Price Paid: N/A
Features: 9
This is a solid state amp! The Conquerors were made between 1966-1970, first by JMI and later by Vox sound Ltd (VSL). This is a VSL version and they are slightly different from the JMIs. Two channels: Normal channel has Volume, Bass, Treble, Top Boost and Vibrato Speed,Depth. Brilliant channel has Vol, Bass, Treble, MRB (Mid Range Boost) (on/off and 3-position selector) and most important Distortion. This is among the first amps to incorporate a dedicated distortion unit. It also has a reverb that is assignable to either channel. The amp has seperate head locked on top of the 16 ohm 2x12" Alnico Celestion loaded cab, and has a unique pair of legs on the sides. Amp is 30 watt RMS. It came with a three button footswitch to switch Reverb, Tremolo and Distortion. For its time - and even today - a very sophisticated amplifier. Only downside is I would have loved the distortion to be available for the Normal channel as well, and I wish they had put in a level makeup stage for the Distortion, as volume actually drops when distortion is set low! Therefore rating is not 10.
Sound Quality: 10
As it is a solid state amp, it obviously has a different sound characteristic than your average valve amp. But from my experience with transistor amplification, this amp is the KING! Also this is the amp used by the Beatles in the studio in 1967. I prefer using it with a Rick 360, but my ES-1275 copy also sings through it. The amp is pretty noisy, although mine has a simple mod made that will enable lower noise at low volume playing. Soundwise this is the Beatles! No doubt! I use it to play prog rock, and it produces clear ringing notes for my 12-string electric. The Normal channel is particularly tasty for clean playing. Unlike other transistors I've played it has a huge fat sound that I usually associate with valves. The Normal channel also sounds really good for amplifying accoustics. The Alnico speakers also help out a bit here. But for that nasty Beatle buzz, plug into the Brilliant channel, set Treble at 8, Bass at 5, MRB on at position 3, Distortion at 6 and you are now taking off on a Magical Mystery Tour. A very unique dry sort of distortion. I know of no other distortion that sounds quite like this. Angry when you strike the strings and then silence. Fantastic! With the distortion at 2-3, you get a slightly dirty sound that sounds good too. The MRB is another unique feature. On the VSLs the MRB always has an effect, so you have 6 different colorations of the sound. Hard to describe, but it sounds a bit like when you use a wah to boost a certain frequency. I think this amp has a potential for many different styles, and at least this is the only amp that sounds like the Vox Conqueror. A unique piece indeed!
Reliability: N/A
I would not hesitate to gig with it without backup. Mine does have a quirk on the Brilliant channel I need to fix sometime, but warranty ran out some 30 years ago so I can't comment on support. It seems reliable, and the components used are said to be of high quality.
Overall Rating: 9
I'm a Vox freak. I have Vox, Vox, Vox and more Vox. I have played for more than 20 years. I would definitely find another if it was stolen. I used to play a Yamaha G50-112, and I hated it. It scared me from solid state for 15 years. But the Vox transistors have alway sounded more like valves to me, and give something valves don't - clean sound up to loud volume and speaker breakup.
Submitted by Frank Carvalho at 06/09/1999 08:05
