Voxman's review of the new Tonelab ST

[Voxman]

When Vox brought out the ST, the first thing I thought when I saw the pictures and spec was 'what's the point'. After all there was already a Tonelab LE with much more functionality, and better control pedalwise. I just didn't get it.

As I've got older I've got lazier - I no longer want to carry big heavy amps and pedalboards around with me when I don't need to. For rehearsals my ideal is to take one guitar and a guitar lead and plug into the amp supplied in the rehearsal room - but these are straight amps with no effects, so I've got to take a big heavy pedalboard too. For smaller gigs I want an amp I can carry in one hand and not need to take a cunbersome pedal board with me as well. Something like the VT30 partly solves the second conundrum, but then I might need to take a VFS5, a tuner, & a wah pedal too, and I'm still taking an amp to a rehearsal when there's one there.

What I really need is something small and light that fits easily into my little guitar lead & songbook bag, that gives me the great tone & versatility of a Valvetronix, that I can use with my Laney VC30 for smaller gigs, or plug into an amp or PA that's there, but with enough flexibility to do the rehearsal or small gig with the minimum of setting up/packing up time.....

.....and after playing it for 2 hours non-stop today, I've discovered what I need is the new Tonelab ST!!! Because I now totally get it!!

This little ST is simply astonishing in terms of the facilities, functionality, tone, amp models, & effects that Vox (Gaw'd bless 'em') have managed to cram into a little box that's footprint is smaller than a single sheet of A4 paper!! Everything has been scaled down. Even the pedal button, though really tiny, has been intelligently placed on the left so that, believe it or not with the right shoes on you can actually switch it on/off with your foot! But you don't need to do this because you can even assign any of the pedals, including tube overdrive or orange distortion, to kick in the expression for a lead boost - and the expression pedal will even 'phase in' the amount of distortion as you move the pedal back & forth.

The amp modelling (& there are 33 models no less) is typical Vox state of the art quality, the effects are superb with 14 'combined' effect options plus 11 pedal options, and you can program 50 of your own custom sounds on top of the 50 fixed factory presets. The pedal is assignable as volume, wah, or expression (inc. any of the 11 pedal options), and the chromatic tuner (whilst awkward to press both pedals with your feet to engage it) works well & even has a silent option just like my AD120VTX.

At the back is a little switch that does a big job - it gives FOUR different global amp/line options to get the best tone out of the ST depending on which type of amp you're using, including connection to a mixer board, or PA, or if using your amp as a poweramp only through the FX loop return - it all works very nicely. And a level knob lets you balance the ST's output signal.

There's even a usb connector for your computer, and free editing software to custom make patches on line. And the ST looks rugged in its smart black metal case with its gold lettering. Factory pre-sets - well, usual story as always some are better than others but there are definitely some goodies in there - I loved the full rich clean delay chorus at number 20!

The headphone output sounds pretty good too & is very usable - I just tried it with my new Sennheiser HD435 headphones, & the ST sounded clear & full!

Does it have shortfalls - well, of course it does, & it doesn't have some of the features of its big brother eg multiple stomp pedals for easier stomp mode operation. But I'm not sure if there's an awful lot more Vox could have squeezed in without making it bigger - and that's the ST's charm - it's sheer compactness and well...cuteness, that makes you forgive all that because it gives you so much. Plus, it's darned quiet - I tried it with my 1969 Strat - the noisiest guitar I have with its single coil fixed pole piece p/ups & 60 cycle hum - & it loved it!

BUT if there is one thing it does need BADLY though, & Vox should take serious note here, is patch naming facilities - because there's no way any of us are going to remember 100 patches!!

But apart from that, this little pedal is quite glorious & great fun. I'd use it for home, rehearsal & even gigging - which is the biggest compliment I can give it!

If you haven't yet tried this little package of tone wizadry, I urge you to go and try it. I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Rich

[retrobob]

Wow, nice review! This would indeed be handy for rehearsals, auditions and small gigs, not to mention a compact versatile back up in case of an amp failure.

[Glenn]

You've won me over.
I just got a Crate V-Series valve amp for gigs (and am planning on a VT30 for rehearsals) and I had an analog pedalboard set up to use.
Given the noise, hum and hassle with connections etc and, conversely, the ease of use, versatility and reliability the Tonelab ST seems to have (and my local music store's great price of $199 CDN), I think it's no contest.
I've researched the Tonelab plus the Line 6, Zoom and DigiTech products and, honestly, there's no competition, is there?
Especially as the Tonelab is the only one with an authentic AC30BM model - very important to me, as I often play Queen songs in dedicated shows and in various bands. I can now actually sell or trade my DigiTech Red Special Pedal, knowing I have it covered!
My only reservation is that there seems to be no Hiwatt model. As I also play in a Pink Floyd tribute band, this would have been very useful. Though, I think a lot of David Gilmour's sound comes from his Alembic preamp which is very Fender-flavoured, so I feel pretty confident I can program some good sounds and make the Tonelab my essential equipment for EVERYTHING. I love the audio examples on Vox's site and, the more I think about what I could buy, the more NOTHING else seems good enough.
Voxman, your review was a big, big help to me. You clarified that this unit will meet my needs and I'm very excited to get one.
Any tips on how to get the best results through an EL84-based valve amp or how to get the best May and Gilmour tones - or even general tips on using the Tonelab ST to its full effect would be greatly received.
And I'll update once I've bought the unit!

[Voxman]

Hi Glenn - wow, what a warm response - I'm really pleased this helped you. Golden rule is always to try gear yourself of course. If you're doing a lot of gigging bear in mind that the TLLE has the switching advantage with different banks & more foot switches for 'stomp' mode, but then it's bigger & more expensive.

Re Hiwatt, Pete Townsend used these too, and they're actually quite a clean amp that you really have to push to get any kind of 'raunch' from. These are actually not too dissimilar to a Marshall Plexi sound, which in turn evolved from the Fender Bassman design. With 33 amp models in the ST, I can't believe that you won't find something pretty darned close.

Also, bear in mind that we guitarists can often get a bit anal re our sound, but in reality most people - & especially the audience - will have no idea (& couldn't care less) if we're playing a Marshall or Mesa or Orange etc. Most of what they hear is from our fingers. I don't have a BM model in my AD120VTX or a Red Special guitar - but if I played 'We will rock you' with my Les Paul Custom using a Marshall model and tweaked the tone pot & added some trebleboost, I guarantee that the audience wouldn't know the difference as long as I hit the right notes! (and probably not even with a few wrong ones too! lol).

Tone is just about experimenting - & don't forget you've got fully interchangeable cabinet models too, to help you. There's almost too much in the ST, so don't fall into the trap of over-tweaking & forgetting to play & enjoy it.

All the best

Rich

[DnlRvltn]

hey rich how are you? do you think that the ST sounds better than LE? and for my church band, where i can play thru a PA, would it sound better than my unmic'd ad30vt? thanks in advance.

[Voxman]

hey rich how are you? do you think that the ST sounds better than LE? and for my church band, where i can play thru a PA, would it sound better than my unmic'd ad30vt? thanks in advance.

Hiya - tonally, they sound very similar from memory. The ST is just a mini/compact version.

[Glenn]

I am probably going to buy my Tonelab ST this coming Monday.
In the meantime, I think I've probably checked out every multi-effects processor around and I'm more convinced than ever that the Tonelab makes everything else seem second rate in comparison! Wow, what a unit.
I'm very much looking forward to using it.
One question, if I may put it out there - do you think it will respond well to one other pedal in front of it? I like the tone my Digitech Screamin Blues adds when on a low-gain setting and I think I would find this handy to kick on for solos to whatever sound is already there as a part-boost, part-extra-grit extension to my rig. Would the Tonelab respond well (ie "take" the pedal well) or do you suppose it's essentially superfluous given all that the Tonelab can offer? I guess I'll find out, just wondering if Voxman or anyone else had any thoughts on this?

[Nik]

All this Vox stuff responds well to pedals so long as you don't boost the pedal's output level too much. A lot of people like to use an overdrive in front of their amp with the drive right down and the level right up. With Tonelabs and Valvetronix amps, that is likely to clip a circuit that isn't designed to sound good when it's clipped.

I'm toying with a modification to improve this - to make the front end sound nicer when it's overdriven - more like a tubescreamer.

[bclarke675]

Nik, please post when you come up with that mod. I'd be interested.

Thanks, Bob