Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Guitars, Amps and Effects => Topic started by: JDC on July 01, 2008, 12:12:20 AM
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right I've pretty much 99% sure I'm going to buy vox valvetronix ad30vt xl aka the one with a 12" speaker and metal type amp models, was going to buy it 6 month ago but I erm, never got round to it, tried it today to make sure it's the right amp and I'm pretty sure, valveking wasn't a patch on it (I did forget to play with the presence control but I still think the voxtronix would have won)
me being paranoid I just want to make sure there is nothing else out there, just after a practice amp for modern metal and clean
only disadvantages in the ad30vt xl, are the lack of a 16ohm output if I ever wanted to put an 16ohm cab on it in future and the lack of an fx loop, but I could easily live without them
being the opposite of an impulse buyer is a pain sometimes because you have second thoughts on everything!!!! (good for your bank account though)
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If you're happy with the Vox, then go for that.
Any OK clean amp with a decent pedal would do metal though I would have thought?
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Have you played with the Line 6 Spider Valve?
I thought it was pretty cool and the tones sounded pretty good, pretty loud too. Just another option to look into.
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try the cube 30 as well, i guess? and then just buy whichever you like best... :)
EDIT: i hear you about being the opposite of an impulse buyer... :evil:
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I think randall have some good practise like amps. Great for metal tone!
The vox looks like a great price though!
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If you're happy with the Vox, then go for that.
Any OK clean amp with a decent pedal would do metal though I would have thought?
never thought of that but then I'd have no idea how it would sound
stevepage: I've played a spidervalve and I'm a bit iffy on it, ok I tried it with a cr@p guitar that couldn't chugg to save a life but the clean were very boring sounding to me
if i could have all the options in the same room and could A/B them all with the same guitar it would make the choice so much easier
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Give me a couple of days to answer this. I'll send you a PM
You see, your other big alternative is the cube 30. I already have one of those, and I just ordered a voxvaltronixbutmoremetal with a stupid sequence of letters and numbers. I forget. What you wrote. The 30W one.
I'll do some A/Bing and get back to you.
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Give me a couple of days to answer this. I'll send you a PM
come on man :) answer it here 8)
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Okey dokey
It'll be a little while though. Maybe tonight, but with the hassle that I go through to get stuff delivered to my flat, it'll probably be later.
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ah, i've never got to try those newer high gain voxes... i've heard some mixed things though, some good, some not so good. Would be interested to hear what you think, mark. :)
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It arrived and is waiting in the hairdressers just down the road for me to get it.
If all goes according to plan (yeah, right) then I'll have it tomorrow.
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FWIW, Vox Valvetronix I believe... (http://www.myspace.com/anotherode)
Special attention to Downhill Flight
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FWIW, Vox Valvetronix I believe... (http://www.myspace.com/anotherode)
Special attention to Downhill Flight
I hope I'm not causing you or anyone you know offence, but
Thats absolutely godawfull. Not necesseraly tonally. Its not great there, but I can forgive that. In all musical regards. Rudimentary ones, like, timing, tuning and fretting and hitting the right strings.
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well, I guess it shows that it is capable of sounding shite in the right hands.
Apparently the guy is actually quite particular about his 'tone'.
Can you please compare the Combo to the Tonelab when you get the chance please, its been kinda putting me off (http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=J35PnbV6ASU)
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Tech 21 60W is quite good for brootalz, and is also selling well I think ... in case.
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well, I guess it shows that it is capable of sounding shitee in the right hands.
Apparently the guy is actually quite particular about his 'tone'.
Can you please compare the Combo to the Tonelab when you get the chance please, its been kinda putting me off (http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=J35PnbV6ASU)
That was also absolutely dreadfull. Why the fucking hell were there so many people there. Oh and look how impressed they all were. I think the guys in the back were looking for an an exitl.
Yeah, I'll do a bit of a comparison and report back.
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Compulsory... school assembly. he is a troubled queer one, and those that let him do it did not know what they were inflicting on us.
everyone cheers due to the fact that he is serious.
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School assembly?
That explains a lot.
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ROFL i wish i was in your year Will! This performance is LEGENDARY
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Marshall MG cranked is a great amp - versatile too!
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OK, first impressions:
A: Its louder than I expected. You could practice with a drummer with this.
B: It has a wattage control dial on the back: its quite possible to make full volume more like TV volume. It has little discernable effect on the tone (if anything it thins it out a bit and emphasises high mids).
C: It has TOO MANY metal options. Ones that have stood out so far:
1: Modern. Cool, heavy, but not too in your face rhythm and quite a smooth lead sound. Its metal, but not line 6 "insane" setting, utterly unusably so. So far I think I'll be going to this the most.
2: Fluid. I was actually quite suprised that this does pretty much what it says on the tin: it brings out mids to emphasis legato, and it does a pretty good job of it. Really nice for tapping (something I almost never do)
3: Damaged: this sounds rather a lot like Rectumfrier setting on a cube. Its more scooped, you have to really fight to add mids and its rather unrewarding to do so, and the highs are pretty fizzy. Its not as thick and throaty as the cubes, but is less fizzy and more articulate.
D: The cleans SUCK. Royally. Well, IMO. I like a bright glassy clean, and these cleans are dull as dishwater. Cube wins for cleans hands down (which is odd, because normal valvetronix have better cleans, I think, than cubes).
E: On a few seconds play I found some of settings to be useless and/or obnoxious: molten, funked and buzzsaw come to mind.
F: Its less intuitive and incorporates such unfortunate modernisms of amp/amp sim technology as writing settings to a channel things that look suspiciously like 'programming'. One for the cube: its all there at the turn of a dial or two.
G: There may be a way, but I dont think you can combine effects. I couldnt give a $%&#, because I dont use them, but the cube has 2 seperate effects banks so you can have some limited mixing. This has more of them, but theyre all on one dial and I dont see how you can use more than one at a time.
H: Its got an OK bluesy-rocky breakup (if you can find it!)
On the whole, its addresses what I wanted if for pretty well, which is a metal sound that can deliver some heavy, clear rhythm and not be fizzy on leads. The cube can do that to a degree too, on its 'metal' setting, but the rythm sound on that is pretty dull.
There are rather a lot of sounds in it, and there may well be too many aimed at gain levels above 'JCM800'. It does do the br00talz well, but I'd have liked a setting that has the guts and thickness of 'damaged' but the clarity of 'modern'. I may find it, I havent had long to play with it.....but then, the cube doesnt have that either (after a couple of years with the cube, you can take that to the bank)
Compared to the tonelab; metal sounds fall out of it much more easily, but its far, far, far less versatile than the TL. The truth is in the recording on this one. I'll report back if and when I try that.
Overall the cube and VTXL are pretty similar in voicing, but the metal sounds of the XL are better, it can be used in band practice settting and at home, but at the cost of versatility and cleans (its versatile within the genre of metal, which may float your boat if you want lots of tones, but if youre like me and just use maybe 3 certain kinds 99% of the time, its not so great).
Hope this helped.
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thanks for that, mark, nice detailed review there. I'm gonna have to try one (i'm not after one, just curious)... :)