Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Hey... has anyone tried their Ric with a Brian May Vox amp? I'm thinking it would create a very pleasing range of sounds, and am considering getting one. Has anyone spent some quality time with one of the amps to comment?

I personally have been kept away from it because of it looks, but I'm it will sound great just as any other Vox.
If you are looking for something inexpensive, and with exceptional quality take a look at the Pathfinder 15R. It's not the loudest amp around but it does the trick at home and I've jammed with it and I had no problems getting enough volume out of it.
But if you are seriously into playing with a band I'd have to recommend something bigger.

It is difficult (for me) to get any sort of clean sound out of it and since my only RIC's are twelve strings, I've not played either of them through it. I look at the amp as a novelty (that only cost me $100 USD).

My experience (limited, so far) with the amp is similar to Gary's, hard to get a good clean sound out of it. I bought mine mainly as an easy-to-transport practice amp.

One thing that is neat about it is the ease with which one can get feedback even at low settings.

Thanks for this so far, guys. A few assumptions have been made, however, so I'll try and clarify.

My interest in the Brian May amp is because I love Queen. I have bigger amps, which I have used with bands in live situations, so my interest in this was (a) Because of Brian May's sound, (b) Because I've been thinking of getting a good little recording amp for home studio work and, (c) Because I was unaware of the Pathfinders and I thought this represented a cheap way to put a little Vox into my equipment mix.

I see that there is also a Pathfinder 10 which is even cheaper... considering I'm just interested in the home recording aspect, do you guys think this would be OK? It seems to have the same size speaker as the 15...?

My bad... the speaker is smaller. I think I was being misled by the site I was on at the time.

The 10 is 6.5", the 15 is an 8"

Still, I think it might be fun for recording purposes...

I've given thought about the Brian May as a travel amp to use in the hotel room during business trips.

I have a pathfinder 10" - it's very nice. I think I got it for around $70 from Sam Ash in Columbus (Ohio)...

I use it for practice and recording, it's never let me down or made any buzzing or anything lame like that. I'd assume it sounds similar to the Brian May one (never tried it myself), it just isn't white.

Yup - that's what I've been thinking. While I'm still sort of hankering for the Brian May 'Deacy Special' (which is sort of like a Holy Grail for Queen fans who are into their equipment, I guess), the white look *really* bugs me on both an aesthetic and practical level. I'm aiming for a Pathfinder 10 because it looks so damn cute - aside from being quite capable in its intended useage, as far as the reviews I'm reading go.

The 15 works well for gigging. It needs PA support, of course, but it's a find sounding amp.