V-Stack respectably emulates the Marshall sound

By Steve Langer, added April 11, 2005

I've been evaluating the V-Stack guitar amp emulator for about a year. Let me tell you why it's taken me so long to get around to writing about it.

I've tried digital guitar amp emulators. I think my experiences would best be summed up with this experience. I was in Lone Wolf Guitars in Oklahoma City. They had a POD on consignment. I asked the salesman what he thought. He said he liked it but that the gentleman selling it owned most of the amps it emulated. He'd bought it in hopes of selling all his vintage amps. But, it turned out that the POD didn't sound like his amps. So, the amps stayed and the POD went on consignment.

I have a digital guitar amp emulator. I like it for practice. I've tracked with it at times when the idea was to not sound like a real amp. Still, nothing compared to a real amp to my ears.

Then, I heard about the V-Stack Valve Stack Simulator. I got one. Tried it. And, I'm happy to report that after playing around with it for a year I can report that I like it. Let's call my year a trial marriage. I don't like it as much as a half stack but it's hard to replace the feeling of four 12-inch speakers moving the air around you.

The V-Stack is a purely analog device unlike its digital cousins. It includes a preamp stage, an output stage and tone control. It's a simple device. It features a 1/4 inch input and output as well as a bypass switch. There are controls for bass, cut, drive and master. It feature an attractive gold faceplate set on a black foot pedal sort of box. The construction quality seems excellent.

The V-Stack puts out a Marshallized sound. To me, the Marshall sound is about impact and distortion. Yes, it'll do clean as well. But, I like distortion.

I liked using the V-Stack when making scratch tracks when writing songs. I think a lot of singer songwriters tend to write acoustic oriented songs because they write with an acoustic guitar. Songwriters tend to write at odd hours so plugging in a guitar amp might not be practical. I found myself plugging the V-Stack direct to my converters and routing it out through the monitors at all hours without the need to set up a mic on an amp. By the way, do not plug the V-Stack through a preamp first. It doesn't need it and tends to clip the preamp. Just put it directly to your converters or direct to tape.

So, am I going to sell my amps? No, they're staying. However, the V-Stack sees more action than my digital amp emulator, which can't produce anything that remotely sounds like a real Marshall. The V-Stack gives me a lot of the vibe and a lot of the sound for those times when I just can't use a real amp.

The Bottom Line: I found the V-Stack to put out a respectable Marshallesque tone better than any digital based emulator I've used. I like the price, which is $199. Recommended. If you're a purist or want an exact Marshall sound you know that'll only come from the real thing. For the rest of us, the V-Stack does a pretty darn good job.

Link relating to this review: V-Stack