Vox AV30 30W 1X10 Analog Modeling Guitar Combo Amp Black

Comments about Vox AV30 30W 1X10 Analog Modeling Guitar Combo Amp:

Note:I give the 5 star rating based on it's intended use and price point. The VOX AV30 is fairly light for it's size,which is more or less as big as a Fender Princeton combo. The combo is handsome and feels well built. The controls are smooth and the buttons feel solid. The effects loop works well with instrument level delay/reverb/modulation pedals. The 4/8 ohm speaker out is a nice touch. Using such disables the internal speaker. Btw,the well voiced internal 10" Vox speaker is 4 ohm.

The 8 analog amp voicing are all very good,with the OD1 and OD2 being my favorites for classic rock and soloing. The cleans are full and warm,the Vox voiced crunches are fairly convincing,while the High Gain voices are ballsy and fat with good articulation. Harmonic content is very close to that of a full on tube amp,with pinch harmonics easy to grab in the higher gain settings. One thing of note is that the amp is not overly bright. In fact,I find that the treble control is quite usable in it's entire sweep. The AV30 also puts out lots of bass,as the tuned enclosed cab gets the maximum range out of it's modest 10" speaker. The built in effects are quite good,with solid amount of flexibility on tap. Holding down each effect's button,while turning the effects level knob,allows for further tweaking. The preamp and power amp switches allow for more flexibility,with the modern/vintage switch really giving the amp a quite different feel and response. The variable power scaling control is nice for both bedroom players and for those who would use it for band practice and small clubs. The amp is surprisingly loud and can rattle glass at higher volumes. A caution...any footswitch [FS-2/FS-5] should be inserted or removed only when the amp is powered off. A highly recommended combo for novices to seasoned pros.

Comments about Vox AV30 30W 1X10 Analog Modeling Guitar Combo Amp:

For the record, I love this amp despite my criticism. I had an amp like this in mind for a long time! Warm, organic analog tube sounds with the value, all in one, ease of ownership of a modeling amp. Sold my Mustang 3 to get this.
The cleans and Overdrive tones are fantastic! The high gain stuff...not so much. The higher the gain on any of the models, the fuzzier and muddier it gets. I'll be curious to see how swapping the 12 ax7 tubes will affect the tones but I'm not going there till it's out of warranty.
I was worried about the 10" speaker because I like to feel it at my feet. Not an issue here. It has plenty of low-end thump!
It's loaded with features at a stupid low price. Personally, I would do away with on board effects if they would step up to higher quality internal components. I bet high-quality caps and resistors could make full on tube amps obsolete. Hey VOX! how about a "pro" model AV.
The biggest detractor for me is the poor shielding. When I first started playing I thought I had a broken amp! there was a bizarre modulation to the sound. I quickly figured out that it was receiving interference from my ceiling fan! Never had that problem with any of my other amps.
I hate the LED lighting. the bright blue one at the input jack makes the amp face unreadable in low light settings because it is so bright it blinds you. I also hate the blue LED behind the tubes. Glowing glass tubes look a lot cooler and more organic than all that nonsense. This is a vintage inspired amp. you wouldn't mount LED running lights under a classic car!
The built in effects sound good but are extremely limited in editing. For bedroom noodling they are just fine but I wouldn't want to gig with them.
Can't wait to experiment with OD pedals in front of it.
For this price...BUY THIS AMP!

Playing a 2014 PRS SE Santana and a 2010 Yamaha Pacifica. Both upgraded with killer pickups, electronics and hardware

Comments about Vox AV30 30W 1X10 Analog Modeling Guitar Combo Amp:

I mainly use the amp at home for personal use. Being a combo amp I wasn't expecting the quality of sound and range. For the price, this is an amazing purchase. Hook up your phone and play any backing track and just play the day away. If your used to solid state amps, this is a huge step up. The clarity and simple use is for any and all musicians from beginner to your long time player like me for 35 yrs.

Comments about Vox AV30 30W 1X10 Analog Modeling Guitar Combo Amp:

I use this amp playing in a classic rock cover band. I am a lead singer who plays very basic rhythm guitar. I switched to this amp about a month ago and I am sold. Easy for me to operate and set-up and all I use is an A/B switch to go back and forth between the two channels. I fought my other amp for months trying to get the tone I wanted and with the AV30 I had it dialed in in 5 minutes. Having the classic tones from this amp have made me feel a lot better about playing "up" behind our lead player. I know my guitar skills did not get immensely better but my sound sure did.

Comments about Vox AV30 30W 1X10 Analog Modeling Guitar Combo Amp:

Its warm and organic tone is amazing for its price

Comments about Vox AV30 30W 1X10 Analog Modeling Guitar Combo Amp:

I'm an old timer, grew up on tube amps, owned several good ones. I picked up the AV30 to simplify...tired of heavy equipment, tired of sophisticated signal processing (racks, endless patch cabling,etc..) and just wanted something small, fairly straightforward and plug and play. As much as this looked like a toy to me, I was pleasantly surprised when I tried it out with both a LP and Strat. Capable of lots of tones, not microscopically perfect modeling but fun and inspiring. Aside from the FX (which are OK but definitely not great), this is NOT a digital modeler which is a big selling point for me. Not sterile or cheesy bells and whistles. The tandem 12AX7's are interesting, the first being a more traditional preamp tube, the second being the "power amp" section in the context of power amp warmth and distortion. It actually works quite well and does feel warm and more organic. As mentioned elsewhere, the sound can get muddy at higher gain settings but if you can live outside the "everything set to 11" mindset, a few great pedals in front of the amp's clean selections can take your tones to other places. Only 4 out of 5 stars because it's fairly new to me; in 6 months things can sometimes change. All in all, for the price this is a fun and useful piece of gear.

Comments about Vox AV30 30W 1X10 Analog Modeling Guitar Combo Amp:

Great blend between analog and digital technologies from VOX. Easy to use and sounds great. The digital reverb and delay are a bit weak, but not to the point of being unusable.

Comments about Vox AV30 30W 1X10 Analog Modeling Guitar Combo Amp:

Awesome amp.....

Comments about Vox AV30 30W 1X10 Analog Modeling Guitar Combo Amp:

I have to be honest: if I'm writing a review something must have happened... I saw the reviews, but still I mostly got this for the price. If you're like me, thinking of ACxVR or this one, get this! Unless you're building an AC wall or something, this is just a better sounding amp. Or don't buy it, so I can sound better than you! (However, this is not a super high gain amp, you'll need pedals.)
So far used with:
Gibson LP Standard -- Punches you in the gut, big time.
Gibson ES-137 -- Almost knocks your soul out.

BTW, whatever they say about the cab design in the reviews is all true!

Comments about Vox AV30 30W 1X10 Analog Modeling Guitar Combo Amp:

Vox has done very well!

The small amp market of $300 or less is overwhelming. There is plug and play amps like the Orange Crush 30RT. There are digital modeling amps that give you everything under the sun (Fender Mustang GT). Lastly, you have desktop amps like the Yamaha THR. Even Vox has amps (not named the AV30) aimed to compete in some these categories. As a buyer of my first practice amp, I was overwhelmed. I wanted quality, I wanted a good sound and I wanted to pay as little as I could. However, I NEEDED to practice, practice, practice. A huge concern crept into my brain. If I had an hour to practice, would I be downloading presets for 45 minutes (basically chasing sounds) instead of actually practicing the guitar? So, I went with the plug and play.

This Vox AV30 is basically a plug in play amp. Once I got it, yes, I spent a couple hours dialing in a clean tone and a dirty tone. But, now its simply practice. I like the two channel control panel. I have my clean channel's eq very different from my dirt channel. I simply press a button and practice with my desired sound. The 3 effects are decent not great. They will point you closer to artists you want to sound like but there isn't enough to completely get you there. For me, thats fine. I can chase effects pedals in the future if need be.

Where this amps shines is its tone. The tone is great! Its worth the extra money for the tone and its surprising volume. This small amp pushes air quiet well. I had an Orange 35RT and it was a good amp. This Vox AV30 is actually louder and with a much more lovely tone,(not as muddy). My guess here is the cabinet design of VOX produces this projection better than other amps this size.

In fairness to the Orange 35RT, its cabinet simulation was better sounding with headphones. That said the VOX AV30 headphone simulation is good but the Orange was better in this one aspect. The VOX weighed in 26 lbs. so its pretty easy to move around the home.

Comments about Vox AV30 30W 1X10 Analog Modeling Guitar Combo Amp:

I play a Telecaster modern player plus and I like the first 2 clean channels best. Very nice amp for the money.

Comments about Vox AV30 30W 1X10 Analog Modeling Guitar Combo Amp:

I use for the powerful Gain, and the overall clarity it produces. Very powerful Amp for the size.