Don't knock the Valvetronix

[TS808]

I'm a home player and have gone through TONS of amps in the 35 years that I've been playing. Being a home player, I never really sprung alot of money into amps, because tube amps (even 15 watts) were just too loud when cranked.

I just found a NOS AD60VTH head on ebay at a very reasonable price, and picked up the AD212 with the Celestion NeoDog speakers.

This amp may be the best I've owned so far. Just to give you an idea, I've owned a HR Deville, Blues Jr., Fender Concert amp (90's), and a few other "mid priced" tube amps. Add to that a few other modelers, etc.

I know this is the honeymoon period, but this is the first amp that really has a tube "feel" to it as well as some great tone. It works well for me being a basement player. I've been running it on 1 watt so far (great for home playing) and am really enjoying this.

Honestly, I don't care if it models the amps 100% or even 50% for that matter. It just sounds that good. It's much better to have an amp that I can get great tone out of rather than buying a tube amp that I can only turn the volume up to "2".

[CocoTone]

Well, the amps you listed as your previous , are not known for good tone. Once you've played a good toneful amp, you'll know what all the fuss is about. No comparison son.

CT.

[rockon1]

Im not much for modelers but I was impressed with the Valvetronix.Sat donw with one a GC and had a hard time pulling myself away. Good tone,good feel.I didnt get to crank it up so the verdict is still out. If I was serious about one i would drag it into their 'loud' room.:)

[Luke]

Well, the amps you listed as your previous , are not known for good tone. Once you've played a good toneful amp, you'll know what all the fuss is about. No comparison son.

CT.

Wow, talk about being condesending. :NUTS

[Mr.Hanky]

I have an AD30VT right next to me, it is a great little amp for practice and there is nothing better for bedroom jamming.
For $230 it is hard to beat.

[Peppy]

I've got a Carr Hammerhead 2 X 12" combo, a VOX AC30TBX (blue Celestions), VOX AC15TBX (blue Celestion), Fender '64 Vibroverb Custom, reissue Fender Super Reverb, Marshall JMP MK II (2204) head and a Valvetronix 120 VT for amps (Anderson electrics for guitars). The Valvetronix has seen at least half of my gigs in the past few years.

[gls500]

Wow, talk about being condesending. :NUTS

Uhhuh!

I have and AD30VT that I use as my home practice and rehersal amp, and for the tones I use, it's fantastic. The AC30/AC15 and some of the clean tones are perfect.

My gigging amps consist of several Dr.Z's and a 5E3 Deluxe, as a point of reference. Are those "toneful" enough to make my opinion valid?

Lots of working musicians, outside of some of the snobs here, use amps like the Blues Jr. and HRD, and some sound great, while some sound bad. I've heard some pretty bad boutique tones as well, as I'm sure many of you have.

So if we drop the elitism, and listen with our ears instead of our eyes, you'll see that these are really pretty good and servicable amps for a home or gigging musician, especially for what they offer for the price.

[TS808]

Wow, talk about being condesending. :NUTS
Yeah really. I hope he feels better now.

[Boogs]

I got the little AD15 version. I thought it sounded great, and it had oodles of good sounds plus great effects. For some reason though, it wasn't as "fun" as my tube amps. I sold it, got a one-trick-pony Champ clone, and am much happier. Go figure.

[johnrea_77]

I've done the modeling route. I had a first gen Valvetronix and a Line 6 PodXT Pro. I think the Valvetronix is the best of the modelers out today and I recently picked up a ZOOM G7.1ut as a backup/practice unit that is very impressive for the price point. I'm interested in seeing how the new V-Stack amp stacks up, it looks promising.

I agree that modeling gear doesn't quite match a great tube amp, but it comes very close and is way more versatile. So I guess that doesn't make me a 100% tube amp snob (maybe 90%).

[electronpirate]

Well, the amps you listed as your previous , are not known for good tone. Once you've played a good toneful amp, you'll know what all the fuss is about. No comparison son.

CT.

Well I'm glad you cleared that up. Now go away. :jo

I'm a home player and have gone through TONS of amps in the 35 years that I've been playing. Being a home player, I never really sprung alot of money into amps, because tube amps (even 15 watts) were just too loud when cranked.

I just found a NOS AD60VTH head on ebay at a very reasonable price, and picked up the AD212 with the Celestion NeoDog speakers.

This amp may be the best I've owned so far. Just to give you an idea, I've owned a HR Deville, Blues Jr., Fender Concert amp (90's), and a few other "mid priced" tube amps. Add to that a few other modelers, etc.

I know this is the honeymoon period, but this is the first amp that really has a tube "feel" to it as well as some great tone. It works well for me being a basement player. I've been running it on 1 watt so far (great for home playing) and am really enjoying this.

Honestly, I don't care if it models the amps 100% or even 50% for that matter. It just sounds that good. It's much better to have an amp that I can get great tone out of rather than buying a tube amp that I can only turn the volume up to "2".

You are right. These are great amps. I still think that it beats all modelers for what it does. It doesn't win on EVERYTHING (I don't like some of the high gain models). But for tube feel and tone, amazing.

[blackba]

I had a Vox AD60VT head. Very nice little amp. I found it got about 80% of the way there in terms of sound and feel. The interesting thing for me is that all the presets I prefered, I had tube amps that were similar. Had I not found a great deal on my dream guitar (Gretsch Brian Setzer Hot Rod). I probably would have kept it.

The thing that is interesting is that when I had one I felt bad for only using a few of the amp models, like I wasn't using the amp fully. A friend of mine who recently got the AD120 Head, feels the same way.

[ZenFly06]

The Valvetronix is a fine amp IMHO, as is the Vetta2. All that said, I have been gigging recording and practicing with my zenTera combo for almost 5 years.

I keep a look out for a "better rig" in case it dies, but so far so good. If it tanks I'd consider a Valvetronix.

[TS808]

You are right. These are great amps. I still think that it beats all modelers for what it does. It doesn't win on EVERYTHING (I don't like some of the high gain models). But for tube feel and tone, amazing.

Agree with you on the high gain models. I'm not a "high gain" player, but other amp models really do a very good job of emulating some excellent tones.

The feel of the amp is better than alot of tube amps I've owned. I can't find anything negative to say about this amp.

Plus, tone isn't just from the amp....the fingers play a big part in the equation too of course. :AOK

[TS808]

The Valvetronix is a fine amp IMHO, as is the Vetta2. All that said, I have been gigging recording and practicing with my zenTera combo for almost 5 years.

I keep a look out for a "better rig" in case it dies, but so far so good. If it tanks I'd consider a Valvetronix.

A buddy of mine has the Vetta II. That amp is amazing for sure.

The versatility of alot of the modelers is what I take into consideration along with tone.

[pepi]

Well, the amps you listed as your previous , are not known for good tone. Once you've played a good toneful amp, you'll know what all the fuss is about. No comparison son.

CT.

Yeah and his house and car sucks too :rolleyes:

[tfunster]

I had the Vox AD30VT for about a year and it's oddly enough one of the few amps I've regret selling over the years. Sure maybe some of the models don't come that close the real deal, and the ones that do still fall slightly short, but that amp was just FUN to play through. Especially when cranked on a 60's Marshall setting.

[Darth Tater]

Well, the amps you listed as your previous , are not known for good tone. Once you've played a good toneful amp, you'll know what all the fuss is about. No comparison son.

CT.

LOL!! I love it! Tell another joke! You're a funny guy. :roll

[demonade]

My best story of a "tone that got away" involves a 30 watt Valvetronix. My band was recording an album dialing in tones on one, and for a short while it was hanging in there against a Budda Superdrive II 18 and an Engl Powerball. Then it stopped making noise, and we saw the guys in the tracking room all standing around the amp and a little cloud of smoke rising from it. We could never get any of the replacements to sound that good again. Nevertheless, it's a decent amp, maybe the best of the modelers currently out there.

[tacorivers]

I bought the AD60 for $450, and it was the best money that I've spent on an amp! Great for home practicing and home recording. Some of the clean sounds are lacking when compared to the real things (my Blackface Vibrolux or Top Hat Club Royale). Still, an incredible bargain and a great alternative for home playing.

[Nolatone Ampworks]

That's a key point where the modelers shine: When you need low volumes.A modeling amp will sound better than most any tube amp...AT A LOW VOLUME. If you can turn up the tube amp, if it's a good one, it's going to carry the load better IMO.

I JUST converted from a AD120VTX for my house band setup where we keep stage volume fairly low. I was pretty happy with my sounds I used the Fender and Vox models for, but never happy with Marshalls or any of the high gain. The Brit blues and 70's models just had an over emphasized "cronk" to the tone. A lot like the early Skynrd sound, which is great for some things, but didn't work as well I as I wanted for much of what I wanted.

I'll tell you though, I evaluated about 6-8 different tube amps before I found one that covers my tones the way I want them and I still have to use an attenuator. That tells you something about the Valvetronix, especially in a lower volume application.

Had I known how much trouble I was going to have replacing the VTX, I may have kept it!

I'm sure I'll go back and forth between flexibility and pure tone, but I will say I feel better about the tones I'm getting from the ToneKing and pedals, though the Vox worked pretty darned well for most things.

Paul

[SuperReverb2]

TS808:

No need to "defend" the Valvetronix series, as there's most likely more guys on TGP that own (have owned) and use these amps than you could possibly imagine. Personally, I owned a Valvetronix AD120VT 2 x 12 combo for a year or so, and enjoyed playing through it VERY much. GREAT tube tone and feel, and with the exception of a few of the higher gain sounds/tones, (the newer VTX series has helped with that) IMHO it's the best modeller out there.
Had it not been for a couple of GREAT sounding tube amps (Fender 57 Tweed Twin and a Fuchs) coming into my possession, I would most likely still have the Valvetronix. Still, if I ever needed a GOOD sounding, VERSATILE, one stop, pickup and go type amp, the Valvetronix would most certainly be at the top of my list.

:)

[CocoTone]

Wow, talk about being condesending. :NUTS

Not being condescending at all. Every one of those amps he mentioned, I wasted my hard earned $$$ on, replacing tubes, speakers, etc. so I have a bit of hands and ears on experience, so I'm just trying to help him in the right direction, if he is looking for satisfaction in a gigging amp. I have no doubt the Valvtronix a great studio/bedroom practice amp, but in a working situation, with a hard hitting drummer, thats an entirely nother thing. Take the posts for what they are, just plain advice. I don't make a habit of commenting on stuff I'm not sure about in a post. I may offer an opinion, and make that clear in the post.
Emoticon or not, your the one thats being condecending.

CT.

[riffmeister]

Not being condescending at all. Every one of those amps he mentioned, I wasted my hard earned $$$ on, replacing tubes, speakers, etc. so I have a bit of hands and ears on experience, so I'm just trying to help him in the right direction, if he is looking for satisfaction in a gigging amp. I have no doubt the Valvtronix a great studio/bedroom practice amp, but in a working situation, with a hard hitting drummer, thats an entirely nother thing. Take the posts for what they are, just plain advice. I don't make a habit of commenting on stuff I'm not sure about in a post. I may offer an opinion, and make that clear in the post.
Emoticon or not, your the one thats being condecending.

CT.

when you refer to someone as "son" you are putting yourself above them.

[Luke]

Not being condescending at all. Every one of those amps he mentioned, I wasted my hard earned $$$ on


Emoticon or not, your the one thats being condecending.

CT.
Yeah son, it was me who talked down to the original poster.

[lgehrig4]

Not being condescending at all. Every one of those amps he mentioned, I wasted my hard earned $$$ on, replacing tubes, speakers, etc. so I have a bit of hands and ears on experience, so I'm just trying to help him in the right direction, if he is looking for satisfaction in a gigging amp. I have no doubt the Valvtronix a great studio/bedroom practice amp, but in a working situation, with a hard hitting drummer, thats an entirely nother thing. Take the posts for what they are, just plain advice. I don't make a habit of commenting on stuff I'm not sure about in a post. I may offer an opinion, and make that clear in the post.
Emoticon or not, your the one thats being condecending.

CT.

This was the original posters first sentence.

"I'm a home player and have gone through TONS of amps in the 35 years that I've been playing. Being a home player, I never really sprung alot of money into amps, because tube amps (even 15 watts) were just too loud when cranked."


You might want to check out this site.


Not being condecending. I'm just trying to help ;)

[CocoTone]

Yeah son, it was me who talked down to the original poster. And if they had bad tone to begin with, why did you own them, after all, you know good tone, you told us!

Well, I found out the hard way with those amps. Bought into the advertising hype, just like you guys do. Liked the look of the tweed, but tweed doesn't make tone. Now I use amps that, when I was a kid, we all looked down our noses at,,,old Traynor tube amps. Turns out their better than a lot of todays boutique rigs.
And I'm probably old enough to be his Dad.

You guys,,,honestly.

CT.

[scottlr]

I use the Valvetronix ToneLab for recording, and I love it. It responds like my vintage tube amps do, and no hassle to set up and start recording. I have not yet tried to use it through an amp, but I do intend to try it. I had a POD 2.0, but it didn't "feel" like an amp. It sounded OK, but it was rather one dimensional. With the Tone Lab, if I dig in, it growls, if I back off it purrs. This response to my playing, along with the amp/cab sounds are what is making me real happy with it for what I have used it for.

[ericb]

Not being condescending at all. Every one of those amps he mentioned, I wasted my hard earned $$$ on, replacing tubes, speakers, etc. so I have a bit of hands and ears on experience, so I'm just trying to help him in the right direction, if he is looking for satisfaction in a gigging amp. I have no doubt the Valvtronix a great studio/bedroom practice amp, but in a working situation, with a hard hitting drummer, thats an entirely nother thing. Take the posts for what they are, just plain advice. I don't make a habit of commenting on stuff I'm not sure about in a post. I may offer an opinion, and make that clear in the post.
Emoticon or not, your the one thats being condecending.

CT.

I'm not sure what kind of hard-hitting drummers you play with or what type of music, but for modern semi heavy-type music such as Disturbed , Godsmack , Drowning Pool , Papa Roach , etc and for anything related to 70's 80's heavy stuff, the Line6 Vetta, and Ax2 that were mentioned here and the Valvetronix 120 are just fine. I very much DISAGREE with your post about not owning up with a hard-hitting drummer. That's so wrong. Of course many of us use this stuff each week with our bands . What type of music do you play? If it's blues or Rhythm and Blues I just can't believe guys who give opinions of 'hard-hitting drummers' . I play the above styles and of course the obligatory blues, r&b, fusion,etc that many of us do , and there's no shortcomings of those amps for that . The ONLY reason I wouldn't use my Valvetronix 120 2x12 combo with my bands, is it's RELIABILITY factor. I have 1 that has a problem.. Unfortunately I also have a Demeter with a problem , a Hiwatt with a problem, and a Morin/Marshall Jmp with a problem, and a 1971 Superlead w/ a few issues. They can be fixed.

Personally as a result of my 1 experience owning a Valvetronix 120 I don't trust them. That's a STOOPID reason but hey , I'm admitting it. I have to use amps I trust at my gigs . The Valvetronix however SOUNDS GREAT and the 120 can keep up with any drummer. The Tweed 4x10 on mine and many of the Vox sim;s are GREAT sounding. There's 1 hi-gain tone I like but the others , I'm very spoiled and prefer my Engls, Marshalls,etc.

Hey , I'm probably not the norm on this forum. I'm a guy in my 40's who plays many genres of music (and listens to many genres) and tries to put things in perspective with my posts. I just can't relate to guys in their 40's/50's who play mellow old classic rock ie.. John Cougar or Jackson Browne, James Taylor ,etc , or country or slow blues giving guys tonal /amp advice who play along the lines of Jake Cinninger from Umphree's Mcgee, or Buckethead, or Jimmy Herring, or In Flames or Mudvayne's guitarists, OR guys in who have been playing 1-2 years and/or who listen to death metal giving guys advice who's heaviest influence is Robben Ford or Buddy Whittington. There has to be perspective. Meanwhile, anyone who thinks a LIne6 Axsys, Ax2, Vetta, or the bigger Valvetronix can't work with bands (SOUNDWISE... I'm not saying reliability/durabilitywise) to me, just doesn't have a clue.

Oh well ,we all have different opinions P.S. I just read your post I quoted and that was VERY RESPECTFUL and I appreciate it. My rant remains but it's not aimed at you!! lol

Eric

[ericb]

I'm a home player and have gone through TONS of amps in the 35 years that I've been playing. Being a home player, I never really sprung alot of money into amps, because tube amps (even 15 watts) were just too loud when cranked.

I just found a NOS AD60VTH head on ebay at a very reasonable price, and picked up the AD212 with the Celestion NeoDog speakers.

This amp may be the best I've owned so far. Just to give you an idea, I've owned a HR Deville, Blues Jr., Fender Concert amp (90's), and a few other "mid priced" tube amps. Add to that a few other modelers, etc.

I know this is the honeymoon period, but this is the first amp that really has a tube "feel" to it as well as some great tone. It works well for me being a basement player. I've been running it on 1 watt so far (great for home playing) and am really enjoying this.

Honestly, I don't care if it models the amps 100% or even 50% for that matter. It just sounds that good. It's much better to have an amp that I can get great tone out of rather than buying a tube amp that I can only turn the volume up to "2".

I haven't played the 60 but do own the 120 2x12 combo. The Tweed 4x10 bassman and the AC tones are KILLER at any volume.. I mean ANY volume.. The feel is TOTALLY there too. I have beautiful 60's and 70's tube amps ranging from a 62 Brown Deluxe , old THd Plexi , Orange 0r120 , old Marshalls and Fenders, many more current amps and the Valvetronix is just great. I like other amps for 'very'hi-gain tones, but for cleans, pushed cleans,bassmany tones, harmonically-rich AC30 tones, etc the Valvetronix is very much a winner
Eric

[Leonc]

Folks - keep the personal attacks and demeaning language out of this please. And please develop thicker skins. There's nothing more meaningless than the opinion of some guy on the net who you don't know and have no reason to trust or care about. So there's no need to get worked up about it. Get some perspective and feel good enjoying your gear and talking about it, regardless of what others think.

Thanks!

[Bluzsteel]

thought I might chime in on the Vox. I have a 120 head and 212 cab that I used for over a year at all kinds of gigs. large outdoor festivals ,club gigs and I really liked the amp . it has tons of vol and great tone . I never used the onboard effects. the 212 cab has the neos with closed back. I think I have a pretty good idea of good tone . I also own a 64 orig Fender Viboverb ,Bad Cat Wild cat, Bad Cat Panther, Dr Z Maz 38 ,Dr Z Carman Ghia. I always end up going back to my tube amps but the Valvetronix is a great amp. I liked the AC15 setting and it always did the job. I did get a lot of flack from my buds that I was playing a computer

[briangibson]

I had the AD120VTH with matching 4x12 cab. It just didn't 'feel' like a tube amp. I had it for a couple weeks and tried with no luck to get the tones I wanted out of it. the effects were fun, the footboard was neat for some of the effects, and was easy to set up patches to switch from one type of amp/effects routing to a completely different type of amp. I don't need that flexibility, though. I felt like I had 20 amps that were 70% there in terms of tone or feel. Many times I tried and tried to EQ the tone to my liking but there was just some harshness there that I couldn't dial out. I just want 1 damn good basic tone that's 100% there, then I can muck it up with pedals. So... out the door it went.

Now I'm using ratty old ampegs from the 60's, and I couldn't be happier.
I should mention- i'm a 22 year old audio engineer, and I use digital devices for all sorts of things. drum machines, DAW editing, timebase effects/effect modeling, etc. But amps aren't one of them. as with anything, your mileage may vary.
brian

[vinceman]

I have a AV60 that I use for small gigs, when there's not enough place for my regular system (stevens poundcake 50 head, 4X12, pedalboard plus midi pedalboard).
I also use the Vox at home, and in both cases, it does the job really well !

I aggree on the relyability factor : I have a problem with the FX loop jacks, and have to plug a small cord in the loop if in don't use pedals in it.
That's the only problem I had with it so far, and it's solved.

I mainly use the "boutique" preamp, and I only had good comments about the tone of the amps from the guys in my bands.

Amps should be judged on what they are supposed to do. Of course, the vox is never my first choice during a recording session, but that's not the reason why I bought it!!!

It's great to have only one AC cord to plug, and to be able to play with a decent tone (and in tune with the tuner onboard!!!).

I know what to expect from a "real" tube amp, and even if the vox cannot be compared with an old blackface or a JMP (but what's the point in comparing?), I think that it "reacts in a logical way" : you are never surprised when you crank the voulme up, when you pull down the volume of the guitar, etc...

IMO, the only thing that could be problematic, is that the amp is more single coils friendly... I never had any problem to really quickly find good tones with my strat or my tele, but I had to search way more with my guitars equiped with humbuckers.

[walpow]

thought I might chime in on the Vox.

Am I the only one who got this?

[Bluzsteel]

Am I the only one who got this?

I figured someone would catch that

[TS808]

Well, I found out the hard way with those amps. Bought into the advertising hype, just like you guys do. Liked the look of the tweed, but tweed doesn't make tone. Now I use amps that, when I was a kid, we all looked down our noses at,,,old Traynor tube amps. Turns out their better than a lot of todays boutique rigs.
And I'm probably old enough to be his Dad.


With all due respect, unless you're in your 70's, you're probably not old enough to be my dad. ;)

Opinions are one thing, and I have no problem with them. But please, just because of your subjective experience with a particular amp, does not mean that your opinion is indeed a "fact".