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Sale Price: $47.98
Today's Bonus:
- Joe's signature lead tone with your choice of delay on or off
- Distortion tone with superb dynamic response, inspired by the Satchurator
- Analog-style delay with Joe's filter and EQ, inherited from the Time Machine
- Plugs straight into your electric guitar, so you can instantly enjoy great sound through your headphones
- Convenient and portable with up to 11 hours of battery operation
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This is my 3rd VOX Amplug I have purchased through Amazon. They are all awesome in thier own way. The Satriani Amplug has very nice effects similar to a flanger and delay with reverb. Without the effects on it is similar to the Lead plug with much lighter distortion still has nice crunch to it though. If you are a Satch fan you will find this amplug endlessly entertaining! If you could only buy just one, this one may not be for you depending on what style music you like to play. I love metal, rock, classic rock etc.
The first song I played through this plug was 'The Star Spangled Banner' (ala Jimmi Hendrix) and wow, the Satch effects just make it sound amazing! The Top Gun anthem sounds wicked with this plug as well.
If you are looking for a pure distorted metal sound go for the Metal Amplug it rocks your face off(I LOVE MINE). The AC30 Amplug is real nice for classic rock and country (it is nice and clean but can go into AC/DC tones) very versatile Amplug.
The Satch Amplug is a welcome addition to my collection...I would tell you to buy it, and if I lost mine I would replace it immediately. Same with the Metal Amplug. If I lost my AC30 Amplug I would wait for it to go on sale or something and pick up another as versatile as it is, I don't play enough classic rock or country as I do metal.
Buy Korg Vox APJS amPlug Joe Satriani Guitar Headphone Amp Now
I've been playing guitar for 40 years and have probably used every box,gizmo, and effect that exists. Heck, I own an original Univibe that still works. I am quite critical of everything I plug my guitars into. My style usually requires a heavy, sustained, screaming sound. This AmPlug delivers. I have many amps so I needed something for when I am just hanging out in the backyard chilling, working on riffs for my next recorded piece or just shredding away from my amps. I was really pleased with this and the amount of distortion, sustain and "satch"uration I could get out of it. Plus the variation in tone you could get was really nice using the tone nob. With my Jackson Dinky XL it had no limits. Switching to my 73 strat also gave some incredible,classic ripping strat sounds. It's not for clean playing. Even with the gain dialed down you will get warm distortion. As far as ergonomics, if you're "chillin" on a lounge chair out back or probably sitting in any chair you'll do better with a front loaded input (strat)instead of a bottom loaded input. Plugging this into the bottom of a guitar while sitting will lead to much squirming in the chair to avoid hitting the plug with whatever you are sitting on. It does get in the way. By the way, the setting with the delay is so "Joe-like" you won't believe it. I gotta give this 5 stars!!!
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For those unfamiliar with Vox's amPlug products, these things are amazing. I'm just old enough to remember some of the portable options of the 1990's, and they were mostly terrible. What Vox has done with these tiny headphone amplifiers (which weigh virtually nothing, run for 10-15 hours on 2 AAA batteries, and plug directly into the guitar) is nothing short of amazing. They have incredible amp-like tone and get as loud as you can possibly want. Even through a pair of $20 Sony headphones, they sound amazing. The star of the collection, in my opinion, is the Vox AC30 amPlug, which does a great vintage tube amp ranging from sparkling cleans to Top Boost overdrive. If you haven't played an amPlug before, the AC30 one is $39.99 of the best money you'll ever spend.
Now, getting to this specific Joe Satriani amPlug, it's impossible to talk about the tone without talking about the guitarist himself. Fans of Joe Satriani (even casual ones) will recognize elements of this sound right away. Satriani has a very distinctive sound, which he crafted over the years using a modified Boss DS-1 Distortion and (more recently) his Vox "Satchurator" Distortion Box. It's a thick lead tone with a nice sustain, and colored with a delay effect. Both of those elements are present on this signature amPlug. You have a level control, a gain control, and a tone control. There's also three switch positions: Off, On, and Fx. The "Fx" position engages the delay effect, but the tone is otherwise the same.
PROS:
First, the price retails at $49.99, whereas most of the other models are $39.99. (I believe the Lead amPlug is also $49.99 and also has a delay feature). I think that the added delay feature and unique tone are worth the extra money, but this is admittedly a sort of "niche" product. Overall, however, you have several amPlugs to choose from, and if you choose this one, $49.99 is still an incredible value for the ability to play your guitar virtually anywhere and enjoy quality tone. The tone has a real sweet spot between "3" and "5" that really makes it enjoyable to play lead notes. While it isn't necessarily and "ideal" rhythm guitar distortion, you can hit rich chords with nice sustain. I prefer the tone on the higher gain levels, and you can really crank it up if you want to, but it sounds great at lower volumes too. The delay is also surprisingly good it's probably set to around the 400 milisecond gap, which is pretty standard. Adds a cool echo "fullness" to your solo progressions, much like a classic Satriani solo. Again, the overall tone is fantastic. With the amount of gain provided, you can play most types of rock and dabble into metal guitar a bit (though I've always thought of Satch of more a technical, melodic guitarist than a "metal" guitarist).
CONS:
There are a few things to know about the Satriani signature model, but I don't think any of them should discourage you from checking it out. While the delay is surprisingly good, you can't customize it. You can't make the repeats shorter or longer, and you can't adjust the timing of the repeats. Keep in mind that this is mostly a "practice" device for your personal use, however, and I still enjoy using the delay. As for the tone, which I mostly discussed as a "pro" in the paragraph above, you should be aware that this is not meant to be a "clean" signal. It is possible to get a somewhat clean tone by rolling back on the gain or lowering the volume of your guitar, but it's mostly distortion or bust. The durability of all of the amPlugs has also been questioned by some. The device is VERY lightweight and all plastic, except for the metal plug portion. I don't doubt that you could bang it on something and break it quite easily. The switches and dials may also fail over time. But frankly, at $40 or $50, it's probably a better value than making it out of heavy duty metal and charging $100 for it, which would lock more people out of the market. I would certainly buy another one (or several) if any of mine broke. Finally, there as an audible "hiss" noise through your headphones anytime the device is on. Slightly annoying when you're not playing, but I don't notice it at all once I start playing notes.
THE VERDICT:
One other "dirty little secret" to point out about these things: in addition to the Aux jack, which allows you to plug in an MP3 player and jam along, it is possible to use a 1/8" to 1/4" adapter and audio cable to plug this thing directly into an amp, PA, or anything with speakers. You might be surprised how good it sounds.
As an after-note, I wrote most of this review playing on my Jackson DR6, which has two Seymour Duncan Humbuckers, and it sounded great. I later tried it on a Gibson Les Paul (which is usually my primary guitar), and despite the fact it also has two humbuckers, it did not sound as good. The distortion was much more "fizzy". Haven't tried it with single coil pickups, but I think that it would likely work well with a Strat-type guitar due to the overall "roundness" of the tone.
The amPlug is a great invention that allows so many players to log endless hours practicing, irrespective of their budget or living situation. The Satriani model brings its own special character to the series, and if you like the tone as much as I do, might become an instant favorite.
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I had previously bought the "metal" version of the amPlug and was really amazed at how good the sound was and much fun it was to use. When I tried the Joe Satriani version I was blown away, such great sound from such a little device and so handy and easy to use! My metal amPlug is gathering dust now, I use the Satriani one ALL the time and it is the best purchase I have made for enhancing my guitar experience. With the amPlug you are free to play ANYWHERE, I can sit outside in the yard and play. Also, these devices are good when you are trying not to annoy other people in the house. You can really rock out and no one can hear a thing. Hands down best product I have tried! :)
Sounds nice: distortion and delay. Good possibilities of adjustment: distortion, tone and volume. Using the aux input with an iPod with backtracking is amazing !
