Vox V830 Distortion Booster

the hardest thing is battery access , have to remove all four screws from the bottom , oh well, no use complaining

i'm jus writing this because i had a dunlop fuzz face reissue RED ONE , the one w/ foot switch connected to the pcb board w/GERMAINIUM transistors that i was having a heck of a time getting it to sync with my rig so that i could use it without having to adjust the amp settings everytime i wanted to use fuzz ... and then one day, i picked up this VOX V830 DISTORTION BOOSTER on a whim cuz it didn't cost much and it was TRUE BYPASS, it turned out to be an EXCELLENT PEDAL to stick in front of the fuzzface... i was able to control the volume between the two AND still get all the FUZZZZZ i could handle and it EQ's purrrfect w/ it, i had tried others w/ mixed results none good... THIS ALONE WAS WORTH THE PRICE OF ADMISSION FOR ME! however.. i will say as a stand alone boost pedal it wasn't perfect, there was a sweet spot (imho) if you eq with your decent tube amp but out of the zone though and uugh !! - i'm using a carvin nomad(w/4x12) like belair w/4 el84's & i figured this pedal might match up well w/ el84's cuz vox and it did, it also sounded great before my blues driver ... i love that it's true bypass and it's earned a spot on my pedalboard ... all i have on the board now is a older (stack of dimes analog) crybaby >> CS-2 >> V830 >> Fuzzface > BLues Driver >> Uni-vibe >> - (space open for talk box) - i'm happy for now. it's kinda like someone else said to paraphrase think of this as a utility pedal sort of a filter to kick your REAL dist pedal . i did NOT find it too trebly for my rig as someothers have said - just my two cents worth - - overall my sugestion is at the prices these can be had for try it out. I was glad i did. - thanks

no problems , no issues

???

this is an great pedal if used right and a bargain for sure

Easy? Yea

A buddy of mine who is a purist blues player gave this Vox pedal to me (Thanks Wilson). He liked the boost and I like both the boost and distortion. It's mine now, he's not getting it back.

You get a little hiss when it's pushed, but no worst then 99% of the distortions out there. I use this in front of a Mesa Nomad 45 (EL84s) and it sounds great. As a boost or to add some growl, this pedal is fine. Not really one for Metal, but for most overdriven sounds.

With the steel case you could drive a car over it. Well built. I had it for years now.

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Distortions are all different, if you see this pedal, give it a try. If you like a singing distortion or a crunch kind of sound, you will not be disappointed.

3 easy knobs: Level, Drive, Tone

Bought it as a completion to the Boss OD-1, to get a wider range of distorted tones when plugged to a Fender Pro Junior

The sound quality is good, except the "Tone" knob doesn't really change much. It lacks a some "bottom", but that's what I was after, to give that little amp an more open sound when heavy distorted. Will cut through the band. Works great together with the guitar knobs, Roll down the volume, and it's clean. Rather quiet, witdh good harmonics great sustain, and nice overdriven midrange. It does the right job with my Fender amp, and gives me a bright sound, that stays nicely open even with high volumes and don't sound muddy. So it does what the Boss couldn't do alone. I thought I would sell the Boss, But it's good to have both in the rig for different rythm and lead work.

In fact it's a question of what you intend it for.
9 - for the tone knob

Really well build. Bought it used, but this pedal can handle a lot. Even the pots still turned like butter.

I play for over 20 years. Now mostly rock with fusion, I've been through some gear, but finally ended with a small tube amp with a decent sound and some pedals, that give me what I was after. My inspirations are very differet and vary with time. Latelly: Allan Holdsworth, Guthrie Govan, Greg Howe, Miles Davis, Bill Brufford and Billy Cobham.

It's always a question if some piece of gear works for you or if it doesn't. A 10, as it really suited my needs.

volume, dist, tone

Think about the name: distortion BOOSTER. The word "booster" is key.

Try playing this pedal through a fender super reverb on 10 that is already in slight power tube distortion. That is the sort of thing this pedal is all about. It has great note seperation. It BLENDS with and ENHANCES your natural power tube distortion sound, it does not replace your power tube distortion like most ditortion pedals try to do.

This pedal is designed for pro guitarists who understand what real vintage tube amp distortion is all about. It is not made to replace channel switching on an amp and it is certainly not made to be placed in front of a crappy solid state amp. Don't get me wrong you can get respectable crunch tone in front of a clean TUBE amp but that's not it's best use.

Ever play a pedal that sounded thick, rich and full through a small tube combo but sounds boomy and muddy through a full size amp with a big cab? (big muff?) The opposite is also true some pedals sound thin and small through a small combo but rage through a large amp with a big cab. (ts-808) More speakers means more bass. Have you ever tried to push a big amp into power tube distortion with a pedal that has a lot of bass. The distortion turns all muddy and sputtery right? Drive the same amp with a pedal with a lot of mids and trebble and your in tone heaven right? What I'm getting at is don't let amateurs who diss things they don't understand prevent you from checking out this pedal.

Someone on this page said the more people paid for it the more they liked it. Hmmm... I didn't pay much at all and I love it. I think it is more likely that people who have nice gear and understand tone like it and people who would be better served by a Boss pedal don't like it. It's like wearing jeans and a t-shirt with $200 dress shoes. The outfit is going to look better with some converse, but that doesn't mean the shoes aren't good.

TRUE BYPASS!!!

You can use it to crush your boss pedals.

If you are an amateur don't buy this pedal. If you "get it" about power tube distortion and pro tone check it out. Makes a great alternative to a clean boost or tube screamer for when you need more hair on your tone.

Really easy to use. Volume tone and drive. The tone control has so much treble, but as long as you keep it on teh lowest level and only change the volume and drive it's ok. And even easier to use. :)

I mainly use 2 electrics, a mid 90's Gibson les paul special and a UK made Hohner Strat with active EMG single coils. I also tried this pedal with a few other guitars. At the moment I'm using a Marshall Valvestate, and a Fender Frontman 15G as my amps, but I also tried the pedal with for example marshall stacks and peavy studio. With a single coil guitar, and the tone control at the lowest level, this pedal sounds fantastic. It brings out the notes really well and the level of gain doesn't affect the brightness of the tone. On low gain it has a great bluesy kind of sound, especially good for funky stuff. On high gain, I get a great sound for harder rock. More of a vintage sound than a metal sound but still pretty high gained. And I can still strum a jazz chord and get all the notes.
The bad things about this pedal is that it has problems to handle bass frequencies. The sound gets too blurry with a humbucker guitar, especially on high gain. And the tone control should stay at the lowest level. After 10 oclock the treble gets painful.

Well built stuff. Never had any problems with it. Been gigging a lot with it and it's always reliable.

Never been in contact with vox about it.

I've been playing for 10 years. I play a lot of different music. (Rock,blues,metal,indie,jazz,hc). I bought this pedal pretty cheap, mostly because it was a vox and I never tried one. It's very trebley and doesn't fit humbucker guitars that well, even if it workes on lower gain, or could be used as a boost on solos. But when I'm using my strat this pedal is my main overdrive/distortion pedal. With the strat, the sound is always clear no matter what amount of gain I use, and therefore it's a good choice for most styles of music. I would definitely find a new one if it was stolen. It would be even better if it was better in handling the bass frequencies and had a more versatile tone control.

the 3 simple knobs... although this takes a little bit of finesse to dial in, but once you do it sounds great.

One dialed in, this is a great and under-rated distinctive sounding vox tube-style overdrive / distortion pedal. As all distortion pedals go, on max settings the unit can be noisy... keep the level knob at about 50% and be careful with the tone knob.. a little goes a long way. adjust the drive knob depending on the song your playing.. this can be cranked up completely without worries and sounds great with a fender hot rod deville. the trick is... let your amp do the hard work, let the pedal take care of the drive. Guitars I like to use with this: 62 fender jaguar and gretsch sparkle jet. Great for everything from t-rex to jesus and mary chain. If you're looking for a distortion that you can play very hard rock and metal with.. this wont be smooth enough for you.

this is my main drive, I gig it every time.

have not had to contact vox, this is a good sign.

very nice overall... this works well for that classic 60's brit-rock vox tone! A superb and versatile pedal.

I mean it's three knobs. What's there to not understand.

There's a pre-requisite for this pedal that nobody seems to say; this should not be viewed as a distortion or overdrive, but as an effect like chorus or phaser (not that it makes those sorts of sounds). This pedal useful as something to either boost your main overdrive pedal or channel, or as an effect to your clean tone to give it something different. This EFFECT should not be considered for a main distortion or overdrive pedal. If you already have a good distortion pedal or an amp with a good second channel then this pedal can be used to great effect to broaden your tonal character. Also, the use varies greatly depending on where in your effects chain it lies.

Definately a solid pedal. Would use this on a gig in the way that I use it, NOT as an only distortion.

n/a

My guitar play styles range from Jimmy Page to The Edge to Dave Navarro and the pedal is most usable in the U2 tone as well as the clean but slightly dirty Strat tones like SRV and Gilmour. I've been playing for 7 years and in my set up I have it after my Vintage H&K Tubeman, and before my Crispy Cream Treble Booster. I've tried it in various positions in the chain and the best place is definately where it is. I tried it at the end of my distortion chain, but if you want to use it in conjuntion with any other O.D. pedal, it looses a lot of it's quality being later on in a chain. It also sounds very good with a TS808, TS9, or Treble Booster directly afterwards. ONLY complaint with it is that the LED was not very bright so I changed it to a flourescent blue to be able to cut through darkness better.

too easy.

bought this one a week ago,spent 3 hours on it and its for sale now...
go for the 2004 tubescreamer ts-808 reissue(vintage 808 are too expensive for the difference) or a vintage proco rat... this vox v830 can do a certain job but its crap compares to a ts 808. my gear is vox ac30+rickenbacker 360 and a gibson 335...
its like waisting your money on a fake guitar instead of bying the real deal.you know the routine,in the end, we all go for the real deal.

probably good.
for those who are still looking to buy one,
i let it go for 30$...
surface_theband@yahoo.com

Volume, tone and drive...but u have to know what do u want to make this pedal sounds good

I bought this about 5 - 6 years ago...used for a while..and then no more...
About one years ago..i started re using this effect...now understanding it's real capacity.
I've a '69 50W Bass Plexi and a 2003 reissue ac30...it sounds best on plexi.

My setting are: level 2 o'clock, tone halfway, drive halfway.
I sound it with a yamaha sg3000 or a washburn simil strato...
The secret is to don't go over alfway in tone and in distortion...'cause too much distortion make any guitar sound the same...and too much treble make loose the bass...
This pedal has not a lot of bass...but my amply yes..so it's good for me!

So..at theese settings it's ideal for that '70 santana sound or eagles sound (think 70's live hotel california)

Good sustain...no hiss...truebypass and cleans very well with your guitar volume rolled back...

Switch isn't very good..i've to change it...
for the rest...all ok

Never dealt

i play mostly (live) '70's music...and i like very much santana...so...it's good for me...
On my plexi i use only truebypass pedal...another point for vox...

It's something like ts-9...natural sounding..and my plexi compensate the poor bass that the v830 has...

Level, drive and tone, how hard can it be?

I play through these pedals varying: Ts-9, Ts-10, STL, V830, Ds-1, Cs-9 and Boss Me-50 and I have Laney GH50L and Engl 2*12" Vintage. Laney/Engl-combination has tremendous potential for heavier sounds that I'm yet to explore.

Only complain I have with this pedal is the tone knob, It doesn't go "mellow" enough. It stays harsh no matter what. I have to use my guitars tone to tame this biting devil down. But rolling tone down produces very good sounds, very similar to Ts-10 and Super Tube that I have, with a little bit of extra edge to go.

After I learned to use this pedal, it totally nailed the sounds I was after: Bluesy hard rock and so on. Still I would like to mod this pedal so I wouldn't have to use my guitars tone all the time. Any suggestions?

It's made in China but it looks rugged enough. I also took a peek inside and it was very tidy looking job. The LED is too dim, hard to see when your on stage.

Can't say.

I'm in a band that plays pop/rock -kinda stuff. My own music goes a bit to the heavier side or bluesy. After a little bit of tweaking I can use this pedal for both.

If it were stolen? If I got it as cheap as originally, I definitely would buy it.

If you can hit the bowl when you pee, you can operate this pedal. You aim in the general direction...
With a wee tweak it's easy to find the two specific sounds that IMO make this pedal a gem.

Excellent pedal for nailing British sounding rock. Sorry for that generic sweep, but it really does bring to mind Marshall Plexi tone. Eric Johnson would like this pedal if he was as poor as I am - a most satisfying violin-like, creamy, saturated drive with just the right amount of singing top. But you've got to keep the tone dial skinned back as it gets a bit shrill when pushing anything but the brownest amps, especially with single coil pickups.
Dime the drive, tone well below noon and bring the level to what you want, and it's my personal slice of inspiration pie. Round, corpulent and plenty of smooth harmonic distortion.
Also does a really nice Voxy grind. Pushes EL84's into that zone for sure.
To sum, tone-wise this is a 2 trick pony, and for a c-note, that's one more pony than usual. And what it does do, it does exceedingly well - in fact, mops up. I'd give it a 10 in its price category, but an 8 in light of the brittle top end. (others might actually like that)

Long after they make flutes from our bones, this sucker will still work - indestructable.

Made in China by the same folks who built the Great Wall. Customer support...who knows? Who cares? This thing will outlive all of us.

Great bang for the buck. I love this little monster for what it is - a cheap way to make any amp crunch and growl like an old plexi, or grind like a hot vox. Apparently it's true-bypass but I've never yet gone through a pedal or switch that didn't do something to my tone. THis one does NOT suck tone as bad as my other pedals - Boss, Rat, Tech21, Wahs or whooshers. It sounds best through my ancient Traynor Mark lll head and 3X12 cab. Also rips it up through a Princeton, vox-like 15 watter, and my Crate VC30 loves this pedal. With single coils, you better watch your high end. Humbuckers push it instantly into violiny tone-zone, and you can bring up the highs a bit more.
I love the chicken head knobs, the old chrome and black heavy duty construction and the word 'VOX.'
If you're looking for a cheap way to add girth, smooth and warmth to your leads, or a very convincing crunch for rhythym work, this little chrome monster is worth checking out.

Is there a distortion pedal that isn't easy to use?

Ironically, it seems like the more the previous reviewers paid for their Distortion Booster, the more they like it! I guess if I had paid $100+ I'd try to convince myself that I liked it too!

How does it really sound? This pedal is okay at best -- has a certain mid-range honk to it that just can not be dialed out. If you like that sort of thing in your tone, then you'll love this pedal. Also, it is quite incompatible with some of my amps -- the Trace Elliot Velocette (like the Gibson amps) in particular. Personally, I wouldn't (and didn't) pay more than $30 for it. Sold mine on eBay some time ago -- more than tripled my money... It seems the value of these is coming back down to Earth now as people are figuring out that it just doesn't sound all that good!

I never had a problem with it while I owned it.

Overall, seems to be very over-rated here on Harmony-Central. They couldn't give these things away before they were discontinued... Probably why they stopped making them, don't you think?

I am absolutely sure that I would NOT include the Distortion Booster in my live rig -- not useful enough. It might be okay to leave laying around your studio in case you need some crappy punk-rock tones. Well, maybe it's not quite that bad. But not much better! It does, however, look really cool though! And by the way, my rating is based on the $30 price point at which I had purchased it. The cheap Dano and Arion pedals are better.

level,tone,drive and your off!

On single notes you get that singing Clapton howl...no fizzy fuzz buzz here.It's upper midrange makes it good for leads but seems to be somewhat compressed for much chord crunch.I boost it with a Reverend Drivetrain which is perfect for chord crunch so when it comes time for those hot lick solos,I just kick this beauty on and dance all night.The tone control is a real mystery as it's overloaded with treble so If you go past 12 on the dial,your sound will be so thin and cold you wished your big German woman Hilda would come home from camping to warm you up or at least let you use her mucklucks so your ears won't melt.You would think these engineers would have figuered out by now how to develop a tone knob that can cover the whole bass/treble spectrum or have a knob for each the treble and bass to open it up ad give it a balanced Eq. This ones a keeper though as it has a tone I like.

Built solid and heavy,expect it to last.

Vox is in The UK but probably have a US rep somewhere,never needed them.

Have played for 45 years and has that definate 60's vibe as it's good for rock and blues.I Play through a Marshall G50RCD and boost it with a Reverend Drivetrain.Compared it to many pedals,and if lost I would buy it again....if I could find one as their discontinued now.

Easy as pie to use-the level controls the level in a very linear way, the tone works perfectly and the gain goes from subtle to screaming. Very versatile without being complex.

Used with a Fender style amp, this effect covers the heavy "Marshall" sounds very effectively. While it doesn't perfectly imitate an overdriven Marshall, it has a complex and heavy tone that lets a Fender cover parts a Marshall usually covers. I have a modded Tube Screamer, a DS-1, a Daddy-O (yuk!) and I've traded tons of other pedals. This thing has become an essential part of 'my sound' and I use it with my Tele, Strats, humbcucking guitars and my P-90 LP JR. It's equally friendly with every one of them, and is sufficently adjustable to give good results with everything.

True bypass and solidly built. Never a problem.

Never dealt with them, so can't comment.

I play mostly blues and classic rock, with a little country and metal thrown in. This pedal manages to cover them all. In fact, if I can get another one at a decent price I plan to use two set to a lightly distorted tone and one full-up to work like a two channel amp. Love it.

Three knobs and a footswitch. A trained monkey could use this pedal...and maybe an untrained one, although I don't think an untrained monkey could play very good guitar. But who knows? Maybe the world is waiting for the first primate guitar player.
The manual is satisfactory. It tells what everything does.

I am playing through this with a homemade Telecaster (traditional setup) and a Deluxe Strat Plus with lace sensor pickups. I run my effects setup (mxr phase 90, crybaby, DD3 digital delay, tube screamer, vox distortion booster, jim dunlop tremolo) through a Fender Performer 1000. I dig the Fender's clean sound and slightly dirty sound completely, but sometimes you have to go crazygonuts with some mean distortion. This little metallic wonder gives me a close approximation of the meaty wonderful distortion I get out of my little Vox Pathfinder amp. It sounds great and adds some really nice roaring-but-melodic, classic distortion. Hint: use it with a tube screamer and amp distortion for relatively controllable feedback, which can be cool under certain circumstances. Sound quality is so subjective its hard to say "yes, Sonny, this pedal is what YOU need! Hallelujah!" But if you like tasty distortion for overdriven leads and rhythm, try it out. If you don't like it you can sell it to some gearhead on ebay, maybe for more than you paid.

Seems pretty reliable. The thing is made of chrome and tough black plastic. I'd say even though I haven't gigged with it extensively it should hold up as well as my other pedals, which aren't build as solidly. I'm not a wealthy musician so I use all my pedals without a backup. It's a hard fact of life, but sometimes you have to rock out ghetto-style. I take care of my gear so that's usually not a problem. It's always a good idea to keep the drunks away from your rig at live gigs, though. I don't think spilled Mai Tais ever made a pedal work better.

Haven't dealt with the company. As stated earlier I haven't had it a long time, but it shouldn't be hard to get someone with a basic knowledge of electronics to re-solder a few wires or replace a footswitch, whether they work for Vox or not. It's not rocket science.

I play music ranging from surf to hard rock and rockabilly if I were to put it in a category. A generous friend said we sound a little like Tito & Tarantula (we're not THAT good) This pedal helps me get the distortion I need for some of the hard rocking songs we do. I tend to look for a distortion that doesn't sound like everyone else. I try not to fall into that category of sounding like every jackass who plays a strat. SRV clones, you know who you are. The Vox delivers a sound that's not a cookie cutter distortion. It's capable of being rather transparent at low volumes, but when you turn it up, look out, Jack! You're playing with fire and it's going to be fun!
My favorite features of the pedal are the simplicity, ease of use, cool looks and wonderful sound. If you like the distorted sounds of people like Lenny Kravitz, the Clash, U2 and basically anyone that used a Vox amp you'll like this. I suppose you could get more distorted than that with this pedal but it sure would be muddy. (I'm no metal head, but this offers some dangerous sounds that don't sound like metallic cheesyness)
As compared to my other distortion unit, the Ibanez Tube Screamer (TS10)it can do everything the 'Screamer can do and more. Set it low for a slightly overdriven boost. Tweak it up a few notches and you are in rich distortion and sustain heaven. (be careful with that volume knob, son...It's a might powerful)
If it were stolen or lost....first I'd cry, since its attached to my pedalboard, most likely some jackass now has all my pedals. After assuming the superhero alter ego of Condor Man and doing some serious damage to the responsible party's cranium I'd...take my pedalboard back. But if I couldn't find it I'd probably replace it if I had the bread. Getting an AC adaptor is recommended. This is the best sounding distortion pedal I've used, and the price is nice compared to a lot of boutique pedals out there (Fulltone, Diaz, etc). It'll rock your ass ALL around. The rest is up to you, Grasshoppa.

Its very easy to use. This box is VERY tone sensitive so you can really dial in your sound, almost like a precise air strike of rocking.

Its great for achieving a Hendrix style fuzz bomb. Even when you've got the drive turned all the way over, you can still distinguish notes in the low, mid and high ranges. But seomtimes, its a little too much and you get this heavy robotic sound from it. Its easy to over do it with this box. With high tone and drive, the sound gets sort ofgrainy and robotic like I was saying before. Kind of bothersome.

I've never had a problemwith mine. Its solid metal, very hard to break. Just make sure to unplug the cable from the INSTRUMENT side of the box if you are using 9v batteries. Oh and don't step on it and turn it on late at night when your fumbling around your dorm at 4am to get a drink of water in the night. The battery goes out really quickly.

I haven't had any problems so I've never had to deal with Vox. Being a discontined item, I bet it would be hell trying to get help from Vox. Just a theory though

Its simple, and straight forward. I like the sound a lot. I use it on a thinline tele and a Reverend Hellhound amp and its a great effect for hard rock. But you can get frustrated with the tendency for this box, when you are messing with it, to breakdown your tone.

Easy to use. Just crank the drive, find the right tone, and get the volume setting right.

It is crunchy but not to crunchy. It could be a little more clear though. It doesn't sound like any metal stuff or regular rock sound though. The tone knob gives a good tone all around. I have an ashdown bass head going through an avatar cabinet, may have been a cheap cabinet but it is better than cabs 2x or 3x it's price! I use it on my Ibanez btb 515 bass and it sounds pretty good. It could be better though. It's almost and 8, not a 7.

If you don't have an ac adapter it could be a little repetative replacing the battery every couple of months. It hasn't broken down yet.

Never had to deal with them.

I play metal but sort of an alternative style of it. It works pretty well but I'm getting an electro harmonix big muff pi pedal soon. I've been playing for 2 1/2 years. I don't love or hate it. It just works fine and does it's job fine. It helps out with the music. I'm also adding the electro harmonix bassballs pedal. Still a good pedal but not too main stream or contemporary.

Nothing more than 3 knobs - but it takes a little time to find the right setting you're looking for

Used with a '67 reissue Gibson flying V or a Epiphone Union Jack Supernova on Orange 120W Head and 4x12 cabinet.
Used mostly coupled with a BOSS overdrive/distorsion OD2.
As shown by the name it's a Booster so when used with a normal distorsion it has a wonderful sound - used alone its not as good (too warm sound, very crunchy -- DIRTY!) but it's fun and nice for distorted solos - not for chords. This pedal expresses itself better when used along with other effects.
On my Orange amp it has a wonderful sustain, dirty enough but not sounding like metal.

I think it's a pedal for those who look for a true british/70's RocknRoll sound (Rolling Stones, Hendrix,...) and maybe for punkrockers too (But Clash rather than louder stuff)

Metal aficionados won't like it, i think (but has anyone seen metal guitarists play on Vox gear????)

All made of steel.
Your grandson will still play on yours.
But i wouldn't trust the footswitch too much.

Never dealt with them. I know it's discontinued. But i dont think anyone would ever need to have one repaired.

Info & schematics at www.voxamps.co.uk

Great sound, built like a tank, soooooo beautiful : i give it a 10.
You'll love its design.

If it was stolen the guy would deserve death penalty! It's my favourite one.

EASY TO USE... if u cant turn 3 knobs that is.

the worst sound i have ever heard from a distortion pedal EVER. i had a boss PW-2 power driver and that sounds sooo much better. if you really need something that will make ur guitar stand out this is it, but it wont make ur guitar sound good AT ALL.

metal case, its solid as hell. I've had it for a couple of years now and its still in great condition, but thats cause i hardly use it.

no I DEAr

I play alt/metal/rock and this pedal doesnt do any of them well, i've been playing 6 years, I have an Epiphone Dot, a yamaha pacifica, a De'Armond M65, and a variety of pedals, if it was stolen i'd get money from the insurance and go buy ANY other pedal cept this one. I hate the way it kills any tone your guitar had, and the way it just suxs soo bad.

Easy to use right out of the box. Pretty self-explanatory. The tone knob is extremely sensitive.

I bought this pedal after I bought the Valvetone. The booster is not as well defined as is the Valvetone. I use both pedals though. I like to run the booster in front of the valvetone. I use it when I need a little more edge. By its self the booster sounds too "nasally" and sharp. It seems no matter how low I set the tone knob the booster is still too sharp. Granted I do play it through an AC-30 which tend to be sharp anyways. It sounds pretty good in front of another overdrive.

Great! Never had a problem

I e-mailed vox about some nos mullard tubes for my AC-30, but they never e-mailed me back! Maybe they're busy!

If I lost the dist. booster, then I wouldn't but another one. I would buy a fulltone. If your pocket can't afford a Fulltone, then buy a valvetone!

It's easy to use: level, tone and drive controls. just tweak here and there--basic distortion pedal.

The sound is very "crunchy," and I really don't like that. it's almost harsh-sounding, not the smooth drive I like. but that's just me. I use it through a solid state 12" speaker amp. I can't say that I really care for the sound at all. I can't get good sustain out of the pedal...but sustain is what I want out of distortion.
and playing high, trebly notes (i.e. solos) is shrill and painful. there is no "ching" or "ch-" sound when palm muting...quite disappointing.

tough stuff. but, the dials turn a little too easily, so an accidental bump would really screw up your settings.

n/a

I like rock and roll, anything pre-1992.
this pedal is really for niche users. if you like this kind of sound (very crunchy, little sustain and "ching") then you'll love this pedal. don't expect to play metallica out of it. it's not heavy distortion. axlroseusa@netscape.net

It'sm hard to get a good sound.... :((( but it's easy to use - 3 knobs.

I'm using Fender Stratocaster USA with mini-humbucker SeymourDuncan HotRails. This effect really sucks.... I bought it because I wanted to get better sound than my BOSS Blues Driver. But with vox distortion booster i can get only sound like LED ZEPPELIN or GUNS'N'ROSES - On a stratocaster!!!!!! humucker and single sounds the same! it really do mess with the sound. I am uusing all-tube WEM Dominator amplifier from mid-seventies.

Friends told me that this is "a distortion BOOSTER", not distortion, but when i plug my guitar to vox, the vox to my blues driver, and to the amp, it sound only good, when vox is not it the circuit. when i turn it on, i sound like GNR. To bad :(((( I cannot depend on it. Sorry

Never dealt with them, but i think i should... :-/

Overall? Let's say it is REALLY UNDER THE good tone of the stratocaster. I don't like it at ALL. Everyone is saying that this effect is one of the greatest distortions, like TubeScreamer (TS9). Don't believe them. :(

Three knobs overeasy.

I play in a sixties garage cover band and I use this pedal for fuzz. Sounds great through my Vox C-30 twin and Carvin SX-200, both solid state. Sounds best with humbuckers. With my Epiphone Dot (neck pickup with treble at zero) I can really get that fuzzy sixties tone. It is a little noisy when you turn it up but hey, I'm in a garage band so I shouldn't really complain...

Knock on wood but I've never had any problems. Seems more solid than my Danelectro pedals which, even though they weigh more, feel cheaper. I have used it without backup on gigs. I'll give it a 9 just in case.

Don't know.

For sixties fuzzy dirty sounds, this is perfect. I've been playing on and off for ten years but just recently got a little serious, joining my first real band. If I lost this pedal, I'd definitely buy another one. It does what I want it to do with minimal fuss, which is exactly what I need.

I have never known any distortion pedal to be too difficult to figure out... This one is simple enough. Played with it for 15 minutes before I got the tones I wanted.

I play a Hamer USA Studio with SD 59 pickups through a 67' Fender Bandmaster. My amp was modified, and it now has a built in overdrive channel, but I wanted to be able to call on some really dirty distortion if need be. The v830 really just doesn't deliver. I have it next to a v847 Wah-Wah, and I keep thinking that the wah was left on. The other users who complained about their low-end being cut out were right on. This pedal simply flattens out your tone, making for a really cheap sound. However, I have found that I can really beef up my solos using the drive on about the 10 o'clock setting. If you are playing in a large ensemble and really need a riff to stand out, this pedal can really do the job, just don't forget to turn it off before playing any rythm lines.

Vox pedals are very well built. The foot switch seems like it could be a bit flimsy, but I haven't had any trouble yet. Plus, the chrome housing is soooo nice.....

Never dealt with them.

I play mostly rock, with some indie and blues thrown in. As I said before, if you just need to crank out a solo or two, this pedal can really help you out, but other than that it just doesn't cut it. Not a bad pickup for $40 bucks though, as it can be usefull.

It has three knobs, don't need to say anything more about this. You may need to twist a little with both the pedal and the amp and you can get a GOOD VARIETY of sounds.

I'm playing it with an Epiphone SG (G400), (with grovers and Gibson 57' reissues) and sometimes an Epiphone Wildkat. My amp is a Marshall 5212 (2x12 Celestions) with two channels, clean and overdrive.
It is a bit noisy on the highest gain settings, but I hardly ever set the drive to more than 14 o'clock. I use it as a distortion booster on the drive channel, and it is a great sound coming out. Doesn't destroy the guitar's sound at all. It sometimes sounds even better when I use it on the clean channel, with the treble and bass (on the amp) set at 9 o'clock. It cleans up wonderfully when you turn back the volume on the guitar. You can get really wonderful tones there. Very 70ish, which I like a lot. Could come pretty close to Neil Young's distorted sounds at times. But I like to have my own sound.
I think it's the best distortion pedal for the money, if you like 70's rock. I don't think so, I'm certain!!! :)

I've had it for almost two years without a backup. Never failed me.
It looks awesome as well. One time, a guy asked; "Oh, nice pedal, I guess it costs A LOT?"
As some have said, to change batteries is a bit time-consuming, but if you have a good screwdriver, you can do it in 3 minutes...

I play a lot of rock, blues some jazz (a lot of folkmusic as well, but I don't use this one then!!). I'm very satisfied with this pedal. I've tried a lot of other pedals but this one beats them. I'm currently interested in buying a Fulltone Soulbender. I guess they won't match each other too well, but since they're both true bypass (which I'm VERY FOND OF) it won't be any problem (except that I have to buy more batteries! :( )
I've been playing for 5 years, and i use the pedal when I'm soloing (which happens to be very often, we're really into jamming) and sometimes to get a dirty rythm sound. I find it wonderful when turning back the volume on the guitar, it's an opportunity many players forget. I never gig without it with the rock bands I'm in.
As I said, I'm going to buy a Fulltone pedal soon. I hope that won't mean I won't use this one any more. But I like to vary my sound (in that way I get inspired), and it's not because I dislike this one. Not at all.
I recommend this pedal, for the money it's awesome, and even those of you who look at the price tag and think it's too cheap, try it out!
(my rating should be 8.5!! :)
Feel free to contact me if you have any questions