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Vox Brian May Special VBM1 Guitar Amplifier

 

Vox VBM1 Brian May Special Amplifier reviewed by The Man in the Jar 

This little amp looks gorgeous straight out of the box. With white leatherette and white corner protectors (curiously not shown in the picture above), gold screws and binding, classic Vox logo and Vox speaker cloth, this little amp would impress Angie Watts herself with its looks.

The inset control panel on the top of the unit has a single input and three outputs:
Booster Output which disables the rest of the amp apart from the gain controls and is intended to drive the preamp of another amplifier;
Recording or Headphone Output;
Extension Speaker Output.

The controls all sport vintage Vox chicken-head knobs for Gain, Tone and Master Volume. A High or Low Gain push-switch and an on/off rocker complete the picture.

Using an inexpensive Squier Strat I found the clean sounds to be quite brittle, due more to the limitations of the pick-ups on the guitar rather than the amp I'm sure. But perseverance paid off and with the Gain control at 3 o'clock and the Gain switch on Low I was getting some nice useable rock tones. 

Swapping to the more expensive Ibanez and the humbuckers immediately brought the Brian May Special to life on the same settings. Punch in the High Gain button and wind back the Gain control and some seriously unique solo sounds are yours. Whack the Gain up to full and you begin to approach that famous Brian May treble saturation signature sound...but you'll only get as close as a 10 watt amp with a 6 inch speaker will let you. The next stage of that journey involves the Booster Output and a nice hot valve stack...   

 

Overall impressions of the Vox Brian May Special

This is a really interesting little contraption with what must be the most unique heritage of any amplifier product I've come across. Essentially it is a direct copy of a homemade treble-boosting preamp that was to form the foundation of one of the most recognisable guitar sounds in rock history. As with all signature models I suspect the Queen tribute bands and Brian May wannabes already own one. The important thing for the rest of us is the ability to add an element of the May sound to our own armoury. The VBM1 emulates its infamous "Deacy" ancestor will Gain controls on full. Backing off on these slightly moderates the tone and don't forget the eq section on your own power amp gives further room for manoeuvre.

The Recording output makes the VBM1 a useful addition to your studio set-up, offering lead guitarists a generous slice of treble cut-through. The fact that it also serves as a highly portable practise amp is an added bonus.

Criticism of the hairstyle aside, there can't be a guitarist in Britain that won't doff his cap to the incredible Brian May guitar sound. This inexpensive little amp lets you in the backdoor.    

Excuse me, Your Majesty. Which way to the roof?  

Buy the Vox Brian May Special

Note: As with all amps equipped with headphone sockets, turn the Master Volume to zero before plugging in the 'phones.

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