Members wheresgrant3 Posted July 16, 2007 Members Share Posted July 16, 2007 OK... by I've read all the reports regarding reliability with these amps; speakers not working, amps arriving DOA, Vox discontinuing them, Vox stopping production in Korea and moving to Vietnam. Still for the price AMS and others were blowing them out I could pass one up. Our other guitarist uses two in stereo and I'll say it really destroys anything I achieved with my Vetta, XTLive in a gig situation. So I ordered an AD60VTX last Wednesday and it arrived on Friday. I basically took it out of the box, played with it for an hour and headed off to a gig. Having done the research and reading through forums so I knew what to expect regarding the reliability issues... or so I thought. Saturday night at the show, shortly after plugging in a power strip in the amp caught fire. Yes, caught fire. Our drummer first caught it. I was working on getting my keyboards setup up and he walked by and said "Is something electrical burning?". We looked over and plumes of smoke were pouring out of the top vents. No question the amp must be fried. I'm guessing a bad transformer maybe. Bummer too, I really looked forward to trying this amp out. I usually bring a Crate powerblock with me just in case but this time I forgot. So I borrowed one of my guitarists AD60 amps. I sounded great... which made my burnt amp all the more painful. Good thing I saved the boxes. Will need an RMA for this one! Better put this on the running tally of Valvetronix mishaps! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GregMan Posted July 16, 2007 Members Share Posted July 16, 2007 that sucks.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Pepi Posted July 16, 2007 Members Share Posted July 16, 2007 I bet the power IC chip failed. I think the power amp section on these amps fail. Just can't beat the old TO-3 case transistors or tubes Also, notice nobody has problems with the ToneLab SE. It's just a preamp and no power amp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ***1776*** Posted July 16, 2007 Members Share Posted July 16, 2007 Sorry to hear that. Ive owned a couple different Valvetronix (heads/combo's) and had a minor problem with 1 model and it was a power surge! Brought it to my local TV/electronics repair place and for about $65 its been working fine, no problems since then. -- The other amps i owned (60 VTX and 120 AD) BOTH worked flawlessly when i owned them not 1 problem. Since yours is a new model im sure u can just bring it back and get another one or your $$ back! (What do u think, youll give it another chance?) When working properly they are WONDERFULL amps that can almost do it all and have such warm ass kicking thick tones.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members STEEL KAGE Posted July 16, 2007 Members Share Posted July 16, 2007 Sorry to hear about your BBQ'd amp !!! BTW, I see that you live in NYC, whereabouts are you? Im at 13th and 2nd... I also saw that you guys played the Crazy Donkey, Im looking to book our band there as well, it looks like an awesome room. We're about 2 months away from playing out( we have 32 tunes in the can, we're looking to add at least 12 more before we get out there) Kage Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wheresgrant3 Posted July 16, 2007 Author Members Share Posted July 16, 2007 Sorry to hear about your BBQ'd amp !!! BTW, I see that you live in NYC, whereabouts are you? Im at 13th and 2nd... I also saw that you guys played the Crazy Donkey, Im looking to book our band there as well, it looks like an awesome room. We're about 2 months away from playing out( we have 32 tunes in the can, we're looking to add at least 12 more before we get out there) Kage I actually live north of the city. Newburgh area. Crazy Donkey is a great room. Took quite a long time to get in there... and heads up they only book through agencies. Get signed with an agency and that's the first step toward a foot in the door. We also play The Rambling House in Yonkers and the Black Bear in Norwich... but that's about it around NYC. Better places to play in the 'burbs'! (PS: Dig the Edge of the Blade motto/avatar. Favorite Neal Schon song. ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wheresgrant3 Posted July 16, 2007 Author Members Share Posted July 16, 2007 Sorry to hear that. Ive owned a couple different Valvetronix (heads/combo's) and had a minor problem with 1 model and it was a power surge! Brought it to my local TV/electronics repair place and for about $65 its been working fine, no problems since then. -- The other amps i owned (60 VTX and 120 AD) BOTH worked flawlessly when i owned them not 1 problem. Since yours is a new model im sure u can just bring it back and get another one or your $$ back! (What do u think, youll give it another chance?) When working properly they are WONDERFULL amps that can almost do it all and have such warm ass kicking thick tones.. Yes... I do believe I've found the 'holy grail' of modeling amps. I played through our other guitarist's 2nd amp and it was bliss. For 5 years I gigged with a XXX (awesome amp witrh EL34's but got tired of lugging a 65lb head everywhere). Now if I could just find one that works. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members STEEL KAGE Posted July 16, 2007 Members Share Posted July 16, 2007 I actually live north of the city. Newburgh area. Crazy Donkey is a great room. Took quite a long time to get in there... and heads up they only book through agencies. Get signed with an agency and that's the first step toward a foot in the door. We also play The Rambling House in Yonkers and the Black Bear in Norwich... but that's about it around NYC. Better places to play in the 'burbs'! (PS: Dig the Edge of the Blade motto/avatar. Favorite Neal Schon song. ) Yeah Bro, we're trying to avoid the whole Omnipop/Stars etc Agency bit. Our focus is going to be the Brooklyn , Queens and Long Island areas. Ive heard that theres some great places to play in CT but Im not sure if the rest of the guys are willing to do that much travelling.. We may have an in at the Crazy Donkey but that has yet to be explored... Yeah, Neal is my fave all time player and Edge of the blade is my Favorite Journey tune as well. However,, he does have some RIPPING solo and side project stuff that blows me away but then again, Im biased, the guy can do no wrong in my eyes... Let me know if you want any of it... Kage PS We really need to add some tunes that are really popular right now and I havent a clue, I stopped listening to the radio in 1988... Any suggestions for must do covers that are current faves? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wheresgrant3 Posted July 16, 2007 Author Members Share Posted July 16, 2007 Yeah Bro, we're trying to avoid the whole Omnipop/Stars etc Agency bit. Our focus is going to be the Brooklyn , Queens and Long Island areas. Ive heard that theres some great places to play in CT but Im not sure if the rest of the guys are willing to do that much travelling.. We may have an in at the Crazy Donkey but that has yet to be explored...Yeah, Neal is my fave all time player and Edge of the blade is my Favorite Journey tune as well. However,, he does have some RIPPING solo and side project stuff that blows me away but then again, Im biased, the guy can do no wrong in my eyes... Let me know if you want any of it...KagePS We really need to add some tunes that are really popular right now and I havent a clue, I stopped listening to the radio in 1988... Any suggestions for must do covers that are current faves? I had Late Nite on cassette and lost it about 12 years ago. Amazing album! I definately favor CT rooms over Long Island. Nothing against the Long Island crowd, you just have to work hard to gain any audience response. It just may be the Donkey setup (stage is behind the main bar... good 10-12 feet from the audience). Upstate people go nuts. It's not to say we don't do well at the Donkey. You just seem to be competing against the DJ all night. Not the same in CT rooms. Never been there but The Wicked Monk is supposed to be killer! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Gr8Scott Posted July 16, 2007 Members Share Posted July 16, 2007 I have two AD120VTH heads. Both have been great thus far. I might be willing to part with my hardly used backup if the offer was right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members The Real MC Posted July 16, 2007 Members Share Posted July 16, 2007 Saturday night at the show, shortly after plugging in a power strip in the amp caught fire. Yes, caught fire. Korean or Vietnam? Look at the badge on the back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tlbonehead Posted July 16, 2007 Members Share Posted July 16, 2007 I've been gigging with and beating mine around for over two years with absolutely no problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Spizzledude Posted July 16, 2007 Members Share Posted July 16, 2007 I went through 2 Vox's last week. Took them both back ( thank you GC). First was the ad120vtx made in Korea. Something inside the head rattled like a snake whenever I hit a low G through B note. I took it apart but could not find anything. Even put some weather stripping wherever I could squeeze it in thinking it might be the cab. The second was a ad60vtx made in Vietnam. Sounded fine but had a loud hiss that could only be tamed when I turned the master down about 66%. Even though the amp sounded fine on the floor, I put it on a stand (as I always do so I can hear what the audience hears) and that's where it lost me. The cleans were just too brittle and there was no low end at all. Any attempt to EQ in some lows was met with extreme mushiness. I even changed out the speaker to a Peavey Scorpion but no dice. Those problems plus the horror stories on the web made me dump it too. I also have a B-52 AT100 I am trying to dump now (bought used). Already one repair and now the little plastic speaker out jack broke. These cheap Asian amps may sound dandy but the reliability factor is questionable. IMHO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wheresgrant3 Posted July 17, 2007 Author Members Share Posted July 17, 2007 Made in VietNOW! Called AMS and they have a replacement and an RMA both on the way. Believe me... the experience doesn't deter me from owning one. I almost feel like "well I got the first defective model out of the way". With all of the reports on this site and others I was sort of expecting something to go... rather now than after the warranty/exchange period. I also just closed on a used AD120VTH head. So for less than a $grand$ I have two very giggable solutions and always a backup in case of a problem. Much better than lugging that 70lb Vetta Combo from place to place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ***1776*** Posted July 17, 2007 Members Share Posted July 17, 2007 Made in VietNOW! Called AMS and they have a replacement and an RMA both on the way. Believe me... the experience doesn't deter me from owning one. I almost feel like "well I got the first defective model out of the way". With all of the reports on this site and others I was sort of expecting something to go... rather now than after the warranty/exchange period. I also just closed on a used AD120VTH head. So for less than a $grand$ I have two very giggable solutions and always a backup in case of a problem. Much better than lugging that 70lb Vetta Combo from place to place. Good for you, just curious what did the 120 head run ya $$ wise? I LOVE THESE AMPS, just amazing tones and versatility in these puppies! Like i said before i had a power surge on the head about 2 years ago and $60 or so and a visit to the local tech/TV guy and its been perfect since.. I always said the Vetta can nail the dirt a lil better, but the Vox can nail the tone better IMO. Ill put these amps against ANYTHING for home and gigging use! The tones/effects and built in atteanuator (2, 30, 60, 120 wattage ability) make for a HR I like to remind people that the 120 watt versions have 2 12AX7's in them! (the 60's have 1 preamp tube) This has to help them in the tone dept.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Spizzledude Posted July 17, 2007 Members Share Posted July 17, 2007 I like to remind people that the 120 watt versions have 2 12AX7's in them! (the 60's have 1 preamp tube) This has to help them in the tone dept.. The tube is in the power section not the preamp. The reason the 120's have two is because there are two power sections, hence the stereo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Spizzledude Posted July 17, 2007 Members Share Posted July 17, 2007 Made in VietNOW!. I also just closed on a used AD120VTH head. . I think the separate head is the way to go here. If you look at the reliability section here at HC reviews, you'll see the heads rate much higher. Must be something to do with all that air moving around in the closed back combos that wears on the electronics after a bit. Also, many of the problems reported have to do with rattling cabinets on the combos (I know that was my prob). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wheresgrant3 Posted July 17, 2007 Author Members Share Posted July 17, 2007 I think the separate head is the way to go here. If you look at the reliability section here at HC reviews, you'll see the heads rate much higher. Must be something to do with all that air moving around in the closed back combos that wears on the electronics after a bit. Also, many of the problems reported have to do with rattling cabinets on the combos (I know that was my prob). I think it's more the fact they moved production to Vietnam and adequate QC is sorely lacking! I do agree the head is the way to go. I have a G-Flex 2x12 stereo cab I hope it will pair up nicely. I spent $350 on a used one. I'm still keeping the replacement AD60VTX... I'll use that as a backup and for smaller gig situations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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