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Vox DA5 Digital Guitar Amplifier Combo

 

Review of the Vox DA5 by The Man in the Jar

At about twice the size of the Legendary Pignose, the Vox DA5 still offers a highly portable busking and practise amplifier. Witness the large and secure strap buttons, one on each side (Vox even throw in a branded strap).  

The real difference is that the Vox isn't simply a "go-louder" box, it's also packed with digital modelling goodies!

The recessed top panel has a large chicken-head knob with step-indents to select one of the eleven basic amp models. This sits in the "Style" section together with a Gain control, a single Tone control and the Master Volume. 
Squeezed below the Style section is the Effects section which has a similar chicken-head to select from eleven effects. The obvious space constraints have led Vox to create a clever system to control the effects. This consists of one knob marked "Edit-1" and two separate push-buttons. One push-button is marked "Tap" and is used to set the tempo of effects (where appropriate) by tapping it with your finger to the required beat. But press and hold this button and the Edit-1 knob operates as Edit-2 controlling a different effect parameter.
The other button has a day-job as the Effects By-Pass. Press and hold this one and the Edit-1 knob becomes Edit-3. The edit parameters of these three functions vary according to the effect in play.
The top panel is completed with the input and an on/off rocker switch.

Moving to the back panel we find a unique little feature in the form of a power select slider. This gives you the option to run the amp output at 5 watts, 1.5 watts or 0.5 watts which has an effect on battery life (the claims are 18 hours, 25 hours and 30 hours respectively).
There's a headphone socket (doubling as a line out), an auxiliary for CD input and a dedicated input for a microphone with its own volume control so a vocal mix can be set between voice and guitar.
The last feature on the back is the DC in (the adaptor is supplied) with its own little cable cleat to prevent accidental disconnection.

Sounds of the Vox DA5     

First I ran through the 11 amp settings:

Clean 1 - A nice brittle clean sound. I knocked a Strat into middle and bridge setting and pulled out some nice palm-muted rockabilly riffs on the lower strings;

Clean 2 - This has more attack and aggression than the Clean 1 and fattens up nicely with a little tweak on the Gain control;

Blues 1 - A good scoopy tone with bright highs that complimented the neck pickup on the Strat to produce a great Texas Rock sound;

Blues 2 - A deeper, more middley tone that benefits again from a touch of added Gain;

Blues 3 - This is the heaviest of the Blues tones, nice for high, wailing blues-rock solos;

Crunch 1 - Nicely balanced sound with more dynamic "space" than the Blues models;

Crunch 2 - Deeply crunchy voice that doesn't descend into mush;

Hi-gain 1 - Great setting for aggressive rock soloing and shredding - nicely responsive without sacrificing too much definition; 

Hi-gain 2 - A step heavier and better suited to power chords and low register palm-muted runs and solos;

Hi-gain 3 - A brighter, scoopier high gain sound that I felt had the best characteristics of the Hi-gain settings. There's plenty of scope for mad Angus-style antics, but be prepared to roll off the guitar's volume to maintain control;

Drive - A distinctive overdriven sound that should really be placed between the Blues and the Crunch settings. In fact I liked the Crunch setting better and it feels like this Drive setting is simply making up the numbers.

Next I set the Style to Clean 2 and took a trip through the effects. Some are single and some are hybrid mixes of two effects:

Auto-Wah - This is a great little effect that gives plenty of quack to your solo sound. Parameters are Sensitivity (Edit-1) Attack (Edit-2) and Polarity (Edit-3);

Compression - This takes you from quite subtle levels of Compression right up to "squashed flat" when cranked full on. I found this effect really useful to tighten up chordal rhythm work. Parameters are Sensitivity and Attack (no third parameter available);

Compression + Phaser - An excellent little Phaser that runs from subtle sweep to all-out-psycho-wobble. The speed can be controlled via the Tap button and I found the best setting to be a fairly slow repeat. Here you can rip out sublime funk and disco rhythms - very addictive. Controls are Phaser Speed, Compression Sensitivity and Phaser Resonance;

Compression + Chorus - Chorus is another essential tool for the rhythm guitarist and this is a very good example of the breed. Controls are Chorus Speed, Compression Sensitivity and Chorus Mix;

Chorus + Delay - Again a useful effect to fill out rhythm parts. Simply set the Echo Speed as high as possible and mix in the echoed signal to add a lovely lushness to your playing. Parameters are Delay Time, Delay Level and Chorus Mix;

Chorus + Reverb - This gives the opportunity to spoon on some lushness without the obvious Echo repeats giving the game away. Controls are Chorus Speed, Reverb Level and Chorus Mix;

Flanger + Reverb - This dishes up a similar feeling to my favourite effect - the Jet Phase. Another highly addictive sound to play around with. Controls are Flanger Speed, Reverb Level and Flanger Resonance;

Tremolo + Reverb - Hands up if you know the difference between Tremolo and Vibrato. Controls are Tremolo Speed, Reverb Level and Tremolo Depth. You'll find this at its most useful at low Tremolo Depth settings;

Rotary + Reverb - I use my stomp-box Rotary very much like a different flavoured Chorus. The Vox variety is made more vibrant by the piggy-backed Reverb. Parameters are Rotary Speed, Reverb Level and Rotary Sensitivity;

Delay - Without a footswitch control a Delay is a difficult one to slot into the set. However by setting the fastest possible Delay Speed using the Tap button I ended up with another good, useable guitar sound with great ambience and a little touch of "The Edge". Controls are Time, Level and Feedback.
While I was testing the limits of the delay I discovered that if you the set the Delay Feedback at maximum and play a staccato note, that note will be repeated for ever. Add another note and that will join the first note on the road to infinity. Continue adding notes and the amplifier will eventually explode in flames under the strain. There's a note in the manual that suggests you shouldn't do this. I would tend to agree;

Reverb - Use Reverb in your guitar sound as you would use salt in your cooking - a pinch at a time and you won't go far wrong. Controls are Time, Mix and High Frequency Damping.       

 

Overall impressions of the Vox DA5 Digital Guitar Amplifier 

The Vox DA5 is a tiny amp with a lot of heart. It is robbed of a truly valiant voice by the fact that it's confined to a six-and-a-half inch speaker. But plug in your headphones and you'll hear the Vox for the impressive digital modeller that it is. At around £100 this little piece of kit is fabulous value for money simply because of the huge array of sounds that can be had at the turn of a knob.

The effects are useful, some more than others at first glance, but the adjustment parameters are wide enough to bring them all into line. The amp models are intelligently spaced across the spectrum from nice and clean to outright bonkers and should provide a reasonable solution for all the situations you're likely to encounter using a box of this size.

If you are in the market for a practise amp that has battery-powered portability, then this has got to be elbowing its way to the top of your list. If you're a beginner and want to get a versatile first amp that won't break the bank, I can think of no better option. 

Buy the Vox DA5

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

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