Price Paid: US $300.00 used
Features: 7
I'm pretty sure this amp was made in '65. Its all tube, gets that great Vox chime and starts to OD nicely at 4 (this one goes to 6). Its a very simple combo but its very musical. Read the previous review for features. I do wish it had reverb.
Sound Quality: 9
I play a Lone Star and Regular Strat along with a Charvel 475 deluxe. I mostly play blues and rock so this amp provides a nice change of pace from my Carvin 100 watt combo. Ive been trying to get a Brian May type distortion with it and have gotten pretty close -with a good pedal. I recently installed a Weber P10S and it really sings now! Next, I plan on changing tubes so Im really curious how much better it can sound. The 18 watts is loud enough for me to get some serious tone. I dont expect this amp to be versatile but it has been a very pleasant surprise.
Reliability: N/A
Only had it for a year and am restoring it but its holding up.
Customer Support: N/A
Nope.
Overall Rating: 8
Ive been playing for 15 years and playing has kept me sane. I am getting very attached to this amp and chuckle cuz its older than me! I would be very upset if it were stolen because I know it hasnt reached its potential. Im not crazy about the tremelo but hopefully that will improve once I change tubes. If you can pick one of these up, do so. Lastly, I'd like to read more reviews from Pacemaker owners, so if you have one share!
Submitted by Oscar at 07/21/2001 21:51
Price Paid: US $40 and he said thanks. used
Features: 7
I believe this amp was made in 1966, a number of these west-coast beauties showed up at Will's Musicland on Cherry Street, downtown Green Bay back that summer. It is a small, 16" H x 21" W x 9.5" D, with one channel, three inputs, vol, bass, treb, trem speed and trem depth. It has an 8 ohm ext speaker jack wired with an RCA jack! How cute! With 17 watts and originally a Vox Bulldog 10" speaker it is a miniature ac30, I always felt like a Beatle when I played through one of these.
In the summer of 1966 I used one of these to play at a five-year class reunion, bunch of old people I tell you! I turned the amp to the max, 6, this one goes to 6! The semi-distorted sound, like the Kinks' "You Really Got Me" was wonderful although I didn't, at that time, understand the beauty of it and bought a Super Reverb instead.
Now, I play solo slide and acoustic surf (Walk Don't Run alone on a Yamaha APX10D in stereo -- I can do it!) The amp has enough for any gig I do.
Pain and simple!!!!
Sound Quality: 10
The TUBE Pacemaker, not to be confused with the V-1020 which is solid state with a mid-range boost ftsw. Visually, the same except for the handle, 60's fender-like on the tube, 50's bassman-like on the solid-state. Suits my style, nice tone all the way from 0 to 6. Clean if you keep it below 3.5 or so.
My signal chain after guitar??? for electric pick-ups??? as follows:
Dan-Echo, A/B box, RealTube preamp, '63 Fender Reverb (reissue), Guyatone VTX tremelo stereo out to Vox Pacemaker and Bedrock Royale 1x12. Crispy-clear and brights from Vox, mid-range grunge from Bedrock. Does surf, blues, fingerstyle... use the preamp to adjust tones and amount of bark.
Reliability: 10
Warranty lapsed before many of you were born!!
The former owner thought it was a bass amp and blew the speaker! A bit of work by my amp-guy and it was set. New tubes in 2000. This is 30-something years old. It's been turned to 11 (I mean 6) for 35 years, I blast it... and it's still ticking!!! Using it 100's of gigs for ten years, Reliable!!!!!!
Customer Support: N/A
Company gone, gone, sorry, long time, sorry!
Overall Rating: 10
I've been playing for 37 years, time flies! The amp will outlast me!
I love this amp, I need this amp! If I had hair I would truly beleive I'm a Beatle, even tho' this is a Thomas Organ Vox Made in California and I am a 51 year old Norge-Swede. Simple amps with simple controls and pure tube tone are hard to find. This is a keeper!
Amps I have owned:
Arline (from Wards)
Vox Pacemaker (new)
65 Fender Super Reverb
Vox Viscount
72 Fender Super Reverb
Peavey (was it a Bandit?)
Amps I now have:
Vox Pacemaker
Bedrock Royale 1x12
Squire Champ 15
Epiphone Acoustic Regent
Crate Limo Acoustic battery-op
Crate 125D acoustic
Crate 125 acoustic
Submitted by Dale Anderson at 06/13/2001 06:50
