Visual Sounds Workhorse

SAguitar · Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2007 3:27 pm Post subject: Visual Sounds Workhorse

My latest fave is a cute little amp that James turned me onto, and I like it so much that I now have two of them (gotta have backup y'know). And yes, I got both of them via the Voodoo Buying Consortium. And, they are both great little amps!

The Visual Sounds Workhorse 30 watt Pony model. One channel, one 12" Celestion speaker, and it is one of the sweetest clean channel amps I've ever played through. They do break up some when pushed to the limit, but that really is not their design. They come with a free VS Jekyll & Hyde pedal, so in effect that kinda gives you four channels. The Pony is the quietest amp of any I've ever played through, and when I'm rehearsing at home, and I've set my guitar down for bit, sometimes I forget to put it on standby because I can't hardly hear it making any noise. Even when you crank up the treble knob on it, the hiss is barely audible. To me, that's impressive!

I've talked to the guy who designed the amp, and he made several internal improvements when putting it all together. For instance, you can remove the entire head from the cabinet (well, once you've removed the back panel) by simply unplugging the speaker from the chassis (!!!), unplugging the reverb tank, and taking out four screws from the sides of the amp cabinet. Voila, the whole amp is on your workbench. He also put in a circuit with a thermoresistor in it that only slowly releases and increases the current to your tubes as they are warming up, instead of just slamming them with the full dose. This extends the life of your precious, expensive tubes. Then, he designed a circuit with the transformer that sucks the current out of all the capacitors when you shut it down. Within 45 seconds of turning it off, the capacitors are safe to handle! If you dare to, anyway! Those features are pretty unique, at least to my knowledge, anyway.

One of its most visible, and most interesting feature is the "hubcap" they designed to float in front of the Celestion. It looks like a hubcap, but it is much more. It took them several years to develop the little plastic gadget. It refracts sound from the speaker in such a way that it makes little difference where in front of the amp you stand, what you hear is always the same. You know how there's always that sweet spot in front of a combo amp, where it just sounds the best? And if you move a foot or two in any direction, you lose that nice tone? Well, with the Workhorse, it sounds great anywhere in front of the thing! I kinda like that on stage, since I don't have to just remain right in front of my speaker, I have a lot more freedom.

This little amp is really acclimated to using pedals for effects. It of course, works great with the supplied J&K pedal, but it also loves my ancient Ibanez TS9 Tube Screamer. Everything else I've put in front of it works well, too, but you don't have to have effects to enjoy it, either. The Pony sounds great all by itself, and works great with either my Paul, or my Tele. Since those are tonally like two different worlds, I often use them to test the flexibility of an amp, and this little combo passed with flying colors! A couple of twists of the tone knobs, and I'm right where I want to be. Cool

Here's a pic of my latest onstage rig for guitar...

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owwdatune · Posted: Fri Apr 27, 2007 6:34 am Post subject:

nice review SA.....sounds like ya like it Exclamation

....its nice to find an amp that does what you want it to....and unless you're an owwda site metal player, a clean amp is the way to go----you can use your choice of pedals to get down & dirty....but you can't clean up a dirty amp Shocked

....i hear good things on this Visual Sounds amp.....nowadays its a bit too large watt-wise for me tho.....and that hubcap is definately uummm different Wink

...but it is a good looking quality constructed amp from what i can see from your pics....cool #Scramble

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tw001_tw · Posted: Fri Apr 27, 2007 6:35 am Post subject:

In the words of a cool cat that lurks around these boards and such,

Viva la Visual Sounds!! Wink

-tw

SAguitar · Posted: Fri Apr 27, 2007 7:35 am Post subject:

Heee-heee-heee! Laughing

And, aaahh yes... the Hubcap! Some don't mind it, and some are downright offended by it. Last week, when I was talkin' to the amp's designer, he said that he has heard a lot of opinions on that same subject. He told me they were going to start offering a darker colored speaker cloth across the front to disguise it more. Perhaps they'll make the hubcap in a darker color, too. Personally, I was so impressed with the way it dispersed the sound that I didn't care what it looked like! Cool

Play on, Stan
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"I love the smell of hot solder in the morning. It smells like victory."

owwdatune · Posted: Sat Nov 10, 2007 10:52 am Post subject:

i would definately have to spray paint that homely hubcap !!!!---it may work--but it stands out toooooo much #CHanges

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SAguitar · Posted: Sat Nov 10, 2007 11:25 am Post subject:

What, do you play with your eyes open, or something? I did talk to a guy at Visual Sound recently, and there is talk of making some of those amps with the hubcap painted flat black. It would be a lot less obtrusive like that! Cool

_________________
"I love the smell of hot solder in the morning. It smells like victory."

owwdatune · Posted: Sat Nov 10, 2007 11:29 am Post subject:

so whacha waitin' on ???.....WalMart brand spray paint .99 cents = good looking amp from eyesore amp = money well spent #Silly

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SAguitar · Posted: Sat Nov 10, 2007 11:32 am Post subject:

I did make one alteration to my Workhorse. After using for a while on stage, I realized that I didn't like the knobs it had on it. They were real pretty, but very similar to chrome Telecaster knobs. They have a small dot on them to indicate where each control is set, but in the heat of the battle they were nearly useless. I got a set of good ol' black Chicken Head knobs, and now I can just glance at the controls, and I know where they are set, in case I'm thinking about changing something on the fly. The Chicken Heads are working much better for me. Cool

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"I love the smell of hot solder in the morning. It smells like victory."

SAguitar · Posted: Sat Nov 10, 2007 11:35 am Post subject:

tw001_tw · Posted: Sat Nov 10, 2007 11:55 am Post subject:

Hey, not too change topics.. BUT...

Speaking of Visual Sound, did you guys see the new pedals?
Last time I checked they are not on their website yet, but pictures
are on their myspace site.
http://myspace.com/visualsoundusa
I know you, SA, are a fan of VS, like I am. How about you owwdatune?

owwdatune · Posted: Sat Nov 10, 2007 12:20 pm Post subject:

sad to say..but i've never had first hand experience with them Sad

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SAguitar · Posted: Sat Nov 10, 2007 10:32 pm Post subject:

I like 'em. I have all three of their first set of pedals, and one of their volume pedals. Good stuff. The new ones are s'posed to be improved, but they're not out for public release quite yet. Cool

_________________
"I love the smell of hot solder in the morning. It smells like victory."

tw001_tw · Posted: Sun Nov 11, 2007 8:42 am Post subject:

I had the original gray jekyll & hyde.. made a mistake and sold it.
Then I fixed a red (newer model) jekyll & hyde for someone, and realized
how much I missed having one. In time, I'll have one again. maybe an h2o
too.

SAguitar · Posted: Sun Nov 11, 2007 5:24 pm Post subject:

I have the red one, and I do like the Jekyll & Hyde a lot, it is quite versatile. I also have an H2O, and it has the best delay I've found in a stomp box. I've heard better choruses, but then maybe I just need to mess with my settings on that side some more. VS products do seem to be very well made. I had a problem with my J&K once, and they told me to send it back. They fixed it and returned it in less than a week. Cool

_________________
"I love the smell of hot solder in the morning. It smells like victory."