Vox amPlug

Staff writers | Aug 29, 2008 12:58 PM
vox | http://www.voxamps.co.uk/amplug/
RRP: $65 (time of review)
Pros Excellent portability. Authentic Vox build and sound

Cons There’s just no beating a deafening, neighbourhood-shaking riff
Overall Rating: 
User Rating:  No user ratings.
If your compulsion to rock in the early hours is resulting in eviction warnings, the amPlug could well be your saviour
Incredible as it may seem, your bone-shaking power chord sessions in the wee small hours may not be going down too well with the people downstairs at number 62. But your different needs – theirs for sleep, yours for rock – needn’t be incompatible thanks to the AMPlug.

This nifty little amp plugs into your guitar and gives you all the benefits of its full-sized counterparts via your headphones. Which means an evening of Iron Maiden Run to the hills needn’t inevitably result in a late night visit from the constabulary.

One for the road
The amPlug is only palm-sized which makes it a great gadget to take on the road, particularly as you can get about 15 hours of battery life from two AAAs.

It comes in three varieties – AC30, Classic Rock and Metal – which all offer different performance benefits depending on your musical taste, and an aux-in jack also means you can jam along to either your CD or MP3 player.

Practice makes perfect
Sound quality is warm and composed, and it makes a perfect practice amp, particularly if you’ve landed the box room in your flat. There are even adjustable gain and tone controls on the device, but you will need to pair it with some decent headphones to really maximise the sound quality.

We’re also impressed by the analogue design, which means they remain true to the original Vox amps in looks as well as sound. So if you lust for non-stop rock till you drop, then you won’t do much better than adding the amPlug to your instrumental arsenal.