Hey all,
For many years I've been playing with a cute little padded Kustom amplifier and I've always wanted something a little more powerful. It's ironic, because the Kustom seems very popular and people often comment on how cool it is. Last night at our show someone told me it was a great visual, me rocking out really hard on my Les Paul plugged into the tiny little amp. It's an adorable amp and I love it, but I'd like to have some more options! I've never explored the world of amplifiers before, really.
I knew I really like the 60's sound and doing research I figured that what would appeal to me most was either something by Vox like an AC30 or a Fender Twin Reverb or Blues Jr. Those are both beyond my budget currently, so the Vox AD30VT modeling amp looked very appealing. I read up on it on Harmony Central and here on Guitarnoise and it seemed great, but it was still more of a daydream at the time.
I was checking Craigslist and found somebody selling a Crate GFX212 100-watt amp for $100. That seemed like a good deal and one thing I'd been wanting was a louder amp, so I contacted him and made arrangements to meet him and try it out. Researching it a bit more, it sounded like the Crate wasn't really my style, and most comments indicated it was VERY loud. I've had noise complaints in my apt so I had second thoughts about compromising on the Crate.
Then I found a posting for an ADV30VT for $200. That was a bit more than I wanted to spend right now, but it's better than full price and it's just what I wanted. The owner was very accommodating and seemed like a very cool person, and we made a plan for him to bring the amp to my apartment this evening, so I can try it out with my guitar and make sure it sounds right before I buy.
Last night we had a great show at our usual Thursday open mic and we got invited to play our first proper non-open-mic gig, opening for a band on Wednesday. Great, a chance to use my new amp!
Got home and noticed a posting for an ADV50VT for $225. Basically half retail price and only $25 more than the AD30VT I'd already arranged to buy.
I had to think about it carefully and eventually decided that it's important to me to honor the original deal I'd made because I got such a great vibe from the seller. That and the AD50VT is louder and heavier, and might be beyond my needs at the moment. Mostly it was to do with the seller.
Oh, and then this morning another entry was posted on Craigslist for an AD30VT for $175!
Anyway, I'm meeting the original seller tonight and buying the AD30VT for $200. Can't wait to try it out!
Jeff
I don't think it would be bad if you told the seller that you are having second thoughts or even ask if he would go down some on the price. That's what happens. I've bought and sold countless items on Craigslist and I've always had good experiences. As long as you are honest with the person, I bet they would understand. Also, I would be wary of letting a stranger into your house. I've always met people at neutral locations and I never let anyone know my address. I may be a little on the cautious side though. The problem is finding a place where you can plug in the amp.
That's a great amp. I have one. My son likes the "US High Gain" and "UK 80's". I prefer the "AC30" and the "Tweed". As far as the AD50VT goes. It probably won't be much louder than the 30 and they both have an attenuator. But I think the 12 inch speaker compared to the 10 inch would be worth the price and weight increase. There really isn't that much difference in the size of the two cabinets.
I got the AD30VT last night, I've been playing with it constantly! I dig the AC30 and Tweed sounds a lot.
I did get the seller to discount it $20 because it doesn't have a foot switch and I want to pick one of those up. I feel pretty good about it overall.
I'm currently using a Zoom G2.1u effects unit when I play with my band, and since each of our songs sounds pretty different, I have a setting programmed for each one. I'm not sure what's the best way to make use of the programmable channels on the AD30, since I have more than two sounds I need. I figure I'll bypass the AD30's effects most of the time and use the Zoom's, at least until I build up my pedal selection with actual pedals. I'll probably keep it set on AC30 for most of the set.
I am having fun playing with the effects settings and amp models, though. I may decide to bypass the Zoom and use them, but I'd have to manually change amp settings between almost every song.
Jeff
Be carefull with buying the footswitch: Vox charges insanely much for it. If all is good a generic switch should work just as well for much less. Anyway, how I use it in the band is just using one preset, the AC30 setting, with the gain around 70% and the master full open. Now with the volume pot on the guitar I can go from clean to rock without having to change presets. Add some reverb, put a compressor before the thing and maybe a booster and you're good for whatever the band will throw at you. :)
I got the AD30VT last night, I've been playing with it constantly! I dig the AC30 and Tweed sounds a lot.
Jeff, congrats on that new amp!
Nuno
PD. Another Zoom G2.1u user here.
I picked up the Vox footswitch for $25 at Guitar Center last night. I looked around a bit online and didn't see many 2-button footswitches for cheaper, but I admit I didn't do a comprehensive search.
I've just set up my settings for our shows this week. I'm using a variety of the presets to start with -- US Higain for our punk number, UK 70's for the crunchy rock one -- and I've got one channel set up with a specific psychedelic-y chorus/delay effect on an AC30, and the other channel is a clean AC30 with just a bit of reverb. That should cover it for the shows, until I decide how I want to make use of the Zoom or til I get some pedals.
Jeff
$25! :shock: All stores here wanted E45,- for it, easily $60! Well, good for you. Oh, with the footswitch you can switch to 'custom preset', meaning you now have three channels for live performances. 8)
The price I saw online for the VSF2 matched that cost as well, but I've had a number of folks tell me I should expect $50 or more for it. Dunno if they marked it down recently or what.
The switch I've got has two buttons. The left switch turns on the custom presets and then switches between CH1 and CH2, and the right switch bypasses the effects. I guess there's not a way to switch to Manual mode from the footswitch once you've activated the custom channel?
Jeff
Congrats on the new amp Jeff. Sounds like you got a good deal. 8)
Dan
"The only way I know that guarantees no mistakes is not to play and that's simply not an option". David Hodge
Thanks Dan!
Also found out the second button on the switch can be programmed to either activate Manual control OR the Effect Bypass function.
Jeff
This is an amazing little amp. I have had a 15 watt version about 6 months.
To save you some time i am going to tell you how I got the best sounds out of it(assuming you want a distorted sound).
Go UK modern, gain at about 1 or 2 oclock, volume maxed, trebs maxed(this fits my sound maybe not yours), mids about 11-12 oclock, bass at about 3 or 4 oclock. If you nead more sustain or a stronger attack use compression.
I have an obsession with randy rhoads so of course I had to try and copy his sound. UK modern, gain volume and treble maxed, mids about 2 oclock, bass about 3 o 4 oclock. Add just barely enough reverb so you can feel its presence without any echo, this removes a lot of the mud from maxing the gain while keeping it really high gain.
I did both of those from memory so if you feal something is wrong with them they might be. I also remember getting an awesome AC/DC sound from AC30 and a decent sabbath sound from UK 70(you will probably be able to get better sounds from this preset because of the bigger speaker).
cheers, have fun with the amp!
You'll find lots of user presets and other good information at the Valvetronix forum:
http://www.valvetronix.net/forum/index.php
It's a great amp and I hope you enjoy it.
The problem with presets is that the Vox is very responsibe to what guitar you plug in. Having the treble max on one guitar can sound great while it can cut your ears in half with others. What works for me in setting it up:
-all effects off
-all volume/EQ knobs on mid
-Choose an amp model that comes close
-Set the volume knobs for the right overdrive
-Set the EQ to finish your basic sound
-Add whatever effects you need
I myself like to set the gain higher then I really need so I can roll back to the right sound with the volume knob on the guitar, and kick into solo's using the volume knob. This way every channel has multiple sounds in them, so you effectivley have atleast 6 sounds with the presets and volume knob. Should be more then enough for most if not all situations. 8)
Thanks for the tips! I've found some good settings on the Valvetronics site, and I'll try those settings for the UK Modern sound. I'll definitely follow your advice too, Arjen.
I posted last night about my first attempt at using the Vox in a performance. I had some trouble with it, just getting used to the settings and never having really played it loud.
I'm not the kind of guitarist who has one sound for most of the songs we play--each song tends to call for a slightly different tone, or a completely different sound or effect, but I'm not sure I want to be twiddling knobs on the amp between every song. I guess it'll just take some getting used to, to get comfortable with it. We've decided to play our gig on Wednesday with my little Kustom and my Zoom pedal.
When I actually have a sound dialed in and I'm playing, it's sweet. I love it!
Jeff
