Vox

For which specific applications or uses have you chosen this product?

Installed on my pedalboard, I use it only on headphone so far as I recently moved to a flat but I consider buying a good cab soon to play at home at low to moderate volume.

How long have you been using it ? :

I’ve use dit daily for 3 months with an American Standard Limited Edition Telecaster with a bridge humbucker.

Have you tested other comparable or competing products before purchasing this one? :

I tried supposedly good small last generation digital amps with all known features (modulation fx, headphone out…) and it sounded digital and cold, a no-go for me as I previously played on a tube Marshall DSL 40C which was way too powerful to play at home, so to get a good valve amp I turned to this small Vox head which keeps its promises.

I also tried the Two Note preamp range which I found attractive but they provided me with strange noises which I couldn’t determine whether it came from the device or the supply, considering I only tested it in a shot using my own pedalboard. In comparaison, the VOX head was really silent with a nuanced and sharper sound, so in a word convincing.

As for my pedalboard, I use : a Moller TREX tube screamer, an MXR Fet driver fuzzy distortion, a TREX comp, a TREX wah, a TREX ghost tone reverb, an MXR carbon copy delay and a BOSS EQ.

I generally put the VOX’s gain at 0 (clean), its tone at 12h and volume at 10h, which is way enough to mye ars while playing on my headphone. The pedals sound really good on the amp’s clean, and sometimes I only use the amp’s crunch with a little comp for the typical Vox sound I love. In clean, a bit of compression and reverb are required to have yous playing style’s subtleties come out (comething all amps require to my taste).

I use my pedals on clean sound to change the grain and get into more modern territories, and also getting close to Marshallesque sounds. In the end, I get a wide sound palette with a single-channel amp, with a tube sound in my headphone (harmonics, warmth, dynamic…). I originally intended to buy the VOX MV50 Clean, but it wasn’t available before a while so I got for this AC which was in the shop’s window and tried it for a long moment. I not only have no regret but am also particularly satisfied – hence this review.

I read people criticizing this VOX head xlaiming the Hotones were half the price with an extra fx loop, well I’ve owned both and I precisely sold my Hotone British Invasion which I used to work at night as it was way too limited with my setup – as soon as distortions came in let alone the wah, it definitely lacked clarity. While the Vox has no fx loop indeed, I put all my pedals in the front and it works perfectly.

What are the pros and cons of this product?

PROS:

+ Sound quality with a pedalboard (can’t wait to try it with a good cab!)
+ Value for money
+ The knobs’ progressivity and precision
+ its look !

CONS:

I can’t think of any so far, as it perfectly matched my expectations but I may update this review after using it more – and especially with a cab.

Now that I think of it, perhaps it lacks an internal reverb for those who want to use it with no effect pedal.

I’ve had it for 4 days, of course an update will follow if need be.
This is an all-analog amp, with a 12ax7 preamp tube and a 12ax7 power tube. As the original output must be around 1 watt, its re-amplified with a solid state processor for a final 30 watts at 4 ohms.
Such amps are rare – I’ve only known two, including Koch’s Jupiter and its more metal-oriented sibling.

So, we get 8 analog preamps per channel (ranging from clean to saturax), resembling my old – and defunct – Yamaha DG60.
Then, there’s an effect section (just mixed with the sound), allowing chorus+delay+reverb. The reverb’s length and depth can be roughly set, as well as the delay’s time (but not its depth), and as for the chorus you can set a mix between speed and depth. It can do the job, but there’s an fx loop on the back panel for a more serious job.
Then, you have two switches per tube, drastically changing the overall sound. The result is well-conceived, and very versatile.
The more you push the volume, the more the tube can be heard, compresses softly, even with the master at a very reasonable level. Valvetronix owners will definitely feel at home.
Finally, the minimal 4-ohm impedance allows to plug just anything to its output (while bypassing the internal speaker) through the jack on the back panel.
The on/off switch is quite peculiar, it has to be pushed upward to switch the device on (and downward to switch it off, but you won’t even need to do it as it switches off automatically after one houre without an incoming signal – very practical, and green too!).


Soundwise, the tube circuit results in a very organic sound, it lives, pulsates, far from your average solid state amp. In clean sounds, you can’t get tired of the various possibilities, especially considering that the effects sound nice and warm, and the settings allow for two different clean sounds at once. Or two saturax by the way, and so on. Easy, user-friendly and efficient – what more can you ask as to its ergonomy?
No background noise, which is a good point.
The speaker is 10 inch large, but it sounds warm and wide – another proof that whenever the acoustic part is well-conceived…
By the way, I consider its big brother to be too expensive (a hundred more bucks for a bigger speaker and only 60W…), as to the smaller one of the gang it lacks too many things and it already costs 250. In the end, the AV30 appears a very good compromise of size, weight, features and price.
And the best part of it is – its look! Awesome, very classy, a nice furniture to have in your living room (its rounded curves and 3D-ish speaker cover are just… wow!).

[Update, one year later]: I’ve used it for a while at a high volume, and it’s full of good surprises! I thought a 10” speaker would absolutely sound shy and lack lows, and I was absolutely wrong! The output volume is impressive, its diffusion in space is great and the small speaker provides large and precise lows. Plus, the amp doesn’t seem to shrink after a few hours – how impressive!

The only cons is that I have too much highs with the HiHain 2 setting (even with the treble and mid settings zeroed), so I have to get satisfied with HiGain 1. Plugged into an alnico 212, it sounds much louder, it’s really an incredible small combo…
Its sound intensity reminds me of the Princeton Reverb, more precise and powerful, needless to say how much stunned I am.
As a result, I almost regret not opting for the AV60, but this 30W version is small and practical so not too much regrets.
A single cons, the four tube switches at the right and the last one bring some buzz in. I’ll change the tube. Thanks for reading!

Oh, and of course, if I were to buy it again… you bet I would!