Vox Soundbox Mini review

Feature-packed portable amp

  • £179
  • €200
  • $200
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The Soundbox differs from its rivals in its portability - not only is it compact, but it can be powered with batteries

MusicRadar Verdict

The broad range of tones and effects, as well as the impressive 3D effects of Acoustage, make the Soundbox Mini a serious contender for your desktop amp.

Pros

  • +

    Portable and compact. Sweet-sounding effects. Nice headphone tones.

Cons

  • -

    Reverb hiss. Boxy output from the speakers.

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In recent years, practice amps have undergone something of a revolution; Yamaha was first to shake things up with the living room-friendly Yamaha THR range, and more recently, Blackstar offered its own take with the ID:Core series. Now, Vox has unveiled the Soundbox Mini, a stereo amp with plenty of sonic options.

"It's equally at home as a music player on the move, thanks to an auxiliary input for your phone or mp3 player"

Where the Soundbox differs from its rivals is in its portability - not only is it compact, but it can be powered with batteries, which makes it equally at home as a music player on the move, thanks to an auxiliary input for your phone or mp3 player.

You get inputs for guitar and mic, as well as a raft of effects, plus guitar, bass and keyboard presets - not to mention Korg's Acoustage technology, which makes it seem as if the sound is coming from all around the amp, rather than the two four-inch speakers.

Each of the four guitar presets - tweedy clean, AC30 crunch, British high-gain and metal scoop - offers a decent approximation of classic sounds, augmented by the sweet-sounding effects, although the reverbs add more hiss than we'd like.

But while the tones are pretty juicy through headphones, the output from the Soundbox is a little, well, boxy, and not the fullest sound we've heard from speakers of this size, either as a guitar amp or portable stereo.

Michael Brown
Michael Brown

Mike is Editor-in-Chief of GuitarWorld.com, in addition to being an offset fiend and recovering pedal addict. He has a master's degree in journalism, and has spent the past decade writing and editing for guitar publications including MusicRadar, Total Guitar and Guitarist, as well as a decade-and-a-half performing in bands of variable genre (and quality). In his free time, you'll find him making progressive instrumental rock under the nom de plume Maebe.