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The Roger Nichols Gear Collection

Vox Pathfinder 15R Reviews

5 5.0/5.0 based on 12 customer reviews

Sweetwater Advice

Yuval Fuchs
DO NOT underestimate the size and price of this amp. I have found much of "my sound" through this little wonder no matter which guitar I plug into it or which style I am playing. This amp can even power an external cabinet and in doing so is able to shake your walls. Make no mistake, this little guy gives a lesson in humility for high-quality amps costing 10 times the price.
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Customer Reviews

Bradley Rains
from Booneville, MS
September 15, 2011

Amazing Lead Tones!

I've been using this little amp for years now and WOW is all I can say! It's just an amazing piece of gear. I've got a Vox AC30 with Celestion Greenbacks and I still prefer this amp over that one for its lead tones. Turn the gain all the way up and close mic it with a Beta 57 and ENJOY! Think Brian May's solo tone on "We Will Rock You." I've also used it to record distorted vocals, Rhodes Stage Piano MK II, Wurlitzer 200A, bass, and anything else I can think of. It simply shines on everything.
Kevin C.
from North Dakota, USA
July 16, 2011 Music Background:
playing guitar for 22 years

One Fine lil' Amp

This is my first Vox purchase. This amp offers an outstanding value. You get all the classic Vox vibe for a price that seems too low to be true. I use this amp with all my guitars: Fenders, Gibsons and Ibanez. I dont think you can do any better with this amp in this price point . . .in fact I know you cant.

Sweetwater offered super fast shipping and a two year warranty. If your looking for a small practice amp that thinks he's not this is the one to get.
Philip C.
from Dallas, TX
January 25, 2011 Music Background:
hobbyist/hack

Inexpensive and sounds great

II wanted a simple, non-modeling amp that sounded good and was inexpensive. That's exactly what I got. The spring reverb and tremolo are useful additions and it's very well built. The boost muddies things up a little, but since I never use that feature, it's not an issue. This is an excellent amp for not a lot of scratch.
gndboy
from Corpus Christi, TX USA
November 16, 2010 Music Background:
Performing professional

An interesting and capable box

I ordered this '15R from Sweetwater to replace the '15 (no reverb) I sold. This solid-state amp sounds "Voxy". I read all over the web guys are stuffing ten-inch speakers into them. Why bother? The amp itself is so small and light it can be treated as a head if one is so inclined. The unbalanced line out is just fine. The treb and bass controls can give mids by rolling both back a bit and goosing the volume. The reverb is not full-on surf. Use a Nanoverb for that. The trem is decent, too. The amp's sound is just great. This amp is a bit too much for a bedroom practice rig, which makes it a tweener. In my opinion, the eight-inch speaker is perfectly matched to the amp and the physical cabinet. Records well; silent; well-mannered dynamics. It's great by itself, and tolerates a tube mic preamp with careful adjustment of the gain control. Overall, a very nice little package. It blows the doors off ANY of the current cheapie single-ended tube combos regardless of which tube. This thing rocks. The eight-inch speaker is particularly well-voiced, and gets along with other instruments in the mix live. Plenty of the low end that counts, and almost zero mud. Keep in mind that SWR makes a high-end bass cabinet that uses eight eight-inch speakers. This little box packs a lot of utility and great sound. Y'all might want to try it.
scaryDawg
from Corpus Christi
October 24, 2010 Music Background:
Pro bassist 40+ years except when I was a design engineer.

I play with deF FEET

For $120, you cannot do better, unless you have a weird uncle and are willing to go there. For under $500 bucks, this thing rocks, and I highly recommend it.
Rick Holly
from Lafayette NJ
October 18, 2010 Music Background:
Part time pro musician and recording engineer.

Best amp dollar for dollar I have ever had.

I bought a Vox Pathfinder about four years ago. I planned on using it at home for recording and at practice. Within a few weeks I was using it on gigs on a regular basis patching the "Line Out" through a direct box so I can send a signal to the PA for a little additional balance. I just played a job this weekend in a large catering hall/banquet room for about two hundred people with my band. Even after four years of constant week end use this thing sounds great and does an excellent job. I usually play an Epiphone Sheraton or a Fender Strat but I just bought an Ibanez Artcore AF75 big body electric hollow body for a deeper more jazz oriented sound and the Pathfinder did a good job giving me a nice mellow tone.
The only complaints I have are that the power cord is too short. If you have the amp on top of another cabinet the power cord won't even reach the floor to get into a power strip and you will need an extension cord. The other complaint is that the amp does not have (but needs) corner covers. The corners easily damage on this amp. After a few months of using it live the corners were getting damaged so I bought some corner covers at Home Depot that look good and do the job. Vox should include them. Otherwise this amp is the best dollar for dollar amp I have ever owned in my 35 plus years of playing professionally. The sound is very smooth and deep and most of all reliable.
Jesse
from Austin, TX
July 31, 2009 Music Background:
Worship Leader, Live Sound Engineer

Great little amp. Really opens up with ext cab!

I love this little amp. On it's own it's a great apartment/practice amp that can sound really sweet at those levels.

Take it to band practice, plug into an extension cab (I'm currently using a 1x12) and it really opens up. Through a bigger and more efficient speaker it retains the sweetness, but gains a lot of tonal depth and projection, and is plenty loud in my usual rehearsal space.

The reverb could be a little richer/deeper...but given the value Vox packs into this little amp, I'm not going to complain one bit!
1fatpigrat
from Elizabethton,TN.
January 18, 2009 Music Background:
Hobbyist

Vox pathfinder R

Best amp ever!I am not a good player,but this amp is killer!!I'll keep this puppy forever!!
bob
from altina
September 20, 2008 Music Background:
rocker

awesome little amp

I have ben playing for about 1 year. It is realy loud and you can pick weather the sound is clean or dirty.If you can play Iron Man on it.

p.s.YOU WILL LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Charles
from College Park, MD
April 7, 2008 Music Background:
Former club player, have played guitar and bass for over 40 years

VOX Pathfinder 15R

This amp will change the way you think of solid-state amps. Sounds real good in just about all modes. Make sure you get the optional footswitch. I've never owned any guitar amp that didn't have tubes. The snob appeal has ended. It's very easy to carry, the reverb is nice. I taught a History of the Blues class at BCC High School in Bethesda MD. with it and used a lap steel and a Tele and it filled the large classroom with sound just fine. Don't think it would work over a drummer but that's what they make mics for. It's made in Viet Nam. They made it well.
Sixbladeknife44
from Seattle, Wa.
October 3, 2011 Music Background:
Hobbyist/Sometimes Teacher

Huge bang for the buck!

I had read numerous great reviews about this amp and was in need of a smaller low watt combo, so I decided to give the Pathfinder a try. I was impressed right away with the classic Vox styling/looks of this amp, nothing cheap looking or feeling about it at all. Soundwise, I was also impressed right away- to me, this amp sounds like a mini AC30 despite it being solid state. It has a very tubelike feel/response and is very dynamic/touch sensitive. All the controls are very interactive, many different sounds to be had. Sweet Voxey cleans and the overdrive provides great crunch. The only things I didn't care for so much are the reverb (which gets very tinny sounding anywhere past 9 'o clock), and the boost button which adds loads of gain and sounds like typical solid state distortion. Without the boost engaged though, the overdrive is very good/AC30 sounding. Oh, and the onboard tremolo is excellent and it takes pedals really well. I run it in tandem sometimes with my 70's Vibro Champ, very sweet sounding duo. Despite its few flaws, this is a terrific little amp and an absolute no brainer for the price- I imagine it would be quite sought after if it was ever discontinued, so go grab one now!
Bill Sheehan
from Springfield, IL
December 1, 2004

Best -Kept Secret !!

This little jewel is the best-kept secret out there. For a very reasonable price, you get an amp that sounds wonderful, has great features, is so lightweight and portable , and, with the use of an external cabinet, is very sufficient for playing small-to-moderate-venue gigs. That's exactly what I'm doing with mine, and the guys in my band can hardly believe it! I simply remind them, "Sure, it's only 15 watts, but remember, these are VOX watts..." Awesome amp!!

Vox Pathfinder 15R

15-watt Guitar Combo Amp with Spring Reverb and Tremolo

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