Vox VT-15 | A powerful amp in a compact unit
If you’ve ever wanted the option between a good practice amp for low volumes at home or in the apartment, and an amp with enough juice for practicing with the band or gigging in clubs, then the Vox VT-15 Valvetronix is worth checking out. I was in this position recently after moving. I needed an amp that could do a few things for me – be small and light, be loud enough to hear through a full band, and of course have good tone. After a bit of searching on craigslist I found a used Vox VT-15 for sale. I checked it out online (much like you might be doing now), and with a 12ax7 in there for real tube power and 15 watts, this seemed just right, plus, Vox is a pretty reputable brand.
I’ve been very impressed with mine so far. The tone is great, and depending on which of the 22 amp types (through a great amp modelling system I might add) you can really dial in your own tone. They have everything from Vox AC30 and AC50′s to Marshall stack, tweed amps, and Mesa-Boogie type models. For me, I use my effects to colour my sound, so the most important thing for me was getting a nice clean sound that I liked, and it wasn’t hard at all! You’ve also got your frequency controls, as well as independent reverb, and built in effects. As I mentioned, the effects don’t matter as much to me since I purely use my pedals, but for those who want them, there 12 independent effects built right in, as well as room for 66 preset sounds for limitless amp modelling and sound creation.
With the presets, you can choose your amp model and tone, as well as your effects, making it easy (especially with a footswitch) to change sound from song to song. If you purchase an additional footswitch, you can also turn on or off effects, cycle through you own or the built in presets, and turn on/off reverb. Another aspect about this amp that’s great is that you can dial in the amount of power it uses with the volume attenuator, switching through 5 watts to 15 watts, allowing you to get more crunch and response if you want to drive the master volume. It also has a 1/8th inch headphone jack great for practicing or recording.
I highly recommend this amp for beginners or pro’s alike. It offers a variety of amp models and effects, and comes in sizes for everyone. My model was the smallest, the 15 watt version with a single 8″ speaker, but still has some serious power and tone. It’s also available up to a full 100 watt amp with 2×12″ speakers. I chose the smallest model for portability and ease of use, but for those looking to use it for gigging and need the power, there are options for that too which is great. Overall, the Vox VT-15 and Vox Vt or Valvetronix series has some serious bang for it’s buck.
