Members texas twelve Posted October 17, 2011 Members Share Posted October 17, 2011 I have been shopping for an amp that can get a variety of sounds. I almost bought a Jet City 20 watter, cuz I really liked the sound. However, it seemed to get a great crunch, and almost a clean, but that was it. So, I have been checking out Vox Valvetronix and Fender Mustang amps cuz I want some variety. Some say that the tube gives the vox a bit more warmth, and some say that the Fender is simply a better sounder. I can't get to GC to play one very easily, so I would appreciate advice. I am a "vintage" player, and mostly play at home. I do gig out a few times, and play everything from early Beatles to Zep. What say you? Which one do you prefer? Thanks for any clarification and opinions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members grunge782 Posted October 17, 2011 Members Share Posted October 17, 2011 The Mustang gets some great lower gain tones for a modeler. It does the Fender clean sound very well and also sounds good with a bit of breakup. I'm not that big of a fan of its 70's/80's drive tones and I am not very impressed by its metal tones. The Valvetronix has decent cleans (not bad, but doesn't get the "Fender" sound like the Mustang seems to do). I think it does very nicely though with its crunch tones (70's/80's). Really I think you should find a way to play them, there has to be some music store near you that carries these they are pretty big brand name amps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JesusCrisp Posted October 17, 2011 Members Share Posted October 17, 2011 Never played a Mustang, all I know is that I hate the Valvetronix series except 1 or 2 clean/lower gain models.How about saving up for a more versatile tube amp or just getting a nice little clean amp as addition to the Jet City as crunch amp? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jds22 Posted October 17, 2011 Members Share Posted October 17, 2011 I've played lots of modelling amps. I've never been a fan of the Vox amps but have heard some really good tones from other players but I can't seem to get on with them.I liked the Mustang for clean and mid-gain but didn't care for the higher gain tones.Line6 Spider IV's aren't bad. They can do decent cleans, ok mid-gain, and decent high gain.Peavey Vypyr, I currently own the 75 watt, can cover all 3 areas but have had some reliability issues. As for tone and ease of use, I prefer the Vypyr. I'm lucky in that I bought it when it first came out and have had zero issues with mine. However I don't know if I'd buy another one because it seems like a crap shoot as far as reliability is concerned. What is your budget if you don't mind me asking? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members texas twelve Posted October 17, 2011 Author Members Share Posted October 17, 2011 I would like to stay under 500, if possible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jds22 Posted October 17, 2011 Members Share Posted October 17, 2011 Are you in a hurry? The reason I ask is that winter NAMM will be here in January. There might be some new and interesting offerings coming out soon after that. That's kind of what I'm doing at the moment. All of the current amps will still be availble but there might be some new toys out too. Plus I can hopefully save up a few more pennies by then, as long as the Mrs. doesn't find my stash. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members texas twelve Posted October 17, 2011 Author Members Share Posted October 17, 2011 I am not in a big hurry, except in my head, and my next gig won't be until April. I just, you know, got the urge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jds22 Posted October 17, 2011 Members Share Posted October 17, 2011 I am not in a big hurry, except in my head, and my next gig won't be until April. I just, you know, got the urge. Totally understand. Just thought I'd throw that out there. I have no idea if anything interesting is coming or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Jack Tone Posted October 18, 2011 Members Share Posted October 18, 2011 Here's a pretty impressive collection of clips of the Mustang from last year: http://acapella.harmony-central.com/showthread.php?2688629-Fender-Mustang-II-Amp...with-clips. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members IbanezJon Posted October 18, 2011 Members Share Posted October 18, 2011 Mustang, Vypyr and Roland Cube are the modeller/amps I like. Mustang if you like clean tones (like a blues player) or the other two for better hi gain tones. All three are very strong in their own ways. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Floyd Rosenbomb Posted October 18, 2011 Members Share Posted October 18, 2011 I have the mustang 1. I think it has really nice cleans and high gain tones at low volumes.You start to crank up the volume and the hi-gain stuff starts to fall apart really quick, but at lower volumes it's great.I think for $100 everyone should have one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Razsan Posted October 18, 2011 Members Share Posted October 18, 2011 If you get a Valvetronix...get the blue series. Much more versatile and I think better sounding than the Black/Chrome. I have the tonelab and the AD60VTX and think both are great for modelers. The processed cleans are superb on the AD60VTX...the key is using the acoustic simulator. What I mean by processed is the Police/Rush/U2-ish tones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Stonedtone Posted October 18, 2011 Members Share Posted October 18, 2011 I traded a nice TC chorus pedal for one of those 1X10 Valvetronix. Worst trade I ever did by far. Those amps such. The cleans are passable, but gain tones are thin and brittle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Razsan Posted October 18, 2011 Members Share Posted October 18, 2011 I traded a nice TC chorus pedal for one of those 1X10 Valvetronix. Worst trade I ever did by far. Those amps such. The cleans are passable, but gain tones are thin and brittle I don't think this sounds thin and brittle..http://soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=8938138 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members texas twelve Posted October 18, 2011 Author Members Share Posted October 18, 2011 Super thanks to all for all of the recs. I really appreciate it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tlbonehead Posted October 18, 2011 Members Share Posted October 18, 2011 I don't think this sounds thin and brittle..http://soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=8938138yep, if you can't get good rock crunch tones out of any of the Valvetronix models you aren't dialing them in correctly. Even the little 8" models are capable of fat, punchy overdrive tones. However, as you say, the old original series is still the one to have. Just killer tones in those amps! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Stonedtone Posted October 19, 2011 Members Share Posted October 19, 2011 yep, if you can't get good rock crunch tones out of any of the Valvetronix models you aren't dialing them in correctly. Even the little 8" models are capable of fat, punchy overdrive tones. However, as you say, the old original series is still the one to have. Just killer tones in those amps! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members grunge782 Posted October 19, 2011 Members Share Posted October 19, 2011 I really don't get the hate. I've gotta play a Valvetronix again, the one I played a couple years ago I remembered getting some pretty nice crunch tones . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dparr Posted October 19, 2011 Members Share Posted October 19, 2011 I really don't get the hate. I've gotta play a Valvetronix again, the one I played a couple years ago I remembered getting some pretty nice crunch tones . I've got a Valvetronix 50 that I keep as a spare amp. For what it is (a budget amp), I get some pretty good tones out of it. It's pretty funny that when they first came out people were raving about them, now it's cool to bad mouth them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members HKSblade1 Posted October 19, 2011 Members Share Posted October 19, 2011 Today for a cheap modeling amp to do clean / mid gain / passable metal I'd go Mustang III or IV. I used to think the VT stuff, but Fender one upped those Voxes imo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members C-4 Posted October 19, 2011 Members Share Posted October 19, 2011 yep, if you can't get good rock crunch tones out of any of the Valvetronix models you aren't dialing them in correctly. Even the little 8" models are capable of fat, punchy overdrive tones. However, as you say, the old original series is still the one to have. Just killer tones in those amps! I have owned the blue series Valvetronix, and 2 of the AD series. I currently have owned and used at smaller venues, my AD30VT for the last 6 years. I have absolutely no problem dialing in extremely usable sounds. To get the Fender cleans, it was stated correctly to use a Fender amp. The Vox does not do those especially well. However, I use the AC30TB setting for clean with an Exotic BB in front of the amp input for a slight boost. For effects, I dial in a chorus/delay setting and ease back on the chorus slightly, with a slower delay setting. For leads, I use the Numetal setting with the gain and channel volume all the way up, treble at 11 o'clock, mids at 2, bass at 10. For some reason at about half volume, this setting sings without any grit or harsh saturation. Add a touch of delay and the amp sounds amazing. I am currrently looking at several new amps, including a Marshall JMP-1 50 watt head, Vox Pro series 1x12, and Vox AC30HW head. While the first two offerings have more to offer in order to keep space on stage down to a minimum, the last one has one of the best tube tones in clean and saturated sounds I have heard, but has no effects loop. This would mean running any effects through the amp input. Of the three amps, the Vox is the most versatile, feature-laiden and powerful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Cosmik de Bris Posted October 19, 2011 Members Share Posted October 19, 2011 I have owned the blue series Valvetronix, and 2 of the AD series. I currently have owned and used at smaller venues, my AD30VT for the last 6 years. I have absolutely no problem dialing in extremely usable sounds. Yeah, i agree, I have one of the old chrome ones. I take mine to Jams and house parties, easy to carry, loud enough for these sort of things. I'd like to get one of the newer series though as you can store more sounds. On my old one you can get three really, channel 1, channel 2, and manual as the third. The newer ones have two banks of 4 channels each. This is where I think the VOX wins over some of the others. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members nothingstock Posted October 23, 2013 Members Share Posted October 23, 2013 I have a first-generation Valvetronix AD50VT and love it. I mostly use the Fender Tweed for clean, the AC30TB for overdrive and the US High Gain for lead tones. I play out occassionaly and do the pit-orchestra stuff with my high school students for their musicals. It's got plenty of power and I love the tones I get. It most certainly doesn't "such" - as one post said, and it doesn't suck either. If something happened to it I would get the 100 watt, 2x12 version to have a bit more headroom but that's it. Had it for about 5 or 6 years and love the sound every time I plug in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tlbonehead Posted October 30, 2013 Members Share Posted October 30, 2013 not too keen on the Mustangs but I do like the Valvetronix models. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Steve2112 Posted October 30, 2013 Members Share Posted October 30, 2013 What don't you like about the Mustangs, bone?You know I like Vox. I used the Tonelab SE for like 5-6 years in -3-4 different bands. I like the Mustang because of it's Fender heritage and life-like tone. Only reason I could see not liking it is hate for Fender tone. IT's about 80% of what it does. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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