# Vox amPlug Headphone Amp



## GuitarsCanada (Dec 30, 2005)

Anyone ever tried one of these things? The latest in headphone amps. They sell for like $40.00 USD They come in a few flavors. The one shown is acoustic but you can get the AC30 etc.


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## overdriver (Jul 24, 2008)

No but I keep meaning to , they go for 54-60 Canadian in most Canadian shops L& M , Mom & Pop etc.


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## jimihendrix (Jun 27, 2009)

acoustic...???...whoa...that's a new one...

i've owned the ac30 model...it's awesome for plugging in while sitting in your car at break time at work...or waiting for someone to "be right back" after letting them out at the mall...

it fits perfectly into a strat's angled input jack...if you pick lightly...you get cleans...if you pick more aggressively...you get dirty sounds...

no patch cord required...all you need is small light dollar store headphones...but sometimes i'll send the signal out to a pair of mini powered speakers from radioshack...


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## R.S.Fraser Sr. (Aug 15, 2009)

*Worth the 40 bux*

I bought one about a year and a half ago
and I still like it a lot. The AC30 I use it mostly for clean, but you can fur it up with the gain.
I do wish it had even rudimentary reverb, though.
Sometimes I add it to the output of my Zoom or Pocket Pod for some extra headphone gain.

I travel all the time and it is very handy in the hotel.

I do not think you can go wrong if you are thinking about buying one,
bob


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## guitarman2 (Aug 25, 2006)

I bought one a few weeks ago. I pretty much had to as the wife no longer would allow me to play through my Victoria 3X10 sitting beside our bed. I like to run scales and fiddle around while watching TV. I got the AC30.


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## zjq426 (Aug 23, 2009)

I have the Metal amplug, its fun to plug a guitar into it. For its price and size you cant ask for more. But to be honest, although heavy, the sound is only slightly better than a Zoom 505II. So its nothing like a real metal amp.


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## passenger (Feb 10, 2006)

IMHO, in terms of the sound quality, dynamics and the tone that's simulated, I'd vote AC30 > hardrock > Metal. No exprience with the newer "lead" and "acoustic" though.
And of course, you'll need a decent pair of headphones.


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## Abrasive (Feb 1, 2008)

I got one for my nieces when they wanted to start playing. I bought a "Classic Lead" first, tried it out, and didn't like it too much. Could get a pretty decent sound out of it, but only 1 or 2. Did a good classic rock sound, and that was it. I traded it for the AC30 model and liked that one a whole lot better.
I've got a Pocket POD that I use for headphone noodling, but if I didn't already have that, I'd buy another of the AC30 versions in a heartbeat.


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## warse22 (Dec 2, 2008)

My wife put the AC30 model in my stocking last year, and I've got to say it exceeded my expectations. I love the line in function too, you just need a 1/8" to 1/8" (headphone) cord and you can run your laptop/iPod into it a jam with an album.

Cool product!


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## Doc Plus (Oct 21, 2009)

Does it sound good with a $10 small headphones ?
Does it sound enough loud ?

At home I have no amp, and play on computer (guitar rig), but it could be fun to play on bed with amplug.


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## 5732 (Jul 30, 2009)

I have the AC30...it is great...when wife is home I can plug ipod in to practice and you can actually have pretty good control of the levels between the guitar and audio track. One day when the wife was out I plugged the AC30 amplug into the "mp3" input on our home theatre (1200W) and it made the whole house shake...my traynor YCV50 trembled in the corner. :rockon2:

Most fun you can have for <$60.


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## anchor (Mar 22, 2009)

I bought "Metal" and wasn't impressed because it was too much digital distortion sound so I exchanged it with "Classic" and it was much better.
Also, I hear a lot of people saying "AC30" is great.


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## overdriver (Jul 24, 2008)

Doc Plus said:


> Does it sound good with a $10 small headphones ?
> Does it sound enough loud ?
> 
> At home I have no amp, and play on computer (guitar rig), but it could be fun to play on bed with amplug.


I put one on layaway yesterday , tried it for a moment, but some guys where playing amps at the same time. I guess my point is, they come out of the package without having to break the package ,so I am sure a store would let ya try it. Maybe have to take your own phones and batteries.


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## Doc Plus (Oct 21, 2009)

overdriver said:


> I put one on layaway yesterday , tried it for a moment, but some guys where playing amps at the same time. I guess my point is, they come out of the package without having to break the package ,so I am sure a store would let ya try it. Maybe have to take your own phones and batteries.


Hey good point ! 
Tomorrow I will go to the post office for you :food-smiley-004:, and there is a guitar shop in this shopping center, which have Vox gear. I will take my headphones and 2 small batteries.


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## 5732 (Jul 30, 2009)

If you still can't decide, go to the vox website or youtube. Both have sound clips of the various models.


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## BlackAngusYoung (Mar 31, 2010)

I have the AC30 and Acoustic models and like them both a lot.

The product could be made better. The little dials and switches can't be the best idea they could come up with. It seems kinda fragile, but in the way a TV or VCR buttonhead seems... like you could drop it a hundred times expecting it to be broken but it'll probably be ok. Probably.
It fits great into a Strat, but annoying with a Les Paul or guitar with similarly-placed output jack because it hits the bed or couch or whatever you're sitting on. If standing, it kinda feels like it might fall out. Either way, it sounds better through a pedal or two anyways, so I just run my guitar into a pedal and stick the AmPlug into that.

The AC30 sounds good for blues and rock sounds, but it sounds best with the gain and tone turned up and not as special when playing clean. Better with a compression pedal. They have modelled it after the Vox AC30 tube amp _in top boost mode._ I think I'd prefer it in normal mode or if it could switch between the two.

The Acoustic model is newer and has some more options. It can make your electric guitar sound like an acoustic guitar through your headphones. It can also sound like a completely clean electric guitar, which is great with effects pedals but maybe kinda boring without. Basically, it is a clean amp and you can add in as much of the fake "acoustic" sound as you like, just as you can add more gain with the other AmPlug models. It's best somewhere in the middle, I find. It also has a switch to make it sound sharper like an acoustic steel-string or mellower like nylon.

I only play them with cheap earbuds and they sound great. Although, not-so-cheap earbuds sound a lot better... as always.

The AmPlugs are really great for the value, I believe. Especially if you have a Strat-style guitar, they make practising a lot more convenient (and therefore more likely!)


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## Phlegethon (Dec 18, 2009)

I've had one since around summer/fall ish 2008 IIRC . . .bought the classic rock model. can't say that it's ever let me down, and for what it does it can't be beat. when they first came out and were around the 40 buck mark they were priced very well. the only downside is that I'm unsure of any guitar with a strat style input jack being able to use this but other than that mine's come in handy. usually use some dollar store speakers with it when I go out and do things like laundry or other things where I'm sitting around in public doing nothing


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## jimihendrix (Jun 27, 2009)

they've come out with a matching cab now...roughly $30...


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