Vox Valvetronix Owner`s Manual

INSTRUCTIONSPERTAININGTOA

RISKOFFIRE,ELECTRICSHOCK,

ORINJURYTOPERSONS

IMPORTANTSAFETYINSTRUCTIONS

WARNING

tions should always be followed, including the following:

1) Read all the instructions before using the product.

2) Do not use this product near water-for example , near a bathtub, wash­bowl, kitchen sink, in a wet basement, or near a swimming pool, or
the like.

3) This product should be used only with a cart or stand that is recom­mended by the manufacturer.

4) This product, either alone or in combination with an amplifier and
headphones or speakers, may be capable of producing sound lev­els that could cause permanent hearing loss. Do not operate for a
long period of time at a high volume level or at a le v el that is uncom­fortable. If you experience any hearing loss or ringing in the ears,
you should consult an audiologist.

5) The product should be located so that its location or position does
not interfere with its proper ventilation.

6) The product should be located away from heat sources such as ra­diators, heat registers, or other products that produce heat.

7) The product should be connected to a power supply only of the type
described in the operating instructions or as marked on the product.

8) The power-supply cord of the product should be unplugged from the
outlet when left unused for a long period of time.

9) Care should be taken so that objects do not fall and liquids are not
spilled into the enclosure through openings.

10) The product should be serviced by qualified service personnel when:
a) The power-supply cord or the plug has been damaged; or
b) Objects have fallen, or liquid has been spilled onto the product; or
c) The product has been exposed to rain; or
d) The product does not appear to operate normally or exhibits a

e) The product has been dropped, or the enclosure damaged.

11) Do not attempt to service the product beyond that described in the
user-maintenance instructions. All other servicing should be referred
to qualified service personnel.

SAVETHESEINSTRUCTIONS

—

When using electric products, basic precau-

marked change in performance; or

GROUNDINGINSTRUCTIONS

This product must be grounded. If it should malfunction or breakdown,
grounding provides a path of least resistance for electric current to re­duce the risk of electric shock. This product is equipped with a cord hav­ing an equipment-grounding conductor and a grounding plug. The plug
must be plugged into an appropriate outlet that is properly installed and
grounded in accordance with all local codes and ordinances.

DANGER—Improper connection of the equipment-grounding conductor
can result in a risk of electric shock. Check with a qualified electrician or
serviceman if you are in doubt as to whether the product is properly
grounded. Do not modify the plug provided with the product—if it will not
fit the outlet, have a proper outlet installed by a qualified electrician.

The lightning flash with arrowhead symbol within an equi­lateral triangle, is intended to alert the user to the pres­ence 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 in­tended to alert the user to the presence of important oper­ating and maintenance (servicing) instructions in the lit­erature accompanying the product.

THE FCC REGULATION WARNING (for U.S.A.)

This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits
for a Class B digital device, pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC Rules.
These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against
harmful interference in a residential installation. This equipment gen­erates, uses, and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not in­stalled and used in accordance with the instructions, may cause harm­ful interference to radio communications. Howe ver, there is no guar­antee that interference will not occur in a particular installation. If this
equipment does cause harmful interference to radio or television re­ception, which can be determined by turning the equipment off and
on, the user is encouraged to try to correct the interference by one or
more of the following measures:

• Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna.

• Increase the separation between the equipment and receiver.

• Connect the equipment into an outlet on a circuit different from
that to which the receiver is connected.

• Consult the dealer or an experienced radio/TV technician for help.

Unauthorized changes or modification to this system can void the
user’s authority to operate this equipment.

CE mark for European Harmonized Standards

CE mark which is attached to our company’s products of AC mains
operated apparatus until December 31, 1996 means it conforms to
EMC Directive (89/336/EEC) and CE mark Directive (93/68/EEC).
And, CE mark which is attached after January 1, 1997 means it con­forms to EMC Directive (89/336/EEC), CE mark Directive (93/68/
EEC) and Low Voltage Directive (73/23/EEC).
Also, CE mark which is attached to our company’s products of Bat­tery operated apparatus means it conforms to EMC Directive (89/
336/EEC) and CE mark Directive (93/68/EEC).

IMPORTANT NOTICE FOR THE UNITED KINGDOM

WARNING—THIS APPARATUS MUST BE EARTHED
As the colours of the wires in the mains lead of this apparatus may
not correspond with the coloured markings identifying the terminals
in your plug, proceed as follows:

• the wire which is coloured green and yellow must be connected to

the terminal in the plug which is marked with the letter E or by the
earth symbol , or coloured green or green and yellow.

• the wire which is coloured blue must be connected to the terminal

which is marked with the letter N or coloured black.

• the wire which is coloured brown must be connected to the termi-

nal which is marked with the letter L or coloured red.

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 ................................................. 8

A. The Top Panel ...................................................................................... 8

1. Input Section ............................................................................... 8

2. Pedal Section .............................................................................. 9

3. Preamp Section......................................................................... 10

4. Power Amp Controls ................................................................. 12

5. Modulation Section.................................................................... 13

i) Modulation FX.................................................................... 13

ii) External Control OF Modulation Speed ............................ 14

iii) Programmable Noise Reduction (NR).............................. 14

6. Delay Section ............................................................................ 15

7. Reverb Section.......................................................................... 16

8. Bypass & Original Value Section............................................... 16

9. Bank/Manual/Write/Tuner/Channel Section .............................. 17

10. Power Switch........................................................................... 18

B. The Rear Panel ................................................................................... 19

Storing Stuff, Writing Stuff & More... ............................................ 21

Program Select Mode.................................................................... 21

Recalling A Program ..................................................................... 22

Switching Between Programs ....................................................... 23

Writing and Storing Your Own Program ........................................ 23

Tweaking an Existing Program ............................................. 23

Starting From Scratch ........................................................... 24

Original Value Led: What’s being used here, man? ...................... 26

Manual Mode: What You See Is What You Get! ........................... 28

Tuner Mode ..................................................................................... 30

Tuning your Axe with your Amp! ................................................... 30

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Silent Tuning Mode ....................................................................... 31

Calibrating the Tuner..................................................................... 31

Factory Preset Programs............................................................... 32

What’s on the Factory Preset Program Menu? ............................. 32

Preset Program Recipes ............................................................... 34

Recalling the Factory Preset Programs......................................... 35

Model Behaviour: What’s What? And What Does What? ........... 36

A. Pedal Points ....................................................................................... 36

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

trademarks of their respective owners.

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Introduction

WELCOME ABOARD!

any thanks for adding a VOX Valvetronix amp to your sonic arsenal. We’re sure
it’ll give you countless hours of great guitar tones that will feel as good as they

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(and it’s as easy as falling off a log, believe me!), let’s take a quick look at why the Val­vetronix unit you’re about to plug into is the real deal as opposed to yet another “jack of

all trades, master of none” digital modeling amp....

different ones out there to choose from. And, of course, it goes without saying that each
and every one of them claims to be the best thing since sliced bread! Being guitar nuts,
we’ve played ‘em all and, as far as we’re concerned, the vast majority of them fall way
short of their bold advertising claims. This is because pretty much all digital modeling
amps out there fall into one of two categories: they’re either made by a company that
specializes in making digital, guitar gadgets and has little or no experience in building
amps. Or the exact opposite: they’re made by an established amp manufacturer that’s
attempted to become a credible digital engineering concern in a couple of years or less!
Think about these two truths for a second...scary or what!?

sound! Before we show you how to get the most out of your brand new combo

Digital modeling amps? Yep, we know, they’re nothing new and there’s a bunch of

You don’t have to be a genius to realize that for someone to make a great sound­ing and feeling digital modeling amp, they have to possess experience and expertise in
both digital engineering/modeling and amp design/manufacture. After all, if they fall short
in either area, the end product is not gonna be all it can be and, as a result, both its tone
and its “guitar friendly” nature (hey, you want an easy-to-operate guitar amp, not a com­plex computer, right?) will suffer - big time! We’re happy to report that your new Val­vetronix amp was designed and built by experienced experts in both of these vitally
important fields. The result...

THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS

alvetronix is the brainchild of a mind-meld between the digital expertise of Korg’s

critically acclaimed ToneWorks team (a bunch of axe addicts who’ve spent the last

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gurus behind one of the most revered names in guitar amplification - Vox! As you are no
doubt aware, Vox’s all-valve, AC30 amps have been the first choice of countless profes­sional players for the past four decades and have been heard on numerous hits.

decade, their many digital guitar devices have proven to be a firm favourite with both the
guitar loving press and guitar loving public. They were also the first folk to master the art
of using oversampling to create digital distortions that sounded and felt real and didn’t
have those evil, dissonant overtones (a.k.a. aliasing) that made most guitarists feel that
“digital distortion” was a rival to “jumbo shrimp” in the oxymoron charts! The most recent
ToneWorks breakthrough is their proprietary REMs (Resonant structure and Electronic

ten years living, breathing and dreaming in digital!) and the world-renowned amp

Korg’s ToneWorks team has a pretty impressive track record too; for over a

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circuit Modeling System), the stunning realism of which has deservedly earned an ava­lanche of critical acclaim and has been welcomed with open arms by serious guitarists all
over the globe.

The result of this perfect marriage is a digital modeling amp that sounds, feels,
looks and operates like a guitar amp...what an amazing concept! It isn’t merely a multi­effects device hooked up to a stiff sounding, solid-state power amp driving some ho-hum
speakers that can’t cut through a band, even when turned up to “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.

What is ?

(Resonant structure and Electronic circuit Modeling System) is KORG’s propri­etary sound modeling technology which precisely reproduces the complex character
and nature of both acoustic and electric instruments as well as electronic circuits in
real world environments. emulates a wide variety of sound generation charac­teristics including instrument bodies, speakers & cabinets, acoustic fields, micro­phones, vacuum tubes, transistors, etc.

VALVE REACTOR TECHNOLOGY:

THE POWER (AMP) AND THE GLORY!

n keeping with Vox’s brave, pioneering spirit, the Valve Reactor circuitry that drives the
power amp in your new VOX combo is a groundbreaking piece of technology. Without

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getting overly technical, here’s what’s going on...

While much of the tone creation and shaping carried out in this amp is done in the
digital domain, its Valve Reactor power amp is 100% analogue. The resulting journey
your guitar’s signal takes through the analogue world of the power stage plays a major
role in providing the all-important feel and tone of the original amps we modeled.

The Valve Reactor power stage is, to all intents and purposes, a bona fide valve
(tube) push-pull power amplifier, but in miniature. It utilizes a 12AX7 valve (a dual triode
device - meaning “two valves in one”) and is equipped with an output transformer, just
like a “real” valve amp. Instead of connecting directly to the loudspeaker though this
transformer is connected to a specially designed VariAmp Power Circuit that increases
the magnitude of the transformer output from its lowest level (1 Watt) up to the maximum
output of 60 Watts per channel.

Because VariAmp Power Circuit stage is completely transparent (doesn’t colour or
change the signal in any way), the resulting output tone is pure valve. It also ensures that
the output signal maintains the high dynamic range associated with traditional valve
amps - something most solid-state amplifiers cannot deliver, and one of the main factors
why valve guitar amps normally sound and feel so much louder and more alive than a
solid-state amp boasting the same output power.

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The output of your Valve Reactor power amp is also designed to “read” the con­stantly changing “impedance” curve of the loudspeaker system it is hooked up to and
then “report” this reactive information back to the output transformer - just like its “big­brother” valve amplifiers do. This information permits the behaviour of the valve stage of
the amp to vary with the speaker load (impedance), which is another important part of
“real world” valve tone.

Apart from the vital valve tone this ingenious power amp design provides, it also
allows us to replicate various “circuit characteristics” that are unique to the all-valve
power stages of the amps we’ve modeled. These “characteristics” include: Class A or
Class A/B operation, Presence and Resonance (low end) control circuitry (both found in
the negative feedback circuit that some, but not all, valve power amps have) and power
output. Being able to match such vital characteristics (except power output, which is user
defined) helps ensure that each and every one of our models is as tonally authentic as
possible - 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 Val­vetronix.

But hey, talk is cheap and ultimately the proof of this particular pudding lies in the
way the amp sounds and feels when you play it. So, let’s cut to the chase and get you
started. What are you waiting for, bud? Grab your guitar and brace yourself for a whole
bunch of toneful fun!

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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

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running in a heartbeat.

ual a chance - it’s been written by a fellow guitar nut and this amp boasts some killer bells
‘n’ whistles that warrant your interest. In short, it’ll be worth your while, we promise. This
said, here’s the “Quick Start” - enjoy! I look forward to talking you through the amp in

more detail once you’re done....

whirl in the comfort of your own home. So, here’s a “Quick Start” to get you up and

Once you’ve satisfied your primal urge to play, I’d like to urge you to give this man-

HINT: Want life to be easy? Of course you do! For this reason I suggest you fold out the
inside back cover of this “Guitarist’s Guide” before you go any further. Why? So you can
see the pretty pictures of the Top Panel and Rear Panel it contains while you’re going
through the “Quick Start,” that’s why!

CHECKING OUT THE 32 FACTORY PRESET PROGRAMS

1. Turn the MASTER Volume Control on the amp all the way down.

2. Plug one end of the supplied power cord into the AC POWER CONNECTOR
on the rear panel of the amp and the other end into the wall.

3. Make sure the AC wall socket you’ve plugged into is switched on!

4. While you’re around the back of your amp, take a quick look at the POWER
SELECT switch and dial in the output power you’d like to start with...yep,
you have a choice! How cool is that?

5. Plug your guitar into one of the two INPUT JACKS (HIGH or LOW- take your
choice &, if unsure, I recommend you take the HIGH road!).

Right, now we’ve got to this point, there are two ways you can go - you can
either check out the factory presets (32 killer programs that will give you a
darned good taste of the plethora of great tones that lurk within your Val­vetronix amp) or you can dive right in and start writing your own programs

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from scratch. We’re gonna take the easiest of the two options (and they’re
both pretty simple!) and go through the factory presets first BUT hey, if
you’d rather start by writing a program of your own right off the bat, skip to
the “STARTING FROM SCRATCH” section that starts on page 23 and carry
on from there...

6. Let’s start at the very beginning by playing program 1-1 which is a fat, easy
to play, high gain lead sound called “Flying High.” First though, let’s reset
your amp to the factory presets, just incase someone has messed with
‘em...and don’t panic, it’s a piece of cake!

IMPORTANT NOTE: If you do a “factory preset recall” you’re gonna permanently

erase all the programs you may have already written/tweaked yourself. 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
you’d like to remember, jot ‘em down on the “Programmer’s Cheat Sheet” that can be
found on the back of the fold-out rear cover of this manual before you “reset” the
amp. See the “ORIGINAL VALUE LED” section on page 26 if you wanna know how
to do this.

7. Hold down the Up (▲) and Down (▼) Cursor Buttons (the ones right next to

the BANK DISPLAY window) and the TUNER/CANCEL Button that is next to
‘em and, while you’re holding all three of them down at the same time,
switch the amp’s POWER Switch to the “ON” position. If you’ve done this
correctly, a “ ” will be flashing in the BANK DISPLAY window so move on
to STEP 8.

8. If a “ ” isn’t flashing - don’t fret. Just switch the amp off and try
again...making sure you’re holding all three buttons down when you hit the
POWER SWITCH this time! The “ ” is flashing in the BANK DISPLAY win­dow now, right? Good!

9. Press the WRITE Button (just above the TUNER/CANCEL one) and watch the
BANK and the CHANNEL Button lights do a little dance. Once they both stop
jumping, you’re done...your reset mission is a success. And, as luck would
have it, doing this leaves your amp armed and ready with the exact program
we’re looking for: 1-1! See, I told you it was easy!! So, get ready to rock by
switching your guitar’s pickup selector to the lead (bridge) position and
turning its Volume and Tone controls up full. Right, let’s go “Flying High,”
bro...

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IMPORTANT NOTE: As already stated, your Valvetronix combo comes with 32 pre­set programs. FYI, these are stored in 8 Banks, each of which consists of 4 Channels
(8 x 4 = 32!). The Bank number is shown in the BANK DISPLAY window while the
Channel number is indicated by one of the four LEDs above the CHANNEL Buttons.
This means that program 1-1 is indicated by a “1” appearing in the BANK DISPLAY
window and the LED above the CHANNEL 1 Button being lit up. Geddit?

10. Turn the amp’s MASTER VOLUME control up to the level you’re after and
start wailing!

MOVIN’ ON...

11. Once you’ve had your fill of “Flying High” (which might take a while, it’s a
highly addictive program), check out program 1-2. This one is called “Def
Tone” and is a lush, clean program that is best suited for your neck (rhythm)
pickup. How do you get to it? Easy, just press the CHANNEL 2 button and
you’re there! And notice how seamless the transition from program 1-1 to 1­2 was...none of those horrible “holes of silence” that plague the switching
on so many digital devices...this bad boy switches instantly!

12. To get to the next program, 1-3, all you do is hit the CHANNEL 3 but­ton...duh! Before you do though, be warned, as its name “Breakin’ Stuff”
suggests, this one ain’t for the faint hearted - it’s a fat sounding, aggressive,
modern crunch. So, switch back to your lead (bridge) pickup, chunk out a
heavy riff and watch out for stage-divers!

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.

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CHANGING BANKS...

14. Right, now we’ve played programs 1-1, 1-2, 1-3 and 1-4, our next step is to
move to Bank 2 and do the same exact thing. So, let’s move from program1-

4 to 2-1...and, once again, don’t fret, it’s a breeze. Hit the Up (▲) Cursor But-

ton (next to the BANK DISPLAY window - remember!?) one time and “2” will
start flashing in the Display. Having done this, to get to program 2-1, “Clean
Edge,” just hit the CHANNEL 1 button and you’re there!

NOTE: While “2” was flashing in the Display Window, did you notice that Program 1-

4 was still up and running? This cool feature ensures seamless program switching in
between any of the 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. There is no step 15, amigo. This is the end of the line! You know how to
switch channels and you know how to change banks, so you’re on your own
from here on in! You’ve still got 27 more programs to explore, so use the
PRESET PROGRAM listing on the back of the fold-out rear cover as your
map and go exploring. Enjoy...

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The Guitarist’s Guided Panel Tour

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ver the next 13 pages we’re gonna take a quick peek at the Top and Rear panels
of your Valvetronix amp. If you haven’t already noticed, you’re gonna quickly find
out that this unit is laid out exactly like a “real” guitar rig - what a concept! By this I

mean that your signal path is as follows:

Virtual FX loop

one of 10 

Stompboxes

To help make this manual “Guitarist’s Guide” as painless to use as possible, we’ve

given it an inside back cover that folds out. And, when you fold it out you’ll see nice big
pictures of the amp’s Top Panel, Rear Panel and more. Why did we do this? So you can
have pictures of both panels staring you in the face while you read about ‘em - thus
avoiding the annoying “flicking between pages” that most manual’s require you to do
because there’s only one picture of a panel and it’s never on the same page you’re read­ing when you want to refer to it! So, fold out that useful back cover and let’s go...

one of 16 

Preamp models

Modulation

Delay

Reverb

FX loop

Master Vol

Power Amp model

Class A

Class A/B

depending on the 

preamp model chosen

Celestion

guitar speaker(s)

A. The Top Panel

1. INPUT SECTION

This, believe it or not, is where you plug your guitar into the amp! There are two (2) input
jacks to choose from: High & Low...

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HIGH (high sensitivity)

Strictly speaking (yeah, right!), a high-sensitivity input jack such as this is always
recommended for use with a guitar loaded with low-output pickups, such as sin­gle-coils. This said, most guitarists ignore this recommendation (imagine that!)
and use this input for axes boasting hot (high output) pickups. Why? ‘Cos doing
this helps ensure your guitar’s signal is as big ‘n’ beefy as it can be...works for me!

WARNING: If you plug a guitar that has high output pickups into the HIGH input and
you select the Acoustic Pedal, unless you turn your guitar down, you could well end
up with some nasty, unwanted, high frequency distortion. 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

“acoustic emulation” channels will do the same thing if (ab)used in this way. Why? To
make an electric guitar sound like an acoustic you have to boost the high frequencies
by ridiculous amounts and so, if you slam such a device too hard, unwanted distor­tion can result. Geddit?! Good...

LOW (low sensitivity)

Once again, the “experts” will tell you that a low sensitivity input is best suited for
guitars with high output pickups - such as over-wound humbuckers or active pick­ups. We say “balderdash!” There are no rules, so try both and use the one your
ears like the best!

2. PEDAL SECTION

This area allows you to add a pedal effect to your set up, if you wish. All ten (10) of the
effects on offer here are models of classic stompbox effects and, as a result, are meant to
be added to your guitar’s signal before it hits the actual amp. Whenever a pedal is
selected, the red LED in the upper left corner of this section lights up. So, whenever you
call up a program and this LED is off, it means the Pedal Section is “OFF” (bypassed).
Just in case some of the abbreviations we’ve used aren’t 100% clear, the ten pedals on
offer are:

COMP: Compressor OCTAVE: Octave Divider

ACOUSTIC: Acoustic Simulation TREBLE BOOST: Er, a Treble Booster!

VOX WAH: The classic V847 TUBE OD: Tube Overdrive

AUTO WAH: Exactly that! FAT OD: Ballsy Overdrive

U-VIBE: Uni-Vibe FUZZ: Hot & nasty!!!

PEDAL Selector Switch

This lets you select one of the ten stompboxes on offer, or bypass the section
(OFF). Turn to page 36 for more information on each of the pedals modeled here.

STEP ON IT! If you get yourself the optional VC-4 VOX Foot Controller, you can
switch it to “individual” mode and use it to switch the selected pedal on and off. And,
as you’ll soon discover, the 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...

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DRIVE Control

This sets the DRIVE amount when TREBLE BOOST, TUBE OD, FAT OD or FUZZ
are selected. For the other six (6) stompboxes the exact function of this knob
depends on the effect. For specific details please refer to the table that follows.

PEDAL TYPE DRIVE LEVEL
COMP Sensitivity Level
ACOUSTIC Treble Bass
VOX WAH Pedal N/A
AUTO WAH Attack Sensitivity
U-VIBE Speed Mix
OCTAVE Direct Level Octave Level
TREBLE BOOST Drive Level
TUBE OD Drive Level
FAT OD Drive Level
FUZZ Drive Level

LEVEL Control

This knob enables you to adjust the overall level of COMP, TREBLE BOOST,
TUBE OD, FAT OD and FUZZ. It is “disconnected” (does nothing!) on VOX WAH.
See the table for what it does on the other five pedal models.

3. 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 recog­nizable, “chicken-head” (pointer) knobs...no soft touch, control pads or up and down cur­sors have been allowed to invade this sacred, tone shaping area. C’mon, this is a guitar
amp, not a computer game!

AMP TYPE Selector Switch

This allows you to select any one of our sixteen (16), stunningly accurate amp
models - each of which is based on an accepted all-tube classic, including the leg­endary VOX AC30TBX. As already mentioned in the intro to this manual, each
model not only replicates the exact gain and tonal characteristics of the original
amp’s preamp circuit, it also reconfigures the all-important power amp stage too ­in terms of both Class (A or A/B) and negative feedback circuit (or lack thereof).
Not only is this a cool feature, to us it’s essential! After all, how can you claim to
have modeled an amp if you’ve just zoned in on the preamp and ignored the
power amp? C’mon! Peanut butter alone (regardless of how good it tastes) does
not a great peanut butter and jelly sandwich make - you need some jelly and
bread too! Never make the mistake of thinking the power stage is not an important
part of any amp - it’s vital, in fact it can make or break it. Anyway...

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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.

GAIN Control

This adjusts the preamp gain of the amp model chosen.

NOTE: Some of the amp models are capable of extreme gain levels (e.g. UK MOD­ERN, RECTO & US HIGAIN) while others (e.g. BOUTIQUE CLEAN, TWEED 1x12 &
AC15) are tamer yet toneful.

VOLUME Control

Amazingly enough, this one determines the volume of the amp model being used.

TREBLE, MIDDLE & BASS Controls

This trio of “chicken-heads,” allow you to dial in the exact amount of high, mid and
low frequencies you’d like. Also, as you’d expect (and hope!), the exact manner in
which each one of these controls behaves and also interacts with the others is
dependant on the amp model selected. Once again, please turn to the “AMP
MODELS” Section on page 39 for more information concerning this.

NOTE: In keeping with the originals, certain models will produce almost no sound
when these three tone controls are turned all the way down (counterclockwise).

NOTE: Not all of the original amps that we modeled house controls for Treble, Middle
and Bass. For example, the amp we based TWEED 1x12 on only boasted a single
tone control which was labeled - yes, you’ve guessed it - TONE! In such cases, rather
than mimic this knob using just one of our three, leaving the other two unemployed,
we allow you to use all three to effectively increase the tonal range of the original.
And, of course, within this increased flexibility you can duplicate the full tonal range of
the original. See page 39 for more details.

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4. POWER AMP CONTROLS

PRESENCE Control

This control allows you to adjust the amount of Presence (high frequency “spar­kle”) in your sound. Like all of the preamp knobs we’ve just looked at, the PRES­ENCE control is programmable.

NOTE: Presence is a function of a power amp containing a negative feedback circuit
and not all the original amps we modeled contain one - for example, none of the four
Vox amps we modeled (AC15, AC15TB, AC30 & AC30TB) feature a negative feed­back circuit. Furthermore, FYI, not all amps that have a negative feedback circuit
necessarily feature a Presence control. For example, the original BLACK 2x12 - neg­ative feedback in the power amp? Yes. Presence Control? Nope.

Whenever a modeled amp didn’t have a Presence control, rather than have
this knob do absolutely nothing, we used it to mimic the behavior of another of the
amp’s variables - 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 PRES­ENCE control does on each model.

MASTER (Volume) Control

As is the case with all Master Volume controls, this knob enables you to adjust the
overall volume of your Valvetronix combo.

VERY IMPORTANT NOTE: The MASTER (Volume) Control is NOT programmable.

COOL ‘N’ IMPORTANT ASIDE: The Valvetronix Virtual FX loop.

he next three areas we’re gonna look at are the MODULATION, DELAY &
REVERB sections of your amp. And, just so you know, all three of ‘em are placed

T

Because that’s where such effects are generally placed in the vast majority of profes­sional guitar rigs - in the FX loop, that’s why! Wanna know more? Good, read on...

front of the amp as a “stompbox” is simple. To most people’s ears, they sound better and
more realistic when placed in the loop. Think about it - REVERB emulates the sound cre­ated by a room or a hall. So, logic dictates that if we’re going to add it to our sound, the
closer to the end of the signal chain we put it, the more “real” and natural it’s gonna
sound. Ditto DELAY (duh!) and many MODULATION effects too - their very nature dic­tates that they should be added near the end of your signal path, not at its beginning.
Geddit?

in a “virtual FX loop” - namely, in between the preamp and power amp. Why?

The reason why such effects are invariably set-up in the FX loop rather than in

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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. distort it)? Not
really...right!? Good, case closed. Now our little detour’s over - let’s get on with the front
panel tour...

STEP ON IT! With the optional VC-4 Foot Controller, it is possible for you to switch
each of the MODULATION, DELAY and REVERB sections on and off with your foot.
This incredibly useful function is just one of the many reasons you should own a VC-

4. Stay tuned to this channel for more...

5. MODULATION SECTION

This section enables you to add a modulation effect into the aforementioned “virtual FX
loop” (in between the preamp and the power amp - remember?) for each and every pro­gram, if you so wish. It also allows you to assign external control over the SPEED control
and set noise reduction (NR) too.

i) MODULATION FX

TYPE Button

This button enables you to select a Modulation effect - or not! When a particular

effect is chosen, the red LED to its left will light up. If no effect type is selected (i.e.

none of the five LEDs are on), the Modulation Section is bypassed (turned off).

STEP ON IT! If you own the optional VC-4 Foot Controller, you can use the foot pedal
it houses to vary the Speed of any one of the five Modulations on offer. Wow! The
(im)possibilities the VC-4 will open up for you are endless - get one immediately!

The five Modulation effects you can choose from are:

CHORUS: A model of a lush sounding, analogue chorus unit that many consider

to be the industry standard. In the case of the AD120VT, this effect is stereo.

FLANGER: A model of a truly classic analogue Flanger that “unchained” a highly

influential modern guitarist who many hail as the “godfather of two handed tap-

ping.”

PHASER: A model of a much respected and popular analogue phaser, housed in

a banana yellow box!

TREMOLO: This effect is based on the highly acclaimed tremolo circuit found in a

BLACK 2x12.

ROTARY: An incredibly realistic model of a rotary speaker (stereo in the case of

the AD120VT).

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NOTE: When you awhile adjust the “Speed” control on ROTARY (either via the front
panel or the optional VC-4 Foot Controller) the effect takes awhile to react - just like a
real Rotating speaker. Why? Because, in the real world, it takes a second or two for
the motor controlling the speaker rotation to speed up or slow down - that’s why!

SPEED Control

This knob enables you to adjust the modulation speed of the chosen effect.

DEPTH Control

This knob adjusts the Modulation depth on CHORUS, TREMOLO & ROTARY and

feedback on FLANGER & PHASER as listed in the chart below.

MODULATION TYPE SPEED DEPTH

Chorus Speed Depth

Flanger Speed Feedback

Phaser Speed Feedback

Tremolo Speed Depth

Rotary Speed Depth

HINT: If you add a MODULATION effect 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”
(Modulation, Delay & Reverb) is, er, bypassed. So, in order to, er, “bypass the
bypass,” press the BYPASS BUTTON, the LED will go out and all will be good in “vir­tual FX loop” land!

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ii) EXTERNAL CONTROL OF MODULATION SPEED

EX CON (External Control) Button

As already hinted, when this button is activated (the LED above it will light up

when it is), you can adjust the 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!!

iii) PROGRAMMABLE NOISE REDUCTION (NR)

NR (Noise Reduction) Button

Want to add noise reduction (NR) to a program? No problem, amigo! Merely,

press the EX CTL button and, while you’re holding it down, rotate the SPEED

knob. The NR will increase the further clockwise you turn the knob. Simple

stuff...just don’t forget to keep the EX CTL button pressed down while you’re set-

ting the amount of NR you want with the SPEED knob. If you let go of the button,

you’ll mess with the speed setting of whatever Modulation effect you have on the

program you’re editing.

NOTE: When using high Gain settings on amp types such as RECTO or US HIGAIN,
NR is highly recommended! Why? Because high gain = noise (hiss)! Just like on the
originals!

6. DELAY SECTION

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. If a Delay type isn’t

selected (i.e. none of the three LEDs are on), the Delay Section is bypassed

(turned off).

The three Delays you can choose from are:

DELAY: When this high quality digital delay effect is employed, the tone of
each repeat is so good it is indistinguishable from the original note(s).

TAPE ECHO: This is an incredibly accurate model of one of the most
respected analogue tape echo machines ever made. In the original the
“echo” is produced by a playback head and the exact “delay time” is set by
varying the motor speed. Many professionals prefer these “lo-fi” units
because of the warm, dark echoes they produce.

MULTI HEAD: This is a model of a tape echo unit boasting two playback
heads and both are being used. Furthermore, each of the two resulting “ech­oes” (one from each head) has its own feedback loop. The result? A complex
and warm “multi-tap” echo effect.

TAP Button

This button enables you to set the delay time by merely tapping your finger on it at

the desired tempo (speed). Hitting the TAP button twice or more will set the delay

time.

HINT: To set a precise delay time that matches a song’s tempo, tap your finger on the
TAP button in time with the song’s beat.

STEP ON IT! The optional VC-4 Foot Controller allows you to set the delay tempo by
merely tapping your foot.

FEEDBACK Control

This control determines the number of times each echoed note or chord is

repeated. The further clockwise you turn this knob, the more repeats you’ll hear.

WARNING! WARNING! If you crank up the FEEDBACK knob too much, an uncon­trollable, cascading “runaway” of echoes will occur. So, use your ears and your com­mon sense when setting this bad boy!

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