Best Vox MV50 for an Ibanez semi hollow

stufisher

Hi folks.
Recent bout of GAS has led me to semi-hollow guitar tones and range.

I'm after a VAX MV50 head but can't decide which would work best for me.

Has anyone done a side-by-side comparison of all 5 variants? Does anyone play a semi-hollow through one of these amps?

Thanks for advice.

olafgarten

I've played through the MV50 Clean and AC and actually much preferred the AC even though I usually prefer Fender tones in other amps. 

stufisher

Ta muchly. I'm always thinking AC but High Gain option is niggling away at me saying "try me"
I'm actually not good enough to be asking these questions really ... I've always been Rock & Blues-Rock orientated but now my fingers are needing to slow down a bit and be more expressive and bluesy-jazzy ... it's all about richness and depth of tone for me now.

I wanna know which head gives best bluesy-jazzy tone from a semi hollow

susbemol

I have played all of them pretty extensively with my 335, having all of them on loan for quite a while. It all really depends on what you mean when you say semi hollow guitar tones. Are we talking about squeaky clean or a bit of hair, jazz, blues, country?

If you want it always clean, the name says it all. If you might want clean and maybe some overdrive (or even just a little break up), I'd suggest checking out the AC and Boutique models. They all play nicely with pedals too so that's something else to bear in mind.

Also remember that the speaker cab you plug it into is going to play a major part in the sort of tones you'll get.

BluesLover

Have a look at eytschpi42 YouTube channel, he compares all of them.

stufisher

Thanks all for your advice ... very helpful as always.

The video comparison (despite the annoyingness of the presenter) does show up the similarities and differences quite well ... shame he wasn't playing some BB King sounds.

The sound/tone I'm searching for is a fat, soulful, bluesy-jazz feel ... with a bit of fuzz/grit thrown in. I'll not be chicken-pickin or Duane Eddy twangin and I don't use a Bigsby or the like.

I don't gig or play in a band but I do travel with a guitar so the portability of an MV50 appeals greatly.

I'll only be connecting to a Fender Mustang modelling amp (which I think is possible) or a looper so nothing complicated. 

I'm still thinking the AC variant might be best because I'll never stop trying to attain that Rory Gallagher-AC30 sonic magic when I switch guitars.

stufisher

Following previous posting does anyone know if it actually is possible to connect a Vox MV50 AC head to a Fender Mustang LT25? ... or am I just making a misguided assumption?

If anyone has done this successfully then what problems did you have? What does it sound like?

susbemol

The MV50 is a full-blown (but tiny) head designed to drive a regular speaker cabinet so you wouldn't use this type of product with another amp. If you wanted to use something like the MV50 with your existing amp, then the VOX Valvenergy pedals would be much more suitable for that. They're similar to the MV50 in the flavours they offer and they still have the Nutube in there.

Personally, I'd take the MV50 with a speaker cabinet of your choice any day over a digital amp like the Mustang.

joetele

Amazon had some of the Laney Cub 112 cabinets for less than £80 yesterday - I got one for my MV50 Clean and really enjoying it so far 

Barquentine

stufisher said:

Thanks all for your advice ... very helpful as always.

The video comparison (despite the annoyingness of the presenter) does show up the similarities and differences quite well ... shame he wasn't playing some BB King sounds.

The sound/tone I'm searching for is a fat, soulful, bluesy-jazz feel ... with a bit of fuzz/grit thrown in. I'll not be chicken-pickin or Duane Eddy twangin and I don't use a Bigsby or the like.

I don't gig or play in a band but I do travel with a guitar so the portability of an MV50 appeals greatly.

I'll only be connecting to a Fender Mustang modelling amp (which I think is possible) or a looper so nothing complicated. 

I'm still thinking the AC variant might be best because I'll never stop trying to attain that Rory Gallagher-AC30 sonic magic when I switch guitars.

I played the AC into the little matching 8" cab a couple of weeks back. I was stunned by how good it sounded and it nailed the Rory tones.

stufisher

As always the knowledge base is fab ... thanks all. More to think about 
The bottom line for me is I've just returned to playing after a 40 year break and the choices these days are incredible. The tech has moved on and it's me (the weakest link) that's stuck in a time warp. As well as relearning to navigate the fretboard I've got to get to grips with the sounds.
Some tones are always worth emulating (Rory) but I am blown away by what is now possible from a spare room with basic kit ... it's never been so accessible. Funnily enough, this has fed my appetite to learn ... I've got the bug big time!
Thanks all for your indulgence ... more dumb questions to follow I'm sure.

S