VOX NT2/V110NT Lil' Night Train Set Tube Guitar Half Stack Black

Got the Lil Night train head and was initially disappointed at the lack of clean and the fizziness. After weeks of research on the web I settled on changing all the tubes. The original Chinese 12ax7's and the one 12au7 power tubes are horrible. Don't let this throw you. Initially, I put two EH 12ay7's in the V1 and V2 preamp positions and a JJ 12au7 in the power section. Better, but tone was flat and still could not get the clean I needed. Then I put a USA RCA 12at7 in the V2 or Phase Inverter position and BINGO! Great clean to 11 or 12 o'clock on the gain dial and the tone controls are more usable. Also, this made changes to the guitar volume dramatic. Up the gain and you get a tonefull crunch and distortion. Can't wait to really dig deep into what this amp head can do. Don't know why VOX uses the 12ax7 tubes they do other than they are cheap. Really, this amp has great potential. Depending on what you are looking for tone wise, play with the tubes and you just might find the right combination for you. It's in there, just have to find it.

I was looking for a small amp that could give me the british sound and a little crunch, the Lil' night train does just that.Though at times it seems underpowered this combo can do the vox clean pretty well.The gain control can dial up some nice crunch at really low volume levels.Don't look to do bedroom metal on this amp though. The headphone output was only ok,but having it is a plus even if it's of limited sound quality. The combination of the EQ, and the bright thick switch adds up to some nice tonal flexabitlty.The build of both the cab and head are great,its small but not a toy. I like this amp better than the AC4TV for whats its worth and I still like the fender tone better from my 15 watt super champ xd,but the fender can't give me the british sound the Vox does.

Been playing and recording for 25+ years. Have had lots of amps: Fenders, Marshalls, Boogies, etc. I consider this lil guy a true gem. Especially for the price. Especially for recording. Not sure how it is live, or with a drummer. I imagine it wouldn't be quite loud enough to gig. Features: 1 channel; gain/treble/bass/volume pots; bright/thick toggle; 1 input; 1 speaker out; sealed speaker cab with a celestian in it; high-quality speaker cable; low noise (for a tube amp) Tone: Warm, clear, punchy and laden with sweet tube tone goodness. Clean, half-distorted, and full-on distortion textures are focused and musical. You can even get a decent nu-metal extended-range guitar sound if you use a modeling pre-amp inline. Usage case: I don't use this live. Never tried. Never intended to. Never tried to use it to jam with a drummer. Don't think it would be loud enough. But it's my go-to amp for recording. In that context, it's a dream. Why? Because you can get this thing into that magical "tube amp sweet spot" without having to be at ear-splitting volume. That's priceless. I actually put the speaker cab inside a closet, throw a mic in front of it, and record at 3:00 a.m. with the wifey sleeping. Doubly priceless. And the results are really astounding. People ask me "how did you get that tone' and don't believe it when I tell them "it's a 2.5 watt amp in a closet". Build quality seems really solid. Had it three months now with no issues.

Ok if you want something to crank well this is not what this amp is made to do. if you want an amp that you can actually really be useful as apartment or late night amp then this is great. I actually found that it has enough clean head room to hear fine, and its loud enough to be too loud for people in another room. I have played my electrics and my old speed demon with the speed bump pickups and that old bird can make the best amp sound ugly and the lil night train still sounds great. Nice blues amp and even jazz on the cleaner settings. There is not a ton of sound versatility but if you need that then plug in your pedals. Of course the people who shelled this amp from playing it in Guitar center were un happy, I can't even here my own thoughts in there let alone the sound of an amp or guitar. A+ amp in the small amp category.

I think I finally found my perfect bedroom tube amp. Using the "bright" mode, I can turn the preamp (gain) almost all the way down, and turn the volume up around 12:00 to 3:00 and get a nice Vox clean sound (using humbuckers and single coil pups). Using the "thick" mode, I can turn the gain way up, and turn the volume down for a real raunchy overdrive (makes me think of Brian May's tone). Other tones can be had in between the two settings I just said. This amp is EXCELLENT for playing in a small bedroom or recording at home at low volumes, I haven't tried maxing it out yet, but other reviewers that max it out don't like it. All I'll say is, at lower volumes, it sounds great. I do agree with other reviewers that the headphone out could be better, but I think it could be much worse. My experience with the headphone out is the sound seems to get compressed heavily, and it can sound buzzy or tinny, but I have recorded a few things with the headphone out that sound good.

First of all if anyone has a bad opinion about this lil guy they must be CRAZY!!!!! Its a vox, 40% 0f your investment is in the name and the novalty of the mini stack. The fact that it's all tube and equiped with a celestion vx10 should pretty much sum it up. If you bought this model and are not satisfied with the sound you should of done more research. The Vox Valvetronix VT40 Plus is the best deal for a multi effects amp which reachs a wide variety of tones and styles. Lil night train kicks butt for what it is, as a true vox fan i would highly recomend this for a cheap alternative to all tube cab. The sounds are excellent. Very warm, clean and slightly crunchy tones. If you like the old 60's and 70's classic rock sounds this is the one for you. Combined with the Vox tone lab st (12ax7 tube buit-in) and your in for a modern retro jam ride of you life. Don't bad mouth lil night train or it'll go midnight express all over your feelings.