Xvive V1 Classic Rock review

Between a rock and a hard clip

  • £46
  • €46
  • $88
Reviews
By ( Total Guitar ) published
The tone control only adjusts the high frequencies, so things get abrasive quickly
The tone control only adjusts the high frequencies, so things get abrasive quickly

MusicRadar Verdict

If you're after a value-for-money distortion, it's a worthy contender.

Pros

  • +

    Decent build. Pocket-friendly build. Works well with bridge humbuckers.

Cons

  • -

    Abrasive tone control.

MusicRadar's got your back Our team of expert musicians and producers spends hours testing products to help you choose the best music-making gear for you. Find out more about how we test.

This US-designed, Chinese-built stomper from Xvive isn't quite what you'd expect - while you probably associate classic rock with bucketloads of mids, the CR scoops them out.

"There's a smooth distorted tone at mid-gain settings, up to huge, sustaining solos at higher levels"

Nevertheless, it delivers a smooth distorted tone at mid-gain settings, up to huge, sustaining solos at higher levels.

For us, it sounded better with bridge-humbucker beef than single-coil spank, but either way, you'll need to keep the tone control low: it adjusts only the extreme highs in the signal, so gets abrasive very quickly.

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.