 8
I didn't even try to go through Vox. Guitar Center was great on taking a return. I upgraded a few bucks and got a Crate GFX65....major improvement: got 65watts, effects, two channels with some butt stomping gain AND a footswitch. much better....I'm happy now.The rating is for Guitar Center ONLY....I never dealt with Vox.

Overall Rating: 1
I can't say too much how completely ridiculous it is to open up a brand new amp and have it die nearly immediately. Where is Vox's quality control on this??? Usually electronics are burned-in and sent through some tests. I guess they're saving that for the big dollar equipment (?).

Submitted by Dave at 03/16/2002 21:31

Price Paid: US $199.99

Features: 7
Good features for this price, including two channels, overdrive, reverb, and tremolo as well as headphone jack, external speaker out, and line out. However, this amp just screams for a footswitch, and I wish one had been included. Also, the speaker is wimpy, and needs to be upgraded. And the preamp tube is mediocre quality. For 200 bucks, though, I guess I shouldn't complain.

Sound Quality: 8
The clean sound is excellent, and adjusting the gain to moderate distortion sounds good as well. Adjusting the gain to high-level distortion, however, the sound falls quite a bit short. The mid boost doesn't help much, either. You are probably better off using a pedal for high-level crunch. Upgrading the speaker and preamp tube might help, too. But overall this is a nice sounding amp. I play a '62 RI Strat, and it sounds great through this amp.

Reliability: 8
Haven't had any problems with it. When I first got it I noticed an annoying rattle which I thought might be the cabinet or the chassis, but it tuned out to be tthe plastic handle rattling on its brackets. So I need to replace the handle. other than that, no problems.

Customer Support: N/A
Haven't had to deal with them, so I can't comment.

Overall Rating: 7
I need to upgrade the speaker and preamp tube, and I need to get a footswitch. I also need to replace the handle with something that doesn't cause a rattle. After that, I'll have a very nice $300 amp. My rating of 7 is tentative, until I replace those things. After that, it should rate an 8 or a 9. There ain't no 10's.

Submitted by Tom at 03/15/2002 12:19

Price Paid: US $160 used

Features: 9
Used Vox Cambridge 30 Reverb. Serial #733 so I'm guessing it is a couple years old. Comes with 2 channels, a solid state clean channel and a gain channel with a 12AX7 preamp. Has separate treble/bass controls for each channel, gain channel has gain control and midrange boost. Also includes tremolo and reverb, and footswitch, headphone, line out, and external speaker jacks. Has a nice 10" Celestion Bulldog speaker. Excellent features for the price; a more usable gain channel and I would have rated it a 10 (see below).

Sound Quality: 9
I'm using it with a Squier Standard Strat that I modded to reduce pickup noise/hum. My effects are a Boss CS-3 Compression Sustainer, an Ibanez TS-7 Tubescreamer, and Boss DD-3 Digital Delay. This is currently my only amp. I find it to be very versatile for the music I like to play (U2/REM/Radiohead). It has a distinct sound, not quite like an AC-30 (not as good of course but 6-7x cheaper), but unmistakably Vox. It has more of a chimey sound with warmer mids than other amp brands.

The clean channel is superb for the price. There is some noise at high volumes but I am sure it is from my cheap stock pickups. I considered buying a footswitch, but I never use the gain channel so I decided it wasn't worth it. The gain channel in contrast to the clean channel seems muddy and somewhat muted. I couldn't find a good overdriven sound and I think it's worth using a stompbox instead. I might change the stock tube to see if that improves the tone. I owned a Vox Pathfinder that also had a nice clean channel but a muddy gain channel, not sure if this is a characteristic of lower-end Voxes. The tremolo and reverb are nice features, I don't use the tremolo much but the reverb adds a realistic touch.

The clean sounds alone are worth it for the amp, so I'll give it a 9.

Reliability: N/A
It looks solidly constructed, but I'm mostly a bedroom player. I don't put my gear into abuse so I can't really comment on how it would hold up.

Customer Support: N/A
I bought the amp without a manual, and e-mailed Vox and Korg (distributor in USA) if I could obtain or download one, but I never got a response. I'm not sure if this is indicative of actual support but from what I've heard they do not offer the best support, at least in the US. Hopefully I won't have to deal with them (and since I'm not the original owner I doubt the warranty would apply to me anyway).

Overall Rating: 9
Great amp for the price. Not everyone's cup of tea but if you like the Vox sound this is a pretty good interpretation of it. As long as you use a separate overdrive everything is great.

Submitted by John at 03/14/2002 00:09

Price Paid: US $199.99

Features: 10
I just received my new VOX Cambridge 30 Reverb amplifier last evening. I ordered it from Musician's Friend on a Friday, late afternoon and received it on the following Tuesday. Shipping was only $8.15. That's pretty good. The amp is "new," so I can't tell you "when" it was made. I spent the entire evening "exploring" its
tones and sounds and I like it very much. 30 Watts is enough for me. Most of my work is practice and small venues. I'm not going to be playing Yankee Stadium any time soon. I think the amp has plenty of versatility and sound capabilities -- although I obviously need to explore it further. I play lots of 60s music and those tunes sound great on this VOX amp. Let's be honest with ourselves: it really doesn't matter that the amp is built in Korea. The components don't come from Korea. Furthermore, it's my personal observation that Asian people normally take more pride in their workmanship than most Americans do anyway. They feel "disgraced" if they don't do their best, and they'd get fired too !!! Now argue with that !!! It's a "pretty" looking amp with fine attention to detail and plenty of features.

Sound Quality: 10
I have several guitars: VOX Mark III Custom "Brian Jones" model, Rickenbacker 360-12, Gibson ES-335, Epiphone Explorer "Beast" and others. The VOX sounds especially great through this amp, playing the old British Invasion tunes and early Rolling Stones songs. I have not explored too much in the distorted range, but other sounds like reverb and tremolo are very nice. There's plenty of volume and tone control as well.

Reliability: N/A
Cannot comment on this facet as yet. I expect the amp to be reliable or I wouldn't have bought it.

Customer Support: N/A
Cannot comment on this.

Overall Rating: 8
I have been playing for 38 years. I've played professionally on a local level, been on local television and played before crowds as large as 2,000 people. My last amp was a Marshall Valvestate and I sold it yesterday to a co-worker. It was too much of a "screamer" for me. I chose this amp because it's the right size for me and has the features I want to play the songs I enjoy playing. Also, it's a VOX. VOX has been owned and/or produced by several parent companies over the years. It's just a "name."

Submitted by DAVID FOX at 03/13/2002 06:35

Price Paid: US $199.00

Features: N/A
This review (sort of), is for those of you that have had sound/reliability problems with your Cambridge 30 Reverb -i.e the amp cuts out, distorts badly, volume and controls no longer work, etc. I was having the same problems with two of these amps. But, I believe I have found the cure. A magical repair (not really) that has worked on both of mine. Its very simple.

Sound Quality: N/A
Here's what I did in two separate cases to remedy the issues: Insure that the preamp tube is seated well. But don't bear-down too hard on the tube or you may break some soldering connections on the tube socket. Plug a guitar into the amp with the guitar volume down. Turn on the amp with any knobs all the way down, and with any boost switches set to "off". Let it sit there idleing for about 40 minutes to 1 hour. "Magically" (hopefully), when you come back and turn it up to play, everything will be fine. It worked for me both times. I'm not sure why, but it would seem logical that the preamp does not like to work hard (or at all) when first turned on. Once the sound goes bad, it will stay bad every time you turn it on....until you perform the above.
After doing the "wait" thing, hold off a couple minutes after powering-up each time before applying big amounts of volume. And lastly, the good news is that since doing this, both my Cambridge's have worked beautifully, without problems, and with great tone. Good Luck on yours.

Reliability: N/A

Customer Support: N/A

Overall Rating: N/A

Submitted by Anonymous at 03/08/2002 12:44

Price Paid: US $247.00

Features: 8
2001 model, Im sure by now you know all the features. Two channels, one solid state and one tube. Decent amount of features, will use pedals if I want to alter my sound heavily so what more do you need? Dont use the Tremolo much though although its nice to have it when I want to play brit-popesue stuff. Dont be fooled by the 30 watts...contrary to what some say you CAN gig with this amp provided its a small venue, most intelligent people use PA's when gigging and with this its no problem. I really wish it had come with a footswitch...come on VOX!! I would have paid a bit more if necessary.

Sound Quality: 8
I play mostly indie/noise rock with some blues and brit pop type stuff. The VOx is great for all of it.
I think any problems people are having are going to come from the gear you are using as a whole....I currently play a gibson sg thorough this thing with 490R/T humbuckers...clean channel is great and can be tweaked a lot for a range of 'vox' tones. The second channel (also contrary to what some have said) sounds very good. You can get some nice distortion and its obvious its powered by a tube. I currently have not changed out the sovtek tube it came with but in my opinion sovtek stuff is not that bad. The amp is also quite loud when you hit the gain boost...I can easily use this thing for practice with a loud drummer (and I was pretty surprised myself) someone on here made a comment about changing the speaker for a 'high quality weber'...my opinion? why? The Celestion it comes with is british made, and celestion makes very high quality speakers, I was actually surprised an amp at this price HAD a celestion in it...

Reliability: N/A
Had it for a bit over a month and no problems yet.

Customer Support: N/A
Never dealt. Heard good things about Korg the parent company.

Overall Rating: 8
got a great deal on it because it was on close out....some have complained of mediocre reliability, Ive not had problems, but mine has a high serial number, maybe that accounts for it....Id buy it again, VOX sound and quality for much less than an AC30.

Submitted by Anonymous at 02/20/2002 12:58

Price Paid: US $249.95

Features: 8
This unit has a high serial number, around 1600 so I'd say it was made in 2001. I play 60's rock and 80's type music. 2 channels with reverb. This unit is used for pratice only, as for power it has the drive to handle small room gig's (use you PA system) and mike it.

Sound Quality: 8
I play a PRS Singlecut, A Les Paul Classic, Epiphone Les Paul Standard
and a EVH Peavey Wolfgang Arch Top. of all the above units this amp seems to like the low output Epiphone Humbuckers Best, clean channel sounds real sweet. Over drive channel comes along nice with this guitar also. stay away from high output humbuckers with this amp.
If you want Heavy Distortion and brutal grind I would offer a Peavey 5150 or a Mesa Single Rectifier. (works for me) both channels offer
good bang for the Buck!

Reliability: 8
I only play this Amp for about one hour or so every other day and have had no problems with it so far in that respect. I have noticed a fluttering of the speaker or buzzing noise from the chassis. I've checked everything to make sure it was tight, but still it's there.
I notice when I back the Reverb off to 1/4 it drops off, so I'm guessing it has something to do with the Reverb. I feel that changing the speaker to a good Weber! might add alot to this units sound. Also I have replaced the Overdrive channel tube to a 12AU7 N.O.S. and this add loads of warmth to the drive channel.

Customer Support: N/A
Never dealt with Korg USA

Overall Rating: 9
People, remember what we have here, a Korean Made Budget Amp. I don't expect it to sound like my 5150'S or MESA or Marshall JCM800 But it does fine for what it is. I'd give it a 10 on looks, Yes it's cheap made, but remember the price. Buy the Chrome stand from Northcoast music.com $59.95 replace the speaker and driver tube, plug in a low output humbucker equipt guitar and rock out. Thats what it's all about! and by the way, production has ended on the Canbridge Line
so hang onto your's unless you can afford and AC-30 if so! go for it!

Submitted by Anonymous at 02/10/2002 14:42

Price Paid: US $249.99

Features: 7
Brand new Vox Camrbidge 30 Reverb, bought in January, 2002. Made in Korea with a British Celestion speaker. Built probably in late 2000 or 2001, considering that there weren't many left at the store. Nice amount of features for the price, as the tremolo is a nice touch along with the reverb. My styles range from jazz/blues/rock/noise like 95% of the people who read these things, so we all have a pretty common goal: tone. The two channels are pretty standard with smooth, clean tones on the regular channel and crunchy bite on the second channel. Maybe my ear isn't as sensitive as some other people who reviewed this amp, but the distortion sounded fine to me. It's got the footswitch/speaker outlet/headphone jack on the back and footswitch on the top. The gain boost for the second channel is nice bonus, because gain distortion shouldn't always equate brain hemmorrhage. Just enough to make it a little louder. 30 watts makes this louder than my old little practice Fender until my wife let me go with something better. I haven't gigged it yet, but why would you gig without using the PA anyway? Easy to carry too. I haven't used my DigiTech RP100 with it yet, as I want to get used to it's sound before I start messing with it. It's pretty standard for features, so I'll give it a 7. Why won't they include the footswitch?! I'd have given it an 8 if they had included one.

Sound Quality: 8
I've used my MIJ Fender Stratocaster Foto-Flame with this, as well as my Les Paul Custom, and so far, both respond well. I will agree with another reviewer that the single coils sound better than humbuckers, but since I'm not a professional musician, to my untrained ears, it sounds okay. Actually, I tested this amp at the store with a Mexi-Tele, and it sounded so good that my next guitar may be a maple-necked Tele (Japanese or USA, though). The sounds range from clean and glassy but with some tweaking you'll get some thick, muddy sounds out of it. Created some nice, smooth distortion with it as well, so it covers all the bases I need. As much as your amp can produce, a lot of your sound will also depend on your guitar. I'm surprised at the number of people with "heavy metal" guitars (BC Rich, Jackson, I've-Been-Had, et cetera) who complain about sound quality. Well, those guitars probably weren't designed with Vox in mind, so look at all of your gear if you're not happy with your sound. The sound is a big improvement over my little Fender, and after testing several amps at the store, I thought the sound quality of the Vox was more versatile than anything else in it's price range. If you pay under $300, what do you expect? It's not going to sound like an $800 amp, now will it? I probably will replace the tube at some point just to see if it affects the quality.

Reliability: 10
So far, I haven't gigged with it, but who on Earth does a gig without some form of backup? As I only have one little 12AX7 tube to replace, I don't expect much servicing in the future. Can I depend on it? I don't think I would've bought it if it wouldn't be dependable...

Customer Support: N/A
Haven't had to deal with them, but judging from other reviews, I'm not looking forward to the hassle if I need to. Wasn't impressed with the leaflet they included with the amp though. Was paper scarce that day?

Overall Rating: 8
I've been playing for ten years and probably sound awful. Okay, I can carry a tune, but GIT grads have nothing to worry about. I've had a Rickenbacker 360, a MIJ Paisley Tele, MIJ '72 Telecaster Custom, my trusty Alvarez DY-75, an Ovation CS-257, my '89 Les Paul Custom, and my Fender Strat. Nothing groundbreaking, I grant you, but I've been happy with them. I've been hurting for a new amplifier for months now, and my wife made me a happy man when she said I could buy one without fearing a divorce. Maybe it was the history associated with Vox, the artists who used them, or maybe just the price. C'mon, let's face it; everyone and their brother has a Fender. They probably opened King Tut's tomb and found a Princeton Chorus. I wanted something new that sounded different and the Vox Cambridge 30 Reverb delivers. I haven't played a gig with it, but I'm looking forward to breaking it in and eventually hitting the stage with it. In case you haven't noticed, I'm not playing your local arena anytime soon, so for the price, this amplifier suits a bedroom rock star just fine.

Submitted by Anonymous at 01/23/2002 07:18

Price Paid: $460 (Canadian)

Features: 8
I'm too lazy to post them because a bunch of other people already have... it gets an 8 because the last amp I had was a piece of shit and this is has a ton more features.

Sound Quality: 10
I play my Epiphone Dot (ES 335) through this amp and it sounds great!! I'm also used my friends mysterious vantage (we think it's from the 70's but we really don't know) and that also sounded kickass. I play a lot of weezer and things similar to that. I crank the gain and use the gain boost (but not the mid boost) and I can get a really nice grungy sound. The clean channel is also really warm and nice with the Dot. Crank up the clean and that single tube really makes some nice overdriven tones. I'm not a huge fan of reverb but I find that just a little of it sounds nice with distortion abd when I'm in the mood I break out a little surf guitar with my treble pickup. I've also noticed that there is a lot of channel 2 bashing here, I really like the gain this amp gives and I can get a great low end tone with this amp. Maybe it's because most of the people here are using fenders but my epi has no problem in getting that low tone. I can totally get metallica low on this and if I use my marshall jackhammer I can get even lower playing stuff like deftones with relative ease. I start getting distortion on the clean channel when it hits about 11-12'o'clock... I almost with I could get louder with my clean, but that overdrive is friggin sweet so I will live.

Keep in mind that the last amp I had was a peavy rage 128 and it was a piece of crap (despite the fact that I played a 5 string bass through it at full volume and it didn't explode).

Reliability: N/A
On the 5th day I noticed a little rattle and I was a bit angry cause it was so new, but the nut on the input jack was loose so I just tightened it and it was fine. I find this amp to be quite reliable thus far and I tend to pamper my gear so it should be fine. I haven't had it a super long time though so I'm not gonna rate it

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

Overall Rating: 10
I've been playing for 4 years and I love this amp. It's my first "big" amp and I think we're going to get along great. For other gear, I have an epiphone les paul 100 and an epiphone 12 string acoustic. I also have the dot that I got used and a really old beater acoustic guitar that I started on. I run a bespeco weeper wah (friggin brutal) and a marshall jackhammer into this amp but I haven't been using them lately, the amp doesn't need help with the distortion usually. I also have an old DOD supradistortion 55b that doesn't like to work and a Zoom 509 dual power modulator that I hardly ever use.

if this amp were stolen or lost I would cry, because I can't afford a new one. I don't hate anything about this amp so far except that they didn't have a reverb twin and I only got the one speaker... but then again that twin would have been out of my price range. I was also a bit miffed that the store I bought it from didn't have any footswitched but that's not the amps fault. When I was shopping for it I was playing guitars though this monster crate amp they had there and I thought it sounded good until I plugged into this thing. They had a fender princeton there too but I just shrugged it off once I played this. Friggin sweet amp for super cheap... even in canadian funds :)

Submitted by Mike Nason at 01/04/2002 08:02