Vox Valvetronix Manual
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Vox Valvetronix Manual

Vox valvetronix (vtx) manual
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  • Page 2 The lightning flash with arrowhead symbol within an equi- lateral triangle, is intended to alert the user to the pres- ence of uninsulated “dangerous voltage” within the product’s enclosure that may be of sufficient magnitude to constitute a risk of electric shock to persons. The exclamation point within an equilateral triangle is in- tended to alert the user to the presence of important oper- ating and maintenance (servicing) instructions in the lit-...

  • Page 3: Table Of Contents

    Table of Contents Introduction..................1 Welcome Aboard! ................1 The Best of Both Worlds ..............1 Valve Reactor Technology: ............. 2 Enough Talk Already...Shut Up and Let Me Play My Guitar! (a.k.a. “Quick Start”)..................4 Checking Out the 32 Factory Preset Programs....... 4 The Guitarist’s Guided Panel Tour ..........
  • Page 4 B. Amp Models..................39 Troubleshooting ................50 Techno Talk (yawn!): General Valvetronix Specifications ..........53 * A United States patent has been obtained for Valve Reactor technology. Patents are pending in other countries. (As of July 2001) * Company names, product names, and names of formats etc. are the trademarks or registered...

  • Page 5: Introduction

    - Vox! As you are no doubt aware, Vox’s all-valve, AC30 amps have been the first choice of countless profes- sional players for the past four decades and have been heard on numerous hits.

  • Page 6: Valve Reactor Technology

    “11”! And it isn’t a guitar amp stuffed with some hurriedly built, “catch-up” digital stuff either. No sir, Valvetronix is the real deal - the best of both worlds.
  • Page 7 - as opposed to the usual “close but definitely no cigar” norm of digital modeling. And just so you know, this paterted in USA power amp technology is unique to VOX Val- vetronix.

  • Page 8: Enough Talk Already

    Enough Talk Already...Shut Up and Let Me Play My Guitar! a.k.a. “Quick Start” ep, you’re right, the vast majority of manuals are about as interesting as watching paint dry and we know that you’re anxious to plug in to your new amp and give it a whirl in the comfort of your own home.
  • Page 9 So please make double sure that you don’t mind losing your programs before you reset your Valvetronix’s memory to its “virgin,” factory default state...’cos once you do a “reset” there’s no turning back! ANOTHER IMPORTANT NOTE: If there are some programs you’ve written that...
  • Page 10 13. Phew! After the mayhem of “Breakin’ Stuff,” program 1-4 is a little mellower. To check it out, just hit the CHANNEL 4 button. Titled, “Tie Mama Down,” this is a regal sounding VOX AC30 crunch that has classic rock written all over it.
  • Page 11 Banks - your next program isn’t chosen until you hit a Channel button. STEP ON IT! If you get yourself the optional VC-4 VOX Foot Controller, you’ll be able to switch seamlessly between all 32 programs with it. So, what are you waiting for, get one! 15.

  • Page 12: The Guitarist's Guided Panel Tour

    This is NOT an indication that your Valvetronix amp is faulty - it is merely telling you that you’re driving the Acoustic Pedal too hard! And just so you know, all “acoustic simulation” pedals and...

  • Page 13: Pedal Section

    VC-4 will enable you to do a bunch more things too - making it a “must have” item for any serious axeman or axewoman! STEP ON IT! When you select VOX WAH or U-VIBE, you can control the effect (Wah and Uni-vibe speed, respectively) using the VC-4 Foot Controller. Very cool...

  • Page 14: Preamp Section

    As the title of this section suggests (imagine that!?), this is the “preamp” control section of your Valvetronix combo. And, in keeping with what it is supposed to be, it looks and acts exactly like (wait for it)...an amp! Plus, in true VOX tradition, it boasts our instantly recog- nizable, “chicken-head”...
  • Page 15 The amp types on offer are: VOX AC15 UK MODERN VOX AC15TB RECTO VOX AC30 US HIGAIN VOX AC30TB BOUTIQUE OD UK BLUES BOUTIQUE CL UK ’70S BLACK 2x12 UK ’80S TWEED 1x12 UK ’90S TWEED 4x10 Turn to the “AMP MODELS” Section on page 39 for some specific information on each of the amps modeled here.

  • Page 16: Power Amp Controls

    - like the BRIGHT switch on a BLACK 2x12 or the CUT control found on all of the VOX originals. See page 39 for more details on exactly what the PRES- ENCE control does on each model.

  • Page 17: Modulation Section

    Also, if you think about it, if you’re using a crunch or high gain lead sound then it makes much more sense to add effects like ROTARY, ROOM (reverb) or DELAY to the signal after it’s been distorted, rather than before. I mean, does it make any sense to add an effect like reverb and then mash the heck out of your signal (i.e.

  • Page 18: Ii) External Control Of Modulation Speed

    Speed of your chosen MODULATION effect using the pedal on the optional VC-4 VOX Foot Controller. Told you this pedal was cool...so what are you waiting for, man? Drop everything and buy one NOW!!

  • Page 19: Delay Section

    ELAY ECTION Here you can insert one of three (3) distinctly different delay effects in the “virtual FX loop” of your Valvetronix amp. In all three cases, the maximum delay time possible is two (yes, 2!) seconds. TYPE Button This button enables you to select the Delay type you’d like to use. When a particu- lar Delay type is chosen, the red LED to its left will light up.

  • Page 20: Reverb Section

    DEPTH Control This allows you to adjust the depth (relative volume) of the delay effect. REPEATED HINT: If you add a DELAY to a program and you can’t hear the effect, make sure the BYPASS BUTTON (8) isn’t engaged. If it is, the ORIGINAL VALUE LED directly above it will be on and this means that everything in the “virtual FX loop”...

  • Page 21: Bank/Manual/Write/Tuner/Channel Section

    VERY IMPORTANT NOTE: The BYPASS Button is NOT programmable. ORIGINAL VALUE LED When the position of any one of the programmable knobs or switches matches the values stored in a channel’s program, this LED will let you know by either lighting up or turning off for a second.

  • Page 22: Power Switch

    Also, if you are using the built-in tuner (see page 30), the CHANNEL Select LEDs are used in the tuning process. 10. P OWER WITCH As amazing as it may seem, this switch turns the power to the unit on or off! And, get this - when the power switch is “on,”...

  • Page 23: The Rear Panel

    WARNING: If a cabinet with an impedance higher than 8 Ohms - like a 16 Ohm one for instance - is used in conjunction with your Valvetronix amp, the amp will suffer from an audible drop in output power, due to the nature of the external speaker jack circuit.

  • Page 24: Level Control

    The AD60VT has as a single, Mono LINE OUT jack while the stereo AD120VT boasts a pair - Left (L) and Right (R). 8. FOOT CONTROLLER Jack For connecting the optional VC-4 VOX Foot Controller pedal...a must have item, as you’ll soon discover!

  • Page 25: Storing Stuff, Writing Stuff & More

    Storing Stuff, Writing Stuff & More... s mentioned earlier, your Valvetronix combo can store and instantly recall 32 pro- grams. These 32 programs are stored in 8 Banks, each of which contains 4 chan- nels (8 x 4 = 32!). The bank numbers (shown in the BANK display...clever stuff, huh!?) are 1, 2, 3, 4, 1.

  • Page 26: Recallinga Program

    ‘Cos the BANK display will now be displaying a bank number (1 – 4, 1. – 4.) and it won’t be flashing! 2. If your amp is in either “Tuner Mode” (BANK Display shows “ ”) or “Silent Tuner Mode” (BANK Display shows “ ”), hitting the TUNER/CANCEL but- ton will get you back into whatever mode you were in before you started tuning –...

  • Page 27: Switching Between Programs

    WITCHING ETWEEN ROGRAMS You’re not going to believe this but to do this, you simply follow the 3 simple steps we’ve just gone through. COOL PLAYING HINT: When you’re halfway through switching programs (i.e. you’ve selected the Bank but not the Channel), the program you’re about to change is still selected and will remain this way until you select the channel.

  • Page 28: Starting From Scratch

    STEP 6: Use the (UP) and (DOWN) Buttons to select the bank you want to use and the CHANNEL Select Buttons to select the channel. STEP 7: Hit WRITE again and you’re done! TARTING CRATCH Why the heck not, huh!? Lets go: STEP 1: Set the amp’s MASTER Volume at a minimum level.
  • Page 29 STEP 11: Happy? Good, let’s store this bad boy. Hit the WRITE Button once - this puts you into “where do you want to store your new program?” mode which is indicated by the number in the BANK Display flashing. “ABORT MISSION”...

  • Page 30: Original Value Led: What's Being Used Here, Man

    RIGINAL ALUE So, you’re flipping through the programs on your new Valvetronix combo, you come across one you really dig and you decide you wanna know exactly how the amp is dialed in to get such a killer tone. Sounds like a reasonable plan but how on earth do you do it? Prepare to meet your saviour, the incredibly useful ORIGINAL VALUE LED.
  • Page 31 STEP 3: Now that we’ve found which PEDAL is being used, let’s find where the DRIVE Control for it is set. So, watch the ORIGINAL VALUE LED and slowly but surely sweep the DRIVE Control through its full range of motion. When you reach the setting, the ORIGINAL VALUE LED will tell you.

  • Page 32: Manual Mode: What You See Is What You Get

    : What You See Is What You Get! ANUAL When your Valvetronix amp is put into MANUAL MODE it “forgets” whatever program it was on and behaves like a “regular” amp - meaning that the sound you hear is a direct reflection of all the knob settings on the top panel, including the PEDAL and AMP TYPE selector switches.
  • Page 33 ETTING UT OF ANUAL There are two ways of doing this... 1. Press either the (UP) and or the (DOWN) button. Doing this will auto- matically take you back to the last program you were using. 2. Hit any one of the CHANNEL SELECT Buttons - this will take you to the last bank you were using and whatever channel number you press to get out of MANUAL MODE.

  • Page 34: Tuner Mode

    UNING YOUR XE WITH YOUR or your convenience, your Valvetronix combo houses a built-in auto chromatic tuner that can be calibrated between 438Hz and 445Hz. To access the tuner, simply press the TUNER/CANCEL button and “ ” will appear in the BANK Display to let you know that the tuner is activated and ready to go.

  • Page 35: Silent Tuning Mode

    The built-in tuner is automatically calibrated to A = 440Hz (a.k.a. “concert pitch”) every time you switch your Valvetronix combo on. If desired, you can recalibrate the tuner in the range of A = 438Hz to A = 445Hz. Here’s how you do it:...

  • Page 36: Factory Preset Programs

    And, the only extra items you need in addition to your Valvetronix amp, is your guitar, a guitar cord and, of course, your ears, fingers and taste buds! So, what are you waiting for? Dive in.
  • Page 37 4 - 3 “Crossfire Crunch” Texas tinged rhythm ‘n’ blues. 4 - 4 “Clean Trem” Er, a clean tone with a touch o’ tremolo - believe it or not! BANK 1. 1. - 1 “Dirt” In reverence to some chained-up guys called “Alice”... 1.

  • Page 38: Preset Program Recipes

    Preset Program Recipes PROGRAM PEDAL AMP TYPE MODULATION DELAY REVERB 1 - 1 “Flying High” UK MODERN CHORUS TAPE ROOM 1 - 2 “Def Tone” COMP BLACK 2x12 FLANGER TAPE ROOM 1 - 3 “Breakin’ Stuff” RECTO SPRING 1 - 4 “Tie Mama Down” TREBLE B.

  • Page 39: Recalling The Factory Preset Programs

    So please make double sure that you don’t mind losing your programs before you reset your Valvetronix’s memory to its “virgin,” factory default state...’cos once you do a “reset” there’s no turning back! ANOTHER IMPORTANT NOTE: If there are some programs you’ve written that...

  • Page 40: Model Behaviour: What's What? And What Does What

    16 great sounding amps and 10 stompbox models your Valvetronix amp has to offer. Let’s start on the floor by looking at what’s on offer in the PEDAL section.
  • Page 41 Geddit?! Good... 3. VOX WAH This effect is modeled on the legendary VOX Wah pedal, the V847. Thanks to its unique “throaty” tone, the V847 is the only Wah pedal many professionals will con- sider stepping on. When used wisely, this pedal that can either make your guitar...
  • Page 42 7. TREBLE BOOST This pedal effect is modeled after a treble booster that was designed with the VOX AC30 specifically in mind. It is a great way of adding “teeth” to an overdriven sound - check out presets 1-3 (“Tie Mama Down”: classic rock) 3.-3 (“Nativity in Black”: old school metal) &...

  • Page 43: Amp Models

    (what on earth would be the point of that!?), we’ve made full use of all six (6) Valvetronix amp controls without compromis- ing the accuracy of any of our models. This means you’ll be able to mimic the full tonal spectrum of each and every one of the originals we’ve modeled...and then some, thanks...
  • Page 44 Also, as you’d probably expect, we do the same exact thing with the Valvetronix’s PRESENCE control too - namely, if one isn’t present (bad pun, not intended!) on the orig- inal then PRESENCE will be an added control on our model. This time though, the “neu- tral”...
  • Page 45 Thanks to the awesome accuracy of our Valve Reactor power amp, the same is also true of your Valvetronix combo. For this rea- son, we heartily recommend that you crank the sucker up as often as possible. And, as I’ve literally just pointed out, thanks to our unique POWER SELECT control, you have a...
  • Page 46 Like most amps of its era, the AC15 is the very essence of simplicity. In fact, the Channel we modeled, Channel 2 (remember!?), only has two controls - Vol- ume and Top Cut. When you select AC15, the Valvetronix’s GAIN control mimics the original’s Volume control, while the PRESENCE control acts as the Top Cut.* FYI, the AC15’s Top Cut control affects the high frequencies in a very different way...
  • Page 47 3. AC30 As already stated, the VOX AC15 was a huge hit with the British guitar bands of the late ’50S. However, as the popularity of the AC15 using bands grew, so did their need for a more powerful amp. Sure, the AC15 was loud for a 15 Watt amp - darned loud in fact - but it was no match for 1,000 + screaming fans! Remember folks, back in the late 50S/early ’60S, guitar amps weren’t being fed through the...
  • Page 48 Even though the AC30 was a runaway success, several artists expressed a desire for the amp to have more tonal flexibility and a pinch of extra gain too. VOX reacted quickly and came up with some clever extra tone circuitry which featured an additional ECC83 valve and was called “Top Boost.”* When “Top Boost”...
  • Page 49 This however, is not a problem with the UK ’70S model that lurks in your Valvetronix amp. Thanks to it having programmable controls for GAIN (which models the orig- inal’s “High Treble”...
  • Page 50 8. UK ’90S This model is based on the “lead” channel of a 100 Watt, dual channel head that is capable of so much preamp distortion it houses a Gain control that goes all the way up to a Nigel Tufnel approved “20, dunnit!” This amp replaced UK ’80S and was developed to satisfy the ever-evolving rock guitarists’...
  • Page 51 11. US HIGAIN This is modeled on the Overdrive Channel of an all-tube, 100 Watt head built in 1991 and covered in snakeskin! This high gain, power house was designed by a guy who also builds and drives Hot Rod cars so it should come as no surprise that the originals controls all go to eleven - after all, “that’s one louder innit!”...
  • Page 52 - a single Tone control creatively named (wait for it!) Tone! This Tone control is merely a treble cut and boost, and its behaviour can be mim- icked by using the Valvetronix’s TREBLE, MIDDLE and BASS EQ network as fol- lows: Original Tone control turned all the way down (off) = BASS on full;...
  • Page 53 In keeping with the original, the TWEED 1x12 produces an open, relatively unco- loured sound when clean, but starts to “snarl” beautifully when pushed into over- drive. Its highly desirable “snarl” is rich with harmonic content and cranking this puppy up will produce those classic, old rockabilly and rock ‘n’ roll sounds of the ’50S and ’60S, at the drop of a 10 gallon hat - especially when a single coil pickup is used.

  • Page 54: Troubleshooting

    Troubleshooting 1. The amp isn’t powering up when the POWER switch is “on” Is the power cable plugged into the AC POWER CONNECTOR on the rear panel of the amp? Is the power cable plugged into an AC outlet? Is the AC outlet switched on? Does the AC outlet being used actually work? Does the power cable work? 2.
  • Page 55 Are you in MANUAL MODE (this is indicated by “ ” in the BANK Display)? If yes, make sure the following controls aren’t turned down low: GAIN, VOLUME, TRE- BLE, MIDDLE, BASS & MASTER. And, if a PEDAL is selected also check the PEDAL DRIVE &...
  • Page 56 NOTICE: VOX products are manufactured under strict specifica- tions and voltages as required by each country. These products are warranted by the VOX distributor in the country where they are pur- chased. Any VOX product not sold with a warranty card or carrying a serial number disqualifies that product sold from the manufac- ture’s / distributor’s warranty and liability.

  • Page 57: Techno Talk (Yawn!): General Valvetronix Specifications

    2 x EXTERNAL SPEAKER OUT (L & R) POWER OUTPUT: AD60VT 60 Watts RMS @ 8 ohm AD120VT 2 x 60 Watts RMS @ 8 ohm SPEAKERS: AD60VT 1 x VOX Original 12-inch, 8ohm (made by Celestion) AD120VT 2 x VOX Original 12-inch, 8ohm (made by Celestion)
  • Page 58 699 x 267 x 559 (mm)/ 27.52 x 10.51 x 22.00 (inches) WEIGHT: AD60VT 19.6 Kg AD120VT 26.2 Kg ACCESSORIES: INCLUDED Power cable OPTIONAL VC-4 VOX Foot Controller * Appearance and specifications of this product are subject to change with- out notice.
  • Page 59 AD120VT AD60VT...
  • Page 60 Wanna remember how you set up your favourite programs? Well this is the place to do it! Simply do as follows: 1. Indicate where all the knobs are set by drawing a line in the empty circles. 2. Indicate which MODULATION, DELAY & REVERB effects are being used by colouring in the relevant LED (including EX CON) 3.

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