Vox Pathinder 15R

[Mikey]

I’m thinking of getting a Vox Pathfinder 15R amp and wondered if anyone here had one and what they thought of it?
The latest model has several features including reverb and tremolo and the reviews I’ve seen have all been very complimentary.
Now comes the bit where I put on my tin helmet and tighten the chin-strap If I did purchase a Pathfinder I would sell my Vox AC15 Custom Classic. The main reason is that although I play Shads stuff I’m not a tone purist and “that sound” isn’t an issue for me (I’m just grateful if I can play a number right through without any mistakes!). The AC15 is a “nice to have” amp and I like it but I’m only a hobbyist guitarist now and don’t gig so can’t really do justice to an amp of that calibre. Financially too I should benefit as I could probably get around £300 for the AC15 whereas the Pathfinder can be got for under £90. (That frees up some GAS funds!)
Am I doing the right thing, given my circumstances I welcome and value the views of the folks on this forum, especially those who have experience of the Pathfinder amp.

[RUSSET]

Hi Mike,
I acquired a Vox Pathfinder combo about 10 years ago & have never regretted it. At the time, it cost me about £75 & it was the model without Reverb, but I guess over all those years it hasn't really gone up in price at all. I am still astounded at what a powerful little beast it is. It's not just a wimpy little bedroom amp. It is very loud, & you would be advised to be careful of your gain level if playing it at home for fear of complaints from neighbours. It's very dynamic & turning the knobs can make a fair old difference to the sound. It's very responsive to a Strat or Tele & gives some great Shads sounds with the right echo unit in front of it. The overdrive circuit is quite powerful & gives a heavy boost to the gain, producing some very good distortion for what is only a mere solid state amp. It's ideal for home use, & almost good enough for a small gigging situation, but of course, only having an 8" speaker restricts it in that area. The answer is to connect a bigger extension cab via the speaker out jack on the back, & that works well because I've tried it. I would highly recommend this great little amp.

Regards, Tony.

[Didier]

I’m thinking of getting a Vox Pathfinder 15R amp and wondered if anyone here had one and what they thought of it?

I bought one second hand for my son a few years ago, and he was delighted with it, although he is not a Shadows' music player.
Over the years, I always heard good comments from Shadows' music player for this amp.
I have checked if it was possible to improve it with a larger speaker, but a 10" speaker would not fit in the cabinet, so the solution is to use an external speaker for more volume, as recommended by Tony.

Didier

[singtag]

Hi Mike,

I have had a 15R for about 4 years and really like it.
I can get quite a good Shads sound but this involves balancing the gain with quite a lot of treble and then some of the higher notes are are bit too thin.

I had contemplated swapping for a DA5 as I thought that bieng able to conect my MP3 player for the BT's would be great but whilst I liked the AC15 modelling, I thought that the BT sounded bad.

I wondered if anyone has tried placing a Vox Amplug (classic) between the echo unit and the amp and how well this might work to give me a sound closer to Ac15/30. Other advantage is that I would then have a headphone amp for late nights and travel. Any thoughts? Thanks.

Regards,
Tony