Vox V810 Valve-Tone

A chimp could figure out how to use this pedal! People who have trouble operating a Fuzz Face might be thrown for a loop by the Valvetone's third knob, however.

This effect is pretty quiet and has a true-bypass wired footswitch so it won't degrade your tone when its switched off (a necessity). I've used this pedal with a number of guitars and amps live, in the studio, and at home practicing. In every situation, without fail, this pedal has sounded excellent. My favorite combination is a guitar with humbuckers (like my ES335) through an amp that's starting to break up (like my Marshall 50W Suprelead) and the Valvetone's gain set at about 2 O'clock and tone knob almost maxed. However, its great for adding gain to a clean Fender too. The bottom line is that this pedal does what a good O.D. should, it lets your guitar and amp's tonal characteristics through (in other words, its very transparent).

Its made in China, which I used to associate with cheap quality. However, there seems to be alot of really high quality, well made musical products coming from overseas these days and this pedal is no exception. The metal casing is rugged and the switch looks like it will last a long time. The knob shafts turn easily and feel pretty solid. Unless you really abuse your gear, I doubt you'll need a backup. This pedal is very tastefully designed and looks great next to my Vox Wah.

This pedal rules for classic rock and heavy blues type stuff or anytime you want to hear your amp louder and dirtier. It works well as a clean boost too when you set the gain to a minimum and dime the volume. The tone control doesn't seem to be especially versitile but works for adding or subtracting high end bite. I used to use a Tubescreamer Reissue but always thought that it compressed and altered my basic tone a little too much for my taste. I know what some of you might be thinking; "you gotta have an original TS808 or TS9, dude!" Well, my friend has two vintage TS9's and I did a lengthy comparason between them and the Valvetone and I thought that the Valvetone sounded a little less compressed and more natural. I also used to have an old Marshall Guv'nor O.D. pedal(an original one) but sold it as soon as I heard the Vox, no contest! I have never compared it with any botique boxes (Fulltone Fulldrive, Klon Centaur, Menatone etc..) so I don't know how it matches up but as another reviewer said, I can't imagine them being much better. If it was stolen or lost, I would be very unhappy. I don't think that these are being made anymore and I've noticed that used ones go for way more than the originals sold for (and I got mine on sale originally). If you see one for a good deal, snap it up and if you want to sell yours , E-mail me.

3 knobs: Level, Tone and Gain. I give it a nine for the same reasons as everyone else: Yellow LED can be difficult to see (but looks cool) and the need for a screwdriver to change the battery. No big deal. Also a jack for a 9-volt adaptor to save those batteries. It's true, it is easy to get good sounds right out of the box, but work with it. You can get GREAT sounds with a little extra effort. More on that...

I'm playing mostly a Gibson Les Paul Jr Lite with P-100s, but I also have a Rickenbacker 360/12 and an Epiphone Dot. My main setup is a P.E. Yardbox=>Vox 847 Wah=>Vox V810 Valve-tone=> Boss Tremolo through an Ampeg Reverberocket reissue. At first I was afraid there wasn't enough gain. It seemed like I always had the gain turned up all the way. Then I realized how much interplay there is between the volume and gain. I never had the volume up high enough. Just boosting the volume gave me more headroom on the gain. Now I always keep the volume up halfway (12 o'clock). This seems to maintain a consistant volume from my guitar (compared to clean), but gives it that overdrive boost. In fact, with my Dot, I often have the gain down all the way and it's still quite beefy. I think another guy said that this pedal is for people who like the sound of their guitar. That line pretty much sums up the pedal! No problem getting those British sounds (with the guitars I have): The Jam, Oasis, Ride, Stones, Kinks, The Who, even some T Rex and The Cure(e.g. Never Enough). Add the Yardbox for soloing and you've got a great Cream or Yardbirds lead sound. My Les Paul Jr actually sounds like Rickenbacker-era The Jam with this pedal (not to mention my...well, Rickenbacker). I haven't noticed any noise when the pedal is engaged. Oh, it also works GREAT with the Vox Wah. I won't go anywhere without this pedal. Is it over the top to say it's a work of art?

It's a pretty heavy-duty pedal. I've had it for a year and have not had any problems. The knobs seem a little bit on the flimsy side and vulnerable up there on the top. Well, "Flimsy" might be an overstatement, but I keep it in the original box for travelling because of this.

I haven't communicated with Vox.

I like to play British Pop from pretty much any decade from the 60s on. I couldn't imagine a pedal being more perfect for this style. I compared it side-by-side with the V830 Distortion. I just dug the sound of the Valve-tone. The V830 seemed a bit muddy, though it did have more gain. If anything happened to my Valve-Tone, I would be very bummed out but immediatly shell out the $110-$120 that guys are getting for the "New Old Stock" on Ebay. If you're looking for a good, crunchy-yet-transparent overdrive in a gorgeous, shiney package, I have two words for you: Get It. --------NOTE TO MATTSTER: Do punt the FuzzFace and get a Yardbox.

Plug it in and go! 3 chicken head knobs so you can easily see where they are pointing... fanastic sounds straight out of the box! Only gripes (it says be critical) are the yellow LED is cool but hard to see under some stage lighting... and you have to unscrew the base to fit the battery.

Amazing! I use it between my Les Paul and a Fender Deluxe Reverb and it sounds superb... I've also used it in the studio with a tweed Fender Pro Junior and it sounded huge! You can set it to boost the level and sustain too much distortion - great for driving the amp into feedback for those Neil Young moments... also great for Kinks / Who type sounds... I love it!

No problems with it, doesn't squeal like other pedals I've had... cool chrome casing, quality switch... built like a tank but infinately cooler!

No problems so no need to call...

I got it in a sale (I think the lsit on these was around #70 to #80) and it's the dogs bollocks as far as I'm concerned... I play in a retro-sixties-timewarp and this is the business - Kinks / Who / Stones / Neil Young / Dylan... this does everything I want and does it very well. I got a Fuzz face recently to add a different colour to my palette (Purple Haze?) but I think I'm going to punt it... this baby's more fun! If it got stolen I'd hunt the bugger down and politely ask for it's return... don't think they make 'em anymore, which is a real shame....

This is easily the BEST overdrive pedal you will find - I have tried many trying to find not a distortion but a tube overdrive sound for my all - tube Vibro-King Fender, which is not a master volume control amp and I cant turn up to "5" everytime I want a nice tone.The V-810 sounds very natural to me-it does not take the place of the amp turned up-but such a good simulation.So simple to use - every setting sounds good

No noise what so ever- great tone - lovely overdrive tones - I use it with the Vibro-king and a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe and a TopHat Club Royale

Appears to be reliable and solid-a nice pedal if you can one!

N/A

If you can find one of these get it - you will be glad you did

Using this is very easy, only 3 knobs (Tone, Level and Gain). To change the battery your have to remove screws and remove the back cover, a primitive system but pretty reliable. The LED could be bigger or brighter, like in a TS9. The pedal looks very cool and vintage, it has a durable chrome cover and a true bypass (better than the TS9). I don't need any other control or switch in an overdrive.

The sound quality is extremely good, in fact the best overdrive i've ever used (and I always try all I can). I'm using both Gibson Les Pauls and Fender Strats, as well as other guitars with both valve amps and transistor amps. Not noisy at all. The make clear the sound it produces I'll compare it to the TS9 which I also own. The Vox is more dynamic (very important in an overdrive!) and lets you hear the chararcter of your guitar and technique much better than the TS9, which was my favorite till now. I mean there's quite a lot of difference between the two, from the first time I plugged the Vox I realised it was far more natural and valve-like. I'll sell my TS9, no longer needed!

I haven't used it in a gig so far so I can't tell, seems to be very well built.

Don't know, these are no longer made.

Perfect overdrive for me, I can't compare it to a Klon or a handmade very expensive overdrive but these can't be much better. I've been playing 8 years. I play blues, classic rock (stones, lou reed... ) and country. I've used and tried all the overdrives I've been able to, since it's (for me) the more important pedal for an old rock'n'roll and blues sound. I really helps you to make music and improve your playing because it's SO dynamic. I can't believe it's so cheap and unknown compared to the TS9.

Stupidly simple to get a great tone out of it.

The first time I plugged it in I knew I had a keeper. It immediately became my crunch rhythm pedal. I just bought a second as a backup. My Les Paul -> Valve Tone -> Super Reverb is getting a great British Invasion tone. Into my Marshall small box 50 the tone sounds closer to AC/DC. I can't complain.

It looks well made, but I've heard of problems with the footswitches. I bought a second as a spare just in case... I love the pedal and use it allot so if the switch goes I wanna be prepared. I'm giving it an 8 just on perceived reliability as I've had no problems yet.

N/A Bought it used and they are no longer made.

Like I said it immediately became my crunch rhythm pedal. I've been playing 25 plus years. My main guitar right now is a '88 Les Paul flame top RI, though I also play a Heritage H-535 and a number of strats. My main amp is a '66 Super Reverb. I'm curently using a Fulltone FD2 TR100 for leads and VooDoo labs sparkle drive for clean boost and also top boost the Valvetone (a cool tone as well). If it were lost or stolen I'd plug in my spare and by another as a spare!

Easy to use, basic set up

I have been trying a lot of effects, and I use a lot of different guitars and amps, from Fender, Gibson + others, and clean to dirty.
Too many to specifiy.Les Pauls, Strats, Hofner, single + humbucker, Tele, etc.
This pedal, is in my opinion, unknown and under rated.
I have found a very nice and simple set up using the Vox then into TS10.
The Vox COMPRESSES more than most pedals, and this is a big part of its character. You can, for example, set it for low gain and then drive the TS 10 (or other), or just crank it and use it stand-alone.
It gets a great tone, and you may well like it more than a TS 9/10, etc (although they are quite similar), and like pedals in this class, is an overdrive rather than a fuzz/disortion, although at full gain will sound closer to that kinda tone.

Use it for pushed overdrive (SRV-ish), or try my chain and drive another pedal. The reason this is cool is because you can use either the Vox, or the TS10, etc, by itself, but using the Vox to drive the NEXT pedal will give you full on sustain and scream. Simple but effective set up.

Seems robust and road worthy.

The yellow LED is dim, so not too helpful for "on" status.

I play everything from totally clean and twangy (Shadows?) to Hendrix, Cream and Free!

The pedal is good for imitating Marshalls at 10 (without the gain), as well as very good tone shaping (see before). The use of the two pedal combo gives you access to a huge range of tones from simple o/d to shred without having to have a heap of dedicated pedals, and for a simple gig, use by itself.

I came across this pedal a bit by accident "on special" very cheap, but it is one of my favourites, the compression is its main difference, plus the tonal quality. My favourite pedals at present are the Vox, the TS 10 and an Ibanez SD9. I have made a clone TS9, and even put in the original op amp chip, but!! other chips sound better, and I think the TS10 sounds better. SRV moved to a TS10 as well as his TS808/TS9, and he knew which end was up! TS9s are good, but don't get hung up on them, and it is possible that many other pedals, (and even variations within one particular type) are worth listening to.
I would get another Vox if this one went west.

Aaaah...the V810....Very easy to get a vintage rock sound out of this bad boy. 3 Knobs: Level, Tone, Gain. Adjust them to get your sound...it's that easy. Quoting another review, the secret's in the Gain knob.

You like Free? You like Paul Kossoff, one of my personal favorites? You'll like this pedal then. Like yet another review says, which I'll add to it, think late-sixties British hard rock. I use a 1970 Les Paul Custom with Rio Grande pickups(and plan on getting a Les Paul Classic soon) into a Laney Pro Tube 50 head and a Peavey 4 x 12 cabinet. This pedal gives a bit more brightness to my already bright sound without overkill of high end. I use other guitars also, so I'll rate it based only on the Les Paul/British Amp sound, the AC/DC sound.

This thing is built well, in a cool chrome metal and black rubber housing with the VOX logo on it. There's an amber LED which seems to stay on forever, as this thing's easy on batteries. The switch works well also.

N/A......Never dealt with them..I assume that, since it's a British company, correspondence with them could be difficult....But I could be wrong.

I play anything from alt. country to good hard rock. I'd buy this pedal in a second if it were lost or stolen. For the money, as an overdrive pedal for non metal styles this can't be beat. Think of it in the same light as the value of a Big Muff to grunge and alternative players. This thing kicks the crap outta most OD pedals I've ever heard, including many costing twice to three times as much. Do yo'self a favor...go get one.

3 familair knobs.... level, tone, gain. No manual needed.

Sound really natural and musical... A bit noisy on most extreme setups but taht is expected form any kind of overdrive/distortion tweak it and you get nice tone!
Sounds really great on single coils, if you're playing blues this is a must have with single coils. Also tried it with rails single coils... great round warmth there also, with humbucker a bit of edge but still warm tho less round sounding. You can get tom Petty-ish sound with minimal tweaking if this is waht you're after... your guitar still sounds like itself after going through it only with better warmth to it hard to describe try one! TONE!

Don't know, I expect it to be reliable... teh switch is easy to replace if it ever fails me... but I take care of my gear.

Never dealt with them

This is a great match for blues and for adding that bit of warmth without much overdrive. I've been playin for 10+yrs, my gear list is online at http://www.angelfire.com/pq/glorbz/BunkerStudio.html
stolen or lost I'd like to find another! I love teh fact that it's true-bypass... also must say I really like how it looks also! I bought this one from liking Vox's Distortion /Booster so much... same housing only different guts. If you use a tele or strat this is something to seriously consider... with humbucker it sounds well but I prefer the Distortion/booster for humbuckers... (I don't really use humbucker for blues but more for rock so it makes sense for me) If you can find one for under 65$ shipped try it you deserve to give it a chance.

very simple to use, i think even americans could manage it.
nice sound. but thats it - just NICE!

controls are extremely subtle the tone control probably sweeps the smallest amount of frequency i have ever heard. the gain is mild and 'nice' - definately a mild overdrive pedal nothing more..
used with a fender jaguar, peavey bandit, big muff, digitech whammy/wah, boss tremolo. And sometimes with a semi-acoustic guitar with a fishman pickup (not nasty piezo)
the pedal is limited to one sound, unfortunately. but the one sound it does get is excellent hence high mark.....

sturdy little box - long baterry life

never had to..

I got it for 25 pounds - about 18 dollars i think, at a guitar convention in london, england. so i snapped it up know ing that it was about 1/3 the normal price.
anyway, its pretty irrelavant in my setup now so i'm selling it - for #65, so a nice profit will be made!!
- alt rock / grunge, bands like smashing pumpkins, foo fighters, placebo, muse, radiohead, sigur ros. not ideally suited to the music i play, so selling it will make way for delay/reverb. i'm thinking of getting the ZOOM RFX1000 or 2000 - if anyone has any idea how good they are please contact me. (one review on this site)