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beginner forum: for novice and developing blues harp players >
Vox DA5
Vox DA5
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Killa_Hertz
627 posts
Feb 25, 2016
7:26 PM
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They stopped making the DA5 for some reason, but it came highly recommended. So I found one New Old Stock pretty cheap. It came in today. I love this Lil amp! Seriously. The adjustable wattage works great! The amp models are pretty killer. Blues1 is Fender Bassman. It sounds Really good. The blues 2 is pretty good aswell, but i forget what model its supposed to be. Blues3 is a lil harsh, but interesting. The cleans(1&2) are good. The crunch(123) are a lil rough. Don't see using them too much, but we ll see if i find a use for em.
It has an instrument input, mic input with its own volume (however the mic input is clean no matter what), aux input, headphone/output, and prolly stuff I'm forgetting.
The headphone output is fantastic. It has a speaker emulator which adds the speaker breakup to the sound. Totally great headphone sound. It also seems to regulate the sound so that you can set volume/gain where u want it for breakup and not have to back it down due to being to loud in your ears.
The wattage settings are .5w , 1.5w and 5w They really work great. The .5w is VERY usable home volume. Im really happy with it. Just enough bottom end to satisfy, but not too loud. Ofcourse 5w Knocks for when you need it to. With the amp models/ gain/tone/ master volume and built in effects you can get a really good sound out of it, surprisingly. Sounds better than any other SS ive tried.
Its AC or Battery Powered. I didn't get an Adapter with it, so all my tests were with battery. 6 C Cells. And it still rocked. Its smaller than i thought. It's super light. Very portable. It's all around good.
The only thing that left me wanting was the effects. Aparently you can edit them and make your own settings. It also has effect level knob and tap tempo. But the reverb, delay, and compressor are usable as is. And i have pedals to do the job if needed. I have yet to hook up the Harp Attack to it. But it sounds great as is. I highly recommend you look into this amp. Ive been looking for something to fit this bill for a while. This one does it and then some. I know alot of people are looking for an amp that will sound great at low volume. So if your in the market definitely put this one on the list. I Really Dig It.
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"Trust Those Who Seek The Truth. Doubt Those Who Say They Have Found It."
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MindTheGap
1218 posts
Feb 26, 2016
12:51 AM
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Excellent review, thank you. IMO this is going to be a common learner's question: an amp for learning/practising on at home. And there surely has to be an answer other than a low-wattage tube amp.
Good to hear specifically about the low-output-wattage option.
I'd be surprised if using a Harp Attack with it adds anything, but it would be interesting to read what you find.
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Killa_Hertz
632 posts
Feb 26, 2016
3:58 PM
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Yea I'll keep you posted. I'm not often thrilled when i try something new for the first time. This thing is pretty nice for what it is. Really filled that spot that no one seems to have the answer for. Yea the low watt tube amp thing is a bust. If anyone has the chance to try one of these lil guys, i wouldn't hesitate. Ide buy another if i found one cheap enough.
Shame its discontinued. The vox mini5 rythm is supposed to be the replacement, but no word on comparison yet. Ive been wanting to upload some sound clips for some time. Maybe this is a good excuse.
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"Trust Those Who Seek The Truth. Doubt Those Who Say They Have Found It."
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Crawforde
77 posts
Feb 26, 2016
6:42 PM
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I just picked up a VOX mini3 G2, pretty much the same thing as the DA5 and is one of the models that replaced it I guess. I got it used, for less than the price of a harmonica. It is sweet. I bought it for my daughter for her guitar and for playing backing tracks for her to play violin over, but it might just end up being Daddy's toy. It is the "blonde" model and has purple marks on one side. She won't want that, but it doesn't bother me.
I'm not good enough to make anyone else hear me yet, but it might be good motivation and I played with it a bit while no one was home and it was a blast. Fun little thing in a lightweight package.
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Killa_Hertz
636 posts
Feb 26, 2016
10:06 PM
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Yea. I heard good things about the mini3, it was one of the amps i was looking at. But according to alot of post ive read on the subject, it doesnt quite add up to the da5.
But im sure it's still a very good amp. Hows the low volume breakup?
And does it stay clean in the upper volume range?
I'm interested to hear a harp review on it. All my info is about guitar. Not exactly apples to apples. There is quite a bit of amp in a tight lil package tho. The battery power is great.
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"Trust Those Who Seek The Truth. Doubt Those Who Say They Have Found It."
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MyLittleEye
1 post
May 22, 2016
4:36 PM
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I've just picked up a DA5 on Ebay UK for £35 - (no mains adaptor)
I already have a Microcube but at that price I couldn't resist, especially since I'd heard such good things about the VOX.
I thought I'd share my thoughts comparing the two.
First off, a caveat: Though I've played Harp for many years I'm pretty new to amplified harmonica; the whole mic/amp discussion seemed to involve way too much chance/expense/voodoo to me before. However, these cheap little modelling amps at last offer a great way to jam along to some favourite Muddy Waters tunes in my front room.
I'd already picked up the Bottle o Blues mic as a well regarded "safe choice". It wasn't nearly as cheap as I'd expected, with P&P to UK = $69+$18 = £60! - In 2008 they were £22 apparently and If I were to choose again I'd now pick up the Superlux D112C from Thomann.de -€57/£44)
So, The Amps: I can honestly say I'd be delighted to keep either one. They are both great at living-room blues and each has a slight advantage/disadvantage over the other.
The Microcube (MC) is lighter and more compact; about an inch shorter and narrower, and a half inch shallower - Understandable since its speaker is 5" compared to the DA5's 6".
I found MBH member 'Bluzlvr' offering the following MC settings elsewhere on the forum - they work well for me too: 'Black Panel' +Tone@Min +Gain@Max +a touch of delay. The fact that the tone is all the way back belies that the MC is significantly brassier than the DA - not necessarily a good thing; there's little room to manoeuvre here, tone-wise. However I was happy enough with the tone to try and mimic it with the DA for comparison. The MC's delivery at this setting was gutsy enough, remarkably feedback resistant and had minimal nasty overtones. With the DA was able to approximate the MC, although I did have trouble with discordant overtones; I perhaps needed more time to familiarise myself with the DA's response.
Once I find a setting I like I tend to leave it at that. Here's one area where the DA fell down for me: While it has slightly more sophisticated effect settings, it does forget the details once you switch it off. So, for instance I have to reset the delay interval each time I return to it. The MC is quicker and simpler to operate and stays where you left it. The DA is probably a little bit more versatile. It's sound is a bit larger and fuller, proportional to it's size; there's more headroom tonally. In this respect it is perhaps the 'better' amp. However the DA was not quite the Cube-Killer I had been expecting.
As I say, with both Amps I tend to leave them at a favourite setting. This makes the DA's fiddly forgetfulness slightly irksome. I would recommend either amp, depending on what you're looking for. The MC delivers enough I think and being just little bit smaller is enough to be significantly more portable if you're carrying it any distance with gear. The DA promises more but is more demanding to make it work - I like it too; it certainly has the greater oompf.
Since with both amps their plethora of amp models and effects are largely disregarded, this prompts me to consider perhaps taking another look at the Legendary Pignose amp. I had previously dismissed the Pignose as being a one trick pony but now I'm left wondering if, maybe it's just the one pony trick I'm seeking.
I think I might just trade in my... umm... Roland; keep the bulkier Vox beside the sofa, and acquire a Pignose to trial as my walkabout.
What do you reckon?
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Killa_Hertz
1477 posts
May 22, 2016
9:39 PM
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Personally i think the DA5 is way better. I think you haven't given enough time wuth it yet.
My favorite setting is roughly:
Amp Model: Blues 2
Gain: 2-3 oclock
Tone: 10ish oclock
Master: 10ish
Wattage: .5w
And the only thing you have to do to reset your settings is tabb the tempo button. The only thing that gets lost is your tempo. And usually i just use the reverb as fast as it will go.
But while it's nice to have onboard effects, i find both amps to have rather shitty effects. I use my pedalboatd thru it.
Recently I've been running it on one of the Clean channels with my Joyo American and lone wolf delay and reverb, and BBE Sonic Stomp. Sounds awesome.
The batteries in this thing last forever. I haven't changed em since I got it.
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Spderyak
80 posts
May 25, 2016
1:34 PM
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I have both the Da 5 (used) and the newer mini 5.
I like them both.
The da5 ran on batteries ok but recently had it repair so it could run on either an adapter or batteries.
Used the mini 5 for a gig last week, room had about 100 or so people, no problem being heard.
We had 2 amps a little fishman and the mini 5.
Plenty of volume from both.
We were just a duo so no need to try and match the big amps a band might be using.
Da5 last longer with bigger batteries than the mini 5 which uses a smaller batteries.
I do like using the adapter it gets tiring buying batteries. I spent a fair amount on a recharging battery set up, but it was low quality and it was money out the window.
So now I plug in when I can..jamming etc and batteries if I'm out an about at cook out or something like that...
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Killa_Hertz
1501 posts
May 25, 2016
9:03 PM
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Nice. Im glad to finally hear someone who has both.
How do the amp models and effects compare?
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Spderyak
81 posts
May 26, 2016
5:02 AM
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I don't use the effects all that much on either of them, but they seem to match up pretty equally.
I'm usually set on Blues 2 on the da5 and Clean or Tweed on the mini 5. Partly because I play my harp through a vocal mic (shure57). While not much of a singer, if I'm talking to the audience I'm not looking to have reverb or delay kicking in for example.
For practice I can play my laptop through either amp (da5 needs small adapter) then, in my case, I can use a mic with it's own volume control and practice at the appropriate volume as the backing track for example.
The big difference with the mini 5 is the different rhythm and tempos that are built into it, so I can use it as a metronome if I want to for timing or to build up speed, or not use it at all
or
If I have some licks or tunes that I like I can change rhythms and see if it works or gives me some new ideas.
Course I like blues, but I also like swing, rock, polka, jigs and most any toe tappin music.
I'm not much for a drum machine if playin a gig for example, but for practice I think it will be a big help.
Sometimes when learning something new I have a tendency to play the parts I know nice and smooth at the right tempo, then getting to a section that is awkward or I'm not that familiar with I have the tendency to slow down and basically fall out of sync. I'm looking to use the mini to help smooth that out in practice so if I'm playing I'm not to choppy between the sections and pace myself better.
That's about all I got..others may use them differently but that is how it shapes up for me...
Last Edited by Spderyak on May 26, 2016 5:21 AM
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