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King Loudness « A cool grab and go tool. »
Published on 04/28/11 at 15:20The Vox AmPlug Classic Rock version is yet another model for their AmPlug series of portable headphone amps that plug straight into the guitar's output jack. It's a simple little unit with only three controls to control guitar parameters. The three controls are volume, tone and gain. There are no onboard effects of note. The AmPlug is also equipped with 2 1/8" jacks, one for headphones and one that is an auxiliary in.
All in all this is a very simple and decent 'grab and go' unit. It does have a good sound due to the fully analog circuitry inside, and it apes the vibe of a "Classic" 100w British stack very well for a $50 headphone amp.
UTILIZATION
Setting up the AmPlug is very simple by all means. It plugs directly into your guitar's output jack without need of a cable (the 1/4 plug is attached to the unit itself). Setting up good tones is very simple and self explanatory. The volume dial controls the overall output level, the tone control acts as an equalization balancing tool, and the gain control adjusts the amount of distortion or saturation. Being that it's basically a 'single sound' modeller, you are dealing with the sole tone of a Classic Rock type amp, which is supposed to be like a 100w Marshall or other British stack. It's not an absurdly high gain tone but it has enough to do up to seventies/eighties L.A rock fairly easily.
As a note, you MUST be using either headphones or an auxiliary speaker... the AmPlug does not have its own speaker so if you don't plug it into one of those, it will not produce any sound.
SOUND QUALITY
I used this as a grab and go unit when I would have sessions or gigs to go to and I needed to go somewhere and practice quietly for a bit. For a $50 headphone amp, this has a surprisingly decent tone. It's got a very nice British esque raunch that I was not expecting. Turning the gain down yielded some nice "cranked AC30" type lower to mid gain tones. Turning the gain dial up to full tilt brought forth a cool cranked EL34 esque tone that was very reminiscent of a modified Marshall head. Mind you it doesn't have the tube sag and top end sizzle that the Marshalls have, but for a small headphone amp, it is very good approximation. I would like to hear it through a speaker as well, since my earbuds/headphones were of marginal quality.
OVERALL OPINION
All in all the Vox AmPlug line is a cool way to grab something quick to get your jam on. This Classic Rock unit has a nice sound overall and works for everything from Clapton to Whitesnake. They're about $50 new which is a great deal considering the tonal quality. I sold it in the move to downsize. If I had to buy again, I would probably choose the "Lead" model, which is more suited to my playing style, plus it has an onboard delay (this one has no effects).
Definitely a good buy for a headphone amp for sure.
All in all this is a very simple and decent 'grab and go' unit. It does have a good sound due to the fully analog circuitry inside, and it apes the vibe of a "Classic" 100w British stack very well for a $50 headphone amp.
UTILIZATION
Setting up the AmPlug is very simple by all means. It plugs directly into your guitar's output jack without need of a cable (the 1/4 plug is attached to the unit itself). Setting up good tones is very simple and self explanatory. The volume dial controls the overall output level, the tone control acts as an equalization balancing tool, and the gain control adjusts the amount of distortion or saturation. Being that it's basically a 'single sound' modeller, you are dealing with the sole tone of a Classic Rock type amp, which is supposed to be like a 100w Marshall or other British stack. It's not an absurdly high gain tone but it has enough to do up to seventies/eighties L.A rock fairly easily.
As a note, you MUST be using either headphones or an auxiliary speaker... the AmPlug does not have its own speaker so if you don't plug it into one of those, it will not produce any sound.
SOUND QUALITY
I used this as a grab and go unit when I would have sessions or gigs to go to and I needed to go somewhere and practice quietly for a bit. For a $50 headphone amp, this has a surprisingly decent tone. It's got a very nice British esque raunch that I was not expecting. Turning the gain down yielded some nice "cranked AC30" type lower to mid gain tones. Turning the gain dial up to full tilt brought forth a cool cranked EL34 esque tone that was very reminiscent of a modified Marshall head. Mind you it doesn't have the tube sag and top end sizzle that the Marshalls have, but for a small headphone amp, it is very good approximation. I would like to hear it through a speaker as well, since my earbuds/headphones were of marginal quality.
OVERALL OPINION
All in all the Vox AmPlug line is a cool way to grab something quick to get your jam on. This Classic Rock unit has a nice sound overall and works for everything from Clapton to Whitesnake. They're about $50 new which is a great deal considering the tonal quality. I sold it in the move to downsize. If I had to buy again, I would probably choose the "Lead" model, which is more suited to my playing style, plus it has an onboard delay (this one has no effects).
Definitely a good buy for a headphone amp for sure.