Vox VT20X 1x8" 20W Modeling Guitar Combo Amp w/DSP & Hybrid Design

I'll concur with another who mentions this is the most amazing bang for the buck they had spent! I have had for several weeks now and this little amp has caused me to substantially reduce the playing time of my other amps. I have other quality tube and solid state amps. Some are very recent. Yes - I'm a bit of a gear slut. I enjoy playing with new technology and the search for TONE. A lot is made of the holy grail of tube tone. I will admit I still like tubes in their ability to tweek just so - their mostly organic smoothness that can be lost with lesser solid state. Except today solid state is not so much lesser. Perhaps this is not quite tube tone in every sense of the word to a tube snob - but - it - simply - sounds - great. Whatever it is, I really like the sounds coming out of this amp, and that is what floats my boat at high tide. Another nice coming of age with today's solid state is that quite a bit of the presets are very useable. Usually I hate 90+% of the presets of modeling amps and gear, and only the cleaner ones are useable. And usually require some tweeking above that. This comes with an amazing spectrum of presets that sound great and out of the box useable. That includes some that are clearly dirtier, warmer, fuller than the typical cleans that solid state amps tend to be good at. I find that I can just move to a great sounding preset and just - play. It does sound wonderful and I find I forget everything but playing the guitar. To me - that's the ultimate compliment to an amp. I tend to play more cleanly, but love rich dynamics, lush, punch and warmth too. As mentioned I can usually adjust to a preset and be happy. The presets seem to be pretty well thought out and easy to get adjust across a range till you find the one. I've honestly not tweeked as much, nor played with the tone room software. I haven't *had* to. But - I have I've found the tube control really is nice at shaping a tubish tone they represent. A bonus above the other standard EQ, gain, channel and master volume controls. Also you can interplay between the channel and master volume much like a tube amp if desired. I've not played it loud, but the speaker sounds great. I would consider it an amazing value for simply for the features I've mentioned. And it still has quite a bit more. The only ding might be its construction. Pretty obvious it's not built like a tank, but so far so good... Probably could not recommend *anything* else I've played through above this amp for a fun light use workhorse and practice amp. Addendum 8/29/2016: I've got quite a few amps and I tend to cycle through them - each for awhile and with various guitars. What strikes me most about this amp is what you are getting for the money. The presets are wonderful. I tend to prefer clean, but can certainly appreciate warmth, grit and smooth overdriven breakup. The Fender, VOX and Marshall emulations in the above realm are very nice! Some they model I can't verify if they indeed sound like the original - but they simply sound great to me. What I have found - and is true of many SS amps is that you need a strong input signal. So using a clean boost as needed goes a long ways to avoid a lot of the artifacts that you can get otherwise. With a weak input - yes - I sometimes get the snare drum envelope and crappy fade out on sustained notes. Heat up your guitar input and use the volume attenuator - then adjust the input down and volume up till you hear it. Tube amps seem to be more tweakable and tolerant on the guitar input. But this new hybrid matches up well once you get a zone it likes. Then the other perks really leave behind what you will get on the typical tube amp. Again this amp really does sound good with well chosen presets to showcase a fairly good range of different amps. It has it's own effects and uses many of them on it's preset - so likely good quality. I tend to use my modest pedals which work well in front of this amp. I like the presets and find exploring them rich enough that I've not tried to fool with this amp manually. It does seem to have a reach feature set to adjust in sound - again likely good as they have quite a good rand of presets sounds. Done nothing on the software side of this amp - so can't attest to it. It's load and proud perfect for an apartment or small setting. Short of giggable on a scale past that. It is holding up well. I'm not gigging and moving this around. It is light and doesn't look like it will take abuse. All in all though -- *very* well liked and holds its place in my stable of amps...

I've been playing guitar for 30+ years. It was my whole life from about 14-24. Played in a world famous (well locally anyway) band. The whole 9 yards. I never had money but had to fork over enough to allow me to play with other professionals and play live frequently. So I've owned a couple of Marshalls and a Peavy. Slapped on an ADA for effects and I was off. Suffice to say I am not an audio file/sound geek. Of course I LOVE good sound as much as the next guy but rarely did I mess around with it. It was just - get a couple of good sounds and jam. So 25+ years have gone by since my last amp purchase as regular life, supporting and raising a family etc has taken over. Oddly enough, even though I am much better off than I was back in the day I decided to just start small and find something under 200 bucks. Amazon lead me to this Vox vt20x modeling Amp. I've read over the years that solid state simply cannot compete against tubes and I had heard results that certainly solidified that view. I am sure that still may be the case overall but after spending two days with this amp I must say they have come A LONG way. I will just list the pros and cons as I have come across them AND point out the one issue that I am trying to resolve regarding the volume. PROS: Price ($179 - are you kidding. My bluetooth headphones are $100 more than that) Weight and size: This thing is tiny. No more lugging around my 1/2 stack to jam with my best friend. At my age lifting the cab was not fun anymore. This thing is LIGHT. Volume: LOUD. Wow. Like I said - I haven't purchased an amp in years so my perspective is certainly dated, but I had no idea a small amp like this could get so loud without cracking. I am buying the 40 Watt just in case but I really think this thing could handle most jam sessions. My best friend is not great but he has been consistently loud since we were 16. I look forward to our next jam to test it out (will update). Controls: A ton of options but sweet out of the box. The layout is simple and almost self explanatory. That said there are a ton of options (presets and controls) so it is worth taking some time to learn. Tuner works fine. The Tone Room software (free) changes the game completely. Tone Room Software: This is where my mind exploded lol. Inside the software, which installed easily and detected the amp automatically, there are dozens of preset tones. They label these tones so most people familiar with the song would know what they are talking about and in some cases use the name of the song directly. I probably cannot play a song start to finish that is not my own BUT I can play the main riffs of countless songs over the 60's, 70's, 80's, 90's and beyond. So as I went along and in most cases easily matched the label of the tone to the actual song my jaw just dropped. Black Dog - play - CHECK! Day Tripper - play - CHECK! Cliffs of Dover - sort of play - CHECK! Raining Blood - play - CHECK! Sandman - CHECK! Walk This Way - CHECK! Have a Cigar - YES! Paranoid - CHECK! This went on and on. You get the picture. AGAIN - a true audiophile/purist would notice issues but to my ears when I dropped Unchained I felt like a kid again. If I owned this as a kid I never would have left my room. CONS I can only think of two cons with only one being a real issue (not enough to reduce my rating from 5 stars however). Volume Spike on preset change: this really bugged me at first. I THINK I have found an obvious solution but will be following up to be sure. Essentially when you start moving around the presets by turning the knob the volume jumps WAY up. You can see this on the software on the interface. The trick is turning the VOLUME knob on the amp all the way down and using the POWER LEVEL to control overall volume. Not sure if this is ideal but it now seems to be working fine with me. I have ordered the pedal and I hope the issue does not reappear while switching with the pedal. No DAW interface: this I think for this price and all things considered is more of an upgrade suggestion but it sure would be nice to dial this right into something to record without having to mic up. VOX - do it. This would be cool. OVERALL There is not much more to be said. I read one review that stated you would get better use of the tube in this preamp as a light on your Christmas tree. That may be true. It's hard to tell if the warmth and quality of the sound is helped by the tube or if it's just the improvement in digital tech but I really don't care. It sounds frickin great. I'm not a big guy and I'm old (46) so I cannot lug around a big ass amp and this weighs almost nothing. On day 1 I played for 8+ hours for the first time in AGES. I went to pick up this morning to play and my fingers were toast. Going to take a few days to break them in. I am going to make a video review where hopefully I can duplicate the songs and the tones to give potential buyers a better idea of what they are getting.

This thing has a great price point for the amount of volume, versatility (even more with the app and the foot switch), as well as is nice to look at. Pulled out my semi-hollow guitar, selected Daytripper and sounded like the Beatles. Pulled out my LP and selected LaGrange and sounded like ZZ Top (Haw Haw Haw). Lot’s of settings and alternatives. With a a combination of virtual pedal effects and the foot switch, I was able to develop an acoustic sounding setup and then a crunch setup and save them under the User Programs so I could switch between the acoustic to electric parts in Bargain by the Who with one click each direction. Using it as a practice amp and it is perfect for that purpose. I suggest that for gigging one buy the 40 or 100, but you can also mic this thing up. It doesn’t have a line out, it only has a 1/8” headphone jack so you can’t drive a speaker readily from it (yeah you could buy an 1/8 to 1/4” adapter to use regular cables. Overall very pleased

OK... so I've waited a month before I wrote a review... to see if there were any "gothas". think this may have been the best $179 I have ever spent on guitar gear. I have an old Seymour Duncan 100W convertible amp that weighs a ton and hooking it up to my FX rack just to practice is a giant PITA. So I purchased this amp not expecting too much. Man... was I wrong!!! This little amp is awesome... especially when you use it with the iPhone/iPad app (you'll need an apple camera kit adapter to use it). Everything on this amp is very musical. The digitally modeled "other" amps (that they can't list by real names for obvious reasons) are very good. When dealing with the FX and such, you get a lot more control with the free ToneRoom app, so from here on out, everything I say will be based on using the VT20X with the free ToneRoom App. The compressor is very flexible (you can get a serious funky compressed sound) and it has attack and tone controls. The delays are also nice and analog sounding... not this brittle digital type. As an aside, I really believe VOX used their ears (or at least someone did!!) when putting together FX chain. The Reverbs are very nice too... not like my expensive rack-mounts, but very well tailored for guitar. The chorus and flangers do what they are supposed to.. and the overdrive and distortion "pedals" in the signal chain are very useful... again... very musical... not just an afterthought. The only limitation is that the FX can only be used in the order that they come in... which is 100% fine... because they are well thought out! And you can't combine certain FX because of the signal chain limitations... again totally ok considering the price point and the smart decisions that were made. IMO, anyone who complains about the lack of flexibility is really not seeing the value in this great little amp. After a few days, I had to buy the VOX pedal switch because I was having too much fun with this amp. This is an easy no-brainer 5 stars. Great job Vox!

All I can say is this amplifier has addressed way more than my expectations at hoped for. I already had an acoustic amplifier for my standard, but quite honestly I needed something for my Stratocaster & Fender Telecaster To properly run through. From reading all the reviews and watching YouTube videos on the Vox modeling amp, and because I do live in a townhouse I only needed something to play for my own enjoyment. I can now see the many endless sounds and functions this amplifier has available within it. I did purchase a drum machine looper pedal, and also a really nice reverb effects pedal that I enjoy using instead of the other built-in effects this amplifier has already. But irregardless of that, this little guy will blow you out of the house. The price was definitely right and something I could honestly afford, plus the Vox Name is synonymous with quality built track records, I did not make a mistake in any of my assumptions.

Ok, I’ve been playing guitar for a long time and I’ve owned and played a lot of combo/module amps. This one might be the best one I’ve ever played. The clean doesn’t sound fake or “electronicy” and all, and the distortion has BALLS. No extra pedals needed at all. For 20 watts, this thing is LOUD. I do suggest getting the footswitch for it though, only because it’s so versatile and you can do soooo many things with it. I’m playing an ESP EC-1000 on it and it’s like a match made in heaven. Literally any type of music can be played on this and it would sound phenomenal. VOX has always had a great reputation, but they outdid themselves with this thing. I’d recommend this for any type of player. Beginner, intermediate, or advanced. Anyone would love it. Thank you VOX!

UPDATE: Unfortunately, after just 6 weeks of use, the speaker died. That was really disappointing. I reached out to the seller, who was absolutely incredible and quickly refunded my money, but I had to switch to another brand. My son was really bummed because he loved this amp while it lasted. ORIGINAL REVIEW: The Vox VT20X blew me away! For a 20-watt amp, this thing delivers incredible tone and flexibility. The hybrid design really shines—combining a tube-like warmth with the convenience of digital modeling. The built-in DSP offers a wide range of amp models and effects that sound authentic and full, not tinny or digital like some other practice amps. The 8-inch speaker is surprisingly powerful for its size, and it's perfect for home use or even small jam sessions. I also love that you can customize tones further with the Vox Tone Room software. Whether you're playing blues, rock, metal, or clean tones, this amp has you covered. If you’re looking for a compact, feature-rich amp that sounds fantastic right out of the box, this is it. Highly recommend for beginners and experienced players alike!

Perfect practice amp. I am a serious tone snob. I have all the vintage amps and the gamut of guitars but there are some times when I don’t want to be an audio engineer or shake the foundation of my house at 11 pm just to try a song for 1/2 hr. This amp has a wide range of great models and the controls are intuitive (if you’re using the app, without I find the interface pretty clunky). I own several of the amps you can model from and it really nails the “essence” of each one.

Meine Meinung über Amp aufgrund sehr vielen verschiedenen Bewertungen die man im Internet, gerade in Foren zu lesen bekommt. Es gibt viele die sagen das dieser Verstärker für Anfänger geeignet ist. Mit diese Aussage bin ich nicht so einverstanden. Es gibt einfach viel zu viele Einstellungen und Möglichkeiten das Sound zu ändern. Für einen der sich nicht auskennt kann das verwirrend sein. Gerade Anfänger sollen üben und Gitarre spielen und keine Zeit mit Amp Einstellungen, die wirklich unendlich viele sind, zu verschwenden. Hier ist weniger mehr. Ich selber spiele schon seit 40 Jahren E-Gitarre. Habe mich schon ein paar mal erwischt beim spielen mit Amp und ToneRoom App. Das üben bleibt da gerne auf die Strecke. Natürlich möchte man so klingen wie seine Vorbilder, dafür gibt es viele Verstärker die viel leichter und einfacher einzustellen sind. Am besten in Laden gehen und sich beraten lassen. Das Amp selber ist ein Hammer. Er bietet alls was man braucht um im Wohnzimmer oder Keller zu spielen ohne das die Nachbarn ausflippen. Das Poverlevel Regler macht das möglich. Beeindruckend ist das sich nur die Lautstärke ändert ohne den Sound zu beeinflussen. Dank die Röhre im Vorverstärker, reagiert Amp auf die einschlagstärke erstaunlich gut. So habe ich das bei vielen anderen Transistor Verstärker noch nicht erlebt. Mit ToneRoom Software gibt es viele Bekanten Amps, modern wie Historisch. Die klingen auch sehr gut und nah an die Vorbilder. Hätte ich mir so ein Ding vor 30 Jahren gewünscht. Damals ging ja nur laut. Clean, Crunch oder zerre, mit richtigen gitarre, klingen fantastisch. Selber spiele ich am liebsten meine geliebte alte Strat. Clean oder mit Crunch ein Ohrenschmaus. Eine Paula mach ordentlich Druck und reicht bis hin zu higain Sounds perfekt. Wie gesagt auch leise. Also liebe Gitarreros, für alle die wissen wie man ein Amp mit Pedallen und Effekten einstellt und bestückt, gibt es von mir eine absolute Kaufempfehlung.

Actualización, el viernes 8 de noviembre de 2019 use el amplificador por la noche como lo hago regularmente todas las noches, pero al siguiente día sábado el aparato ya no encendió, cambie de toma de corriente en diferentes partes de mi casa y nada, el amplificador quedo muerto totalmente, para mi desgracia pasó el tiempo para devolverlo a Amazon, yo vivo en Mexico y el amplificador viene importado de USA, Amazon me ayudo a buscar un numero de teléfono del fabricante y ninguno de los números responden, resumiendo piensen bien si compran este aparato y no viven en USA, porque para hacer válida la garantía antes de un año como lo describía el vendedor, va a ser difícil.. RECOMIENDO NO COMPRARLO, cómprenlo solo en una tienda donde te hagan válida la garantía por lo menos un año. Amazon solo me apoyo buscando números telefónicos para contactar al fabricante. Hice el pedido un sábado por la noche me llegó el siguiente miércoles por la mañana, eso me gustó mucho la rapidez del envio y eso que venía importado de USA, el paquete sin problemas bien cuidado, el amplificador bien envuelto con sus cables y manuales todo muy bien por ese lado. En cuanto a calidad de sonido muy bueno los limpios , los crunch, las distorsiones, los diferentes amplificadores que maneja, el hecho de tener un bulbo de preamplificacion ayuda mucho. Me hubiera gustado mucho que hubiera venido con el pedal footswich el cual compré a parte.

Ordered this as my amp recently died on me (R.I.P). It's an excellent little amp. Lightweight and easy to carry with one hand. The tone from this little beast is awesome, comes with lots of presets and can be connected to your phone to edit. Only downside is the USB cable needed to connect doesn't come with the amp so will have to update review after I've ordered one. Very loud and powerful for a 20watt Does everything you'd ever need really.

For beginners, I think this product has too many controls and it might confuse them. But it is a dream come true for advanced players who know how to adjust the guitar tone/pick up/volume knobs along with amp settings to find the “sweet spots”. It is excellent for room or home-studio use. Warning: experiencing it might prove to be a gateway to the amazing world of premium amplifiers (and the costs it entails!)

Compré el Vox VT20X hace unos dìas y no podría estar más satisfecho con mi elección. Este amplificador ha superado todas mis expectativas en términos de calidad de sonido y funcionalidad. Sonido: Ofrece una gama de tonos increíblemente versátil, desde limpios cristalinos hasta distorsiones poderosas y todo lo que hay en medio. La tecnología VET (Virtual Element Technology) realmente hace una diferencia, proporcionando una emulación de amplificadores clásicos que suena auténtica y rica. Funciones: Me encanta la cantidad de efectos integrados que incluye. El acceso a diferentes modulaciones, delays y reverbs me permite experimentar sin necesidad de pedales adicionales. Además, la posibilidad de personalizar y guardar presets es un gran plus. Diseño y Construcción: El diseño es elegante y robusto. Aunque es compacto y fácil de transportar, se siente sólido y bien construido. Los controles son intuitivos y están bien organizados, lo que facilita mucho la configuración del sonido deseado. Valor: Por su precio ofrece una relación calidad-precio excepcional. Tanto para practicar en casa como para pequeñas presentaciones, este amplificador es una joya. Conclusión: Lo recomiendo a cualquier guitarrista que busque un amplificador versátil, potente y con una excelente calidad de sonido. Es ideal tanto para principiantes como para músicos más experimentados.