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?