Vox Cambridge 30 Reverb

This amp is pretty cool, I bought it hoping to attain and ac30 sound... not quite but it sounds good. I play alot of stuff from blues to contemporary christian rock, so it seems to suit that stuff well. I used to use it to fill a large auditoriumsetting with a 57 infront of it... then i discovered cambridgeits Yikes! Now ive pulled it out and set it up in streo with my vox ac15 its killer till it browns out sucks.

Clean tone I actually enjoy its just the damn brown out it does, I dont even go near the overdrive channel lol.

If i could figure out how to fix the cambridgeits i woud deffinatly call it reliable.

it would be an 8 if the damn thing didnt brown out!

Lovely sound through clean channel. Not so good through dirty. Simple solution for this is to use a quality distortion pedal.
I strongly disagree with those who say that this amp is not for heavy rock/metal or guitars with humbuckers. I use a Fender Big Apple strat and believe me - this amp can deliver some seriously heavy sounds, from Smashing Pumkins/Nirvana/Green Day to East Bay Ray/Dead Kennedy's.
....and without the distorion, texas tones and sweet sounding reverb are only a dial away. Ten out of ten from me!

No probs

Made in Korea I think in 2004? I wish it came with a footswitch - I had to buy one separately. I use this amp in the studio, and on stage our band BackBeat - a Beatles / 50's/60's cover band.

It's powerful enough for our practices - most times I have to mic it or run it through the PA during our live gigs.

I've played an epiphone Casino through this amp and it sounds great!
I also have a Gibson SG Standard - and recently picked up a Gretsch Pro Jet (similar to the Duo Jet) - playing these guitars through this amp is a joy!

The Casino has P90's - so they're very hot! - but great tone!
Gibson SG have the '57 Classic Humbuckers - Beautiful through the Cambridge as well!

As I mentioned, my latest addition is the Grestch Pro Jet (well worth buying if you've always wanted a Gretsch - I payed $400.00 CAN) This thing has that great "Beatles tone" through the Vox for that distict George Harrison solos.

I find that the clean channel stays pretty clean at high volumes - it really depends on your pickups.

The distortion is actually pretty good. I don't use it too often, but when I do, it sounds right.

Overall, "yes". I have used it at gigs, but with a back up amp. You should always have a back up amp - I don't care if you're playing with a Fender Reverb, Peavey or a Vox AC30 - nothing is infallible!

My amp has broked down completely - once, about 3 years ago just after I had bought it. It just died. I took it in for repair and it was something not-so-serious.

I recently had to take it in to get repaired - the clean channel started to crackle, and the overdrive channel wasn't working at all.

N/A I bought this thing used, and now it's disco....

I've been playing for 24 years - mostly 50's 60's and Beatles.

As I mentioned earlier, Epiphone Casino, Gibson SG 400, 1961 Gibson Hummingbird (sweeeeeeeet!)and a new Gretsh Pro Jet.

Some mini Danelectro effect pedals - distortion and reverb.
1965 Vox Pathfinder Practice Amp (All TUBES!!!) - Beautiful Vox sound!

Buy this amp if you love the Vox sound. Before you do, if you can, open the control panel (the main box) to see if it has had repairs done to it - there should be repair stickers inside with dates.

Overall, I've only had to repair it twice in the 3-4 years of using it which isn't too bad when you consider the overall performance that I've got out of it.

Don't forget, this thing was made in Korea. Not the UK or the US!
I was looking at an AC15 - but their made in China and don't have the greatest reviews - I guess you get what you pay for!

I'd have to say I am satisfied with this amp, and a couple of repairs doesn't seem unreasonable.

I am putting plastic corner protectors on my vox as well, which I was surprised it didn't come with -my old 65' Pathfinder had them - I guess their cutting back to keep the price down.

Ive been playing lead guitar in various semi pro outfits for nearly 20 years and have come across amps, some expensive with lots of features and some not so expensive and less features, this amp has some good features for the price, ive owned one for 3 years

this aint no ac30 hand wired or original 63 top boost model but it is a nice amp and the sound is good for the money if set up correctly, if i wasnt using a mesa boogie as my main amp then i would probably use this one for medium sized gigs, to me i find the clean channel downright dirty at high volumes

ive heard about these things catching fire, not witnessed it myself but then when i use this amp its normally on low volume and not cranked full blast.
Its never let me down, i expect judging by opinions on here i must be one of the lucky ones, or the majority of postings on here are from people who have had problems with it, and those that have no problems with it dont tell people so

the warranty is long out on this, ive never had to deal with them so cant really make any remarks about customer support

i own an ac30cc twin all valve, a mesa boogie, epiphone junior 5 watt and a gelf gd20 a hybrid valve pre stage amp and also this model, i like this amp i like the sound i like the looks, i cant help thinking that it could have been made better with possibly a twin speaker system, i wouldnt want it to be an all valve model, i have one and there dam heavy and expensive and when they go wrong my god they go wrong

2005 New. Amp has two channels with one clear and the second in different distortion-possibilities.
I use this amp eather in practice as on stage.
.

I connect it on stage with a Vox V212BN with 2 Vox/Wharfdale speakers. Two speakers have more "body" !
The combination of The Vox Cambridge and V212BN Cabinet is perfect. The Vox sound is not that clear as some others and I like it.
I use a Fender Telecaster (1973) and a handmade Charlee Thinline Fiddleback (2007).

I can depend on it.
So far no problems.

No problems so far.

I play for more than 40 years now.
I changed my Fender Twin Reverb for this Vox Cambridge/V212BN Cabinet.
Fender Twin is too heavy to handle for daily or weekly use.
.........and I'm happy with my Vox-gear. It's a matter of emotion sometimes.
Vox has this.......... anyhow, it's something special.

I got mine second hand, it's supposed to be one of the later models, and before going on sale it was serviced by an amp technician I know to be competent. The features have been covered by everyone else below so I won't go into them; they're sufficient for my use. It has a Celestion Bulldog speaker.

It has a surprisingly high output for a 30W amp, and yet doesn't go dirty sounding at near top volume (I don't mean crunchy in a sweet way, but plain dirty and gritty, if you know what I mean). I use it for

First things first: it does have "the Vox sound". If you're looking to get somewhere near that sound without the disadvantages of an all tube amp, this is probably as close as you'll get, and the excellent, very musical Celestion speaker plays a great role in that. If you're looking for anything far different than the Vox sound, look elsewhere.

The first channel remains clean until about 85 percent volume, and interacts very sweetly with good preamp drive such as a Boss SD-1 (esp. at low gain) or OD-3. Using the clean channel with an overdrive pedal will yield a variety of sweet Voxy (is that a word?) sounds. An important thing to note: make sure your overdrive / distortion has a tone control, or you're using an EQ pedal (preferably post-distortion); without some way of controlling the tone, the trebles may get unbearably high (a typical Vox thing) and compensating by turning down the channel's treble eats away too much of the amp's characteristic tone. It's better to shape your signal with the combination of EQ, boost and compression to your liking before it arrives at the amp, and just leave the amp at neutral settings.

You'll either love or hate the second channel. It has a thick, bassy, Big Muff-like sound (think a US Big Muff done English way) that's hard to control without an EQ pedal and good attention to playing dynamics. Replacing the stock tube will obviously alter the tone; even if you totally hate the way it ships, there's a chance that you'll get something you like out of with an EQ pedal and a new tube. Even if you find no use for it, the first channel plays very well with most overdrive pedals anyway. The second channel can also be played almost completely clean with a low gain setting and the boost switch disengaged, but it sounds too thin for my liking, though I guess it can be reinforced with a clean booster or a compression pedal plus an EQ pedal to make it sound good.

I play a stock 1991 Fender USA Telecaster through it, and they suit each other very well for my kind of tone: a punchy, "twang"y, raw Tele tone the English way. It's not any more or less noisy than any other amp of its class I've tried. I use it ungrounded.

I'll have to counter the horror stories: I've had it for six months, in which it was used for about ten hours a week and saw two gigs, and it's so far worked without a hitch. I've asked two competent guitar techs about its known "reliability issue", and they both answered the same: it can be unreliable, but is easy to fix, and the fix is permanent. Mine had the opto coupler mod done when I bought it, and it's apparently easy and cheap to get done even if your particular one doesn't have it; just make sure you know of a decent and honest guitar tech. I give it a 10 here because: 1) It's caused me no problems and I know that it can be easily fixed if it does 2) There are no symptoms that it will cause problems in the near future 3) I believe there is too much unreliability hype shadowing this amp.

I haven't dealt with them, and I don't think I will; if anything goes wrong I'll take it to a local guitar tech. I got it second hand and it has no warranty.

It's discontinued, so if you see one in good condition and are into the Vox thing, just get it. The average selling price is great for the features and value you get. It's the best solid state amp I've heard and definitely the closest one to the accustomed tube clean sound. I like it for the great cleans impossible to find in any other solid state amp, good interplay with drive pedals, original, non-standard sound in the drive channel, and its portability. I can't find any real fault with it at this price.

All of this has been covered in the previous posts so I will not elaborate here. Plenty for Me, I just mostly straight line this amplifier. Wish they would have only made this model in the 2X10" instead of also offering the single 10"

Sounds good at moderate to slightly loud volume levels, After that going higher creates an annoying raspy, buzzy, fizzy sound. I don't know whether it is the single 10" blue celestion futzing out or whether the stock TDA2050 power chip amp is clipping? Could be something else as well so I will have to look into it again. Other than that like I said if You keep the volume under control the sound is very Voxy indeed. The clean is spectacular and sparkly, Distortion is very rich and harmonic. At moderate levels. The Mid boost button? Why they incorporated that in there is a mysery to Me. Sounds like Crap! Reverb? creamy and deep control very responsive. Trem? very good from Choppy to barely there after I did the "opto" replacement. and adjustment of the trimpots.

I bought this amplifier after reading the dismal reviews about it here on HarmonyCentral, So I knew full well just what I was getting into before liberating it from the pawn shop it sat in for well over a year before making a deal and taking it away. This amplifier sounded great when I got it home and I thought I must have gotten one of the jewels, Although I was a bit concearned about the low output power. My hopes were dashed as I noticed after about a half hour of playing the amp volume would just fade away, Get muddy and just stumble if I turned the volume up to compensate. "See" it's that pesky & cheap where in the hell did it come from optocoupler.

So now I set my sights to remedy the malidy. I had already researched parts replacement options and all the modification articles I could find via the internet prior to acquireing this unit. So once I was comforatable about the availability of parts and the best price. Thats when I went and bought the amp.

The optocoupler is a Vactec # VTL5C3/2 I got mine from "Small Bear" www.smallbearele.com I believe it set Me back a whopping $9.00 delivery included, (Steve Daniels) Fantastic fella to deal with.
Well anyway I was set to do the opto change-out. II hope if You opt to do the work Yourself You have a lot of "Patience", Put on Guns N Roses if You have to and get rid of all the aggrivations in the house like Wife, Kids & the telephone, Cause Your a gonna need it. I will tell You right know getting the flimsy circuit board outa this amp is a royal pain in the ass! Short of Cutting all importaint wires to gain access to the opposite solder side of the board takes some judicious manipulation and fondling.
Well needless to say once I gained access I got the old opto out and the new one in and buttoned it all up again. After powering-up I was elated that I no longer suffered the volume drop-off after a long period of playing but was still very put-off by the low overall output power, In addition the trem no longer worked. Opened it up again and adjusted trimpots V11 & V12 with a plastic screwdriver. Prior to doing these adjustments I did measurements and found that from the factory this amp was only putting out about 7 watts total at full volume. So my assumtion is that the trimpots were never even calibrated from the factory, Whats up with that? So after judicious adjustment I had a ! LOT ! of Volume and a very active and controllable trem.

Next I tried the LM3875T Chip Amp 56 watt upgrade, That did'nt work for Me yet all it did was put a 60 Hz hum in the speaker so I will have to look into that one as well. So I put the origional TDA2050 Power chip back in and have been playing like that for now. I got the LM3875T Power Chips from Futurelec. www.futurelec.com./index.shtml
I believe these chips set Me back a whole $4.00 a piece and the shipping was pimples. Remember if You opt to do the chip amp replacement that it should be isolated from the heatsink with an appropriate insulator and also use heat transfer silicone to make the connection between Chip, insulator and heatsink. If You are geting a continuity reading from the metal tab of the Chip Amp and the heatsink, Then something is wrong! Do Not Power-Up! Find and isolate the problem.
Also Watch that rear panel "Jack" circuit board dos'nt come into contact with any of Your new handi-work after reassymbly of the rear cover panel! Good Luck!

For the longest time I wondered if "VOX" personnel or support acually existed. ? I still don't have an answer for You. Trying to get a schematic for one of thier products is like pulling hens teeth, And getting one for this particular amplifier is "NO" Exception.

So for those of You out there with problems or in need of a little realistic guidence to get Your amp up and running again drop Me a line at
tripodtripper@yahoo.com I will send You a pdf, schematic and all I know about getting You on the right track.

This Could have been a winner for "VOX" (The Cambridge) and instead of fixing a Bad problem decided to dump on the customers and discontinue the product. Then release more & improved products with even more reliabillity problems, Read the reviews. I don't feel-up to tackleing a modeling amp with problems.

I am in the process of redesigning the (Camridge) as I write this and after I feel confident and comforatble about production costs; will submit a proposal to Korg and see if they will go for it, Seems a long shot at the moment as KORG seems to really not give a rats ass about driving a Brand Name or Model # into oblivion through inferior design and indifference on the cusps of making a buck and forgetting about the people Who bought their inferior products.

I am also proposing having these items made in the U.S by "Americans" that the current adm, would have You believe don't want to work.
Price as I see it right now would be about 399.00 but would be a very gigable amp with no particle board any where. And a real and trouble free bullet-proof hybrid 30 Watts with 2 X 10" speakers!

Comments and questions should be sent to tripodtripper@yahoo.com

Thank You, George Mc Natt

Remember these Oddball (Discontinued) Korg offsprings are going up in price and by some perverted twist of collectabillity are going to go through the roof as far as dollar amount go. So get Yours now before they either get bought-up or thrown out the back of a fast moving vehicle. I saw that happen once! See thats what got me interested in the whole KORG/CAMBRIDGE Thing

I took Alexandre de Santi's advice and changed the tube to a 12at7 and it made a world of difference on channel 2. From bassy and muddy to warm & vibrant. I use it as a small travel amp & it works out good.

Use a direct box to eliminate any hum and noise if recording. I use it for classic rock with either a Gibson SG or Les Paul. Changing the tude to a 12at7 is the key.

I originally got on to the tube change idea while searching for a schematic on here. Had an open circuit on resistor R95 that I had to resolder.

Vox E-mailed me the schematic for Free!

For the price & portability it is a great amp. I've played the newer generation 50 watt model and it is a nice amp too. Change that tube!

Described above

Love the distorted chanel sound, but clear is on the blink again.

Clear chanel died just outside warranty & proved difficult / expensive to reapair.

Puff of blue smoke tonight & I expect the repair cost will exceed its value.

VERY dissapointed again.

Vox appear to be hiding from their older customers & blaming previous management. Not very comforting ! Will not buy another VOX.

Made in Korea: two channels that are switchable via footpedal as well as a mid range boost, gain switch, tremolo, reverb, line out, headphone out and a 12AX7. The reverb is a little weak but enough and the tremolo is very nice.

I'm using a 50th American Series Fender Strat and a 96's MIJ Fender Strat with two SCN single coils and a Dimarzio Virtual PAF humbucker (bridge)
I am very pleased with the sound of this amp. Ch.1 is fat and warm. It has a nice sparkle to the top end without being harsh.
Ch.2 is dynamic. You can go from almost clean to dirty just by pick attack. Anyway I rather prefer my stomboxes when I want some dirt: Maxon OD808, Deucetone RAT or Mosferatu
As I said before, very nice reverb and tremolo
Finally, the Celestion bulldog is beautifully voiced.

Haven't had any problems yet. I bought it new last month, so I can not rate any opinion

Shame. I bought this amp with manual, but not schematic.
I wrote VOX asking for the schematic, you know, the schematic is something you would like to have, just in case. Asking for a .pdf, anything.
No response at all. So guys if you can give me a hand sending the schematic in any format, I will really appreciate very much
I found one in the inet, but belongs to the vintage cambridge....so help!

I've been playing for 30 years, half time pro, Rock covers from Beatles to Purple, Police, you name it.
I use to play almost all weekends. I use to have (not at the same time) Marshall JCM900 high gain dual reverb and 1960 cabinet (gosh heavy mutant!), Mesa Boogie Mark IV (heavy too and need to be an engineer to deal with it), Fender The Twin, red knobs (still heavy), Marshall JCM900 Mod 4501 (50w combo), JCM600 (60w Combo)
Greats amps huh?... but I realized I play mainly in small to medium gigs (pubs, small restaurants) and all this stuff is suited to play loud, very loud if you want to get the best response.
I know that because I played a couple of times in a stadium and there was when I found the best response. With all this 100/85/50 valve amps you can not play that loud in small/medium venues, if you want to keep your, besides all this amps sounds anemic when you set volumen and master at 2
Also, I was tired to carry all this stuff and now my back is grateful again
Anyway I keep the Fender Hot Rod Deluxe 40W (loud anyway!..and heavy), The Fender Pro Junior (not heavy, loud but boxy) and the Vox. And this last one is perfect in weight and sound. Enough loud for my needs, believe me. Let me tell you more: Last weekend I played in a party. We performed our show in the garden, big one. I miked the Vox and its perfomance was superb! I heard myself on stage It worked beautifully, without problems, great tone, bottom, with the volume and master halfway up even standing our hard hitting drummer

This unit has it all.

I've used Les Pauls, Tele's and Strats thru it, and honestly, I am REALLY impressed with it's Tone. It isn't designed to be a "live" amp but more of a "Recording" amp. Get thru the "Cambridge-itis" period and you will be in Love. JIMMY PAGE are the tones I go for, and folks, this amp will NAIL THEM. --HINT--On Channel 2, TURN DOWN THE PREAMP, then adjust the master. If used--Tremolo, 1/2 on each dial. Reverb, 2/3. You are there...

Cambridge-itis, an easy fix...Replaced with a MULLARD tube and I'm knocked out.

Very good. They fixed mine N/C.

Do you like JIMMY PAGE??? GET IT!!!

This is really a cool combo amp. Ive had it for about a month and it works great. I got it off eBay for 200 dollars. For that price its amazing, you get a tube preamp, dual channels, spring reverb, tremolo, 30 watts, 10" celestion speaker. It also has dual footswitch jacks, headphone out, preamp out, ext. speaker. I dont know the exact year, but it was manufactured i believe in the late 1990s. Its not the most powerful amp, but it could probably do a small gig. Its enough for what i need it for, particularly rock/blues.

I juse this amp mainly with my stratocaster. I have heard this is an amp for single coil guitars and it sounds incredible with my strat,especially in bride or bridge/middle settings. It doesn't buzz at all. Its a great rock/blues amp, but i also play jazz. This amp is generally too muddy for jazz, but for rock it sounds great. On channel one the amp breaks up smoothly when turned up and i think it would be powerful enough to power a small gig, but not more than that. The distortion is NOT for the metal crowd, it is a nice crunch that slowly breaks up more as it is turned up. THis amp is not suited as much to humbuckers, it gets too punchy and distorts slightly too easily. The 2nd channel is quiet for some reason, but it has a fine line where the tube overdrives and the volume boosts alot. THis is not a heavy powerchord/metal amp, the bottom end can be too punchy and woofy, depending on guitar settings. IT is a GREAT lead amp however, with sparkling trebles and clean mids. One complaint, sometimes in the clean channel i cannot get the tremelo off all the way so i hear a slight tremelo effect, but its not as noticeable when its turned up to higher volumes.

I have only had this amp for about a month so i cant really say, but im pretty sure it will last and hold up well, despite these reviews.

Never dealt with em, and hope i dont have to.

This is a really enjoyable amp. I havent been playing very long, about a year or a year and a half. I would definitely purchase this amp again, although i wouldnt mind the 2 speaker version. I wish this amp had a 12 inch speaker, dual inputs, slightly more power (maybe 40 or 50 watts), and a switch to turn the tremelo on/off. Other than that, i really like this amp, and its definitely worth the 200 dollars i paid for it, with all those features.

See any of the reviews below.

I primarily use a Am/St Telecaster, Rick 330-12, CIJ Jazzmaster, Casino and a no name lap steel through this. Telecaster mainly. Music style (with this amp) is jangly Ocean Blue/Riverside/Smiths (I go direct for the MBV/Ride/Swervedriver things.).

Sounds the best with the Jazzmaster and the Tele.

Love the clean and am getting into the 2nd channel a little more (I'll probably replace the Sovtek tube though). Distortion set at 12 o'clock, no mid-boost is very nice on the arpeggiated and single string stuff. I usually add a chorus (TC) a couple of delays (Boss/Line 6).

If you want this thing to wail, it won't. Go buy a cheap used Crate or something. It's perfect for a studio or an apartment. I don't think it's loud enough to play out with, but it's got a really rich sound for recording.

NEVER HAD A SINGLE PROBLEM OR CONCERN (in 3 years). It seems like this amp. has been pegged as a loser. I have a sneaking suspicion that most of the people who post here are the ones who had trouble and were looking for somewhere to vent. IT'S A $250.00 AMP! I should've bought two of them.

(Oh, and the idea that they got better along the line seems goofy, too. Mine is #175 and has been totally reliable.

Never had to contact anyone.

I've been playing for 10 years (maybe 6 seriously). My Cambridge is part of a home studio and absolutely perfect for recording. Since I don't play out, most of the recording I do is direct (POD, etc.) so this is only the third amp I have ever owned (started on a Squire Bullet - don't laugh; this one replaced a Princeton Chorus) and I don't think I'll be looking for one soon. If I had the space, I'd have an AC30 like almost everyone else here, but for a small studio this amp is totally righteous.

Kind of hard to find now, but I'm probably going to get another one and use the pair.

I love this amp and until I find some space, it's the only one I'm going to use.

Bought this amp for about 200 bucks off eBay mostly just to have a Vox amp. It has a good tremolo and the reverb is OK as well. It can really only be used as a practice amp with my Fender Telecaster Plus (hot hot hot dual red lace sensors in the bridge and blue lace sensor in the neck). It doesn't seem like a good 30 watts.

Hmm... mine distorts easily out after a while. Also it takes a bit to warm up sometimes and the tremolo won't turn off.

NOT RELIABLE. Mine also suffered Cambridgitis and I had to pay 81 bucks to fix it. Not very reasonable to pay half the value of the amp to fix it. Just not worth it.

Been playing about 5 years and I wish I just got a fender Hot Rod instead. This Vox LOOKS pretty but it plays like a dirty whore.

Two channels; one clean, one overdrive through a single 12AX7 tube. Footswitchable tremolo and reverb. This is the 30R with one 10" Bulldog speaker.
Made for Vox by Korg. See lots of complaints about this amp. Maybe I got lucky, mine's been a gem. Purchased new in June of 2000. Serial number is 1289.

Using a MIM Strat with Rio Grande Vintage Tall Boy pickups. Great clean sound out channel one. It's no AC30 but they've done a good job of getting the clean channel to break up a little bit to give it that Voxy jangle.

The second channel is also pretty good once you ditch the tube that comes with the amp. I replaced mine with a Mesa 12AX7 and the thing sounds so much better. With the gain set to 3/4 and using the volume control on the Strat I can get anything from a dirty little blues sound to a decent AC/dc type crunch. I'm so knocked out by the sounds I can get out of this amp. It's no Marshall or even an AC30 but it's very versatile.

That being said, it doesn't seem as loud as 30 watts. I think I'm going to do the power amp chip replacement others are doing to take it up to 56W. Should be loud enough then.

Here's where things get a little less rosy. The cabinet is made out of pressboard and I doubt it could take too much knocking around before it buckled under. The tube socket on mine seems to be a little sensitive. If I don't put the tube shield on just right the tube will cut out. In light of this I do tend to baby the thing. I would gig with it but I don't think I'd recommend it for touring. It's just too light duty for that.

never needed to contact them. I guess it would be Korg I would deal with rather than Vox. Never had to deal with either of them.

Been playing for 23 years. Also own a Fender Twin and a Peavey Classic 30. This Vox sounds way better than the Peavey which somehow doesn't seem right.

If it were stolen I'd try to track down another one for sure. I had a choice of the single 10" or the twin 10" and opted for the single. I should have gone for the two tens I think.

When I purchased this amp I did so because it was the most full-featured, best-sounding on ein its price range. I'm glad I did. Would buy another on in a heartbeat.

already covered

already covered

Part 1

Well im service technician, and im fixing one of these amps, it has a crackle and a volume drop. First thing i noticed was the 12ax7 heater voltage - too high to merit a long lasting preamp tube, transconductance drop would occur after short use. The heater voltage has obviously been over-rated by some newbie tube tech, thinking it will add tone; unfortunately disregarding reliability. Well, reminds me of a Samick amp with regards to construction and circuit layout, not exactly a soldano lmao (leagues apart). Im yet to examine the schematic and peruse the rest of the internals. But i shall post again if i find anything interesting..

haha

Hm if you budget won't allow you to purchase anything else i guess it does the trick. Beware of the technical issues though, might pay to know a techie.

the only feture i can see if you want to call it that is it has a VOX logo on it

i am old so i remember when things were real, fenders, marshalls, vox, etc. it is pathetic to see what has been done to what once were fine pieces of gear. this amp should be given away at gas stations with a fill-up. to say it sounds bad is being nice.

sad day when the finest products of the british empire are made in korea, who is threatening to bomb us!! i say they have already by sending amps that say vox and marshall on them when they are nothing but junk. if you want low priced amps, then at least buy a crate or a peavey made by americans.

they know this stuff is junk and are too ashamed to respond to customers.

40 years as a player. thank god i got some decent gear back in the days when it was commomly known as used and not "vintage" the only new stuff i see that is worthwhile are the "custom shop hysterical limited edition signed by jesus made for clapton you can't afford this model" who buys this stuff? investment bankers? it sure isn't the average player, who by the way are the very people who have kept these companys in business all these years.

You all know what this amp features. If you don't, browse www.voxshowroom.com and you will find it. Pretty nice amp, loads of features if you consider the price. But I am writing to make a sugestion to the Vox Cambridge owners. Change the preamp tube to a 12AT7. I think all models come whith a 12XL7, but it's way too powerfull for it. I am giving the amp a 9 in features for that. Besides de tube chance, It's has all you need.

Channel 2 is way too dirty and bassy with the 12XL7 stock tube. It's kind hard to find a nice sound. You have the option to get "distortion" or "more distortion" (if you push the "more gain" button). Since you have the option to have two kinds of sounds on channel 2 (even three diferent sounds with the middle boost on), It's more usefull to have an nice overdriven channel and an good distorted one for your Led Zeppelin/Black Sabbath days.

Besides that, you have too much bass on channel 2. I mean, you can't pass the bass knob over 2. Really heavy bass.

The 12AT7 tube has 70% power compared to the stock tube, but you don't miss the volume loss. Mostly because you can get a more trebly sound, you hear more frequencies. It's a simple and cheap change and worth every cent.

I play a Fender Tele Custom (the one with a humbucker on the neck position) and a De Armond Stafire Special (with 2k alnico De Armond pickups), mostly 50's/60's rock, rockabilly, blues, late 60's stuff.

The clan channel is nice, but it's all solid state. The tube just run on channel 2. Channel 1 gets a bit dirty when you push the volume past 6, let's say. Pretty good for a solid state channel. A love the variety of tones, you can get some nice bass for jazzy e bluesy sounds, a kind of rare thing on a small amp. A though it would be louder for a 30 watt amp, but It's a solid state channel and I am used to tubes. But you can play clean stuff on channel 2 if you chance the tube.

Spring reverb it's a iten on it's own right. VERY GOOD reverb. Use it on 10 and play The Ventures! Tremolo is also VERY GOOD. For old school rock lovers, it's heaven.

Just bought it. One month old. Can't tell yet.

Can't tell. Never use it.

Well, nice amp. Change the tube.
If you are looking for a small amp, with spring reverb, tremolo, line out, preamp out, headphone out, footswitch jack, good dirty channel, fare clean channel, lightweight (this is important), probably you won't find it. It's not easy to an amp with all these features and good sound for a good price. Two thumbs up for Vox.

Oh, and you can gig with it on small clubs. I did recently and It went well (of course, ou have to put a mic in front of It).

There is another small time problem. A heard a fellow saying that the amp loses it's tone after some minutes of using due to the heat. I think I suffer the same problem, but I just got it, can't really tell. So, he put a computer cooler on it. It's an idea.

This has been covered...I needed a small amp under 400 euros with reverb and TREMELO! Let's face it, there's aren't many choices out there...I like the line out, I like the speaker out (more on the speaker later). Footswitchable channel and tremelo is very handy (and the option for switching gain and reverb is nice too). Overall, lots of bang for the buck.

At first I tried guitars with humbuckers and P90s through this amp--and really hated the sound. I mean, I was disappointed. Just kind of harsh, grating--actually, I think it's the speaker that can't keep up, as soon as you try to push the volume, it just breaks up into garbage. But it's the gain channel too--at low volumes, it's okay, but pushed a little too hard...and you just can't run the tremelo with the gain channel, just sounds like mud.
Ah, but then I picked up a cheapo Morris Melody Maker copy with single-coils...and wow, what a difference! All of the sudden this amp sounds great, just like I wanted it to sound. Nice and warm--the clean channel is delicious, the gain channel is snarly but controlled. Still, the speaker really sucks--it's just too small. But the amp's not worth adding cabinet...right now I'm thinking of modifying it by putting in a 12" Greenback...don't know if that'll work! So I'm rating this a 5 --if you don't have single-coils, don't bother with this amp.
The reverb is nice and deep sounding, but never gets in the way. The tremelo could be a little more extreme for my taste--it's quite restrained. I usually leave it set to the fastest speed and then just nudge it into the overall sound. I bought THIS amp for the tremelo--there aren't many amps out there offering tremelo anymore...

This is an apartment/studio amp--they made that clear when they 'forgot' to protect the corners. Don't know why--how much could a set of corners cost?
I've had the amp for about six months now, routinely keep it running 5 or 6 hours a day or more (it's next to my desk while I work, I play it, type, play it, type...). Never had any cause for alarm.
But still, it's obviously cheap construction, and the way my band tosses things around, I wouldn't want it near them! (I don't play guitar in this band, so I don't need to bring it.) Still, since I've had no problems, I'll give it a decent rating.

I expect nothing from 'Vox' for this amp.

I just started playing again six months ago (after a long break), and this amp has helped me regain a lot of what I'd lost...for that it has been the perfect companion while I wait until I can afford a true pro amp. I plan to start gigging next year, by then, this puppy will be replaced. Too bad those AC30s are overpriced!
Like I said, I was really disappointed by the amp until I plugged in a single-coil guitar, and now I really like it--except the speaker is still too small, and that part's a shame. Wish I'd been able to get the twin version, but it was hard enough finding this one here (France).
If you're looking for a home/rehearsal amp, I think this is a good choice. If you're willing to gig with it, you're braver than I am.
I'm cutting the overall rating because of two things: The shitty speaker and my lack of confidence for bringing this along for gigs.

2 channels - one clean (solid state), one 'hybrid' channel with a 12AX7 in the preamp. Reverb, trem, 'gain boost,' classic Vox look.

Seeing that I bought this as a closeuout at $199, I was impresed for what features were available for the money. A pretty loud 30 watts makes this appropreate for club gigs - or you could mic it.

Overall, this amp has a pretty decent sound. I like the clean channel - very clear with a nice ring to it. I've played both a tele and an Ibanez archtop through it. I'd have to say that I prefer the sound of humbuckers if I had to pick one over the other. The second channel is more suited for a blusey style. I didn't care for the 'gain boost' option, but I normally use a pedal for overdrive.
I was suprised how loud this amp was - when it's really cranked, the speaker 'quacks' with some tones. As I normally mike my speaker, I don't normally use that much volume - a setting of 4 1/2 - 6 (depending on guitar) seemed enough to drive the speaker toward a warm but clean tone.
I really like the tremelo - sounds really good.

Hmm...
As one can gather from many of the other reviews here, this amp has its problems. Mine worked perfectly before it suddenly came down with a classic case 'Cambridgeitus.' I had the amp repaired at a moderate price and then...several gigs later - same thing. Also, at one point the gain pot stopped working. Its a real shame that Vox/Korg wasn't able (or willing)to work out the bugs in this thing - the potential for an amp leading its price range and size was possible.

My local shop was great aboout repairs - never contacted Vox/Korg

I really wanted to like this amp, but it seems the manufacturer decided to cut one too many corners.
This does not sound anything like an AC30 - but I never thought it was supossed to. I has a great sound for its price range.
The major drawback here is reliability and quality control.

This amp has some pretty decent features. I liked the seperate (although limited - high and low only) EQ for each channel. Even some more expensive amps have only a shared EQ. Also the mid and gain boosts on the second channel really help to give you a nice selection of sounds if you use a decent guitar. Also, the tremolo effect can be cool when used correctly. Nice 10" Blue bulldog Celestion and tube/solid-state hybrid construction. There is no effects send and the outputs to a seperate cab or for recording, are limited and don't sound too good.

This amp has some great tone. It took me back when I first played it. The cleam channel when played with a nice single coil, really sings. I feel this amp must be graded for what it is professing to be. To mark it against a 60W Fender with 2x12s is not fair. It has great tube like tone for a mostly solid state 30W amp with one 10 inch speaker. It is absolutley brilliant at home practice volumes, yet can stand well in a band practice situation. It is missing a bit on the low end (probably due to the 10") and has some white noise which can irritate some. For the money, it beats most in its class. The output from the preamp for recording purposes or to PA is not good. The resulting sound (while functional) looses all its great tone.

I did have to get a reapir done on this amp. After a year, it put out a weak distorted sound that failed to get to a truly audible level. The reapir bill was cheap ($40) and I was good to go again. I have heard others complain of similar. Until that point, this was my only amp and I never considered getting another. I has not had a problem since.

Never dealt with Vox support.

I have been playing for 10 years and sadly enough, this was my first decent amp (bought 3 years ago). Until that time I played at home or soley for recording through a preamp to a PC or headphones. I think that amp is a good comprimise between solid state and tube. I sounds great, and if it didn't breakdown I might not have gotten another amp. Unfortunately, Vox has discontinued the amp. But if you catch one on Ebay or in a shop and are looking for a nice little practice amp with great tone for the buck, pick it up.

For the price (I paid $199), you get all the following:
- Celestion bulldog speaker
- 2 channel switching with full controls
- Footswitchable Spring Reverb
- Footswitchable Tremolo
- Mid Range Boost
- Ext cab out
- Headphone out
- Tube preamp!

That's a good deal for this setup. I see these amps in the $150 range on Ebay now, and not much more for the twin reverb models. It's hard to beat that.

I use one of the following:
Epiphone 335 Dot (humbuckers)
Rickenbacker 360 (humbuckers)
Danelectro DC-12 (single coil)

The amp really chimes with all three guitars. You're best off elevating the amp a couple of feet so it has room to breathe. Clean channel is clean with very little distortion even when pushed hard. The tremolo is sweeping and full-- I actually wish it were more robust. The reverb is decent, but I stick with a EH Holy Grail instead.

The Gain channel is *awesome* I understand the gain channel uses a similar configuration of the V810 Valvetone pedal, which is essentially a Tubescreamer. It sounds that good, and pushes the 12AX7 VERY nicely. Cranked wide open, there's still oceans of tone. It sounds ridiculously good with a modulation device (flange or phase) in front of it. The distortion is not overly metallic or overbearing, which suits me perfectly. Metalheads will probably want to look elsewhere (when have they ever been interested in Vox?)

30 tube-driven watts is plenty to play out with. I have no trouble bringing it to practice and being heard over my friends' blues jr. or epiphone pacemaker.

I've experienced very little hum (more from the Dano's single coils) from this amp, but some 60Hz is to be expected.

I have not experienced any of the horrors that others have in the 18 months I've been using this amp. There has been no loss of signal nor fading out. I was concerned when my warranty expired six months ago, but there have been no issues as of yet.

Not applicable.

I wish I had another one of these to run in stereo from my GT-3. I would hesitate slightly before replacing it because of the issues others have brought up, but I can't say how happy I've been with this product. I used to play keyboards, and have been playing guitar for about four years-- but about 6 hours a day for four years. I don't expect to ever get rid of this amp.

This amp had some very good features. The reverb on the Cambridge 30R is so nice ! 2 Channels (1 clean and one distorted... the last one uses the tube). The first channel, clean is very nice. It has a very warm sound. Good for stuff like Nirvana and stuff. Now the second... damn the second channel is good. The gain on this channel is soooo nice! Specialy if you got the reverb half open.. The tremelo is pretty useless for me but it does sound good though.

For the rest of the features just check out the other reviews.

I have a Stagg Les Paul (good copy of a Gibson Les Paul).

I was looking for a distorted late 60's Britisch rock sound and I've found it in the VOX Cambridge 30R. It has such a warm gain... It's really good if you're covering White Stripes and stuff (sounds like White Stripes: Black Math, Screwdriver, Lets Build a Home,

Well I have this beauty for a week now so I don't think I can say a lot about the reliability but I would defenatly take it to a gig without a backup although a backup is always good.

I never had to deal with them, but like I said; i only have it for a week now.

If this amp would be stolen I would defenatly buy anoter VOX Cambridge 30R...

What I like about this amp is the old crunchy rock sound.
There actually nothing i dislike but if the Foodpanel for channelswitch would be included i'd give Overall Rating a 10.

Just bought two of these to use as a stereo rig. I bought them both used but paid up for them on Ebay. I found one to have a more used tone than the other due to the age and obvious use but the loss of high freqs was actually pleasent for cranked tone.
I am an audio engineer by trade and I produce music, very little playing but when I plugged in my ricko 370 in stereo I was blown away with the cool counds. The reverb is bright and hashy but I plan to ad a mojo in the bottem of the amp case and remote it. Will likely look for a way to kit the output up with a pair of 6v6s. Let's see PSU 5u4 and a fender out xformer. Sounds like a cool product to me. There is plentuy of room in one of these cheap amps to do stuff like this so get ready for a classic mod find as they will likely go up in value soon.

I thought i would hate a chip based solid state amp. Cound the contrary. I love the sound od this little guy.


Gary
818-521-5535
eir@ispwest.com

We'll see.

(UPDATED REVIEW!!!!)

This review should totally overshadow the review I made a while ago.

30w vavle-state combo
2 channels
1st channel: voulme, treble, bass
2nd channel: volume treble, bass, gain, mid-boost switch
reverb and tremelo controls

two foot switch jacks: (top - channel, rear - tremelo)

three output jacks: studio line-out, headphones, and external speaker out

single 10' Blue Celestion Bull-dog speaker

Missing features: Effects loop, mid controls, stand-by switch

I have used the tremelo effect on occasion and get varying results. Overall I find the Tremelo nice to have, if I'm not using my regular setup. I would rather have the Boss TR-2 at my feet than the inbox tremelo.

I'm using a heavily modified Epiphone ES-335 (Burstbucker 2 neck pickup, 500t super ceramic pickups, w/coil/phase tap on each, grover locking tuners, bone nut, and the rest is all offical gibson hardware!) through a Vox Clyde McCoy wah pedal, Boss TR-2 Tremelo, and Danelectro Cool Cat. I'm also known to use a Ovation Celebrity Deluxe acoustic through this setup as well.

I play a lot of Rock, blues, jazz, and punk, and this amp can really dish it out. The Clean channel is supurb and emits an incredible tone. However at 1 o'clock (where I usually play it at) I get a natural overdrive out of my guitar because of the pickup/guitar/amp combination so I have to keep an eye on my guitar's volume to get a true clean sound with no distortion.

The distortion channel is definatly what this amp is all about. I've played through AC30TBX models and while the overdrive of the AC30 is much better, the Cambridge definatly has nothing to fear. What I mean by this is that the Cambridge 30's overdrive is almost as creamy and errotic as the AC30's. Definatly my favorite sound!

Of course I would have sold the amp already if I didn't pipe the amp through a custom cabinet housing 2 12' Celestion Greenbacks.

no reliablity problems. The stock speaker does rattle and sound kinda nasty at higher volumes, but I use an outboard cab now

no need

I've been playing for 5 years now, and I have used my fair share of equipment, and I have to say that the Cambrdige 30 was definatly worth it's weight in gold.

In fact, I love this amp so much that I now use my cam30/cab combo at all gigs and my AC30 sits at home. Why you ask? Well the Cam30/cab combo is much lighter, has a much larger stage pressance, and is a much better choice for my needs. The overdrive of the cam30 is great and can be switched off at the push of a pedal, the ac30 however has no channel switching, making it too hard to use on stage for quick changes between sounds. (I had to use my guitars onboard volume before) Also I perfer the overdrive of the cam30 towards any distortion effects pedal.

The Cam30 is an incredible amp which I would love to see more artists use, but because of limited numbers and the discontinuation of the amp, I doubt we will see very many on stage...except for mine!

http://www.rolodexmusic.com/audio.html for clips from a recent show using this amp guitar configuration!