VOX AC4tv

Is there already a club for this amp? If not, there ought to be (and I didn't see one).

I have the combo and love it. If it had reverb it would be perfect.

http://lizardsfromafar.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/dscf5807.jpg

I also haven't seen a club for this amp yet. Good to see one starting.

I just picked up the head and combo version last week. Great, great amp! The speaker is starting to settle in and warm up a bit. Been getting some sweet juicy tones with my tele and bad monkey. It's a loud 4watts, can't even crank it at home. Lots of Vox chime and it reminds me of the normal channel of the AC30CC2 I had before.

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b325/caloyburger/DSC07808.jpg

There seems to be some similarities here....

I've been using mine with a ts9 for overdrive at lower volumes for practice, but it's a harsh sound--not as sweet as the amp overdriven all on its own.

Sounds very sweet clean, especially with my Ibanez DML digital delay.

Try the Bad Monkey. It's a nice match with this amp. I had a TS9 that sounded too fizzy with the AC30 but the BM also sounded good with it.

It may be heresy, but I've been searching everywhere for my lost Ibanez ms10. Yeah, it's got super gain, but I always loved its rich, warm distortion. It never sounded bad through any amp I've owned and used to totally rock with my Ampeg Gemini IV. I figure it'll be useful with the Vox, too.

But ultimately I think this little AC4 is best semi-clean with just a bit of hair so as to keep the British jangle readily apparent. So, I think it's nice on any wattage with the volume at about noon.

I really enjoyed mine, but had to sell it to pay bills. Bah! I might pick it back up later on.

I'm in. I bought this little bugger for practice, but I'm seriously considering trying at a gig. The other guitarist uses a pathfinder 15 watter for some small gigs....surely this amp can keep up??

I think it would be ok at a small gig, so long as you don't need too much clean. Haven't tried it yet at once, though. Perhaps this fall.

i upgraded my tubes and my speaker in my combo and got a big improvement in headroom, but if you need a clean sound, i still don't think you could gig with it outside of maybe a radio gig or a tiny coffehouse kinda thing.

i also got a used Van Amps reverb and that made a huge difference as well!

I used to gig with a crappy 30 watt solid state rig and got by ok. Before that it was a 20 watt tube amp with a 15" speaker that was so loud it would kill small animals who strayed too close. I think I'd try a small gig with the ac4, but it would have to be miked for anything larger than a hole in the wall.

If you play any gigs in Brooklyn, many of the bars are holes in a wall....

I got the combo version. Had it for about a month, maybe 5wks. Mostly for home use but I've leaned toward my budda w/hotplate here lately. I used mine live last sunday @ church and it did great. Listened back to the recording and it really cut through the mix. Didn't have much of a clean tone but I backed off the volume and attack to compensate.

I bought mine for home practice and its alot louder than I expected. I love it though. I do need some 'verb to add some depth for sure. Actually NONE of my amps have reverb....now I have 3 reasons to buy a 'verb pedal

What did you upgrade yours with? Thats crossed my mind but I didn't want to take it apart just yet. Although I did open the back to check it out the day it arrived

What did you upgrade yours with? Thats crossed my mind but I didn't want to take it apart just yet. Although I did open the back to check it out the day it arrived

i put in JJ tubes and a blue vox bulldog speaker.

i am playing on the new Charlie Gracie CD with it and they seem to love the tone at the studio.

I've got one. Actually number one (my serial number is 1!). Dig the verge of break up tones it's capable of. Here's a clip from a review I just put up at my site using an SX SST57 for the jangle and a PRS SE Singlecut for the leads.

http://www.frugalguitarist.com/Sounds/Issue%2014/AC4TV1.mp3

I've got one. Actually number one (my serial number is 1!). Dig the verge of break up tones it's capable of. Here's a clip from a review I just put up at my site using an SX SST57 for the jangle and a PRS SE Singlecut for the leads.

http://www.frugalguitarist.com/Sounds/Issue%2014/AC4TV1.mp3
Nice demo. These are really cool amps, and I think I'd eventually like to have one. I'd like to A/b the combo and head/cab versions.

Lots of Vox chime and it reminds me of the normal channel of the AC30CC2 I had before.[/IMG]

REALLY :shock:
Guess I have to try one out.
I've only found videos of crancked AC4TVs (often played with a LP) which I honestly didn't like (too boxy, middy, muffled).

I don't think the amp really shines fully cranked--it gets quite overdriven and distorted. At the verge of breakup it is really, really nice, however.

I've got one. Actually number one (my serial number is 1!). Dig the verge of break up tones it's capable of. Here's a clip from a review I just put up at my site using an SX SST57 for the jangle and a PRS SE Singlecut for the leads.

http://www.frugalguitarist.com/Sounds/Issue%2014/AC4TV1.mp3

thanks for the clip!

may i know if any effects were used, or was it a guitar>cable>amp setup?

I just picked up the 8" speaker version from GC this afternoon. I went in with the intention of purchasing a Champion 600, but:

(A) they only had a beat up floor model, and

(B) it just didn't sound that good.

So I started monkeying with the VOX. It sounds nice! Probably not as good as the models with bigger speakers (a little boxy), but for I want it for (just a little tube living room amp) it does the trick. So far.

I'm wondering if ol' Ted Weber makes a speaker that will fit in this thing...?

http://www.drewswerds.com/pub/img/vox/IMG_1044.jpg http://www.drewswerds.com/pub/img/vox/IMG_1046.jpg

I didn't know there was an 8" speaker version. Only a 10" that I'm aware of.

I didn't know there was an 8" speaker version. Only a 10" that I'm aware of.
The 8" originally was offered only in Japan; now, GC appears to have an exclusive on it although Vox USA does list it as available on the main web site (it seems to have appeared only recently). I haven't seen the 8" on the GC website either so I'm wondering if it is only available in store. It wa promoted in the recent 45th anniversary catalog that went out a couple weeks back.

Also, unlike the 10", the 8" model's attenuator settings are 4, 1, and 1/10 watt (rather than 1/4). I'm curious about the sound comparison as well since I would assume the 10" speaker could make a noticeable difference even at very low wattage.

drewsblues, what do you think of the 1/10 watt setting? Is it useful for you?

EB

I don't think the amp really shines fully cranked--it gets quite overdriven and distorted. At the verge of breakup it is really, really nice, however.

if turn it all the way up and then put it on 1/4 watt, i get terrific David Lindley
slide/lap steel tone.

otherwise i agree with you, i think it sounds best with the volume anyplace between 10 and 2 o'clock.


oh... another thing. i have a Carl Martin Red Repeat that does a better reverb than real reverb for live. the Van Amps reverb is really lush, but i have much better definition with the Red Repeat and it doesn't sound delay like at all. you can find used Red Repeats for much less money that a reverb so it might be a good way to go with this amp.

drewsblues, what do you think of the 1/10 watt setting? Is it useful for you?

Useful only in situations where you have to be REALLY quiet. Honestly, it's pretty muddy and lacks character at that setting. So far anyway. I need to play around with it a little more before I can give you my "final answer."

The more I play it, the more it seems a little harsh, on all settings. I'm about 50/50 on returning it and ordering the 10" version from MF.

If I get some time today, I'll stick a mic in front of it record some samples.

Alright. I mic'd 'er up and noodled a bit. It's only vaguely musical, and completely unscientific, but it does the trick for conveying the tonal characteristics of the 8" version of the VOX AC4TV.

Apologies in advance for the almost inaudible dialogue on these tracks. I just stuck an SM-57 in front of the amp and stood in over it while I played. Be warned that the amp is LOUD in the mix, while the talking is very quiet.

On all tracks, I'm playing a stock American Standard Tele with .010 gauge strings, straight into the amp. The mic was set about 6" back. It's important to note that the Tele has a rosewood fretboard, so take that into account when you consider the tone. :mrgreen:

Demo of 4 watt setting... (http://www.drewsblues.net/pub/mp3/vox_demo/vox%20demo%204w.mp3)
More 4 watt setting, playing around with the tone control... (http://www.drewsblues.net/pub/mp3/vox_demo/vox%20demo%204w%20tone%20control.mp3)
Demo of 1 watt setting... (http://www.drewsblues.net/pub/mp3/vox_demo/vox%20demo%201w.mp3)
Demo of 1/10 watt seting... (http://www.drewsblues.net/pub/mp3/vox_demo/vox%20demo%201-10w.mp3)

Anyway, hope these provide some value.

1/10 watt? Actually, I wish mine had a setting that low. As it is, if I want to jam late evenings without angering wife and daughter, I end up with headphones on in front of my computer playing through my Line6 Toneport. And I hate sitting in front of a computer to play guitar. The interaction of the monitor with the pus isn't pretty.

I'm playing through one right now! :mrgreen:

I love this amp, I really do. This one I only bought to take with me to France so I'm gonna sell it (if I can) when I leave. Maybe if I get more money down the line I'll buy another but I can't afford to keep this one yet. No worries, my AC15cc has an EF86 and NOTHING gets played except that when I'm home....it's just TOO good. I think Vox has had a fantastic couple of years producing a bunch of really great, affordable amps and I hope they continue to do so.

I play with the tone at 11 o'clock and the Volume at 2 o'clock with my beater Strat that I take o nthe road with me and it sounds phenomenal. Put it in the 1 watt mode with an OD pedal (Vox Big Ben, for me) and It's just sings. Tons of great sustain (with or without the pedal) and really nice clean/dirty tones. If you CRANK it it can get boxy, I bet a cab would solve this problem though. I'd love to play it through a 2x12 :twisted:

thanks for the clip!

may i know if any effects were used, or was it a guitar>cable>amp setup?


No effects. The amp was miced about a foot away and about an inch of center with an MXL V67G. The rhythm guitar is an SX SST57 and the lead a PRS Singlecut SE. Reverb and compression were applied to the mix.

Here's another clip (http://www.frugalguitarist.com/Sounds/Issue%2014/AC4TV2.mp3) paired with a Highland Royal (335 copy). The amp was miced about a foot away and about an inch of center with an MXL V67G. No effects were used.

No effects. The amp was miced about a foot away and about an inch of center with an MXL V67G. The rhythm guitar is an SX SST57 and the lead a PRS Singlecut SE. Reverb and compression were applied to the mix.

Here's another clip (http://www.frugalguitarist.com/Sounds/Issue%2014/AC4TV2.mp3) paired with a Highland Royal (335 copy). The amp was miced about a foot away and about an inch of center with an MXL V67G. No effects were used.

thanks for the info! i appreciate the effort.

Here's the bottom of mine with the pedalboard I cooked up specifically to use with it:

http://walpow.com/images/!music/voxboard.jpg

Anyway, hope these provide some value.
Hey Drew--

Thanks for posting the samples. I listened to them in reverse order for the 1/10-watt up to the 4-watt settings, and wow!, you can hear a big difference in the quality of the sound. At 1 and 4 watts, this is a very nice sounding amp, even over my cheap laptop speakers.

Very nice recording and playing, by the way. You offered a most useful overview of the amp both clean and dirty, and now it's just a matter of me getting my butt over to GC to do some A/B-ing myself with the two amps, if possible.

EB

Hey Drew--

Thanks for posting the samples. I listened to them in reverse order for the 1/10-watt up to the 4-watt settings, and wow!, you can hear a big difference in the quality of the sound. At 1 and 4 watts, this is a very nice sounding amp, even over my cheap laptop speakers.

Very nice recording and playing, by the way. You offered a most useful overview of the amp both clean and dirty, and now it's just a matter of me getting my butt over to GC to do some A/B-ing myself with the two amps, if possible.

EB

Thanks for the kind words, EB. Glad you managed to get through all that stuff! :grin:

You might have a hard time finding a 10" candidate for A/B comparison purposes at Guitar Center. I've been to three different locations in Orange County, CA and none of them had the 10" version; only the 8". I suspect that they don't carry the 10" in store. Of course, I could be (and often am) wrong...

Good luck!

A pic of my Vox that I picked up the other day. I was just blown away by it (actually almost was blown off my chair when I switched it from 1W to 4W) a little dramatic but you get the point. It gets LOUD and it one of the sexiest amps I have seen.

A pic of my Vox that I picked up the other day. I was just blown away by it (actually almost was blown off my chair when I switched it from 1W to 4W) a little dramatic but you get the point. It gets LOUD and it one of the sexiest amps I have seen.

if you get the head and cab like that it's a 12" speaker as opposed to the 10" in the combo.

i am dying to know what would happpen if you upgrade the 12 and the tubes.

i wonder if you would gain enough clean volume for small gigs?

All depends on the size of the gig, how loud the drummer is, and whether you're miking the amp or not, doesn't it?

All depends on the size of the gig, how loud the drummer is, and whether you're miking the amp or not, doesn't it?

i upgraded my combo and it would still not have enough clean volume for most drummers, but it's close i think. if it were mic'd then yeah but i am trying to avoid that if possible.

i just wonder if i could get another 10% or better out of the head and cab.

i think i am looking for an excuse to buy one.

When I used mine I had a monitor in front of me. Basically set up for a little hair at full volume. Had to pull some teeth to get a hot mix out of the soundman but really enjoyed playing. We listened back to the recording, played it at church, and it sounded great.

Still needed some eq tweaking from the board but was great otherwise.

That being said, I had issues with hearing it with the drummer (b4 getting a mix setup) even enclosed in a plexi glass iso booth

I bought one as a practice amp, and it serves that purpose well. I love the "chimey" tone that it offers. It gets extremely dirty very quickly on the lowest wattage settings.
The biggest limitation is that even at the full 4 watts, it doesn't seem to have alot of headroom before it distorts. Not complaining since I obviously have a bigger amp for playing louder, but I wouldn't mind something in-between. At the price, it is a relative bargain. And, it has whet my appetite for a bigger Vox amp. Or maybe one of those lovely TMI's. Of course, those are no bargain.
Oh, one last thing. I haven't tried using the amp with an external cabinet. (I have a Marshall with 2 x 12 at 16ohms which matches my 2061x head). I wonder how much louder the 4 watt Vox would sound before it clips into the bigger speaker box. I'll report back.
So far, highly recommended, recognizing its obvious limitations.

I notice everyone has the same complaint about this amp: not enough headroom. Too true, but she is a little gal at only 4 watts (obviously). And, I admit, this amp does whet my appetite for a AC15 or 30. I don't think they ever advertised the little girl for big shows, though. She only wants to do intimate shows in your living room or at the local coffee bar. For that she is so sweet. I was doing some clean E maj blues freestyle yesterday in my basement on the 1/4 setting and the guys redoing our upstairs bathroom could hear me just fine, they reported.

Guys, tell me about the 1/10 watt setting...Does it sound as good as the 1/4 watt setting of its bigger brother?

The more I play it, the more it seems a little harsh, on all settings. I'm about 50/50 on returning it and ordering the 10" version from MF.

Hey Drew!

That wouldn't be yours on our local CL right now, would it? :wink:

mud

Hey Drew!

That wouldn't be yours on our local CL right now, would it? :wink:

mud

Nope! I took mine to the Brea GC and exchanged for a new-in-box 10" version. :mrgreen:

I actually played it at a gig last night (3-piece blues group; upright bass, no drums). It was right on the verge of not being loud enough when the place filled up, but it did a serviceable job. I was surprised at how much I missed having reverb (even though I use it extremely sparingly). Next week, I'll probably go back to toting my Blues Jr.

Overall, it's a pretty nice amp. Especially for the money. Not a gigger, but great for the living room or practice area.

Call it blasphemy, but I'm thinking of asking my buddy to mod it; clean it up a bit.

Anyway, cheers, Mud!

Got it, love it, it records great!

Wish it had reverb- that would make it complete as far as I'm concerned.

Guys, tell me about the 1/10 watt setting...Does it sound as good as the 1/4 watt setting of its bigger brother?

I've played both, and I'd say that the 1/4 watt setting is "usable" from a tone standpoint, but not really good, per se.

The 1/10 watt setting is muddy and lacks character in my opinion. It's a practice-only option and, quite frankly, isn't that much of an improvement over playing an electric guitar unamplified. Give the sample I did, above, a listen if you want to hear what it sounds like.

I exchanged my 8" for a 10", and after playing it a bit, I realize that I made the right choice.

Anyway, cheers, Mud!

Rock on, bruthah ... in a bluesy kind of way, of course! :cool:

mud

I notice everyone has the same complaint about this amp: not enough headroom. Too true, but she is a little gal at only 4 watts (obviously). And, I admit, this amp does whet my appetite for a AC15 or 30. I don't think they ever advertised the little girl for big shows, though. She only wants to do intimate shows in your living room or at the local coffee bar. For that she is so sweet. I was doing some clean E maj blues freestyle yesterday in my basement on the 1/4 setting and the guys redoing our upstairs bathroom could hear me just fine, they reported.

I actually traded my AC15 in for the AC4TV. I did not like the sound of the AC15 at all. To my ears the AC4TV sounds much more like the AC30, I have the head and cab with the 12" speaker though and can't comment on the combo, I also don't gig anymore so my needs are quite different. The AC15 IMHO has a harsh bite (not very creamy at all even with an EQ pedal) and the reverb although cavernous was almost unuseable except at very low setting for some reason. The 4 is a much better interpretation of the 30 (I think)

So, I guess one would have to buy either a vintage AC15 or get one customized. I wonder why the custom classic ac15 is harsh? Certainly my ac4tv has a delicious sound. When I save up the dough I'm going to get the new boss frv-1 reverb pedal and consider my set up complete unless I start to play gigs again.

So, I guess one would have to buy either a vintage AC15 or get one customized. I wonder why the custom classic ac15 is harsh? Certainly my ac4tv has a delicious sound. When I save up the dough I'm going to get the new boss frv-1 reverb pedal and consider my set up complete unless I start to play gigs again.

Partially it's the lack of a Cut knob...partially it is the Wharefdale speaker. I find my Top Boost section to be more cutting than creamy (although after my substantial mods it can get creamy). I use ef86 for creamy and Top Boost for trebly/twangy.

So, I guess one would have to buy either a vintage AC15 or get one customized. I wonder why the custom classic ac15 is harsh? Certainly my ac4tv has a delicious sound. When I save up the dough I'm going to get the new boss frv-1 reverb pedal and consider my set up complete unless I start to play gigs again.

i got the AC15TV for gigs because is it sounds like the AC4TV .

i got it used because the new ones are pretty expensive, but the used one is almost the same price as the new regular AC 15. if it only had reverb and trem, it would be perfect.

I love my AC4TV! It makes a great companion to my Vibro Champ.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3052/3722190388_c4f7a40827_b.jpg (http://flickr.com/photos/mediawench/3722190388/in/set-72157594485374924)

Vox AC4TV w/ Gibson SG demo (http://www.macidol.com/song/24885)

A quick demo of the Vox AC4TV amp, with a Sole-Mate reverb and a Gibson SG with P-90 pickups. Recorded with the Blue MIKEY mic and the voice memo recorder app on my iPhone. In stereo!

Halfway through playing, I realized that the psoriasis on my thumb had split it open and I was bleeding all over the neck and fretboard of my guitar. Grrrrr. But hey, bloody SG! Pete Townshend approved, right? :D


A couple of additional things about my demo- the amp was set at 1/4 watt and the volume was between 10-11 o'clock. I twiddled the volume and tone knobs on the SG only. Also, I had my mic set on its medium gain setting, which has worked great for recording my acoustic, and about a foot away from the amp, and it was still loud enough to overload the mic on the medium setting. I thought I was keeing a pretty good eye on the VU meter, but I think there were some transients that didn't register or maybe the meter just isn't that accurate. Sorry about that. Hey, it was almost midnight!

My secret to the AC/4 has been running it through my epiphone VJr cab loaded with a 16ohm 70WATTRMS Eminence Lady Luck........loud and as clean as you could get an AC/4 for a song (in terms of price).

I'm underwhelmed with the attenuated sounds but it's nice to use when low volume is more important than tone. Unattenuated, I like it clean, but the overdriven (vol past 12:00) sounds farty. I want to try two things:
1: run it through the 8 ohm (2x12) mono channel of my AC412 cabinet to see how it changes volume/character
2: see if I like it distorted better with my MXR Distortion+ at a lower volume (11:00 or so)

I'm seriously looking into one of these.

What I'm curious about is whether the AC4tv will do thick-ish crunchy, classic rock, Led Zep-like tone.

If so, could you point me towards clips that exhibit this?

Thanks

I'm seriously looking into one of these.

What I'm curious about is whether the AC4tv will do thick-ish crunchy, classic rock, Led Zep-like tone.

If so, could you point me towards clips that exhibit this?

Thanks

Don't know if this helps or not, but it's a good demo:

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Even better if you speak Dutch! :razz:

I ran that through that AD412 with my pedal board and it was sweet. Anybody know how hard this would be to transplant to a 1x12 combo cabinet? The speaker is definitely this amp's weak point.

bi guys, i would really like to sell my 5 watt epiphone-clone to get one of the voxes. seems like a cool am. specially the microwatt thing is a nice feature.

I ordered the 10' speaker version from Sweetwater just now....almost bought the Bugera V5 with 8' speaker cuz it had onboard reverb...but the Vox with the 10 and the good reviews won me over........speaking of Bugera...guy was playing the V22 model in a music store the other day and it sounded pretty awesome to me....looked good too!

I want one of these so bad it is making my back leg shake!

I'm pretty new to all this electric stuff but want to start experimenting with pedals etc without scaring the kids and neighbours- will I be able to use my Boss ME-50 with this on the 1/4 watt setting?

Great samples earlier btw!

Yeah - I have joined the club too and echo what another poster wrote about liking the AC4 way more than the AC15CCI. I sold the AC15 after only owning it 1 week to a needy youngster. The AC4 and AC15 are nothing alike really. One would think that the AC15 would be just a more poaerful version of the AC4 - not so. Many of us wish it was.

I plug my AC4 into a Valve Jr Cab which is filled with an eminence 16ohm, 12 inch Lady Luck - it sounds awesome. Like everyone else, I wish for more clean tone, but realize the AC4 is what it is and it's great for what it does.
Much like the Orange Tiny Terror in that respect, though I like it better thahn the TT. It carries that classic and easily identifiable Vox tone.

Anyone have a list of mods for it yet other than speakers and tubes?
People say the AC15TV does sound like the AC4 however, but I remember demoing an AC15TV and I walked away from it unimpressed for it's 1400 price tag. I couldn't walk away from the AC4 even for 3-400 bucks which is what champs go for. Ideal recording set up would be an an AC4 and Champ for cleans. One could gig this amp in certain environs with certain drummers for certain music.

By the way, it totally nails Led Zep tones ala Whole Lotta Love.
That was the first licks I demo'd with it at the store-LOL!
It turned heads!

Here's the guts of my new AC4 combo with 10" speaker:
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y183/jogman/ATT00004.jpg
I don't see a whole heckuva lot to mod - the caps could benefit from a swap as they are some cheap chinese things I've never seen before and I've seen em all. The tone caps are sozo like in appearence. I think tube swaps is about it for improvements. The only things I might do is completely renovate it to PTP turret board style. That way I can tweak at will. Enjoy!

Kind of wish the tube sockets weren't attached to the PCB board - but what're ya gonna do? Also wish the filter caps were axial instead of radial.
Hard to find high quality caps in that style. They are 100UF and 33 UF for those interested in acquiring better ones. They've done a good job shileding the inputs, but they really had to considering how it almost touched the preamp tube. This is such a simple circuit I'm surprised they really need a PCB board to save money. But I guess it's better for the chinese laborers to paint by numbers - or they might be vietnamese looking at the writing on the board.

What else is real lame is the owners manual doesn't even state the tube types this amp takes!!!! And basically says only qualified techs can swap them.

Another ting for the technically inclined:

I've never seen 100UF or 33 UF caps this small before. The general rule of thumb with caps is the bigger the better - usually. The caps for I have sitting in front of me right now, sprague and jupiters and Tech caps are 22UF and 47UF respectively and twice the size of these caps - you have to wonder how te heck you'd fit a typical 100UF cap of any other brand in the vox layout. It would be tough to even fitt the 22 UF's I have!!!!!
This amp was definitley not meant to be mod or tech friendly. Too bad - but then it wouldve been 400 bucks too. Mine will be worth 600 when I'm finally done-LOL!

Does anyone have a schematic for one of these bad boys? I am selling off guitars and might have the $$ to buy one. I have been GASing for one for a while now but i would like to see the guts on paper. I did a google search about a month ago and nothing..

Thanks
Drew

sames here, I looke all over for a schematic, can't seemto locate one.
It would be easily drawn up though. Wait a minute........maybe I did see one on the Vintage forums, I'll check and come back later.

Not much there to scheme that's for sure. You could easily build this with the right iron.

God I love this AC4! The more I alternate between a 1x12 cab and the on board 10" speaker in the combo the more I like the 10".

I think once it breaks in, it will be perfect for my taste. This thing is so close to being giggable. It's about as close as it can be and still be short however.
Though mic'd I don't think ther'd be a problem.

I love the AC4 for almost any rocknroll standard, Zep/Stones/Chuck Berry Licks etc. I enjoy all out blues on it too, but could benefit froma bit more low-end bellow. What I found it's really cool for is jazz licks and chordal comping - that vox chime is beautifull and harmonic. This amp is very touch sensitive for me. When I do the jazzy chord comping arpeggios where I'm sounding out all the strings it really stays clean.....even turned up. But when I dig in it growls for Rock. I've been playing moslty on 4watt setting with tone knob dimed and volume about half way so as to not anger the neighbours, though I'm sure they can hear me fine-LOL! Very inspiring little amp...did I say I love it? I did change tubes put a GT ECC83 and a Mesa Blue EL84 in it to good effect. I couldn't find anything else to do and I had her gutted and ready.LOL!
I really think they nailed the little Celestion 10". I'm leaving her stock.

...This thing is so close to being giggable. It's about as close as it can be and still be short however.
Though mic'd I don't think ther'd be a problem....

I'm strongly considering picking up a second to give me enough juice to gig. Simply lovely amp and crazy affordable...

I'm strongly considering picking up a second to give me enough juice to gig. Simply lovely amp and crazy affordable...

me too.

Me three............one more for the road! Should do the trick for most clubs

Yeah - I have joined the club too and echo what another poster wrote about liking the AC4 way more than the AC15CCI. I sold the AC15 after only owning it 1 week to a needy youngster. The AC4 and AC15 are nothing alike really. One would think that the AC15 would be just a more poaerful version of the AC4 - not so. Many of us wish it was.



I did exactly the same: I sold my AC15CC1X 1 month after I bought the AC4TV (10'). The AC4 has THE Vox sound I was looking after..

It sounds amazing without any effect, but it is incredible with a germanium treble booster (I use a Musikding kit of a Rangemaster clone)

Anybody know how hard this would be to transplant to a 1x12 combo cabinet?
I would love to do that to mine...

How about the head and 2 of the 12" cabs? Would that be enough for a pub/bar gig and have enough headroom you think? I'm soooo close to getting out the plastic right now.

Just picked mine up yesterday, I was going back and forth between this one and the Fender Champion 600, went and played the Vox and didn't even want to try the Fender. (no one seems to have them around here anyhow) Its about 100 bucks more, but the 10" Celestion and the attenuator make it well worth it to me.

This is my first tube amp and now I don't think I can ever go back to solid state! Even for clean tones, it just sounds so much more alive. And real tube overdrive is just so much richer than anything else that I have heard.

Anybody know what brand of tubes it comes with? I haven't cracked it open yet, looks like you have to take the whole thing apart to get to the tubes...

By the way, it totally nails Led Zep tones ala Whole Lotta Love.
That was the first licks I demo'd with it at the store-LOL!
It turned heads!

I have had mine for about a week. I love it. Just finished playing whole lotta love. Stairway and some ac/dc sounds great to me

FWIW, the 4x12 hasn't been plugged back into the AD120VTH Valvetronix head since I plugged it into the ext jack on the AC4TV. I have to balance the amp volume against the guitar volume to get it to the edge at the right volume. The most fun I've ever had at home with my clothes on.

Got one on order from Axe Music (Vancouver). Can hardly wait!!
:grin::grin:

I don't know how blasphemous this is for a Tele forum, but here goes anyway: Can I play my bass through my Vox AC4TV? I've been wanting to try it but I don't want to ruin it. I have a bass amp with a 15" but sometimes it is just too loud, I live in an apartment.

I don't know how blasphemous this is for a Tele forum, but here goes anyway: Can I play my bass through my Vox AC4TV? I've been wanting to try it but I don't want to ruin it. I have a bass amp with a 15" but sometimes it is just too loud, I live in an apartment.

Fine for the amp, but bad for the speaker in the combo. If you have an external cab with a speaker designed for bass output, (16 ohm) give it a try but I doubt you'll like it. Distorted bass at low volume sounds like farts in a jar to me...

Fine for the amp, but bad for the speaker in the combo. If you have an external cab with a speaker designed for bass output, (8 ohm) give it a try but I doubt you'll like it. Distorted bass at low volume sounds like farts in a jar to me...

I don't want to play it loud, just practice volume. I guess I kind of what to see what my bass sounds like through a tube amp also.

The ext. speaker output says "4 watts into 16 ohm," doesn't the cab have to be 16 ohm? I don't know much about impedance and all that, but I remember seeing somewhere that if you it is not matched correctly, you can damage the amp.

Sorry Super. Thought it was an 8 ohm out. Edited mine. Good catch. You can put too much resistance in that and be fine, but not enough can fry it.

Has anybody out there actually tried it yet? Playing a bass through it that is? I don't want to be the canary in the coal mine on this one, because I love that freakin amp.

I'm also kind of apprehensive because I borrowed a Fender amp from my brother, don't remember the model, but it was a hybrid, with a tube pre, solid state power stage, and a 12" speaker, used it for my bass trying to keep up with a drummer and two guitarists with half stacks and one day it just didn't turn on at all. I might not have even noticed it dying, because I could barely hear it anyway. Looking back that was pretty dumb on my part, and I felt like a real jerk for ruining a pretty nice amp that wasn't even mine.

Got one on order from Axe Music (Vancouver). Can hardly wait!!
:grin::grin:


Got it yesterday! Played it for about three hours and I LOVE it! :grin:

Hey Stevie. How much was it, if you don't mind me asking? I'm looking at getting one of these little amps in the near future, and the only one I've seen in person was $329(in canadian dollars of course). It seemed a little expensive to me considering our dollar is getting close to par with the american buck.
Enjoy the new amp.

CC

Street price is $249 US. See if you can score one on the 'bay - lotsa dealers there.

I got one of these little devils about a week ago and it's terrific. I like it almost as much as some of my bigger, costlier amps and it's a lot easier to grab, setup and use. Mostly I'm enjoying the bright, but never too bright, Vox cleans that this amp offers and I keep saying to myself that it sounds great for being "only" a 10" speaker.

I did replace the stock Sovteck tubes with a new Tung Sol 12AX7 and a JJ EL84 and like to think that I noticed some difference. Maybe it just made me feel good to swap tubes, too.

Really, just a great price on a darn good amp and I"m happy to have one.

Cassady

I just picked up the 8" combo at GC. A sweet little amp. Has anyone tried it with headphones yet?

Craig

Here's another demo (http://www.macidol.com/song/25078) using the AC4TV.

Recorded on my iPhone with the Blue Microphones' MIKEY and mastered in GarageBand, with a little stereo-izing and compression in the master.

Here are the AC4TV's settings:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3489/4015420156_89d2f53a88.jpg (http://flickr.com/photos/mediawench/4015420156/)

I want to find a nice little boost pedal to drive my amp harder to get some more of that nice tube overdrive.

Any ideas? I want something cheap

I want to find a nice little boost pedal to drive my amp harder to get some more of that nice tube overdrive.

Any ideas? I want something cheap

Bad monkey.

Got it yesterday. This amp is kicking ass and taking names.

Hey Stevie. How much was it, if you don't mind me asking? I'm looking at getting one of these little amps in the near future, and the only one I've seen in person was $329(in canadian dollars of course). It seemed a little expensive to me considering our dollar is getting close to par with the american buck.
Enjoy the new amp.

CC

It was $310 + tax + free shipping from Axe Music in Edmonton.
No cross-border problems.

http://www.axemusic.com/product.asp?numRecordPosition=1&P_ID=20768&PT_ID=all

I want to find a nice little boost pedal to drive my amp harder to get some more of that nice tube overdrive.

Any ideas? I want something cheap

Yes I quoted myself.

I picked up an Electro-Harmonix LPB-1 today and so far it seems like its going to do what I want it to do.

Nice pedal for 40 bucks. Now I got me a nice little living room guitar rig with that saturated tube sound at a reasonable volume. Nuthin' fancy but sounds great to my ears.

This is my first tube amp so forgive me if this a dumb question: It seems like this amp gets pretty hot and does not have much ventilation, is this going to be a problem? I have seen some other tube amps where the tubes are exposed, I assume to let some of the heat dissipate. Or is this just part of how this particular amp gets its sound? I do know that tubes sound different when they get hotter.

It was $310 + tax + free shipping from Axe Music in Edmonton.
No cross-border problems.

http://www.axemusic.com/product.asp?numRecordPosition=1&P_ID=20768&PT_ID=all

Thanks Stevie. With all the cash a guy would pay in brokerage fees, and shipping, that's a pretty good deal. I can probably get the local shop that has it in stock to match that price too. I think it's time to go out and get one.
Thanks again,

CC

P.S. A big thanks to boomboomba for the PM.

Hey Stevie. How much was it, if you don't mind me asking? I'm looking at getting one of these little amps in the near future, and the only one I've seen in person was $329(in canadian dollars of course). It seemed a little expensive to me considering our dollar is getting close to par with the american buck.
Enjoy the new amp.

CC
I saw these at Long and Mcquade in Calgary on Oct 24 for $299.

This is my first tube amp so forgive me if this a dumb question: It seems like this amp gets pretty hot and does not have much ventilation, is this going to be a problem? I have seen some other tube amps where the tubes are exposed, I assume to let some of the heat dissipate. Or is this just part of how this particular amp gets its sound? I do know that tubes sound different when they get hotter.

I have seen two reports about failure due to overheating. In both cases it was after playing with volume maxed in the 1/4 W mode.
I used a borrowed one for rehearsal and it got very hot, but didn't fail.

Klas

I got rid of a Valvetronix AD100 head (buying it was a major mistake on my part) to get the AC4TV and couldn't be happier with it. So far I agree with everyone's opinion that the 1 watt and 4 watt settings are the best with the 1/4 watt losing some of it's sparkle. Has anyone tried a 5751 or 12at7 tube in this to clean it up some? What tube changes have you tried on it. I want to try to retain some of the sparkle at that 1/4 watt setting. If I can do that, my family will be very appreciative.

Is there a tube that I can use that will give me less clean headroom? I like the tube distortion that I get from this amp, but I want to get it at a lower volume.

My main practice, bedroom jamming amp.

http://photos-h.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs118.snc1/4862_99950641454_501046454_2362817_3537046_n.jpg

I used a Line 6 POD XT and control the output so I can get the creamy tube distortion at low level.

Yeah, if I want bedroom "tone" I just hook my Line6 Toneport into the computer and put on headphones. Then I can rock out without bothering my wife and daughters. I'd hate to have a quieter amp than this one. I got an amp again so I could be loud when I wanted. The AC4tv is _almost_ loud enough. I just wish I hadn't gotten rid of my old Ampeg Gemini IV. Damn that thing was loud.

Well, I've got some good news, and I've got some bad news. I'm the proud new owner of this great little combo. I love the sounds that I got out of it in the few hours that I was able to play through it today. If it smooths out with the speaker breaking in, it'll be pretty well perfect for me. The bad news is that I am now officially Teleless. I took my MIM standard in to have the neck looked at, thinking I had a fret that was popped up AGAIN, and it ends up that the neck is slightly warped, which was causing my problems. The repair would have been covered by warranty, but I had been thinking about getting rid of it anyway, so I asked if they'd trade it straight across for the AC4TV, and the manager told me that it was a deal. I'm really happy with the outcome, and I think I'll buy myself a CV Tele in the new year to fill the gap that the MIM leaves in my collection. Cool little amp to go with my LP, and my 335 till then.

CC

Here's a question;

My AC4TV has a slight hum. It's not loud and it does not get louder when I crank the volume (but it does get a bit louder as I change the wattage).
It does this with all my guitars or no guitars, so that is not the issue.

It's not loud, but it's there. Is this normal do ya think?
(My Traynor YCV40 is dead quiet)

Thanks

Here's a question;

My AC4TV has a slight hum. It's not loud and it does not get louder when I crank the volume (but it does get a bit louder as I change the wattage).
It does this with all my guitars or no guitars, so that is not the issue.

It's not loud, but it's there. Is this normal do ya think?
(My Traynor YCV40 is dead quiet)

Thanks

I have one of those Boss tuner pedals that has the silent tune feature, and I can hear the amp humming with it engaged. It's not very loud, but when you aren't playing, you do notice it. I'm thinking it must be the transformer, but the electronics experts can chime in here if I'm wrong. I've been playing mine for the last week, and I really like it so far. The 4 watt setting is my favorite, but I can get useful tones even on the 1/4 watt. Cool little amp. I just need to get a delay, and reverb pedal to go with it.

CC

I have one of those Boss tuner pedals that has the silent tune feature, and I can hear the amp humming with it engaged. It's not very loud, but when you aren't playing, you do notice it. I'm thinking it must be the transformer, but the electronics experts can chime in here if I'm wrong. I've been playing mine for the last week, and I really like it so far. The 4 watt setting is my favorite, but I can get useful tones even on the 1/4 watt. Cool little amp. I just need to get a delay, and reverb pedal to go with it.

CC

Yea, it's a great little amp, no doubt. :grin:
The hum isn't too bad, I was just curious if it was normal.
(I know zip-all about amps except how to run 'em @11 :razz:)

Cheers

I am about to buy one of these, and may want to gig with it in the future. Has anyone tried running it through extension cabs?

Christmas in California

esquire thru an AC4TV with just a Red Repeat.

Joe Meek compressor in the mix for christmas sparkle.

i LOVE this amp.
www.soundclick.com/mickeydean

Should come with a huge pin up sticker for the side.

<object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/oXtsVvJl5pg&hl=en_US&fs=1&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/oXtsVvJl5pg&hl=en_US&fs=1&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object>

Question: the tone knob on my amp does not seem to do much. It does take off some of the high end, but even with it turned all the way down, it still sounds very bright. Is this normal? Or is there something wrong?

I doubt there's anything wrong: the tone knob is definitely subtle. It just takes the edge off, sort of (I guess) like a Top Boost EQ circuit. It doesn't quite do enough on this amp, however (in my opinion).

OK guys, add me to the club. I've got a head and cab on the way. So have any of you rolled tubes or speakers and if so what's working? How's the stock speaker in the cab? Lastly, does the cab just have a single input or can I chain it? Two 12's would be really cool.

I doubt there's anything wrong: the tone knob is definitely subtle. It just takes the edge off, sort of (I guess) like a Top Boost EQ circuit. It doesn't quite do enough on this amp, however (in my opinion).

Yeah, that is my only complaint with this amp. I still love it though. I do like the fact that it is very simple, that is one of the things that first attracted me to it. I'm just used to having more control of my eq. Guess maybe I should get an eq pedal.

I was thinking of joining the club, listened to the combo and head cabinet versions tonight. I thought the head/cabinet version sounded better. I currently have a Fender Blues Junior. Will give the Night Train a try as well. Think I'll haul my guitar/amp in and A/B them to really give it a good listen.

Any thoughts from anyone? Any former Blues Junior owners who switched or kept the Blues Juniors? Anybody else consider the Night Train?

Thanks to all in advance.

Count me in -- big time!

The custom cabinet with a Weber Alnico Silver 10 sounds sublime.

http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z289/Hoodsteror/Custom%201x10%20Cab/IMG_1339.jpg

Here's a review I posted elsewhere before I knew about the club:

I think I’ve spent enough time with this little beast now (2 weeks) to give a fairly objective review. Again, I’m running the head into a custom 1 x 10 cabinet with a 30-watt Weber Alnico Silver.

The first thing I would mention is that it would be difficult to get an accurate idea of this amp’s full capabilities by a quick demo in a store. I’m not saying that it is hard to dial in a good sound, but the three controls are very interactive and it does take a little while to figure out what sounds best.

The first time I played it I was a little disappointed that the overdriven tones were on the raspy/buzzy side (worse on the attenuated settings), and it wasn’t until day three that I discovered (counterintuitively) that the AC4 actually sounds better to me with the treble dialed back as you increase the gain. I had been increasing the treble and it took me a little while to realize that was what was producing the unpleasant overdrive. Of course, this could smooth out a bit as my speaker breaks in, but for now I don’t put the tone control past two o’clock when attenuating. One of the many amazing things about this amplifier is that even with the tone control rolled all the way off, it still sounds great – especially for the overdriven woman tones.

Like most reviewers I have read, I find the AC4 sounds best with both volume and tone anywhere between 10 o’clock and 2 o’clock. Straight up noon for both volume and tone on the full power setting pretty much gives you the best of all worlds in terms of clean to drive, controlled with your guitar.

I also agree with most folks that the .25 setting is not super useful. If everyone is asleep in the house or you live in a tiny apartment, it may be the only way for you to get heavy crunch at acceptable volumes, but in general I would say that if anyone is thinking about getting the 8 inch version of the combo just to get the 1/10 watt setting, I would not bother. The one-watt setting produces a very reasonable volume while still preserving a good deal of the amplifier’s great tone, but you will loose a lot of the beautiful cleans, naturally.

Speaking of volume, reviews seem to be all over the map, which I guess coincides with all the diversity of opinions on what exactly constitutes “bedroom” and “gigable” volume. I personally do not find this amplifier to be terribly loud, and I’m very conscious of excessive volume (I always wear earplugs at jams). Even at the 4 W setting using low output single coils, the AC4 starts breaking up just above halfway up, so in terms of available clean volume this is definitely not a loud amplifier. Unless you only play overdriven, I can’t imagine a gig with a drummer where you would not need to mic this, and I play with a very light drummer. Maybe with the 12AT7 preamp swap the AC4 would work for modest outings.

I’ve tried the amp with a custom Telecaster with Nocaster pickups, A US Fat Tele with Duncan '59/JD, an American Strat with Hot Noiseless pickups, and a stock Reverend Roundhouse 290. The AC4 sounds fantastic with every guitar and every pickup position, truly amazing. This is not a finicky amp. Based on the demos I’ve watched, I expected it to sound best with the Telecaster, but this thing also absolutely adores P90’s. Beautiful, articulate clean tones all the way to savage Neil Young-style grind. And the neck '59 Humbucker in the Tele is truly godlike on the 4-watt setting around noon volume. Still, I keep going back to my Nocaster-equipped Tele (pictured below) for sublime chime to squealing gnarliness.

Whether you are running the combo or the head, I really think this amplifier deserves an alnico speaker. The Weber Alnico Silver Ten is a delightful match for the AC4 and at $95 much cheaper than the Celestion alnicos. I have heard lots of alnico speakers that sound too thin or bright, but this one is very gutsy and warm, with plenty of alnico chime as well.

As for effects, you will not miss them if you plug straight in, but I have to say that playing around with even a cheap multi-effects pedal like the Zoom G2 (hugely underrated pedal, by the way, and ridiculously cheap for what you get) opens up an incredible diversity of tonal worlds with the AC4. Man, this thing sounds incredible with various delays, reverbs, tremolo, flanger, compression--you name it.

She loves Strats too:

http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z289/Hoodsteror/Custom%201x10%20Cab/IMG_1330.jpg

Just to answer a couple questions:
1. Yes, the amount the AC4 hums is normal for it.
2. It can't really be compared to a Blues Junior. Thats like comparing apples to oranges, different tools for different jobs really. Both have the EL84 in common, but the Fender has more of them and everything else too. The AC4 sounds better in my opinion. I wish the AC15 sounded as good as the AC4 and if it did, I'd build or buy one. You would best compare the AC15 with the BJr. A blues Jr can be gigged with, the AC4 would be tough to gig with unless you had a great sound guy and a pair of them. Its a loud 4 watts, but it's still 4 watts. If you love the AC4 and want something comparable in power to a BJr. build yourself an 18 watt marshall tupe amp. There are so many good kits available that are easy to build even for a first time builder. For about 500 bucks you can own an amp that sounds like a $3,000.00 vintage Marshall.
Myself? I'd just buy all the parts for the amp separately and build it from a non-kit because I can do it so cheap, but I'm a veteran builder. I can build an 18 watt amp for the price of a AC4 minus cab and speakers. But I just build heads because I have various cabs already. Heck, you could build a head and use the BJr. for the speaker in a pinch - just set the head on top of the BJr and unplug its speaker and plug in your head. I love the AC4 and believe its the best small amp to hit the market since the Champ, but its a bedroom or studio amp a blues Jr is those things and more.

I am about to buy one of these, and may want to gig with it in the future. Has anyone tried running it through extension cabs?

I have the AC4TVH I run it through the Vox BN212 sounds great to me

The Ac4 sounds great in all the cab I've tried it with but none any better than the on board speaker that comes with the combo. I've tried many combinations and in terns of being louder and moving more air - yeah, the bigger extension cabs do that. But the on board Celestion 10" it comes with is hard to beat - just a perfect combo. Vox really nailed it there. What I'd do suggest to anyone that insists on gigging with it would be to buy 2 of them and then get 4 of the Celestions they use in the combo and run each combo with a nother cab with 2x10's in it mic'd through the PA, then you could almost certainly gig with it without much difficulty....touch sensitive as it is, I wouldnt want to rely on it for cleans though it has nice chime when you back off your attack and a little volume in the 4 watt setting

Mine finally arrived yesterday and I couldn't agree more with the reviews. Chabby is right on the money. I had bought an AC15, the one that came with a Warfdale speaker, and took it back the next day. IMO the AC4 just smokes that amp.

I immediately replaced the stock Sovtek tubes with a set of JJ's and the difference was fairly drastic. Smoother sound with a more extended bass. I still can't help but wonder how a Celestion Alnico Blue would work in this amp. Not that I don't like the stock speaker, because I do, it's a good match for this amp. But I've always considered the Blues and Vox amps synonymous.

I'm totally thrilled. Vox hit this one out of the park.

I want to know how to build the 18 watt Marshall clone for only $500 chabby is talking about above. I looked at the Metropolous kits and they are pretty expensive.

Funny thing about the Vox ac4tv is that it's actually a little loud for the "home studios" most of us probably use (hell, I just record in my basement with pals for our general amusement), but not loud enough for a gig in a club. I suspect the ac15tv would be the way to go for a gig--but they are not cheap. Do they sound as good as the ac4tv?

The 500 bucks is not with a kit - its buying all the parts yourself or even better if you have some donor parts at home. I built my last 18 watt for about 50 bucks as I found a Hammond L100 organ someone was giving away on craigs list. That organ has the perfect PT and OT in it for an 18 watt build. Then on top of it most of the parts you need are in there too. Any organ that has the AO43 amp inside will work fine and as a bonus there's a great spring reverb amp to use for a different project inside as well as a choke also for a different project.

Still, even if you couldnt find an organ donor - you can buy the PT and OY from GDS for abput 160 bucks - then go to an old surplus store to hunt down a suitable chassis or find something around your garage. 160 bucks for the tranny's leaves you with 340 nucks for caps/resisitors/wire/pots/tubes.....trust me it can be done. It may not look like a Marshall when you are done but who cares? Its the sound that counts. I could build one getting real creative for about 250 bucks! But I'm a veteran builder. You can even use a cake pan for a chassis. My latest 18 watt head doesnt even have a cab enclosure yet - I've just been setting the bare chassis on top of an old 16ohm Valve Jr cab I had formerly been using for a 5E3 head-lol! Its amazing how cheaply you can build these simple amps.

Still, even if you couldnt find an organ donor ...

Or is that a donor organ? Either way :lol:

If you have experimented with different preamp tubes in the AC4, please post your impressions. I'm reading a lot of varying reactions to trying a 12AT7 or 5751.

LOL! O knew that was coming! Seriously if anyone is interested I could put together a materials list for you then try to help you with ideas on how to McIver some parts out of your garage or house. As long as you have a speaker or other amp laying around the house to use as your speaker cab there's no reason why you can't put an 18 watt together. I have an 1974X chassis here right now and some parts too.

Just got my AC4TV 10" today. This little guy is everything everyone said about it. It certainly is a great amp. Can not wait to show the guys in the band. I play a MIM 50's Telecaster w/FHRS SCN pups backed with MXR comp,AD9, and the TS9. Holy smokes! The bridge position is amazingly hot on 4w, noon treble, and 1 o'clock vol. Best part is, I got it off a guy on CL for $150 NIB!

$150! Damn, I got mine from a guy on CL for $200--of course, it was only 2 days old and still in the box.

I've got the AC4TV 10" Combo. I love this amp. I too am considering changing out the EL84 to a JJ EL84 and swapping the 12AX7 for a Phillips JAN 5751. The only downside I've had to this amp so far is that it overdrives just a little too soon. The overdrive sounds great, I just want a little more clean before then.

I was just thinking that, too. Once you get over the love of the nice sounding overdrive, you start to realize you have almost no headroom. But, hey, it's a 4 watt amp. I record with it, and otherwise enjoy jamming in my basement. There's no way this amp could be much more than a studio amp.

Hi, hoping to pick up one of these with some Christmas money. My question is is there any advantage to getting the head if the combo has the same extension output? Obviously you save a bit of money, but maybe sacrifice the practicality of a combo for carrying about, while you could still plug into a 4x12 if you needed to move a bit more air.

Does this make sense or am i missing something obvious?

Thanks for any help,
Ali

I was just thinking that, too. Once you get over the love of the nice sounding overdrive, you start to realize you have almost no headroom. But, hey, it's a 4 watt amp. I record with it, and otherwise enjoy jamming in my basement. There's no way this amp could be much more than a studio amp.

I gig with it last night. I have a nova system multi-fx board and the amp was actually too loud when you ran my overdrive/distortion/EQ. iI was running something to close to 3 o'clock on the 4W channel. I do not play clean that much so I guess this is why the amp is good enough for me.

That's the point: it is a loud amp for 4 watts, but it breaks up very quickly and gets very dirty once it's cranked. I love the sound, but if you ever need cleans at volume, this amp won't work in a gig. That's an obvious point, I guess. Oh, well.

Just picked mine up.

It's my Christmas prezzie so I was only allowed to play it for a few minutes.

Sounds good, but real bad hum.

I'm single coil guy. I LIKE hum.

But this was bad. That sent me scurrying to see some of the vids folks have referred to and from what I can tell, my amp is way louder. Pretty darn loud even with the volume on the guitar down, or with humbuckers. Then I thought, ah crap, I have fluorescent bulbs. But, I switched the light off and it didn't make any difference.

Do I have a dud?

Cheers,
Geoff

I'm playing mine through a really hot singlecoil and I get almost no hum.... so I'd say you have something wrong.

I'm playing mine through a really hot singlecoil and I get almost no hum.... so I'd say you have something wrong.

Yeah, it's going back.

Cheers,
Geoff

Yeah, it's going back.

Cheers,
Geoff

Are you getting another one?

CC

No hum on mine with sinle coils, p-90's, or humbuggies.

Are you getting another one?

CC

If they have one in stock that don't hum like a wildebeast in heat - then yeah.

I do like the way they sound. I'm now a little leery of the QC (as I am in general with Chinese made stuff), but stuff happens.

Short answer: yes.

Cheers,
Geoff

Mine was a lot of fun for almost a month, then it started making an ungodly loud, guitar-sound-obliterating BUZZZZZZZZZ!!! QC may indeed be an issue, or maybe I just got the rare dud. Anyway, I took it back, got a SCXD for $50 more & I'm lovin' it!

bro.craig

I thought they were made in Vietnam. That's what mine says on the back, at any rate. Did they switch construction to China?

Mine hums, but not enough to cause me any concern.
I've been playing mine almost exclusively since I bought it about a month ago, and I still love it. Now that I have Vox, and Marshall sounds covered, I think it's time to look in to Fender. A DRRI or a Princeton perhaps?

CC

I gig with it last night. I have a nova system multi-fx board and the amp was actually too loud when you ran my overdrive/distortion/EQ. iI was running something to close to 3 o'clock on the 4W channel. I do not play clean that much so I guess this is why the amp is good enough for me.

Interesting. Did you mic it and run it through a PA? What kind of venue?

It's louder than I expected it to be, but I never thought about trying to gig with it or even jam with a drummer without an extension cab or a second amp or something.

Hi, hoping to pick up one of these with some Christmas money. My question is is there any advantage to getting the head if the combo has the same extension output? Obviously you save a bit of money, but maybe sacrifice the practicality of a combo for carrying about, while you could still plug into a 4x12 if you needed to move a bit more air.

Does this make sense or am i missing something obvious?

Thanks for any help,
Ali

As far as I can tell, you might as well get the combo, it only weighs about 20 lbs anyway and it has a 16 ohm output as well, just like the head, for only $50 more. And it is surprisingly loud IMO for a 4 watt 10" combo. You get the both of best worlds.

Unless you have a nice cab you want to pair with it (as I did), I think the combo makes more sense. You could even get the 8" combo for a more compact combo/head.

As for the hum, mine is only bad with one guitar, so I suspect that axe's wiring. Most I've read about this amp says to expect some hum.

Interesting. Did you mic it and run it through a PA? What kind of venue?

It's louder than I expected it to be, but I never thought about trying to gig with it or even jam with a drummer without an extension cab or a second amp or something.

I ran through the P.A. but my volume pedal was at 50%. We ran it to even out the sound in the auditorium but I felt like I could almost get away with it without going to the P.A. The sound tech didn't add too much.

This is a video on that gig. Skip to 4:20 to hear the Eric Clapton Song. Before that we played a introduction song and you will see me in the video struggling with the volume. Someone touch my volume pedal before I went on stage. You will see me on stage with my Agile AL-3000 GoldTop P90. I only upgrade the bridge. Pups are original

W6jU2D1wcRQ

BTW : I practice with the drummer the night before and I was too loud. I had no issue playing over the drums. Of course, I was playing with distortion. I got a pretty good pedal board : Nova System. I can had up to 10db on any patch if I need too.

Nice. That sounded good, Fogboundturtle. Sounded loud enough to me. Thank you. That is encouraging.

I have a Electro Harmonix LPB-1 booster that gives me a real nice boost, that might be all I need after all. I've also found that if I use my bass amp and then connect the Vox to the tuner output I can get a real nice tone that way too. I get the nice full bass from the bass amp (SWR workingman's 15), the tube overdrive and the Vox chime for the treble and plenty of volume.

If they have one in stock that don't hum like a wildebeast in heat - then yeah.

I do like the way they sound. I'm now a little leery of the QC (as I am in general with Chinese made stuff), but stuff happens.

Short answer: yes.

Cheers,
Geoff

Well,

Went back in today to see if they had any in stock. They did. So we plugged it in. And it hums pretty bad too. Maybe not as bad as mine. But pretty loud. Louder than I would've thought was normal.

I'm gonna take mine back tomorrow hopefully and we'll see if it's actually any worse than the others.

I've gone back and looked at some youtube clips and whatnot, and they don't seem to be as loud as mine. Maybe the local store got a bunch from a bad batch or something. he told me he ordered a few, so it's possible that they were made close in time to each other.

We'll see.

Cheers,
Geoff

Strange about the hum.

I notice mine hums a little more when my computer (which is next to it) is turned on. I noticed this because I actually mic'd the amp today and tried to record with it. I don't have an expensive microphone, just an old sm58 from the mid 80s. I plugged the mic into my line6 toneport and thence to the computer. Turning off all the amp models, but turning on the noisegate, I got some amazing tones. I always thought the Line6 amp models had great tone (and they do), but the ac4 blows them away. Great amp for the studio, without a doubt.

I finally took mine to a country studio practice. Not enough clean headroom! The MXR Comp helped out a bit but still not enough. Gonna swap out the 12AX7 for a 12AU7 and try again maybe with a celestion gold 10. Great sound from the AX but needs to be mic'd for sure. I'm not givin up on this little guy just yet! :cry:

Just joined the club. Got mine today and really like it.

When I first got it, I wasn't too impressed, but after playing around with it...I like it

-edit- Not enough clean headroom! -edit-

It's a 4 watt tube amp, it's not built for clean headroom. It's for tube overdrive at a reasonable volume right?

If you want clean headroom, you might be barking up the wrong tree.

put in the National 12Au7, clean to 3 o'clock. :shock: i love it!

Well you can have pretty much whatever you want in todays market, I keep coming back to the basics. This is finally the perfect amp, a tubey I can really get off the ground, (even the AC15 was way too loud). Loves what I love, P90's.
Amazing with a 12" cab.

..."but these go to 4"...

Like that Epi a lot, even though it isn't a tele...

If anyone's interested, I posted my 2nd guitar lesson featuring the AC4.

The thread is here:

http://www.tdpri.com/forum/tab-tips-theory-technique/190037-my-2nd-video-lesson-fogerty-content.html

Like that Epi a lot, even though it isn't a tele...

Quite right. Thanks for the comp on the Casino, I like it a lot too....but,

I suppose I should of posted this pic.

I ran through the P.A. but my volume pedal was at 50%. We ran it to even out the sound in the auditorium but I felt like I could almost get away with it without going to the P.A. The sound tech didn't add too much.

This is a video on that gig. Skip to 4:20 to hear the Eric Clapton Song. Before that we played a introduction song and you will see me in the video struggling with the volume. Someone touch my volume pedal before I went on stage. You will see me on stage with my Agile AL-3000 GoldTop P90. I only upgrade the bridge. Pups are original

W6jU2D1wcRQ

BTW : I practice with the drummer the night before and I was too loud. I had no issue playing over the drums. Of course, I was playing with distortion. I got a pretty good pedal board : Nova System. I can had up to 10db on any patch if I need too.

Nice sound of the Agile AL-3000, too - First time I've ever heard one of those..

Also, please forgive me for digressing, and going off on a tangent, (hijacking the thread?.), etc., but I noticed that the view quality of this video is outstanding. Do you happen to know what type of videocam was used?

So from all the talk on this little bugger I picked one up today with the 10" speaker. Sounds pretty cool but the tone control seems to do almost nothing. Does anyone else also feel the tone control does not do much?

I finally got a chance to do some experimenting with the AC4 preamp tube last weekend and all I can say is WOW. I have changed tubes in many amps over many years, but never has there been such a dramatic effect – even from changing all the tubes in a larger amp—as there was from changing just the preamp tube in the AC4.

I tried three different preamp tubes, so first just a couple general observations that were true with all three.

-- All three dramatically improved the tone, especially the overdriven tones, which is saying something because this is such a great amplifier stock.

-- All three substantially decreased noise, so if you are having hum issues, the first thing to do is dump the POS Sovtek 12AX7.

-- All three rendered the tone control useful above two o’clock – no more grainy, buzzy overdrive.

-- All three rendered the attenuated settings useful, both clean and overdriven.

First up was a JJ 12AT7. I immediately noticed the minor noise issues I was having were gone. The amplifier was now dead quiet even with my Nocaster equipped Tele, which hummed like a mofo stock. This was the most quiet of the three tubes I tried, probably because it was brand-new. There was a fairly substantial drop in volume with the AT7, one downside of which was the sweet spot for clean tones seemed to be louder than stock. There was also less bass and more mids. Very clear and sharp, but not a keeper.


2nd up was an old GE 12AX7 that came in a vintage Super Champ I bought years ago. I completely retubed that amplifier immediately and noticed virtually no change. Perhaps the reason why was this tube ROCKS. Good god, it was like taking the stock AC4 tones and making them ridiculously bolder, with absolutely gigantic balls. Unlike stock, you can now dime the amp and tone on all three settings and have rich, chunky, savage rock without the grainy, buzzy overtones. This was a definite keeper, but still a bit noisy, probably due to being an old tube and higher gain, but still quieter than stock.

Third and last up was an old 12AY7, no brand readable, I think given to me by Jim at L’il Dawg Amps. Oddly, this seemed a bit louder than the AT7, but still a substantial volume dropped from stock. The sweet spot clean is now around noon, and under 11 o’clock it sounds a bit thin, whereas stock the cleans at nine o’clock were full. For those who think the AC4 is too loud, this would be a great option because it still rips overdriven but is much quieter. Between 12 and two o’clock it is sublime, with the hair coming on MUCH smoother than stock, gorgeous.

For now I’m sticking with the AY, but unless you really want to quiet this beast, I think a good 12AX7 brings out this amplifier’s full potential. It is just such a ridiculous firebreather with that GE that I’m going to try some other AX7’s along with a 5751. But in general I don’t think you can go wrong with swapping the stock preamp tube for just about anything to make this a smoother, richer, more versatile amp. Quite incredible really.

yo, Fogboundturtle - in that YouTube clip it appears you have the amp pointed at you. I'm guessing you have it mic'ed through the PA for the audience and are using the amps volume as your monitor?

Is that correct?

Tim

I finally got a chance to do some experimenting with the AC4 preamp tube last weekend and all I can say is WOW. I have changed tubes in many amps over many years, but never has there been such a dramatic effect – even from changing all the tubes in a larger amp—as there was from changing just the preamp tube in the AC4.

I tried three different preamp tubes, so first just a couple general observations that were true with all three.

-- All three dramatically improved the tone, especially the overdriven tones, which is saying something because this is such a great amplifier stock.

-- All three substantially decreased noise, so if you are having hum issues, the first thing to do is dump the POS Sovtek 12AX7.

-- All three rendered the tone control useful above two o’clock – no more grainy, buzzy overdrive.

-- All three rendered the attenuated settings useful, both clean and overdriven.

First up was a JJ 12AT7. I immediately noticed the minor noise issues I was having were gone. The amplifier was now dead quiet even with my Nocaster equipped Tele, which hummed like a mofo stock. This was the most quiet of the three tubes I tried, probably because it was brand-new. There was a fairly substantial drop in volume with the AT7, one downside of which was the sweet spot for clean tones seemed to be louder than stock. There was also less bass and more mids. Very clear and sharp, but not a keeper.


2nd up was an old GE 12AX7 that came in a vintage Super Champ I bought years ago. I completely retubed that amplifier immediately and noticed virtually no change. Perhaps the reason why was this tube ROCKS. Good god, it was like taking the stock AC4 tones and making them ridiculously bolder, with absolutely gigantic balls. Unlike stock, you can now dime the amp and tone on all three settings and have rich, chunky, savage rock without the grainy, buzzy overtones. This was a definite keeper, but still a bit noisy, probably due to being an old tube and higher gain, but still quieter than stock.

Third and last up was an old 12AY7, no brand readable, I think given to me by Jim at L’il Dawg Amps. Oddly, this seemed a bit louder than the AT7, but still a substantial volume dropped from stock. The sweet spot clean is now around noon, and under 11 o’clock it sounds a bit thin, whereas stock the cleans at nine o’clock were full. For those who think the AC4 is too loud, this would be a great option because it still rips overdriven but is much quieter. Between 12 and two o’clock it is sublime, with the hair coming on MUCH smoother than stock, gorgeous.

For now I’m sticking with the AY, but unless you really want to quiet this beast, I think a good 12AX7 brings out this amplifier’s full potential. It is just such a ridiculous firebreather with that GE that I’m going to try some other AX7’s along with a 5751. But in general I don’t think you can go wrong with swapping the stock preamp tube for just about anything to make this a smoother, richer, more versatile amp. Quite incredible really.


Thanks for passing that along.
I appreciate it. I was having some noise issues.

I too recently purchased an AC4TV and agree with most of you who are blown away. When I set the amp up for "just on the verge of breakup" and play "Day Tripper" I would swear I was channeling George Harrison. Amazing! I didn't think you could get that sound anymore. Thought it was stuck in the sixties! I use the 4 watt setting almost exclusively. Cranked it up to about noon and the overdrive is smokin'. The 1 and 1/4 watt sound pretty muddy and aren't quiet enough to make them really useful to me.

My one complaint is that the tone control seems to be completely useless. I can't detect a tonal difference between all the way down and fully dimed. Maybe my ears need replacement. Or maybe I have a defective unit. Has anyone else noticed this?

Just after I posted I want back to the forum posts and found that several other people feel the same way about the tone control. I guess it's just the nature of this amp.

I suppose I can always use my guitar's tone control to get different shadings.

Incidentally, with my SG humbuckers, on the 4 watt setting, it starts to break up around 9 o'clock on the volume. With my Tele and Strat single coils, I can get it up to about noon before breakup. Obviously this is due to the relative output of the p/u's. Just an observation.

Just after I posted I want back to the forum posts and found that several other people feel the same way about the tone control. I guess it's just the nature of this amp.

I suppose I can always use my guitar's tone control to get different shadings.


That is most definitely NOT the nature of the amp. My tone control has incredible range, from woman tone to major chime. Yours may indeed be defective.

Hoodster, or anyone else who wishes to chime in, I have a question:

How hard is it to change the tubes in this thing?
Is it simply a matter of opening it up, unplugging the old tube and plugging in a new one?

Sorry, I'm a total noob when it comes to servicing amps.

Hoodster, or anyone else who wishes to chime in, I have a question:

How hard is it to change the tubes in this thing?
Is it simply a matter of opening it up, unplugging the old tube and plugging in a new one?

Sorry, I'm a total noob when it comes to servicing amps.

It's a bit of a PITA, but no hard. You have to remove the chasis to replace the tubes.

As for the tone control, mine works fine and has a full range of adjustment.

My one complaint is that the tone control seems to be completely useless. I can't detect a tonal difference between all the way down and fully dimed. Maybe my ears need replacement. Or maybe I have a defective unit. Has anyone else noticed this?

Hmmm. My tone control has a decent range of usability.

Playing my CV Tele I like the tone about 12:00 with the bridge pickup and about 3:00 with the neck or middle setting. I can definitely hear differences. With the P90 gold top copy, everything is hotter and brighter so I keep the tone dialed back or sometimes just roll back the guitar's tone. The volume and tone seem somewhat interactive. Generally, as I crank the volume I prefer to ratchet back the tone a little.

I'm impressed with the different sounds from just those two guitars, this amp and some knob twiddling. I don't have anything with humbuckers but I'm guessing the AC4 would overdrive early and sound warm and fat.

I'm anxious to dig through my box of old tubes, make some swaps and see what happens.

Another fun thing would be to volume match the cleans on my VC30 with the crunch on the AC4 and switch between them. Or even run them together. But, alas, I don't have an A/B switch to try it with.

Has anyone tried a new speaker in their combo?

Tim

Hmmm. My tone control has a decent range of usability.

Playing my CV Tele I like the tone about 12:00 with the bridge pickup and about 3:00 with the neck or middle setting.
Tim

Like Hoodster says my Tone control must be defective. Good thing I have until 1/30 to exchange if for a new one!

I've got a strat and an SG. My fist Tele's gonna be a CV. Actually I've owned Teles in the past (mostly in the 80's) but they all fell by the wayside--got traded away or sold or stolen. So the CV won't technically be my "first" Tele. But my first after discovering TDPRI.

What a pleasure it is to peruse your website. So much great information. I'm sure it will only enhance my Telecaster ownership experience.

timmy's description of the vol/tone interaction is dead on.

Removing the back of the amp HEAD is easy--two screws on top and 4 on the back corners. Slide the chassis out and touch ONLY the tubes. Obviously, unplug the amp first, which I do with it on--read once that helps discharge the caps.

Haven't swapped speakers in the combo since I own the head, but I can say the Weber AlNiCo Silver Ten is fab. I would also like to try the newish Greenback 10, but it's a bit $$.

Very little change in the tone with the tone knob on mine. Slightly noticeable brightening of the tone when it's dimed--I think. I wonder why there are so many variations in experiences with this amp. I guess the quality control is an issue, after all. Makes me wonder if they hooked up the tone knob at all. Then again, I'm not sure why I need the tone knob. I have one on my guitar!

Yeah the tone knob on mine is pretty useless. It does roll off the highs a little bit , but not much. It can still be pretty bright with it all the way down especially on the 4 watt setting. Don't get me wrong, I still love the amp. I would have rather had a gain than a tone knob.

Wow, this tone knob stuff is WEIRD. Mine is more usable than on lots of amps that have multiple tone controls. Most amps I've owned I just set and leave, whereas with the Vox I'm always adjusting the tone (mostly between 11 and 3 o'clock) because it is so interactive with the other 2 controls.

You guys with ineffective tone controls, have you swapped tubes at all? Don't know why that would matter but it's worth doing anyway, esp. the preamp.

Santa delivered me a AC4TV 1X10 combo. I like this amp both the cleans and the drive. I'm a bedroom twanger so for me it has plenty of headroom. It sounds like my 1974X but at a reasonalbe volume. I love clean sounds and don't use much overdrive or distortion but this thing does have great overdrive. I'm not taking away from the cleans on it but the overdrive is very textured and harmonic. I don't know what else to say except I love this little amp. I never thought for the money you could get something this cool.

If I could complain I would say when you turn the Tone knob past noon it hums more than any of my other tube amps. For me running the tone past noon is not possible due to the hum it creates. No a big deal as I play a tele and it is bright enough for me at 10 or 11 oclock. It sounds like a new preamp tube should help this out though.

Hi guys!

I am considering buying AC4, but I've got few questions before I'll spend money.
Is it possible to play it with 1x12" cabinet with a rock band (sort of early Led Zeppelin stuff)? I am going to use some vintage style fuzz and wah-wah, and I play on clean very rarely. I was thinking of buying AC15 too, although I would have to save much more money. Isn't it a better idea to get AC4 (head+cabinet)? I am asking about rehearsals, because on the gigs I would use microphone and some stage speakers.

Thanks for help!

If you have a light drummer you might be ok. The distorted sounds rock on this thing and can easily do most classic rock and 80's rock. Go buy one at GC and if it does not work at rehersal then you can return it no questions asked with in 30 days of purchase. From what I heard going to the 1X12 does not offer much. Some people have purchased 2 of these and run them in stereo for more volume.

Of course, if you buy one at GC you'll have to hope the company is still around in 30 days...

As for the tone control issue, I haven't tried changing tubes. I can't see what difference that would make with the functioning of the tone control. Think I shall e-mail vox and ask about the issue.

Hi guys!

I am considering buying AC4, but I've got few questions before I'll spend money.
Is it possible to play it with 1x12" cabinet with a rock band (sort of early Led Zeppelin stuff)? I am going to use some vintage style fuzz and wah-wah, and I play on clean very rarely. I was thinking of buying AC15 too, although I would have to save much more money. Isn't it a better idea to get AC4 (head+cabinet)? I am asking about rehearsals, because on the gigs I would use microphone and some stage speakers.

Thanks for help!

It might work with a good sized cab and highly efficient speaker(s), like the Eminence Wizard. I wouldn't bother with the Vox cab unless you're into matching appearances.

As I stated previously, the tone control on my AC4TVH works great. It has good range and effects more than just the treble. And it works well with any tube combination. Would those of you experiencing problems with your tone controls happen to have the combo? Just a thought.

I've tried JJ, EH and Sovtek power tubes and JJ, Sovtek, EH, Ruby and Tung Sol pre-amp tubes. I like the EH/Sovtek Power tubes with the Tung Sol pre-amp tube best. The stock Sovtek and EH power tubes appear to be the same tube. The Ruby also works very well in this amp with a little sweeter high end, but there's just something so right with the Tung Sol's. I seem to prefer them in just about every amp.

I rolled a 16 Ohm Eminence Texas heat into my cab, but it didn't stay long. Not nearly as good with this head as the stock Celestion Seventy 80 speaker. The bass was more robust, but there was a mid range dip which caused a treble peak that was pretty nasty. I wish I had some other 16 Ohm speakers to try, but I also think they made a good choice with the stock speaker. I didn't think so at first, but it just needed some break-in time. I'd still love to see how a Weber Blue Dog would work in this amp. I have a ceramic BD, but unfortunately it's 8 Ohm.

Anyhow, that's my update. It's a great little amp and I'm trilled to death with it until I turn on my Gibson and hear what I'm missing. ;o) But that's comparing apples to oranges.

Of course, if you buy one at GC you'll have to hope the company is still around in 30 days...


That's a provocative statement. Are there rumors circulating about GC's imminent demise?

Tim

I heard a rumor, but since it was totally unverified I really shouldn't be making jokes like that. I withdraw my statement. There ARE some amazing deals over at GC right now.

Has anyone tried to contact Vox about the tone control issue? My brother has one of these too and I tried it out to compare and it is about the same.

I love this amp, but $250 is kind of a lot of money for a guy like me and If I spend that much on something, I want it to do everything it is supposed to do.

I'm too late to return it to Guitar Center where I bought it, so now I'm wondering if the Vox warranty will cover it. I wonder too how long the turnaround on it would be because this is the only guitar amp that I have right now and I don't want to be with out it for too long.

There seems to be no way to e-mail Vox support... and I got no further than that. In the end, I suppose I don't care enough about the tone control to bother much with it. It does something.

Sorry for being annoying, but there is one more question I have to ask: Will a germanium fuzz sound good with fully cranked AC4 (volume: maximum)? Or that effects are supposed to be plugged into clean amp, without any distortion.

Try it. I have tried it with my tubescreamer: you just get lots more distortion and noise.

I submitted a tech request to Vox about the tone control issue. I got a response once before so hopefully I'll get one again.

I have to admit, I can hear subtle differences now that I've not used the amp for a week. Strat/bridge p/u is tamed by rolling tone all the way back. Neck pickup gets more definition by turning tone up. Which leads me to believe that it IS hooked up. It's just subtle. And subtly is subjective.

I asked about the tone control on another forum and 3 of 3 responses so far say theirs works great.

After playing with the amp a little more today, I discovered that the tone control is more effective the louder the amp is. The change was dramatic. I now see what people mean when they say that the controls are interactive. All's well. Amazing little amp.

Strange. Why would the tone control have anything to do with the volume?

Dunno. But I just tried it again. It has a full sweep of tone range when cranked. But next to nothing (if anything) when played clean at a low volume. I tried it at all power settings.

Interesting. I have not tried it turned all the way up. I live in an apartment so I try not to play TOO loud. I'm gonna have to try that though.

It's really not a big deal to me. I got a Danelectro Fish & Chips 7 band EQ and it gives me the ability to really sculpt my tone. I can get a lot of different sounds with it. Who needs a tone knob anyway?

I have just ordered a Jensen P10R (Alnico) and a 12AU7 tube for this. I really do like the sound that the Celestion produces but wanted to give it more of an AC30 tone. The only real issue that I have faced with this amp is that it breaks up a little too quickly at low volumes. I only use the 4 watt setting and find that it starts to break up just between 3-4 on the volume. I love the natural overdrive it produces but am trying to get some better clean headroom with the 12AU7. Has anyone else swapped out the stock speaker with an Alnico speaker?

I have the AC4TV combo and swapped the tubes for a Jan Philips 5751 and a JJ el84. The 5751 really cleans it up, and the JJ el84's seem to tighten it up. The thing is VERY loud for 4 watts, and even on the lowest power setting, I can't turn it up past 3 in my apartment. I played with a drummer once without a mic, and it was ok, but I think for a gig situation in a small room, it would need to be mic'd. I am about to order a new speaker for it - considering the Weber Silver 10 Alnico, but I'm not sure if it will fit. we''ll see...

I received my ACTV4 1x10 combo today. It sounds pretty good so far, but it has a bit too much gain for my intended use. I have a Jan Philips 5751 and Mullard EL84/6BQ5 on they way. Hopefully this will get me the dirt I want at a lower volume.

About how many hours are needed to break the speaker in?

I received my ACTV4 1x10 combo today. It sounds pretty good so far, but it has a bit too much gain for my intended use. I have a Jan Philips 5751 and Mullard EL84/6BQ5 on they way. Hopefully this will get me the dirt I want at a lower volume.

About how many hours are needed to break the speaker in?

Let us know how you get on with those new tubes

In regards to the tone control...I thought mine did not work either until I turned the amp up. Once you have the volume to noon you should be able to hear the tone control working. Stick the amp on the 4 watt setting, turn the volume to noon and play with the tone control....does it work any better? for me it did;-)

I tried adjusting the tone with the volume up higher and it does indeed have more of an effect at higher volumes. Seems like a design flaw to me though, I mean it is meant to be a practice amp right?

Spent some time with my AC4TV today. I picked it up new in the box from my local Vox dealer (not GC. Not that there's anything wrong with that).

Anyone notice the Mains Input isn't actually bolted in? Mine pulls out a little at the top when the power cord is plugged in (from the weight of the cord, like the distance of maybe a credit card and a half. Applying more "pressure has it leaning out a little more, even. Bottom of the Mains Input is in tight). Called the store (buddies of mine) and the floor model does the same thing. Just a cheap "clip-in" part? I can actually see the plastic "Tab" or "hook" going into the chassis (it's obviously grabbing something otherwise the whole socket would just fall out).



That aside, this is a tremendous sounding amp. I played it for a long while using my ASAT Special and my Hamer. What tones!!!!!!

Oh yeah: brought it back to my dealer, compared it to the floor model. Mine was definitely not right. Exchanged it, and I am back up & rocking.

Oh yeah: brought it back to my dealer, compared it to the floor model. Mine was definitely not right. Exchanged it, and I am back up & rocking.

Awesome. Mine seems very well built. Much better than my Blues Junior with its knobs that feel like they are going to fall off in your hand. They are attached directly to the circuit board as I understand it. Don't get me wrong. the BJ sounds great but the AC4 wails!

I have just ordered a Jensen P10R (Alnico) and a 12AU7 tube for this. I really do like the sound that the Celestion produces but wanted to give it more of an AC30 tone. Has anyone else swapped out the stock speaker with an Alnico speaker?

I use the Weber Alnico Silver Ten, and it's perfect. I'll be curious to hear what you think of the P10R. I'm not a fan of the Jenson RI alnicos (I've had the p10r, p12r, and p12q) and have found the Weber alnicos (even the budget Signature series) hold together in the bass much better when pushed and compress sweeter with no ice pick compared to the Jensens.

By the way, I've posted three video guitar lessons on YT featuring the AC4 with the Weber, various guitars, if anyone wants to hear what it sounds like.

Here's a link to the latest one:

http://www.tdpri.com/forum/tab-tips-theory-technique/193373-3rd-video-lesson-rockin-harrison-solo.html

I picked up a 10" combo last week at the local GC. My tone control seems useful at all volumes, the stock speaker sounds clear as a bell, and there were no issues with "fit and finish".

After playing the stock amp for a couple of days, I popped in an old GE 12AX7. BIG improvement! This knocked down the noise and gave me considerably more clean headroom. I can go just past halfway on the volume control before she gets crunchy. Perfect! I also tried an old Brimar EL84 in place of the stock Sovtek but went back to the Sovtek. Ordered a pair of Mullard (reissue) tubes and a JJ EL84 and will play a bit more when they arrive.

Overall, I'm really impressed with this little amp. I've got a BF Vibro Champ, a BF Princeton Reverb, and an early DRRI, and I wanted a little Vox in the mix. The AC4TV fills that space very nicely! And it really kills with a P90-equipped Tele!

Ciao,
Rick

Hoodster,

I've never used the Weber's, though I have read that they are superior to the Jensen's. I did the tube swap to a 12AU7 and swapped the speaker for the Jensen. A couple of things that I noticed instantly:

1. There is a noticible volume drop from the stock speaker. I assume that this is caused by the Jensen being a far less efficient speaker.

2. The clean headroom. The sound will not break-up until about volume 8 or 9 now.

3. It definitley has a more "jangley" clean tone now and sounds much more like a vintage amp. I've never owned or played a vintage AC30 so I can't make a comparison.

I am thus far pleased with this change, I suspect that a Weber would likely sound better. However, now that I've installed the Jensen I'm not likely to change it now. It is a practice amp afterall.

Good lesson Hoodster! I love that Harrison solo. What kind of speaker cabinet is that? Homemade?

Good lesson Hoodster! I love that Harrison solo. What kind of speaker cabinet is that? Homemade?

Thanks! Give that thread a bump if you get a chance--lots of looks but no comments.

Yeah, the cab is a custom one-off I designed with a great guy in Portland. He built it for a case of Full Sail Ale!!! (plus parts, of course.)

It sounds killer and has a real vintage vibe. Check out the funky porthole back, an idea I stole from Bad Cat:

http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z289/Hoodsteror/Custom%201x10%20Cab/JohnsonCabBack.jpg

Thanks! Give that thread a bump if you get a chance--lots of looks but no comments.

Yeah, the cab is a custom one-off I designed with a great guy in Portland. He built it for a case of Full Sail Ale!!! (plus parts, of course.)

It sounds killer and has a real vintage vibe. Check out the funky porthole back, an idea I stole from Bad Cat:

http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z289/Hoodsteror/Custom%201x10%20Cab/JohnsonCabBack.jpg

Lookin good, lookin good.

regarding the tone control, I cranked my amp today and noticed that at volume the tone control works very well. Strange. Haven't figured out what the tone control has to do with the volume--but on this amp it apparently does.

I also got lots of hum from the amp, which is unusual because I've cranked it before without an unusual amount of noise. Couldn't figure out the source this time, but I hope it's temporary.

I also got lots of hum from the amp, which is unusual because I've cranked it before without an unusual amount of noise. Couldn't figure out the source this time, but I hope it's temporary.

You've probably thought of this but perhaps it's caused by the single coil pickups in your Tele. I've also noticed more noise with single coils and this amp. The amp seems to accentuate the highs, hence the buzz

I thought that it was too boxy and dark as a closed cab, so I decided to open it...

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2503/4269909390_96fbdb0019.jpg

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4042/4269910480_08afb55a0f.jpg

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4011/4269168705_eb85962672.jpg

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4007/4269169695_87458e8d4a.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2551/4269170689_78137d271c.jpg

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4059/4269171953_d0c0031c3b_b.jpg

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4059/4269173053_6b72985887.jpg

It seems to me that the cab was designed to keep the overdrive tight and more modern...I like a looser bass and a more airy sound for Vox. For me, the combination of a 12at7 and this cab port has made this amp perfect for me. If you like the clean tones of Vox, make sure that you pair it with an open cab before you buy.

FWIW
Patrick

Nice job!!

I'd like to hear the open cabinet.

Re: amp hum, it isn't the single coils as it was humming with my 12-string, too, which has two humbuckers. I think it was some local interference. I'm going to check again when the house is empty so I can turn it up. Don't notice anything unusual until the volume was at about 10 o'clock.

Speaking of a 12-string, this amp always sounds super with my Esquire, but I tried my new Dean 12-string with it and... not so good. The Dean wants to distort WAY too quickly.

After playing the stock amp for a couple of days, I popped in an old GE 12AX7. BIG improvement! This knocked down the noise and gave me considerably more clean headroom. I can go just past halfway on the volume control before she gets crunchy. Perfect! I also tried an old Brimar EL84 in place of the stock Sovtek but went back to the Sovtek. Ordered a pair of Mullard (reissue) tubes and a JJ EL84 and will play a bit more when they arrive.

I got these other tubes in today and mixed and matched for awhile... The Mullard reissues are nice tubes and an improvement over the stock Sovteks. Less noise, better tone. But clean headroom is only to about 12:00 with the Mullards. When I went back to the old GE 12AX7, I had clean tone to nearly 3:00 and it got wonderfully nasty after that! Most impressive! I replaced the Mullard EL84 with a new JJ EL84 and was pretty happy with that setup. I'm going to stick with the old GE 12AX7 and the JJ EL84. Huge improvement over stock and just the sound I was hoping to get from this amp. If you want significantly better performance over stock but crunchy at a lower volume, the Mullard reissues are a good bet. (And I now have a spare set if anyone is interested!)

I'm also running a Boss DD-6 on the Warp setting to give me something approximating some reverb. Sounds pretty good.

Ciao,
Rick

Hello all, I'm a newbie to this thread I've had my AC4TV for a week now, I guess i'm lucky, mine is almost dead quiet. After reading all the threads and checking out the Bitmo mod kit on ebay I have setted on a NOS 12at7 preamp and keeping the stock Sovtek el84. I'm getting a great, smooth, very "classic" Vox sound now and I can't stop playing it. I brought it along to a rehearsal the other night and this amp on its own is not loud enough to hang with drummer (even with brushes), the good news is it sounds great mic'ed up with an sm57 and I was able to get a great rehearsal mix where for once I could actually hear the vocals! Now as far as using this amp live, I'm doing some experimenting with using the amp as a preamp. I've got a bitmo 10-uator that I had bought for the valve jr. that I sold to buy this amp, and I'm running the line out on the 10-uator into a crate power block into a 1x12 open back cabinet with a Jensen lighting 12 8om speaker and voila! the best sounding poor mans AC30 I could hope for, with lots of headroom to spare with the powerblock as the output section. Torres Engineering has a line out kit that could be installed directly to this amp that would make it a good straight to PA amp as well. Anyways, thats my 2 cents, tonewise best $250.00 I've ever spent on an amplifier.

"Say cheese and tell daddy who loves you" (hopefully the picture uploaded)

This looks interesting.

http://www.mercurymagnetics.com/pages/catalog/kits/VC4TV/AC4TV-01aa.htm

No details or pricing yet.

Tim

This looks interesting.

http://www.mercurymagnetics.com/pages/catalog/kits/VC4TV/AC4TV-01aa.htm

No details or pricing yet.

Tim

The vid was unimpressive. With a simple tube swap my AC4 sounds better.

Hi all AC4TV fans,

Here's what you've been waiting for:

http://website.lineone.net/~m0dzo/AC4TVschem.pdf

A circuit diagram for the 10 inch AC4TV version.

Drawn by Masco (Vintage Amps Bulletin Board) from photos of an AC4TV
board, with corrections by several other people including myself.

It doesn't include fuses or on/off switch!

AJH

Hey all you tube swappers! What kind of tubes do you like for this amp? I'm thinking about upgrading but not sure which way to go. I would like something that is less noisy and gives me a smoother sounding overdrive. What do you guys think?

I am using a U.S. Made JAN Philips 5751 and a Mullard reissue EL-84. I really like this combo so far.

Anyone tried a clean boost pedal on these suckers? What affect is It having on tone, saturation and volume?
Anyone have a favourite pedal on the amp?

I just got may 4ACTV8 today. The logic being that the 8" is nice and small to carry around and I could plug it into a 2x12 i have handy. For $169 the price was right.

I think it is a really nice little amp. I wasn't expecting much clean out of a 4watt amp, so I was impressed with how much I got out of it. I am really curious about the Mercury Mod kit, but I have a feeling it will be too much money for what you end up with.

One thing I was curious about is has anyone tried to put a 10" in the 8" cabinet? It looks like there would be enough room to squeeze it in there.

I just traded for an AC4tv combo yesterday. I play harp, so my needs in amp tone are most times different than a guitar player. The amp seemed way too bright for me and the tone control was not much of a help. thank you for I found a schematic drawing on another site, it helped me make a weak harp amp into a usable one.I first lifted a leg of c4 and bypassed the tone stack. That made a huge difference right away. Sort of a "Tweedy" feel. I then replaced C1 with .1 orange drop and C6 with an orange drop .047. This brought the brightness down a ton. I am running a Messa el84 that I had lying around and an RCA 12AT7 in the preamp to take some of the early fuzz out. The 12AT7 made a real good change in the clean headroom. I have heard that the 12AT7 is not really good for this, that a 12AY7 or a 5751 would be better. Not having either of thoise tubes at the moment I tried the 12AT7 that I have and it works pretty good. I may still replace the 220k resistors with 100k and change the R18 to 1.5k with C11 changing to 25uF. I am also considering changing the OT to something with multiple taps, so as to give a wider speaker option. It depends on how long this rain lasts! The attenuator does not do much for me at this point.
http://harmony.demont.net/myharmonies/Jaybird/voxAC4TVschematic.jpg

I have been reading reviews and reading the posts about this amp for a while now and really wanting one of these so I was looking online and at some shops in my area and just about pulled the trigger on one (AC4TV8) and just noticed that there are two models of this amp being the Vox AC4TV8 with a 8" speaker and the Vox AC4TV with a 10" speaker. What is the difference or is there a big difference between the two amps in a combo package?

I have been reading reviews and reading the posts about this amp for a while now and really wanting one of these so I was looking online and at some shops in my area and just about pulled the trigger on one (AC4TV8) and just noticed that there are two models of this amp being the Vox AC4TV8 with a 8" speaker and the Vox AC4TV with a 10" speaker. What is the difference or is there a big difference between the two amps in a combo package?

They are both 4W, if I remember correctly the only difference is the speaker size. Go for the 10" it is surprisingly loud and it sounds great.

OK I just looked it up and there is one other difference, the 10" version has a 4w, 1w and 1/4w settings and the 8" has 4w, 1w and 1/10w.

I kind of doubt that 1/10w would sound much different than 1/4w though.

Anyone tried a clean boost pedal on these suckers? What affect is It having on tone, saturation and volume?
Anyone have a favourite pedal on the amp?

YES! I got an Electro Harmonix LPB-1 and it sounds great through my amp. It gives me a lot more overdrive. I'm not good at describing sound (is anybody?) but I think it sounds like a very classic sounding late 60's early 70's tube distortion, early Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, James Gang, that kind of stuff.

It does not really do much for overall volume, because once you get this amp to a certain volume level, the more you turn it up, it stops getting louder and you just get more distortion.

The main reason I like this pedal is so I can get the overdrive I want at a more reasonable practice volume for home.

I've had one of the 10" combos on order for going on three weeks, but the site I ordered it from had them listed as in stock when they weren't, and because of the weather they haven't received the shipment yet.

Hopefully I should have it by tomorrow. Fingers crossed. :(

I did some more tube swapping last weekend. First I tried a new JAN 5751. It was okay, but for me not the best compromise. The old GE 12AX7 I had tried earlier sounds richer and fuller, and the 5751 does not change the gain or headroom enough to make it a worthwhile choice for those reasons. After the experimentation I’ve done, I really think this circuit was designed for the AX7, and so the only reason I would substitute for it would be to tame the volume and crunch. For that purpose, I preferred the 12AY7 to the 5751. Again, it’s not that the 5751 was bad – I just think this amplifier sounds better at full throttle. And installing a good 12AX7 does tame the gain in the sense of smoothing its onset and tone. Incidentally, the Fargen Amps mods for the AC4 retain the 12AX7 (JJ).

I had better results with the power tube, which I had not previously changed. I installed a new TAD EL84-STR, leaving the GE 12AX7 in the preamp. The TAD seemed to add more dimension and complexity to the already sweet tone. It wasn’t quite as dramatic as replacing the crappy stock preamp tube, but definitely worth $15. The clean tones seem to have more swirl, and the overdrive is smoothed out even more than with just the preamp switch. Along the same lines, the attenuated settings improved even more, to the point at which the ¼ watt setting is usable for the first time (and the 1 watt setting sounds really good).

So, I think the simplest thing to do with this amp is spend 30 or 40 bucks on a new EL84 and 12AX7 (JJ’s would probably be the simplest and cheapest way to guarantee good quality).

Also, it is pretty freaking loud for "bedroom" use with this tube complement.

Yesterday I posted, saying I was going to change some resistors and caps. I changed the 220K resistors to 100k today and did not like what I heard. It made the amp sound rather anemic to me, so I changed back to 220k. However I did switch C11 to a 22Uf and thought there was an improvement in the fullness of sound . I realize that what I like is very subjective. I do not like the amp to be too bright, so I am trying to tone down what I hear.

I've posted here before, but I got one of these amps several months ago AND I LOVE IT! Great clean sounds (albeit at lower volumes) and better natural overdrive than any pedal can provide. However when I want distortion at lower volumes, I use my Fulltone Full Drive II Mosfet and it gives me all the noise I need (anyone wanna buy an OCD??) I think this amp sounds more "Voxy" than the newer AC30s. Incredible chime (a cliche, I know).

I also recently got my first Tele since the 80s. A HWY 1. I love that as well. Also, It helps me with the AC4 tone control issue with a very nicely tapered tone control on the guitar. My Strat doesn't have a tone control for the bridge pickup and it was very piercing while also being muddy on the neck pup. But the combo of the new guitfiddle and AC4 is unbeatable for a practice or recording pair with any combo of pickups. Finally happy with my home rig. Happy Happy Joy Joy.

np: pixies "Monkey Gone To Heaven" - 1071thepeak.com

Here's something I can't explain (and I wonder if it's my ears not the amp): I indicated earlier than the tone control on my AC4 didn't seem to do much. Following suggestions on this board, I turned the amp WAY up (like all the way) and at volume the tone knob control works really great. Strange enough. But this is stranger. Now it seems to operate OK at low volumes, too. I don't think this is mechanically possible, so I'm wondering if I've just gone a little kooky.

I vote for kooky... :mrgreen:

+1 for kooky...I had to turn mine to half volume before i could percieve the tone control working? Who knows and who cares...the little bugger rocks!

Finally it has arrived. AC4TVH + cab. Really easy to dial a really great clean or dirty sound. Fantastic. I am taking it to a gig Sunday, hopefully it'll be loud enough to monitor myself and mic it up. I'll have my Blues Deluxe RI on standyby though. My Keeley TS9 sounds great through it but I'm looking for a boost pedal to make the most of the original sound of the amp. I think a Super Chili Picoso is in order.
On a side note we need a Gearmanndude appreciation thread. Top dude!

I indicated earlier than the tone control on my AC4 didn't seem to do much.

For the record, I just got an email back from Vox customer service that admitted the effect of the tone control is "subtle". I reiterate what many folks here have discovered: The louder the amp is, the more range of tone you get with the control. Incidentally, I was surprised and pleased to get a response. And I totally love my AC4.

Can anyone recommend a good, cheap reverb pedal to match with the amp?

For the record, I just got an email back from Vox customer service that admitted the effect of the tone control is "subtle". I reiterate what many folks here have discovered: The louder the amp is, the more range of tone you get with the control. Incidentally, I was surprised and pleased to get a response. And I totally love my AC4.

Can anyone recommend a good, cheap reverb pedal to match with the amp?


It's very cool that you got a response from Vox. The tone of the amp is great, regardless of where the knob is set.

CC

True. Love this amp. It's got mojo. Don't get to crank often enough.

Can anyone recommend a good, cheap reverb pedal to match with the amp?

It's not what I would call cheap, but the Electro Harmonix Holy Grail sounds almost like a spring reverb.

C16 is almost a Marshally value at 1uF...anyone think changing it to 10-25uF would open up the bass response of the amp and tone the gain down?

Just installed a NOS 1960's British Military Spec Mullard 12AT7 I bought off E-bay, OMG, Grail of Tone! (as my Champ watches on in dismay, I gotta be careful, I can't make eye contact) Still got the stock EL84 though..sounds tasty!

C16 is almost a Marshally value at 1uF...anyone think changing it to 10-25uF would open up the bass response of the amp and tone the gain down?



There is only one way to find out. I will let you know what I think soon.

Just to confirm what everyone already knew...AC4TVH & V112 cab is not giggable. It was nowhere near loud enough. It just couldnt live with rest of the band. Such a shame. If only they a made 20 watt version it'd be perfect.
Still a great amp and will be staying with me indefinately.

For the record, I just got an email back from Vox customer service that admitted the effect of the tone control is "subtle". I reiterate what many folks here have discovered: The louder the amp is, the more range of tone you get with the control. Incidentally, I was surprised and pleased to get a response. And I totally love my AC4.

Can anyone recommend a good, cheap reverb pedal to match with the amp?

Used Grail is hard to beat. I also have a Zoom G2 multi--about the same price or less and I created 10 effect patches w/ various reverb, delay, chorus, trem, flange, etc. Sounds awesome w/ the AC4.

Can anyone recommend a good, cheap reverb pedal to match with the amp?


I got this one. Inexpensive and it sounds real springy to my old ears!

http://www.buildyourownclone.com/reverb.html

Just to confirm what everyone already knew...AC4TVH & V112 cab is not giggable. It was nowhere near loud enough. It just couldnt live with rest of the band. Such a shame. If only they a made 20 watt version it'd be perfect.
Still a great amp and will be staying with me indefinately.

Wait, don't they make a 15 watt version?

http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/Vox-AC15-15w-1x12-Hand-Wired-Combo-Amp?sku=481473

Also available as a head and cab. And this one is handwired. Little on the expensive side, of course, but it is the "tv" series with higher wattage. I think this would be totally giggable, unless you're in an arena or something.

I just got the Malekko chiclet reverb! Wow! Asbsolutely 'Verbolisous! Small, noiseless bliss with my AC4TV and my Marshall 20 watt... check it out here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tl7yWvWZatM

...just $120.00 smackers...but major 'verb with vibe...

Picked up a Vox AC4TV8 today from GC. Outstanding little amp for $169. Took it home, plugged in my SG along with a Fulltone OCD and I was in heaven. What a sweet sounding amp! Hands down the perfect little tube amp for home/apartment use.

I got this one. Inexpensive and it sounds real springy to my old ears!

http://www.buildyourownclone.com/reverb.html

I see they have a lot of cool pedal kits. Have you, or anyone else here, tried any more of these? I'd like to try my hand at a kit like this. I'd get the reverb ... and maybe that octave fuzz.... oooh, yeah!

Used Grail is hard to beat.

Thanks for the suggestions but, to tell you the truth, I have some issues with EHX. I've owned three of their diecast boxes. When I've tried to change the battery in all three of them, the screws that hold the bottom plate on have gotten stripped making it impossible to open the pedals. I don't know why they make those screws so soft and screw them in so tightly. It makes no sense. I'm surprised that more people don't complain about this.

I also had a big box Big Muff. After opening the battery compartment on that one, it was impossible to get the absolutely microscopic screw back in. It went in partially but stuck out so far that the feet didn't touch the floor and pedal rocked around on the screw. I ended up discarding the screw and using duct tape to hold the battery door in place.

All that said, maybe I'll get a big box Grail and use my duct tape solution for the battery door. Then again there is a Behringer reverb pedal that can be had for $30. Is this one any good or is it a case of "you get what you pay for"?

This may be a lone incident, but my Behringer digital reverb was noisy both switched on and off. I eventually had to take it out of my signal chain. Also, one of the snap contacts broke off the battery connection.

Which is better, the stack or the combo?

Here's a pitiful shot of my AC4TV8.

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p202/Apollo3000/DSCN4729.jpg

Great little amp, though. Small, but has that cool Vox vibe and sounds really nice. I haven't seen the stack, although I did take a look at the AC4TV with the 10 inch speaker today and I really couldn't hear any difference between it and the 8 inch speaker version to warrant one over the other.

Thanks for the suggestions but, to tell you the truth, I have some issues with EHX. I've owned three of their diecast boxes. When I've tried to change the battery in all three of them, the screws that hold the bottom plate on have gotten stripped making it impossible to open the pedals. I don't know why they make those screws so soft and screw them in so tightly. It makes no sense. I'm surprised that more people don't complain about this.


ummm... maybe a silly question, but ... are you sure you've been using the right size screw drivers? Ive had no probs with them myself. Also, just because the screw is stripped doesnt mean they are impossible to open. There is a special drill bit you can use that if used in a drill on reverse will dig into the stripped part and bring out the screw.

Which is better, the stack or the combo?

I also would like to hear opinions on which is better

:)