I have done the 10" conversion to a Pathfinder 15 ( earlier non-reverb model). I used a Weber Silver Ten alnico. It can be done without changing the grille face. All you have to do is cut the baffle hole offset downward from its original position so the magnet can clear the chassis. Of course, the bell over the magnet can't be used. The top of the 10" hole needs to be flattened to fall below the horizontal gold trim.
The Cambridge has a slight edge in that it compressess a tad to where it sounds softer and more tubey since there is a tube in it. Cool. But the Pathfinder sounds good as well, a bit cleaner.
i used to plug my 15R in a 1 x 12 eminence cab, all custom made. what a sound! i should have never sold that homemade stack... i always keep an eye around but they are hard to find nowadays..
I have another video here about if you can gig a Vox Pathfinder, and I am plugging it into an open back 2x12 cabinet of Carvin rebranded Eminence drivers. It is an awesome experience!
@@voxpathfinder15r i have a non reverb model and have hooked it up to 2 different 2x12's and a traynor 1x12..i am really liking just the pathfinder bulldog 8" now...with an "AC tone" pedal alone its clean channel is heavenly, and add a clone tubescreamer for extra boost or on its own for some grit...it gives great response. Im not a high gain guy, but it really responds to attack...it has to have its boost on also or it sounds anemic to me. but its glorious its volume turned up, gain off...and dime the two pedals levels and tweek the tones and drives a little..with those two pedals alone or in tandem. there is some good headroom on it.
@@TheDrewjay it’s a great amp! Really hard to justify buying a really nice tube amp, especially if you can’t play it outside your practice room. That’s what I am discovering, amps are tools - and an amp meant to fill a stage with sound will never sound good in a small practice space. I have another video running it through a small early 70s stereo shelf speaker and it sounds epic! Definitely makes a fuller sound at lower bedroom volume
@@voxpathfinder15r I picked up some nice stereo speaker boxes from a '70s pioneer stereo system, they're noticably roomier than your typical low watt combo, loaded one with a celestion and the other with a jensen, I really like running my old 5 watt tube amps through them, as well as a germanium transistor GE stereo from 1968 that I converted into a guitar amp, it retains the 60s vibe but makes it sound bigger
I have a pathfinder and it's a surprisingly good sounding amp but it does not take drive pedals very well. I mean, it's okay but not great. Does the Cambridge take OD pedals better? Perhaps on the second channel that has the tube but with the gain low?
Honestly I haven’t tried many pedals into the Cambridge. I don’t really understand why you think the Pathfinder doesn’t take pedals well? Here is a small clip with a NuTube tubescreamer into a Vox Pathfinder 15R. I think it sounds great. ruclips.net/user/shortsyV_paGB-ZV4?feature=share
I have a Second Hand Cambridge 15 Amplifier, when I got it it was just 1 month ago. I'm from the Philippines, in Davao City south of the country the Music store that sell me the amp give us a good price, that's why me and my father bought it. But I don't have a Pathfinder 15R yet.
I have the Cambridge 15 but converted mine to the 8" speaker from the Pathfinder, which has a bigger magnet and seems smoother to me than the Celestion in the Cambridge. I give the Cambridge the edge in my own comparisons.
I wondered if the difference in tone between the two has more to do with speaker difference rather than the preamp tube. I actually am a really big fan of the yellow 8” bulldog speaker
@@SmithWesson90 yes the early Pathfinder 15 amps without the reverb share all the same construction and components as the Cambridge 15, minus the preamp tube.
@@SmithWesson90 I don’t really know to be honest? The magnet looks smaller on the blue bulldog, so I think maybe it compresses the signal more than the yellow bulldog speaker? The blue one is actually made by Celestion vs. the yellow one - who knows who actually made it? I always got the impression the pathfinder 15R can sound a lot louder and fuller than the Cambridge 15 with the blue speaker. Maybe the blue speaker more faithfully mimics a true Alnico ?
Nice vid.that very last bit at the end, I definitely heard the Cambridge start to break up. The other amp didn't. Does the Cambridge break up at fairly low volume or does it need to be cranked like a typical tube amp ?
I will do another comparison with overdrive in the future to better answer your question. I might have had the gain higher up or perhaps had the MRB engaged and didn’t realize it? I think people labeling amps sounding differently, then trying to dial them exactly alike in comparison videos is insane. You dial each amp how you think it performs best, then do comparisons. If anything, probably because I garble my words during these videos, is that I tried to say the speaker in the Cambridge 15 has a smaller magnet and I think imparting a different compression and earlier breakup to the tone. And I don’t think it’s nearly as efficient as later bulldog speakers, so you’re going to wind up the amp more to get the same volume and I am sure you’re introducing more harmonics in the circuitry as well because of this. I will do comparisons in the future plugging into larger external cabinets to rule out speaker breakup effects
As well just listened real quickly myself, I think the reverb obscures some of the breakup on the 15R, giving a false impression that it’s cleaner than it really is?
I don’t know the Roland cube other than listening to RUclips videos. For me personally it would have to be the Vox Pathfinder - it has a great authentic vintage tone. Roland cube is perhaps more modern sounding?
@@marc12marc I think there is an extra warmth with the Cambridge, but I can get around that with pedals, like my DOD 250 preamp clone with the drive down really low.
This is true with the Cambridge 30R, since it’s a 2 channel amp. This Cambridge 15 is only a single channel, and the tube is always affecting the tone.
Actually I thought about this a little more, I only know what’s going on in the 15 based upon the schematic of the larger 30 watt version and something someone wrote online. So it’s entirely possible the tube is only on when you press the boost button? And apart from a second set of eq controls - it has two distinct channels. I never thought of the pathfinder as having 2 channels, just a single channel with an added boost opamp that can be switched in and out. One day I may open it up and trace it out
@@voxpathfinder15r I know if you take the tube outta the Cambridge the amp doesn't work on either channel. So I'm guessing it does have an effect on the overall sound.
@@bobbystereo936 that’s why I am trying to say, at least clean - the preamp tube doesn’t seem to make a remarkable improvement in tone over the totally solid state preamp in the pathfinder
@@voxpathfinder15r which is really strange because if you try one of those vox cooltron pedals of the same era with the pathfinder or any solid state for that matter it adds a bit of warmth even when not engaged. Mainly the snakecharmer compressor.
One of my winter projects is to make brand new baffle boards with 10” speaker holes and potentially 12”. And if there is interest offer them for sale on reverb
@@philspill6854 Vox made a version only available in Europe with a 12”. You do lose the top band with the logo- you have to make the total front with grill cloth. But yes it will fit
Good question! I think they are comparable, the difference is probably due to speaker differences, I think the newer bulldog speakers probably edge out the original blue bulldogs in the Cambridge. If you go to the speaker out into a cabinet, I am sure they are pretty identical
Holy crap!! That is sooooo worth it! You have an actual 12ax7 preamp tube at close to 200 volts, so it actually works as a real tube! Get it and you won’t regret it!!!
@@voxpathfinder15r man i failed to get the Cambridge 15 :( but there someone again selling pathfiner 15(no reverb) for more than 50 dollars. Still worth it?
There’s a channel dedicated to those small Vox amps? That’s great! Instant subscription!
Thanks for subscribing!
I have done the 10" conversion to a Pathfinder 15 ( earlier non-reverb model). I used a Weber Silver Ten alnico. It can be done without changing the grille face. All you have to do is cut the baffle hole offset downward from its original position so the magnet can clear the chassis. Of course, the bell over the magnet can't be used. The top of the 10" hole needs to be flattened to fall below the horizontal gold trim.
The Cambridge has a slight edge in that it compressess a tad to where it sounds softer and more tubey since there is a tube in it. Cool. But the Pathfinder sounds good as well, a bit cleaner.
Thanks for the comment!
i used to plug my 15R in a 1 x 12 eminence cab, all custom made. what a sound! i should have never sold that homemade stack... i always keep an eye around but they are hard to find nowadays..
I have another video here about if you can gig a Vox Pathfinder, and I am plugging it into an open back 2x12 cabinet of Carvin rebranded Eminence drivers. It is an awesome experience!
@@voxpathfinder15r i have a non reverb model and have hooked it up to 2 different 2x12's and a traynor 1x12..i am really liking just the pathfinder bulldog 8" now...with an "AC tone" pedal alone its clean channel is heavenly, and add a clone tubescreamer for extra boost or on its own for some grit...it gives great response. Im not a high gain guy, but it really responds to attack...it has to have its boost on also or it sounds anemic to me. but its glorious its volume turned up, gain off...and dime the two pedals levels and tweek the tones and drives a little..with those two pedals alone or in tandem. there is some good headroom on it.
@@TheDrewjay it’s a great amp! Really hard to justify buying a really nice tube amp, especially if you can’t play it outside your practice room. That’s what I am discovering, amps are tools - and an amp meant to fill a stage with sound will never sound good in a small practice space. I have another video running it through a small early 70s stereo shelf speaker and it sounds epic! Definitely makes a fuller sound at lower bedroom volume
@@voxpathfinder15r I picked up some nice stereo speaker boxes from a '70s pioneer stereo system, they're noticably roomier than your typical low watt combo, loaded one with a celestion and the other with a jensen, I really like running my old 5 watt tube amps through them, as well as a germanium transistor GE stereo from 1968 that I converted into a guitar amp, it retains the 60s vibe but makes it sound bigger
I have a pathfinder and it's a surprisingly good sounding amp but it does not take drive pedals very well. I mean, it's okay but not great. Does the Cambridge take OD pedals better? Perhaps on the second channel that has the tube but with the gain low?
Honestly I haven’t tried many pedals into the Cambridge. I don’t really understand why you think the Pathfinder doesn’t take pedals well? Here is a small clip with a NuTube tubescreamer into a Vox Pathfinder 15R. I think it sounds great. ruclips.net/user/shortsyV_paGB-ZV4?feature=share
I have a Second Hand Cambridge 15 Amplifier, when I got it it was just 1 month ago.
I'm from the Philippines, in Davao City south of the country the Music store that sell me the amp give us a good price, that's why me and my father bought it.
But I don't have a Pathfinder 15R yet.
You will love your Cambridge 15. It’s optocoupler will need service probably at some point and you can change the preamp tube to find different tones
Wow really, thanks sir.
I mean it's serial no. Is near the first ones created.
I have the Cambridge 15 but converted mine to the 8" speaker from the Pathfinder, which has a bigger magnet and seems smoother to me than the Celestion in the Cambridge. I give the Cambridge the edge in my own comparisons.
I wondered if the difference in tone between the two has more to do with speaker difference rather than the preamp tube. I actually am a really big fan of the yellow 8” bulldog speaker
@@voxpathfinder15r do you know what the difference is between the Yellow Bulldog and the Blue Bulldog?
@@voxpathfinder15r my Pathfinder 15 has the Blue Bulldog.
@@SmithWesson90 yes the early Pathfinder 15 amps without the reverb share all the same construction and components as the Cambridge 15, minus the preamp tube.
@@SmithWesson90 I don’t really know to be honest? The magnet looks smaller on the blue bulldog, so I think maybe it compresses the signal more than the yellow bulldog speaker? The blue one is actually made by Celestion vs. the yellow one - who knows who actually made it? I always got the impression the pathfinder 15R can sound a lot louder and fuller than the Cambridge 15 with the blue speaker. Maybe the blue speaker more faithfully mimics a true Alnico ?
Nice vid.that very last bit at the end, I definitely heard the Cambridge start to break up. The other amp didn't. Does the Cambridge break up at fairly low volume or does it need to be cranked like a typical tube amp ?
I will do another comparison with overdrive in the future to better answer your question. I might have had the gain higher up or perhaps had the MRB engaged and didn’t realize it? I think people labeling amps sounding differently, then trying to dial them exactly alike in comparison videos is insane. You dial each amp how you think it performs best, then do comparisons. If anything, probably because I garble my words during these videos, is that I tried to say the speaker in the Cambridge 15 has a smaller magnet and I think imparting a different compression and earlier breakup to the tone. And I don’t think it’s nearly as efficient as later bulldog speakers, so you’re going to wind up the amp more to get the same volume and I am sure you’re introducing more harmonics in the circuitry as well because of this. I will do comparisons in the future plugging into larger external cabinets to rule out speaker breakup effects
As well just listened real quickly myself, I think the reverb obscures some of the breakup on the 15R, giving a false impression that it’s cleaner than it really is?
Hello! What would you choose between vox 15r and roland cube 15x? 😊 hope u answer
I don’t know the Roland cube other than listening to RUclips videos. For me personally it would have to be the Vox Pathfinder - it has a great authentic vintage tone. Roland cube is perhaps more modern sounding?
@@voxpathfinder15r ahh okay okay thank you!
Which one sounds better for cleans ?
Well, what did you think after listening to the video? I will say the Pathfinder 15R has reverb which makes for improved clean tones in my opinion.
@@voxpathfinder15r Hearing it in person is much better than listening through computer speakers. They sound good. :)
@@marc12marc I think there is an extra warmth with the Cambridge, but I can get around that with pedals, like my DOD 250 preamp clone with the drive down really low.
@@marc12marc thanks for subscribing!!
They are identical but once you switch to the gain channel, the Cambridge is tube crunch driven.
This is true with the Cambridge 30R, since it’s a 2 channel amp. This Cambridge 15 is only a single channel, and the tube is always affecting the tone.
Actually I thought about this a little more, I only know what’s going on in the 15 based upon the schematic of the larger 30 watt version and something someone wrote online. So it’s entirely possible the tube is only on when you press the boost button? And apart from a second set of eq controls - it has two distinct channels. I never thought of the pathfinder as having 2 channels, just a single channel with an added boost opamp that can be switched in and out. One day I may open it up and trace it out
@@voxpathfinder15r I know if you take the tube outta the Cambridge the amp doesn't work on either channel. So I'm guessing it does have an effect on the overall sound.
@@bobbystereo936 that’s why I am trying to say, at least clean - the preamp tube doesn’t seem to make a remarkable improvement in tone over the totally solid state preamp in the pathfinder
@@voxpathfinder15r which is really strange because if you try one of those vox cooltron pedals of the same era with the pathfinder or any solid state for that matter it adds a bit of warmth even when not engaged. Mainly the snakecharmer compressor.
I have 2 15rs. Has anyone done a speaker mod? Thinking about a 10'
One of my winter projects is to make brand new baffle boards with 10” speaker holes and potentially 12”. And if there is interest offer them for sale on reverb
@@voxpathfinder15r id buy 2. Would a 12' fit?
@@philspill6854 Vox made a version only available in Europe with a 12”. You do lose the top band with the logo- you have to make the total front with grill cloth. But yes it will fit
@@voxpathfinder15r interesting! Keep me posted. I shop Reverb all the time!
@@voxpathfinder15r They also made a 2x10 cab & head version of the pathfinder but it is hard to find.
Which is louder?
Good question! I think they are comparable, the difference is probably due to speaker differences, I think the newer bulldog speakers probably edge out the original blue bulldogs in the Cambridge. If you go to the speaker out into a cabinet, I am sure they are pretty identical
Hey man there's someone in my country selling Cambridge 15 for less than 50 dollars, is it worth it right??
Holy crap!! That is sooooo worth it! You have an actual 12ax7 preamp tube at close to 200 volts, so it actually works as a real tube! Get it and you won’t regret it!!!
@@voxpathfinder15r okay man thanks! Can this amp can take pedals/multi effects so well? Btw im just a beginner haha
@@letzbi9487 it takes pedals awesomely!
@@voxpathfinder15r man i failed to get the Cambridge 15 :( but there someone again selling pathfiner 15(no reverb) for more than 50 dollars. Still worth it?
@@letzbi9487 definitely