Vox Pathfinder 15R

Price Paid: US $119.00

Features: 10
This is a great little amp for practice at home or wherever. I keep the amp in my office so that I can practice during lunch or sometimes late in the evening if I'm still at the office. I have other amps (59 Fender Bassman reissue, Mesa Boogie 2x12 Lonestar combo with a 2X12 extension cab and a Fender Bassman 200) I just got tired of lugging the amp to and from church on Thursdays. This amp is light and portable and does the job. Believe the reviews. It's the best small sounding amp I have ever heard with plenty of features including tremolo and reverb. If you can put aside your big ego and go with it, you'll really love this amp.

Sound Quality: 10
Good clean sound. Good distortion sound. What else can I say. I'm not the featured musician at church so it is plenty loud for my purposes.

Reliability: N/A
Don't know. Have had it for less than a week. I never have had a problem with any of my gear but then, I go out of my way to protect my gear.

Customer Support: N/A
Hope I never have to find out.

Overall Rating: 10
Don't look any further. For $119.00 (plus a footswitch which is handy), you can't go wrong. This isn't brain surgery. When it comes to the high end amps and guitars, I don't mind doing some homework to get the best for the least. I didn't shop around but went into my favorite music store (Sodja Music in Cleveland, Ohio) and Tony Martin belted out a few tunes and I took it back to my office. The guys at Sodja music know their stuff. Again, it's only $119.00. Have fun with this neet little amp. Yes, I would buy another one if I had too much wine one night and fell on the amp and crushed it.

Submitted by Anthony Lukianowicz at 02/25/2005 13:30

Price Paid: US $120

Features: 10
My reveiw is for a Pathfinder which I purchased new in the autumn of 2004.

I am a blues player who likes to occasionally dabble in the rock side of things. My main amp is a Fender Deluxe Reverb RI so the features on the Vox parallel what I enjoy on my Fender, but on a definate lower scale of course.

The amp's purpose for me has been to be a toting, lesson-giving, light-weight and reliable amp. And, to add good meaure, I think it looks pretty cool. Not that the look of it adds anything to the sound, but it might add something to the feel of playing through such a "pretty" amp. All in all, this amp fits my desired bill very well.

The Vox's single channel opperation is no big deal for me and what I want to use it for. I pretty much set the thing at 1/3rd gain and mess with the volume, reverb and tone controls based on the room environment, etc. The back panel options of headphone, line-out, ext. speaker and footswitch jacks make this little amp even more versatile - if such options appeal to your needs. As for me, I don't use any of them and don't really plan to - outside of my desire to play through an extension cab - I did it once and man, it was awesome! But, to lug a cab around kind of defeats the purpose of the small amp concept for me. I gave the line out a whirl through a computer recording device. The sound was ok enough for fast idea tracking but not too acceptable for me - I would prefer to (if necessary) mic it was an SM57 and catch how the speaker breathes a bit.

If volume is a factor for you, this monster keeps right up with a majority of my Fender Deluxe 90 solid state volume. The 12" speaker in the 90 makes a big difference in sound of course, but as for volume, there's nothing to worry about if you need am amp for jamming.

Sound Quality: 8
I have been privilaged to experience many kinds of amps, especially the small solid-state jobs that beginning guitar students often bring in. In my opinion, the Fender 15w jobs are WAY to bright and have just awful gain circuits (though the bigger models gain a better clean sound to them, yet still stink in the drive area), Marshalls are marvelous in higher overdrive settings in the 15w arena yet just lack a good clean, bluesy vibe about them, Peavey's are great in-between the clean and drive settings yet kind of noisy and then we get to the Vox Pathfinder... Marvelous feel and vibe about the sound, wonderful clean to bluesy grit drive. The higher level OD get's pretty brutal, but... I would prefer a Boss DS-1, SD-1, etc. over the clean settings instead of the drive section.

What about the no-mid control? Ah - forget it man! You won't need it!

This amp handles a variety of guitars very well. It loves a Strat and plays well with a Gibson Les Paul Studio. The 8" speaker sure has to work harder with the Paul.

Finally, the tremolo and reverb are ok. They do the job to a degree but will leave you wanting the real tube-driven thing, as it should in a $120 package.

Reliability: N/A
As a solid-state little guy, I pray it is reliable and it is my backup amp. This amp has never broken down, but I haven't used it to a large value yet.

Customer Support: N/A
Never had to deal with Vox.

Overall Rating: 10
If you desire a small, great sounding, rather similar-to-tube breakup, "pretty" amp, give this one a test drive. Compare the sounds you get out of this small job with any other amp in the 15w - 8" class. I think you'll enjoy what you hear! If you dig roots material and blues music and desire a cheap toter, this is a great one.

If I could change one thing, or add another amp to the Pathfinder line, would be a 10" speaker. The amp is plenty loud but I wish it had a bit more "push" and bottom end drive.

Submitted by Vineyard at 02/02/2005 19:19

Price Paid: US $120

Features: 9
Mine is a 2004 model made in Korea. Has the basics described elsewhere. The feature most unusual for the price ($120) is the tremelo.

Sound Quality: 10
I just got this and I've really only used it so far with my jazz box which is a Tradition 650 (full hollowbody with two humbuckers) a very nice guitar by the way. I've got an Ibanez 335 copy that I just strummed a few chords on to see how it sounded. I have not tried my Telecaster on it yet. I am trying to learn jazz style playing now and I think that is what I will use it for the most now. I have a Fender Blues Junior as well, and I don't want to burn up the tubes by practicing on it all the time. Plus the Pathfinder is easy to move to another area of the house if I need to later at night so I don't keep others awake. I am frankly amazed by the sound of this little amp. It truly does have a tube sound, much more so than the transtube amps of Peavey. When I say it has a tube sound what I mean is it is very "warm" sounding. And when I put a little tremelo and reverb on I get a sound that reminds me of some of the classic jazz guitar sounds from the fifties and sixties. I am very impressed by the sound of this amp. For any baby boomer who wants to relive some of their teen years as a player I think this will probably do the trick. For a first amp it should be an excellent choice (unless you are a metal player then you probably need something else). But I think this will work well for jazz, classic rock, blues, country. Seems to be very versatile. My main point point is that it seems to be a good amp for the classic jazz sounds that I remember hearing when I was younger and when I put a real record on the turntable!

Reliability: N/A
Can't say since I haven't had it very long. My major concern would probably be the jack inputs which I think are all made of plastic so I would be very careful when plugging and unplugging!

Customer Support: N/A
Never dealt with them

Overall Rating: 10
I have been playing over 30 years (off and on, mostly off)but I have played in a couple of bands at various times, the most recent about 20 years ago. I would definitely replace this if lost or stolen. I really love the tone that is possible with this amp and my jazz guitar. I did look at some other amps but I never tried my guitar in them. The reviews on Harmony convinced me to give this amp a try. And I am very happy with the sound, hopefully it will be a durable amp as well. For a practice amp I don't think there is anything that has this warm sound but I haven't looked at everything so I may be wrong about that.

Submitted by Anonymous at 01/28/2005 19:51

Price Paid: US $119.00

Features: 10
Don't know what year it was made in, but I've had it for a 2 years. All the stuff has been covered, so I won't go into it again. This is a fucking awesome amp. Absolutely the best solid state practice amp I have ever heard and it is FUCKING LOUD like the other guys say. More than enough power for home practice, studio recording or even small gigs.

Sound Quality: 10
I have a Yamaha Les Paul Copy, a highly modified Fender Squier Series Standard Telecaster, a Fender made in Mexico Standard Strat and an Ibanez RG350DX through it. Suits my music style which is basically everything from classic to hard rock and heavy metal to jazz, blues, punk, grundge and country. This amp does everything well, except metal, which it is not intended to be used for. However, I do occasionally hook my ZOOM 606 up to it and it will give excellent heavy metal sounds then. This amp can be extremely loud for a solid state amp with an 8 inch speaker but the 8 inch speaker handles the volume quite well - just keep in mind that your neighbors may not tolerate the volume anywhere near as well as the speaker.

Reliability: 10
Tough as a tank, been abusing the hell out of it for 2 years now.

Customer Support: 10
Never dealt with VOX. Bought it through guitar trader and they are great.

Overall Rating: N/A
Been playing 45 years. Have what I mentioned above, as well as a bunch of acoustics, a VOX AD15VT Valvetronix, a Marshall AVT20 and a Peavey Studio Pro 112 as well as more acoustic guitars than I can count. I'd get another one if it were stolen or lost. I love it - pure and simple.

Submitted by Mike at 01/18/2005 15:49

Price Paid: US $100

Features: 10
Mine was made in 2001. I've had it 4 years now. It suits my music style just fine, which is classic rock, blues and some hard rock. Two channels, all the features have been listed a bunch of times, so no use in going through all that. It is a simple amp and that is what is attractive about if. Doesn't have a mid range eq, but don't need it. Reverb and tremelo are neat and if you get the footswitch, you can turn the reverb on or off or switch to boost and for 29 bucks, it's worth it. In my opinion, this is aboslutely the best "solid state" practice amp that money can buy. Very "tube like" sound even though it is totally solid state. Sounds better than my Marshall AVT50. I use it in my bedroom and it is VERY LOUD for a 15 watt amp with an 8 inch speaker.

Sound Quality: 10
I am using a Gibson '68 Les Paul with two humbuckers, a 70's made in USA Fender Telecaster and an 80's made in Japan Fender Stratocaster. The tele and strat have single coils. Suits my taste of music just fine, and I don't use any effects, the boost being plenty good enough for me. You can go from a very nice clean sound to a great crunch just by using the gain control and if you want metal turn the gain all the way up and hit the boost. It'll do whatever you need it to do. Clean channel stays clean even at high volumes. If you want crunch, just turn the gain up a little. I would not call the distortion brutal, but I'd call it "just right".

Reliability: 10
Been abusing it for 4 years now and it still sounds just as good as the day I bought it. It has never broken down.

Customer Support: 10
Never dealt with the VOX company, but I've used the same music store for 30 years and they are great. The rating is for them.

Overall Rating: 10
I've been playing for 30 years. I have what I mentioned above, as well as a bunch of acoustic guitars, mostly I use Takamine Acoustic Electrics and Martin Acoustics. I'd get another one if I lost it or it got stolen. I love everything about it. I compared it to the Fender Frontman 15R, the Marshall MG15R, the Crate 15 watter and the Ibanez 15 TBR and no contest. I love the VOX sound.

Submitted by Anonymous at 01/14/2005 00:42

Price Paid: US $119.99

Features: 10
Since I bought this amp in 2004, I assume it was made in or around 2004. It's a 1x12 combo with one Celestion Blue speaker, volume and gain knobs, gain boot switch, bass, middle, and treble controls and two knobs for the built in trem. It also has a knob for the reverb.I use this amp for recording, and at 15 watts, it's PLENTY loud....15 watts of Vox is louder than 10 watts of a lot of other amps. I play mostly in the style of Blur/Suede/Beatles with some Zeppelin/Who/Cream/Hendrix thrown in, and this amp can handle it all with the right twiddling of knobs on it, the pedals, and the guitar. Simple to use and great sounding. The built in trem is weak, but I have a tremolo pedal so I don't even use it. With the gain boost switch, you can get some NASTY tones out of this. There is an accompanying footswitch for this amp that isn't included. I use this amp for recording, so I don't really need it.

Sound Quality: 10
My main axe right now is an Epiphone 335 Dot with Bigsby and a board full of pedals (Vox Wah, MXR Stereo Chorus, Ibanez TS-9, Dunlop Uni-Vibe, Dunlop TS-1, MXR Blue Box, MXR Dyna-Comp, Danelectro Dan-Echo). My musical style has lately been leaning more towards textured songwriting, like the Beatles, Blur, and Suede. This amp fits that style perfectly. I haven't found the amp to be noisy at all, although I don't push it to its limits since I am using it for recording. As I said before, the built in gain boost, coupled with my Tube Screamer, can give me paint-peeling distortion, and the clean channel is ok, although as a technique thing, I always turn down the volume of a pickup with my distortion pedal on to get a meatier clean sound.

Reliability: 10
So far, it's been a tank. No problem whatsoever. I am using this for recording, but if I ever did play a gig with it, I wouldn't be worried. This is a well-made little amp. It's solid state so I don't have to worry about tubes, although it gives tones close to (but not quite) the AC30.

Customer Support: N/A
N/A

Overall Rating: 10
I've been playing guitar for 15 years and this is the best little practice/recording amp I've owned. I've owned Marshall ValveState amps, a Marshall 1962 reissue combo (which I *NEVER* should have gotten rid of) as well as a bunch of axes. This is a great amp for what it is (as good at what it does as it's big brother, the awesome AC30).

Submitted by The_Insatiable_One at 01/07/2005 10:05

Price Paid: US $119.00

Features: 10
Had this amp for two years now, so I guess it was made in 2002. Very versatile amp, everything from pristine clean to hard rock distortion and all the in betweens. All the features have been covered quite well, so no use in going into all that. I purchased the footswitch with mine, so that is great for switching from clean to dirty. I use this amp in my living room for practice only. I used to gig years ago, but just play for enjoyment now. It has more than enough power, in fact this little thing is LOUD...truly loud enough for a small gig and doesn't lose sound integrity with the volume cranked. It's solid state, but it sounds like a tube amp, a lot like the old VOX AC15's or the small version of an AC30. Controls are simple and I'm not troubled at all by only a gain, volume, treble, bass, tremelo and reverb knob. You can get any sound you want from this and the reverb is excellent. It outshines any practice amp in its price range and in my opinion, even those practice amps that cost a hundred bucks more. You can't even compare the 15 watt Marshalls, Fenders, Crates and Peaveys to this.

Sound Quality: 10
I have only two electric guitars, a made in Japan Fender Telecaster, that has the vintage noiseless pickups (which for the tele are stacked humbuckers) and a made in Mexico Fender Stratocaster which I have upgraded the pickups to Texas Specials. My music taste is mostly late 60's and early 70's rock, both classic rock like beatles and stones to hard rock and psychadelia like Hendrix, Cream, Zeppelin and Sabbath. This amp can do it all. It is NOT noisy at all and if you want to really increase the capabilities a good pedal such as a ZOOM 606 will expand your horizons incredibly, but personally, I like the amp just as is. Clean channel will not distort at high volumes unless you turn up the gain, which gives it a very nice crunch. You don't need the boost for crunch and moderate distortion, just crank the gain, so for most rock, all you need is the gain cranking. For hard rock, things like Zeppelin and Sabbath, cranking the gain all the way up and pushing the boost button will get you there. Distortion can be semi brutal, which is what you want for hard rock, but it is not a "thrash metal" distortion.

Reliability: 10
Been using it for two years now and it is as good as the day I bought it. It has never broken down. I don't gig anymore, but I used to and never gigged without a backup of some kind - ever.

Customer Support: N/A
Never dealt with VOX

Overall Rating: 10
I've been playing since the 60's. I have the guitars I mentioned above and several Epiphone and Takamine Acoustic Guitars. If it were stolen or lost, I would get another one. I love everything about it and there is nothing I hate about it. I compared this to the Fender Frontmans, Crate 15 watters, Marshall MG15RCD, Peavey Bandit 158 and several other 15 watt practice amp and this one won for me hands down, both because it is simple, and because is sounds GREAT!!!!

Submitted by Robby at 12/14/2004 12:20

Price Paid: US $120

Features: 9
Bought it new about 2 months ago........made in 2004. All the features have pretty much been described by many reviews here. Would have been cool if the Reverb was footswitchable on and off but no big deal. Having the Tremolo is very cool......it's part of what sold me on this amp.......as well as the reviews here.

Sound Quality: 9
I'm currently using this amp for practice in my studio at home and for recording. Damn if this thing doesn't sound like a tube amp !! Playing my Les Paul thru this thing with my Boss SD-1 Super OD just sounds killer !! I play lots of stuff from clean sounds to Distorted stylistically: Led Zeppelin, Floyd, The Doors, Rainbow, Uriah Heep, Hendrix, The Who, Whitesnake, etc. This amp definitely suits my style of playing.....this has got to be the one of the best small format Combo Amps ever !! My Tele sounds fantastic thru this thing as well !! I'll probably be using this as my backup amp until I can afford another Marshall Head. I plugged it into my Vintage Re-Issue Marshall Cabinet (w/greenback 25's) via the Speaker Out.......sounded quite good. Almost loud enough to jam with Drummer........amazing for 15 watts !!

I really don't use the Boost channel though......sounds a little to Solid State. I just crank the gain and level on the normal channel and it sounds like a moderately broken up Tube Amp from the 60's or 70's. Then just add a Tube Screamer or OD Pedal and you have a Kickin' Hard Rock tone !!

I currently have 4 electric guitars: Les Paul Standard (1987 Tobacco Burst), 50's Tele Re-issue, 60's Strat Re-issue (Japanese), and a Custom Warmoth Strat w/Floyd Rose and Humbucker). I mainly play through a Marshall JCM 800 Model 2210 100 watt channel switching head into a Marshall vintage re-issue cabinet. I also have a 1962 Supro 1-12 Combo Amp with 2 channels and Tremolo.

Reliability: 8
So far, so good. Not much can probably go wrong with the amp since it's Solid State.

Customer Support: N/A
Haven't had to call them for anything

Overall Rating: 9
Have been playing for 20 years. I've been a Semi-Professional musician for most of that time. I currently have 4 electric guitars: Les Paul Standard (1987 Tobacco Burst), 50's Tele Re-issue, 60's Strat Re-issue (Japanese), and a Custom Warmoth Strat w/Floyd Rose and Humbucker). I mainly play through a Marshall JCM 800 Model 2210 100 watt channel switching head into a Marshall vintage re-issue cabinet. I also have a 1962 Supro 1-12 Combo Amp with 2 channels and Tremolo.

I would definitely buy this amp again if something were to happen to it. Even though it's solid state, it has that Vox Tone that sounds like tubes. Definitely a welcome addition to my arsenal. It sounds different than my Supro.......it sounds like a Vox !!

Submitted by John Lyell at 12/07/2004 12:26

Price Paid: US $119.00

Features: 10
I don't know when mine was made, but I assume 2003 because they haven't been making this amp in China for that long. All the features have been covered so no need to be redundant. I want to say that only having a treble and bass control does not limit the versatility of this little beauty at all. It fuckin rocks and it is extremely loud for a 15 watt solid state amp with an 18 inch speaker and will drive a 4x12 cab with ease. It is versatile enough for any style of music and for $119.00, I truly believe it is the best solid state practice amp out there. Excellent amp in every way.

Sound Quality: 10
Well, since a bad divorce in the mid 1990's that cleaned my clock, I don't have nearly as many guitars as I once did. I have a very old, Yamaha Studio Pro, made in 1972, which is one of the original lawsuit Les Paul Copies, which is awesome. When I got my divorce and had to get rid of my Gibson Les Paul or this one, I kept the Yamaha because it played and sounded better than the real thing. It has two humbuckers. Since that was all I was left with, I have been collecting cheaper guitars. I have a Squier Standard Stratocaster with three single coils, which have been upgraded to Texas Specials. I have an SX SST 57 Stratocaster clone, which sounds exactly like my old Fender 57 Stratocaster, and it is stock, with 3 single coils. I also have a Squier Affinity Telecaster, which has been modified to string through body and the pickups have been replaced with Vintage Noiseless Pickups, which are stacked humbuckers. Finally, I have a Washburn X-21 Pro, which I just purchased not so long ago and it has a humbucker at the bridge and two single coils. All of these guitars are fine for my music tastes, each one adding something to my arsenal. The amp suits my music styles very well, which varies. I am a child of the sixties, so I love the old Beatles stuff, Rolling Stones, Hendrix, Zeppelin, Cream, Sabbath and also like 70's and 80's classic rock. I love blues and blues rock as well as rockabilly, country, folk and electric folk. I also have heavy metal moods, as well as punk and grunge moods. This amp handles all of them extremely well except heavy metal. This isn't the amp for you if you are a heavy metal freak, however with a good pedal you can get the type of distortion you would need for heavy metal. I have other amps that satisfy my heavy metal urges. It is a fairly quiet amp, makes a little noise on my single coil guitars, but at the same time, I think this amp really shines on single coils. The distortion isn't brutal but more like an excellent crunch which is exactly what I want it to be. The clean channel does distort at higher volumes but then again, it's supposed to. For the bucks and size, and being a solid state cheap amp, I just don't think you can find a better practice amp, for the bucks.

Reliability: 10
Seems to be built tough as a tank. I've had a lot of VOX amps over the years and never had a problem with them. This amp is LOUD and I believe it could easily be gigged with, but I still use it as a practice amp at home and gig with my Peavey Studio Pro. I do take it along as a backup and warm up amp though, and like I said, I believe it is loud enough to gig with, especially in a smaller nightclub environment.

Customer Support: 10
VOX has always been good to me. Always answered my emails promptly and always corresponded with me promptly by phone or mail back in the days before computers.

Overall Rating: 10
Been playing all my life basically, 50 years. I have what I mentioned above and several Epiphone Acoustic Guitars. I also have a VOX AD15VT Valvetronix Amp which is friggin awesome as well as one of those little Squier SP10 amps which is an ok travel amp. I keep the AD15VT in the living room, this Pathfinder 15R in the Bedroom and take the Squier SP10 when I have to travel (non music related). I would get another one if it were lost or stolen. Great amp all the way around.

Submitted by Anonymous at 12/03/2004 23:18

Price Paid: US $119

Features: 7
Everything has been covered about this thus far. If you are looking for distortion, this amp isn't the one for you. However, if you've got some pedals, I'm sure it would do just great.

Also, I've found that I get a bit of rattle, even at low volumes. I imagine it's even louder when turned up. Not a big deal now, but might be annoying at higher volumes. Someone might want to comment on this.

Sound Quality: 10
I've got a lefty Music Man Silhouette Special and a bunch of effects: Voodoo Lab Sparkle Drive, MXR Phase 90, Tube Screamer, Danelectro Delay, Ibanez Chorus and a Vox Wah.

I've only had this amp for a few days. I have a Tech 21 Trademark 10 that's not sounding too hot right now. I'm going to have to ship it out to get repaired. I didn't want to have to wait a month to get it back so I went out and got this Vox amp for $119. I don't regret it.

What a fantastic clean sound! The amp appears to be very bright, so I chill out with the Treble. It's also pretty darn loud! I probably should have gotten the Pathfinder 10 as I'm living in a one bedroom apartment in New York City! So I can't really rock out too much with this amp. However, if I was going out to play, this amp would be great. For my purposes now, practicing the guitar in my apartment, this amp is perfect. I can't believe it's so cheap. Definitely a must buy for someone just starting on the guitar. If only I had had an amp this good when I started playing, I would have stuck with the electric guitar. I hated amps so much that I just played acoustic!

I haven't had this amp long, so I don't know what it sounds like cranked with a Tubescreamer hooked up, but I'm dying to know! Certainly a very bright, glassy, sparkly clean tone that is to die for. Definitely a no brainer. Another good amp in this category is the Trademark 10 by Tech 21. I get some good sounds out of that one too, and the eq controls are better and more sensitive. One thing about the Bass and Treble controls on this amp is that there isn't much difference between 9:00 and 11:00. Same goes for the Gain knob. The Boost....I don't know...doesn't seem to be all that useful. Better to stick a nice pedal in front of the amp and rock it out than to use the Boost.

No FX Loop...too bad. My Trademark 10 has one and I like it for Delay, Chorus, and Phaser effects. No biggie though. This amp is still awesome and a tremendous value. This is my first HC review and I decided to write just cause all the reviews on this site helped me to get my butt down to Guitar Center and pick one up!

Reliability: N/A
N/A

Customer Support: N/A
N/A

Overall Rating: 10
I'm not sure yet whether I like this better than the Trademark 10. Honestly, I don't have much experience with amps, but when I first played through this thing clean I knew it sounded great. It also looks cool.

Submitted by Chris at 11/28/2004 21:42