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MGR/Derek Mok « Vox VR30 Valve Reactor Amplifier »
Published on 01/10/06 at 15:00Primarily a singer, I've been playing guitar for about 10 years, been in a band (drummer!), and have continued to record and play with other musicians on a non-professional basis. My styles range from folk to hard rock, with heavy power-pop leanings -- Big Star, not Green Day.
I bought this amp at Guitar Center on Sunset Blvd. in L.A. for $200.
It has a very organic, complex overdrive tone, with one clean channel and two overdrive modes, all footswitchable. Plenty of adjustment options, with three volume knobs, two sets of EQ knobs, and pre-amp and power-amp choices. The clean tone is good and blows the clean tones of my previous Marshall amp out of the water. The amp is responsive to varying playing dynamics, and can cover all the styles I like to play.
It's really not that portable, being heavy and long in shape, harder to balance. Also, the top handle sucks, being hard and restrictive to the hand, and the plastic "chicken head" knobs feel much flimsier than the metal knobs on a Marshall. Takes about a minute to warm up as well, but the sounds are worth it.
The sturdy cabinet, grille cloth and shiny Vox logo all radiate class, but I have concerns about the plastic knobs, as described above. They feel like they could chip or shatter with just one knock of the guitar.
I tested this amp against my old 15W Marshall MG-series amp (bought for $180 in New York in 1998) as well as a $300 Marshall AVT-series valve amp. The Vox' tone beat the Marshalls in both cases. Ever since my old Marshall 15W Valvestate amp got stolen, I had been aching to find a small combo that had the right amp overdrive, response, and clean tones I want. This Vox finally fulfilled that expectation, and after two years of using the Line 6 Pod as my main amp, I'm finally going back to using an actual amp, and the sounds of the VR30 are the reason. Aside from the carrying discomforts and the weak plastic knobs, this amp is fantastic.
This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com
I bought this amp at Guitar Center on Sunset Blvd. in L.A. for $200.
It has a very organic, complex overdrive tone, with one clean channel and two overdrive modes, all footswitchable. Plenty of adjustment options, with three volume knobs, two sets of EQ knobs, and pre-amp and power-amp choices. The clean tone is good and blows the clean tones of my previous Marshall amp out of the water. The amp is responsive to varying playing dynamics, and can cover all the styles I like to play.
It's really not that portable, being heavy and long in shape, harder to balance. Also, the top handle sucks, being hard and restrictive to the hand, and the plastic "chicken head" knobs feel much flimsier than the metal knobs on a Marshall. Takes about a minute to warm up as well, but the sounds are worth it.
The sturdy cabinet, grille cloth and shiny Vox logo all radiate class, but I have concerns about the plastic knobs, as described above. They feel like they could chip or shatter with just one knock of the guitar.
I tested this amp against my old 15W Marshall MG-series amp (bought for $180 in New York in 1998) as well as a $300 Marshall AVT-series valve amp. The Vox' tone beat the Marshalls in both cases. Ever since my old Marshall 15W Valvestate amp got stolen, I had been aching to find a small combo that had the right amp overdrive, response, and clean tones I want. This Vox finally fulfilled that expectation, and after two years of using the Line 6 Pod as my main amp, I'm finally going back to using an actual amp, and the sounds of the VR30 are the reason. Aside from the carrying discomforts and the weak plastic knobs, this amp is fantastic.
This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com