Vox Pathfinder 15R

Price Paid: US $139

Features: 9
Amp was made in 2002. My two favorite groups are the Beatles and U2, with Queen close behind, so obviously I'm very happy with the VOX sound. If you aren't picky (I'm too poor to be picky), it can approximate a Fender clean for surf/rockabilly/Chris Issak stuff and a Marshall for Jimi Hendrix stuff. One channel, with a gain boost, tremolo, and reverb, and a headphone jack--very useful in my apartment with the high-strung neighbors!

I use this amp at home, and I never play out. It has almost too much power for my small apartment (bastard neighbors pound on the wall when I strum my acoustic guitar too loudly, so you can imagine what they thought when they spied this baby through the window).

Sound Quality: 9
I play a '50s Classic Fender Strat, and it suits it perfectly. If you turn up the treble and the gain, you can approximate a poor man's Brian May tone. If you turn up the tremolo, you have Paperback Writer. If you add a delay pedal in front of the guitar, you have the Edge. The cleans are clean. Turning up the gain all the way without the boost does add some grit to your signal. Pushing in the gain button gives you more, but too much sounds like an angry beehive. For my purposes, the distortion is fine at moderate settings.

I originally had a defective unit (the floor model) that crackles at moderate volumes. The good "dudes" at Guitar Center recognized that and gave me a new one in the box, and it works fine. It is still a bit noisy, especially with the headphones. Some of it is the poorly shielded guitar, though.

Reliability: N/A
I just got it a week ago. The one at GC was defective, but that one had been sitting on the floor for years.

Customer Support: N/A
1 year warranty. Haven't dealt with Vox.

Overall Rating: 10
I've been playing for 8 years now. I've owned one other amp, a Fender Frontman 15. This is so much better it's not funny. Yes, I would totally buy it again if it were lost or stolen, though Vox is coming out with smaller 15 and 30W versions of their Valvetronix modeling amp, so I might check out one of those. I compared seriously it to a Roland Cube 30 and a Fender Champ DSP 30. In the end, I got it because of the price and value. The Fender sounded a bit too "solid-statey." The Roland's amp models were good, but its effects were unusable, and it cost $100 more than the Vox. In the future, I plan to either get a Fender Blues Jr. tube amp, or go with a medium sized modeling amp like the Valvetronix or Cyber Deluxe.

Submitted by Anonymous at 01/24/2004 22:07

Price Paid: 179.99 (Canadian Dollars)

Features: 10
My Vox Pathfinder 15R come with all the standard features that come with it, check the Vox website if you need a list...
It was made September 3rd 2003.
For now I only use this amp at home for practice. It fills that job perfectly. I'm not sure of its capabilities infront of a crowd.
The boost on the amp is great at medium volumes to get that extra kick but becomes a bit odd sounding at high volumes but I guess that's what you get for the price. The sound is very clean, the reverb and tremolo work both fine on clean sound which is how I usually play most of the time.

Sound Quality: 10
I use a Vantage AV-75 at home temporarly while I wait to move up. Oftenly a 1995 Gibson Jimmy Page Signature Series will be used.
The first things that stick out is how clean the sound is and the distinction of the bass and trebble.
It works great with both those guitars even tho one of them is crap! I can get my crappy guitar to sound pretty on it. It's one thing that makes this amp great is the sound it has.

Reliability: N/A
I only have had it for a month and a half now so I can't really comment on it but I haven't had a single problem with it ever since the day I got it and I use it everyday.

Customer Support: N/A

Overall Rating: 10
This amp was the best sounding amp I could find for the price. I wouldn't trade it in for any other amp in its category.
For 15W it can go pretty loud, louder then you'd really think.
The best thing is the sound you can get out of it.
I got lucky and paid a bit less for it then here in town. When I was in Montreal I stopped over to a place called Italmelodie and they had great prices on pretty much everything. I came back in town where I tried the amp with my guitar and knew I would have to buy one. They wanted 299 for it so I called the place in Montreal and paid 179, shipping was 25 and everything went smoothly.
The only thing is it took quite a bit of time, I'm not sure where it was held up, it was either Vox, the postage method used by Vox or the shop who didn't process my order right away.
Eitherway I'm as happy as can be with it and I would recommend it to anyone!

Submitted by Patrick Magee at 11/03/2003 17:47

Price Paid: US $99.00

Features: 8
Current production 1X8 Korean made ss combo. Pretty coomprehensive for a small amp. Line out, HP, Ext. speak, and footswitchable trem and boost + 'verb! Loud for 15 ss watts.
To get the most from this amp you need the optional footswitch..bring in the boost for solos and fat chords..add a bit of trem to the end of phrases..ect..ect. makes the amp a real musical instrument.

Sound Quality: 7
I use this with a Squire Strat, for typical Vox sounds (Brit pop, invasion, blues, a bit of punk/new wave/ska) good clean sounds, nice fat mid tones..raunchy/fuzzy distortion( not really the amps forte). The trem is nice for a budget offering,(most decent pedals cost as much as this amp) and has a decent sound..the 'verb is a bit weak compared to small Fenders, but is useful, and makes a big improvement over the non 'verb version. The most interesting/ confusing feature is the "boost" function. This is NOT a two channel amp.. the boost is NOT a drive channel..it is simply a clean boost that adds a bit of "top" and fatness + a hefty volume push to the existing tone..this is a nod to the "top /treble boost" feature that was a popular feature in the early '60s. You need a pedal if you want Marshall type distortion from this amp,but if that is what you want ..get a Marshall. Keep your guitar volume down when you bring in the boost,and then adjust; a bit of expirmentation will have you poping up your solos, and fatting up chords in no time..

Reliability: 7
Seems well made, I have had several other small Voxes and they held up ok..tolex is a bit thin, cover is a good investment. Could be used on small gigs, rehersals, jams, as long as drummer was under control. This and the T-25 bass amp make a nice back line for pub/coffiehouse gigs.

Customer Support: 8
Warrany is a bit skimpy at 1 year..Marshall and Fender do 5. Customer support is top noch. I have delt with the fine folks a Vox/ Korg on several ocassions, and they have been most helpful. Manual is a bit 'breezy"; by attempting to market this as a"rock"amp Vox is missing the boat..Vox owners of any age are a bit more intelegent than the average player..something like the book that came with the Brian May..give a Vox history..some sample settings for famous Vox tones, suggested Vox listening, ideas for using the boost and trem in your playing ect. would be much more useful than the "dude' aproach the current manual employs. Not all Vox lovers have deep pockets, and this little amp will find its way into many diffrent music rooms, lets not be insulting.

Overall Rating: 8
Playing 20 + years I have had several small Voxes including the non verb Pathfinder 15 and this is the best of the bunch..Nice little amp for clean playing. Compared to the Fender Frontman 25 (too loud) Orange Crush 15r (too fragile), and Marshall MG 15 (too toy like) None had the features styling or build found on the P-15 I wish they had made a bigger difference between the 15 and 15 r..the MRB and the Celestion from the old C-15 would have been nice, or perhaps the 10 " speaker version that was UK only should be the standard production...

Submitted by Anonymous at 10/21/2003 21:31

Price Paid: US $139

Features: 8
There are lots of details in the reviews here and on the website and Internet in general. Basically, this is a Solid State, 15 Watt, 8", single channel practice amp with tremelo and reverb. I got this for use as a practice amp at home where my Fender Vibrolux is just too loud (and whose tubes generate too much heat for my small music room). I also take it along to gigs as a backup to the Fender, but I think from a power and projection standpoint, you'd have to rely heavily on mixing the guitar signal into the monitors to hear yourself. I don't think there are any amps this size on the planet that are useable in all but the smallest, most intimate gigs. I think this amp is more useful for clean and slightly overdriven tones, but read on for my take on the higher-gain tones (minus 1 point). There are outs for speaker and line (supposedly filtered for direct to board use), but I have not tried either. There's a headphone out which is clearly NOT filtered and it sounds like crap. Too bad, this is another reason for point deduction.

Sound Quality: 8
I have to tell you, this amp sounds better than it should for its size and cost. For some reason, I had an easier time finding my main amp than I did finding a good practice amp. In my opinion, this is because there are so many practice-sized amps out there (under $200) and they all sound somewhere between OK and crappy. I wasn't even looking for a Vox, but this one came along and sounded really good if not great. I play a variety of guitars through this, but my main guitar is a Fender Am Strat Texas Special. The clean sounds on this amp are outstanding. Surprising headroom, sparkle and jangle here. Very open and transparent yet full and warm. It sounds so good that when I'm practicing, I never seem to miss the Vibrolux (OK, maybe a little). You can dial in a little more pre for some really decent overdrive tones as well. Occassionally, I do some higher gain stuff, and even though this amp has a lot of gain with the gain boost on and pre turned up, it still sounds a little cheesy to me. Better then many amps in this range, but not satisfying to me, so I take my Distortion pedal from my pedal board (Tech 21 Double Drive) and stick it in front of this amp when I want to do some screaming. The reverb sounds very good and adds dimension to the tone. Its no lexicon or Fender Tube reverb, but something in between and very pleasant to listed to and play with. The un-filgered, un-compensated headphone out is horrible as with many other amps in this catagory. I really wish they could make headphones out better. Minus 2 points for average higher-gain tones and crappy headphone tone.

Reliability: N/A
No real experience here with Vox. Its solid state, so I hope it will have a long, trouble-free life.

Customer Support: N/A
No experience. Vox is now a part of Korg, so as with every huge musical conglomorate (spelling?), you'll probably have to rely on your vendor for support.

Overall Rating: 9
Overall, I have to give this thing a very high rating. Its classy looking, seems to be well built, but most of all, its inspiring. It sounds so damn good that I really look forward to playing through it and therefor, I'm getting a lot more practice in than I normally do. Before purchasing this one, I tried the following: Fender Frontman 25R (OK, more money, crappy distortion) and Princeton 12 (used, bigger and more power than I needed, good clean, crappy distortion), Peavey Envoy (OK, nothing great or terrible - better distortion but overall lack of character and flat clean sound), Behringer's 10" Tech 21 Trademark 10 knock-off (very disappointing, over-processed sounding, no headroom), and a used Line6 Spyder 112 (I just don't like the modelers). I actually first purchased a Pathfinder 15 w/o reverb, but I later found that they made one with reverb and returned the one without. For another $20, having the reverb puts the icing on the cake of the great sound this amp puts out. I love the clean and slight overdriven tones. I hate the headphone output - its unusable in my opinion. I originally had my mind set on the Tech 21 Trademark 10, but that was $250, and I couldn't justify the expense for a practice amp. At $140, this little number stole the show!!!

Submitted by JL at 09/23/2003 09:56

Price Paid: US $120

Features: 10
Gain Control, Boost Switch(You can turn this function on and off remotely with the optional VFS2 Footswitch), Volume Control (acts like a master volume), Treble Control, Bass Control, Tremolo Speed Control, Tremolo Depth Control, Reverb Control, Headphone Output Jack, Line Output Jack, External Speaker Output Jack, Footswitch Jack, 15 watts, 8” speaker.

Typical VOX styling like basket-weave vinyl, diamond grille cloth, white piping, gold beading and, "chicken head" pointer knobs. It looks great! I know that it doesn’t contribute to the sound, but the amp’s aesthetics are very inspirational.

Sound Quality: 10
I use a modified (4k ohm filtertron pickups, alnico magnets) 1992 Gretsch Country Classic II. For the most part, I use it to replicate George Harrison's early Beatle sounds. If you are expecting this amp to be a shrunken down, hand wired AC30, you will be disappointed. At its extremely modest price tag ($139, typical retail) it sounds outstanding. I have had a 1985 Rose Morris AC30 (retrofitted with Celestion Vintage 30s), a 1993 Korg/Vox AC30TBX (with Celestion Blues) and a 1998 Korg/Vox AC15 TB (with a Weber Blue Dog--similar to a vintage Celestion Alnico Blue) to compare this too. For its' size and price, the clean tone is unmistakably VOX. Any guitar that I have ever heard through retained its characteristics (A Gretsch sounds like a Gretsch, a Strat sounds like a Strat, etc.).

Prior to acquiring the VOX, I had borrowed a solid state Marshall practice amp of similar size and power. My intent is not to speak disparagingly about the Marshall Company as some of the greatest rock 'n roll sounds have been created with their amplifiers. Compared to the Vox, the Marshall's clean sound was terrible. You would never be able to identify mine or any other guitar as they all had the same harsh and lifeless sound. I am not a connoisseur of distortion sounds but I will say it has a very impressive (low-gain) overdrive. On the high-gain side of things, it sounds like a solid state distortion.

Reliability: 10
I think that I could expect it to last a very long time without any problems. I bought it new almost a year ago and it has never broken down. Then again, I baby my equipment. I'm not a person that would badmouth a company like Vox/Korg because of my own irresponsibility.

Customer Support: N/A
Not applicable, yet (knock on wood).

Overall Rating: 10
I really am a Vox tube snob, but this amp really has a lot of VOX character. because it is a VOX. The reverb is adequate for my needs and the tremolo is really fantastic and musical. It has some very usable overdrive and the clean sound is what won me over. Allow the speaker to break in (a couple of hours of playing) and I think that you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

Submitted by jay filippone at 08/29/2003 11:38

Price Paid: US $120

Features: 10
My Pathfinder is probably a 2003 model, with the spring reverb and tremolo. The boost switch gives off a good deal of gain, enough to make the amp feel like a true two channel amp. No midrange control, only treble and bass...but the amp doesn't really suffer from it. It has a pleasingly smooth midrange in the clean department, and the boost thickens it up considerably. It's nice to have a gain dial for the clean channel. You can get crystal clean to REALLY distorted (at lower volumes) tones.

You can get a footswitch with this, but I wish it came standard. There's enough power on tap for rehersal, or even a smallish gig...as long as your drummer doesn't take all of his agression out while they're playing.

For a practice/rehersal amp, this amp has everything you need. If you're into heavy gain, this may not be the amp for you. But for what I need...it's perfect.

Sound Quality: 10
This thing has a VERY pleasing sound. The gain can get a bit grainy in the mid gain stages, but the cleans and the ultra-distortion (only truly available at lower volumes with the distortion maxxed out and the volume down) are smooth sounding...especially the cleans. Simply put, you will not find a better clean tone for the price.

I use this with a variety of guitars (a jazz box with humbuckers, a homemade Strat with Noiseless pickups, and a Godin LG with P-90's). The greatest asset of this amp is its transparency. With many practice combos, it really doesn't matter what guitar you use with it...it just won't sound good. Not only does this amp sound good, but you can really hear the individual characteristics of your guitars through it.

There can be a bit of a buzz with the gain turned up, but it's not an issue for me. This amp can give you big distortion, but it's much more suited to clean and lightly overdriven sounds. The cleans are simply beautiful for an amp in this price range. I wouldn't hesitate to record clean parts with my little Vox.

Reliability: 10
My Pathfinder is built fairly solid, and it's got solid state dependability. As long as you aren't playing with the volume dimed all the time, this amp will be fine.

Customer Support: N/A
I haven't dealt directly with Vox.

Overall Rating: 10
I've been playing for about 10 years now. I own about 17 guitars both electric and acoustic, and two nice tube amps (a Peavey Classic 30 and a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe). I use this as my practice amp. For the money, there is absolutely nothing that can touch these little Pathfinders. The clean tone is remarkable.

I do wish the distortion was a bit smooother, but it's still usable. Some people will tell you this amp sounds "tube-like." I don't agree with that...this amp just sounds very good.

I compared this amp to various Fender, Marshall, and Peavey small solid state amps...even a Tech 21. I liked the tone of the Vox more than any of them, and it was cheaper than the Fenders and Peaveys. Plus, you get the great tremolo.

Submitted by Mike at 07/28/2003 17:22

Price Paid: US $139.00

Features: 9
15 watt combo amp......read Vox's website or other reviews for the features! I do like the chicken head controls and the overall style; very cool. The tremolo feature is very cool as well.

Sound Quality: 10
OK, this was an impulse buy. I've been on a real Beatles kick the past year and wanted a Vox amp. No, this isn't an AC30, but by golly, it has a nice vintage sound! I wanted something I could run without any effect, or very minimal ones. Amp + guitar and that's it. This is everything I wanted. All the other reviews hit the nail on the head. I also have a Fender Frontman II 25R that I used with a Zoom 707, the Vox is a great sounding bang for the buck. My Epi Les Paul sounds great with the distortion while my Strat beckins for the clean tones. Niiiiice!

Reliability: 8
Have only had a few days....don't do the "rock star" thing and pour Jack Daniels or Coke into the back of it.

Customer Support: N/A
No dealings as of yet.

Overall Rating: 10
I think this is great value for a small 15 watt amp. For me it can really nail a Beatles tone. I like the control styles, a little tweaking and you can go from "With The Beatles" to the "White Album" with a few know twists.

Submitted by Greg S. at 07/28/2003 11:07

Price Paid: 90 euros used

Features: 10
Vraiment bien équipé : son clair, son saturé, trémolo( ! ), réverb ,
boost (augmente le gain et les médiums ).
La connectique est également très complète pour un ampli de ce prix ( sortie casque, ligne, sortie footswitch ( pour le trémolo et le boost ),sortie HP supplémentaires. Pour un 15 watts, il est assez puissant ( j'ai essayé de le relier sur un bloc HP 2*12, cela coupe le Hp du combo et on peut pousser le volume sans que ça sature, on doit même pouvoir jouer en groupe dans ces conditions, ça peut dépanner ... )

La finition est de qualité.

Sound Quality: 10
Vraiment incroyable pour un ampli de ce prix.
Avec ma stratocaster standard, en poussant un peu le volume, je peux avoir une attaque et un son à la steevie ray vaughan très très convaincant et propre et des sons crunch vraiment sympa.

Avec ma Gibson les paul, je peux avoir un son clair vraiment bon pour le Jazz et des saturations légères typées années 60 ( genre beatles ... )

Impossible de trouver mieux à ce prix !!! ( sauf si vous voulez jouer dans un autre registre )

Reliability: 10
Je n'ai jamais eu de problème ...

Customer Support: N/A
Sans avis...

Overall Rating: 10
Rapport qualité prix complètent démentiel !!!

Submitted by Pascal at 06/30/2003 14:21

Price Paid: US $116

Features: 7
Made January 14, 2003 in Korea.

15 watts, 8-inch speaker, solid state, spring reverb, and tremolo. Definitely loud enough for home use as well as small gigs. Very good sensitivity to the volume control (unlike Fender's Frontman 25R that is silent at 1-1/2 then loud at 1-3/4 with no in between setting).

Small enough and light enough (19 pounds) to carry easily from room to room or from home to gig location in your car. (Portability was a key factor in my purchase decision.)

Permanently attached power cord that fits easily in the back of the nearly closed-back cabinet when not in use.

On top: one input; gain, boost, volume, treble, bass, tremolo speed, tremolo depth, and reverb controls; and the power switch.

Out back: 1/4-inch jacks for headphones, an external speaker, line out, and an optional foot switch (to control the boost and tremolo on/off functions).

I would increase the rating in this category by one point for each of the following: an aux/CD input, another guitar input, and a middle tone control.

Sound Quality: 10
What an amazing, beautiful sound! In addition, this little solid-state amp almost sounds and FEELS like a tube amp. The dynamics are not at all flat like many solid states.

At present, I am having more fun playing through this little amp than through my much-loved Fender '65 Super Reverb Reissue. The Vox sounds amazing clean, at least at the low volumes I usually use at home.

Since getting the SRRI a year ago, I have found myself mostly playing clean, straight into the amp. With the Vox, it is the same. The clean is chimey, almost Fender clean with the treble up. With the gain up, there is a nice overdriven sound, perfect for the blues or lighter rock. Turning the gain up all the way and pressing the boost switch results in a disappointing buzz. Consequently, you will need a pedal for heavy metal or really hard rock. (The Boss Metal Zone sounds fantastic with this amp.) However, the clean sound is so good I don't care!

Guitar: Briane Moore M/C1 with a SD Alnico II humbucker in the neck position, a SD Alnico II Pro single-coil in the middle, and a SD Jeff Beck inhumbucker in the bridge. A fabulous albeit overpriced guitar.

Style: my own. I play clean, finger-style, acoustic guitar-like stuff, clean leads over another guitar, and outrageously saturated and heavy stuff (leads and rhythm). All but the latter fits well at Starbuck's on a Saturday morning...

Reliability: N/A
I assume it will be quite reliable.

Customer Support: N/A
I have not had any need to contact anyone about repairs. For the price, I am not at all concerned.

Overall Rating: 9
What a great little amp! I would definitely replace it if it were lost or stolen.

I tried to like Fender's Frontman 25R, but that amp was too noisy (although its distortion was much better) and too loud. Further, the Vox's clean sound is much better (to my ears) than the Frontman.

BTW, I've been playing for over 30 years (and I'm finally getting quite good at it!).

Submitted by Jeff Olson at 05/25/2003 09:24

Price Paid: US $90 used

Features: 8
2002 model, 15W 1x8" single-channel solid state combo made in Korea. Features include gain boost, tremolo, reverb, line out, extension speaker out, earphone jack, footswitch input for gain boost and trem. All you need for a vintage style practice amp. I use an old Crate footswitch with it. Reasonably loud for practicing at home or at a small venue. I think the new Orange practice amps use the same circuit.

Sound Quality: 9
I play a Warmoth hollow strat with Bill Lawrence L-450 humbuckers straight into the amp. This amp is best suited for 60s brit-rock, modern pop-rock, and anything else outside the metal realm where that pseudo AC30 tone is desired. Cleans are amazingly punchy and chimey, while overdrive is crunchy and useful up to a point, before is starts to sound like a buzzsaw. You can get anything from a clean shimmer to an irreverantly delightful kerrang, but you must tweak the tone and gain knobs to find the best tones. Trem and reverb are sufficient for mild effects.

I had a chance to compare this to the discontinued Cambridge 15, with the tube preamp and no reverb. Must say, at first I really favored the Cambridge for its smoother and tubey distortion, thinking the preamp tube was doing something (the Cambridge was equipped with a NOS GE 12AX7WA). Then I switched the output of the two amps into the other's speaker (the Pathfinder has a chinese Celestion clone, while the Cambridge had a real blue frame Celestion, I'd assume a re-labeled Celestion Super 8). Man, the great smooth distortion from the Cambridge was due almost solely to the speaker! Actually, through the same blue Celestion, the Pathfinder had a better, more balanced and chimey Vox-tone. I found the Cambridge to be a bit muddy and piercing at the same time, compared to the Pathfinder. The clean on the Cambridge was punchier, but a bit muddier than on the Pathfinder. Goes to show, pre-amp tubes in hybrid amps are definitely more of a marketing gimmick than people think.

Reliability: 9
It's solid-state, no problems so far. I'd get some corner protectors on this thing before I started lugging it around.

Customer Support: N/A
I'd imagine getting parts to service a Korean-made mass-produced amp would be a bitch, but I have no experiences to share. I'd probably try to fix problems myself.

Overall Rating: 9
I've been playing for about 5 years, off and on with friends and occasionally at small venues. My other gear include a modded Fender HRDx, a Takamine acoustic, and a Japanese Tele. This amp is perfect for practice and has enough tone mojo to play out with a small band w/ quiet drummer. I'm surprised each day I plug in at how such great punchy tones can come out of such a cheap mass-produced amp. I compared this to the Cambridge 15, Marshall MG15 (dull and boxy sounding), Crates (okay, but not inspiring), Fender solid states (thin and noisy), Fender Pro Junior and silver-face Champs (awsome tone, but not versatile enough for the money). For around $100, you can't beat the Pathfinder. Although the stock speaker is great for cleans, I think I'll try a replacement Weber or Celestion to smooth out the heavy distortion. Once I do that, this amp will rock.

Submitted by Anonymous at 04/17/2003 11:49