Vox Night Train

[Jax]

I really like what I'm hearing from this little sucker. It could be just another flavor of the month amp, but it sounds pretty damn good. There are some good clips on youtube.

I'm not convinced it can do metal, but I metal isn't all I do.

Anyone playing this thing? Impressions?

[Jax]

[79_Limited]

It sure is music to my ears. Seems much quieter than an AC-30.

[BarbieDoll]

Me too! I want! I don't play with too much gain, so I really like it's classic rock tone. And of course won't blow out my ear drums...

Vox Night Train NT15H : [NAMM] Vox Night Train - Audiofanzine

[Jonboy79]

I'm buying one a week from this coming friday. If nobody has posted one yet I'll give you guys a nice review on it, maybe even a sound clip or two. I did a ton of work with an AC30CC, and eventhough many people bagged on that amp it did exactly what I expected it to do and was the amp of choice for nearly every pop/punk band I recorded. I also had several straight up rock bands choose the Vox over their Marshalls and Mesas.

[lordnielson]

Me want

[judah]

This one (judging from the video clip) sounds interesting. Had a Tiny Terror a while back, couldn't get rid of it too fast. I suspect that the TT was faulty and just bought a Fender Champion 600 (hilarious but good sounding) and been using a BlackHeart B15 for a few days at the studio. I think that all the "small-tube-head-for-few-bucks" thing is a very good one, and if you get a chance to hook them up to a couple different cabs (Greenback or Vintage30) you get many tones to choose from.

[Dean Roddey]

I just ordered one. I built some hardware for someone to pay my way. I currently have an Emery Microbaby, which is pretty much at the other end of the spectrum, being very vintage Champ'y style and very non-chimey. So I figured between the two that should cover a lot of territory. And both of them are quite compact as well, which is important with as little space as I have.

And I have one cabinet with a Weber 12A125A, which is a very Fendery and non-chimey type of speaker, and one with a Weber Blue Dog which is very Voxy and chimey. So two very different types of speakers, which I can mix with the two very different types of amps. So hopefully that should give a lot of flexibility between them.

[Dean Roddey]

Here's another video with slightly better audio quality as well:

YouTube - Vox Night Train

[PyroDano]

Sounds awesome for sure,But I'm wondering how much of the tones are... That guy, with his own guitars and that speaker cab.
I recently bought an Egnater rebel 20 over the TT for flexibility.I Was considering a second low watt head,or combo like the Night Train,But there's no doubt in my mind that,that guy with his own guitars,and that cab, could pull all these tones and then some out of an Egnater Rebel 20.
Just a consideration if you haven't checked them out all ready.
I'm not a good guitar player by any means(I'm actually a drummer)But i feel i know good tones when i hear them,And although it takes me a little longer to dial in these tones,they are all there.
I feel if i had a better cab for the rebel,It would be easier for me to dial up tones.I definitly bought the wrong cab for it(tourmaster 4x12 meant for the road).
I was originaly going to get a tourmaster 2x12,again for the options(has both closed or partially open back with a velcro panel)But i went for the 4x12 for the V30's becasuse i was skiptical of the special 80's.Big mistake,All though the rebel will push them,It will never be able to even wear these speaker in.(any want a brand new Egnater tourmaster 4x12 for $450, negotiable+shipping IM me)
I wish Avatar had a cabnit like the 2x12 where you could open up the back if you want,And choose the speakers you wanted.
Anyway sorry to HJ your thread.I just feel that if your checking out the Night Train,Check out the rebel as well.

[Jax]

Originally Posted by PyroDano

Anyway sorry to HJ your thread.I just feel that if your checking out the Night Train,Check out the rebel as well.

I had the rebel 20 for a month and brought it back. It was too mushy and unclear for me, and there were no good clean sounds to be found. Might've been partly due to the speakers and guitar I used - a skinny Ibanez and a 2x12 with a V30 and G12H30. A friend of mine now has a vox cab with Celestion blues in it, which would be a better match to the Night Train. I'll probably try it soon.

In the clip posted by Dean, I'm hearing a bit of that mushiness when the gain is cranked, but I like the cleans and the other sounds enough to demo the amp. I don't know though, maybe I just like a lot more headroom.

[Dean Roddey]

Always take mushiness on Youtube video demos with a grain of salt, because the audio quality is very low. A lot of that mushiness could well just be low sample rate audio issues.

A lot of people have already commented on trying out this guy, and I've hardly seen anyone who didn't seem to like it so far. I'm buying it blind without having played it, but I'm not too worried. I think it will be a great counterbalance to my MicroBaby, particularly with the Blue Dog. That should be Chimey Vox Heaven. And I got the 15 watt Blue Dog as well, which will be even more so.

[PyroDano]

No good cleans?Even with my POS guitar(gibson sonex 180 deluxe) i can get at least 3 good, quiet/cleans.
I'm no tone master,but i was pretty pleased with sounds i got.
Maybe were looking at it from two different perspectives.
I don't run a studio or anything,and I'm just a beginner with mixing, but i feel it gets good usable tones.I can get at least 5-7 good tones before even adding pedals.
I don't get it.

[Jax]

We must have different ideas of what makes a good clean tone. I don't have the rebel anymore, but if you have any way of recording your's (or if you already have recording), why not post a clip? I'd be curious to hear what you consider a good clean from that amp. If you do that, I'll demo a Night Train.

[Dean Roddey]

They were backordered, so mine won't ship until some time next week, so I probably won't get it until some time the week after that. Oh well... anticipation makes the heart fondererer.

[Tibbon]

They are cute, but I think I'm gonna get an AC15HW head instead. I LOVED the AC30HW, but I can't afford one at the moment and its too damn loud for me most days. The AC15HW needs resoldered/rebuild to get rid of the crap ROHS stuff in there and a slightly better transformer, but then its a nice amp.

The TT is fairly cute, but just didn't drive it home for me. The Egnater is super flexible looking, but didn't have enough low end balls for me. The Night Train is almost there, but still lacking something. The AC15 sounds like a 'real amp' to me.

[Jax]

Originally Posted by Tibbon

The Egnater is super flexible looking, but didn't have enough low end balls for me.

Wow, if anything, the rebel was exaggerated in the low end for me, although a bit mushy. It doesn't have a tight, brutal low end like a Pit Bull or Ubershcall. Is that what you were expecting?

[Tibbon]

Originally Posted by Jax

Wow, if anything, the rebel was exaggerated in the low end for me, although a bit mushy. It doesn't have a tight, brutal low end like a Pit Bull or Ubershcall. Is that what you were expecting?

Yea, it was definitely more that it wasn't tight down there. It existed, but was just kinda flabby. I think the stock extension cab sucks though. I need to try it through a 4x12 or at least a 2x12 with killer speakers.

I've got a 1x12 here with an Eminence Red Fang that's got so much tight low end bass that I've used it live as a bass cab even.

[PyroDano]

So you tried it with the stock extension?I'm using the tourmaster 4x12(v 30's)and to me it sounds to tight and punchy,a little boxy.I hope I'm using the right words to describe it.I figured it was because the speakers haven't been worn in yet.now I'm wondering if it's not the Egnater itself.I'm wondering if i should have gotten like a 2x12 with greenbacks or something.
The more i watch this video,
YouTube - Vox Night Train The more i want a night train.Anyone know what cab/speaker combo is in that video?
I have another POS cabinet (crate cab with some kind of peaveys in it) that i haven't plugged the Egnater into yet.I also just got a new guitar too.Squire vintage vibe 50's telecaster.(i know i know sux ass blah blah,lol).I guess i got some experimenting to do.
Jax a guitar player friend of mine is supposed to come over in a few weeks,I'll see if i can't get you some recorded samples then.Though I'm sure it wont change your opinion,I'm curious as to what other people hear,and can help me understand some of the words used to describe certain types of sounds.

Originally Posted by Tibbon

Yea, it was definitely more that it wasn't tight down there. It existed, but was just kinda flabby. I think the stock extension cab sucks though. I need to try it through a 4x12 or at least a 2x12 with killer speakers.

I've got a 1x12 here with an Eminence Red Fang that's got so much tight low end bass that I've used it live as a bass cab even.

[Jax]

Originally Posted by PyroDano

I have another POS cabinet (crate cab with some kind of peaveys in it) that i haven't plugged the Egnater into yet.I also just got a new guitar too.Squire vintage vibe 50's telecaster.(i know i know sux ass blah blah,lol).I guess i got some experimenting to do.
Jax a guitar player friend of mine is supposed to come over in a few weeks,I'll see if i can't get you some recorded samples then.Though I'm sure it wont change your opinion,I'm curious as to what other people hear,and can help me understand some of the words used to describe certain types of sounds.

The 2x12 I tried it with is oversized like one of the big Mesa 2x12 cabs. There was too much low end, too thick and not tight enough no matter how I set the rebel. Maybe a different cab would've helped, but I think it came down to the amp more than the speakers.

Somebody posted a clip of the egnater in this thread awhile ago and he thought it was good sounding. To me, it sounded pretty much like what I was getting. I'd be curious to hear how it holds up in your clips.

[Jax]

I'd seen that clip above before and am reasonably impressed given the fact that a 121 is the only mic, and it's a dark sounding, smooth, but not the clearest sounding mic. I could record it better, which bodes well for the good tones he's getting. I'm not wanting metal tones from the NT, though and it doesn't seem to be a metal amp anyway.

[Dean Roddey]

Definitely not for metal :-) It's a Vox. It's more about chimey, sparkly classic tone stuff.

[PyroDano]

I guess I'll have to check out the NT.When i think of cleans,i think of steely Dan.I haven't really tried to get a super clean out of the Egnater yet.It kind of depends on who stops over to play.So far we defiantly got a few different tones.I really do mean defiantly,cause it fought us all the way.The tones are there,there just hard to get.
Got some ac/dc tones,some GnR tones,tons of tool sounds,soungarden,def lep,and a couple others,all without pedals.No cleans yet though.
I wonder how the NT takes pedals.I like sparkly,chimey,twang.What is the "vox"sound?Can share a link?So i know what your talking about?

[Jax]

Here's a good outline of artists who used the Vox sound to great effect (from Wikipedia). I doubt that you haven't heard the music of at least half of them:

The AC30
Main article: Vox AC30

The Vox AC15 amplifier
In 1959, with sales under pressure from the more powerful Fender Twin and from The Shadows, who requested amplifiers with more power, Vox produced what was essentially a double-powered AC15 and named it the AC30. The AC30, fitted with alnico magnet-equipped Celestion "blue" loudspeakers and later Vox's special "Top Boost" circuitry, helped to produce the sound of the British Invasion, being used by The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, The Kinks and the Yardbirds, among others. AC30s were later used by Brian May of Queen (who is known for having a wall of AC30s on stage), Paul Weller of The Jam (who also assembled a wall of AC30s), Rory Gallagher, The Edge of U2 and Radiohead guitarists Thom Yorke, Jonny Greenwood and Ed O'Brien. The Vox AC30 has been used by many other artists including Hank Marvin, Pete Townshend, John Scofield, Snowy White, Tom Petty, Mike Campbell, Peter Buck Justin Hayward and many others.

[Dean Roddey]

I guess I'll have to check out the NT.When i think of cleans,i think of steely Dan.I haven't really tried to get a super clean out of the Egnater yet.It kind of depends on who stops over to play.So far we defiantly got a few different tones.I really do mean defiantly,cause it fought us all the way.The tones are there,there just hard to get.

To me, there's 'clean clean' and there's 'dirty clean'. A Vox I think is one of those that is good for dirty clean. I.e. it sounds great on that edge of breakup where it's not clean, but it's not really distorted in an obvious way either. Various types of amps are good at that, but Voxes seem to be one of the amps that are particularly so. It's like the initial hit is enough to push it over into breakup, for a nice quick crunch, but it comes right back out to a nice, chimey tail. That kind of thing.

And it seems to me that that kind of sound often works well recorded, where the amount of distortion you'd want live is way too much for recording purposes in a lot of case.

[58lespaul]

Someday I'll be able to afford an AC30 but for now I have an AC4TV and I love it. The VOX crunch is one of my favorite sounds ever. Combine that with a Gibson Les Paul and I nearly pass out from the happiness when a single power chord is played. I use a Vox AD100 for gigging but I really like what I hear of the Night Train so far. 15 all tube watts and a cab should be plenty to fill any Boston venue.

Dean, have you heard Radiohead's In Rainbows? I think its one of the best showcases for an AC30's versatility. Bodysnatchers and Banger's N' Mash are def not what I would describe as classic and chimey. Troy Van Leewun also uses Voxes for Queens of the Stone Age and they are a pretty heavy band.

[Dean Roddey]

That's true, it's not all jangly stuff. But it's not what most folks would consider a good metal amp, I wouldn't think. This one has the 'full' mode, or whatever it's called, that puts it in more of that vintage crunchy mode I guess, and the bright mode for the jangly stuff.

Though, I would know yet because I still haven't gotten mine. I guess they must have seriously underestimated the interest in this amp, because I'm still waiting to get mine. Given that it didn't ship last week as expected, and they didn't have any info on when it would, that means it obviously ain't in the mail, and therfore it could only ship late next week probably at the best, and so I probably am still looking at two more weeks to get it.

On top of that, Ted Weber sent me an incorrect e-mail due to a typo, and I didn't catch it when sending a PayPal payment, so I waited a month for a cabinet that he wasn't working on, and had to order that again, though he did promise to rush it because it was his fault. So my batting average here isn't so great. Hopefully in a couple weeks I'll have the cabinet, Blue Dog, and the NightTrain, and should have me a seriously Vox'y setup to complement my Fender Champ'y current setup.

[Jax]

The music store (Bananas At Large) that's local to my studio had a few of them when I was there about a month ago. A week later, they were all gone. I've only ever seen one other NT at that store and it was soon gone as well. They've told me they can't hold onto them for more than a few days!

[Tibbon]

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

[jsaliba]

I was actually VERY impressed with the Egnater Rebel. It can be flabby, but did you try using the 'tight' switch? Cleaned up my distorted palm muting. I have to admit, I only tried the dirty settings, I was having a good time so I never went to clean!!!

I did like the Vox as well, but I preferred its chimey sound for clean and low gain settings. The gain got a little buzzy with a medium gain rock setting, but that could've been the cab it was hooked up to.