VOX AP2AC amPlug 2 AC30 Guitar/Bass Headphone Amplifier

The AC30 AmPlug is excellent for practice, with adequate sound at a great price. It's not perfect. The little control wheels on top are delicate and have settings 1-10 but that's aspirational. The gain, for example, fuzzes out above 5, so leave it at 5. You want to protect your ears, anyway. The tone control goes muddy on bass, so keep it balanced at 5 and use the guitar's tone control. I use JBL earbuds and the sound is clear and completely satisfactory. The FX are discriminable: chorus, delay, and reverb, which is pretty amazing in such a small device, but don't expect too much. The "Modes" (which not documented in the "documentation" sheet that comes well-hidden in the packaging -- you have to look online to discover these modes), are three degrees of distortion, from clean to dirty. I use clean mode almost exclusively to reduce my Telecaster's natural twang while I practice and learn. Technically there are 9 effects then, Mode x FX, though many of them seem about the same and some are close to pink noise. Keep in mind what you're buying: A portable practice amp for $40. You have to look for online videos to figure out what the different Vox models do because the verbal descriptions are bland and uninformative. I think I might have preferred the "Clean" or the "Blues" model, and I may get one of those, but the AC-30 is the one-size fits all solution for somebody who needs a portable practice amp. The Vox Amplug is not a refined enough device for you to be honing your instrument's voice on it, so don't overthink all the settings. For developing your guitar's voice, you should be using a serious practice amp. This is just a little gizmo so you can practice your pentatonic scales without driving your family crazy. I recommend a 3 to 6-foot cable, 1/4" male-to-female, so you can "externalize" the Vox box and have it beside you or in your lap. When it's plugged directly into the guitar, it's hard to see and use, probably upside-down, and you'll likely break it when you store the guitar. If you want to get tricky, you can plug a Bluetooth transmitter into the Vox and route the sound to wireless headphones/buds. I'm not sure what that would do to sound quality. The device also has an Aux-in jack so you could route an .mp3 backing track through it. I haven't tried that. Overall, the Vox AC30 does the job and is well-worth the price.

Perfect for my needs! I wanted a "quiet option" as I can't rock out when my toddler and baby are sleeping. Wanted something simple that could handle input from a pedal board and still sound good (such as distortion), and this thing delivers. Using my pedals through it sounds close enough to me playing through my tube amp. I feel I can safely tweak my pedals to get a good tone similar to when I'd play full volume. Pros: - Good sound with guitar and bass, with or without a pedal board. - Super compact, easy setup for quiet, personal practice. - Nice simple onboard effects make it easy and fun if you just want to tinker on the guitar (no pedal board). Chorus, delay, and reverb effects each have 3 separate individual options. - Love having the auxillary in. Auxillary in volume is independent of the amPlugs. (Control aux vol from external device, guitar volume through amPlug) - Inexpensive when comparing to other options such as a Line 6 Pocket Pod. Cons: - Unfortunately you only apply one of the FX at a time, along with the signature effect. For this model, the signature effect is tremolo. Not a big deal for me. - If you are going to use a pedal board, need to have some decent headphones. I tried ear buds, cheap headphones, Shure 215 in-ear monitors, and finally my Sony MDRXB400 Extra Bass headphones. The Sony Extra Bass headphones handled the pedal distortions the best and were the most similar to playing through my amp (after some tone adjustment). The ear buds and other options couldn't fully handle the distorted signal coming from the pedal board, which essentially added a little extra distortion. Overall, great product, can't go wrong. Very glad I purchased this!

It won't ever replace an amp in terms of sound quality but if you want to play guitar without disturbing others it is a fantastic device. I live in an apartment with thin walls so I'm always concerned that I might be disturbing my neighbors when I play over my 30 watt amp. With this little thing, I plugged my Sony MDR headphones into one jack and used a 3.5 mm cord to plug in my laptop to the other jack so I could jam along with my computer's music library. There definitely is some minor static noise coming off of this device so it isn't good for recording or anything like that. But for bedroom playing it is super fun. One downside I found out that hard way is that it is pretty fragile. I caught my headphone cords when I stood up and the device pulled apart which ripped the jack off and a wire on the inside got dislodged (my fault I guess). I had to buy a replacement. So use gently! The settings are Volume, Gain, and Effect. There are a couple effects on this little guy (Delay, Reverb, Tremolo) that you can also switch between by pressing the Effect button. So using the gain and the effects there are a surprising amount of sounds you can get out of this little guy. I would definitely recommend it but again would suggest using it gently because my first one broke apart. The option to plug in a second device like an iPod or your phone make it way more fun. For the price, it's worth it for guitar players looking for a more private way to play.

So I’ve had a few of the original amPlugs, since they first came out. While they were a cool practice option, they were very limited and I had a hard time finding a tone that I liked. I’m the guy who’s always noodling for new guitars and accessories, so when I read a review of the AC30 amPlug 2.0, I decided to check one out. Wow, huge improvement in tone, from ultra clean (no or low gain) to respectable clear crunch (with heavy gain). Plus the new effects are really a nice addition. My references are the Reverb 2, Chorus 2 and, though I don’t use it much, Delay 3. The tremolo is cool, too, but also not something I frequently use. My only complaint, is the button sequencing you have to go thru to get to each effect. It would have been pretty easy for VOX to put 4 separate buttons on the side, with four separate lights to make it easier to change and to visually see what is turned on at any given time. One other thing to think about, due to the location of most guitar output jacks, you end up flipping the guitar around to make effects changes. Not a big deal, but I decided to “fix” it by buying a 12” long 1/4” female to 1/4” male patch chord ($5 on Amazon). It allows me to plug the chord into my guitars and position the amPlug a foot away from the guitar so I can see/adjust it when I’m still in a playing position. All thinks considered, though, it’s great at doing what it’s meant to do. Definitely worth the price.

I wanted a "no frills" amp for practicing my guitar in bed late at night without disturbing the whole house and this unit fit the bill perfectly. Of course, a headphone amp is going to be limited by the speaker that generates the actual sound (this goes for any amp, really) so if you have crappy headphones, you shouldn't expect miracles, but if you have good headphones or better yet, a nice stereo system, you can expect to be very pleased with the sound quality and features at this price point. This unit essentially feels like they took the circuit board from one of those Vox modelling amps (AD30VT etc) and miniaturized it. I am mainly using this unit while plugging it into a real stereo system that I use for my TV and PS4 etc (a standard audio receiver and 2 large Technics floor speakers). On this setup, it sounds incredible, even better than the Vox digital modelling amps, possibly due to the nice technics speakers. Clean and slightly overdriven tones are essentially the same or better as a real AC30 (this unit adds *zero* noise, I couldn't believe it). Of course, when you try to push the gain up, since it's digital, this little thing will not be able to match the sweet tones of a real overdriven tube amp, and you might get some clipping or harsh distortion if you don't dial it in just right. In my experience, after finding the sweet spot between my guitar's volume and this amp's gain and volume knobs, I was able to dial in some really nice lead tones (once again, similar to the AD30VT), though ultimately I ended up sticking to the cleaner sounds which can range from natural "acoustic" low-gain tones to sparkly, shimmery tones with a medium amount of gain. As for negative feedback, I imagine some of the negative reviewers here who are reporting tinny / piercing sounds simply haven't found that sweet spot between their attack, guitar volume, amp gain, amp volume, and finally, speaker/headphone volume. You really need to get all 5 factors right to get the most mileage out of this thing. If you don't dial it in right, you will probably get less than stellar sounds but that just means you aren't dialing it in right. The effects (chorus, delay, etc) obviously will not sound as great as dedicated analog stomp boxes but they are good enough for a distraction. I only use the reverb, and I found that one of the 3 available reverb settings suited my needs perfectly. As a final though, I love having the amp controls right at the guitar. I wish my real amps would let me adjust gain and volume right from my guitar!

After reading through several pros & cons that have been posted, here’s what I really think about the a c 30 headphone amp from Vox. Pros: it’s a pretty good value for the price. And no, it won’t sound like you’re playing through a 300watt Fender Bassman amp, but on the other hand, your wife won’t be contemplating filings for a divorce because you’re playing through a Bassman 300 amp…each and every day - for what seems like hours at a time…to her. Likewise, beginners will no longer have to suffer the discouragement that inevitably happens when your family and neighbors repeatedly tell you how awful you sound, once they get one of these. Some reviewers have said that their a c30 malfunctioned after a few weeks, but I’ve had mine for over two years and it still works fine. And one other thing. Musicians who play electric instruments have to learn to focus without any distractions in order to evolve, and this little gadget accommodates that type of daily dedication, preparation and practice habits, so important to their continued development. It ain’t super loud, but come on, you don’t need loud to PRACTICE, just good, clean sound quality, which this thing surprisingly does have. Cons: the ac 30’s quarter inch that plugs into your Bass wasn’t manufactured correctly. If you push it all the way in, it will not complete the connection, so you’ll have play around with it some to find the point where the Circuit completes. I found this to be true with more than one Bass. The button that supposed to allow you to switch from Chorus to some kind of fuzz tone, to a pure Bass sound is awkward, and I’ve had to play around with it, to find that setting I’m looking for. Frankly, I think Vox could have done without the first two settings altogether IMHO. Hopefully Vox will correct these minor problem in the next generation of their headphone amp, but I’ve had a ball with this one. People sometimes expect something for little of nothing and this little thing delivers a lot for 50 bucks!

Got the VOX AC30 headphone/pocket amp today. I needed some way to practice quietly since I'm a night owl and the rest if the family aren't. I'd tried different ideas but nothing worked w/o a bunch of hassle. So I saw this and thought I'd try it. My first impression is that it is very cheaply made. Wow, I know I'm gonna break it the first time I set my guitar down w/o thinking. The cord plugs in on the "bottom" on a Les Paul and my Ibanez too now that I think about it. The first time I set it in the guitar stand this thing will disintegrate. So, ok. I didn't expect pro quality hardware for $40. I'll have to be careful - - because once I plugged in and had the phones on the sound was really, really decent. (note, these are good quality headphones, not earbuds etc) With gain at about 3, tone in the middle and volume 7 with no FX I got a super rich clean tone that was just gorgeous on the Les Paul. Crank up the gain and you get a nice distortion without muddy-ing up the sound. The tremolo is fine. The Lowest setting is best - I got a great Tom Petty tone just playing around. Chorus, delay and reverb each have lo mid hi and are adequate. For the money and what I need it for, it will do. I'm not sure how long it will last - we'll see. There were some more expensive devices with lots more features but I could buy a decent amp for what some cost. Still, if this breaks I think I will expand my horizons. For now however I am pleased with the sound. Oh, on guitars like the LP that plug on the bottom getting the gadget set so it is easy to manipulate takes some work. Fortunately it rotates around the input. Good luck....

Excellent tool for quiet practice. I can play as loud as I want at any time of night without disturbing my wife and kids. You can get a variety of good tones out of this, from almost clean to fairly dirty. The clean tones are good enough for practicing scales and whatnot without distortion, but strumming a clean chord can be a bit of a challenge. I find the best setting for clean is no gain, guitar volume at about 1/4, and amp volume at whatever volume is comfortable to you. It gets dirty enough for blues lead and classic rock, but not really for hard rock or metal. Vox makes Classic Rock and Metal versions if you are looking for better tones for these genres. I plan on purchasing both eventually. One of the best features is the line-in jack, which I hook up to my smart phone for playing backing tracks or practicing with a metronome. The added effects (tremolo, chorus, reverb and delay) are good when used at mild setting, but can be a bit much when maxed out. If you crank the volume and/or gain knob, there will be some background noise as other reviewers have pointed out. However, this is at higher volumes than I typically use. If I'm rocking out with the gain and volume turned up, I don't mind a little fuzz. One parting recommendation, I highly recommend getting a decent pair of on-ear or over-ear studio headphones to use with this. I wouldn't expect your iPhone earbuds to do it justice. I use a fairly cheap set of AudioTechnica studio over-ears, and it sounds great.

Produto excelente! Muito fácil de se adaptar e muito prático, mesmo para iniciantes.

I wasn't expecting much, but this thing is fantastic for hassle-free quiet practicing. The clean tones are actually quite pleasant, and are adjustable to dial in a wide range of sounds. The overdriven tones are a bit harsh, but for the purpose of practicing, they're totally acceptable. For the money, this thing is a no-brainer.

It's so convenient. Have been without an amp for so long, so this will hold me over well. Love the amound of features for such device.

Bon, ce n'est pas un ampli VOX grosse puissance, mais un petit accesoire génial qui n'a pas à avoir honte de ses capacités. loin de là. Juste ce qu'il faut pour un training quotidien, et le son VOX dans le casque... vraiment un tout petit investissement pour un accessoire qui ne me quitte plus où que j'aille avec ma gratte.

Product geeft kraakgeluiden en storingen. Waardeloos.