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Are they all bad? Or only about half useful? If you got one for cheap enough would you use it?

I'm possibly looking into getting a Vox VT30 for cheap. I was wondering if anyone had any thoughts on them.

My other Amps are a old 60's Harmony H415 and a 15w Crate. I get a pretty good sound for American Hardcore/Black Flag through a Rockton Rampage pedal and the Crate, but it probably wouldn't be loud enough for shows and the Harmony just makes it too muddy. So I wanted a good Solid State. I got an offer to buy a VT50. It seems like it would work and also have a bunch more options...which is cool, I play diverse stuff.

But something about amp modeling makes me cringe a little. Do you think this is justified? It seems like it might be worth it if there was at least a couple good settings, but I'm afraid of it doing a lot of things mediocre rather than doing one really well.

Anyone? ....Anyone?

Mark of the Beast wrote:But something about amp modeling makes me cringe a little. Do you think this is justified? It seems like it might be worth it if there was at least a couple good settings, but I'm afraid of it doing a lot of things mediocre rather than doing one really well.

This is pretty much exactly how I feel. Modeling amps are meant to sound like another amp. I'd rather just find an amp that sounds like itself and "itself" sounds good. I prefer things that are a little more "one piece, one function" though.

That said, I had a Vox AD50VT for a while. That was before I really knew what a good tube amp sounded like. It was an ok "stepping-stone" amp that kinda gave me an introduction to effects. It was relatively cheap and loud and had a lot of options.

But if you ultimately really like the way it sounds and it's a modeling amp, more power to you.

does the amp have an non-modelled setting where you can hear/use what the amp does without modeling? if so, i'd consider it and think of the models as added flavors. i'm not opposed to models on principle--i spent hours tweaking my Pod models--but i'm dubious of an amp where all you have is models.

I've still got an older Vox AD100VT around somewhere. I used it for a while. A good workhorse amp, for sure. I just ran a Boss GE-7 in the loop at all times, and the thing sounded just fine. I never really dealt with many of the effects though. If anything, I would use the reverb, but that was all. Really not a bad sounding amp though. I set mine to the "Boutique CL" setting. I really can't say anything bad about the amp. It's not nearly as refined as my AC30, but it doesn't require as much maintenance either.

dubkitty wrote:does the amp have an non-modelled setting where you can hear/use what the amp does without modeling? if so, i'd consider it and think of the models as added flavors. i'm not opposed to models on principle--i spent hours tweaking my Pod models--but i'm dubious of an amp where all you have is models.

It doesn't have non-model settings. I was hoping for that. From watching youtube vids it seems like it does an ok clean. I haven't driven out to meet the guy so I haven't played it yet (that'll be the true decider). I expect that a good number of sounds will be bad, but I was just looking for one or two to make it worthwhile. I doubt I'll use most of the effects. It's a cheaper option than Solid States at the same wattage on Craigslist right now.

I agree with Snipelfritz. I like things to be "One piece, one function" More options that I won't use just seems like more stuff to get in the way of a good signal and/or break down, I'm assuming.

Thanks for responding. I lurk here a lot cause I feel ILF has a lot of the same sensibilities as me, so it's nice to get people's opinions here rather than Blues Lawyers. I've been researching it online. Doesn't seem like there's too many die-hard Vox Valvetronix fans out there, maybe that says something.

One issue around these parts is that sometimes/often these things don't work well with pedals, especially something hitting the front end hard. This is all dependent on the design so it may vary by make and model.

Gone Fission wrote:One issue around these parts is that sometimes/often these things don't work well with pedals, especially something hitting the front end hard. This is all dependent on the design so it may vary by make and model.

Yup. Some fuzz will sound like poo into amp modelers. I only have experience with software modelers run on my computer, but yeah, dirt pedals sound weird on a bunch of them.

I have a modelling amp and two devices that do it: a Fender Mustang V head, GR-55 guitar synth (with various flavors of both modelled guitars, amps, etc), and a Behringer Vamp Pro rackmount (a Pod Pro knockoff).

I can hit any of them hard with pedals, the Roland being the least tolerant as it's designed to go from guitar directly into the unit, which I knew when I bought it. The Behringer doesn't respond like a 'real' amp to being hit hard very well, same as the Pods of the era, but it has a ton of usable sounds and the SPDIF out is very usable and clean (my primary use for having it).

The Mustang V though is in a different league - not everything sounds exactly like the namesake, but I've played enough amps to have seen Bassman that don't sound like stock Bassmans, etc. to give a little bit of leeway. Fender amp models are stupidly good, and take pedals well like their real counterparts - the tweed models even respond fairly accurately to being hit moderately hard (my ultimate governor on what hits the amp is the Space Echo's level controls, but I've run my Test Pattern andother abusive spitting evil fuzzes in without issue or unintended clipping), and the Vox/Marshall stuff works pretty well. I'm not a huge fan of the Mesa stuff but it sounds good for what it is, and the tweakability of any of it is pretty good outside of the limits of the unit (one effect of each type, the pitch shifter is a noisemaking toy, etc).

I've played both a Mustang III and V, I'd expect the I/II cheapies to be boxy and ugly except for direct recording, but at $89 etc you can't expect miracles. The head sounds decent (as does the III) at up to moderately insane levels, I haven't taken it further, and mostly use it as a DI box.

The key to any of the modellers honestly is don't cheap out and buy the lowest possible example - and be prepared to tweak.

Like any multifx device, it's going to take some getting used to and basic setup.

That said, all of the Mustang V Fender models were useful to me right out of the box, and the higher the gain the more tweaking required (noise gate etc) but was well worth the effort.

But you won't find much love for them here, people swore to me that the Mustangs didn't take pedals well on the front end, and I'm here to report otherwise.

I should add I haven't sold or stopped using my Hot Rod Deluxe or Jazz Chorus either - but the Mustang V in particular makes me a very happy person especially for recording.

The Peavey Vypers sound pretty good for what they are.

Dude, where are you from, as in what craigslist do you have access to? If all you're looking for is something that will cop Ginn/80's hardcore tones yet still remain versatile (I'm basically reading this as clean if you're here on this board) and ease of use/dependability, then just look for an old SS Peavey head. Lots of bands, including Greg Ginn used them and they would likely sound better than many of the modeling modes you would find on a mid/lower amp you'd be looking at. Don't expect it to sound like tubes, and don't expect it to do everything. But you'd do well with one

i had the fender mustang 1
and had bad experience with it
alone for what it is was fine
but puting pedals through it
sounded terrible
a few diffeent ones
bmp, boss df-2
sounded almost pixelated
if that makes sense
but the ease of having all those effects
at your fingertips is tempting
and rfurtcamp has had good luck
and is way more experienced than i am
and probably more patient and tech savvy
just my experience -awful

Pounded out in < 2m, Jaguar > Tone Bender Mk2 clone > stock, factory "Basic Twin Reverb" patch (#93). Forgive the laziness and new strings, I didn't feel like lugging it into the mastering software and chopping the intro silence off.

[soundcloud]http://soundcloud.com/rfurtkamp-misc/jaguar-tonebender-mk2-fender[/soundcloud]

I intentionally went with a fairly straight ahead fuzz that can get stupid hairy and loud, versus going with something with a known volume drop etc., and not something that couldn't be obtained by anyone.

No spitting or clipping other than what I'd expect out of the pedal itself, whether run into my tube stuff or other SS.

WTB the pixelated sound though, I can't ever say no to that.

i think we have briefly talked bout thiss rfurt,right
im into wacky noises
anything to mask my lack o talent
but what i ended up with
ultimately led me to get rid of it
and into the arms of ilf
like zero headroom
any signal besides guitar
scrambled the shit out of it
actually john has it now
and now that hes here
maybe we can try and get it to sound good
with the help of your settings
i

I love wacky noises, I wouldn't own half my gear or more if I didn't, from 20+ year old filter wierd stuff and rack delays with LFOs to an entire PT2 full of octave and oscillating fuzz.

It's a matter of just knowing how to use what's in front of you to make what you want, even if that's silence!