Review of the Vox Satchurator

19 Oct 2009

"The Vox Satchurator is a rare find amongst distortion pedals, it's simple, yet intelligent..."

Features of the Vox Satchurator

Construction - The Vox Satchurator is housed in a simple metal box finished in metallic red, a colour much beloved by Vauxhall owners in the mid-seventies. The base is removable with four small screws should you need to get to the guts inside, but the battery is changeable via its own clip-out compartment. On the topside there are three chicken-head knobs, a small microswitch and two standard footswitches, each footswitch having its own dedicated red led indicator. 

Ins and Outs - One input jack and one output jack. There's also an inlet for an optional 9 volt psu.

Power - One 9v battery (included) or an optional 9v adaptor (not included).

Controls - The controls are simplicity itself. The Gain control dictates the amount of distortion gain produced by the unit. The Tone control looks after the tone, up for brightness and down for darkness and the Volume control balances the overall output of the unit. In between the Gain and the Tone knob is a microswitch labelled "pad". Under normal circumstances this is left off. But should the signal from your guitar or a previously daisy-chained effects pedal be too bright, the pad switch can be engaged and the sharp edges of the tone will be removed. There's a footswitch to engage the unit and a second footswitch that's labelled "More". This is another intelligent innovation of the Vox Satchurator. If you're running the Gain at about 2 or 3 o'clock then the More switch will punch up the level of the signal for lead breaks. However if you're running the Gain at or near maximum, the More switch will subtly boost the gain and the midrange to push your solo to the top of the mix. 

Sound of the Vox Satchurator

This is a really smooth-sounding, dynamic and creamy distortion unit. It gets heavy and dirty without losing musicality. It's designed to run into a clean amp and therefore be the main basis of your overall guitar sound. And yes, it really is that good. Distortion does not come in a more satisfying flavour than this.   

Overall Impressions of the Vox Satchurator

If you're looking for your heavy rock guitar sound then the Vox Satchurator is a self-contained solution. The natural-sounding distortion will suit many kinds of rock music, so you don't have to be a Satriani fan to own this pedal. It's more of an embodiment of Satriani's thinking about guitar tone and Vox's ability to pull off some intelligent engineering. Well worth the asking price.

Reviewed by The Man in the Jar