Vox Pathfinder 15

Price Paid: US $119.00

Features: 9
I bought my Pathfinder about four years ago, just to have a little lightweight amp to use for random jams, etc. The features have been covered thoroughly by other reviewers. I've been playing for 37 years, and been in several bands, used about every configuration of stuff you can think of, most of which was heavy and bulky. This little amp is a blessing! At age 50, I've recently joined a local club band (small venues) that needed to replace their guitarist, and I'm actually using the Pathfinder at these gigs. It's serving me quite well. I'm running it from the external speaker jack into an old homemade cabinet containing a 12-inch Utah speaker; I elevate the cabinet to about waist height (I put it on top of the Tupperware tub that I keep my cords and accessories in!), and it sounds really good.

Sound Quality: 9
I play a Fender Strat, unmodified, made in 1972. I run first thru a Digitech RP-50 processor to beef up the signal a bit, and then into the Vox. I usually set both the gain and the volume knobs to "high noon", and I'm getting sufficient volume to mix well with the keyboard player, the bass player, and the drummer. I've played many times without the processor hooked up, though, and the Vox still sounds great all by itself. I haven't yet mic'd up the cabinet into the main p.a. or utilized the line-out, but in a little larger venue I'm betting that I could do that and still be in good shape. Bottom line-- I'm getting enough gig volume without stressing out the amp. When you play softly, it responds softly; when you utilize a more vigoruous attack, it seems to respond by producing a more throaty texture. Thus, on many tunes, if I have a solo, I won't even need to step on the processor or increase the volume to do the solo, but rather I can just increase my attack a bit, and the solo projects just fine. Really sounds good to me. And the guys in the band can't believe I'm just using this little thing, and getting by on it quite nicely!

Reliability: 10
So far, it has been 100% reliable. As with any equipment, you must take care of it, and it will usually take care of you!

Customer Support: N/A
N/A

Overall Rating: 9
I'm considering getting myself the Reverb model, perhaps for the peace of mind that comes from having a backup if such was ever necessary. I'm in love with this pint-sized amp! Although an extension speaker is probably a good idea, I want to stress that a guy can use the Pathfinder at gigs with great success-- at least the small-medium club/night spot gigs. It's so lightweight, and that's a welcome relief for us older guys!

Submitted by Bill Sheehan at 03/22/2004 10:28

Price Paid: N/A

Features: 7
This amp was bought in 2000 or 2001 as a package deal with a new Danelectro DC. The features are as described in previous reviews. I have not tried the Pathfinder through an external speaker, and I have never used any pedal with it. My review is based solely on the performance of the amp itself, used with the Danelectro DC, a Japanese "Pearl" Les Paul copy made in the seventies, and a recent Mexican Startocaster.

If there is a weakness in the Pathfinder's "features", I would have to say it is the absence of reverb, but more so the low quality of the headphone and line out. Otherwise, everything seems to work very well.

Sound Quality: 10
While I cannot say I have tried the Pathfinder out side by side with many other amps, I can say that this is an excellent sounding amp.

First of all, this amp has certain warmth of tone that I have never heard in another small, solid state amp. Perhaps some would liken it to "tube" tone, but I hesitate to go that far. (This is only because I do not have that much experience with tube amps.) This warmth is present no matter what guitar is played through it, with humbuckers or with single coils. This amp is work very well for country, blues, classic rock and pop, but perhaps not so well for other kinds of music.

It is odd, but each guitar I have heard played through this amp seems more "like itself". In other words, the Pathfinder tends to bring out the best in a variety of different types of guitar.

I have never played this amp with full volume and full gain for more than a few seconds at a time. At this extreme level, the distortion does not sound very good, BUT this amp DOES have a consiostently good overdriven tone.

This brings up the next point. The "boost" is a bit strong (and not adjustable) which probably makes it a little less useful for switching during performance. But this "boost" has its own tone characteristics, and thus may be used to produce some interesting sounds. Do not make the mistake that I did, which was to assume that the boost simply amounted to an increase in gain. Instead, it adds a different sort of distorted effect, even when the gain is very low. I suggest you use it as the equivalent of a mild distortion pedal running into the amp, and then use the gain control to add a richer overdrive effect. For example, with my Les Paul copy I get a very nice Urge Overkill sound with the bridge pickup turned to about 3 or 4, running into the Pathfinder with the "boost" on, the gain set at 4-5, and volume set for taste. At these levels, you can really distinguish the separate contribution made by "boost" and gain to the overall sound.

The treble and bass knobs work pretty well. I do not suggest running a single coil bridge pickup through the Pathfinder with the treble set on 10!

Reliability: 8
I have never gigged with this amp, but I have also never had a single problem with its quality.

Customer Support: N/A

Overall Rating: 9
If this were stolen, I would probably replace it with the Pathfinder 15R. But I am not sure, since there is something appealing about the "basic-ness" of this amp.

Let me put it this way: my Pathfinder is good enough that I have not envied anyone else's tone. It always sounds great.

Submitted by Anonymous at 12/12/2003 09:17

Price Paid: US $80

Features: 8
This is a Vox Pathfinder 1x8 15 watt combo practice amp. I play power pop and spacey/ambient music (lots of delay and reverb). The amplifier has one channel controlled by the volume and the gain settings, and a gain boost which increases the "fatness" of the overdrive. It has a speaker out, a line out, a headphone out and a jack for attaching a footpedal to control the tremelo and gain boost. It has everything I want in an $80 amp (reverb would have been nice, but it costs $60 more). Two tone controls which are fairly effective. I use this amp in my house and I plan on using it for home/demo recording. It is solid state.

Sound Quality: 10
I use a Guild Semi-Hollow Body with two humbuckers, I use each pickup setting about equally. For the type of music I play, this amp is amazing, especially considering its price. Good, full, bassy sound (rare in a practice amp). I like bands like Seam, Versus, Mogwai, who rely more on overdrive than metal-like distortion. If you are playing metal, industrial or hardcore, I do not recommend this amp, as getting a good tone out of it would be nearly impossible. For pop, rock, alt-country, this amp is great. The amp has a little surface noise to it, most of which can be taken care of with some good cables (the Pathfinder is pretty sensitive to signal interference from bad cables). The amp has a fairly straight ahead tone, and although it is solid state, it has somewhat of a tube feel to it. The clean channel goes into a smooth overdrive if turned up loud.

Reliability: 10
Great so far - it's too small to play shows with, but I think it will do well as a practice/recording amp.

Customer Support: N/A
Hadn't had to deal with customer support.

Overall Rating: 10
I have been playing for about 13 years. I've owned marshalls, fenders, sovtecs, crates, carvins, kustoms...this is one of my favorite amps I've owned. I would buy it again if stolen. I love how straight forward the amp is, and I love how good the tones are. I wish the overdrive was a little more versatile, but I can live with that, maybe I'll get a pedal. I have pretty much nothing but good things to say about this amp.

Submitted by wright at 11/02/2003 18:28

Price Paid: US $80.00

Features: 8
The Vox Pathfinder has a gain, master volume, boost, treble, bass, tremolo speed and depth. It is a 15 W solid state amp with an 8" bulldog speaker. It looks beautiful! The fabric and classic features are incorporated into this bargain amp.

Sound Quality: 10
I bought this amp because it was on sale cheap at MF (a weekly special at 46% off MSRP); and I have a Vox micro-amp (9-volt) which had a suprisingly good sound. I wanted to see how their entry level practice amps sounded. I thought this amp would be good for tranporting for jamming with buds, giving lessons, etc. So how was this amp? I am very pleasantly surprised. It DOES have the warm Vox quality and the tremolo (volume pulse) is very pleasing. I have to have reverb, which this amp doesn't have, but I have a BOSS RV-3 pedal which supplies excellent reverb sounds, so no problem. Even without reverb, this amp sounds good. And it only needs a touch of reverb because of its tremolo. I wanted to write this review because I am surprised how good this amp sounds for only 15W of solid state power and an 8" speaker. I have several other amps, including a Roland JC-120, Fender Twin Reverb, etc, but I will compare it to my Fender Pro Junior, which is an all-tube 15W with a 10" speaker. If I could only keep one of the two practice amps, it would be the Fender since it has a bit more of a rounder tone, BUT the Vox is actually a little louder and has a significantly broader pallet of harmonic overtones when you are using full gain and boost. In that category, it beats the Fender Pro Junior. However, in some setttings of overdrive, the tone can sound a bit brittle. But the harder you push it, the better it sounds. The tremolo is also a true joy. It can be set from very subtle to profound vintage vibe. It is far better than I expected when I placed the order. I switched from my Vox back to the Fender Pro Junior last night, and I was surprised that it wasn't as loud. The Fender sells for around $275, so the Vox is a great value in comparison. They are different, but the comparison was surprising.

Reliability: N/A
Too soon to tell. I've only had it for a few weeks, but I have driven it with the pedal to the metal with no signs of smoke.

Customer Support: N/A
Don't know.

Overall Rating: 9
I've been playing (home hobbyist) for over 20 years. In addition to the above amps, I own a Fender super 112, a Marshall VS80, and a Marshall ASR80. If it were lost or stolen, I might not buy another Pathfinder, but I would definitely buy another VOX. This has wetted my apetite even more for the VOX tone. It may turn me from a Fender man to a Vox fan. If you're looking for an inexpensive amp, but don't have a reverb pedal or processor, step up to the Pathfinder 15R. I've heard from a long-time music store owner that the Valvtronics Vox is about the best sounding modeling amp out there, now I'm curious to explore more of their line of amps.

Submitted by Steve at 10/27/2003 17:39

Price Paid: US $110

Features: 9
it has all the features i need (volume and bass/treble) since i use a boss GT-5 for all effects. the tremolo sounds nice though

Sound Quality: 10
sounds wonderful and warm. i heard it in the store and was like, wow, i'd like to record that sound

Reliability: N/A
not sure, but i've had it almost two years with no problems

Customer Support: N/A
haven't dealt with

Overall Rating: 9
i love that it's small and light. my only wish is that it were loud enough for rehearsal. i actually use this as my stage amp (97% of you think that's a joke, but i usually play 300-700 seat venues, and good sound engineers love it when you don't carry a half stack). one of my favorite guitarists uses the amp and 6" speaker in his old silvertone case on stage and it sounds awesome. the only problem is if the monitors or sound engineer stink. then you could use more wattage.

Submitted by Anonymous at 10/20/2003 01:12

Price Paid: 950 (FIM) used

Features: 9
Don't know when it's been built. I play classic rock, sometimes metal. IŽuse amp simulator through this(?!?!?) and it hears good to me. It has two channels with a boost switch, one from clean to dirty, and other channel with savage distortion. There is a Bass and Treble knob also, with Volume, Gain, and Tremolo, which I don't use never. Does not have effect loop. Headphone jack is good feature but not used too often. I play this all around our house, and it has enough power to make guys mad. This solid-state amp is amazingly loud to be a 15W.

Sound Quality: 6
I have a Gibson SG copy and it has two humbuckers.Like said I play rock, and this amp suits it well. What I've noticed it isn't noisy at all. I haven't got a certain sound for any band, I have just found sounds that hear good to me. Haven't tested that does sound distort in high volumes. Distortion hears good, but quite fuzzy in full throttle. If I play hard rock, I put a distortion pedal in between amp and guitar. I think the built-in distortion is too fuzzy to me. I never play with its original sounds - I always use some other gear in conjunction with it. I just don't play IT, I play THROUGH it. 6 because its sounds aren't my favourite ones.

Reliability: 9
I think I could depend on it, I couldn't gig with a backup since lack of money. It has some marks of punishment in the vinyl cloth. It has fallen a few times but still works, I think this thing is built to last.

Customer Support: N/A
Haven't dealt with them

Overall Rating: 6
I've been playing for three years now and have had two guitars and one amp before. I have a great Schaller Wha/Fuzz unit, self-built tube distortion, Century Distortion and Behringer V-Amp2, which has been my gear of choice.

If it were stolen, I would forget this thing and save for Marshall. I think that this amp is not right choice for me. I bought it because it was cheap enough. I love its loudness, and I dislike the lack of reverb, but an amp in this price range can't be equipped with everything.

Like said I never play with its original features but I always use additional effects in it(Behringer Vamp2, Century Dist., Tube-Breaker, Schaller Wha/Fuzz).

If you play Beatles or the like, I would recommend this amp. If you're to hard rock, don't buy this, if you do, get your hands around some stomp box distortions.

The things I like in this amp is its loudness and how lasting it is.

Submitted by Sane at 10/05/2003 08:41

Price Paid: EU (109) used

Features: 9
I bought it used over ebay, it was about one year old, so I think,
its made 2002. Features as described already. A quite good Tremolo,
whcih can be regulated in depth and tempo.

Sound Quality: 9
Sounds wonderful bassy/foxxy, when played clean, with my fender Strat, & also with my 4 further strat copies. I like the tremolo very much. The speaker is too weak for the power, the amp can deliver. But I-ll not chage the speaker, because I really just practise with the pathfinder. Its loud enough for my needs. I would even use it for
gigs in smaller rooms.

Reliability: 9
well built.

Customer Support: 8
never needet.

Overall Rating: 10
Its one of the best sounding practise amps I know. I sold my pathfinder 15 recently, because I got a new ZOOM 30, and thought,
this am could replace my little pathfinder 15, but this was
an error. Zooms Tremolo is not as versatile as the pathfinder tremolo,
now I bought me a new pathfinder 15. I love this amp.

Submitted by wiedenmann at 09/08/2003 04:07

Price Paid: US $100

Features: 7
I'm not sure what year it was made, but it was fresh out of a box, so pretty new. Single channel solid state amp with a itty bitty 8 inch speaker (but sounds bigger). The normal knobs; gain, volume, treble, bass plus it has two knobs for tremolo; speed and depth. Also has line out, speaker cab out (8 ohm), headphone in and a footswitch in (which it doesn't come with). 15 watts, hmmmmmm, I bet it's weak? But not bad at all! More than enough for practicing, recording, jamming with friends and maybe just enough for a small band! I live in an apartment so I haven't really tested how loud it can get. But with both gain and volume up to about 1/3, it sounds big! And looks just gorgeous!

Sound Quality: 9
I use a Essex Les Paul copy (fabulous guitar for $200 btw) all stock. I love the sound! I get an amazing chime from it with my p/u selector in the middle, and a nice snarl at the bridge! The boost is nice, kinda fuzzy, but sounds very British. You'll probably get a better sound with a nice stomp box running through clean. It's perfect for me, especially the clean tones. I haven't even ran pedals through it yet.....I haven't needed to! I guess you can say I play poppy sort of rock. But I like metal also, but this is definately not for that, I didn't expect it to be. On the other side I can do some Tool covers np (thanks to my LP of course), just no Pantera or whatever. If you dig Radiohead or Oasis kinda sound, get this amp! Metal heads sorry, it's too weak. Oh I almost forgot.....I love the tremolo!

Reliability: 7
I can't really say, since I've only had it for 3 days. So far so good. But I know Vox and they are usually built like tanks! I feel I can depend on it, but only time will tell. But it does appear to be well made, very solid! And I would totally play a small gig with it if such an amp would suffice. I'll reasonble and give it a 7 for now.

Customer Support: 8
I have never dealt with Vox. But I really like the staff at Spotlight Music here in Fort Collins Colorado. 1 year warranty (hopefully it's all I need).

Overall Rating: 9
I really dig this amp! Only 100 bones too! I'm very happy with it too say the least! I've been playing for about 9 years now. I've tried everything Marshalls, Fenders, Mesas, Hiwatts you name it, and I'm just as happy with this little guy! It really sounds like an AC30 shrunk down and made cheaper. I did't really compare it to much, cuz I was hooked right from the start! I would definately buy another if I lost it or had it stolen. It needs nothing else, perfect for me the way it is! Go get one now!!!!!!

Submitted by Kody Slusher at 08/14/2003 18:33

Price Paid: US $89.00 - trade in used

Features: 8
I'm not the first to review this, so I won't go through all the features. I like the tremolo (I traded in my Pathfinder 10 toward this one just for the tremolo). Mine did not come with a footswitch, but I bought one real cheap on eBay and used it with this combo and it worked well for switching on and off the drive and the tremolo.

Beware using it at full volume for long periods of time as it really wears out the speaker. As a previous reviewer said, it could use a bigger speaker.

Overall, effective as a practice amp and a recording amp

Sound Quality: 8
I used a modified strat with high output Seymour Duncan pickups in it. The guitar was run into a host of effects including a Big Muff, DOD Harmonic Enhancer, Vox Wah, etc.

For awhile, I used it to practice with my band when we were just starting out. (I used it as a master amp to a Dean Markley K20 amp.) As we got more comfortable--and therefore louder--I constantly had the volume all the way up and frequently encountered a VERY NASTY overdriven speaker sound. Not good. Needless to say, I moved on rather quickly to a bigger (tube) amp.

After that, it sat around for low-volume recording and monitoring for different guitar and effect-building projects until I sold it 'cause I needed the money.

Reliability: 10
Gig? right.

It's not bad if you don't abuse it...after all, it's a practice/recording amp. Plus, it's a Vox, so it's definitely reliable for practice/recording......not gigging.

Customer Support: N/A
Never dealt with them.

Overall Rating: 9
Overall, this is a great recording/practice amp. Don't use it for high volumes for long periods of time unless you want to blow out the speaker.

Since I bought a '77 Fender Princeton (which is a tube amp with basically the same features), I needed to get rid of the Vox (so make up the debt!). I'd love to see a tube version of the Pathfinder.

Submitted by j.n.r. at 08/11/2003 07:07

Price Paid: US $100 and change

Features: 7
Tremelo, more like a Class A 15 watts. Line out, Headphone out, Speaker Out. Decent amp for a 140 bucks, I'll probably trade it for a guitar research tube combo though. It could use a 1x12, the speaker is really stressed.

Sound Quality: 7
I'm using a variety of strats and super strats. It's a nice amp, gets the vox sound pretty good, but it's a tad darker. The distortion is really bad with the boost switch on or off, but I don't like class A overdrive that much unless it's a matchless or an Ac-30 with Vintage 30's. I say the clean is pretty comparable to a Crate Vintage Club series 1x12

Reliability: N/A
never had a problem with it.

Customer Support: N/A
Never had to deal with a problem

Overall Rating: 7
I've been playing for about 3 years now, but I play a wide variety of music and am technically adept to tackle steve vai's stuff. If it were stolen, I'd probably look for a used Fender hotrod, but this is a great practice amp. I reccomend it to anyone who comes in the store looking for a practice amp or are buying an electric guitar for their kids. I wish it was 1x12 though, and it is about $20 over priced. My first practice amp, a Peavey Rage 15 watt cost me $80.

Submitted by David Hill at 07/27/2003 12:22