Victory V30

Please note I own a MKI version of this amp, originally know as “The Countess” and so cannot comment on the upgrades made to the MKII.

This amp is a BEAST! It goes from the cleanest of cleans right the way to the most saturated gains you could ever need. I originally got the Victory amp as the JVM I was using at the time was too big for some venues so needed something lower wattage and smaller, but that still packed a punch. It certainly does that. And in such a small package too!

The tones available from this tiny amp are unbelievable, especially for its size. On the OD channel at full power, through a good 2×12 or 4×12 you would swear you were playing a 100 Watt amp. On the flip side, switch the power to low and the same tones are available and significantly reduced volumes, whilst still retaining all the character and feel of the amp when it’s cooking.

Another great thing about this amp is its ability to take either EL34 or 6L6 valves. It has a toggle switch on the chassis that adjust the bias to the correct ball park (the amp still needs to be biased properly). I originally got a V30 fitted with 6L6s but when one started to fail I changed them for EL34. To my ears it seemed to make the clean channel breakup a little sooner and reduced the bass on the OD channel slightly, but the changes weren’t drastic.

My only real problem I have with The Countess is that it is a shared EQ between the two channels. This means that you are always making a compromise to get a useable tone out of each. Set the EQ for a great clean and the OD channel sounds super dark and muddy. Set the EQ for a great OD sound and the Clean channel will sound thin and sterile. I believe this issue has been addressed with the upgrades to the MKII, with a different voiced OD channel and the Nomad switch. 

My slightly lower score for the build quality is because I have had 2 issues with my V30. The first was the original foot switch stopped working. Victory did send me a replacement that has been fine since. And the second was the power light doesn’t work 75% of the time. Just to be clear the amp itself has never failed me.

Overall an awesome amp that sounds incredible, takes pedals well and is easy to travel with…what more could you want?