I bought a VT15 just before Christmas, replacing a DA20CL I used to have.

To be honest, I hadn't really used it much, except for an initial try-out, a couple of demos (using the headphone output - definitely NOT the way to get the true idea of what this amp can do!!) and testing new pickups at my workbench.

A lot of my work is as a theatre guitarist - I play in theatre orchestras for musicals, shows, etc. For this, it's very important to a lot of sound engineers to keep the noise level in the orchestra pit low and free from "spill-over". For many of these situations, the club / pub cranked combo approach is not feasible. A 15W small combo with a built-in power attenuator is ideal!

In the last few months, though, I've been playing more with a blues band in bars etc and have been using my Crate all-valve amp with pedals (Sort of a more 'traditional' bluesy set-up).

Today I had the first rehearsal for a new theatre show and brought out the VT15.

I was amazed! In that environment, this amp is far, far better than anything I've ever used - and I've used lots of amps in my time! I wound up setting it to the AC30 sound for everything (the songs in this show are rock hits from the 50s to the present) and it was brilliant.

I found the VT15 far, far more dynamically responsive than my Crate - and than the Carvin Legacy I used to play "Grease" a little while back. The tone was full yet clear at a low volume and blended beautifully with the other instruments. I could really hear a bigger difference on my Strat's different pickup positions than with any other amp, including the Fender Bassmans (a Custom Amp Shop model and an original 60's model) I've used in the past. And the ability to bring just a Strat, the amp and a guitar stand to the gig - and set up within 2 minutes - is worth a lot too! It even fits snugly inside a Rubbermaid tote so I can load the amp in (and out when he show finishes its run) without worrying about its safety. Perfect for this kind of gig.

The bottom line, mind, is tone. And this amp has SO much of it, such good, pure and strong T.O.N.E., that I'll find it hard to be satisfied with ANYTHING else now. The Crate Class 'A' Combo may be up for sale in the near future, to be replaced with a VT100. I can't justify having to replace and rebias EL84s when this VT amp doesn't need them and simply outperforms!

In fairness, there may well be situations (small club gigs, large club gigs, outdoor festivals, etc) where cranked valves are just what you want - no doubt it'll always be the way to go for some, especially for those whose minds are predispositioned that way. But I am quite simply BLOWN AWAY by the sound and usefulness of this little amp. I'm not exaggerating, either. And in my opinion, it puts even those much more expensive amps to shame in how well it functions - and sounds - under the orchestra pit conditions. Nothing else seems good enough anymore!

Rich, thanks so much for the great opinions and advice.
I'm so smitten by the VT that I'm seriously thinking of taking your advice re: the TL (I'll sell my Digitech pedals, my CryBaby and my Schaller vol pedal) but maybe sell the Crate and get a bigger, cleaner, more 'neutral' amp to put it through.
Or maybe hold out for a Valvetronix + ...........?

Thanks again, Voxman! Yeah, the Digitechs include an RP155, with the volume pedal as the expression pedal for it. It sits last in the pedalboard chain, so the vol rolls everything off. I usually use the RP for individual effects - everything else taken out, so it works as a delay or a reverb or a chorus or an EQ or whatever. Sometimes a few combinations, but usually it's there more for a good choice of FX rather than to have loads at once.

I also - right now - use a Hot Head Distortion first in the chain - before the CryBaby - and a Screamin' Blues right after the CryBaby. They sound great, really good pedals. I got rid of my Marshall BluesBreaker II after getting the Screamin' Blues cos I felt it did the same thing only with more clarity and 'bite'.

So no complaints, but what's really appealing to me is the idea of bringing out an amp and 1 footswitch, or just the TL and an amp. The pedalboard is bulky - I use a Rubbermaid Tote to carry it around! - and streamlining like that, as well as freeing up some floor-space right by the mic stand sounds like a lovely idea to me.

I play in a blues band and a theatre orchestra at the moment and next year will be playing in a couple of other things too; a Pink Floyd tribute and a Christmas rock act, sort of in the vein of Trans-Siberian. Those things are in the initial stages now, but hopefully they'll work out too. So I love the idea of a rig so versatile and responsive and streamlined that it just covers everything. It was hard at first to come around to the idea of not adding a Distortion/Boost pedal to the setup, but adding extra stuff sort of starts to defeat the purpose in a way. Now I think it can work fine using adjacent patches and programming relative volume levels just right. Sounds all saved in, go!

I think if I use the TLST, that can work with different amp sizes and be very handy that way, but the VT+ would mean I have nothing on the floor that can be jumped or tripped on by a drunk or a dancer or anything - just a robust metal footswitch and no trailing powercable either! I also like the idea of if I go wireless, straight into amp and no cable send out to pedals, which hurts the tone IMHO. The tone has to be a big consideration; I agree with you, I think the ST is a notable improvement over the LE in that sense.

A nice dilemma to be sure, though. But I think it could work for me whichever way, I suppose. My current rig works very well for its purposes too, and it could continue to. But there's something addictive about Vox, isn't there? Like once you use them, nothing else seems good enough anymore. And though I love AC30s and AC15s for what they are, having different amps and FX all-in makes much more practical sense. Especially in theatres going through a big PA and having to keep on-stage or in-pit volume quite low. At those levels, used in that way, dare I say it (the Tube Police aren't watching, are they?) - the VT sounds much, much better than a reined-in, tamed-to-quietness valve amp. Much more practical in lots of ways!

I like the look of the VT+, too - I think it's a more attractive amp than the regular (old?) VTs.

When are they released?

Yeah, I think I'll put a cloth grill on the VT15 too. Maybe as a teen I'd have dug a metal grille, but it's either me aging or that the times have changed, it doesn't appeal too much now!

The only thing that worries me about the 'all-in-one' option - and I'm thinking perhaps a big reason why many guitarists, especially touring pros, still go the analog pedal route - is that if something goes wrong, your whole rig is affected.

If a pedal goes, you can work around it. If the amp goes, you can go direct. But if it's all together and something goes, you're screwed. Unless you have a spare.

There are a few options, though. For example, I have a great little Zoom G1K which could have a few key sounds put in and have it there just in case. Or bring the VT15 along just in case. If I go with the TLST, either of these would get me out of trouble in an emergency!

Or (and I'm seriously thinking about this) have 2 smaller amps - say, 2 40w instead of 1 80w and use a splitter to go into both amps in stereo. Maybe 1 programmed and accessed with the footswitch and one just as a basic, dry sound (and there as a just-in-case spare) to save trying to change patches on 2 amps at once. Has anyone done this with Valvetronix amps?
I guess there's no way to hook them together - feed one into another, is there? I wouldn't want to mute one of the speakers, that would defeat the purpose. It would be great if the VT+ had an input for an extension cab, or even a speaker 'in' socket. That little Electro-Harmonix 22 caliber could save the day if it were able to go into a speaker.

It's still well, well worth it to get all the advantages of simplifying the rig and having a self-contained set of tones, but you'd want to be prepared.