What's your favorite Vox (AC30/15)-in-a-Box that's DRRI friendly?

[GilmourD]

Looking for some suggestions for something that will give me that AC30/15 flavor running into my DRRI. I know there's compromises and all that wonderful stuff but something is likely designed with being put into a clean Fender amp in mind.

[B.T.]

I have a UA Ruby that’s pretty sweet. I have the Joyo AC Tone and Tech 21 Liverpool which are pretty close to being the same pedal. I hear the Joyo is a clone of the Liverpool.

Ran into a real tube amp with a real speaker cabinet I can’t help but feel that a good eq could get the same results? Like I don’t feel when I step on these my amp is transformed into a Vox AC30. They do cop some of that vibe (especially the Ruby) when DI recording.

Ran into an amp I hear a boost in the mids, a little more high end presence. Disclaimer I have not ran the Ruby in an amp that has an effects loop. I could see it performing better to where you’re switching between your amps preamp and switching it completely out and just using your amp as a power amp to amplify the sim.

[GilmourD]

I have a UA Ruby that’s pretty sweet. I have the Joyo AC Tone and Tech 21 Liverpool which are pretty close to being the same pedal. I hear the Joyo is a clone of the Liverpool.

Ran into a real tube amp with a real speaker cabinet I can’t help but feel that a good eq could get the same results? Like I don’t feel when I step on these my amp is transformed into a Vox AC30. They do cop some of that vibe (especially the Ruby) when DI recording.

Ran into an amp I hear a boost in the mids, a little more high end presence. Disclaimer I have not ran the Ruby in an amp that has an effects loop. I could see it performing better to where you’re switching between your amps preamp and switching it completely out and just using your amp as a power amp to amplify the sim.

The reason I ask this is that I know Brian Wampler designs his pedals knowing they'll end up in front of something like a fender black/silver clean, which his Bravado was designed to be like. I'm curious what the experience is with other pedals besides his in the same setup and if he's alone in designing that way.

[sal paradise]

Bearfoot/bjfe emerald green distortion machine. Great vox drive sounds.

I’ve got one I’d sell. Wouldn’t cost too much to send stateside if you were that way inclined.

[GilmourD]

Bearfoot/bjfe emerald green distortion machine. Great vox drive sounds.

I’ve got one I’d sell. Wouldn’t cost too much to send stateside if you were that way inclined.

That seems to have been the favorite of GuitarPedalX.com for a long time.

What did you run it through?

[sal paradise]

Princeton & more recently a bassman 50.

I don’t know Vox sound that well, so can’t really say whether it’s a great recreation, but there’s a big gain range on it & it definitely has a similar sound to the Vox AC4hw I had recently.

[Fac 50]

I've tried loads of pedals to get this sound into a Vibrolux, Twin, or HRD. Probably the best two are actually not cool or desirable pedals, but they definitely work better than the others I've tried:

1) As mentioned upthread - Joyo AC Tone. A touch noisy, but has plenty of flexibility to dial in a good Vox-type sound for a variety of rigs and guitars.
2) Boss BC-2 Combo Drive. This was a real surprise to me - absolutely nails low to mid gain jangly Vox drive sounds. Has bass and treble eq and you need to tweak these carefully. If you're after more cranked Vox tones, they're available, but not great, but in the range between say 11 am and 2 pm on the gain knob, this pedal is really good.

Both of the above have that high treble 'ping' that characterises the Vox jangle, but at the right level so it doesn't dominate.

Ones that didn't work for me:

3) Carl Martin AC-Tone - 2 channel plus boost. I really liked it but wouldn't say it was very Voxy. The boost is really good.
4) Carl Martin AC Tone - single channel. Good sounds, but again didn't bring to mind a Vox. Pretty feisty and dirty.
5) Wampler Ace 30 (I think they renamed it later - this was an early one). Awful pedal - I could get a passable AC-15 type sound at home volumes, but sounded terrible at band volumes. The 'AC30' side was thin and weak.
6) Greer Royal Velvet - unbearably thin and harsh. No Vox character that I could detect.
7) Menatone Top Boost in A Can - mentioned here for completeness, but mine was bought used and didn't work.

Hope that helps. I do miss my AC-30, but it's just too heavy to cart around these days!

[LVC]

One thing to keep in mind with the Joyo AC Tone (and the original Tech 21 Liverpool it's a clone of) is that it has a cab sim circuit hardwired to its output, as it's meant to be plugged into a PA rather than a guitar amp. That might interfere with the tone stacks of some amps.

If you concerned about that, the Liverpool V2 has the same circuit, but it can be bypassed.

[ThePearDream]

I'm really happy with my Victory V1 Copper clone. Now, I haven't done any A-B comparisons with other Vox based pedals, but I did research other Vox-y pedals that I could have built. The V1 has all the chime and jangle I need, but does the Vox crunch too. I highly recommend.

[GilmourD]

One thing to keep in mind with the Joyo AC Tone (and the original Tech 21 Liverpool it's a clone of) is that it has a cab sim circuit hardwired to its output, as it's meant to be plugged into a PA rather than a guitar amp. That might interfere with the tone stacks of some amps.

If you concerned about that, the Liverpool V2 has the same circuit, but it can be bypassed.

I wonder if that's something that could be modified...

[marqueemoon]

I have that version of the Liverpool and quite like it.

I bypass the onboard speaker sim to use with my Neunaber Iconoclast, and that’s usually how I use it.

I’ve used it in front of an amp a little, but not enough to really comment as far as how it holds up in a live mix.

I’ve plugged straight into a PA with it a few times using the onboard speaker sim, and it’s impressive.

Also, I picked up the Joyo for my bandmate on Craigslist and spent a few days with it. It’s a hell of a thing for like $20 used, but is NOT in the same league as the Liverpool.

I’ve been intrigued by the Greer Royal Velvet too, but I’m pretty happy with my live dirt situation at the moment.

[LVC]

I wonder if that's something that could be modified...

On the Joyo? In theory yes, but AFAIK it's SMD.

[B.T.]

I wonder if that's something that could be modified...

I modified my Joyo to bypass the speaker cab sim. As JVC mentioned its small SMD components but it was super doable.

I might have used this site I forget

https://www.freestompboxes.org/viewtopi ... 5&start=40

I didn't bother with adding a switch to switch in/out the cab sim. I was running mine in front of an amp or DI into a computer with IR cabinets for more realism. At more extreme gain settings it takes on a cranked EL34 Plexi persona. Something I have never really specifically found in a pedal sim format before. Me likey

[OffYourFace]

this is why i use the BD-2 with a DR, it gives it a Vox flavor imo

[GilmourD]

Has anybody used the NUX '63 Diamond?