Vox AD50VT 112 Combo

A very versatile amp with a large range of amp modelling and FX. Amp models go from Boutique clean(good), Fenders (good), Vox (very convincing), Marshalls (not so good), Mesas (OK). FX are reverb, delay, chorus, tremolo, rotary, compressor, auto wah, flanger, phaser and various combinations of the above. It has two programmable channels and a manual setting. Footswitch can switch between channels and switch FX on/off. It would be better if the footswitch could also be used to set the tempo for delay and reverb. As it stands it can only be set by switching the effect on and tapping the switch on the amp.
I am in a band playing rock and pop covers, anything from Alanis Morissette to Puddle of Mudd. This amp can handle just about anything, although I am using external FX for some sounds. My set up is Fender Strat or Les Paul>Ibanez Weeping Demon wah>EHX Small Stone>Rocktron Nitro>Baker Electronics Direct Drive>EHX Metal Muff>Behringer Chorus> Ernie Ball Volume pedal>Vox AD50VT
Power of this amp is great for the venues I play, bars and clubs mainly. As the output wattage can be varied by a knob at the back you can get that amp really driving the pre-amp valve without having to crank it up to ear splitting volumes.

I got this amp a couple of days before gigging with my new band because my usual all-valve amp decided to go faulty on me again. I had two days to play with the sounds to get a good, sweet clean sound which I needed to play acoustic type sounds and some clean slide, and a good crunchy overdriven sound which I could then use FX on to get more extreme distortion. I found the sounds in a couple of hours and only had to tweak the EQ a little at the gig to perfect them.
Clean was so... well, clean and clear, a bit of reverb made it sound so sweet with the slide. This was using the Boutique Clean model. Overdrive sound was the Vox AC30 type model. It worked really well and with a touch of delay and chorus, cut through the mix really well for solos. I can imagine that the more extreme amp models would be quite noisy and would possibly push the speaker a bit too far. SO if you are after a Metal amp don't buy this one. If you are playing blues, pop, rock I would recommend this amp.

Only had it for a week but OK so far. I would and have already used it for a gig without a backup.

Never had to contact them

I've been playing for 27 years and have had lots of amps. Fender, Marshall, Laney valve amps and Line 6 modeling amps. I'd rate the Vox AD50VT very highly as a good amp for someone playing small to medium sized bars and clubs. To be able to program two totally different channels with different FX is an excellent thing to have. It's a shame the footswitch doesn't have a Tap button on it though, but I guess that would increase the price. As it is the price is excellent for an amp that is a great tool for a gigging musician.

Purchased new in Sept. '07. First the negatives: No dedicated Reverb. There is a severe lack of Treble. I am making up for that with a Boss Equalizer but you will have to supplement it somehow. There are lots of distortions but not enough nice clean sounds and when you try to clean up the amp models by turning down the gain, the volume also goes way down. You can only store two sounds. If you buy the footswitch (I did) you can use three sounds - woopie! You can then switch between CH1, CH2, and Manual. It has a Celestion speaker but it is made in China. I took the back off mine to look at it. Maybe that's why it sounds so dark. There are eleven effects (some are composite) but I don't use them. I only use reverb and very occasional delay or chorus. There are also eleven amp models. And last- I hate the shiny metal grill. A vintage looking grill cloth would look much better. On the positive side: There is a master volume and on the back panel there is a variable dial power level control. These two features allow great tone at low volume. The power level control is a fantastic feature. Someone should have thought of it before (I wish I had)! Other than that, you have your basic gain, channel volume, bass, mid, treble. There is a Noise Reduction feature which works pretty well. It has an Ext. speaker jack but if you use an external speaker it disables the internal speaker. You should be able to use one or the other or both simultaneously. There is a headphone jack and a line out. They could have made this thing a little smaller to cut down on the weight.

I tried the AD30VT first and it had better treble response but I went with the AD50 for more power for playing live, jamming etc. The AD50 overall has a more mellow, musical, albeit darker tone. Out of the eleven models there are four I like and will probably be the only ones I use 99% of the time. I play blues, jazzy blues, jazz-rock fusion and some classic rock. I suits me pretty well except for the aforementioned lack of clean tones. I go for a Robben Ford type sound (hey, I can't afford a Dumble). I'm not a Strat guy so I can't tell you how it sounds with one but it sounds good with humbuckers. Although, as I said, you will need to add some kind of treble booster/tone enhancer. This amp does sound good tone-wise overall, it sounds very tube like (it uses a 12AX7 in the preamp section). I think it sounds better and the models are more accurate than the Line 6 products. Mine is fairly quiet but you can hear a hissing sound coming out of the vents on top of the amp, not from the speaker.

I've only had it about one month but I would not use it or any other amp for that matter, without a backup. Why take a chance? Anything can happen.

N/A. Haven't had it long enough. There is a one year parts and labor warranty.

I pretty much covered all this in the previous categories. I've been playing for 40 some years and have owned a lot of different guitars and amps, some I really wish I still had. But who knew then what they would be worth now? If it were lost or stolen, I'm not sure if I'd buy another. I like to try different products and there is so much available these days at affordable prices- it's hard to decide what to choose. However, this amp is definitely worth trying.

Bought new in Sept. 2007 from Sam Ash web site as a "B" stock item meaning it's new but box was opened and resealed. Comes with same warranty as a new one. Price was $320 versus $380 regular price. Features have been mentioned in other reviews. 11 amp models and 11 effects. I bought the VFS2 footswitch which allows you to switch between 3 tones. Some negatives: I tried the AD30VT first but wasn't crazy about the sound of the speaker even though it had much better treble response than the AD50 which is severely lacking in treble. The AD30 wouldn't have enough power for a live situation either. I'm going to have to buy an equalizer or something to boost the treble. It also needs a dedicated reverb so that no matter what effect you choose, you can still always use reverb too. I hate the silver metal grill. The manual does not mention how to access and replace the tube. There are plenty of distortions but not enough nice clean sounds. On the positive side, it is not complicated and is easy to use. Also, you can get great tone at low volume with the power level control (a fantastic feature! why didn't someone think of this before?) along with the master volume. Also, if you use the external speaker feature, it turns off the internal speaker which kind of sucks. You should be able to use both if you want to.

As I said, very lacking in treble. There are only a few amp models I really like but they pretty much give me the sound I'm looking for - almost. Forget the presets, you have to dial in your own tones. There are not enough clean sounds. The best ones to me for a clean sound are the Boutique Clean (Dumble) - which requires a lot of tweaking and the Blackface 212 (Twin Reverb). The AC15 and AC30 are good for lead or crunch rhythm although a tad boxy sounding. They also get a fairly good clean tone but due to the aforementioned lack of treble, you can't nail that early Beatles George Harrison tone. I like the 80's Marshall tone although a tad honky sounding with humbuckers. This is my favorite lead tone so far, I think, as I have not had the amp very long - still experimenting. It (80s Marshall) can be pretty crisp and articulate. I don't care for heavy, high gain distortion. I'm more of a Robben Ford, Larry Carlton stylist. I was disappointed with the Boutique OD (Dumble) which doesn't really give me the Robben Ford type tone I was looking for. Once again, an equalizer may help solve that. You can get a great blues tone from the Twin if you crank the gain, treble and middle and lower the bass. Overall, this amp sounds very good and blows away the Line 6 stuff of which I have owned several products. The 12" Celestion has a warm sound but may be lending to lack of treble? This amp uses a 12AX7 which really gives it an authentic tube tone. I can't say much about the effects as I don't really use them other than reverb and occasional chorus which I use a pedal for. This amp sounds just as good or better than any tube amp I've had.

Can't say. Only had it a couple weeks.

Warranty is 90 days on speaker and tube and 1 year otherwise. That's from memory but I think that's accurate.

Overall - a great amp for the money, big bang for the buck. Why spend a fortune on a tube amp that gives you few tone options when you can buy this at an affordable price and have a myriad of tone options? If it were lost or stolen I would most likely buy another. I have had Fender, Mesa Boogie and Carvin tube amps and several solid states. I've been playing for forty years and have owned many amps and guitars, too many to list. I'm still kicking myself for selling some of the guitars I had but who knew then what they would be worth today? I currently use a '72 Gibson ES355, an early seventies Gibson SG, a recent Epiphone SG, an Ibanez AR250 (I changed the pickups) and a mid-seventies ES175. I also have a couple other amps. As you can see, I'm not a Strat guy so I can't tell you how this amp would sound with single coils. I can tell you that it's a very versatile amp and sounds as good as the original Pod (which was the best one) or Flextone II amp (2x10 stereo). It sounds far better than the Spyder II (2x10) and blows the Spyder III away. No matter what style you play, this amp has something to offer. Try one, you'll probably like it.

Plenty of features for the money. I use for classic rock, blues and a touch of country. Used for live shows. Plenty of volume to cut through band with a three piece mic'd horn section. I owned both the ad50vt and the ad30vt and used both with the horns, bass and drums. My recommendation is that if you're going to play in front of any size audience, go with the 50 watt. The 30 is the exact same amp, but really strains to be heard through the mix beyond the stage. For jamming and practice, the 30 will work and is in a smaller and lighter package.

Very quiet and versatile amp. Too many programming options to shake a Strat at. For those impatient like me, check out: http://www.valvetronix.net/ for great pre-set ideas. I've had great luck with anything rated four knobs or higher. As for effects, I've found them to be adequate, especially dialing in a specific sound like those found on this website. If you want creative control, go with rack mount or stompbox effects. For the money and flexibility, this is the best modeling amp on the market.

There have been quality issues reported on this and the ad30vt models. Mine has had the problem of sticking on an effect when the program has been changed. It does easily revert to the new setting with a tweak. Have never had this problem switching between channels 1 and 2 live. Just when using the manual mode. Unfortnately, quality control may be a problem for the price point. Give it as much of a workout as you can if you have a thrity-day trial period.

None directly. The Vox website is very useful as are the user groups that are out there for tips and info.

There are some cut corners that directly reflect the price of the amp. The knobs, corner pieces and grill are below standard compared to other Vox amps. However, the sound more than compensates for the asthetics. This amp nails the ac15 and ac30 sounds, and for that alone, you're getting your money's worth. The rest is gravy. I'm not a snob and could care less about whether it is a true tube amp or not. The fact is that the sound for the money is the best value out there.

I will say from comments I received from other musicians that the Vox name has a cache that you won't get with other similarly priced amps. This is serious gear, whether or not you consider it a true tube amp or not.

I've been playing for twenty years and am usinging a '68 reissue Japanese Strat with Duncan Antiquity pickups.

I would definitely purchase again or consider upgrading to the ad60vt to get the upgraded cloth grill cover and real knobs. Money being an object, the amp's sound makes it easy to overlook the touches that were spared.

Well it has a lot of them...a little too many for my liking but it works out ok. I play a lot of rock, metal, punk, blues...been playing for 16 years...

This amp can get loud and still hold on quite nicely. Most of the distortion sounds (which i use the most) seem pretty good but they all sound muffled...no treble. doesn't matter what volume level you are at. or maybe Im going def from all of the loud shows ive played and been to.
clean on the other hand is great! beautiful sounds that I would never expect from this amp...truly impressed

Only had it two weeks...bought it used and its been good so far

never had to deal with them

Well...Like I said, I have been playing for about 16 years...play on a gibson explorer, PRS soapbar II maple, washburn...as far as amps go...Mesa dual rect, marshall mode 4, crate blue voodoo half stack, fender...overall I like the VOX a lot. I this it will do good things for me. I think it definatly need some sort of pedal though. Cant hang with the distortion. Good luck everybody

These amps retail for about $800 N.Z. I got mine for free as a replacement amp under insurance (I got my last amp stolen. All the features have already been mentioned.

There are plenty of features, lots of inbuilt effects. It's fairly loud for 50 watts. I personally don't use any of the effects with this amp. I have a Boss Me-50 pedal which I run all my effects off because I can get a better sound with the Pedal.
It models 11 different amp types (I think). At the moment I am using the AC15 amp model.
I would prefer a simpler amp. I find there is not a huge amount of control tone wise over the sound.

I kind of wish it had a little more juice. If you are a guitarist with no effects this amp would be great for you because it has so many built in, but if you have effects pedals there isn't much need for all the effects. Before I bought my ME-50 I used the VOX footswitch 2 (sold separately) to change effects and channels.

I give it a ten because it is very versatile as stand alone amp.

This amp has a huge variety of sounds. It can go from clean to a very distorted heavy metal kind of sound.

I play Blues, Pop, Rock, Classic Rock. I use a Fender Telecaster through this amp. I personally don't like the sound very much. One afternoon before a performance I literally spent about two hours fiddling with knobs trying to get a good sound, and even then wasn't completely satisfied.

The AC15 amp modeller has a fairly good sound, but not great either.
The Boutique setting isn't very defined, and can sound a little flat.

This amp uses a single tube to create the many amp models. The amp models classic amp sounds such as the Vox AC15 the VOX AC30 and boutique amps, 2x12, and tweed amps among others. In my opinion they are mediocre comparisons of the real things.

One thing I do like about this amp is it uses a Celestion speaker.

I use it very regularly. I play in a youth group band most Fridays, and at Church most Sundays.

One thing that I will never understand about these amps is that the nuts around the input jack, the speaker output, the line-out jack etc are all made of plastic!
The threading around the plastic nut of the input jack has worn and every now and then the input will fall inside the amp. That then means I have to unscrew the back (it's a closed back amp), and pretty much take it apart to push the input back up and re-attach it.

This has caused problems with the tone. This is because sometimes I haven't screwed the back up tight enough. The screws come loose, the back rattles, and causes a really unpleasant sound.

The cabinet has a very cheap feel, and the ply used is inferior quality.
This amp is not designed to last. Vox is a classic amplification brand but it didn't get its name through these amps.

Haven't had any dealings with customer support.

I have been playing guitar for 12 years but seriously for about four years.

I also own a Jansen Bassman 100 head(classic NZ made amp), A Mexican Telecaster, and a Boss Me-50

If this amp were stolen I wouldn't be too fussed. I defintely wouldn't replace it. It has some nice sounds, but overall not amazing.

Brandy new. Features? It's all been said here before, six pages of reviews.... Blah, blah, blah.

I use this amp gigging once to twice a week.

Sound quality / overall tone is absoutely great. I wanted a modeler for a while. I've tried everything else. My main gigging amp is an all tube Marshall 65 watt head with a two-twelve cab. I even tried a Roland Jazz Chorus in combination with the Marshall for a while to get solid state clean and Plexi-style power tube crunch. Too much gear to haul around.

The range of tones is impressive. The most convincing patches are the AC30TB and 70's 80's Marshall. The cleaner patches ain't bad either. Forget the ubermetal sound.

I play all sorts of guitars but my main gigging compliment is a Hamer USA Duotone for Gibby and acoustic sounds and a Strat for single coil and quacks.

How "brutal" is the distortion? (That's what the review rubric asks.) I hate descriptives like that. Sounds like a catalogue listing for 15 year old guitar players. The most "brutal" distortion can actually be sonically pleasing, so forget that idea... Most of the distortion models on the VOX are very pleasing and I believe that is a result of the 12ax7 tube working like a power section and not making fizzy preamp distortion. VERY NICE actually.

I play in a very versatile cover band. A power trio really, but with alot of finesse. The VOX amp gives me lots of ability to do my "do", can be VERY loud if I need and I am not afraid to use this amp at gigs. My "guitar guy" buddies will scoff in the shadow of their Dr. Z's, Blockheads, Trainwrecks and Blackface Fenders, but I defy someone to convince me that the models on this amp are not genuine, pleasing and toneful.

This amp proves quieter than all my other rigs, and the noise supression react quickly and naturally.

My favorite patch is the AC30 Top Boost (Go figure) and I like the fact that programming is accomplished mostly with knobs instead of layers of imbedded software and LCD screens.

I was very pleased at a gig the other night that the amp produces natural harmonic feedback and reacts nicely to Floyd Rose divebombs. Many solid state amps and preamps fail to go all the way in that regard. The amp takes pedals well also. My TS9 and Crybaby sounded even better than my Marshall.

Two gigs so far, but I don't forsee any problems. If it poops-out, I'll be very disappointed. I've read a few problems here, but there are ALOT of reviews.

I'll rate VOX here because other players havbe had good experiences.

Playing a long time. 35 years? I dunno.

If this amp were gone for some reason, I'd get another. Definitely.

I love the big-amp performance in a small package. The models are really good. Effects are respectable.

I compared the combo to the head, and decided the combo worked so well, I could leave a cab home.

I hate the shiny chrome grille. I would prefer traditional VOX grille cloth. I may do something about that.

I wish it had a holder for my beer.

Like others have said, don't judge an amp by the price. Most of the vintage classic amps of yesterday were bottom end reasonably priced mass produced hardware. Boutique amps SHOULD give you tingles BECAUSE they cost so much. When an amp comes along that produces "tingles" for 350 bucks, you've got something great. I love this amp. I love my Marshall, I love my 50 watt Bassman. The "guitar guys" can tease if they want, but if this amp blows-up, I could probably just buy a new one. The Epi Valve Junior is $99 and tell me that there isn't a legion of devotees lining up behind that one!

I love this amp.

Ok, feautures are well known at this time, but is always good to say that this is a very versatile amp, with good sound and effects... It could have more chanels, but that's ok for the budget....

Here we go!! I have played trough Marshall, Mesa, Fender, Peavey, Laney....etc.... all valve, and honestly this amp is quite a surprise. I know that is not a real tube amp, and that some amps are not quite similar, but in my opinion the sounds are very good and warm. I have a Hamer Eclipse, and i think that VOX Ac 15 30 and The Marshall 70's rocks like a true valve amp with a full warm tone.... very nice. The cleans are also very good (mainly the fenders) and the high gain amps are from very good to good (even if the sound of some are not quite equal). It's very, very versatile... and have really good sounds... not a metal amp, but a outstanding rock amp.And for the price we pay for this litle baby, man it's hard to find better...

I had no problems at all at this time. I have mine since october and until now it still rocks. And it's funny because during a venue i turned a glass of Wiskey in it, and still working.... :) Very nice...
But.... i hate the wood of the amp... It's thin, don't have any acoustic and worst, it seems to crash much more soon than we can imagine.... Plastic parts are a joke (i work in the moulds and plastic industry) and the corners are just decoration, not protection.... it's sad to see a great brand as VOX making this.... but.... Even being a "crap" about rliability, i've been ver happy for the accident with the wiskey so....7

I had made some contacts with them, and honestly i didn't have any delays or problems.... Lets see in the future

Man, don't you have one? Valvestate? Tubefusion? Line crap 6?
For the price... it's one of the best sounding amps in the planet.... I know mesa sounds better, but will you spend 3000??? in a amp to play in bars?!?
I love it....

UPDATE: On 05.02.07, just a bit short of a month of having this amp, it died on me. I was playing through this amp at bedroom-level when there were a few sharp popping sounds, after which the speaker started buzzing loudly and the guitar signal was no longer audible. The popping sounds and the subsequent smell of burning electronics leads me to believe that the circuitry for the unit may have included defective capacitors (which I have had an unfortunate amount of experience with on computer motherboards over the years). I couldn't open the unit up without voiding the warranty, so this can't be confirmed as such. I'll be posting a second review once the replacement unit arrives, accounting for both new-found reliability issues or differences in sound between the new unit and the previous.

I heard back from VOX within 12 hours of emailing them. Unfortunately, they seem to have had incompetents build their site: despite having filled out the "model" and "serial" fields, the person contacting me asked for these anyway, and these particular values were not reflected in the quoted message I'd apparently sent them. There was no mention of the problem being a common or uncommon one, or recommended courses of action. Given that the amp was new, I'm shocked they didn't default to a "return the amp to the place of purchase for replacement/repair"...such is obvious, but when trying to rule out things as "common problems", it's bad not to be specific.

On the plus side, I phoned Musician's Friend in the middle of the night and talked to a friendly (if a bit bored) staffer who listened to me explain what happened and immediately accepted my explanation as valid for the item being likely defective, and assured me I'd have an RMA label emailed to me sometime the next day. Sure enough, I had the RMA label in my inbox by 8AM PDT the following morning. I printed it out, repacked the amp in the original box with all the materials, and FedEx came around to pick it up the next day. I'm curious to see turn-around on this...the amp should reach them by the 9th. Hopefully I'll have something before the 15th. Again, I'll post another review to cover it.

I'll spare the detail-listing and get to the meat:

PROS: Knobs seem solid. Worked just fine out of the box. Modeling interface is pretty straight-forward w/ the exception of the effects section. Having "Manual" control things as expected is the best feature of all. Cooling fan isn't anywhere near as loud as some would suggest.

CONS: Most default presets are useless; with all the guitars out there, why bother? I doubt anybody's concerned about the exact emulation of a specific amp's controls as they are easily getting a good sound out of it for their particular guitar -and damn, if'n there ain't a lot of 'em out there.

Also, plastic jacks suck; they'll crap out under heavy use. What's the big deal on spending a dollar or two more to get this right from the start? Replacement of lone tube is not made obvious by the manual; guess I have to open 'er up myself and risk voiding the warranty.

Surprisingly good for a modeling amp. Manual over-sells the power attenuation feature; while it's useful, you *CAN'T* necessarily get good sounds at a lower volume with it. All the distortion sounds are awful at low volume settings.

I'm using this with a G&L Tribute ASAT Special. Nu-metal is useless but the other models seem decent. No real "crunch" but that's expected and probably dictates how accurate the modeling is; the beefy G&L single-coils sound like beefy G&L single coils. I can't wait to hook a humbucker-equipped guitar up to this and see how it differs.

Favorite model? AC-30 TB with the gain up. Rolling down the volume on the guitar lends a nice clean sound that's still lively, while raising it a bit distorts things enough for extra sustain but still retains character; things don't "fuzz out". This is my anti-heavy distorted rock sound: somewhere between Tom Herman on the first couple Pere Ubu albums and Steve Albini's work on Shellac, though not as trebly as the former or as crunchy as the latter. The key thing for me is that I can still hear all the nuances of the pick attack and not have a ton of noise or hum in the background.

Effects-wise...eh, guess they're okay. The delay is nice, though the time could be longer. The others are kinda okay but don't vary in range enough from subtle to extreme and are thus useless to me. The exception is probably the compressor; amps should probably have compressors built-in anyway for clean playing. But the effects are ultimately only so much use without the extra-$25 footswitch that should've been included. I'll buy it soon but it's pretty idiotic not to include it with an amp that's got so many settings packed in from the start.

Again, plastic jacks worry me, as do all of the reports of this thing having broken down and the bad customer service. Self-service doesn't seem like much of an option, and with the short warranty, it concerns me. I'm not adverse to opening it up myself, but a real-live service manual would be nice.

OTOH, chassis seems pretty solid for what it is. That ugly metal grill will make sure nothing ever punctures the speaker. All the screws seem tight. For a sub-$1000 amp, I guess that's about as much as a guy can expect.

Bottom-line: I bought this to play at home and occasionally drag to a friend's place. If I'm going to gig out, I'll buy something more solid.

Haven't dealt with 'em yet. On-line registration requires you to spec your computer platform as either Windows or Mac, w/ no room for Linux, which is commonplace yet stupid. At least include an "other" line. Some of us like legit multi-trackers like Ardour. :)

Does what it's supposed to. I expect to get 3-5 years out of this amp as a home practice/recording rig and that's pretty much it. The sounds it yields are pretty versatile and most are decent. It's cheap compared to other amps that yield the same quality of sound. It sounds significantly better than other modeling amps in the same price range. It's the right size for playing in my apartment and in friends' basements/garages/etc. Couldn't ask for much for at under $400.