Practice Amp purchasing help - who is top dog?

[Rich#6]

A guy (younger I think) on the SD forums said him and his dad went to check out VT's. He said originally he wasn't going to get an amp with a speaker smaller than 12".

He said he tried out all of the different sized VT's and picked out the one that sounded best, and that turned out to be the VT15. He said his dad didn't say anything until he made his decision, but that his dad thought the VT15 sounded best as well. He's using it for church, miked.

My limit was a 10" speaker, but I was really impressed with the "big sound" of the VT15 at low volumes. I know somehow someway even if when I do take back the VT15 I'll find another to replace it.

Since the 50watt has the external cab hookup I am connecting it to my marshall 1966 cab that has 2 celestion g12Ts. I can't stand the sound of small speakers.

[DonP]

I can't stand the sound of small speakers.

That's what I used to think. Give the VT15 a try.

It sound like you want this as a main amp, so going for a 50 might be a better idea for you.

Here's a thought though. These modellers like a hi-fi power amp and speaker section to sound good (i.e. a powerblock for a POD). If you can, take your cab and try it out. It might now sound good with guitar speakers coloring the sound.

[ozzuk1]

Dont the VT's have the same power adjust thing the older AD models did?

If so the AT50 would be fine for most gig's and practise just change the power level down to soemthing that will get the 12ax7 working but not bleeding your ear's..

Glad you found an amp don...

The blackstar HT-5's have a range of od sounds especially with the ISF control that can make it tighter looser and get you marshall/mesa esque tone's but the cleans are good but very quiet and not as versatile, plus they break up real easy due to the 5 watts.....

I mean to check out a VT30 as I would need something like that if I were to start teaching...

Allthough I have considered getting the tonelab LE for live use...

[emperor_black]

The higher wattage amps with a speaker output...if you connect an external cab to it, will it mute the combo's speakers?

[Rich#6]

The higher wattage amps with a speaker output...if you connect an external cab to it, will it mute the combo's speakers?

I don't think it does. I am trying to find a picture of the back to see if you can unplug the speaker if you have a external cab.

[emperor_black]

Actually, you can disconnect the speaker and use only the cab. Since its Solid state, ohm mis-match, or even no speakers, shouldn't matter. We's still talking about the vox 50 watter with a tube preamp section and SS power section right?

[Rich#6]

We's still talking about the vox 50 watter with a tube preamp section and SS power section right?

Yep, but I think the tube is before the preamp.

[emperor_black]

Hmm...probably the tube just acts like an input buffer...to give the tube-feel. Doesn't matter. As long as the power section is not tube, I'm pretty sure you can disconnect the speakers and it wouldnt matter. It has headphones right, when you stick headphones in, it will disconnect the speakers. This is one of the reasons all-tube amps dont have headphones because you cannot disconnect the internal speakers. unless you're using an attenuator as a dummy load of course.

[wetrx95]

I just picked up a VOX AD15VT today. This little amp kicks some major butt and has tons of goodies to play with. For the money, I got it for $155 including 4 year protection plan and 10% discount at...Best Buy, it's a good deal. Anyway, my previous amp was a Peavey Backstage Plus (35W) that I've had for 25 years. I did a lot of research trying out everything from Marshall to Line 6. When I hooked into this thing and all the presets, it was awesome. Nothing confusing like the Spider or Vyper. Pretty simple, with a lot of capabilities. I already had the VOX AmPlug Metal, which totally kicks ass if you want to go mobile. One of the amazing things about this amp is the 'clean' model. It is absolutely beautiful. I always thought Fenders had the best clean, but this might be a contender. So, if interested you can see a demo from a VOX rep on YouTube. Enjoy.

[ozzuk1]

The Vox's arent like the marshal VS series or other hybrid amps the 12ax7 works like a power tube, though I believe most of the AD/VT series have headphone outs so you shouldnt be able to break it like a full valve head, by not using the speakers...

I believe the preamp and poweramp are solid state and the 12ax7 valvetronix bit is sorta in the middle, all I know is it sounds good especially the cleans....

[DonP]

I picked up the VT15, which is similar to the discontinued AD15VT, but with more models.

Yeah, the tube is in the middle. It is wired as a power amp (low power) which is amplified by the SS power amp. The tube is there to give the feel of a tube.

The tones are great. I think it's as good as (better?) the POD, but it's nice having both for variety.

The most important thing is I can get a great Maiden tone. I played a mess of songs (Trooper, Powerslave) and it all sounded great. Also did Sabbath Bloody Sabbath. I've just messed with this for a couple of hours, so I'm still pretty green with it.


Getting back to the Fender G-DEC (yeah, I'm up to 3 modellers LOL!), some models are very noisey, like the first preset. I think I agree with what others have said; the G-DEC is great for Fender clean stuff, but it may suck for metal. Too fizzy and not very organic.

But try for yourself, everyone has different ears.

[Rich#6]

Just ordered the 50watt vox vt plus pedal from sweetwater. Can't wait!

[DonP]

I think you will really like it.

Mine will go back once the GC 30 days are up. They didn't give me any discount - full $199 + TN tax of almost 10%. So, I need to source out a better place to get one.

[Rich#6]

I at least didn't have to pay for shipping and no tax too. I like the 2 year extended warranty from them too. I wish one of our sponsoring dealers carried them.

[Tashtego]

coming late to the party but I just wanted to make the suggestion that a small keyboard amp might work out well for people using a pod at 'bedroom' volume. They don't color or distort the modeler signals and produce something pretty close to what you hear through the headphones directly out the pod.