Tell me about Vox and Orange amps

[PMan]

Alright, just looking for a little more info about these brands. I'm in the market for a practice amp and both the Vox Pathfinder 15R and the Orange Crush 15R go for $120. I haven't had the opportunity to play either of them yet, and I know it's entirely a subjective thing, but I was wondering more about traditionally which amp might be better for what style.

For example, if I'm thinking about playing my Tele or Strat, I'll generally look towards my Fender amp. If I want to pick-up the Les Paul, I'll turn on the Marshall. I do more of a blues/rock/country thing, not so much any metal or anything like that.

Are the Vox and Orange good for everything, or do they skew to a more "heavy" sound or clean or what have you? Looks like I'll be able to play them both tomorrow, I'm just trying to get an idea of what to expect beforehand.

[nickrom]

Personally, I am a Vox guy. I have owned a Pathfinder 10 and 15R and they are excellent practice amps. Clean and creamy and capture the Vox sound extremely well. Take to pedals nicely. Check out the reviews on Harmony Central.

[Yoni]

don't hate me but I don't think on the solid state side of things it really matters. People here love the pathfinder though.

[FMA]

My experience with these two amps, playing in stores, I own neither one, is that the Vox has a better clean tone and that the Orange is geared more toward the higher gain end of things.

[imsilly]

I have a little beef with Orange amps, I want to love them they are big orange and british, but they frankly suck.

I have played original Zeplin style 70s pics only heads to basic solid state Oranges all leave me cold. Uneccessarily harsh sounding for the most part and usually only work smashing a power chord here and there.

It is true that with modern cheap solid state practice amps it really matters very little. They pretty much just ad volume and no real tone, unless it's bad. I use them, but I usually have them playing as clean as possible with a pedal for overdrive or maybe reverb.

I would be tempted to save my money until I could get a decent tube amp. Even a cheaper tube amp like a Epiphone Valve junior or a like would be preferrable.

[PMan]

Yeah that's kind of the issue with me, too. I WANT to like the Oranges for the same reason. But at the same time, from the Youtube clips I've listened to, it sounds like the Vox is probably the way to go for me.

I would save for a tube amp if I could get one that can be used for low volume work.

[madmark]

There are some great videos on youtube that compares the 2...

[imsilly]

Originally Posted by PMan

I would save for a tube amp if I could get one that can be used for low volume work.

You could get one with a lower wattage and more ineffecient speakers to lower the overall volume. Or an attenuator to lower the volume. Some tube amps obviously come with master volumes too.

Lower wattage tube amps are amazing.

[booncrusher2000]

i have to chime-in with this about ''orange amps' any time you deal with 60's70s tube amps you are going to get mixed results .why?, because they were hand wired and not all of them consistently sounded the same ! there are some great old orange amps out there and there are some that suck plain and simple same with marshall and vox...my.2cents anyway

[Ben Harmless]

I'm honestly surprised at the sentiments here about both amps. I'm a big fan of the Vox Pathfinder. Not because it's "good for the money" and not because it's "good for a solid state amp" but because it's a great little amp in its own right. I, and others have recorded through mine, and been very pleased with the results. In my mind, the tones are up there with the best solid-state designs, with the old Lab Series amps edging them out just a touch, but easily beating my Roland Jazz Chorus for musicality.

On the flipside, I find the cheaper tube amps very disappointing. I'm not sure what everyone sees in the Valve Jr. To me, it sounds like a wet fart when cranked up. I'm really hoping there aren't a whole lot of youngsters forming their opinions of simple tube circuits based on that thing. The Pathfinder beats the snot out of it, IMHO.

The Pathfinder is great. I'm not a huge fan of the onboard dirt, but it likes pedals. It also sounds fantastic when run through bigger cabs. I wish Vox would make a bigger version of the same amp.

[gbeck]

Vox Pathfinder is a great sounding amp. I play clean jazz mostly- the overdrive is not great. Very good reverb, nice tremelo, excellent clean/warm sound. Powerful enough for a jam session even with drums but may not cut it for gigs. I love the tone best with my tele- clear,shimmering. My ES-335 with humbuckers overpowers it somewhat.

[PMan]

Thanks again for the info, everyone. I think now I'm just trying to decide between the Pathfinder and the 30 watt Valvetronix. They had the VT in the store last night, but no Pathfinder. Going to try elsewhere tonight to see if I can't track one down. Hopefully I can try the VT again, too. After downloading the manual for it today, I think I have a better idea of how to actually work it.

Then again, the Pathfinder plus a few pedals is probably still cheaper than the VT30 + footswitch.

[CA_Dan]

The Vox AC4TV is an excellent little tube amp with built in attenuator for $249 retail new. It sounds great clean and dirty, very responsive to pick attack, and grit can easily be controled by the guitar volume. Try it out - YMMV.

[jimmynumber9]

The orange crush line is a huge dissapointment to me. It's just for those people who want to say "hey guys I got an orange amp" IT'S NOT AN ORANGE AMP! If you buy orange buy tube, or you will not get the orange tone. Orange has some of the cleanest tube heads on the market if you buy right, a very good friend of mine has an orange ac30 and it is has very good cleans, but can dirty up too. The vox in my opinion is only good with a good semi-hollow guitar to push.

[Swee_tone]

This may not mean much to most here, but The Edge used the Vox Pathfinder 15 for some work in the "All that you can't leave behind" cd.

[Chicago Slim]

I own a Vox Pathfinder 15R, Orange Crush 30R and a Vox VT50. The Pathfinder sounds best for country, rock-a-billy and '60's vintage rock. The Orange has better overdrive for '70's - '80's rock, and a better reverb. The VT50 has that unnatural fade-out, with distortion, and mine has been unreliable.

[PMan]

Originally Posted by Swee_tone

This may not mean much to most here, but The Edge used the Vox Pathfinder 15 for some work in the "All that you can't leave behind" cd.

Huh, how about that. Do you know what songs he used it on? I tried searching around for info about that on-line but came up empty.

I did happen to try the VT30 the past couple of days, and while I wanted to really like it, came away not too impressed. Hopefully places will start getting the Pathfinder back in stock soon so I can take a crack at one of them.

Sam Ash did have a not-for-sale AC4TV that they let me play yesterday. I guess their rep had left it there. That amp is not bad, I must say.

[Swee_tone]

Originally Posted by PMan

Huh, how about that. Do you know what songs he used it on? I tried searching around for info about that on-line but came up empty.

I believe I read it in an interview in "Guitar Player " mag a few years back. I actually wrote it on my cd cover!
It is used for the song "Peace on Earth" he uses it for the solo in an isolation room.
Not sure if he used it for other parts of songs on that or other albums though.

[Swee_tone]

Here's a little clip off what the Pathfinder 10 can do with a delay to get that "Edge sound":

http://gear.u2tutorials.com/2008/12/...20-by-stilwel/

[JCSouthpawtele]

A guitar player freind of mine, i run sound for his band,has aN Orange Rocker 30 Head and 2-12" cab. Nice chime with a bit of punch..sets it up just on the verge of breakup then hits it with a tubescreamer playing a Strat and a Gretsch..