Vox VBM-1 Brian May Special

This little Amp is a gift from my mom from Musicians Friend.. it cost her $149.99 and it is well worth it.

it has the real brian may sound even with my yamaha eg112c (a fender strat style guitar knock off)i have only been playing for 2 months and this amp sounds awesome, it beats my starter amp which is only 7 watts. i have worked with music gear all my life and im 21 and i have not heard anything like this.

the stapled velcro in the back for the power cord

very well built and the electronics are superb. it is a very pretty shade of white.
and it is light weight and portable

small, lightweight, portable, LOUD!!!!!!, and the real deal for the money it's worth it all the way.

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

I bought it new from Music Center, Inc. Kenosha, WI on 11-08-03 Paid $120.00. ($126.60 w/tax)

News of the World! It really does sound like exactly Brian May's Queen guitar tone. It is as light as a feather, and the quality on mine is a 10. I played a bunch of my guitars through it, using Bridge pickups, Neck pickups, and combinations, as well as out of phase Strat tones on my Joe Barden equipped 3-Pickup Fender Telecaster. Each one nailed subtley different Brian May sounds. Guitars Played were: 1968 Les Paul Custom, 1968 Fender Telecaster, 1992 Am Std. Fender Telecaster w/ Joe Barden pickups, 1995 Ernie Ball MusicMan Axis Super Sport w/ MM90's. (P-90 style pickups.) This one sounded the best, all in all. Which is not surprizing since it is my favorite guitar of all time. The Neck pick-up (which I rarely use) was the one that really nailed the "Bohemian Rhapsody" solo tone and bridge pickup was just right for the "Plaster coming off the walls" Power-chord stuff.

Killer Queen? I have not yet found a good "regular" (non-boost) tone to compliment the signature solo tone. I realize this was not the purpose of this amp, nor was it the reason I bought it, but it would be nice and I will keep looking. The only real nit-pick I have to is I don't like the velcro strap for the power cord. It is stapled onto the back of the amp, and looks cheap. But what can you expect for this price.

Brighton Rock! This one came out of the box perfect. The attention to detail is quite impressive. From the gold piping right down to the tiny gold screws holding on the white corner guards. In short, it looks really cool and Boy, it sure is white!!! Panel, inputs and knobs are typical chicken-head retro cool. Chassis fits the cabinet flawlessly.

Tie Your Mother Down!!! This thing not only captures the distortion and sweet sustain of the classic Brian May Solo tone ala Bohemian Rhapsody, but nails the grinding power chord passages as well. I've only had mine a day, and I can't wait to try the Booster/Out with my 2 AC30's. Sheer Heart Attack? I'll let you know.

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

The Vox Brian May Special VBM1 is a small guitar combo amp for the early 2000's. For those who don't know, Brian May is the lead guitarist of Queen. He's got something going on with Vox, as they also released a Brian May AC30 a few years back, although I do not know his level of involvement here. It's only a 10 watt amp, but actually gets a decent amount of volume. The amp has a custom 6 1/2" speaker as well.

UTILIZATION

The make up of the Vox Brian May Special VBM1 is pretty cool as there's a good amount of control for a smaller amp. It's got a 1/4" input and a 1/4" booster output, which is definitely a Brian May thing as he loves his booster pedals. It also has a 1/4" headphone and external speaker output. The parameters it has include a volume, tone, and gain knob. It also has a high/low gain button. I haven't seen the manual for this amplifier.

SOUNDS

The sound of the Vox Brian May Special VBM1 is actually pretty awesome and it's a great guitar amp to record with. I'm finding more and more that smaller amps can be your friend in the studio, as when you crank them up and close mic them, it's sometimes bigger and better than using a huge amp. One of the studios I work at a bunch has one of these and I hadn't used it until recently but I'm glad I did as it's an awesome amp to record lead tones with. It's not going to be Brian May's sound in a box, but definitely will help you get started...

OVERALL OPINION

The Vox Brian May Special VBM1 is an awesome amp to use in the studio! I haven't used it for live shows but would still probably recommend only using it in the studio as that seems to be where it is best suited due to it's size and tone control. You don't have to be a fan of Brian May and Queen to appreciate this amp, but then again, who doesn't like Queen? The amp isn't very expensive at all for a good recording amplifier, so if you're looking to bolster your recording set up, I'd check this out as a low cost option for a big sound!