It's "Voice" in Latin

I don't mean for this to be "Max's Guitar Stuff"- it's just that lately, almost all of my "fun" purchases have been guitar-related. I promise that, soon, I'll talk about some other purchases, but for now...
So, my Crate CR65 practice amp ( meaning my main Amp-I play "Living Room Stadium" nightly) is very, very old. It still works, basically. The reverb tank is shot, and the brightness switch is a dicey affair, but I can still plug it in, and crank out noise with it. But, it's from 1978. I have owned it since before the 1990's. So, it's time for a change. I've been looking at the Orange Tiny terror, but a lot of my friends have gone in for Modelling. So, this is my compromise: I went down to the pawn shop and picked up a Vox Valvetronix VT15.  It cost me Seventy bucks, which is pretty dirt cheap. The pre-amp is all tube, so it's a heck of a lot louder than most 15 watt solid state amps- I'd put it up against a 40 Watt Crate or Randall. It's got several different modelled voices, but I have stuck with the AC30 for the most part. It's got lots of built in effects models, but I have stuck mostly with the Reverb, only. I really don't care for most of the model stuff. All it ends up sounding like, to me, is really bad early 1980's rackmount BS- Alesis styled stuff. Again, I've got lots of friends who swear by that stuff- but here's where I think the difference is- people want to sound like the records. I want to sound like the live performance. Keep in mind that I know this makes me a minority opinion, here. For example- virtually every Metalhead likes the Metallica "V" shaped EQ. I strongly suspect that Hetfield developed that because he loved a bunch of the New Wave of Heavy Metal bands from the UK- these were bands he could not see live, ever- so he was copping virtually everything from his home stereo- which would benefit from cutting out the midrange- see, Treble is directional, and bass is sensual- so crank the bass, and you feel it, crank the Treble, and the sound goes right to you- the end result is that it simulates standing right at the lip of the stage, where you feel the bass in your chest, and every cymbal snap translates directly to your spine. However- here's the problem with that- things like Cymbals, keyboards, and Snare drums have those frequencies, while Bass guitars, and kickdrums have the lower frequencies- with a live band, the most space for the guitars is in the upper mids- that V shape means that you have to kick up the volume in order to be heard. If you cranked the mids, you wouldn't be competing against the other instruments, and could be heard. Hate to tell you this- but that tone- from James Hetfield to Dimebag Darrell just sounds like frosting on the beater to me- a sweet mush with no distinct flavor. Likewise, the modelled Amp and effect sound- it just sounds flat, to me. So, lesson learned- I'm sticking with regular solid state from here on out. Still, I don't want to write about what I don't like- and this is no exception- While the AC15 and AC30 sounds really don't sound like "real" Vox AC's- they are better than passable "clean tones" and the reverb is a nice touch of wetness- so, it sounds good with my pedals. I can crank out some nice crunchy tones really easily, and with a little more work, I think I can get some Fender Champ type chimey tones. That means, at 70 bucks, this'll do, just fine. Still think I need another Amp, and I never have trusted tubes, at low volumes, but this is certainly a nice little Amplifier.

Yet more Pedal chain stuff

So, this will be the last of the pedals for awhile, unless I get some via gift, or horse trade. But, the pedal chain feels pretty complete. What completes it? A Behringer US600. Now, Behringer specializes in copying Boss pedals, but this isn't a clean copy of either the Boss PS-6, or the Digitech Whammy, it's more like a hybrid of the two. Used with my DOD Octoplus, I can get a decent Micro POG type sound, but without it, I can get a far more natural harmony effect just using that function- just select your key, select how many semi tones off you want your accompaniment, and you're off to the races. I can't say I get Thin Lizzy leads, but it does sound pretty much like a second lead line. Just using the Octave up, I can nail an Octavia tone. Using, the detune, I can get a chorusy/vibey effect about half way between a Chorus ensemble and a Univibe. Using the Trem effect, I can get the Tom Morello squeal- but I really haven't mastered that, as yet. I'm sure that with practice, I can get everything from Dimebag grunts, to Dan Auerbach divebombs. Finally, it's got a function  I haven't even tried yet called "flutter" that's a trem into detune effect. That's a lot of functions, yeah? For a hobby player like me, that's just unbelievable. It'll take me years to get all that use out of it. But, as an added bonus, it's making me a better player- I have to think about the notes and their relationship to each other, in order to get it to sound 'right" to my ear, so I have to compose even my improvisations- If I'm 5 semitones up, and in D, I'm going to have to stay in key, and even then, I've got to choose my notes carefully, otherwise it can go south quick.
So do I suggest it? At 50 bucks, absolutely. I could even see the point in getting a tuner, a dirtbox, and this pedal, and calling that a full chain For players who are more compositionally advanced this might just be a goofy little toy, but still, it's a fun toy But, for most of us, this will be both a fun little effect, and a good exercise. Sometime, I'll have to take a picture to show my board, but yes, I'd say it's pretty dang complete, now.