AD100VT-XL Review

The AD100VT-XL is part of the new VOX Valvetronix XL line, an exciting new range of tube-powered modelling amplifiers that delivers the power and punch that modern rock players require, with a selection of hi-gain sounds that span the entire range of heavy rock music.

Features:	8.5
Sound:	9.5
Reliability:	9
Impression:	9.5
Overall rating:	9.1
Users rating:	8
Comments:	37

Featured review by: unregistered, on october 28, 2008

Price paid: $ 430

Purchased from: Ingrahams Music

Features: The Vox AD100VT-XL is a solid state amp with a tube pre-amp and it is the best sounding amp in it's price range that I have heard. I'm in a ska/punk/folk/alternative band, so clean tones are just as important as the distorted tones, the first day I got the amp I went through all the amp models and effects and they all sound great so regardless of the style you play this amp will have a good a setting for you. A unique and very useful feature is that it not only has a master volume knob but in the back you can change the actual wattage output so you can have the master volume at 10 and just mess with the watt so that it stays consistently powerful at any volume. There is a foot Switch but you have to buy it separately, and for all it's channels and effect you can only Switch between two channels and turn one effect per channel off and on, to me this isn't a problem because I got both my distorted and clean tones exactly where I want them, but I'm sure this will be a problem for people in different bands with different styles, or tone freaks, but to it's credit it's really easy and fast to change and program your sound. Despite this missing feautre, I am very pleased overall with the features. // 9

Sound: The sounds that this amp produces are loud and powerful. There is no distortion in the clean channels at the highest volumes, in fact the higher the volume the clearer and punchier the high channels get. And thanks to the built in noise gate (which is not an effect but a setting built in to the channel) there is only as much feedback as you want there to be on the distorted channels. This amp is flexible so any tone you want, it's possible to reproduce it but the same doesn't go with effects, it has 11 different effects but about half of them are just combinations of the singular effects which is all fine and dandy but you can't combine effects yourself, again to me this isn't much of a problem but I'm sure it will be for those Who use a lot of different effects // 9

Reliability & Durability: It has a steel grill, so I'm sure it was designed with gigging in mind. I've played it at three shows, I've had it for a month and so far it hasn't failed me yet, it has tipped over, been dropped at the astounding height of about 8 inches and it still works good, I spent $430 on this thing so I'm not gonna be running durability tests on this any time soon, but this thing is heavy and built like a tank so I dont see any problems in the future. // 10

Impression: I let a metal band use it at shows when I can so for our style and hardcore music this is a good match, I don't experiment a whole lot with tone but it suits me well, I've been playing for 6 years and consider myself a bit of an audiophile, and this produces my idea of a good tone, an included foot Switch with more channels and effects would have been great but overall, I'm glad I bought this amp and with all of the features, I consider $430 a pretty good value. If this thing we stolen I might by the half stack version of it but I wouldn't change the make or class. // 10

Reviewed by: unregistered, on january 14, 2008

Price paid: $ 600

Purchased from: Local Music Store

Features: This is a Vox 100 watt hybrid amp, meaning it is a mix of SS and tube. It has 2 12inch speakers. This amp has 11 amp models, and 11 effects. Most of the amp models are great, except a couple need tweaking to get a great sound. You can program in 2 presets to your liking. There are 9 distorted channels, and 2 clean ones. The clean channels are exceptionally nice sounding. Most of the channels have some built in effects, but they can be turned off using the bypass button, or you can pick a different effect using the effect selector knob. You can change the sound of each channel to your liking using the the treble, bass, gain, etc. You can get nice bluesy tones this way from some of the channels. The distorted channels are mostly good, none of them are horrible. Thrashed and modern are great for Metallica and Megadeth style stuff, Raged and modern both sound good for Rage Against The Machine, and pretty much any style of hard rock sounds good through most of the channels. The effects are for the most part good. The main problem with the effects is you can't combine them, there are 11 built in effects, with several of those being combinations that came built in. You can edit the properties of the effects, but a little more customization would have been a nice touch. There is an optional footswitch, but it's an extra $35. // 8

Sound: I use a Gibson Les Paul Vintage Mahogany with this amp. My pickups are Burstbucker Pros. I play everything from blues to metal. It might take a while since the first few days you have this amp it can be a bit difficult to figure out how to tweak it just right, but you can get just about any sound out of it. It sounds almost identical to a tube amp. It can deliver everything from beautiful cleans to crazy ammounts of gain. It sounds wonderful. // 10

Reliability & Durability: I would definitely trust this amp in any situation. It does have a breakable tube in it, so I wouldn't go throwing it out the window or anything, but it seems pretty sturdy, and very reliable. It has never given me any problems so far. The metal grill seems like it could prevent most things that would get your speakers knocked in. // 8

Impression: I play many styles of music, and this suits them all. If you play mostly blues or classic rock, I'd recommend going with the standard Valvetronix series instead, but if you play a lot of hard rock or metal, go with this one. This is geared more for metal and hard rock, but can produce some perfect sounds for blues and ska and such, and has some gorgeous cleans. The only downside to this amp is it takes A lot of tweaking to get the perfect sound out of it, but the sounds it is capable of producing are amazing. I play a lot of Sublime, and this is perfect. I play a lot of Metallica as well, and this also suits that even better. I compared this to a Peavey Valveking, and regular Valvetronix. I liked the Vox sound better than the Valveking (didn't like the valveking distortion), and it was close between this and the regular valvetronix. I'd say it is a close tie between this and the standard Vox AD series, but I went with this because I was able to get similar clean sounds out of this, and was able to get much more gain out of this. Overall this is an excellent amp, and would recommend it to anyone. // 9

Comments

[fretsonfire74]

whats the advantage of being a hybrid amp?

[UrMomsMom]

I tried it.. but the distortions a little muddy, maybe you can give us some setings or something like that ?

[Weybl Himself]

fretsonfire74 :
whats the advantage of being a hybrid amp?

It basically means that distortion, if used, comes from the preamp, where theres a single tube (usually a 12AX7 though I'm not sure for this one) then the signal from there is made louder by a solid state power amp. When you're running clean, solid state and tube amps sound identical to the human ear (the reson your fender twins have better cleans than most ss amps is because of other sexy components that are in them, not directly from the tubes). Since the SS power amp isn't being used for overdrive, it's nice and transparent and the end result is a sound that's as close to a tube sound as you'll get without usina an all tube amp.

Downside is that headroom tends to be low, since hybrid amps tend to only have one preamp valve, where all tube amps often have 2 or more. meaning they push into overdrive easily. Also, the other componentry in them tends to be not as high quality as all tube amps, further knocking the tone down. And perhaps most annoyingly, if you love old school rockin tones, you can't get that wonderful sound of an all tube power amp getting crunched up after the preamp tubes are saturated.

[The red Strat.]

actually the valvetronix has a 12AX7 in the power amp ^

[dilbert_5150]

I'm a happy user of the valvetronix series amplifier, and imho it rocks. It's one of the best choices you can make in this price range. Sure, it's not a tube amp, but it's able to produce quite decent sounds. You will be surprised how many other SS amps (even those with great brand naMes...) sucks comparing to this one.

[led,rainsong]

so tube amps start to naturally break up at a higher colume than SS amps?
i always thought it was the other way around and that's why classic rock is so hard to mimick with a SS amp because the break up is so small

[goldendude88]

I have a normal AD100VT Head and Cabinet and i'm more than happy with it...I play from blues to metal to funk to rock soo that amp is great for just about everything...i tried this amp out before i bought that one tho and i cant say i liked this one very much.. i prefered having an equal amount of clean settings to choose from as distortion because i really only need one distortion that i really like if im playing for metal and then for calssic rock i use another..but the XL just seemed to have alot of lower quality distortion channels that i just couldnt get a good sound out of... I def. liked the reg. AD series better.. but try both and see which one u like better....both amps should acctually be much more expensive than what they are because of the quality of them and how great they sound

[KY_GuitarMan]

Honestly I've spent a lot of time using this amp and Line 6 Flextone III XL. They're both relatively the same cost. I think the Line 6, although it's 100% solid state, beats the Valvetronix.

Tone is very subjective to guitarists. We all know this. The Flextone gives you more flexibility when tweaking to get the sound you want. I hear a lot of guys give quick reviews on the Line 6. "Bad low end, distortions muddy out." I used to be one of those guys but it's only because I wasn't putting in the time to tweak it. A lot of guys don't realize that the tone controls (drive, presence, treble, mid, bass) are different for every amp model. You really have to put in the time and tweak the models you want.

The day that I decided to do that I was at Guitar Center and there was a Line 6 tech there putting on a demo of the Flextone. He had the same one I owned right out of the box (I watched him open it). He was blowing away everything I could do. I even stayed after to challenge him. I thought he had to be cheating somehow. He told me the same thing about the tone controls and asked me what I'd like to model. For the heck of it I threw out "Hell's Bells" by AC/DC. That tune has some really good chimey tube tone. I'll be damned if this guy didn't dial it in amazingly close in about 30 seconds. He was on the jcm 800 model had the treble fairly low (3-4) and the presence all the way up. He also had the drive lower than I would have tried and changed the reverb type (something I didn't even know you could do). After that I realized I had to put in the time and I've been very happy. I don't get all that flexibility in the Valvetronix. They're both nice amps. That's my two cents worth. Rock on!

[PRSweet]

I played this amp at a local Guitar Store, and I have to say I wasn't that impressed. It just sounded...well...bad. Not a big fan. A friend of mine has the AD100VT it's really a better purchase. I'm not sure why there seems to have been such a difference, but it's there.

[LivioBR]

i got this amp... and i actually have spent time tweaking it and i have some complaints...i dont know why de clean channel (glass) has som gain in it.. and when i turn the gain knob to the left it loses volume.. so i just have to put up with that damn fuzz lol...and my other problem is that it seemsthat the only decent distortion it has is damaged... for example thrashed has almost no gain and i certainly cant use it to play metallica... well so i'm a bit worried i'm not sure if its because of my guitar (rg1550 with dimarzio tone zones)... or if there's something wrong with the amp, because i'm sure it has to be better than that... well i would really apreciate some tips or advices

[LivioBR]

i bought this one... and i have experienced some problems with it.. but i think maybe its because there's something wrong with the tube or something... first the clean channels (glass and funked) have some gain in them.. and if i turn de gain knob to the left they start to loose volume, so its not possible to remove that damn fuzz completely... secondly most of the dirty channels don't have much gain, for example my thrashed channel is far from heavy and i certainly can't play metallica with it, and in some of the other channels when the volume is high there's a screeching sound when i stop playing(it's not feedback at all, and it's in some channels like damaged or raged).. well, besides i have spent some time tweaking it and i can't fix these problems... by the way my guitar is a rg1550 with dimarzio tone zones.. so i would really like someone to tell me if its because i need better pickups or there's something wrong qith the tube or some part of the amp... or if it just sucks..

[dirtfoot]

LivioBR -IMHO there is no better passive pickup than the Tone Zone so I don't think you need to replace those. Me thinks your amp may need service work instead.

[iheartmy7]

LivioBR :
i got this amp... and i actually have spent time tweaking it and i have some complaints...i dont know why de clean channel (glass) has som gain in it.. and when i turn the gain knob to the left it loses volume.. so i just have to put up with that damn fuzz lol...and my other problem is that it seemsthat the only decent distortion it has is damaged... for example thrashed has almost no gain and i certainly cant use it to play metallica... well so i'm a bit worried i'm not sure if its because of my guitar (rg1550 with dimarzio tone zones)... or if there's something wrong with the amp, because i'm sure it has to be better than that... well i would really apreciate some tips or advices

thats actually the 3rd complaint i've heard from someone using this amp with dimarzio tone zones, it must be a combination of the 2.

[HELLSHREDD]

i picked up the 50 watt 2x12 xl & it is great for lead & for 414$ canadian it is worth every dollar , i play with EMG-81 & it sound wicked for the bedroom, a great practice amp for metal & better than line .

[Riffing Demon]

I have to agree with HELLSHREDD the line 6 isnt a bad amp but if your wanting a metal amp then this amp is the one to buy. I've been to the guitar shop about 100 time in the last 3 weeks trying out amps. I had a budget so I used almost all the amps in the shop and my last amp was this one today. The 50 watt version was what came home after 3 weeks of having no idea what to get. I wanted something to play anything from Metallica to Slayer to Suicide Silence, this ****ing amp can do it all. Better sounding than a Roland Cube and KILLED the Line 6!! I use a Ibanez Xiphos with D-activator pickups. Sounds brutal as ****!! Buy this amp if you want killer metal tones for a good price!!!!!

[Riffing Demon]

Oh and just FYI this amp was built for metal. If you want sweet cleans, go buy a fender or something..... Not trying to be an ass just letting people know.

[HELLSHREDD]

VOX has been making amps for over 50 years , & this amp in 50 watts kicks some serious ass! I have owned it for 1 week & im very happy with it & for the price i really dont think anything will come close ! I might take it back & get the 100 watt , but im not sure cuz this little one sounds so great , but if you wanna get some great sound grab this amp & rock out!

[HELLSHREDD]

VOX has been making amps for over 50 years , & this amp in 50 watts kicks some serious ass! I have owned it for 1 week & im very happy with it & for the price i really dont think anything will come close ! I might take it back & get the 100 watt , but im not sure cuz this little one sounds so great , but if you wanna get some great sound grab this amp & rock out!

[HELLSHREDD]

Try turning your volume on the guitar down & add some chorus , you will get some sweet clean sound.

iheartmy7 wrote:

LivioBR :
i got this amp... and i actually have spent time tweaking it and i have some complaints...i dont know why de clean channel (glass) has som gain in it.. and when i turn the gain knob to the left it loses volume.. so i just have to put up with that damn fuzz lol...and my other problem is that it seemsthat the only decent distortion it has is damaged... for example thrashed has almost no gain and i certainly cant use it to play metallica... well so i'm a bit worried i'm not sure if its because of my guitar (rg1550 with dimarzio tone zones)... or if there's something wrong with the amp, because i'm sure it has to be better than that... well i would really apreciate some tips or advices

thats actually the 3rd complaint i've heard from someone using this amp with dimarzio tone zones, it must be a combination of the 2.

[Mattlikesguitar]

This little amp might be the most bargain, universal metal amp you can get. OK so its not fully a tube amp, but for metal who cares, I mean some metal guitarists use SS amps anyway. Ive read some critism of the valvetronix saying thay should have used a power amp tube instead of a preamp tube (12ax7) as a power tube. But for metal/hard rock that may not matter.

[mtfrankenstein]

i just bought AD100VT-XL,when i plug in my guitar for the first time hit the Preset button, the two clean models are fine but the preset Amp models from Crunched to Damaged is really noisy, muddy and almost unplayable. But i messed around a little bit with the knobs on the Dameged model on the Manual mode and it was the alright. My question is do i have to go through each and every Amp models and change them? Any help?

[HELLSHREDD]

I just recently took back my ad50vt-xl for the 100 watt version & let me tell you folks , DO NOT BUY this 100 watter it ****ing sucks! It has an open back & sounds like crap period, BUT the 50 watt version is simply amazing with the closed back , so if you are into metal go4 the 50 watter & be so happy without spending thousands

[Purple_Tears156]

I dont have the AD100VT-xl
but i have the AD15VT which, in my opinion, is amazing so i cant rele imagine how amazing the AD100VT-Xl would be be

[HighwayHawk]

LivioBR wrote:

i bought this one... and i have experienced some problems with it.. but i think maybe its because there's something wrong with the tube or something... first the clean channels (glass and funked) have some gain in them.. and if i turn de gain knob to the left they start to loose volume, so its not possible to remove that damn fuzz completely... secondly most of the dirty channels don't have much gain, for example my thrashed channel is far from heavy and i certainly can't play metallica with it, and in some of the other channels when the volume is high there's a screeching sound when i stop playing(it's not feedback at all, and it's in some channels like damaged or raged).. well, besides i have spent some time tweaking it and i can't fix these problems... by the way my guitar is a rg1550 with dimarzio tone zones.. so i would really like someone to tell me if its because i need better pickups or there's something wrong qith the tube or some part of the amp... or if it just sucks..

it's time to change the preamp tube,perhaps it got damaged while shipping or something like that.

[bls4life8]

i have the vox ad30vt xl
and its awesome
i was gonna either get the marshall mg50 or the vox ad30vt xl and im so glad i got the vox its the better amp

[H_ngm_n]

I've been preaching since I first played one that these are some really amazing amps for a really nice price. Good for a practice amp or even a gig amp for a budget musician.

[gwitersnamps]

Weybl Himself wrote:

fretsonfire74 :
whats the advantage of being a hybrid amp?

It basically means that distortion, if used, comes from the preamp, where theres a single tube (usually a 12AX7 though I'm not sure for this one) then the signal from there is made louder by a solid state power amp. When you're running clean, solid state and tube amps sound identical to the human ear (the reson your fender twins have better cleans than most ss amps is because of other sexy components that are in them, not directly from the tubes). Since the SS power amp isn't being used for overdrive, it's nice and transparent and the end result is a sound that's as close to a tube sound as you'll get without usina an all tube amp.

Downside is that headroom tends to be low, since hybrid amps tend to only have one preamp valve, where all tube amps often have 2 or more. meaning they push into overdrive easily. Also, the other componentry in them tends to be not as high quality as all tube amps, further knocking the tone down. And perhaps most annoyingly, if you love old school rockin tones, you can't get that wonderful sound of an all tube power amp getting crunched up after the preamp tubes are saturated.

Wrong on a couple of points.

The AD amps don't have a tube in the preamp, the tube runs a .5 watt power amp section between the solid state preamp and power amp.

Head room is usually HIGHER on a hybrid, since there is a clean boost from the solid state power section.

And the tubes have a HUGE effect on fender clean tones. Even clean tones have a little bit of drive.

[sean1993]

hi does anyone know the dimensions of the amp and what the main differences between this amp and the 50 watt version. thankyou
sean

[warrenguitar]

This is the mother of all amps!

[sic_riffs]

sean1993 wrote:

hi does anyone know the dimensions of the amp and what the main differences between this amp and the 50 watt version. thankyou
sean

50 watts aint as loud, basically 100 watts would be great for larger gigs and drowning out your drummer at rehearsals, 50 watts would be better hard jam sessions and small to medium pub/tavern gigs but dont knock off 50 watts it depends what you need size and power (like me!)or well something that wont eat your pocket away!!

[sic_riffs]

Heres the dimensions of all the amps

Dimensions (W x D x H)

AD15VT-XL: 428 x 224 x 430 (mm)/16.85" x 8.82" x 16.93" (inches)

AD30VT-XL: 456 x 224 x 483 (mm)/17.95" x 8.82" x 19.02" (inches)

AD50VT-XL: 673 x 265 x 485 (mm)/26.50" x 10.43" x 19.95" (inches)

AD100VT-XL: 684 x 268 x 553 (mm)/26.93" x 10.55" x 21.77" (inches)

[tempesthero512]

i had this amp for quite some time now. of course its not a high end amp, such as a mesa or marshall, but the sounds it can create are killer close. i own a schecter tempest custom and ive got to say this amp owns. get a whole lot for quite a low amount of cash.

[ibanez77]

LivioBR wrote:

i got this amp... and i actually have spent time tweaking it and i have some complaints...i dont know why de clean channel (glass) has som gain in it.. and when i turn the gain knob to the left it loses volume.. so i just have to put up with that damn fuzz lol...and my other problem is that it seemsthat the only decent distortion it has is damaged... for example thrashed has almost no gain and i certainly cant use it to play metallica... well so i'm a bit worried i'm not sure if its because of my guitar (rg1550 with dimarzio tone zones)... or if there's something wrong with the amp, because i'm sure it has to be better than that... well i would really apreciate some tips or advices

I have this amp and you are right about the thrashed amp model, its pretty useless, but it definetly sounds like you have a melon of an amp because this is a great amp. for metallica try tweaking around with the the "black" amp setting thats what i use anyways.

[wolfeman85]

UrMomsMom wrote:

I tried it.. but the distortions a little muddy, maybe you can give us some setings or something like that ?

Could be your guitar.

[reddeltasev]

To deal with muddiness, you can try raising your pickups. If that doesn't work, try a set of clearer pickups. The Duncan hotrodded set, a pair of EMGs, or Dimarzio D-Activators would work nicely, I think.

[slipknot_420]

I bought this amp about a month ago from americanmusical.com for 299.00 this is a great amp!!

[slipknot_420]

Also about the muddiness its most likely your pickups,
you could use an equalizer pedal in the effects loop
to clean up the muddiness.