August 13, 2008

Rating: 9/10

I bought this off dolphin about two months ago. It\\\'s taken me a while to really get the feel for the amp and do the review justice.

In a nutshell, I really like this amp. It\\\'s got a great sound, in my opinion, particularly on the lower-gain amp models.

The thing that first struck me as odd about it that there is all these amp models, but no ad50vt \\\'native\\\' sound. It is an amp that has no self-identity. Philosophy aside, the clean amp model sounds great, as do the two VOX; ac15 and especially ac30TB.
Surely part of the reason why you\\\'re choosing to buy a VOX in the first place is you like the VOX sound.
For the most part, the amp models tend ot get progressively more gainy and you go clockwise round the models-dial. They are okay too, especially if you don\\\'t have any good effects pedals.
However if you do own your own overdrive, distortion etc. then you\\\'ll probably have more fun mix-n-matching those sounds with the amp models on the first half of the dial.

The built in effects are quite decent, as you\\\'d expect with Roland having a hand in the design. The compressor and the reverb are the stand-outs for me. The paired-up effects are okay, and it is possible to minimise the sound of one while the other stays active.
Again, they won\\\'t match up to high-quality analog effects, but if all you have is your guitar and this amp, then the effects can add a little colour.

The controls take a bit of work to learn. If that sounds like a hassle then there\\\'s always the manual setting where everything (bar the amp model, you still have to choose one) is up to your dialing in.


A feature you\\\'ve no doubt read about is the voltage control on the back. This is really good. I play the amp in my apartment and it can still get that smokin\\\' pumped-up tube sound. I call it warp-contol.
I got a chance to turn the warp-control up high while playing in an audiotorium the other day. When the master vol., gain etc are maxed, the amp tone is the same as when the warp-control is on 2 to when it\\\'s at 8, just LOUDER!

This thing looks great. A friend commented that it looks like it\\\'d keep you warm in winter. It\\\'s pretty heavy. I cart it around on a hand-trolley because I don\\\'t have a car. And it\\\'s sturdy - there\\\'s a lot of bumps on those footpaths. Not to mention the fact that mine was shipped halfway around the world before it got to me, and it still worked fine. I was under the impression that amps with tube in them were really finnicky and delicate, but that\\\'s not the case with the ad50vt.

Drawbacks: VOX, if you\\\'re reading this, how about making the VOX nameplate on the front out of metal? The plastic one on there at present looks cheap.
Also how about printing seperate manuals for the different amps in this series? At present the 5watt gets the same manual as the 100watt, which is crazy because there\\\'s a lot of variation in the design and features as you go up through the price range. It makes the learning phase confusing; there\\\'s already a fair few things to have to learn about this amp.

There\\\'s no effects loop input/output on this amp, as some people have noted.

This amp fits well into that area where you need something better than a small solid-state practice amp, and the lofty heights of an expensive \\\'gigging for a living\\\' fully-tubed amp.
You could definitely gig with the ad50vt (I do) but there might be some situations where it wasn\\\'t loud enough.

MJF
January 29, 2007

Rating: 8/10

This combo-amp is very good for its type and price.

The description says it all and it does all what it says very well. If you want a stand alone item and don't want to buy a load of pedals then you can't go far wrong. The sounds are good enough and easy to set. Clean and dirty is well catered for, along with modulated sounds like chorus and flanger. You can have the main volume on full blast to get the full effect of the 'valve sound' because it has a power volume on the back to tone it down.

You can save two settings and I would recommend the optional foot pedal (£20), which allows you to change easily while playing. It's big, heavy and loud, so the AD30VT model is the better suited amp for a house environment.

Two downsides I've experienced and have noticed on websites, is the guitar input jack can loosen and can go into the unit. So make sure that's always tight. It's a known problem, as is the fact that the unit occasionally muddles effects. It is digital and this happens. A quick swivel of a knob will put this right.

Overall, its sound is warm and very good. The smaller model is better suited to a bedroom as you don’t need the sound this can generate. You can hear it five miles away when full on. On second thoughts, that’s a good reason to buy one.

Peter Richardson
December 27, 2006

Rating: 7/10

I tried one of these \"tube driven\" (valve driven) amps in a music shop while living in California just weeks ago, the sound it makes is yours, from smooth ringing tones, very suitable for acoustic guitars with active transducer pickups, every string will ring like a bell, way round the dial to electric guitar style rich/smooth, overdriven, maxed out metal. There is also some nifty controls on the back panel, one of the controls works like stacking pillows in front of the speaker, so you still get the \"maxed out\" overdriven sound, but pretty quiet, depending how far you turn the knob, so you can use this amp in the bedroom without disturbing the neighbours and you wont need the pillows.
Full EQ, trebble, mid and bass and more efects than i ever used, plus memory to store your settings on each channel (2 channels). There is one \"valve\" inside, the rest is standard electronics and some didital. All pretty convincing to an old (56 years) guitarist like me who actually played these \"valve driven\" things when they were the norm back in the early sixties!
I hope these are more relyable han the \"oldies\" as we always carried a few spare valves and mostly needed them.
I\'m saving up for my Vox AD50 VT and Dolphin music is the best prices I found online, they will certainly get my order!