I think that Vox/Korg is pretty good about providing online PDF documentation for their products. I don't remember the procedure for it (mine had this instruction in a cardstock-type overlay that was on the top of the amp when it was unboxed), but it is WELL WORTH finding out how to do it with an online search. Since it isn't needed for the cleaner or less overdriven amp models, IMO it can make a huge difference in performance. One final thing - if you picked up one of these amps used or second hand, you probably don't know that there's a way to turn the noise gate down or off. Since the AD15VT has a simple switch for CH1/CH2, I've got mine set up for Black 2X12 and AC15. Maybe they don't really replicate the real deal, but they are still VERY good sounding. Since these amps were (are) made by Vox/Korg, IMO that means that the AC15/AC30TB models are especially good.

I put a Jensen MOD 8 (MOD doesn't stand for modelling - these speakers tend to have more of a hybrid American/British voicing than other speakers) in mine, and the performance difference is simply unreal IMO - it puts the amp on par with some of the best 15 watt guitar amps that I've used. There used to be a Valvetronix-specific forum, and it was revealed that by dropping the gain as low as you can, and instead increasing the volume (not the master!), you can get rid of a lot (if not all) of the fizziness.Īlso - despite the typical thinking that using a neutral/'uncolored' speaker would be best in a DSP-based amp, IME the Valvetronix line does VERY well with traditional-type guitar speaker upgrades. The reason that some of the OD tones tend to be fizzy is because you can apply more gain to the models that had no such feature/capability on the originals. Compared to other amps with their 'dumb/static' designs, it really does IMO constitute a significant performance increase. Even if the Valvetronix power amp doesn't 100% replicate the amps that it models, it still makes the power amp play a dynamic role. The Valvetronix line has some clever stuff going on at its power amp, and part of what happens when you choose a different amp model reconfigures the power amp (and while the switching is digital, the effect is 100% analog).

Despite not being loud enough for anything other than the most modest of gigs (unless it was mic'ed), it is possibly the best little practice amp I've ever owned, and is much more practical and flexible than my '67 Champ, for sure.įYI - the DSP in the preamp is not as 'DSP-heavy' as it is with other amps by companies like Line 6, or even like the Fender Cyber line of amps (there's actually an analog clipping stage prior to hitting the processor, which then probably concentrates on aspects of EQ and other characteristics that have less to do with actual signal distortion). I got a AD15VT back in what was probably the first year that Vox/Korg released them - 2005.

Vox valvetronix ad15vt manual pdf