Valvetronix combo vs. Spider Valve combo

[ledvedder]

Can I get some opinions? Thoughts?

[Stratmaster]

I have played both of those amps quite abit, I do not own either of them. I do have an opinion on them though.

 

The Vox amps have about 3 tones in there that I think are pretty cool and the rest are meh. The effects in the Vox are much better sounding and are more tweakable. Overall the sound of this amp is pretty good. The only thing I feel is a downfall of this amp is its optional footswitch which is a two button that can switch between two preset amp tones and an effects Bypass, no expression pedal and no way of triggering different effects at different times pretty limited.

 

Line 6 Valve amps sound pretty good. I like the optional floor switch better then the Vox amps you get up to 4 presets to save your favorite sounds/effect presets and expression pedal that doubles as a wah and volume pedal. The downfall of the spider Valve series amplifers is that the effects are not very editable. you can set the delay time (with the tap) and you can set the intensity (kindda a small range of intensity) but no other perameters. The modulation is very weak on all Spider series amplifiers.

 

Out of the two the Spider Valve has the edge in sound but the effects part goes to Vox IMO. I dont know what I would choose if I were buying.

 

I am a fender man at heart and would go with a Hot Rod Deluxe.

[C-4]

I as well, have played both amps. The Vox has gotten the most compliments from other musicians that have heard me playing it. The Spider Valve was said to be more like whitebread then the Vox, despite the tubes.

 

Personally, I am a Diezel/Duesentrieb player. For convenience at band practice, I use a Vox AD30VT and also at very small venues where space and volume must be under extreme control.

 

Between the Spider Valve and the Vox amps, I prefer the tone, convenience and control of the Vox.

[13bats]

I have a Vox AD and have played the Spidervalve many times .

 

VOX

 

Vox has a new one out this month the VT30 that I think is like 50 bucks more that the original Chrome .Looks the same But doubles the models .Gives chorus, flanger phaser ,tremolo all 3 editable parameter .the AD30 I have only has shared effects like chorus/delay and 2 tweaks .So that make it a lot more useable at least to me . on the vox .the Tweed ,AC30 UK80s, and Us HG are what I use . I like them.

 

LINE6

 

The spidervalve if you turn up the master and pull back the channel volumes sounds pretty darn good. the metal and insane models with the gain pulled way back actually have a nice growl kinda hot rodded marshall/ Soldano. the Delay is really good .the other effects pretty much bite .The cleans were harder to get than the vox but Line6 has the edge on overall body and punch with the hi gain sounds .

 

PEAVEY VYPYR

 

The last one if your a high gain guy that you may dig is the Peavey VYPYR .I was not going to mention it cause they do have some issues to work out. I played the SS model as the tube one (think spiderv) was not released yet and was suppossed to be Nov but now that ETA is not going to happen.

The 5150 and JSX models in that amp were steller. it kinda combines the VX and L6 strengths into one. And if Peavey loads REVALVER software into it that they have indicated they might look out ..

 

...The all kinda do similar you really just have to go take your guitar and check them out .if your looking at controlling Volume the VOX has a power setting on the back. the VYPYR and L6 are much Much louder

[jlc1587]

In this case I think the spider valve is a better value. Although if you were talking valvetronix vs the spider 3 it'd be valvetronix for the win. Although for the price of a spider valve I'd look at some other used amps.

[SkyhighRocks]

sig

[pbecker314]

I have owned both the Spider Valve 212 (original Mark 1 version) and the new Vox Valvetronix VT100 so here is my opinion on those two amps for what it's worth.

 

The Spider Valve's high end had a certain harshness and lack of authenticity that I could never dial out, even using a 10-band MXR EQ in the loop. I even went so far as to install the Strymon SVpre tube preamp card, which helped, but ultimately I was still unsatisfied with that amp and out the door it went. That was about 4 months ago.

 

Since then, been considering a lot of options. I play in a classic rock band so I need a flexible sounding amp. Never thought much of the Vox line, but I finally decided to try the new Vox VT100 Valvetronix amp, mainly because I got a *steal* on a new one through Ebay and figured I could always sell it and make money if it didn't work out. Well, this amp turned out to be a really interesting discovery. To my ears, the amp models on the VT100 are much more life-like and musical than those on the SV 212. Ironically, I'm not that thrilled with the Vox models on the amp, go figure. However, for classic rock, the Tweed and Marshall models on the VT100 are awesome! I also really like the Metal models with the gain turned down some. These are great for hard-driving progressive rock tunes (e.g. Journey, Boston etc.).

 

I was surprised that the effects on the VT100 sound better to me than the SV212, but they are not very tweakable. Another problem with the VT series is that there are only 8 (yes *8*) programmable user presets, vs 36 on the SV212. Funny thing is, I can get by with 8 basic tones on the VT100 easier than the 36 on the SV212 because they are so good and so fundamental, and it's easy to color them a bit with external delay or compression. Don't get me wrong, l would certainly prefer at least 12 or more user patches, but I can get by with 8 (but just barely).

 

The VT100 has a couple of great speakers, that really push air with authority. The low end is dynamic and punchy, the high end is detailed and articulate with some decent sparkle, which is interesting considering there is no presence control on the VT series. The variable power knob in the back is brilliant, allowing great tones at any volume (and this really works, not just a gimmick). The VT100 has plenty of volume on tap, but the amp cuts through in a band situation very well without needing excessive volume. To me this is one of the hallmarks of a good amp.

 

The only area where I would rate the SV212 higher is in foot control. With the SV, you can use a floorboard to control volume, tap tempo, user patch selection, and also turn the effects on and off. With the VT series, you get a 5-button switch that can be configured in two modes. You can *either* get access to 2 user program banks each with 4 custom user patches, *or* it gives you control over reverb (on/off), effects (on/off), and tap-tempo. There is no volume control on the floor. This motivated me to develop a small floorbox mod with 2 dedicated switches for controlling tap-tempo and effects on/off, while using the Vox footswitch to select the user program. I also use a volume pedal in the effects loop. This setup is working pretty well so far, but it would be much better to have comprehensive floor control over the amp, effects, and volume.

 

I would love to see a stereo version of the VT series that offers more flexible effects and also comprehensive foot control. I heard they were working on such a model, called the Black Diamond, but apparently that project is on hold now. Too bad, but at least it's something to look forward to.

 

To summarize, the SV212 is much more digital sounding than the VT100 which, is very musical sounding. That pretty much sums it up for me.

[ledvedder]

That's why I lean more toward the older blue series Valvetronix. Much more control with the VC-12 foot controller. I'm also very interested in the Peavey Vypyr tube models. I've actually been offered a great deal on a tube 60 that I might jump on.

[pbecker314]

I have now gigged twice with my VT100 and absolutely love it! This is the best tone I have ever achieved on stage, both with a Strat and a Les Paul. In fact after our most recent show, our sound man came up to me and said that this is his favorite amp that I have played through. And he is a pretty harsh critic, let me tell you. Audience members also loved the tone. The Tweed and Marshall settings are incredible, and I also love several of the high-gain amp models. The on-stage tone of my guitars was really inspiring, what more can you ask for than that? It helped me reach for things I probably wouldn't have tried with one of my previous amps.

 

I have heard that the modeling quality on the new VT series exceeds that in earlier Valvetronix amps, so going with one of the older blue series Valvetronix models may not be such a good option, despite the better foot control options. Personally, I would definitely choose the better tone of the VT series over better control. Hopefully the next generation of the Valvetronix series will have both.