Aracom Amps VRX22 - First in the series
I’ve never had a #1 of anything in my life – or at least nothing of consequence – but this weekend, I’m taking delivery of the very first production amp in the Aracom VRX 22 line! That’s it to the left! OMG!!! I’m excited! This is a real special time for me. I’ve played all sorts of fantastic gear, but I’ve never played something so impactful on my music where I got the first unit! It’ll probably never happen again, but who cares? It’s happened once, and that’s all that matters.
I decided to go with the separate head and cab for more versatility (plus I could use the cab with other amps – like my Fender Champ, and as an extra speaker for my Hot Rod). This amp is just perfect, driven by a couple of 6V6 power tubes. Read the review I gave it previously! In a nutshell, when I had the pre-production unit, I just couldn’t stop playing it! I’d totally lose track of time! That’s the mark of a special piece of gear!
The cool thing about the cab is that it has removable slats so I can go from fully closed to get extra bass response to wide open. Jeff made this suggestion when we were talking about what I was looking for in an extension cabinet. A musician himself, he’s constantly thinking of how he’d use his amps in a live situation, and he made this suggestion to add tonal versatility to the cabinet because we were talking about closed back versus open back designs. So why not the best of both worlds?
Also, the speaker is a Jensen P12N Alnico. I tried this speaker out in a different amp that I was testing for Jeff, and just fell in love with it! It is a very dynamic speaker capable of handling a wide range of tones.
So how did I end up with the very first amp in the line? Easy. I tested the original prototype, and the final pre-production unit. When Jeff picked it up, he was going to bring over other amps for me to try out, but I told him that the VRX 22 was the one I wanted, and verbally placed my order.
This is a real special amp, and it is so versatile. It is capable of going from super chimey cleans to all-out snarling overdrive. Here are some sound samples from the Aracom site (sorry, no cleans in this set – I’ll record some and post them later):
Slight Grind (this one says it’s the combo, but it’s the head into a prototype cabinet – I know because I recorded the clip 🙂 )
The following clips were recorded with the head plugged into a 4 X 12 cabinet.
Slight grind with a slide:
Grinding Blues:
More grinding Blues:
Fully cranked in Channel 2! Volume and Master on 10!
While the clips all sound great, this amp live is absolutely gorgeous-sounding!
Oh, and by the way, the amp head only costs $895. But don’t be fooled by the price: The VRX (as well as all Aracom Amps) is completely handwired and uses a solid-state rectifier and voltage sag simulator, which accounts for the lower price. But who cares? It sounds freakin’ awesome. I gigged with both the prototype and the pre-production units, and I can attest to how great it sounds. And great sound at a price like this is simply amazing!
For more information on this amp, go to the Aracom Amps web site.
Guitar Gear 
Looks nice, how does it compare to the Reason amps you tried out recently? I really love the look of the Reason line up especially as they sound like they have a bit more gain.
Jon, it’s got a tone all its own. Tonally, since they’re both 6V6 amps, they’re similar and lean towards the bright side. The VRX22 is not quite as bright as the SM25, and it doesn’t have StackMode, which is the thing that I just dig about the Reason amps – and the “reason” I’m ultimately going to get that amp. But the sound that the VRX22 does produce is simply killer in its own right – it actually has more clean headroom in Channel 1 than the SM25. It’s amazing how Jeff adjusted that circuit. You can still get grind, but you have to completely crank up the volume on that channel. I dig it!
Of course, the VRX22 doesn’t have that gorgeous cabinet that the Reason amps have. And for all intents and purposes, other than the blue tolex I ordered, it’s a pretty plain looking amp. But it’s the tone that sold me – plus the fact that the head is only $895! And it’s hand-wired! Granted, it uses a solid-state rectifier and sag simulator, but the way Jeff has it dialed-in, you just can’t tell the difference. It has the same “spongy” feel that a tube rectifier brings to the table, so to me it’s a non-issue, and if it brings the price down, all the better!
Also… as far as gain is concerned, the VRX22 can produce massive amounts of gain in Channel 2. But for that “over the top” gain, I just slam the front-end with a booster.
[…] then, I’ve purchased the amp – I got the very first in the series! And while I realize that my excitement about this amp is purely subjective, other people […]