Vox - Pathfinder 10 - 10W Electric Guitar Combo Amplifier

Product Information

I think that in comparison with other cheap amps of this size, the Pathfinder has a actually a pretty good overdrive as well. Of course, it’s not the same sound as a high-end tube Marshall or Fender, but come on! It’s a budget piece of gear, so it’s totally understandable. What About Pedals? Treble and Bass Controls - We then have the usual treble and bass controls (one knob for each) which adjust the high frequencies (tinny sharp sounds) and low frequencies (booming deep sounds ) respectively.

The demo below showcases a musician playing the Vox Pathfinder through a PA system. With the right condenser mic, it can handle its own. I would say is enough for light gigging and garage rehearsals. On the downside, people did point out that there are limited features and a few cons to this amp. Several practice amps feature things like reverb and other effects, while the Pathfinder 10 keeps things incredibly simple. Several customers thought that the higher-end sound is the tradeoff for these features, while others didn’t need them for their playing style. As for cons, there are a couple. First, the amp doesn’t get any louder after turning the gain up to about 75%. Anything higher continues to distort the sound, but most players felt as though the sound was too saturated at that point. While most enjoyed the overdrive and gain combo, they also pointed out that you can’t get into anything too heavy without adding a pedal.Replace the plastic boost switch with a DPDT toggle switch. My switch was getting scratchy. The panel now looks much better The switch fits only if it's mounted on its side so that it flips horizontally. You do not have to solder all 6 pads. The top right is not connected to anything, and the bottom left is no longer used since we removed the LEDs. The Pathfinder 10 is an inexpensive solid-state combo which offers a classic aesthetic and a really good tone. The amp features 10 Watts of power and a 6.5″ speaker which offers a high quality tone. There’s also a headphone output that allows you to practice without annoying your neighbors

Players raved about the impressive sound quality coming from the Vox Bulldog speaker, even with the gain or overdrive engaged. Those who enjoy playing clean loved the richness of the tone, while those who enjoy a heavier sound said the amp could handle a lot more than they initially thought. Other practice amplifiers are feature-rich, but also a bit pricier. In all honesty, you can’t find anything better at this price point. But, if you want options like a direct USB recording output, let’s climb the price ladder a bit. The Pathfinder 10 makes a stunning impression from the day one – it’s built in thorough precision and it looks and feels more expensive than it actually is. The classic VOX look is definitely a big advantage of this combo.Keep in mind that you don’t need an electric guitar to use this amp. It’s capabilities fully extend to an electro-acoustic, which can take full advantage of the clean sounding features on this Vox. The combo is one that many choose to use for smaller gigs.

I think that this amp will be a great choice for both beginners and more advanced players. Considering its price, it’s definitely within the reach of complete amateurs who don’t want to spend too much on new gear. People who used it with effect pedals such as delay and modulation were impressed by the results. It’s safe to say that the amp takes pedals well. As I mentioned earlier, I’ve been using this amp for quite a while now and I’m really impressed by its quality. In addition, although it sounds pretty good as a practice amp, it’s not as good as some of the more expensive VOX tube amps. Of course, it’s totally understandable – it’s a budget entry-level amp. Nevertheless, if you’re looking for an amp to record songs with, you should probably look for something more expensive.

Tech Specs

Gain Control - This will increase the amplitude of the input signal in the pre-amp and can give you a more dirty/overdriven sound, which brings us nicely to the next feature. All you need is to turn the treble a little too high for the sound to go from perfectly usable to too fuzzy. Particularly with metal leads and solos the sound loses its character and is mediocre at best. So here is the list of my TODO stuff, gathering info from around the internet, plus results so far. Ssguitar and tdpri forums have much useful info. What’s important, VOX decided to equip this guitar amplifier with two separate channels – clean and overdrive. You can easily switch between them by pressing one button placed at the top of the amp.

While crafting any review I like to refer to what other users have said about the product. That’s also the reason why I try to include the experiences and opinions of real-life users around the world. The power stage is a TDA2030A that runs at +-20V and with an 8ohm speaker gives 18W of power. This means 12V p2p at the speaker. And since the chip is running at 13x gain or 22dB, the max input before it clips is ~900mV. For stability and simplicity, I will avoid messing with the power section. A minor flaw that I’ve noticed is that there’s very little space beneath the handle for your hands. It can annoy you if your use case demands carrying the amp around all day. But the handle itself looks pretty durable. Although this amp doesn’t feature any extras such as reverb of chorus effect, it works very well with additional guitar pedals. If you’re into experimenting with your guitar tone, you can be sure that this combo will be perfect for that kind of stuff! My Thoughts About This Combo I even paired this amp with a Behringer UM-300 but the results were not much better. Some metal tones were clearly better with this combo but it gets too fuzzy very easily.

Warranty Info

While 10 watts might not be a lot in the realm of guitar amplifiers, the Pathfinder produces ample sound in smaller spaces. You can’t wow a stadium with it, but it is loud enough to annoy the neighbors. Due to its more diminutive stature, this model is best for casual use and more intimate gigs. TODO: 100nF ceramic bypass capacitors between the power rails on all opamps. This might not be critical, but I have seen a big difference in other applications, so I plan to try it. It's cheap and very easy to do on the underside of the pcb. It could make a bigger difference if you plan on using the amp on higher gains, especially on the first stages.