Vox Pathfinder 15

Price Paid: US $79.00

Features: 8
Vox Pathfinder 10-watt(solid state). 6 1/2" speaker, 2-band EQ(bass & treb), gain, volume, and overdrive/clean channels, and headphone/line out jack.
With those controls, one can dial up very nice, warm clean tones, and quite saturated overdrive tones. I use this amp at home, and at church, and it is quite loud enough to carry its own. I give it an 8 because it would have been nice if Vox had put reverb in with it.

Sound Quality: 9
I have a PRS Santana SE(gen1) with stock pickups(for now), half-blocked tremolo, and graphite saddles. I run my set-up like so: PRS->volume pedal->Boss SD-1->Johnson J-Station->Vox Pathfinder. I keep the vox set like this: volume, 3-5; treb, 5-10; bass, 3-7; gain, 10. I leave it on the clean channel. The SD-1 I have set up like this: level, 5; tone, 5-7; drive, 3-5. I use the Johnson J-Station for reverb, delay, and tremolo(or a different effect, but tremolo mostly); the amp and cab modeling is off.
Reverb adds much depth to the tone of this amp. The overdrive channel was too shrill for me(typical of ss amps), so that's why I use the SD-1. Using the SD-1 and the Johnson's reverb yeilds a very nice, warm overdrive. The clean tone of the Pathfinder is excellent, very warm, but not muddy(unless you force it to be). The Pathfinder will do what you make it do, if you set it badly, it will sound bad. If you set it well, it will sound good. Tone is a subjective thing, and to my taste, this amp has great clean, even without reverb. And with the SD-1, it has great overdrive. You can make the clean channel become slightly overdriven when you turn the volume all the way up, and the gain all the way up. Not very, though, just a hint of overdrive. The SD-1 is a great pedal to use to get a nice, warm overdrive out of this amp. I want to try the BD-2 Blues Driver with it as well, I think that would sound very nice. Some would consider this amp to be merely a practice amp, but I think it can preform much more than that single task. I give it a 9 because nothing is perfect, and as pleased as I am with the tone of the Pathfinder, I am still searching for the elusive 'perfect tone'.

Reliability: 9
It has always worked for me when I pulg it in. I use it on Wednessday nights at my church as my main amp. I give it a 9 because nothing is perfect. However, I do not see it breaking down in the future. If you take care of your equipment, it will take care of you.

Customer Support: N/A
I have never had to deal with Vox, which is a credit to them. Therefore, I cannot say how good their customer service is.

Overall Rating: 9
I have been playing for a few years now, and I've been around people with a good ear for tone. As superficial as it is, I like the styling of the Pathfinder. Most of the other amps in its caliber were ugly-looking black boxes; the Vox has class. The one thing I wish it had is reverb. The reverb from my J-Station adds so much depth to the tone. It would have been nice if Vox had incorporated that into the Pathfinder 10, instead of having it only on the 15. I compared the pathfinder to the Fender Princeton 65, and the Pathfinder won out completely. The clean tone is much warmer. The overdrive can get a bit buzzy, but the Princeton's distortion was comprised completely of buzz. I give it a 9 only because, nothing is perfect.

Submitted by Ryan at 07/31/2002 22:26

Price Paid: US $100

Features: 9
Just to be sure, this is the standard Pathfinder with the 8" speaker and NOT the Pathfinder 10 with 6" speaker. It's simple and a no-brainer to operate. Considering the intended functionality, it's pretty complete.

Sound Quality: 8
Lemme preface this part of the review by stating that I bought this amp to play as clean as possible at low, bedroom volumes and NOT for gigging (for which it will NOT work). I don't want THIS amp for any significant distortion, or FX for that matter. I feed this amp single coil Strats and Teles and you need to keep in mind that bumhuckers will push this li'l amp over the edge faster and easier. No offboard FX used. The onboard tremolo is quite nice and has a good feel like my '63 Deluxe had - it's worth my usage. There are some sonic buzzes at a few specific low note frequencies but nothing to get uptight about. I took it all apart and tightened up the offending rattlers.

The "loud" button delivers great volume with tons of distorto noises and is just NOT pleasing to my ears, as is any gain overuse of this amp. The loudest clean headroom I could achieve, without MOS-FET hiss, was with the gain at 11 o'clock and the volume at noon (bass and treble also set at noon) - I find this a very pleasing toned setting and quite appropriate for bedroom or small living room playing. It'll work for guitar jams at very low and sane levels. It's not sparkily Fender-clean and there is some ever so subtle harmonic distorto happening, but it's fairly transparent clean and it really sounds ... pleasing.

The little Vox Blue speaker is nicely articulate with no farting or execessive shrillness but I'll be swapping it out for a Weber C8Q just to see if I can pick up any more usual clean headroom and to round off the low notes just a hair. There is enuf height and width to easily accomodate a 10" speaker BUT the baffle depth to the chassis is only 3.75" (which would require shimming the chassis further back a good 3/4" in order to fit in a 10" speaker). With this type of amp - and its intended use - there is no reason to retro a larger speaker, IMO. In fact, the Vox stock speaker is just fine all by itself.

Keeping in mind what THIS amp should be capable of, I gave it a high mark for the good, quiet tone it delivers at low volumes. If you required or expected more clean volume from this (or any) 15 watt solid state amp, you were fooling yourself.

Reliability: N/A
Who knows?

Customer Support: N/A
Beats me.

Overall Rating: 9
Guitarist since '55 - gigged for 10+ years - assemble my own Strat and Tele clones w/Bill Lawrence noiseless pickups to feed old Fender tube amps - playing fingerstyle blues, jazz, modern surf and ragtime - understanding the limits of a "practice" amp such as this, this one's quite good and at the top of the heap considering the price. Recommended for what it is (a bedroom/recording amp) and what it's not (a gigging/hard jamming amp).

Submitted by stratNtele at 03/29/2002 11:02

Price Paid: Dm

Features: 10
This little "one" is from 2001,its a single channel with boostswitch,and the best of all,the classic Vox Look.This Amp is back to the Basics,and that is the reason for bying it.It has nice Chickenhead-knobs,Vintage Controlplate and the classic "Ac-30"lookalike with the golden Vox Logo.And it very,very,loud for 15 Watts.I use it for Homerecording.

Sound Quality: 10
I use my Homemade Guitar (Neck and Body from an old 1970 Framus Strat),3 Burns Trisonic Pickups,rewired and potted,On/off-Phasechange for every Pickup.(21 different Combinations).Yes..Right...My style is Rock,Blues and of course..Brian May.(Talent not include!!!lol).Now to the Pathfinder.This Amp is Amazing for an Practise-Amp.I make Music since 20 Years,but this is the best Amp u can get for youre Home or little Gigs in Clubs.Yes,its no ac-30,but with an Tube-Preamp u can get nice results.The 8,Speaker looks good,but it is to small for this Amp.My Setup is a Tubepreamp,Boss Chorus,2 Bell-Delays ,an Eventide 4000 Harmonizer,and for Garage or Homeuse,even the 4 Pathfinders.What can i say??Sounds very close to Brians Sound.Very close!!!.

Reliability: 8
I would not use them on big gigs.But in Clubs or little Venues,with Mics in front and behind them,u can do so! why not.

Customer Support: 8
Dont know now.I have no need!!!

Overall Rating: 10
A very good,easy,and loud Practise Amp,with a great "Vox"-touch.
Very British

Submitted by Maxhim at 03/11/2002 19:35

Price Paid: US $109

Features: 10
Pretty darn good for a $100 amp. About the only thing it doesn't have is an effects loop. But channel switching, tremelo, headphones/line out, extention speaker jack....all pretty impressive for a $100 practice amp.

Sound Quality: 8
The clean channel is the only thing worth using. The distortion channel is just too much. I tried several amps in this price range at the store, and they all had that real buzzy sound to them. I was about to leave when I saw the Pathfinder. Thinking "oh well, might as well give it a try, I've heard everything else". Boy was I surprised. I could tell within 3 seconds that this didn't have the buzzy sound of the others. It's even voiced to sound like a vox. Now it doesn't sound quite like an AC30, but it's trying. The clean channel is very dynamic, especially with single coil pickups. Great ability to play softly and get a clean sound, then without adjusting anything, play hard and it distorts. (you'll have to find the right settings for your guitar) Two problems: First, when pushed for a lead sound, it really starts to sound like a solid state amp. Shrilling and tinty....no tubes to overload. (but remember...it's a $100 amp!) Second, the 6.5" speaker could have been a little better. With 15 watts, you should be able to scrape by with a gig. The speaker just can't handle it. There is a point on the amp where if you turn the master voume up further, the amp doesn't get louder, the speaker can't handle it. I know this is supposed to be a practice amp. But 15 watts can be loud and I'd like to use it on some gigs (& I have!) but the speaker magnet was hot after a performance and I was afraid I would blow it at further gigs, so I don't use it anymore. I wish there was a good 10 inch speaker in it. You'd be able to use it for small gigs. Don't get me wrong, those other pieces of shit in the music store couldn't have even handled a gig in the first place! I just turn my pathfinder in towards me, on a road case or something, or down in front, angled up like a monitor...toss a mic on it, and I was ready to go. I've even had it on the back of the PA stack, turned in towards me. But just not quite loud enough because of the small speaker. This amp sounds best with single coil pickups.

Reliability: 9
Pounded on it with live gigs for only about 10 shows or so, but stopped using it for gigs. (see speaker above)

Customer Support: N/A
Never had to use it

Overall Rating: 10
For what it's supposed to be...a practice amp...this thing is great. Especially for $100 or so. Beats everything else in it's category. (and I tried them all in the music store!) If it was stolen (and I wanted another practice amp) I would purchase this again instantly. My regular live gig amp is a 100 watt Carvin tube combo from 1984, and it weighs about 80lbs. The Pathfinder weighs in at 17lbs....GREAT when you're moving gear. I've considered seeing if I could toss a 10 inch speaker in it, but I've gone back to using my regular live rig.

Submitted by Anonymous at 02/28/2002 11:23

Price Paid: 160 €

Features: 8
This little amp,released in late '99,is a very surprise for me.
It's a very versatile amp.PF have a nice tremolo on-board,volume,gain bass,treble,tremolo depth and speed control,a switch for boost,a foot-switch input and a headphones out.
He don't have a foot-switch pedal.I suppose that the pedal drive boost and tremolo but i not ever tried it.
PF don't need a FX-loop i think,'cause it sounds great as is.
Also,i think that:the speaker is too small and the ampli cannot deploy plenty his power....but for my house is great.
I use it to practice,but i've used in gig and i can say:try a good microphone in rear.....
I've tried many amps,and now my gig is composed by a Marshall Tsl 100+1960,an Marshall Valvestate 65R (the old,not avt2000,that sucks!),
a Marshall Acoustic Soloist 100,a Vox AC 30 (bulldog speaker,not Celestion...eheh!),adn this little lovely Pathfinder.

Sound Quality: 9
I play a Fender Stratocaster with lace-sensor as the great Ritchie and i love to play Deep Purple and Blues.
PF is not so noisy,but i've modified a little the electric circuits to silence it and i've glued the chassi to reduce vibrations,'cause this ampli is too light for is power.
Now i'm going to mount a sort of Faraday pit to cut interference,and a polymeric ring around the speaker to help him to give more power.
With these modifies,it sounds very nice.
The clean channel is liquid until 25-30% of gain,but i use 60-70% for crunch.
Distortion is the best i have heard in a little amp,when i play with it,i think to old Deep Purple sound (In Rock).Note:Blackmore used Vox AC30 in this album and relative tour.....not Marshall.
I tell again little and angry.....maybe too little.

Reliability: 9
Yes you can depend on it,and you can use on gig with a good amplification and a microphone.
Is a very friend....and solid,as the Vox tradition Would.
Note:PF have a very good pre-amp section with a mosfet that give him the amazing like-tubes sound and a reissue blue Bulldog speaker.

Very nice!

Customer Support: N/A

Overall Rating: 10
I think that i buy another,but is not simple to find.
If you find one in a corner of a music-shop.....buy them!!
I've find him in a mass of valve amps,but casually

Submitted by Asher at 02/23/2002 07:38

Price Paid: N/A

Features: 7
Solid-State, 15 watts of power, Gain/Volume/Bass/Treble/Tremelo Speed/Tremelo Depth and a switch for Overdrive. pretty straight forward.

I use 2 of these amps at school, and they are well suited for stage band music.

Sound Quality: 6
I use this for a warm Jazzy tone. Into the amp is an Ibanez Les Paul Custom which sounds great. The overdrive is horrible and muddy as hell.

The school has two, so I am considering A/Bing them for stage band performances so I can have a slight overdrive and a chording tone.

My own amp is a Mesa Boogie Quad Preamp into a Mesa 295 power amp into a Marshall 1960A. The Pathfinder doesn't come close, of course, but I can still play with the pathfinder confortably and not worry about sounding bad.

Most of the tone comes from the Les Paul.

Reliability: N/A
I'm not the only person who uses this amplifier

Customer Support: N/A

Overall Rating: 7
This is a great amp for a beginner. It's not all that versative, but it doesn't fart like most smaller amps. This amp will also help develop a decent taste in tone.

Submitted by MiKeJ at 02/20/2002 01:13

Price Paid: US $150

Features: 7
I think this amp was made in 99 or 2000. It has a nice tone if crank down the gain and crank up the volume. It has a great vintage tone. It's pretty versatile, but the distortion sucks, and that is what you can expect from a 15 watt ss amp. I wish it had reverb. It has tremolo which I never use. I use this amp as a practice amp.

Sound Quality: 7
I'm using a not-modified strat. It can get sommewhat near to Hendrix tones. This amp sux ass when you crank the gain, awful distortion.
I've never really cranked the volume more than like 25%.

Reliability: 9
I would NOT use this amp on a gig. Why? because it crackles. This amp is quite stable. It has never broken down.

Customer Support: N/A

Overall Rating: 7
I want a new amp. Gonna get a Marshall half-stack soon MHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHA. I never really compared the amp to anything else, I just bought it!

Submitted by Anonymous at 02/19/2002 09:24

Price Paid: US $125 wtax

Features: 9
this anglo-korean 15 watt solid state combo has gain,boost,volume,treble,bass,trem speed and depth.it also has two footswichable efects.

Sound Quality: 10
this amp combo has awesome sounds for a solid state amp.it has clean sounds that can blow your @!$#ing mind out.the distortion is also good butt i don't use it as mutch.

Reliability: 10
ths amp is dependable

Customer Support: N/A
it has a 1 year warranty i think,but don't quote me on it

Overall Rating: 10
i love it

Submitted by Anonymous at 02/19/2002 05:36

Price Paid: US $99.99

Features: 9
Questions about features? See above.

Sound Quality: 10
I use a epiphone corina, that's tweaked out with a dimarzio super norton in the bridge. This is perfect for the afficianadoes of the power chord. The gain on this little amp is amazing. I have practiced with a full band with this little number. This is the sound i hear in my head, ive used it to preamp my marshall TSL 100, amazing!! For the longest time i believed that this little amp had tubes in it. I was really shocked to find that it didn't.

Reliability: 9
Yes there is rattling, but that comes from the handle design, i fixed it by unscrewing the handle and putting rubber feet in between the metal and the body of the amp. Other than that this amp holds up nicely.

Customer Support: N/A

Overall Rating: 10
I tried all kinds of other practice amps. I would buy this amp again, in fact i want to get another one to run them stereo.

Submitted by Atom at 02/02/2002 23:43

Price Paid: US $110.00

Features: 10
This is a great little practice amp.
Really easy to operate, easy to tweak.

Sound Quality: 10
Great Rock n Roll sounding, infact, it tweaked just right, my Takamine Acoustic sounds excellent.
Again, for a small amp, this is great.

Reliability: 10
This little amp reminds me of my Honda 3-Wheelers. Never break down, but I suppose if you opened up on the gain and treble, the speaker would eventually go.

Customer Support: N/A

Overall Rating: 10
28 years playing. Mesa Boogie Rectoverb, VOX AC-15, wasn't really happy with that sound. Fender Twin, a nice amp, but noisy. Crate VC5212, that amp worked well with Carl Martin Compressor. Own Rick 330 and 325, PRS, a couple Acoustics Takamine, Yamaha, Peavy P-Bass.
This is a great little amp, you can't ask for more for something like this

Submitted by Ron at 01/25/2002 22:55