Vox Night Train

[PyroDano]

Normally $499.99 buy some picks or something to push the price to $500 and get 20% off using the code VOX.Sale goes till the 29th.The guy on the phone said they have a few in stock and ready to ship,but that i was the 5th person to speak to him personally about the Night Train. I think this discount applies to all Vox products.That would bring the AC15cc1 to $500.Decisions decisions.
The guy on the phone also said if i waited until the 29th and the Night Train was out of stock that they expect another shipment on the 3rd.
So which would you choose?The Night Train for $400,or the AC15 for $500(with tremolo and reverb)

[Jax]

Dude, can you try the AC15cc in a store somewhere? Compare the amps! I might take advantage of that good deal.

Thanks for the alert!

[Tibbon]

Originally Posted by PyroDano

Normally $499.99 buy some picks or something to push the price to $500 and get 20% off using the code VOX.Sale goes till the 29th.The guy on the phone said they have a few in stock and ready to ship,but that i was the 5th person to speak to him personally about the Night Train. I think this discount applies to all Vox products.That would bring the AC15cc1 to $500.Decisions decisions.
The guy on the phone also said if i waited until the 29th and the Night Train was out of stock that they expect another shipment on the 3rd.
So which would you choose?The Night Train for $400,or the AC15 for $500(with tremolo and reverb)

I tried the code with the AC15HTVH and it didn't seem to work. Getting that amp for $800 would be sick (although I've seen a few on fleabay for around that much).

[Jax]

Originally Posted by Tibbon

Is there any reason NOT to go to the AC15HW head instead of the Night Train (aside from the price difference)?

Well, that price difference is giant! You answered your question, but if I had the money for the HW, I'd still demo the lower price Vox alternatives to see if paying more gets you more...

[Tibbon]

Originally Posted by Jax

Well, that price difference is giant! You answered your question, but if I had the money for the HW, I'd still demo the lower price Vox alternatives to see if paying more gets you more...

Ideally I'd want a Gabriel or Divided by 13 amp, but I can't quite afford those. Looking for something as close to actual 'high end' as possible without getting esoteric or breaking the bank.

Going to go play an AC15HTVH again tonight and rethink it all.

[ohmicide]

i played it a few weeks ago at my local music shop with a vox 2x14 cab i think

triode mode was a little too bright and dirty for me

pentode mode on phat was just beautiful

the clean was magical

this thing is a beat, the eq is great, VERY VERSATILE, i like it better than the orange tiny terror!

[PyroDano]

I said Fk it and bit the bullet.For $400 why not.You need 2 amp/guitars for a wall of sound anyway right?They also gave me 20% off a guitar cable.I broke a promise to myself saying no more gear for a while,and get some room treatment.Well that was 2 weeks ago,and since I'm not yet recording.....

I really have an addiction to buying gear ever since joining here a little over a year ago.Here are the things i have gotten since joining here.Sad thing is i haven't recorded anything and hardly used any of it.I'm also not really a guitar player.I mostly play drums and haven't really played the drums or bought anything for the kit.

Guitar sh*t
Breedlove Atlas Series ad/sr 25 plus
Squire by Fender Classic Vibe '50s Telecaster
Eganter Rebel 20
Vox Night Train
Egnater Tour Master 4x12
Radial JDI
Radial X-amp
Fulltone OCD
Hardwire HT-2 pedal tuner
Hardwire RV-7 reverb
Maxon cs550 stereo chorus
Dunlop Cry Baby 535Q Wah
Classic 57 plus pup
cables, straps,Strap locks,Grover tuners,adadpters,ect...

Mic's
Audix DP5-A
Oktava-012-01 MSP (yes Joly Modded of course)
Shure SM-7
Cad m-179
other stuff....
ART MPA gold(Telefunken Ribbed tubes)
RNP
RNLA
Rane HC6
Beyerdynamic DT 770 pro/80
AKG k77
Audio Technica ATH m-30

Since the VOX is on the way,I all ready have plans to sell some of my older gear and get a decent cab with Alnico Blues.Any other suggestions besides the blues for the VOX?
Lots of other stuff I'm sure i forgot.I need help.Lord help me!!!!!!!!!

[PyroDano]

You have to call them (877-207-0411) and say "VOX"
I went with the night train because it was exactly how much $$$ i had saved.Should be here Mon. or Tue.Now for a nice cabinet guhh.

Originally Posted by Tibbon

I tried the code with the AC15HTVH and it didn't seem to work. Getting that amp for $800 would be sick (although I've seen a few on fleabay for around that much).

[Dean Roddey]

I went with Weber, myself. Blue Dog Alnico and a cabinet. I don't think you can go wrong with Weber on the speaker front.

[Meriphew]

I already own a Korg/UK AC30 with Celestion Blues in it, otherwise, I'd probably pick up a Night Train (even though I think it's ugly). The sound clips that I've heard from it sound great.

[Tibbon]

Originally Posted by PyroDano

You have to call them (877-207-0411) and say "VOX"
I went with the night train because it was exactly how much $$$ i had saved.Should be here Mon. or Tue.Now for a nice cabinet guhh.

I confirmed this. Call and say VOX and you'll have up to 20% off your entire order (minus some brands like digi and apple)

[Dean Roddey]

Since there wasn't any known shipping date from Sweetwater, I cancelled my Nighttrain order and did it with MF and got it for the $75 cheaper price, so not a bad deal, and it'll ship monday. I got the Weber cabinet today (tiny little guy), and the Blue Dog should arrive next wednesday. So things are finally starting to gell on the jangly guitar front.

[PyroDano]

I'll try to do an A/B with the Egnater If i can get a decent guitar player over here.
I don't have an amp head switch though.The cabinet i have(Egnater tourmaster 4x12)takes two amp heads @ 8 ohms and splits the cabinet in half i guess,Would it hurt anything if i turned one of the amp heads off during testing instead of an amp head switch?
Also does anyone make VOX replica cabs?
I'd love it if a cab maker made the cab with a removable midback ,like this

Buy Egnater Tourmaster 212X 2x12 Guitar Extension Cabinet | Amp Cabinets | Musician's Friend

Even on a 4x12 this would be a good tonal option.Valcro removable backs.

[Dean Roddey]

The Weber cabs all have a removable piece so that they can be open or closed back as you want.

https://taweber.powweb.com/store/wccabs.htm#xcab

[Dean Roddey]

Finally got the Nighttrain today. I just had my first hour of fiddling with it. This is through the Weber Blue Dog in a Weber 1x12 cab, in the open back configuration. The Blue Dog is not broken in, since it has only like 2 hours on it of low volume playing so far, but it's quite a cool combination.

I've definitely got to play around a lot to figure it all out. It's so different from the Microbaby for sure. But even having never messed with a Vox at all, over the course of an hour I was finding some really cool vintage tones.

The Blue Dog is a 30 watt one, so it's not the super-crangiest of them, the 15 watter being the most so according to Weber, but with the Nighttrain it definitely has that going on if you want it. And super-chimey if you want, too much so at it's max for studio use perhaps, though I guess it depends on where you are mic'ing it. I haven't tried recording anything with it yet.

One thing that's nice is that the Microbaby is all about the mid-range. The tone control only rolls off more of the highs or more of the lows. The mid-range is always there as part of its fundamental sound. With the Nighttrain in the bright mode I can now roll down those mids and get some nice scooped out tones, which which will be a very nice addition to the arsenal. The two of them will probably make for a pretty complementary pair I think.

But it was also nice rolling the mids all the way up and the lows and highs all the way down. I found some nice sounds like that also with the right pickup settings. In the thick mode, it's much more similar to the Microbaby in tone, but still with a very recognizable Vox tone. A lot more pre-amp gain for more grunge at lower volumes.

Anyway, I'm definitely happy so far. It'll be weeks before I have put in the time to start to really master it probably, in terms of getting some good tones as recorded. But with the little experimentation I've done so far, it's quite nice.

They definitely have put some sort of lead weight in the bottom to make it feel more manly. It's not much bigger than my Microbaby (if you leave aside the very light aluminum cage covering the tubes), but it weighs a good ten times more, if not even more so.

[Meriphew]

I was reading a review of the Night Train in Premier Guitar magazine, and they mentioned that Tony Bruno had a hand in the design. Normally anything that Bruno touches is going to be pretty great.

[Jax]

That's funny about the weight. I wonder if they did that to make it feel more substantial, or if they actually have a design-induced reason. Perhaps it is tied to ground and brings down the noise floor?

I think it probably has to do with marketing. A light little amp doesn't inspire as much confidence.

I wonder what would happen if I tried entering the VOX code at MF now that it's past the deadline...

[PyroDano]

I was wondering about the weight also.Should i take it apart lol? It may have to do with if you drop it,kick it ect for "the musician on the go".(EDIT I'm pretty sure the weight is so the head doesn't walk of the cab.....Which it's still trying to do,lol.)
anyway here's the premier guitar link with a video,and some of the of settings used that i will try tonight.

VOX Night Train NT15H Head Review - Premier Guitar

With the little noodling i have done so far it seems to like single coils a little better,seems to take pedals ok(though my OCD pedal is noisy with the NT)I'll have to play around with it a little more.The thick switch is a pretty decent automatic sound without to much fuss.

The Egnater is only 5 watts more but seems way louder,I don't get it.
I finally get to try some true stereo chorus with the Maxon CS550 to

[PyroDano]

Played around with it a little more tonight.Definitely getting tones i recognize but never had,like Tom Morello renegades of funk for one and some twangy bluesy kind of stuff,and yeah lots of cleans all day.I think i now know what a "VOX" sound is,Though i could be confusing it for a Tele sound.

I'm still getting some kind of nasty buzzing/humm/zzzaaaannnt with the guitars though,fkn driving me nuts.Distracting enough to ruin my noodling session!!! HELP
The outlet tester shows proper ground.
I tried 2 different patch cords,bypassing all pedals and it's still happening.(There's just a little white noise with the amp on and nothing plugged in). As soon as the guitar volume is on...bzhmzzant stike.
While playing the squire tele,I could position my self in such a way(either toward or away) as to make most all the noises go away...WTF???
Touching the metal on the guitar made no difference as it has in the past with other gear....Any suggestions???


Anyway,I went through most of the Night Train videos on Youtube and tried to note most of the settings used as a STARTING point.As the NT booklet doesn't have any.Obviously Guitar/Player/Cab makes a huge difference,but I'm thinking these settings within a number one way or another might work.
The Night Train doesn't seem to be fussy about getting good tones.

GENERAL Night Train Settings

BRIGHT / PENTODE (15 watts)
GAIN TREBLE MIDDLE BASS VOLUME
11 1 12 1 12 Clean
1 2 11 1 11 Basic Gain
12 12 12 12 12 Clean/Bright
11 12 9 12 2 Bright/funky Mids rolled off
2 12ish 12ish 12ish 3 Spoon Man
12 1 11 1 3 VOX Chime Bright - R.E.M
10 1 7 2 3 Clean
11 12 9 1 2 High End Sparkle
5 1 1 1 3 Vintage Bite - Johnny Be Good,Poison
______________________________________________________________
Bright / Triode (7.5 watts)
10 12 2 3 12 Clean - U2ish with delay
11 1 10 2 4 Clean 2
2 1 ? 2 10 Edge Of Breakup - Blues
______________________________________________________________
Thick / Triode (7.5 watts) (Thick mode bypasses EQ)
12 9 Medium Gain
5 9 Max Gain - Fairly Loose
5 3 Can pretty much just go nuts on thick
mode using only the gain and volume.
Getting tons of
tones.Country,blues,classic
rock,Percussive Rock (STP).GNR.

I'm pretty impressed with this amp,though I'm not convinced i couldn't get the same tones from the Rebel.The Night Train seems to be kind of easy to get sounds from.
I have to figure out how to get rid of this Bbzzthmmmanntz noise,so i can do more noodling between the NT and the Egnater.

[Dean Roddey]

A Tele through a Vox in chimey mode might be a leathal weapon, I dunno. Kind of brain splittingly bright. The Strat sounds really nice through it. But I bet it would be great with a classic Rickenbacker style guitar as well, a la The Beatles. But all I've got is the Strat. I think that most amps love a Strat pretty much though.

[Dean Roddey]

I've continued to play around with the Vox through the Blue Dog. Last night I found one of those 'tones to die for' type tones. Warm, harmonically rich, and just chimey enough and with enough low end to to be warm but not to be messy, with substantial mid-scoop, that would break up really beautifully if you dig in a bit. And with that just perfect amount of Strat string rattle element.

That's how it sounded in the room anyway. Not sure it would record that way without some changes. But it sure did sound nice just to play around. It's one of those 'make you want to play Little Wing' type of tones. I'll definitely be using that one in some tunes.

[cloiselle]

original poster:

please keep in mind that he is demo'ing it through a high end guitar and a cab loaded with celestion blues.

those two factors highly impace the tones you are hearing.