I don’t always lead worship on electric guitar…
But when I do…
I play a Gretsch G5120 through a Vox Night Train
Get the headstock decals you see on my Gretsch here from Paul Setzer (awesome guy and an awesome product). Just send Paul an email at the link on the page and let him know you want some Gretsch headstock decals
See the video above for my thoughts on the Vox Night Train, but here are the highlights:
Volume
Like most church environments, we don’t want a lot of stage volume. In many cases, that’s because congregations don’t like loud noises :), but in our case at Newhope, we mic everything and try to keep stage volume to an absolute minimum. This allows our sound technicians to shape the listening environment for the congregation. And we like it loud.
Anyway, because of this, amp volume needs to be kept to a minimum, within reason. I used to play through a Vox AC15, and while I really loved the way it sounded, it was too loud. The Night Train has the same tone footprint, but at about half the volume. It has an option where you can run it at 7 watts rather than 15, which is just about perfect.
Tone
Total Vox tone in a tiny little package. I really can’t say it more simply – if the Vox tone is what you’re going for, the Night Train delivers. I play my Night Train head through an Egnater Tweaker 1×12 cab. It’s a pretty budget friendly cab, but I’ve swapped the stock speaker out for an Eminence Red Fang, which is a clone of the Celestion Alnico Blue. The Red Fang is a great speaker, and gets rid of the harsh higher end – really smooths things out.
It is very dynamic and responds well to your playing style. Back off and it cleans up. Dig in a bit and it bites.
Versatility
I’ve found the Night Train sounds great with all my guitars. My main guitar is a Gretsch G5120, but I also use a Telecaster with a Seymour Duncan vintage mini HB in the neck and a Duncan ‘Lil 59 HB in the bridge. It also takes pedals very well.
The ‘Thick” mode sounds great for some nice fat overdrive, though I find myself using the Bright mode most of the time and driving it with pedals for overdrive.
Brian, help me out a little bit please. It sounds great and I’m thinking of buying a Gretsch G5122 or G5120. At the moment I play acoustic guitar, so I had nothing to do with amps and stuff. The Vox Night Train sounds really great, but that big soundbox “don’t know how to call it”, how that one called? Thanks for your tutorials and reviews, they are great help!
Hey Christiaan,
Not sure what you mean by ‘that big sound box’. I think the Night Train is a great amp – I’d recommend it. And I’d recommend the G5120, but I’ve changed out the pickups, bridge, and nut.
Brian I’m not sure if you still respond to this since this tutorial was posted awhile back, but I am a worship leader in KC MO and I currently play acoustic every week but i’m looking at this guitar. I like a lot of the reviews i’m seeing of the guitar itself but i’m wondering what your negatives of this guitar are? What type of pedals do you run as well? Thank you for the tutorial I appreciate it!
Gavin Morris
Worship Leader at VCU Church
Hey Gavin! Here’s my advice about this G5120 (take it or leave it, ha). I probably wouldn’t recommend it as your main or only electric guitar. It sounds great, it feels and plays more like an acoustic, but there are a couple things that really might keep me from recommending it:
1. It doesn’t stay in tune that well. I’ve found it to be really touchy with this – especially if you touch (or even think about touching) the Bigsby. The bridge and turners aren’t so hot, either. This is a big, big deal for me. If a guitar won’t stay in tune, I rarely play it.
2. The stock pickups aren’t great. They sound a little mushy and dark – not a lot of sparkle and spank.
I’ve upgraded mine a lot – new pickups, bridge, and nut mainly. It stays in tune better (still not where I’d like it), and it sounds incredible. I really do love to play this guitar – there is a vibe and a sound about it that nothing else really has. But, I’ll say this – I have 3 electric guitars that I choose between any given week – this one and two telecasters that I built from scratch/parts. I pick the telecasters more often.
If I were giving advice for a first electric guitar purchase for leading worship, I’d advise a telecaster. Get a Mexican made Fender – the standard telecaster is great, but there are lots of options for different pickups, etc. They are rock solid, they play very nice, and they sound great. You really can’t go wrong with them. Plus they are cheaper.
If you really love the Gretsch look/sound, don’t let me talk you out of it too much – it just wouldn’t be my first choice.
which amp is better for church? the vox ac30c2 or the ac15c1?