I feel pathetic for asking this because I own one. I can't really cut this thing loose because I live in an apartment. I know there are a few owners out there. I think I know what the dirty channel will be like, but I am wondering about the clean channel. Does it compress nicely? I'm not concerned about speaker discussion, but settings would be nice. I'm guessing the clean channel would be Vox - like, but maybe smoother. Any issues where I can't stand that sound-hurts your ears, etc? I realize you have to be on top of your playing, because anything you do is coming out-a two edged sword. I'm used to a 6L6 amp. There is some rehearsal rental space here in town and I am tempting to rent a booth for an hour or so to really thrash this thing, but if you already have, please tell me what your impressions are. Thanks in advance. I do like this amp a lot so far, without pedals even, and that says something I think.
The overdrive channel comes alive when power tubes get cooking, though the lower volume tones are usable. The clean channel tends to push into a mild overdrive at louder volumes. I still like this amp for bang for the dollar, and it's very classy looking. I have heard from our local guitar center guys that there was a unreliable batch of Head versions. My older combo is quite reliable though.
My favorite tone on the amp is the clean channel up loud. Becomes compressed and thick, very touch sensitive. Depending on the music, you could get away with just using the clean channel up loud, and your guitar volume to clean up. I almost never use the lead channel if I can turn the amp up.
The clean channel rocks with a little volume. It does thicken and compress nicely while still keeping that chime. It reminds me a lot of a Vox AC-30 in that regard. One thing I really like about the V32 is that it stays clean a lot longer than most 30w heads I've tried (and I've owned a few amps most people would consider really nice here - like a Bad Cat Hot Cat 30 and Fargen Epic 30 DC) - you can have it cut through the band mix without being a distorted mushy mess. I should know - I was intending on using my Bogner Shiva for a "Battle of the Bands" yesterday night and the power tubes went on me a few hours before the gig. It's a darn good thing I had my V32 around because it saved me and it sounded great on stage (and this was the first time I've ever used it with my band - so there was a lot of unknowns). As with any amp, I guess it comes down to how you dial it in the mix - I like to crank the mids (3 o'clock) turn the bass up a bit (about 1 o'clock) and roll back the treble (it's a bright amp so 10-11 o'clock works well).
I played gig last night an the other player had one and I though he sounded great through it..Don't know the setting but he's a Les Paul/clean amp/ +pedals kind of guy...Great big clean tone and ovedriven..nice definition all around...
+1 that and the dirty channel with the Master dimed and the gain around 10 oclock for a bit more distortion. Bob
