In this fictional “battle” between British and American-style tube-driven amps, Vox takes an important place. Although some of the fundamental sonic characteristics prove their place within this category, Vox amps are still noticeably different compared to Marshall and Orange. In other words, they’re a bit more specific.
This, however, doesn’t make them better or worse. But they’re recognizable. Their very specific “grainy” tone is what sets them apart. Think of Queen’s Brian May and how his guitar always managed to cut through the mix. It was bright, piercing, and could pack a punch when needed.
But bearing this in mind, one could have some trouble finding a proper overdrive pedal for them. This is why we’re going to set out to help you find the best overdrive pedal for the Vox amp of your choice.
Our Top Picks
- JHS Moonshine V2 – If you’re aiming for the “transparent” kind of thing, JHS’s Moonshine, its second version, is a great choice
- Electro-Harmonix Soul Food – One of the many Klon Centaur imitations out there. The Soul Food is another transparent overdrive at a great price.
- Suhr Shiba Drive – Be it a higher or lower-gain setting, you’ll be able to create some of the finest tones with the Shiba Drive plugged into your Vox amp.
- Ibanez TS808 Tube Screamer – While Tube Screamers aren’t usually the most common choice for Vox amplifiers, the TS808 is one of the finest smooth-sounding overdrives that you can get your hands on today.
- Crowther Hotcake – While it’s not one of the most widespread and commercially available overdrive pedals out there, many Vox amp users swear by Crowther Hotcake.
Contents
What to Look for in an Overdrive Pedal for Vox Amps
Before I proceed, I want to point out that there’s technically no “right” or “wrong” combination in the world of guitar. However, there is what you could call “helpful” gear when you know what kind of tone you’re looking for. And there’s also what many players and listeners would expect to hear from Vox amplifiers in the first place. That grainy and slightly fuzzy kind of tone, similar to what Brian May is known for, is what’s kind of expected of them.
In my opinion, there are two main ways how to approach tube-driven Vox amplifiers with external overdrive devices. One is to find a somewhat smoother overdrive to “take the edge off” from your amp’s sharper tone. The second one is to further enhance it by using some of those so-called “transparent” overdrives, especially those with the clean blend control.
With both of these approaches, you’ll still keep the amp’s main character. However, the first option adds more coloration to the tone and can change its initial character to a certain degree. The second option just keeps your Vox amp’s tone true to what it is while adding some enhancements.
The choice is up to you and all you need to know is what you’re aiming for in the first place. What I personally wouldn’t recommend are those harsh-sounding treble-heavy overdrives that would make things sound a bit too fuzzy.
The Best Overdrive Pedals for Vox Amps
1. JHS Moonshine V2
In case you’re aiming for the “transparent” kind of thing, JHS’s Moonshine, its second version, is a great choice. This compact pedal comes with one major feature that you’re going to love — it has the clean blend control.
What that means is that you can perfectly fine-tune the blend between the processed and unprocessed signal. This is not the same as your usual gain or drive control and it further adds to the tone-shaping options.
But the pedal’s overall character is still fairly transparent even with the full processed tone in the mix. You can smoothen it out with the tone knob but you’ll still hear your Vox amp’s main characteristics.
There are two additional things about Moonshine V2 that you should know. Firstly, the pedal comes with an internal “charge pump” that pushes the voltage to 18, doubling the usual 9. This provides players with more headroom and more punch in the bottom ends. The second feature is the high- and low-gain switch that adds even more versatility and can help you achieve some heavier tones.
2. Electro-Harmonix Soul Food
There’s an abundance of Klon Centaur imitations out there. But rarely any will do what Electro-Harmonix’s Soul Food does, especially not at its price level. So don’t let its size, simple controls, or its price tag fool you.
If you go searching online, you’ll see that plenty of people are saying that the pedal is capable of delivering anything from clean boosts to highly saturated distortion. This is, for the most part, true since the pedal’s gain control also works partially as a clean blend at the same time. So at lower-gain settings, you’ll get relatively clean operation with only some minor changes to the tone’s character. But if you push it higher, the pedal will further add some more coloration.
Its overall character is transparent. This means that you’ll still keep most of your amp’s character intact. Soul Food will help you push your Vox over the edge and let the power amp tubes do some heavy lifting as well. Also, at its price, it’s one of the finest overdrive pedals that you can buy today.
3. Suhr Shiba Drive
Although we remember Suhr for their impeccable professional-grade guitars, they also have some pedals in their arsenal of products. One of them is the Suhr Shiba Drive which lives up to the brand’s reputation.
This is one of the options for those looking to smoothen things out with their Vox amps. Depending on the parameter settings, you can go from minor changes, like smoothening out the edges up to fairly saturated and super-creamy tones.
Shiba Drive still keeps things fairly straightforward with the controls. Apart from the three usual knobs for drive, level, and tone, the pedal comes with a 3-way “smooth” switch. The neutral position in the middle keeps the overdrive working as usual. The left position will take some of the edge off while the right one does some additional cutting and can help you make those really smooth tones.
Be it a higher or lower-gain setting, you’ll be able to create some of the finest tones with the Shiba Drive plugged into your Vox amp. This pedal can really affect your amp’s character so it’s a great tool if you really want to smoothen things out.
4. Ibanez TS808 Tube Screamer
While Tube Screamers aren’t usually the most common choice for Vox amplifiers, the TS808 is one of the finest smooth-sounding overdrives that you can get your hands on today. And its specific shade of smoothness is what makes it such a great choice for Vox amps.
Basically the original variant of the legendary Tube Screamer, TS808 has the JRC4558D IC chip in it. Not to get too nerdy about the specs and details, but this particular chip helps you in driving any tube-driven amp over the edge while adding some interesting coloration to the tone.
Despite the pedal’s simplicity, you’ll be able to achieve a great tone for pretty much any genre. As far as Vox amps go, TS808 will help you get the edge off and smoothen it all up a little. The tone will still keep its punch but without some of the fizziness that Vox amps are known for.
In fact, you can set the tone knob at the minimum value and get a pretty dark and smooth jazzy tone. But anything below 50% significantly reduces all the excess high ends.
5. Crowther Hotcake
While it’s not one of the most widespread and commercially available overdrive pedals out there, many Vox amp users swear by Crowther Hotcake. It’s not like it’s impossible to find but you’ll need some patience to get your hands on one of these.
However, if you do happen to get one, this would be one of the ultimate overdrive pedals for Vox amps. Many Vox users will call this the “perfect combo” since the pedal pronounces all the things that we love about Vox amps without going into any crazy fuzzy territories.
The older versions of Hotcake came with only three basic controls for volume, drive, and presence. The modern version has two additional switches on the front panel as well.
While the pedal is generally transparent and keeps the magic of your amp and guitar, it still changes some of the sonic character. However, its biggest strength is that it helps keep the dynamic response, even in some of the higher-gain settings. And, on top of that, it still doesn’t get too muddy or “grainy” if you push the gain knob higher.
FAQs
Do Tube Screamers Sound Good Through Vox Amps?
Depending on how you set them up and what you’re aiming for, any of Ibanez’s Tube Screamer pedal variants can work well with Vox amps. However, we’d rather recommend some of the smoother-sounding variants of the Tube Screamer, like the TS808. While TS9, for instance, can absolutely be used with Vox amps, you should bear in mind that things could get a bit too bright. Unless you’re specifically aiming for that kind of tone, this could be a problem.
Which Guitarists Use Vox Amps?
Vox is one of the biggest guitar amp brands of all time and is known for a variety of other products as well. With this in mind, plenty of famous guitar players use Vox amps or have used them at some point in their careers. Some of the names include Brian May, Gilby Clarke, Dave Grohl, The Edge, Noel Gallagher, John Lennon, Jerry Cantrell, Josh Klinghoffer, John Frusciante, Keith Richards, Guthrie Govan, and many others.