GtrGear
Well-known member
REVIEW: Salvation MatchVox vs Egnater VX
by Edwin, march 2012
Looks:
My MatchVox was born as a dual Egnater module. The classic/boost switch on the single MatchVox design has been translated
on my dual module to channel A (classic) and channel B(boost). The original 3-way toggles for Bright and Bass Boost are still in function.
Colours, lettertype and layout are in Vox style. Each button and switch has been clearly labelled. Although there is not enough space to
describe each 2- or 3-way switching position.
Could the looks be better? The Vox handwired series do have off white chickenknobs. This unit is also handwired but has black chickenheads.
A luminous logo, like Matchless, would be beautiful!
EQ:
Egnater VX EQ section works like all Egnater modules and is user friendly, but is wired differently than the real Vox tonestack.
According to Salvation Mods the EQ and Presence of MatchVox are exactly copied from the real VOX AC30.
I was not familiar with this style of EQ, so it took a little time to unsterstand how the Bass, Treble and Cut knob are
independent working and interacting together.
Bass: This is the only ?normal? acting knob. Starting at zero there is already a bassy sound.
The amount of bass increases while turning the knob to the right.
Treble: Dialing in Treble acts like a passive low pass filter to my ears. Instead of boosting highend it takes away the lower regions of the Treble.
The sound gets thinner and the frequencies which remain are shifting to the higher frequencies. The volume gets softer when turning up the
Treble and gets louder turning to zero.
Cut: Cuts of the presence frequencies. It works backwards. Good starting position is at zero = no cut.
Bright switch: To get a nice jangle sound you need at least set this switch at position 1. In the middle position there isn?t almost any jangle.
Jangle is a must for a Match/Vox imo.
Confused?
A good starting point at home for me was Bass at 12:00, Treble at zero, Cut at zero.
Bright switch to the left at position 1, Bass Boost in the middle postition.
Custom EQ toggle:
To the right is a 3-way toggle marked ?custom EQ?. It toggles between three different EQ voicings.
Up: AC30/DC30 tonestack. Results in a typical VOX jangle. Really really nice! This is the sound why you are buying this module.
The sound is a little recessed and lacks Mid a bit. Nice for clean and breakup chording.
Down: According to Salvation you will get more mids. To me it sounds like the up-position with loudness effect engaged.
The sound is more in your face and cuts better in the mix. Switching the toggle from up to down is like switching
from a strat to a tele or from neck to bridge pickup position.
Middle: Mid boost. On channel A (classic mode) with clean/breakup this EQ position feels a bit compressed, digested in the mid (more on this later).
Though it shines in higher gain situations. I understand from Salvation the switch corrects different mid frequencies of Alnico Blue vs Vintage 30.
Match/VOX toggle:
To the left is a 2-way toggle which switches between VOX or Matchless gain structure.
Switching down to Matchless the mids are shifting downwards and a boost in gain is audible.
From my reference point I would say in Match postition the EQ is more Marshall, more mid/low.
My first impression of Matchless mode was, woow? this must be heard by Plexi lovers!
Egnater VX vs Salvation MatchVox:
I had my spare module modded into a MatchVox so I have the opportunity to a/b Egnater vs Salvation directly at home and in a bandsituation.
First thing I noticed the MatchVox (ch.1, Custom EQ UP, VX mode) has less output volume than the Egnater.
The Custom EQ toggle and MatchVox toggles are affecting the overall volume.
In the end the maximum module volume depends on your settings.
The MatchVox has a richer harmonic content and sounds more 3d than the drier and colder sounding VX.
No way I can get a weak jangly sound of the VX by turning down the mids and add brightness.
It must be part of the EQ design that?s hidden in the Custom EQ/tonestack switch of Salvation.
At higher gain settings I preffered the CustomEQ in the down postion to get a tighter sound and more ?out of the cab? sound.
To get rid of too much highend I use the Cut knob from zero to 12:00.
At channel B I preffered the Match setting for a bit more mid-low end in combination with the CustomEQ at mid position (mid boost).
It?s real tone heaven. It sounds ?expensive? and 'boutique'!
In the band (past):
Besides 80s/90s rock my band plays also some U2 stuff. A Vox module was the first thing that came to my mind to use.
But I couldn?t get a satisfied jangly sound out of the Egnater VX module. I used to use the Egnater Bassman module.
(later replaced by a Randall Tweed!) Will the MatchVox past the test?
In the band (present):
We started to play U2 ?Where The Streets? and I started to play on the MatchVox for the first time in the band.
My starting settings were: gain 9:00, Bright 1, Bass Boost 0, Bass 12:00, Treble 0, Cut 0, VOX voicing, EQ up
At home these settings sounds perfect, but? in a bandsituation I couldn?t hear myself good enough?
(I always prefer dialing in the audible frequencies(mids) instead of pump up the volume.)
During the song I switched the Custom EQ to the Down-position and Cut knob at 12:00.
This sounded more in your face/forward which was better, but not good enough.
I needed more mids but there is no mid knob? HELP!
I switched the Custom EQ to the mid-boost postition. Way way better.
I wasn?t still satisfied. The last ?trick?; I dialed Bass, Treble and Cut to zero. This resulted in relative more mids.
Yes, this sounded way way better in the mix!
After playing the next song Pride(In The Name of Love) with the new settings my bassplayer smiled and complimented me
how close I was in the U2 sound (really!). And please believe me, he didn?t know of my ?module adventure?.
Next song was 'I Will Follow' and I used channel 2 of the MatchVox and I smiled.
Okay, since this is AC30 territory let?s play some Bryan Adams. Wooow, channel 2 and gain at 11:00 at VX voicing.
Queen? Well, this module hasn?t the BM switch internally but the samples sounds really authentic!
No offence:
I know the VX module is considered more or less as the best Egnater module. As written earlier I personally could not get
a nice voxy jangly sound out of it. To be honest I always had a love-hate relation with the Egnater VX. Very often I came to the
conclusion singlecoils and VX is not a good match. On the other hand, when playing simple chords on an Egnater VX module at break up,
everyone wanted this module. In the end I didn?t use it and it was replaced by the Bassman(more jangle),
later the Randall Tweed(again more jangle).
VX or MatchVOX?
I think the MatchVOX is way more authentic sounding. Also the less authentic voicing switches are very good chosen from a players perspective.
The dual channel option sounds less muddy on the Salvation then on the Egnater. Personally I don?t care that much
if looks and sounds are 100% authentic. It has to feel right and sound right as I have in mind. The MatchVox works way better for me.
Suggestions?
Well, I can?t boost more mids than I do now and it?s not really over the top concerning mids. So a little bit more boost in the midposition
EQ-switch would be nice, only to have some reserve on tap. Probably little more mids will result in relative thicker and slightly fuller sound.
My EVM 12L speakers are very clean and have a flat EQ response and are a big part of this issue I guess.
Maybe the recently released U2 push/pull option would be a nice feature to come even closer to my reference sound for channel A?
(test equipment: Gibson Zakk Wylde LP/Fender CS Strat,Egnater M4 chassis, Mesa/Boogie Recto 2:100/VHT 2902, Mesa/Boogie Thiele EVM12L)
by Edwin, march 2012
Looks:
My MatchVox was born as a dual Egnater module. The classic/boost switch on the single MatchVox design has been translated
on my dual module to channel A (classic) and channel B(boost). The original 3-way toggles for Bright and Bass Boost are still in function.
Colours, lettertype and layout are in Vox style. Each button and switch has been clearly labelled. Although there is not enough space to
describe each 2- or 3-way switching position.
Could the looks be better? The Vox handwired series do have off white chickenknobs. This unit is also handwired but has black chickenheads.
A luminous logo, like Matchless, would be beautiful!
EQ:
Egnater VX EQ section works like all Egnater modules and is user friendly, but is wired differently than the real Vox tonestack.
According to Salvation Mods the EQ and Presence of MatchVox are exactly copied from the real VOX AC30.
I was not familiar with this style of EQ, so it took a little time to unsterstand how the Bass, Treble and Cut knob are
independent working and interacting together.
Bass: This is the only ?normal? acting knob. Starting at zero there is already a bassy sound.
The amount of bass increases while turning the knob to the right.
Treble: Dialing in Treble acts like a passive low pass filter to my ears. Instead of boosting highend it takes away the lower regions of the Treble.
The sound gets thinner and the frequencies which remain are shifting to the higher frequencies. The volume gets softer when turning up the
Treble and gets louder turning to zero.
Cut: Cuts of the presence frequencies. It works backwards. Good starting position is at zero = no cut.
Bright switch: To get a nice jangle sound you need at least set this switch at position 1. In the middle position there isn?t almost any jangle.
Jangle is a must for a Match/Vox imo.
Confused?
A good starting point at home for me was Bass at 12:00, Treble at zero, Cut at zero.
Bright switch to the left at position 1, Bass Boost in the middle postition.
Custom EQ toggle:
To the right is a 3-way toggle marked ?custom EQ?. It toggles between three different EQ voicings.
Up: AC30/DC30 tonestack. Results in a typical VOX jangle. Really really nice! This is the sound why you are buying this module.
The sound is a little recessed and lacks Mid a bit. Nice for clean and breakup chording.
Down: According to Salvation you will get more mids. To me it sounds like the up-position with loudness effect engaged.
The sound is more in your face and cuts better in the mix. Switching the toggle from up to down is like switching
from a strat to a tele or from neck to bridge pickup position.
Middle: Mid boost. On channel A (classic mode) with clean/breakup this EQ position feels a bit compressed, digested in the mid (more on this later).
Though it shines in higher gain situations. I understand from Salvation the switch corrects different mid frequencies of Alnico Blue vs Vintage 30.
Match/VOX toggle:
To the left is a 2-way toggle which switches between VOX or Matchless gain structure.
Switching down to Matchless the mids are shifting downwards and a boost in gain is audible.
From my reference point I would say in Match postition the EQ is more Marshall, more mid/low.
My first impression of Matchless mode was, woow? this must be heard by Plexi lovers!
Egnater VX vs Salvation MatchVox:
I had my spare module modded into a MatchVox so I have the opportunity to a/b Egnater vs Salvation directly at home and in a bandsituation.
First thing I noticed the MatchVox (ch.1, Custom EQ UP, VX mode) has less output volume than the Egnater.
The Custom EQ toggle and MatchVox toggles are affecting the overall volume.
In the end the maximum module volume depends on your settings.
The MatchVox has a richer harmonic content and sounds more 3d than the drier and colder sounding VX.
No way I can get a weak jangly sound of the VX by turning down the mids and add brightness.
It must be part of the EQ design that?s hidden in the Custom EQ/tonestack switch of Salvation.
At higher gain settings I preffered the CustomEQ in the down postion to get a tighter sound and more ?out of the cab? sound.
To get rid of too much highend I use the Cut knob from zero to 12:00.
At channel B I preffered the Match setting for a bit more mid-low end in combination with the CustomEQ at mid position (mid boost).
It?s real tone heaven. It sounds ?expensive? and 'boutique'!
In the band (past):
Besides 80s/90s rock my band plays also some U2 stuff. A Vox module was the first thing that came to my mind to use.
But I couldn?t get a satisfied jangly sound out of the Egnater VX module. I used to use the Egnater Bassman module.
(later replaced by a Randall Tweed!) Will the MatchVox past the test?
In the band (present):
We started to play U2 ?Where The Streets? and I started to play on the MatchVox for the first time in the band.
My starting settings were: gain 9:00, Bright 1, Bass Boost 0, Bass 12:00, Treble 0, Cut 0, VOX voicing, EQ up
At home these settings sounds perfect, but? in a bandsituation I couldn?t hear myself good enough?
(I always prefer dialing in the audible frequencies(mids) instead of pump up the volume.)
During the song I switched the Custom EQ to the Down-position and Cut knob at 12:00.
This sounded more in your face/forward which was better, but not good enough.
I needed more mids but there is no mid knob? HELP!
I switched the Custom EQ to the mid-boost postition. Way way better.
I wasn?t still satisfied. The last ?trick?; I dialed Bass, Treble and Cut to zero. This resulted in relative more mids.
Yes, this sounded way way better in the mix!
After playing the next song Pride(In The Name of Love) with the new settings my bassplayer smiled and complimented me
how close I was in the U2 sound (really!). And please believe me, he didn?t know of my ?module adventure?.
Next song was 'I Will Follow' and I used channel 2 of the MatchVox and I smiled.
Okay, since this is AC30 territory let?s play some Bryan Adams. Wooow, channel 2 and gain at 11:00 at VX voicing.
Queen? Well, this module hasn?t the BM switch internally but the samples sounds really authentic!
No offence:
I know the VX module is considered more or less as the best Egnater module. As written earlier I personally could not get
a nice voxy jangly sound out of it. To be honest I always had a love-hate relation with the Egnater VX. Very often I came to the
conclusion singlecoils and VX is not a good match. On the other hand, when playing simple chords on an Egnater VX module at break up,
everyone wanted this module. In the end I didn?t use it and it was replaced by the Bassman(more jangle),
later the Randall Tweed(again more jangle).
VX or MatchVOX?
I think the MatchVOX is way more authentic sounding. Also the less authentic voicing switches are very good chosen from a players perspective.
The dual channel option sounds less muddy on the Salvation then on the Egnater. Personally I don?t care that much
if looks and sounds are 100% authentic. It has to feel right and sound right as I have in mind. The MatchVox works way better for me.
Suggestions?
Well, I can?t boost more mids than I do now and it?s not really over the top concerning mids. So a little bit more boost in the midposition
EQ-switch would be nice, only to have some reserve on tap. Probably little more mids will result in relative thicker and slightly fuller sound.
My EVM 12L speakers are very clean and have a flat EQ response and are a big part of this issue I guess.
Maybe the recently released U2 push/pull option would be a nice feature to come even closer to my reference sound for channel A?
(test equipment: Gibson Zakk Wylde LP/Fender CS Strat,Egnater M4 chassis, Mesa/Boogie Recto 2:100/VHT 2902, Mesa/Boogie Thiele EVM12L)
