The Vox of Reason.
Just tried out the AC30 model and I like it. It sounds tons better than my old Zoom trying to do the same thing (more honest, more natural, more analog), and I appreciate not having to deal with those few ms of latency when using Amplitube on the computer. I even like it better than my Pod Pro which was so "digital" that I gave it to a struggling guitarist who could put it to better use than I could.
Tone, of course, is bass/treble cut/boost. Not bad. It was nice to twang away for a while and then turn down the treble for a moment of "I Want You".
Gain adds a nice touch of overdrive when cranked. There's even some tube/voltage noise going on for ambience and character. The tone knob can filter some of this out, as expected, but I like it. Nice touch that they didn't have to include.
In combo with tone, volume, and p.u. knobs/switches on the guitar, I think this little thing is pretty darn cool. I love its simple no-nonsense approach-- and for some reason not having to deal with menus and numeric LCD readouts was a relief.
It's got "that sound"-- that thick "full of snot" analog quality I love so much-- and a certain classic Vox AC30 "character". Nothing beats a great $1000 tube amp, but they really did a fine job with this unit.
Just think-- no one's going to be banging on your door at 3 in the morning to tell you to turn it down.
I'd recommend using headphones with fairly low impedance, ca. 24 ohms as with the Sony V series or similar. I'd stay away from something like AKG 271s or some other studio monitors that require a lot more juice than the Vox may have to offer.
Last-first impression: another vote for the Sony V series is the 1/8" jack. The amPlug is well-built, but with it hanging out of the end of the guitar it can easily get bumped if you're not careful-- and using an eighth-to-quarter-inch adapter will most likely lead to a $40 "oops" in short order.
Haven't tried running the aux out into DP yet, but again this notion of using a jack adapter bothers me. I'm thinking of buying a 1/4 male-to-1/4 female cable, and then securing the amPlug on/in some sort of protective container to avoid that one single nasty bump that no one wants---- Just for clarity-- the 1/4" male comes from the guitar while the amPlug goes into the female side. With it secure on a tabletop, it would be safer to then run a 1/8"-to-1/4" from the aux into DP.
There are no regrets whatsover from Middle-earth. This is a great little box.
I'll save the Classic Rock model for tomorrow!
Okay. So ends the tale of sleepy hobbit.
I can do a few things, but I know there is much more that I could learn, and many more things I could learn to do better.