Vox Night Train NT15H

If you've looked at this amp you can planely see the features.....no sense tellingyou again here.

Here's where my amp differs from others. I bought the amp and didn't even play it. I immediately took it apart and changed out all the caps to orange drops, added FRED's, added a Mercury magnetics choke, and a Mercury output transformer as well. I also went the extra mile and added LED's to the inside of mine to make it light up when it was on...I chose blue for all my LED's in case your wondering! I really like this amp period. It's not a $4000 multi-channel changing amp, doesn't pretend to be! To me it sounds very similar to some boutique 18 watt amps out there. I really can't say if it's just my mods that make it sound like this or if the stock amp does the trick? Remember tone is a very personal thing and not all people like the same thing......sorry!

I don't think it will ever break down....I'm sure some peoples will over time but the majority will be fine for years. The stock components aren't top quality, but they aren't complete garbage either.

never had to deal with them....

It's a good amp....as far as newer production amps go I think it's a home run. It has a great price and I think a lot of people will like it.

I run/operate Freakshow Effects...if you want to know more or how to mod the amp shoot me an e-mail. info.freakshoweffects@yahoo.com

Ok, this is both a review and an answer to the previous comments below. First, this is a one-channel amp. There is no need for a footswitch with ONE CHANNEL! The thick mode is simply a modification of the clean channel. Second, if you do some research you'll find out exactly what it has and what it doesn't before you buy the thing. But the truth is, it has exactly the features I want: it's small, portable, powerful and versatile. One point off for no effects loop, which I wouldn't use anyway :)

Again, I'm not sure what that guy was listening to, but it certainly wasn't this amp! Just kidding, but I really can't get a BAD sound out of it. It has tons of headroom, and is very articulate. But if you're looking for a muddy, undefined sound then you should look elsewhere. It also depends on what guitar you're playing. It might be too bright with certain cabs and certain single-coil settings. But frankly, I'm using it with a 1x12 cab fitted with a Celestion alnico Gold and it sounds AMAZING!!! The clarity and warmth are incredible. And as good as the clean is, the wide and predictable pan from clean to dirty is very welcome. The thick mode is simply icing on an already kick-*** cake! I'm also using it with a 2x12 cab fitted with Eminence Lady Lucks, which adds brightness, but is still full and thick when you want it to be.

I did an A/B with this amp and an Egnater Rebel 20. For me, the difference was night and day. The Eggy had way more features, like the blendable power tubes, etc. But for me it was not nearly as defined a sound. The Night Train went toe-to-toe in overdriven, but for clean there was no comparison. And the Rebel's ability to blend the tube types is clever, but in practice you really won't notice a big difference.

I'm not trying to demean the previous review, but just because you can't make this amp sound like a Marshall covered with overcoats is not Vox's fault. Maybe you're using single coils with trebly speakers, I don't know. But you have to try really hard to make this amp sound bad.

This is a heavy little beast, and built to last. I appreciate the fact that the circuitry is on the less complicated side. I feel confident that this is going to be with me for a long, long time.

Haven't had to deal with them. I'm sure it's about as much fun as getting your teeth pulled.

It's too bad that some people are trashing what is a truly wonderful amp. So my only advice is this: Go find one and try it out for yourself! This way, you can avoid buying something that really isn't for you and unfairly trash it on the internet.

2009 model. Versatile enough that I can put any pedal in front of it and sounds fine. I use ths amp for all live gigs and will use it in the studio. Lots of power for most gigs, otherwise will throw a '57 in front of it.3 band tone controls, gain and master.

Using with 84 Strat and 2004 Godin LG p-90. Both guitars have been customized with Lollar P/Ups. Great El84 break up - sweet tone. Don't understand the moron who's complaining that amp can't be used in stereo.
What does that have to do with the tone of the amp? Anyway, the amp sounds very good in most of the situations that I've used it in. Someone complaining about the amp being too bright should try turning the treble down and increase the lows. Not rocket science.

No issues at all. Seems well built.

Haven't had to use CS yet

Good amp for the money. In it's own way sounds as good as many of the 'boutique' 15->18 watters that I've tried.

The idiotic review by 'ronnie' just serves to show what a complete bonehead he is and how his string of 1's and 2's have no relation to the NT (how you could possibly rate it so low only serves to show how pathetic and venomous he is and how he knows nothing about the amp or about setting them up in stereo) and just to pull the average scores down.

Ok...the review.

It's a great little head that is portable, loud and very dynamic. You can get a huge range of tones from this little wonder without any real work. Adjust the gain, triode/pentode switch, bright/thick switch and your tone changes again and again.

It's so versatile: country, vox chimey cleans, hairy blues, texas blues, rock, old school blues/rock/80s metal (not modern) all with wonderful pick dynamics and really impressive tone.

I wish it had reverb and 'channel' switching...that's it.

It's loud enough to do small gigs and it should still sound great at this volume level.

It has an unusually wide variety of tones it can produce so it makes the points lost for reverb/switching back.

It's really quiet until you crank it right up on the thick mode but it's still very quiet.

Doesn't howl and turn to mush at this level either. Nice tube compression and sag using triode mode.

The triode mode is really creamy and nice in thick mode and more modern and 'rock' in pentode.

You get such diverse sounds just playing around with the two switches (thick/bright and triode/pentode) and with some minor tweaks of the gain it transforms the sound of the amp.

I've mostly used it into a 2x12 combo cab with split humbucker into single coils on the bright mode and humbuckers on the thick mode.

It can be really snappy in pentode/bright with the right guitar with a neck single coil and sounds wonderful.

It naturally doesn't have as much bottom end as my 120watt 2x12 combo but it's still got a really nice sound.

It's like an armoured silver toaster.

Weighs 17 pounds and comes with a bag.

Hopefully it should be fine - just don't drop it!

N/A

I wanted a smaller, more portable amp that didn't weigh 70 pounds.

This little beauty works really well with my M13 floor board and provides me with a potential 'small gig' platform.

I really like it. It's got great dynamic tones and a host of them to boot.

The distortion and crunch are nice and progressive and sound great.

I'm going to grab the NT 1x12 cab which comes with celestion greenbacks when it gets to Aus.

I will then have a nice versatile setup without spending thousands.

It does a really decent Marshall impression and Fender(ish) impression but doesn't necessarily sound 'like' a Vox.

It has that Voxiness about it so you know where its roots lies but it's got a sound all its own.

I like that.

It really is a cool amp and should (with the right pedal board) provide you with a cool practice/jamming platform and a small gigging platform that you can easily move from house to car to gig and back again without any hassle.

And, it has tone so good that tube snobs will notice.

Out of all the small heads that are now appearing, I would say it???s got some of the best tones. You can pretty much do anything with this little guy unlike the blackheart or tiny terror for example.

The Night Train can really do it all. It just doesn???t have channel switching or reverb but with a good pedal board, this isn???t as big a problem as it first seems.

It also does a great Slash GnRoses tone ??? so bottoms up, I???m on the Night Train...

My staple amp for gigging is a fender pro jr that I made into a head and run through a 1x12 cabinet. I was looking at the night train because it had the same wattage, but was two channel which offered more headroom on the clean side and a good crunch on the distorted side. I play in three different working bands with styles varying from reggae, classic rock, country, and worship music.

This amps biggest failure feature-wise is the lack of a footswitch. I don't understand why you would bother giving an amp two channels and then not allow for switching back and forth. I was planning on modding it which probably wouldn't be too hard, but IMO, it wouldn't have been too hard for vox to include this in the first place.

I listened to this amp online a hundred times before I purchased it, and was blown away by how good it sounded. However when I got it home, I was not impressed. Compared to my two other amps (I have a laney lc30-II and my pro jr) this amp was thin and weak sounding with way too much high end. I pretty much had to back the treble nob all the way down to make it bearable. I tried several variations of cabs and worked with my pedals to try and get a decent tone out of this, but nothing I did seemed to make much difference.

This is not to say this isn't a good solid little amp, it's just not for me. I know some country players really like a top end boost, and this amp might work great for them.

I play a lot of different styles, so I need something that has a good warm tone to begin with and I can build the sound I need with my pedals from there.

Only played it for about a week, so I can't say.

Seemed like a solid little amp tho.

I dealt with the store I bought it from, not vox.. so I have no opinion on this either.

I give it a solid 6. For $500 you should be getting something a little more versatile and fuller tone-wise out of the box.

I got the Vox a few months ago following the purchase of my first electric guitar. I've always played acoustics and have an AER which is brilliant for that, but didn't work with my Gretsch.
The amp is simple and does exactly what I wanted. It's small, portable, loud enough for live use (mic it up for bigger stages), easy to control and is always musical.
The lack of effects mean I'm going to spend more money on stomp boxes, but I can do that a bit at a time.
Oh, and it looks gorgeous, which means I'm happy to leave it set up in my front room, so I play it more often.

I have a Gretsch Electromatic semi-acoustic with single coil DeArmond pick ups. The Vox makes this guitar sing. My lead guitar partner is eating himself with jealousy at this little set up. The tone is simply gorgeous, from bright to buzzy, jangly to chewy it just sounds fantastic.
It can get a bit noisy on the 'thick' setting when there's a lot of equipment around, but if I flick onto my middle setting on the Gretsch the single coils imitate a humbucker and it quietens down a bit.
The range of sounds I can get is more than enough for me. I'm playing with more distortion than I thought I would coz it sounds musical.
It stays pretty clean up to about 12 on the gain, then this lovely crackle begins to appear that gets bigger and better. On the 'thick' setting it can go fairly insane, but still musical. Get the matched cabinet for it to get the best out of it (it's creamy, powerful, plenty bass, stays cleaner longer and then breaks up gorgeously).
This amp just puts a smile on my face and makes me want to play. It gives fantastic tone at reasonable volumes, but gets loud enough to use for gigging.

It's surprisingly heavy for a little beast and seems very well made. The plasticky knobs and handle are a slight disappointment, but only slight. It's simple, should be easy to look after, has a nice gig bag. I've played several gigs with no issues and it's been used almost every day for about 4 months at home. Good so far...

The only thing here was the wait and the misinformation about delivery times. It took me three months via two companies to get the head and a further three for the cab to arrive. So I have severe doubts I'd get much help if anything went wrong.

I've been playing for 30 years, I've got an acoustic and a classical and pair those with my AER Alpha 60. I bought a Gretsch last Xmas and the Vox was needed to get the most out of that. I couldn't have made a better choice. I really love this amp. Perhaps, if I start playing larger venues I might have to buy something louder, but for now, this is perfect.

Bought new this year. 15 watts. Pentode (15 watts) mode, or Triode (7.5 watts) mode selector switch, main power switch; bass, mid, treble controls; gain, volume, and a toggle for Bright (clean) and Thick (crunch). Inside, a pair of EL84 tubes deliver the tube power. Two 12AX7 tubes drive the preamp stage. This is the same tube complement as the classic VOX AC15. Chrome plated (looks like a toaster). Comes with a nice padded gig bag with carry straps, and a polish cloth.

I went out shopping for a low wattage, at-home practice amp. #1 on the list was a Fender Blues Jr. My local Guitar Center had just taken in on trade, a Germino cab with 2-12" Celestian Greenbacks. These are killer cabs. Sell new for around $650; they had $399 on the tag, and the cab looked like new. So, I plugged in the Night Train and the fun began! It really seems more like a two channel amp, as the toggle switch from Bright (clean) to Thick (loud and nasty) makes a big difference. After playing around for nearly an hour, I bought the Vox head and the killer Germino cab. Spent more than I had intended, but after hearing the how versitile this Vox head can be...well, you know. By messing with the gain and the master volume, you will be amazed at the variety of sounds this amp is capable of. It will only go so loud and still stay clean, but then, this is a low-wattage tube amp. Shocking loud, extremely dynamic. The thick "channel" will squawk, scream, and wail. With the gain past 3 c'clock, you can get some good crunch while still in Bright mode. Then, with the toggle on Thick...good golly Miss Molly, lead tones, compression, sag, choked out tubes for days!!! At normal conversation level loudness, this thing can sound like a dimed Marshall stack.

Only had it for a few months. So far everything is fine. Smells like burning tubes and hot wire when running hard, but the chassis is very well ventilated. Vox makes good stuff, so I don't anticipate any out-of-the ordinary issues.

Never had to deal with them.

I've been playing for 7 years. Classic rock/blues in a bar band, plus electric and acoustic guitars in our church praise band.
Guitars: Fender strat with birdseye maple neck & seymour duncans, Epi LesPaul goldtop '56 re-issue with P-90's (which loves this Vox), Fender Super Reverb '65 re-issue (who loves the Strat, of course), Martin HD-35, Taylor 614-ce, Breedlove 12 string. Pedals: CryBaby wah, Fulltone GT-500 Boost/Overdrive (killer pedal), BigMuff Fuzz, Carl Martin surf-Tremolo. The Vox is very pedal friendly. Honest to the sources, relatively quiet until the gain is turned WAY up. Very happy with this purchase. Would buy again.

2009.
purchased two units to run in a stereo application

Running in stereo , forget it. Simply can't be done. The way in input jack is wired it is impossible to run in stereo. Internal oscillation
and a high pitched squeal when setting gain and volume at 12 oclock or higher. Vox simply told me that it wasn't made for a stereo situation???
For 180.00 I could have the service center isolate the input by having the circut board cut out from the circuit and seperating it from rest of circuit....

Run strat into compressor - distortion - stereo delay (eventide timefactor) split signal right and left into Vox's.

Joke

Joke.

This was my tenth(10) vox purchase in 4 1/2 years. All were crap and all warrantied except for my two AC15's that severd me well.

Although it was designed in UK

I was going to bash Chinese and Viet Nam Amps, they are so low tech generally speaking. On this one it's the engineers at VOX UK.

You should tell the consumer in literature that it WASN'T designed to be used in stereo. Come on , nearly every Edge clone guitarist runs stereo.

Basic as they come.

Most amps, don't do what they're supposed to when you turn the knobs.
Because this one does, it allows a complete range of tones, and gains, at a real useful output power level.

That's a little, and that's a lot. Simple, but able to render killer tone, within a range, on demand.

It's real no frills unit...great..less to go wrong! The pre=amp section is well able to go from bell quality clean, to over saturated brit gain, in a heartbeat. Extremely interactive controls, in a very musical way. No loop jacks even. Real straightforward.

This feels real solidly built as it should be. No failure in hardware quality. Pots feel smooth as well, and also solid.
None of that weak-shaft crap happenin' here! These pots are the real thing. The thing is built like a Sherman!

It's a single channel unit. No BS, just a real variable tone and gain amp at a reasonable power. (like what it's supposed to do)

The polished grill top is a class touch if you ask me!
It looks great!

One of the nice design aspects, is that unlike Fenders, the tubes are mounted right-side up.
Fenders bake themselves to death because of this.
Vox has a long history as does Marshall, of recognizing this critical eng. detail.

Also, the switches are good hardware as well. I would have liked to see a jeweled pilot lamp. This is a back to the 50's design.
Hugely simple. Deceivingly simple.

The great tone is in part, tube choice in design stage. I was hugely glad the EL84 was chosen. This is a great tube, similar to the EL34, but half the power. A great flavor as they are driven.
So between the pre drive, and post drive, a whole slew of tones, and grit are attainable.

The variability of the tone, drive, and saturation is pretty diverse.
Two independant drive paths, the preamp can be set to whatever drive level you wish, and the power section can be driven as hard as you like, without driving your fillings loose in the process.

East to attain great tone and sound, at a lower volume level.
I found myself liking the clean tones very much. Clean as the proverbial whistle, with a real nice level of bass. It can sound VERY full when dialed up. It can sounds as gravel-ey as you like, and every nuance you can think of.

More a blusey sound, than metal like a marshall, but every bit as Brit sounding. If you play well it responds. Very touch sensitive to pickup output and string attack.

Really nice tones are there. Very 'Vox' sounding head.
The unit exhibits a small amount of hum, but negligible really.
If you play blues, you'll really like it.
If you play country, you will like it.
If you play Jazz, you'll like it.
If you play hard rock, stick with the Marshall.

It's a tube amp. Tubes are beyond the control of the amp manufacturer.
As such, one needs to maintain such equipment as a normal process of ownership of such a device. Amps need tube change outs from time to time, as this amp will.

Tube amps offer a far superior tone. This amp delivers that in spades!

Since it's so well built, your unit will likely not need mechanical service if you take care of it. It is one solid unit!

Std. warranty. Tubes aside. I am expecting this device to last quite a while with proper care and maintenance. As it is new, we'll see how they support any issues encountered.

Over all, it's a killer little amp. I'm using one 12" Celestion, and it sounds great. I'll maybe get a bigger cab to see how that sounds.
In a studio, it Nice Amp!

Most important features - switchable 15 or 7.5 watts, which accommodates lower volume gigs. Bright or thick switch - kind a cool- use depends on your desires. I don't find it terribly useful to use the thick switch. Compared to an ac15 (similar amp) it doesn't have reverb or trem. This isn't terrible though, since the reverb on the CCAC15 isn't great, and the trem isn't amazing or anything. By comparison the NT is more versatile in terms of OD and crunch sounds. Also, the fact that it's a head is better too, as you can combine it with any speaker cab (has 8, and 16 outs) so with a reverb and trem pedal (if you want) it's like a AC 15 but way more versatile/ useful.

Sound quality is classic VOX territory. It sounds much like the new CC AC15, but the drive sounds better to me - more solidified. I don't actually like the drive sound on the newer AC15s - it sounds like the clean tone with a fizzlyness underneath it - like two tones mixed together. BY comparison the NT has the VOX upper mid chime and focus, but when pushed it sounds more organic and pleasing. It can produce a great variety of drive sounds, making it very useful. It doesn't do metal (thank god) and those who look to this amp for "metal" tones and are disappointed should ask themselves what they expected. No one uses VOX amps for metal - the whole EQ focus of VOX amps is anti - metal - it's bright, chimey, and thin - but in a great way. If you want metal, go buy some sterile dark distortion grinder like a dark star or Bogner. The NT is still a VOX amp (thank goodness) and so produces decent, clean sparkling tones that can be pushed into raunchy, rich overdrive. As far as the VOX tone goes, the sound is a bit thin and brittle. This can be altered with numerous changes (MM output transformer etc, but by the time you've dropped that much cash you could afford an actual AC30, or a used AC15 handwire, so what's the point). I find that the right speaker combo, with a nice cab, and setting tweaks will give you what you want. Amp sounds better with a Fulltone Fulldrive 2 pushing it slightly (as do most amps!). The thick setting - for me (I play in an alt country band) isn't very useful because it sounds too blunt and lacks the upper mid cut that makes the VOX OD tone so useful. The thick mode can be cool - for certain tones and is fun for layering while recording, but generally it seems like a gimmick feature designed to give people the idea that they are getting "heavy" gain. In my opinion more gain doesn't equate to better tone. Good chunk, crunch is often obtained with mildly driven guitars layered together.

So far so good!

This amp makes a great alternative to the AC 15 due to its increased flexibility. Combine this little guy with the cab of your choice, and a couple pedals, and you've got a better, more useful rig hands down. Plus it's a LOT lighter. What do they make those CC AC15's out of - granite??? This amp is exactly what I've been waiting for - vox tone in an affordable, portable package!!! This amp is incredible considering how cheap it is. (seriously - why buy a fancy boutique amp like the doctor Z (AC15/30 clones) for five times as much. They do sound better, but five times better? Only if you have money to burn, and no real musician I know has money to spare, let alone burn. The NT was made for actual people, while flash boutique amps are made for Doctors and Lawyers (a few pros use them too...) For my purposes it's better than say the Tiny Terror, as it actually has great clean tones. The TT slightly sounds better when cranked, but that's all I like about it, so it's not useful except as a studio tool. This amp, however, can actually do it all, and is my new main rig. One final note - I looked at another amp before the NT - the Egnator Rebel. In theory the Rebel is genius - it reputedly offers you the ability to go from a fender deluxe (6V6 tubes) to an AC15 (EL84s). This is exactly what I want out of life. Sadly, the amp does neither. The cleans are flat and lifeless, and the drive is ugly. Switching between tubes does little, and over all the amp sounds like a solid state - and not even a good one. Orange makes a SS amp - the crush series, that actually sounds really cool. I love the drive on those things. The egnator, however, is terrible. Thank goodness VOX made the NT!!!