Vibro Champ XD Amp Crew

[Jack Knife]

Originally Posted by richey88

Check out my Squier Classic Vibe 60's sunburst Strat thru a Vibro Champ XD: http://soundclick.com/share?songid=8873072 Solo is doubled with a Billie Joe Armstrong (coolest LP case EVER. Nice axe too pro setup w/ 11's) LP Jr. thru a Blues Junior...from my bands' upcoming CD release.

VCXD is thru a Marshall 4x12 (newer MG I think, it was laying around the studio), voice #2 reverb/delay on about 3.5.

Are all the rhythm guitars on that cut through the VCXD, too? Man, it sounds great!

[the_rising]

Love my Vibro Champ XD w/ single coil guitars (specifically Strats) but haven't found a good feel for it with humbuckers yet....seems a bit muddy to me.

Any good settings for some light crunch w/ the VBXD and humbuckers (specifically LP Studio)?

The bridge pickup seems harsh and brittle while the neck pickup is bassy and muddy.

I know this isn't *the amp* to get AC/DC like tones, but something with both clarity and crunch is what I'm looking for.

[RubyRae]

That is interesting you mention that, cause I was wondering how this amp would sound with a Les Paul. I sold my LP Studio a year or 2 ago (still hate myself for it) so i have yet to play anything but my Strat thru it. Then last night I picked up a nice used classic vibe 50's tele and it sounded superb thru the amp. Sorry to hear that you are having trouble. This amp has such a wide array of sounds, and even does the hard rock (ac/dc) sounds decent IMO. The only thing you can really do is try every setting, and really tweak the bass, treble, gain on each along with you Les Paul tone nobs to get the least mud with that neck pup. With the bridge I would think you could crank the bass and keep the treble down to get a decent tone. I love the flexibility of this amp. Keep tryin' and if all else fails, just enjoy your Strat, single coils.

[timmer114]

The stock speaker is a bit dark for humbuckers, I find that the number 8 Plexi setting around 5-7 gain 10 bass and 7 treble works well for an ACDC crunch but that is with single coil pups. With darker pups like yours, you might want to try something a little higher pitched like the number 7 Vox with the gain around 5 for some crunch.

I have the Jensen CR8 speaker which is too bright for single coils, but I bet would be simply awesome with your Les Paul. Don't give up on it yet, I have found that this little guy can change sound and dynamics with just a tiny change to the gain. Try setting your gain on 1 with any channel and work the gain up in half turns till you find the sweet spot, it's out there =)

Edit** Rae, When I bought my VCXD, I ran it through its paces with a floor model Epiphone Les Paul, and its a whole different animal, mucho sustain and it's darker, but sounds equally good as it does with a single coil guitar. Different sounding for sure, but really nice! Loved the Vox sound with the Epi-Paul, it just sang man, and had that nice thumpy bottom end you would expect with a Les Paul.

[berserk]

hi everyone,

which good overdrive pedal should i get to match with my highway 1 tele and VCXD?

1. bad monkey?
2. OCD?
3. Tube screamer?
4. Fulltone FD2?

thanks

[zag1]

Other than a Weber 8 incher, or the Jensen C8R, has anyone tried a Warehouse speaker in their VCXD? Me likes the size-o-that magnet.

[Hiker]

When you demo the amp at GC, definitely place it on the floor with nothing around it. This will yield a completely different 'demo' than the baffled, amp display shelf-found at my local GC.

[pontmercy]

got my wife one of these. I own the Super Champ XD and after modding it with new tubes and a ragin' cajun, it's her turn. Should be in this week: EHX 6v6 and EHX 12AX7 PLUS Jensen C8r! Can't wait to hear this thing fulfill it's true potential! Hope she likes it! She said "why are you changing it? I love it the way it is." I hope she says "oh, wow, I didn't know!" we'll see.
:P

[Jack Knife]

I tried out my VCXD through an Avatar Vintage 1x12 cab with a Celestion Sidewinder installed. All I can say is wow! Talk about the amp being released from the small box! It sounds great. I might be considering a head cab for this now.

[cynic79]

I picked up mine several months back as an impulse buy. Both these and the Champion 600s were on sale ($149 for the former, $99 for the latter). The Champ sounded cool, but got a bit ratty when cranked. The salesman recommended I try the VCXD, and I fell in love with it. Voicing 1 was essentialy the Champion 600, but smoother when cranked, and that still left all the other voicings and the effects.

I'm using this as a practice amp since my Egnater Rebel 20 is far too loud for home use. I'm very partial to Voicing 8 with the gain set about halfway up. It gives a nice crunchy sound with my Les Pauls or my ASAT, but cleans up beautifully.

I recently switched out the electronics in my Strat and I wasn't totally digging it through the Rebel 20. I plugged it into the VCXD set on Voicing 6 and I was in heaven!

[ButterScotchPH]

Has any-one compared the Vibro Camp XD compared with the SCXD sound-wise?

[zag1]

Originally Posted by ButterScotchPH

Has any-one compared the Vibro Camp XD compared with the SCXD sound-wise?

I have both, but I never thought of comparing the two. Night and day to me.

[zag1]

Y'know, while I'm thinkin' about it, has anyone tried either of these speakers in their VCXD? The 8 incher from Warehouse or this 8 incher Eminence speaker from Angela?

[Jack Knife]

I've wondered about the WGS speaker myself, zag1. Haven't seen the Angela speaker before. I'm beginning to find the C8R I put in mine to be a tad bright. I've actually been thinking more along the lines of a 10" speaker now.

[zag1]

Yeah, I read somewhere else, someone saying the C8R was rather bright. That WAS my first choice. I like the sound of the stock speaker, but I want a tad more bottom. Even though I realize it IS just an 8 incher. That Eminence with the big magnet might do the trick though. It's priced about the same as the WGS speaker. I even thought about a 10 incher as well. Even made a baffle for it. Now I'm toying with the thought of changing out the OT with one that has both 4 and 8 ohm taps, so I can do either a 4 or 8 ohm speaker. That would open up to more speaker choices. Just a thought.

[Jack Knife]

I hear ya about speaker choices for 10s. I thought if I did get a 10" I'd try a Jensen Mod 10-30. They offer those in 4 ohms and the MOD series seem to be pretty decent speakers.

You interested in making another baffle?

[zag1]

They make a Mod 10-30? I had put a Mod 10-35 in my Pathfinder and if I remember correctly, those where available in 8 or 16 ohm. I used 1/2" thick burch plywood when I made the baffle, with the speaker hole slightly offset (for larger magnets), and It seems I need to make a 1/4" thick frame for it, to make it 3/4" total. The original is like that. I have some grill cloth coming. I suppose I can do another. I'll have to see how this one turns out. This is a maiden voyage.

[Jack Knife]

Sorry, I was all goofed up on the Jensen. It's the MOD 10-50 I was thinking about.

http://www.jensentone.com/mod10-50.php

Post pics when you get yours done!

[odd job]

I've had mine for a couple months now and i'm still in love with it. I live on 4 or 5 with light reverb. Bass and treble don't seem to make a huge difference on mine so I leave them both around 7. I adjust gain and volume per guitar. It does some things better than my blues jr. Very happy with it.

How can I tell when the speaker breaks in? Is there an amount of time or can I assume that playing it cranked six or seven hours a week for the last couple months has done the job?

[Jack Knife]

odd job, the speaker on mine broke in after about 6-8 hours of heavy playing. It was right in the middle of a gig (I was micing the amp but still running it pretty hard) and you could all of a sudden hear it get more relaxed and less shrill sounding. I've never heard that happen before so abruptly. I'd think you're in the "broke in" zone by now.

I pretty much live on voice #1 with the delay + reverb FX setting. I set mine similar to yours, treble/bass both around 6-7 and leave 'em there.