VOX MINI SUPERBEETLE
The sound of the 60s – in miniature
The sound of the 60s in miniature
It’s Vox’s 60th anniversary year, and by way of celebrating it, we’ve been blessed with a stream of new and highly-tempting products, one of the more recent being this Superbeetle mini stack, which takes its inspiration from the AC100 and Super Beatle stacks Vox made in the UK and USA during the 1960s and notably used by the Fab Four at some of their biggest gigs.
Clad in black basketweave vinyl and diamond grille cloth, the Superbeetle looks like a classic Vox from every angle, including a scaled-down vertical logo and tubular stand for the 1x10 extension cab, and a grey/black control panel with chickenhead knobs. The electronics are based on the MV50 range of mini heads, combining a Nutube 6P1 valve in the preamp with a class D power stage that can produce up to 50 watts into a 4ohm load. The mini Superbeetle also benefits from a digital spring reverb and tremolo, powered by Nutube for a vintagestyle effect. Nutube is a new valve type developed by Vox’s parent company Korg, in association with Noritake Itron, which uses vacuum fluorescent display technology. Normally seen in microwaves and washing machines, VFD’S operate very much like a traditional valve – they have a cathode, anode and a control grid to switch display segments on and off. Nutube is the first VFD designed for audio and effectively replaces a 12AX7, taking up much less space and using a tiny fraction of the power, with an estimated lifespan of 10,000 hours.
The Superbeetle provides a stunning recreation of classic Vox tones based on the legendary AC30 Top Boost channel, with a warm, slightly boxy midrange at lower gain giving way to a harmonicladen chime that’s itching for a decent Rickenbacker or Gretsch – it sounds bigger than its 25-watt rating. The digital reverb is superb, going from natural ambience at lower volumes to a deep cavern effect that doesn’t totally overpower the guitar. Add a decent delay and a Strat, select the bridge pickup and you’ll get an uncanny recreation of the classic Hank Marvin sound that powered The Shadows hits of the early 60s. It also covers classic blues and rock with ease and nearly gets into Brian May territory with the gain maxed out.
As well as being a perfect addition to any living room based on its looks alone, the Superbeetle is a great tool for home practice and recording, with low enough noise levels to deliver pro-level results into a computer or DAW from the speaker-emulated headphones socket.
Nick Guppy
a stunning recreation of classic vox tones