Frets99 Posted November 10, 2008 Share Posted November 10, 2008 ^ I don't understand. He seems to be talking about cranking the volume knob on each channel (4 channels) to get a bark of gain. You can still keep the master volume low. Also, the VA881 has a boost button which seems to help with getting into gain territory from what I read. But, I'm not sure if the 30w or 50w have that same boost button. Even the 30 watt has a boost button on the amp and the footswitch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Will Chen Posted November 10, 2008 Members Share Posted November 10, 2008 I couldn't resist and picked a couple up. Frets did a quick write up which I'll have up of www.FrugalGuitarist.com hopefully tonight (working through some hosting issues). Previously, they showed the 75 watter sold out, but I was just able to order one so well see. Based on Frets' clip, this will most likely be the deal of the decade. Perhaps this liquidation will provide enough juice to get someone else to pickup the distribution of V-Stack products as First Act marketing is piss poor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 67mike Posted November 10, 2008 Members Share Posted November 10, 2008 Here is an EXCELLENT discussion on them..........one of the guys WHO DESIGNED it is involved in this thread!http://www.thegearpage.net/board/showthread.php?t=198931 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 67mike Posted November 10, 2008 Members Share Posted November 10, 2008 From the Gear Page thread... here's this from a guy who seems like a FA rep or something: Not really what I wanted to hear They say it elsewhere that it has a master volume, which allows you to dial a lower volume, but still get the gain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frets99 Posted November 10, 2008 Share Posted November 10, 2008 http://www.esnips.com/doc/8341324b-9752-4fb6-9822-c9258f497ffe/VA881%20Video%20Demo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Hoople Head Posted November 10, 2008 Members Share Posted November 10, 2008 http://www.esnips.com/doc/8341324b-9752-4fb6-9822-c9258f497ffe/VA881%20Video%20Demo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mazi Bee Posted November 10, 2008 Members Share Posted November 10, 2008 http://www.esnips.com/doc/8341324b-9752-4fb6-9822-c9258f497ffe/VA881%20Video%20Demo That's not so much a demo of the amp as it is an audition for a U2 cover band. :poke: Would to like to see one of the VA881 that really concentrates on the amp itself without external effects and Edge wankery.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Hoople Head Posted November 10, 2008 Members Share Posted November 10, 2008 That's not so much a demo of the amp as it is an audition for a U2 cover band. :poke: Would to like to see one of the VA881 that really concentrates on the amp itself without external effects and Edge wankery.... I just appreciated the detailed run-through of the controls. The First Act website is pretty vague in those details, IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frets99 Posted November 10, 2008 Share Posted November 10, 2008 That's not so much a demo of the amp as it is an audition for a U2 cover band. :poke: Would to like to see one of the VA881 that really concentrates on the amp itself without external effects and Edge wankery.... I know! But it did run through the panels and footswitch before he "indulged" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members the new guy Posted November 10, 2008 Members Share Posted November 10, 2008 That's not so much a demo of the amp as it is an audition for a U2 cover band. :poke: Would to like to see one of the VA881 that really concentrates on the amp itself without external effects and Edge wankery.... Yeah, this one I've seen before, and it almost turned me off of the amp altogether. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frets99 Posted November 10, 2008 Share Posted November 10, 2008 Yeah, this one I've seen before, and it almost turned me off of the amp altogether.I actually posted it before I heard it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 67mike Posted November 10, 2008 Members Share Posted November 10, 2008 Yeah, this one I've seen before, and it almost turned me off of the amp altogether.Ya...that delay almost made me ill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mazi Bee Posted November 10, 2008 Members Share Posted November 10, 2008 Ya...that delay almost made me ill. Seriously. I just want to hear 15 second riffs on each channel without massive amount of effects. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 67mike Posted November 10, 2008 Members Share Posted November 10, 2008 Well, seeing as the first act has a Full Range speaker........I guess I better hang onto my Peavey...I might need the scorpion speaker for the FA???? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dcindc Posted November 10, 2008 Members Share Posted November 10, 2008 It perplexes me that people buy an amp for a "sound" and then plug a bunch of {censored} in, in front of it. It also annoys me. Sometimes I get pissed. Like with this guy, guy, guy, guy, guy,... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dcindc Posted November 10, 2008 Members Share Posted November 10, 2008 Please don't freak out over the speaker people. Don't believe everything you read. Some of them peeople aren't the brightest bulbs on the tree... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Highway_61 Posted November 10, 2008 Members Share Posted November 10, 2008 It perplexes me that people buy an amp for a "sound" and then plug a bunch of {censored} in, in front of it. It also annoys me. +5 I watch five minutes about all the controls and then some guy plugs into the worst distortion pedal ever made (hyperbole, sorry). Everyone's talking about the largest amp in the series. Are there any opinions about the smallest one? or the middle one? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mazi Bee Posted November 10, 2008 Members Share Posted November 10, 2008 Frets did a nice review of the small one Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members KwadGuy Posted November 10, 2008 Members Share Posted November 10, 2008 Please don't freak out over the speaker people. Don't believe everything you read.Some of them peeople aren't the brightest bulbs on the tree... The guys that designed this amp, for the then-independent V-stack and then later for First Act, weren't dummies, know what they wanted in terms of sound, and they weren't designing this as either a gimmc or as a cheapo price point turd. This was originally a labor of love and then a source of pride. They were happy with the result that came out under the First Act name (a few compromises/changes were made, but they were in the scheme of things minor). If you get one of these and don't like it, it's not going to be because the speaker is poor; it will be mostly because you are not a fan of the modeling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members KwadGuy Posted November 10, 2008 Members Share Posted November 10, 2008 So each channel has a vol. control + an overall master volume? That sounds better.I'd really like to see an up close of the control panel, but none of the pics provide one. Each effect/channel has its own gain control and then there's a master volume control. The level of distortion is mostly controlled by the gain control. The master volume just makes whatever you're gonna hear louder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ashasha Posted November 10, 2008 Members Share Posted November 10, 2008 You know I really feel like I may have missed out on something, but I just wasn't impressed enough with any of the demonstrations that I heard to just take the plunge. Frets' stuff always sounds good because its him playing; when I really concentrated on the tone itself in the demos I didn't come away feeling that it was what I was looking for.I understand the theory behind the v-stack stuff and it sounds very cool in theory, but it just seemed like it was another modeling amp to me. Perhaps that is just the frickin anti-GAS serum Irregardless I really have a feeling that passing this one up is something that I am going to regret in the long run. Theres a pretty good chance that this thing would have covered a lot of my tonal needs in one box and for a ridiculously low price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mazi Bee Posted November 10, 2008 Members Share Posted November 10, 2008 Irregardless I really have a feeling that passing this one up is something that I am going to regret in the long run. Theres a pretty good chance that this thing would have covered a lot of my tonal needs in one box and for a ridiculously low price. I guarantee there will be a few people who probably will end up getting rid of theres for one reason or another, whether it be they don't like it, or maybe feel they bought it on impulse and don't really need it. I'm betting there will be a at least few for sale after the honeymoon wears off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jrockbridge Posted November 10, 2008 Members Share Posted November 10, 2008 ^ Yes, but once people hear what I can do using 2 VA881's in stereo, everyone will want 2! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members KwadGuy Posted November 10, 2008 Members Share Posted November 10, 2008 I guarantee there will be a few people who probably will end up getting rid of theres for one reason or another, whether it be they don't like it, or maybe feel they bought it on impulse and don't really need it. I'm betting there will be a at least few for sale after the honeymoon wears off. No doubt. There are for sure going to be those who listen to one of these and say that the modeling is OK, but it doesn't sound EXACTLY like their original Vox or Marshall or whatever. Guaranteed. There are going to be others who won't be able to get beyond their tube bias (real or imagined, it doesn't matter). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members EdMan57 Posted November 10, 2008 Members Share Posted November 10, 2008 One of the main designers is Lance Keltner,who played with Rod Stewart and is a solo artist with a few CD's under his belt.He was the guy that did the original V-Stack amp demo video at the 2006 Summer NAMM in Austin. Ed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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