Vox Night Train

AlohaJoe

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I'm getting interested in the all tube Vox Night train head unit They're $500 new but I've seen them on eBay for $350 or so. 7 or 15w pentode or triode w master vol. http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/NightTrain

I have NO experience with Vox gear, so I'd love to hear what you think about the Night Train specifically or opinions on Vox gear in general.
 

tele4tone

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Not a good sounding amp IMO. If you are looking for 15-20 watts I would check out the Blackheart Handsome Devil (SWEET) or the Jet City line. Pricing is similar and the tone is better. Vox is really dredging the bottom with cheap construction and low quality parts. I really wanted the Night Train to be sweet... no luck

Jeff
 

AlohaJoe

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tele4tone said:
Not a good sounding amp IMO. If you are looking for 15-20 watts I would check out the Blackheart Handsome Devil (SWEET) or the Jet City line. Pricing is similar and the tone is better. Vox is really dredging the bottom with cheap construction and low quality parts. I really wanted the Night Train to be sweet... no luck

Jeff
Thanks, Jeff that's great info. - jw
 

tele4tone

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Walter Broes said:
Forum member Billy D. Light has one, and seems to like it a lot, send him a message I'd say..?

I remember him saying he liked those. It surprised me because my encounter was so terrible. Idk... It's all in the hands of the beholder I guess. Billy D Light is probably ten times the player I'll ever be LOL
 

vehement

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AlohaJoe said:
I'm getting interested in the all tube Vox Night train head unit They're $500 new but I've seen them on eBay for $350 or so. 7 or 15w pentode or triode w master vol. http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/NightTrain

I have NO experience with Vox gear, so I'd love to hear what you think about the Night Train specifically or opinions on Vox gear in general.

I have a Night Train, I like it as well! Got mine used, but in perfect condition, from a local music store. I sometimes use it for small venues on my bass guitar as well when I don't want to lug my heavy cabinet. I do love the styling and thing thing is build like a tank. I also got the "matching" cab, which is ok sounding, but probably would have preferred a different speaker in it. After I say all of this though, I'm probably going to sell them because I'm looking at getting a vintage Ampeg amp soon.
 

ce blues

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You know, if you are looking for a little powerhouse with a lot of tone you might consider looking into the Carvin Vintage 16. I was killing myself lugging around a Gibson Super Goldtone GA30 RV...darned thing weighs like 76 lbs....but has a reverb to die for and the combination of celestion 10" and 12" speakers were just tone city for me. But my 61-year-old back was not loving the work involved with transport/set-up three nights a week. I still use the Gibson for larger venues but I find the Carvin quite sufficient for most gigs I'm doing these days. another nice feature on the Carvin is the switch for taking the amp into triode-mode which drops the output wattage to a very greasy 5-watts. and you know, I once lived and breathed by the sound of 6L6 and 6V6 tubes but in the last few years I have become very attached to the sound of EL84s (in both the Super Goldtone -x4 EL84s and the Vintage 16 -x2 EL84 tubes). So, I honestly wouldn't bother with the Vox Night Train head. You'd be surprized just how much sound can be had from a 16-watt amp connected to two or four 12" celestion Vintage 30s. just my $0.02 worth;

ce blue
 

AlohaJoe

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ce blues said:
But my 61-year-old back was not loving the work involved with transport/set-up three nights a week. ce blue
Amen to that!

I really have all the gear I need, but I love lightweight and my Princeton is getting too valuable to take out of the house. Plus, you can never have too many guitars OR too many amps. I've always been curious about the Vintage 16... how would you compare the Carvin to a Blues Junior? What speaker does it have?
 

ce blues

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The Vintage 16 comes stock with a Carvin-labeled 12"....which IS a very nice speaker once one has broken it in....however, I swapped out the stock 12 for a Celestion Greenback that I'd had laying around. I'm really happy with that little amp. AlohaJoe, I honestly can't compare it to a blues jr (doesn't the fender run 6V6s?). My one complaint about the 16 is probably the reverb....but that isn't a huge problem for me because I use it so seldom (my blues style involves a very greasy style using an ES 335 or a Guild S100). The whole line of tweed-covered Carvin amps are a gas to play through (I've run through all three models but tend to favor the little 16-watt).

blue
 

AlohaJoe

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I asked about the comparison because I'm more familiar with Juniors than the V16. Jrs also require a speaker swap and the reverb is lame but there are outboard workarounds for that. I like a touch of nice lush reverb. I have used a Nomad and I thought it sounded great but I think they have a longer tank.
 

capnjuan

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AlohaJoe said:
... Jrs also require a speaker swap and the reverb is lame but there are outboard workarounds for that ... I like a touch of nice lush reverb.
Hi AJ; if it's outboard reverb you want, beg or bribe default to fit up a Weber/Fender 5G15 kit for you; lush enough to let you back it down and when the reverb is switched off, provides a gain stage ahead of the amp. The Webers do nice work and so does default. If you are solder-enabled, you might contact him about the degree of difficulty - which Weber rates as 'Fairly Complex' - and any shortcomings in the Weber-supplied Bill of Materials.

reverb02.jpg



(untalented and unpaid owner/endorser ... and owner of a DigiTech DigiVerb which is Velvetta to spring reverb's Roquefort) :wink:
 

ce blues

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Hey CJ,

that outboard reverb unit looks really cool. I've got a buddy who has a vintage one that he uses with his tweed Deluxe....the pair sound great together. If I can put a couple bucks together it might be a really fun build/project. I have heard that the Weber kits don't use terribly good parts... But, I don't know this first hand and only by hearsay (and we all know what that can be worth).

blue
 

capnjuan

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Take a bow Steve; it's a very fine piece of work.
 

capnjuan

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ce blues said:
... I've got a buddy who has a vintage one that he uses with his tweed Deluxe.... If I can put a couple bucks together it might be a really fun build/project. I have heard that the Weber kits don't use terribly good parts... But, I don't know this first hand and only by hearsay (and we all know what that can be worth).
Hi ce; unlike wine, electronics don't necessarily get better with age; arguably, they go the other way. Given a choice between moderate price and high performance (Weber) viz high price and moderate performance (vintage Fender), this is the way to go.

If you think you're interested, talk to Steve; he's got some valid criticisms of the parts too but having danced the dance, he now knows all the steps. He has a source for very high grade hookup wire and I'd expect the next default-verbs to probably have shielded inputs and a more better gooder pilot light assembly.

In some respects, it can't be helped; if Weber is going to do all the bull-work and package these up and still make a buck or two, something's got to give ... if you're serious, default is the man to see.
 

capnjuan

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Apologies for the advertising AJ; back to the regularly scheduled broadcast. :D
 
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