What is the VOx Mini Superbeetle?

The Vox Mini Superbeetle was released as a tribute to the 60’s SuperBeatle amps that were used by the Beatles in their early touring days. What’s especially surprising is the cabinet only features a 10” Celestion speaker, but the low end is incredibly good for such a small setup.

Official word from Vox: “Mini and mighty, the all new VOX MINI SUPERBEETLE 25 inherits the iconic look of 60’s and adds all new analog NuTube circuitry for authentic tube tone”

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What is NUTUBE?

This is a NUTUBE vacuum fluorescent display

You wouldn’t believe it from the appearance, but the Vox Mini SUPERBEETLE can throw out some really great guitar tones. It is a recent release in their line of alternate tube amps that use a technology called NUTUBE.

So what is it? It’s a low powered alternative to traditional vacuum tubes/valves that have been traditionally used in guitar amplifiers.

diyaudiostore.com says: “The Korg Nutube 6P1 is a new, miniature, low-power dual directly-heated triode device. It was developed by Korg (of musical instrument fame) and Noritake Itron, a manufacturer of vacuum fluorescent displays, in Japan.”

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The FEatures and SPecs

Now let’s get into all the features and detailed specs of this little amplifier. These are the official specs as seen on the official site VoxAmps.com

OUTPUT POWER

50 Watts RMS | 4 Ohms
25 Watts RMS | 8 Ohms
12.5 Watts RMS | 16 Ohms

SPEAKER

1 x 10″ 8 Ohm Celestion Custom speaker

INPUTS

1 x Normal Input Jack

OUTPUTS

2 x Speaker Jacks
1 x Headphone Jack
1 x Line Out

CONTROLS

Volume, Gain, Bass, Treble, Reverb, Tremolo, EQ Flat/Deep, Eco On/Off, Impedance 4 / 8 / 16

TUBE COMPLIMENT

Nutube 6P1

EFFECTS

Digital reverb
Nutube tremolo

DIMENSIONS (W X D X H)

323 x 180 x 596 mm | 12.7 x 7.09 x 23.5 inches
8.7 kg | 19.18 lbs

INCLUDED ITEMS

AC adapter (DC 19 V), AC cord, Speaker cable

Now let’s discuss all the features that you find on this amplifier. We’ll break down all the parts into separate sections.

the HEAD

The head has a really straight forward control panel that sits on top. You can see all the options in the image. The main volume is separate from the GAIN control which is great because you can play the amp at lower volumes and get some pretty good amounts of dirt dialed into the amp. The digital REVERB is surprisingly thick and can sound good if you like that type of effect. The TREMOLO is a single control for rate and volume, which can also be a personal preference. I found that I didn’t like using the tremolo on this amp, compared to the tremolo found on the Vox AC15. The BASS and TREBLE controls are pretty much self explanatory, they let you dial in low end and high end frequencies.

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Although I do really like this amplifier, one cosmetic issue is the blue LED that they use for the power indicator. The light is blinding! If you get directly above the amp head, you will have trouble seeing the controls! This is a minor issue, but something to note.

Taking a look at the rear of the head, there are a number of features to point out. There is a headphones/line out which you can use. It is ok to use headphones and not have the speaker cabinet connected at the same time. This is not a Class A tube amplifier so the load isn’t the same. I’m not an amplifier expert, but this is the understanding I have from reading the official documentation.

Moving left to right, there’s an ECO switch which will power off the amplifier if it hasn’t been in use for a certain period of time. The EQ switch let’s you select FLAT or DEEP mode depending on the speaker that you are running into from the amplifier. The impedance switch let’s you select between 4/8/16 OHM to match the impedance of your speaker. There’s also two SPEAKER OUTPUT which is awesome. You can run this amplifier out to larger speakers if you wish to create a huge sound.

You can plug into bigger speakers for a huge sound!

good for playing with a full band?

I asked this question at the beginning. Is this amp good for playing with a full band. I will say, with the stock speaker and cabinet, it would not keep up in the mix of a full band. This of course depends on your band, drummer, etc. However, connect it to 2x12” speakers and I think you should be ok.

THE CABINET and SPEAKER

Now let’s talk about the cabinet and speaker that are included. The open back cabinet is loaded with a 50 Watt Celestion G10 R running at 8 OHMS. I think the stock speaker sounds really good, but if you ever wish to, the modding options for 10” speakers is almost endless.

I also really like the appearance of the cabinet. It has a really cool vintage look with the metal tubing and vox colours.

I’ve owned a number of Vox amps over the years. This has included the AC15C1, the AC4C1-12, the Pathfinder 10, the AC15CH, and this one has been my favourite overall. Don’t let the small form factor turn you away from trying it out, this amp rocks! Check out my video below for my full amplifier demo and walkthrough

Is the Vox Mini SuperBeetle good for playing with a full band?

What is the VOx Mini Superbeetle?

What is NUTUBE?