OT: INCOMING NAD!!!

[Boy_Narf]

Hello Everyone!

WOWWOWWOW, so in my always amusing quest for cleaner than clean cleans, I've stumbled across a new device that seems to fit the bill. I sold off my Traynor Ironhorse after it started to make me frown (Got more than I paid so I'm happy with that). I've since watched every single youtube video (even past page 1!!!), and read every forum post/review on the Victory V40. This seems like THE ONE!!!

- Single Channel... YES!
- Hardwire bypass verb/el... YES!
- Designed for clean/eob tones... YES!
- Switchable to 6L6... YES!
- Lunchbox form factor... YES!
- Carrying case... YES!
- Made in UK... YES!
- JJ's from the factory... HECK YES!

The only complaints I've found online are that it can be dark at lower volumes, and that it doesn't break up enough... PERFECT!

Anyway,

Should be here next week. I hope this ends the quest. The IronHorse was close to enough headroom, but that amp is designed to break up, plus I wanted more control over the voice, and the 2 band wasn't doing it for me.

REVIEW TO COME! Stay tuned.

[Jondog]

Nice. Victory sound like great amps.

[Bensnake]

Oh my! Victory are great amps. I have my eyes on the Sheriff 44. It's like a more managable Marshall plexi (they've told me). Looking forward to your review.

[Les Paul Lover]

Fantastic!! They have great reviews!

Let us know what you think!!!

[Boy_Narf]

Two days away!!!

[Ronnie Robinson]

That's fantastic, they have had great reviews here in the UK.

[a.hun]

Good luck.


(If that still doesn't work out - HiWatt!!!)


Andy.

[thejay]

Sweet!

[Boy_Narf]

I think the search will be over regardless. In reality this project is just too complicated to take to the stage. Haven't found anyone to join the band in three years of searching, and me playing along with a laptop live just seems weak. No big deal though, I've got other projects that are/will be gigging.

Regardless, I want tasty clean tones for writing/jamming, so this should fit the bill fine. I'm currently using my TT for cleans, and while I do think it sounds great, it does run out of juice quick once I start looping.

[Boy_Narf]

On the truck for delivery! WOOHOO!

[Boy_Narf]

OKAY!

https://goo.gl/photos/g69z3vsVdtTe4N8W7

So for anyone who says this amp has mountains of headroom is a straight up liar. I would say it has a touch more headroom than my R30 natural channel, which isn't saying much. I even plugged straight into the effects loop to see if that helped, but it actually had more breakup that way. Adequate cleans for bedroom jamming? For sure! Enough for un-miced rehearsals? Definitely not. Enough for gigs with PA support? Assuming the venue likes to keep a low stage volume, maybe? The IronHorse had more headroom that's for sure.

- Reverb: Could really benefit from a tone knob like on the deluxe version (probably why they added one). It's super dark, and doesn't even come close to the quality of my BlueSky. I also noticed the amp got super dark the higher the verb went up. Not a huge issue though as it can be bypassed. YAY!

- EQ: The mid knob (with the mid kick in the up position) does barely anything. I tried it with a P90, and HB, and could barely hear a difference. With the kick engaged the knob does more, but more dirt of course.

- Tone: SUPER SUPER BASSY! WOW. Reminded me of my RV100 back in the day. In order to match my R30 (through a 6X12) I have to have the bass on one or two. It's a fine line though, as having the bass too low makes the amp sound very thin, but having it too high causes it to sound boomy and scooped. Guess I would have liked a bit more control/better sweep in the low end (Using a port city OS212, so that probably isn't helping as they are known to be boomy). I find the amp to sound a bit "sterile" too. It doesn't have the high end shimmer I'm used to with other clean tube amps. I think a presence knob would have really helped to bring in some sparkle. That said the amp sounds very thick. It's seriously a wall of sound. I plugged the TT back in for comparison purposes between clean tones and it sounded so pewny and brittle in comparison. I've also not heard my BlueSky and TimeLine sound so pristine in my life. Voice one is very hi-fi and modern (more scooped). I do prefer the tone of voice 2 by a long shot, but it breaks up even earlier.

- Build Quality: I'll give them a 10/10 on this. Everything feels extremely high quality. Nothing loose or rattling, and all the pots are nice and tight. Nice work folks!

- Gig bag is a nice addition. Padding is a bit thin on the front and back, but has adjustable pockets inside for additional storage. Cool!

- The amp gets HOT!!! Wow. No way I'm putting my TT on top of this guy, almost too hot to touch after 30 minutes of jamming. Hence the warning on top. DO NOT TOUCH, AMP GETS HOT!

I have a sound in my head, and I still haven't found it unfortunately. For the price of this guy, it's not doing anything that my TT couldn't especially at bedroom levels. Think I will ponder for a day, then send it back. It might be a good pedal platform, but as a stand alone amp the tone just isn't there for me.

[Mystic38]

oh..

thats a pretty depressing impression...

sorry to hear this..knew you were really stoked about it..

[Jondog]

Thats too bad. I'm sure it's a great amp, just not what you hoped. I wondered about heat on these amps. Lots of power for a small metal enclosure.

[Les Paul Lover]

Did you buy it with a return policy?

You know, 40w isn't that much in terms of headroom. In my experience, the AD15, AD30, R30 and RV50 haven't all that much headroom, with the RV50 having the most, unsurprisingly.

As for the nature of the cleans.... perhaps you aren't after British cleans, or you need the hiwatt Andy keeps recommending to you!!!

[Boy_Narf]

Yeah 30 return policy. No stocking fee.

Think I'm goona look into old solidstate combos now. Sick of tubes. Plus ss is way cheaper.