Wow, this is probably the greatest amp review I'm ever going to see. I had Vox Pathfinder 15 a long time ago, when I was starting to learn playing guitar.
@@MarcoGDiMarco Me and my grandpa modified the bass version amp into a tube amp my grandpa has a degree in electronics as well as woodworking but yeah it sounds much better now it kind of sounds like a Fender Bassman I have a RCA 12AU7 tube for the preamp in all my amps I prefer my amps sounding clean and using pedals for the dirt I use a noise gate a treble booster a wah pedal and a delay pedal and echo pedal and a chorus and a boss 60s reverb tank pedal all with my homemade electric guitar and the chassis is the same I took out the drive knob and now that's the noise gate knob I forgot to mention me and my grandpa built the noise gate circuit inside the amp and we took out the circuit board made it completely hand-wired
Great video's Marco, thnx ! I did the LED mod on a pathfinder 10 and it is amazing. I don't know the first things about electronics so it was kinda leap of faith to get rid off those LEDS... But it appeared to be quite easy and the sound improved spectacular I think. Depending on wahat ypu prefer of course. I made a simpel video of it which Ill upload later.
@@PlaneTShakeRo after I did this mod on my amp, I just use the overdrive channel in one of two ways: - controlling the gain on the guitar volume without any pedals. For me, this sounds best playing at higher volumes - using the overdrive channel with low to medium gain adding extra crunch with an overdrive pedal
I own one that my parents bought for me after seeing the Beatles I used it for years and left it at a old band members house when I discovered Marshall but I regret leaving it there now especially because it was an original!
Although I am not fan of Brian May sound, and I like only normal channel of the VOX AC amp without any kind of TB (VOX amps sound unacceptable fuzzy to my taste), I really enjoyed this very well organized and dedicated review. Pathfinder is pleasant surprise. Well done!
Greatest little amp around: if you find one, buy it ! Great tube tones from this little solid state. The boost is a little less spongy than on a valve amp, mainly due to the leds on the preamp circuit, but you can tweak the controls on the PF, to get very good OD tones: engage the boost, Vol at max and gradually raise the gain up to about 9 o'clock (higher than that you will get too much hum). then you control everything from the volumr knob on the guitar. If you want even more, you can put a TS and/or boost pedal in front. The PF takes them all very well. My favourite: SuperSigna by CmatMods: a deadly couple !! Ciao \m/
Good review, I love the sound of this amp but ... :( Is it normal for the main speaker to stop listening when the external speaker is connected? And if it is normal, is there any way to avoid it?
I'm a big Queen and Beatles fan and I'd like to have a Vox but I can't afford the Vox Ac series Would you have any good Vox's but not too expensive (200 € maximum) to recommend to me ?
if you don't have enough money for buying vox ac30 which one do you prefer ? the vox PATHFINDER 15 or PATHFINDER 10? i want to play it with my custom red special in my room grazie mile
Don't underestimate the importance of the TB. TB can make a real difference in sound. So my advice is to buy a good one and spend only once...maybe an used Fryer for example.
Pathfinder sounds good, similar to the ac30. The deacy amp is really only good for practicing and making some killer harmonies in the studio :). So I have a Vox ac30vr and I'm wondering if it is possible to do the LED mod on it. Also (out of curiosity) I've always wondered what the deacy amp would sound like without the TB. You should make a video on that cuz no one has ever heard that before.
the Valve Reactor series uses a tube for the distortion, not diodes or LEDs. you could try changing the 12AX7 for lower gain tube from the same family (12AY7, 12AT7, 12AU7), and see which sounds better for you.
+Brian May Tribute the ac30vr has plenty og gain in my oppinion on the normal channel. i used the speaker out on tge back pannel the amp was up full into a fender mustang amp on ac30 setting with everything off so bm mode
+Brian May Tribute Okay, thank you for clearing that up for me. This video definitely convinced me to pick up a Pathfinder ASAP. I love your videos brother, keep up the great work.
I've got an Electro-Harmonix Screaming Bird Treble Booster, would that give similar results if I did the LED mod on a Vox Pathfinder 10? I've seen people upgrade the speaker to an Eight 15 Celestion, is it worth doing that too?
Hello marco! I recently made some research about the led mod, and discovered that it is possible to do it on a vox cambridge 15, because it also has the same leds, at the same place. My question is: do you think that it will make a big difference? Because the cambridge has a valve on the preamp, so it already sound like a valve amp, better than the pathfinder.
I have both amps and I don’t think either one sounds better than the other, if there was one that sounded a lit bit better - I think it’s the pathfinder, but maybe because they have different speakers?
grande marco! da quello che ho potuto sentire il vbm1 è più simile al sound del deacy, io ho in mente di prendere un pathfinder 10 e farlo suonare insieme agli ac30, il risultato dovrebbe essere stupendo! tu hai provato a farli suonare insieme?
Insieme agli AC30?! Troppa differenza...non riusciresti minimamente a stare dietro all'AC30 in termini di volume. A questo punto prenderei un AC30 VR. Poca spesa, suona bene e come volume ci siamo.
sicuramente! però magari in una situazione live con gli ampli microfonati sarebbe tutto più gestibile. se tu hai modo di provare questo setup sono molto curioso di sapere cosa ne esce fuori!
Il problema è che il Pathfinder, specialmente il 10, si sente che suona "da ampli piccolo". Suono inscatolato e minuto...anche microfonato sentiresti la differenza.
ITALIAN, (English is down) C'è qualcuno che sa se quel led che se rimosso fa diventare la distorsione simile a una saturazione valvolare c'è anche sugli ampli fender a stato solido, in particolare sul Fender frontman 15? ENGLISH Does anyone know if that led, that if removed makes the distortion similar to a tube saturation, is also present on fender solid state amps, in particular on the Fender frontman 15?
This is a good question, I also have the Fender Frontman 15 as my first amp (the other and main is Vox Mini Go 50), hope someone could give us a feedback 😅
believe it or not I used it on small club gigs and it sounds fantastic despite being designed as a practice amp.
Wow, this is probably the greatest amp review I'm ever going to see. I had Vox Pathfinder 15 a long time ago, when I was starting to learn playing guitar.
Thank you!
@@MarcoGDiMarco
Me and my grandpa modified the bass version amp into a tube amp my grandpa has a degree in electronics as well as woodworking but yeah it sounds much better now it kind of sounds like a Fender Bassman I have a RCA 12AU7 tube for the preamp in all my amps I prefer my amps sounding clean and using pedals for the dirt I use a noise gate a treble booster a wah pedal and a delay pedal and echo pedal and a chorus and a boss 60s reverb tank pedal all with my homemade electric guitar and the chassis is the same I took out the drive knob and now that's the noise gate knob I forgot to mention me and my grandpa built the noise gate circuit inside the amp and we took out the circuit board made it completely hand-wired
Great video's Marco, thnx ! I did the LED mod on a pathfinder 10 and it is amazing. I don't know the first things about electronics so it was kinda leap of faith to get rid off those LEDS... But it appeared to be quite easy and the sound improved spectacular I think. Depending on wahat ypu prefer of course. I made a simpel video of it which Ill upload later.
Thanks.
Yeah, the mod makes the amp sounding more natural and close to a valve amp in terms of response.
@@MarcoGDiMarco the mod applies to the dirt channel only or to the clean channel too?
@@PlaneTShakeRo just to the overdrive channel. Clean channel stays intact
@@PlaneTShakeRo after I did this mod on my amp, I just use the overdrive channel in one of two ways:
- controlling the gain on the guitar volume without any pedals. For me, this sounds best playing at higher volumes
- using the overdrive channel with low to medium gain adding extra crunch with an overdrive pedal
Great sound, best I've heard from this amp
Thanks
As always, awesome video!
Thanks a lot!
I own one that my parents bought for me after seeing the Beatles I used it for years and left it at a old band members house when I discovered Marshall but I regret leaving it there now especially because it was an original!
Although I am not fan of Brian May sound, and I like only normal channel of the VOX AC amp without any kind of TB (VOX amps sound unacceptable fuzzy to my taste), I really enjoyed this very well organized and dedicated review. Pathfinder is pleasant surprise. Well done!
Thanks a lot.
Pathfinder is supposed to be a top boost circuit emulation
Great review , this answers all the questions I had.. thanks!
Great!
Thanks for watching.
Greatest little amp around: if you find one, buy it ! Great tube tones from this little solid state. The boost is a little less spongy than on a valve amp, mainly due to the leds on the preamp circuit, but you can tweak the controls on the PF, to get very good OD tones: engage the boost, Vol at max and gradually raise the gain up to about 9 o'clock (higher than that you will get too much hum). then you control everything from the volumr knob on the guitar. If you want even more, you can put a TS and/or boost pedal in front. The PF takes them all very well. My favourite: SuperSigna by CmatMods: a deadly couple !! Ciao \m/
The WWRY solo with the Vox Pathfinder has very nice sound.Very good
Yeah, it's a nice little amp.
Thanks for watching.
Ciao, ottimo video complimenti! Ho preso un Pathfinder 15R usato in ottime condizioni ma... Esattamente cos'è la "led mod"?
Grazie!
Good review, I love the sound of this amp but ... :(
Is it normal for the main speaker to stop listening when the external speaker is connected? And if it is normal, is there any way to avoid it?
Yeah it's normal.
Don't know if a tech could do a mod to avoid this thing...you can try.
how red special sound on Marshal amp
Pathfinder sounds so much more natural! VBM1 is way more gainy and crunchy, but I guess both amps together would sound great. Nice job :)
Thank you.
Yeah, Path is more like a small AC30 while VBM1 is a Deacy replica so a total different amp.
I'm a big Queen and Beatles fan and I'd like to have a Vox but I can't afford the Vox Ac series
Would you have any good Vox's but not too expensive (200 € maximum) to recommend to me ?
The one on the video! :)
@@MarcoGDiMarco thanks
Ciao, Marco! Have you considered doing a review of the Vox Valvetronix?
I'll do if I'll have the chance
if you don't have enough money for buying vox ac30 which one do you prefer ? the vox PATHFINDER 15 or PATHFINDER 10?
i want to play it with my custom red special in my room
grazie mile
Pathfinder 15.
Bigger cab and bigger speaker make it sounds more like an amp than like a "toy".
ok thanks,
now i'd like to know is there any more affordable treble booster to emulate brian may sound?
maybe below 100 usd
Don't underestimate the importance of the TB.
TB can make a real difference in sound.
So my advice is to buy a good one and spend only once...maybe an used Fryer for example.
it is hard to find the used fryer, can you tell me where i can find it?
Maybe they pop up on eBay from time to time
Good day, is the Pathfinder 15R exactly the same circuit as the Pathfinder 10? Can the LED mod be performed in exactly the same way on both of them?
Sure!
You can do the same exact mod to the 10W and achieve the same benefits.
Ciao Marco, complimenti per il video!!! Che tu sappia la modifica led si applica anche al pathfinder da 10 watt attualmente in produzione?
Certo, infatti l'avevo fatta anche sul 10.
L'ho avuto in passato e forse trovi un video sul canale.
@@MarcoGDiMarco ah sisì trovati! Grazie!!
Pathfinder sounds good, similar to the ac30. The deacy amp is really only good for practicing and making some killer harmonies in the studio :). So I have a Vox ac30vr and I'm wondering if it is possible to do the LED mod on it. Also (out of curiosity) I've always wondered what the deacy amp would sound like without the TB. You should make a video on that cuz no one has ever heard that before.
LED mod is only for Pathfinder amps.
the Valve Reactor series uses a tube for the distortion, not diodes or LEDs. you could try changing the 12AX7 for lower gain tube from the same family (12AY7, 12AT7, 12AU7), and see which sounds better for you.
+Brian May Tribute the ac30vr has plenty og gain in my oppinion on the normal channel. i used the speaker out on tge back pannel the amp was up full into a fender mustang amp on ac30 setting with everything off so bm mode
I have two of these
Great amp
The LED mod that you spoke of in this video. I know nothing of electronics, how does this work in terms of sound quality on the VBM 1 amp?
You can't do that mod on the VBM1.
It's only a Pathfinder mod.
+Brian May Tribute Okay, thank you for clearing that up for me. This video definitely convinced me to pick up a Pathfinder ASAP. I love your videos brother, keep up the great work.
Thanks a lot!
Really cool amp
That sounds fantastic for a small amp.....you have sold me Marco...I'm after one now......I'm sure you could make a bad amp sound good😁
Ahahahah!
Thank you!
I've got an Electro-Harmonix Screaming Bird Treble Booster, would that give similar results if I did the LED mod on a Vox Pathfinder 10? I've seen people upgrade the speaker to an Eight 15 Celestion, is it worth doing that too?
That TB is not powerful enough for Brian May stuff.
@@MarcoGDiMarco thanks for letting me know. Are there any cheaper TBs that are powerful enough or is it only the Fryer?
i really liked the days of our lives cover, looks different from the album
Thanks
Thank you very much!
Pleasure
chissà cosa avranno pensato i tuoi AC30... :-)
Comunque ottimo il pathfinder!
Se lo guardavano storto... ;)
Hello marco!
I recently made some research about the led mod, and discovered that it is possible to do it on a vox cambridge 15, because it also has the same leds, at the same place.
My question is: do you think that it will make a big difference? Because the cambridge has a valve on the preamp, so it already sound like a valve amp, better than the pathfinder.
On the Pathfinder makes a great difference because it lets the amp distort more naturally...
I don't know about the circuit in the Cambridge...
@@MarcoGDiMarco ok!
+Brian May Tribute what channel is the pathfinder moddeled on?
@@joethrelfall6370 boost channel
I have both amps and I don’t think either one sounds better than the other, if there was one that sounded a lit bit better - I think it’s the pathfinder, but maybe because they have different speakers?
Is Pathfinder similar to AC30's normal channel?
Yes
Thanks 😊😊@@MarcoGDiMarco
Ciao: rimuovando le LED agisce anche sul canale Clean (senza il boost attivato) ? Saluti !
Mi pare di sì se non ricordo male.
Grazie:)
+Brian May Tribute
what is your first guitar
A sort of cheap Strat replica.
Ho provato a cercare online ma non trovo nessun sito che abbia disponibile il pathfinder15 😞
Non è più in produzione, devi cercarlo usato.
Brian May Tribute ah ok grazie mille
Is their a sound difference between pathfinder 10/15
10W sounds more like a toy...more boxy, while the 15 version sounds more like a proper amp.
If you find a 10 for $40, pick it up - they’re a lot of fun. The 15 has a speaker out, so you can plug into a larger speaker cabinet.
Ci può stare abbinato ad una squier bullet e ad uno screaming bird?
Lo Screaming Bird è poco potente in confronto ai TB in stile Brian May.
grande marco! da quello che ho potuto sentire il vbm1 è più simile al sound del deacy, io ho in mente di prendere un pathfinder 10 e farlo suonare insieme agli ac30, il risultato dovrebbe essere stupendo! tu hai provato a farli suonare insieme?
Insieme agli AC30?!
Troppa differenza...non riusciresti minimamente a stare dietro all'AC30 in termini di volume.
A questo punto prenderei un AC30 VR. Poca spesa, suona bene e come volume ci siamo.
sicuramente! però magari in una situazione live con gli ampli microfonati sarebbe tutto più gestibile. se tu hai modo di provare questo setup sono molto curioso di sapere cosa ne esce fuori!
Il problema è che il Pathfinder, specialmente il 10, si sente che suona "da ampli piccolo".
Suono inscatolato e minuto...anche microfonato sentiresti la differenza.
ITALIAN, (English is down)
C'è qualcuno che sa se quel led che se rimosso fa diventare la distorsione simile a una saturazione valvolare c'è anche sugli ampli fender a stato solido, in particolare sul Fender frontman 15?
ENGLISH
Does anyone know if that led, that if removed makes the distortion similar to a tube saturation, is also present on fender solid state amps, in particular on the Fender frontman 15?
This is a good question, I also have the Fender Frontman 15 as my first amp (the other and main is Vox Mini Go 50), hope someone could give us a feedback 😅
Hi Marco, wich one would you think is better to emulate brian's sound? Pathfinder 15/15R or pathfinder 10 ?
Hi, 15/15R sounds better because of the bigger size of the speaker and cab.
More bass and opened sound.
thanks so much!!! so i'll buy an old Pathfinder 15R, you are great man!!
No problem.
Io non parlo italiano!!!! Pero exelente video!!!saludos de Argentina
Thank you!
Anyway, you can use the English Subtitles!
You could use a Pignose 7-100 amp and still woukd sound like Brian.
Ahhahaha
That VBM1 sounds like a cheap hand held AM transistor radio turned up loud and sounding harsh
The circuit of the Deacy Amp is from an old radio indeed.
cuanto te costo
Not mine.
It was lent to me just for the video review.
Brian May Tribute y no tienes idea de cuanto cuesta uno de estos ?
They are out of production now (you can only buy the 10w version new), but you can find them used for 80-100 Euro (the 15W version).
Brian May Tribute okay brother tank you
the loudest 15w amp ever
Great little amp indeed
God! Can you please hit where the pickguard is and not near the bridge. The tremolo practice can be done later.
the use of the tremolo is a major part of brians playing technique 😊
Pranav badyal You don't know much about Brian May's style and music in particular, do you...? You're just a trol
Suona molto simile al mayday
Angeber