This review is accurate from my perspective. I have this amp and it produces a nice range of sound for a variety of uses. I added a reverb pedal to mine and I get all that I want for home use and small venues as well. I recommend it, too! Thanks for your playing and the great review.
@danstune thank you for the nice post and for appreciating my video. If you have some free minutes and you interested in, listen to the profile i catch from this amp with the Kemper. I put the mic in this exact position and the results is really good, and really Vox voiced. Bye!
@MTLguitarist98 it's quite different, it reminds more vox style in saturation. anyway consider that it's a very small amp with just 2 tubes (pre and final), so there are not headroom at all and you are cranking it even at 2-3 of volume (and at 100 is too much and too dirty for me), so cleans are almost impossible to obtain at decent volume. and in 4w mode the speaker start to crank very soon too. it's the perfect amp to understand the reaction of a cranked amp, but is not an all purpose product
Great review sir, I am now going to order one of these to go with my Jeff Beck strat, but alas it will be a few more years of practice before I achieve yours, or indeed Mr. Becks skill level!!
Sounds very thin, and boxy. Good nose sound. Great thins, and great boxy spank. Good to know it has no sustain or sag just like all vintages amps had.
@MrStoryoftheyear the quality is very good, but this amp has a very distinctive vintage saturation tone. it miss headroom and almost miss clean tones. His character is all about power tube saturation and midranges frequencies, and vintage one so very far from modern distortion. If you like this, this amp really sing, is incredibly responsive on touch. You will love or you will hate, for sure.
@marycigarettes just using amp volume at very low level and being soft in picking, this amp has almost not headroom when you up volume over 2-3 and start a deep and tasty saturation. I tried with a 12AU7 insteat 12AX7 on preamp and the AC4 become much more clean and rather interesting, anyway there is a volume drop
@Renhjarta The AC30 is an absolutely lovely amp, but this baby is lively, very light (it is incredible is so small), rather cheap and play like a tube amp, more than several bigger amps. Has his sense. Thank you for writing!
Own one, con is cheap construction. Not bad construction just cheap thus the 250$ price tag. Killer tone and harmonics. Changed the speaker to a Celestion vintage 30 and different tubes, better bottom end and warmer. Mod kits from mercury magnetics are 300$ or so. With a good quality cab your golden. Not much headroom so overdrive pedals are overpowering. Mxr micro amp is perfect. Just a great simple tube amp you can crank in the house and be proud of. I hope vox makes one with better wood, tha
@Oregongreendean thank you for your suggestions, i'll hope will be useful for users. I tried my AC4 with several cabs, with a real Alnico Blue and a V30 too, and i still prefer the stock 10" one. I'm not so interested in bottom end but this cab breakup in a great and soon way, and distort the signal giving a great vintage effect, where common 12" cab are sleeping at this volume and wont start to vibe in the right way. I use the AC4 just for the tone of video, anyway, is difficult obtain other
mmm without a return jack.. how would I be able to add my pedalboard to such a setup? sorry i'm noob at this! but i'd like to have my delays and stack ODs together etc.. =)
@slowth old amps and old style architeture amps miss totally send return circuitation. you can put some effect before amp, and quality reverberation and modulators should be put after the mic. consider everything in an amp has pros and cons, and send return pro are clear but cons not so evident but still effective. you can find lot of info on it on tube amp forums if you interested on this argument
@b8ck8tt depends on taste... i'll prefer this one for sure, but forget clean tones (even if i've modded a tube i'll post in future something, i really like how ac4 changed with that)
D*mn you play nice.... I am going to get the head/cab version tomorrow (that's why I'm browsing these vids). Now I just need your skills to make it sing like that! Keep it up
Man you rock, came to see the amp's performance and ended up enjoying your performance. This may seem like a stupid question but i am a novice amp wise. Is a tube 4W amp much louder than, say, a 10W solid state?
@luisdeper Thank you for you kind words. The perceived volume in an amp depend on many things, for example i connected a 2w solid state amp i builted (as big as a cigarette pocket :D) to a 412 cab, you cant image how loud it was! So it is not only about tube. Anyway a tube amp seem much powerful that it actually is, so i'm quite sure this 4w can be as loud at least as 20w solid state. But it depends on speaker, low solid state amps has usually awful and cheapest little speakers. I can say this
@luisdeper this little amp is surprisingly light and small so you can imagine it is good for your beedroom, but in 4w mode i played with a real drum (ok with soft hands player, but a real drum!) and i really can play with more than 1w at home. So it is loud. But wont expect bass of a big tube amp. To simplify is ok for home and practics situation, and for play with soft musicians. Is enough for many players in my opinion
@rafport Ok thanks for answering. I think i will buy this amp instead of the Valvetronix, I already have a Marshall MG10 but i'm not very happy with it. Also this Vox is supposed to have a great speaker right?
@luisdeper Valvetronix tecnology is great for modeling in usb recording (my tonelab st despite for his price is excellent) but i tried various Valvetronix combo amp, and i was not convinced from their tone. Maybe for speaker or power amps, but results was unsatisfying. Surely the AC4 is from another planet, no match from tone and dynamic (and neither volume!). Anyway consider the ac4 is a typical vintage tube amps, so it is not intended for modern tone, absolutely no metal here and neither clean
@rafport That's just fine, I want to be a Bluesman. I went to the store today and they said there's a mini AC4 with a 6" speaker. It's a big price difference for me, is the mini worth it? is the amp cabinet smaller as well? They didn't have either of them in stock, so I have to decide which one I want and they'll special order it for me.
@luisdeper I never tried the 6" but as you can imagine, i talked here with a lot of guys with an ac4. One which buy the smaller speaker, after send back in shop and take the 10" version. I think it is 10" a very small speaker for a serious amp (the external cab is 12" for this amp) so i suggest you to not buy a smaller cab than this. Breakup and volume can decrease deeply, it is not the same
@Rocknweb the ac4 play very good with overdrive and distortion pedal, but mantain his vintage tone so in any case can do a hard rock / metal tone, so better some stomp for drive amp tubes in saturation than one which do their tone and expect a clean amp after
@Rocknweb thank you for apreciating. yes i've tried it in 212 and 412 cab, even in my 212 with alnico blue and greenback speakers (both very good with vox, even the greenback is now used on ACxx). this amp play good, but i think his own nature is to play with his speaker. maybe the 12 cab has more low end, but even with speaker with fat low end this amp has his tone and i'm not sure to prefer it with bigger speaker, a this speaker breakup very easily
@rafport Ok you think compression is better with a small drive... D you have try with a boost (pedal etc)
because I owned a Valve Junior and he was particulary dry but with a boost in enter it was really perfect with 412 Marshall, I own a Bugera now but I am interested by a new small box for transport and to crunch easy, I hesitate with the black Heart, grain is really different but your strat sound is killer anyway !
@TheSoultrain515 this amp has not much bass frequencies, but is not bad when you use leaving it on the ground, as is improve bass response. on a chair or in an higher place (being so small maybe can be useful have the speaker higher) the basses flying away completely. i intend this
Thanks for the video. I love tube amps and have a Blues Jr.,Super Champ XD & Deluxe. I love the AC4's natural -creamy OD tone. It reminds me of a Blues Jr.'s warm OD sound w/Fat switch on. Only the OverDriven Blues Jr is 2x -3X as loud. as the AC4.(really too loud for daily home practice) The AC4 @ lower watts has great OD tones at living room jam volumes. I miss reverb, so I bought a reverb pedal. Comparing it to an AC15 is ridculous, different amps for different applications.
@longination it play very well with overdrives; as it saturate a lot even on cleans (and this amp cant play very clean neither at medium volume) modulation stomps are difficult to use. distortions can be good but if you need attack and definition, as the power stage saturate heavily, it is difficult and it miss basses (you cant play metal things here). if you like dirty dilay, i find here with saturation the effect is great, it seems analogue even digital ones :)
@chisleu mmm no, neither with preamp on 2 and a vintage pickups on a stratocaster have a real clean tones, on heavier picking and chords it starts to saturate with a very nice crunch, but it seem not possible have clean sounds at volume you can play. this is their own nature so it's ok :)
@rafport 12at7 preamp tubes are going to have very very little gain. If you need even less, go even lower. Some harp guys use 12AU7 tubes in the blackheart amps for ulta low gain. They can crank the volume with no breakup.
@chisleu yes thanks for info, i'm pretty trained as i builted tube amp point to point. but here saturation is almost all in power stage, a single 6l6 in this architeture breakup all the time even at very low volume, is the sense of this amp. even the speaker breakup very very easily, it is created to have te classical vox saturation (a sort of, no alnico magnet obviously) even at lower volume and i like it as it :)
@rafport cool man. all my small amps have been el84 amps. They probably had a different design on the power section because I get great cleans from them.
@chisleu ops i confused! this one has el84, i changed some day ago 6l6 on an amp and my mind is quite gone :) it really depends on how the amp is made and thinked, same tube can have very different behavior in different amp, even if obviously has their inner specs and their tone. this amp is made to break up, did almost one tone what setting you did (and has just volume and a tone). but it is a lovely tone in my opinion. for sure is not all prupose amp, cannot be used for any musical genre
@g37dude it's the 10" one. i'll really suggest this one instead the 8" one, which break up heavily at really low volume and has less bass (and even the 10" one is very mid oriented, not much bass neither in this model, maybe ideal choice will be the 12" cab with the head).
@idioteque987 this is a very nice amp, but terms like "clean" and "headroom" are unknow for this baby :) it start to distort even at low volume with vintage pickup, no really clean tone here. if you need a good clean you should check something else
@idioteque987 Hey man, just to answer your question, if you're looking for clean headroom, you're probably not going to find it with these low wattage valve amps. Even the Fender Champion 600 breaks up fairly early. Surprisingly, the cleanest of these low wattage amps I've found is the Marshall Class 5.
@Commiteee oh don't mind :) ac4 has just a volume and a tone, here tone is almost to mid and volume (who on this amp work as saturation level too) is variable depending on part. this amp has his own tone... you cant change. with strat usually i use tone to mid or a bit more and volume from 4 to 8 (considerating 5 as mid)
@guitartuner7 if you intend put volume to 10 on the amp, it come very dirty and overdriven but is still pleasant even in a vintage way (it is not the right amp for someone who search for hi gain modern amp). 4-1-1/4w tone is almost same, it has an attenuator so tubes work in 4w all times, just the overall volume is decreased. i play to 10 volume guitar most of time, it can be reduced for cleaning a crunchy tones and the vox is very dynamic on this sense
@guitartuner7 i love this amp, it is a "true" tube amp with tons of power tube harmonics, extreme dynamic and has a low wattage and a bundled power reducer. anyway try before buy, because has his own tone, it is vintage and is with lot of mids so you can love or you can hate it, it depends on your style and on your skill and picking expression. it cant play real clean if you've got more than a vintage single coil. work very well with a good pedal in front of it
@reaLJustiFied it really depends on drummer. i played a lot with a trio with a bass and an acoustic drum and volume is more than sufficient. there are drum with dynamite on they hands who hit very loud anything and can be unsufficient even a big tube amp. consider also the miss of headromm, ac4 start to crank fast with volume (is marvellous for this) but you cant obtain a loud clean tone in any case. it is mid range oriented, so dont expect from a so small cab deep bass
Thank you Stang. Blues Custom is really different, is 15-30w amp with 2x12 speakers, it is a GREAT amp and is rather cheap but is heavy and loud. You will never has cranked tube at home, or you need an attenuator. Blues Custom has 6l6 tubes, has a warm, genuine bluesy power stage overdrive, and plenty of bass and high brillance thanks to the speakers too. AC4 is much, much less powerful amp, has a power attenuator inside, is light and got a 10" spekaer. has a classic Vox tone, so...
... you get a vintage british rock tone, reactive, lots of mid and quite nervous character. You wont have a really clean tone on this amp, and with powerful pickups you will ear overdrive even a less than a quarter of the volume. It really depends on your need and your style. I try several little amp, but honestly is rare a good amp with few watts in a shop. anyway you can find marvellous little amp in boutique market, with kits (if you can build) or pre builded like ceriatone
the vox ac4 is a great tube amp, is small, has plenty of dynamic and a genuine break up in power stage and in speaker. it is absolutely not an hi gain modern amp, so not good for metal or similiar. but the ampmaker pp18 is simply the best amp, the most dynamic i ever used of any price. you need a good cab, you really need a good building tecnique (an hand made can be far better but even worst or noisy, really depend on your skills). no doubt which one i prefer, but are very different products
Is it possible or worthwhile to consider running this head version through a 2-12 cab? Any thoughts or insight as to what it would sound like? Thanks.
i drive on a 4x12 cab. you can connect where you want, if the cab has same impedance of the amp :) anyway i love inner speaker, putting on a very big cab increase bass and modify tone but you never break up speaker... you can at opposite break up the 10" speaker quite easy
you're very kind. i just can say i tried some other similiar product of same range (fender champ, champ XD, epiphone junior) and this one beat them easily, or for my taste in tone is much more dynamic and interesting and emphatize my playing. in doubt i'll run for the ac4.
I went with the vox, it is much more versetile. The Fender 600 has a superior clean tone in my opinion, but can't get as overdriven as the vox, and when it is overdriven is fairly loud, so not too good for practicing rock.
If you have a guitar center near you I'd suggest going there and testing it out for yourself.
Oh yes she is a beauty. Got it yesterday. I think we will spend the rest of our lives together. What se cant do, - she cant do. But she rests at your feet singing and whispering gently to you if you let her, - and just as hard as she is able to ( and with charming distrortion too)
Strangely I do not think this is a beginners amp. She needs tweaking and searching. But then she starts singing if you are able to give her the good inputs. Thanks vox -people.
it is a great amp. i dont think there are amp for beginners, there are amp good and less good, cheap and expensive. there are amp who emphatize dynamic and touch, so if you're good the play good, and amp who has confused (usually hi distorted) tone, so if you have not touch is not a problem... but for beginners too, if they want learn to pick and bend, they need a good amp. this is for sure a good amp for any level players, and is rather cheap too :)
@rafport Great playing.ive been playing for 10 years does this amp take pedals well? i was thinking of running a tonelab st through the tv? or should i wait and get a vox ac15? I love tubes just now been able to start messing with them as im older and can buy my own gear,lol,thanks
thank you for compliments. ac4 it works marvellous with analogue pedals. ac15 is a very different amp, with different price, different weight and different wattage, you should analize how many watts you need and how many dollars you have. i'm not sure that connect a modeling multieffect is a good idea, at opposite... i'm quite sure it is not and must be avoided. this is a real tube amp, it play like tube amp, you need real overdrive/distorsion/fuzz pedals here.
it is a great amp, a great tube sounding amp. so results depend mostrly on instrument and on touch, and can have great difference changing guitar and player. is a vintage amp, so no hi gain tone here, no preamp distortion, just glorious power tubes tones. anyway with mid volume (4-5, depending on pickup output) near breakup, it sound marvellous with good external overdrive
it is a shure pg57, it should be the cheaper version of sm57. this amp rocks, it isnt the mic to do the trick :) maybe position, but i notice it sounds good even in other position
i never tried the 8", but i talked with a guy got it, has less bass and break up sooner and is quite unusable at full volume. he returned back the 8" and buy the 10" and now is satisfied. you should try both, i wont change my 10 for sure for the 8 :)
@rafport Have u tried the head and cab? Love the jam by the way. Im torn on geting this or the 12inch cab with head. alot of people are saying the 12 is better? thanks
@eatthemoon13 i've tried my amps on other cabs, but i have never tried (and seen) the original vox cab for the ac head. for sure a bigger cab has more bass and more volume (i tried also with a 4x12 :) but i really love the tone of the 10" speaker in the combo version, and price is just a bit bigger than the head, so i will buy again the combo and maybe i'll buy the cab in a second time. i'm using a lot my vox because is so light to transport, and is enough to play with my drummer on his own
The 8" version goes down to 1/10w, but it's going to sound thin compared with 4W. I tried it at one shop, at 1w was ok, but at 1/10w the amp just asks you to go back to the 4w position.
I would love to have this amp at home, but I know I'm going to crank it up, not sure if 1/10w would be usable. Maybe at 1w..
i really love strat, in any kind of amp, and for my ears sounds great here too and is for sure my favourite guitar (and my favourite kind of guitar). anyway i've already demos on youtube with some les paul and teles with this vox... and you can find several by other users too.
And remember everyone has his taste and his skills, i really apreciate other's opinion but is not kind post something like "this dont sound good change this and retry".
wow, what would Jimi Hendrix or Eric Clapton or David Gilmour or Jeff Beck or.... or..... or........or....... or even Slash (who has recorded with distorted strats) say?
Agree completely. I actually prefer strat breakup to a les paul, imo les pauls are too "proper", per say. But as you said, tone is completely subjective.
hi, yes it is the 10" combo (it exist a 8" version, who it should be weaker). it's louder than you can expect from small dimension, but it really depends on your drummer, if he/she's light in hitting pads the 4w can be sufficient. consider that it overdrive easily so you cant afford a loud volume with a real clean tones, but this is the tube magic :) i tried with external cabs and is much louder, so the head+cab version can be better for play in gig. hi from italy ;)
Don't know if you've bought this already, but keep in mind: Volume is logarithmic. That means 4W is only half as loud as 40W, 1/4W is only half as loud 4W, and 1/4W is only 4 times less loud than 40W.
So yeah it's plenty loud, but maybe not loud and clean at the same time. It will be with an external cab. It makes a huge difference.
it's not exactly like this 4w is half of 16 more or less instead 8, like, is like not divided by 2 but divided by himself. clean tone depends on way of final stage and pre manage signal, have volume and clean tone on this vox is quite difficult, with an hi gain pickup it start to overdrive at 2 of volume :) anyway it is really great, i love just for this
i just got this amp, and i have to say that i absolutely love it. Its got the perfect amount of smooth clean, with good breakup. However, i cranked it almost all the way up on the 1/4 watt setting for some good crunch, and its pretty damn loud. almost too loud to play at night as i live in an apartment with a family above me. I wish there was a headphone jack, thats about the only thing this little monster lacks. Great Amp for the Money!!!!!!
it is quite difficult for a real tube amp to have a phone jack, it is needed a dummy load to fully reduce volume to zero (without speaker resistence the output transformer blow) and a di box. Usually solid state and modeling amp get headphone out, can be cheaper this way and use the ac4 (that is loud!) just when you can use. Anorher solution can be an isolation box, the ac4 is really small so you can build something at least to reduce most of decibels :)
You have got some great taste man. It makes me sad to see some people do reviews on a kick ass amp and then just play death metal or wail on the guitar. Tasteful licks make much better reviews
thank you. usually metal and modern heavy gain styles fears what classic rock and blues guitarist love, and just the opposite. i want power tube cranked into sparlke mid oriented tone, as dynamic as possibile for use with various picking and guitar volume and tone as i find quite unuseful the second or third channel. usually metal guys search for hi gain preamp stage, deep low end, compressed sound. this amp for sure is not for their... but i love it :)
I bought the combo for my dorm room! I love it! It doesn't sound thin at all really; or at least with a humbucker guitar. I haven't had a chance to hook it up to a different cabinet but i know it'll probably sound even better. After school it might be my go-to recording amp!
What a great clip! You're really pulling some great tone out of the Vox! Did I understand you correctly, that you like the 10" in the combo better than the head with a 12" cab? Thanks again, Mark
thank you :) no, i never tried the 12" i'm curious to ear but i cant find one or some review and neither some speaker specs. i just say this 10" rocks, and "bigger is better" does mean nothing in music and tones. (in tubes usually is the opposite!) can sound similiar and fatter, can sound different in a better way but can play even different in a worst way. i like this one, better than other cabs i tried with the ac4.
unfortunately not. i tried to inform about that, because i'm really interested on the 12" cab even for other amps (i'm frequently changing/experiment bethween cabs and amps) as this 10" simply rocks. but there is almost any info about, i can't reach to understand neither the exact wattage of the 12", surely is sufficient for the 4w but how many W carry exactly? i guess it sound "fatter" than the 10, but for example i tried the ac4 with other cab (is only 16ohm so i can just connect with
this impedance speaker or speaker. anyway the tone was very different and worst that the one with the inner cab. this 10" speaker get a great contribution in tone, so it can be better try the external cab that can be better... can be. i never tried the marshall... anyway i'm a little upset with "modern" marshalls, i've some and all broke, or damage, and anyone i know had pots damaged in any marshall after 2 years. and usually they sounds quite far from my actual taste in tone..
i tried that amp today at my favourite guitarshop, and i was really surprised... just as you probably were^^
anyway what i wanted to say is, that you probably could get a more detailed sound review of the amp if you'd do it with a les paul style guitar or any other guitar with humbuckers, i did that today and MAN did that thing scream^^
thank you :) yes, this ac4 is a surprising amp, far better than i ever imagined for a this price/size amp. for pickup, it really depends of your feel... i've a pair of humbucking guitar (and i sell several, years ago i preferred different guitars). today i really felt confortable with single coil. as the ac4 is a very good amp, it sounds different with just any guitar/pickup so it has several different tones to show depending of the situation :) bye!
thank you :) i used much larger capacitor than usual rating. i've put on other guitar too and i prefer a strong and speed high cutting when i move the knob (tone to 0 is too closed, but is much responsive when you move... it look like a wha :)
mmm, in a group can be surely heard if drummer has a light touch. but maybe cant be as loud if it punch heavy. anyway is louder than people can imagine for a just 4w :)
Great videos you have posted... do you know if there is a big difference between the 8" and the 10" speaker regarding the sound? Is it worth it to "upgrade" to the 10"? I got the 8 by mistake...
i guess in another amp, the ac4 should have the 10" as stock. speaker discussion is quite complex, in general bigger speaker move more air, so trend to be more bass and more output powered, smaller brighter and easy to break up and lower volume. but in reality things are just different and with lots of variabiles. it really depends on your taste too... and anyway in a 8" hole you cant fit a 10" :) i can just say this 10" celestion custom in the ac4 sounds very good to my ears,
Yes, I do the same thing, browsing through videos to get an overall understanding of the sound. I live in a place where it´s hard to go and try myself all the amps I would be interested in. So your video was helpful aswell, thanks for that.
I´m in the process of selling my boutique practise amp and buying something cheaper instead. Also considered the AC4, but i think i need more power so I´ll propably end up buying the Night Train or an AC15.
night train is a very interesting amp, i've eard several good samples of it. unfortunately, despite i saw into catalogue, i never seen or try one "live". i've some friend who play, but the one most "maniac" about tone, amps, pickup am just myself! and here most of shop are aboslutely unpleasant about trying stuff... and the ones who are kind, have very little stuff to try! so youtube and internet is the first place for ear instruments because it is hard try live somewhere...
not far from the budget of the night train, i can suggest to consider the Epiphone Blues Custom 30? (if you need just head it should be even the head, or an head with same architeture... the SoCal 50 or something like this i forgot exactly). is one of my favourite amp, despite has 6l6 tube instead el84 (quite different tone) is one of sweetest i ever tried and is real cheap. eminence speakers are greatly voiced, and break up easily past 4 of volume and in a warm and bluesy.
But I kinda disagree you on this this power chord issue you were discussing about. Take Link wray, Pete Townshend, Jimmy Page, Tony Iommi... they all used power chords with cranked tube amps & power tube saturation and built that classic rock sound. Sometimes simple is better ;)
so dude do u think that this amp with the volume(drive) to the max and an additional distortion pedal used with it , will song great with power chords????
zeppelin or who uses of power chords are quite different from "post iron maiden" uses.... and this amps is more vintaged tone than them (their tone at the time was quite heavy and extreme, vox is more rock than hard rock voiced). you will never obtain a metal tone with this an serious volume, this has a sweet, warm and spongy classical power tube addition and this wont change despite what you insert before. anyway i'm just saying my opinion and suggesting...
Rafprot, I did not catch the "post iron maiden" issue... kinda sounded like you were saying power tube saturation and power chords will not work together at all... which is not true, at least to my book. My bad.
I think you are right on this issue. To get modern high gain, hard rock distortion more on the heavy side, on a budget, definitely get the modelling amp instead the AC4. This small amp is more for slightly distorted or classic rock sound.
dis17391 can ask exactly "in your opinion this amp can achieve the tone of XXX group" so i can understand exactly which tone he's searching. there are several kind of power tube saturation depending of tube, of class of the amp, of speakers. the AC4 ones has a warm and muddy response at high cranked settings, and can achieve greatly blues-rock tones but not hard ones. and i think if someone ask me to ear how an amp sounds with power chords he is asking about their hard rock tones
This review is accurate from my perspective. I have this amp and it produces a nice range of sound for a variety of uses. I added a reverb pedal to mine and I get all that I want for home use and small venues as well. I recommend it, too! Thanks for your playing and the great review.
danstune 2 weeks ago
@danstune thank you for the nice post and for appreciating my video. If you have some free minutes and you interested in, listen to the profile i catch from this amp with the Kemper. I put the mic in this exact position and the results is really good, and really Vox voiced. Bye!
rafport 2 weeks ago
it has an EL84, so can it sound like a hiwatt or a Marshall when cranked?
MTLguitarist98 3 weeks ago
@MTLguitarist98 it's quite different, it reminds more vox style in saturation. anyway consider that it's a very small amp with just 2 tubes (pre and final), so there are not headroom at all and you are cranking it even at 2-3 of volume (and at 100 is too much and too dirty for me), so cleans are almost impossible to obtain at decent volume. and in 4w mode the speaker start to crank very soon too. it's the perfect amp to understand the reaction of a cranked amp, but is not an all purpose product
rafport 3 weeks ago
I just used this amp to record many guitar tracks on my album. FAT warm tone. Better than video lets on.
guitarcanuck11 2 months ago
Great review sir, I am now going to order one of these to go with my Jeff Beck strat, but alas it will be a few more years of practice before I achieve yours, or indeed Mr. Becks skill level!!
Carphunter1970 2 months ago
Very nice.
BjArViSy 4 months ago
Sounds very thin, and boxy. Good nose sound. Great thins, and great boxy spank. Good to know it has no sustain or sag just like all vintages amps had.
pleximanic1 5 months ago
Será mi próximo amplificador.Decidido.busco ese sonido de limpios y de crunch.
manelplus 5 months ago
For 4w, is the sound quality awesome for practicing?
MrStoryoftheyear 6 months ago
@MrStoryoftheyear the quality is very good, but this amp has a very distinctive vintage saturation tone. it miss headroom and almost miss clean tones. His character is all about power tube saturation and midranges frequencies, and vintage one so very far from modern distortion. If you like this, this amp really sing, is incredibly responsive on touch. You will love or you will hate, for sure.
rafport 6 months ago
love the clean sound you can get there..what do you do to keep it clean and warm like that sir?
marycigarettes 6 months ago
@marycigarettes just using amp volume at very low level and being soft in picking, this amp has almost not headroom when you up volume over 2-3 and start a deep and tasty saturation. I tried with a 12AU7 insteat 12AX7 on preamp and the AC4 become much more clean and rather interesting, anyway there is a volume drop
rafport 6 months ago
I'm using an AC30, but this little guy sounds really great as well !
Renhjarta 7 months ago
@Renhjarta The AC30 is an absolutely lovely amp, but this baby is lively, very light (it is incredible is so small), rather cheap and play like a tube amp, more than several bigger amps. Has his sense. Thank you for writing!
rafport 7 months ago
Own one, con is cheap construction. Not bad construction just cheap thus the 250$ price tag. Killer tone and harmonics. Changed the speaker to a Celestion vintage 30 and different tubes, better bottom end and warmer. Mod kits from mercury magnetics are 300$ or so. With a good quality cab your golden. Not much headroom so overdrive pedals are overpowering. Mxr micro amp is perfect. Just a great simple tube amp you can crank in the house and be proud of. I hope vox makes one with better wood, tha
Oregongreendean 7 months ago
@Oregongreendean thank you for your suggestions, i'll hope will be useful for users. I tried my AC4 with several cabs, with a real Alnico Blue and a V30 too, and i still prefer the stock 10" one. I'm not so interested in bottom end but this cab breakup in a great and soon way, and distort the signal giving a great vintage effect, where common 12" cab are sleeping at this volume and wont start to vibe in the right way. I use the AC4 just for the tone of video, anyway, is difficult obtain other
rafport 7 months ago
mmm without a return jack.. how would I be able to add my pedalboard to such a setup? sorry i'm noob at this! but i'd like to have my delays and stack ODs together etc.. =)
but this amp is impressive!
slowth 8 months ago
@slowth old amps and old style architeture amps miss totally send return circuitation. you can put some effect before amp, and quality reverberation and modulators should be put after the mic. consider everything in an amp has pros and cons, and send return pro are clear but cons not so evident but still effective. you can find lot of info on it on tube amp forums if you interested on this argument
rafport 8 months ago
very nice tone bro
stchaikowsky 8 months ago
@stchaikowsky thank you very much
rafport 8 months ago
dude wtf??? your playing is amazing. who the hell are you?
davederange 8 months ago
@davederange thank you, i'm just a guy with a guitar, nothing more :)
rafport 8 months ago
This has been flagged as spam show
enter your info this site benaughtyman.info
nadeshainoli 9 months ago
great video, thanks a lot. i'm choosing between this vox and fender champ 600, can you advise me anything?
b8ck8tt 9 months ago
@b8ck8tt depends on taste... i'll prefer this one for sure, but forget clean tones (even if i've modded a tube i'll post in future something, i really like how ac4 changed with that)
rafport 9 months ago
I keep coming back to listen-anyone who wants true tube tone and doesn't look at this after your demo is not a tube fan?? go figure
CDNBOBify 9 months ago
D*mn you play nice.... I am going to get the head/cab version tomorrow (that's why I'm browsing these vids). Now I just need your skills to make it sing like that! Keep it up
Bushviking 10 months ago
I wish every amp review was like this-thank you
CDNBOBify 10 months ago
@CDNBOBify thank you for your words
rafport 10 months ago
Man you rock, came to see the amp's performance and ended up enjoying your performance. This may seem like a stupid question but i am a novice amp wise. Is a tube 4W amp much louder than, say, a 10W solid state?
luisdeper 10 months ago
@luisdeper Thank you for you kind words. The perceived volume in an amp depend on many things, for example i connected a 2w solid state amp i builted (as big as a cigarette pocket :D) to a 412 cab, you cant image how loud it was! So it is not only about tube. Anyway a tube amp seem much powerful that it actually is, so i'm quite sure this 4w can be as loud at least as 20w solid state. But it depends on speaker, low solid state amps has usually awful and cheapest little speakers. I can say this
rafport 10 months ago
@luisdeper this little amp is surprisingly light and small so you can imagine it is good for your beedroom, but in 4w mode i played with a real drum (ok with soft hands player, but a real drum!) and i really can play with more than 1w at home. So it is loud. But wont expect bass of a big tube amp. To simplify is ok for home and practics situation, and for play with soft musicians. Is enough for many players in my opinion
rafport 10 months ago
@rafport Ok thanks for answering. I think i will buy this amp instead of the Valvetronix, I already have a Marshall MG10 but i'm not very happy with it. Also this Vox is supposed to have a great speaker right?
luisdeper 10 months ago
@luisdeper Valvetronix tecnology is great for modeling in usb recording (my tonelab st despite for his price is excellent) but i tried various Valvetronix combo amp, and i was not convinced from their tone. Maybe for speaker or power amps, but results was unsatisfying. Surely the AC4 is from another planet, no match from tone and dynamic (and neither volume!). Anyway consider the ac4 is a typical vintage tube amps, so it is not intended for modern tone, absolutely no metal here and neither clean
rafport 10 months ago
@rafport That's just fine, I want to be a Bluesman. I went to the store today and they said there's a mini AC4 with a 6" speaker. It's a big price difference for me, is the mini worth it? is the amp cabinet smaller as well? They didn't have either of them in stock, so I have to decide which one I want and they'll special order it for me.
luisdeper 10 months ago
@luisdeper I never tried the 6" but as you can imagine, i talked here with a lot of guys with an ac4. One which buy the smaller speaker, after send back in shop and take the 10" version. I think it is 10" a very small speaker for a serious amp (the external cab is 12" for this amp) so i suggest you to not buy a smaller cab than this. Breakup and volume can decrease deeply, it is not the same
rafport 10 months ago
@Rocknweb the ac4 play very good with overdrive and distortion pedal, but mantain his vintage tone so in any case can do a hard rock / metal tone, so better some stomp for drive amp tubes in saturation than one which do their tone and expect a clean amp after
rafport 11 months ago
Do you have try in a cab 2x12 or 4x12 ?
One of the best demo I have seen on this (no blabla and sklls;-)
Rocknweb 11 months ago
@Rocknweb thank you for apreciating. yes i've tried it in 212 and 412 cab, even in my 212 with alnico blue and greenback speakers (both very good with vox, even the greenback is now used on ACxx). this amp play good, but i think his own nature is to play with his speaker. maybe the 12 cab has more low end, but even with speaker with fat low end this amp has his tone and i'm not sure to prefer it with bigger speaker, a this speaker breakup very easily
rafport 11 months ago
@rafport Ok you think compression is better with a small drive... D you have try with a boost (pedal etc)
because I owned a Valve Junior and he was particulary dry but with a boost in enter it was really perfect with 412 Marshall, I own a Bugera now but I am interested by a new small box for transport and to crunch easy, I hesitate with the black Heart, grain is really different but your strat sound is killer anyway !
Rocknweb 11 months ago
What do you mean it sounds better grounded?
TheSoultrain515 11 months ago
@TheSoultrain515 this amp has not much bass frequencies, but is not bad when you use leaving it on the ground, as is improve bass response. on a chair or in an higher place (being so small maybe can be useful have the speaker higher) the basses flying away completely. i intend this
rafport 11 months ago
best demo yet by far.
Nickofaballooni 11 months ago
@Nickofaballooni thank you
rafport 11 months ago
this demo remains as one of the all time best amp demo's on YT-I frequently return to hear the groove even though I bought one and would not sell it.
CDNBOBify 11 months ago
@CDNBOBify you very kind, thanks. So i should ask some gift to Vox, as i've several products bought without any cent of discount ;)
rafport 11 months ago
this is the best demo i have seen of this amp!
klv400 11 months ago
@klv400 thank you!
rafport 11 months ago
Thanks for the video. I love tube amps and have a Blues Jr.,Super Champ XD & Deluxe. I love the AC4's natural -creamy OD tone. It reminds me of a Blues Jr.'s warm OD sound w/Fat switch on. Only the OverDriven Blues Jr is 2x -3X as loud. as the AC4.(really too loud for daily home practice) The AC4 @ lower watts has great OD tones at living room jam volumes. I miss reverb, so I bought a reverb pedal. Comparing it to an AC15 is ridculous, different amps for different applications.
TheOAWplayer 1 year ago
you do this amp such justice and the playing/tone keeps me coming back for more-I just had to get my own and love it
CDNBOBify 1 year ago
dont forget the amazing tube smell this amp produces mmm
poohelmet321 1 year ago
@poohelmet321 is more smell of roasted wood and tolex, this amp is so small that there is not enough air for the tubes :D thanks for posting
rafport 1 year ago
how would this sound with an effects pedal through it?
longination 1 year ago
@longination it play very well with overdrives; as it saturate a lot even on cleans (and this amp cant play very clean neither at medium volume) modulation stomps are difficult to use. distortions can be good but if you need attack and definition, as the power stage saturate heavily, it is difficult and it miss basses (you cant play metal things here). if you like dirty dilay, i find here with saturation the effect is great, it seems analogue even digital ones :)
rafport 1 year ago
@rafport
put in a lower gain preamp tube and it will clean up. 12AT7 should do the trick, although I prefer the RCA blackplate 5751's.
chisleu 1 year ago
@chisleu mmm no, neither with preamp on 2 and a vintage pickups on a stratocaster have a real clean tones, on heavier picking and chords it starts to saturate with a very nice crunch, but it seem not possible have clean sounds at volume you can play. this is their own nature so it's ok :)
rafport 1 year ago
@rafport 12at7 preamp tubes are going to have very very little gain. If you need even less, go even lower. Some harp guys use 12AU7 tubes in the blackheart amps for ulta low gain. They can crank the volume with no breakup.
chisleu 1 year ago
@chisleu yes thanks for info, i'm pretty trained as i builted tube amp point to point. but here saturation is almost all in power stage, a single 6l6 in this architeture breakup all the time even at very low volume, is the sense of this amp. even the speaker breakup very very easily, it is created to have te classical vox saturation (a sort of, no alnico magnet obviously) even at lower volume and i like it as it :)
rafport 1 year ago
@rafport cool man. all my small amps have been el84 amps. They probably had a different design on the power section because I get great cleans from them.
chisleu 1 year ago
@chisleu ops i confused! this one has el84, i changed some day ago 6l6 on an amp and my mind is quite gone :) it really depends on how the amp is made and thinked, same tube can have very different behavior in different amp, even if obviously has their inner specs and their tone. this amp is made to break up, did almost one tone what setting you did (and has just volume and a tone). but it is a lovely tone in my opinion. for sure is not all prupose amp, cannot be used for any musical genre
rafport 1 year ago
! am so getting this amp i played it a few times and it sound so sexy! your playing is brilliant!! this amp is right on!!
Livinginthemusic1 1 year ago
@Livinginthemusic1 thank you!
rafport 1 year ago
its with reason this aint got ANY thumbs down!
love the demo man!
asdfalex12345 1 year ago
@asdfalex12345 very kind! thank you!!
rafport 1 year ago
hey man, what mic are you using in this clip?
TheNova117 1 year ago
@TheNova117 i'm using a Shure PG 57
rafport 1 year ago
Never mind the demo..( I like the AC4 btw ), great playing dude!! :)
smkonwater23 1 year ago
Thanx for the video - it really sounds great - and you play great, too!!
sabschmi 1 year ago
@sabschmi thank you for your apreciating!
rafport 1 year ago
Hey nice demo!!! What size speaker in this AC4?
g37dude 1 year ago
@g37dude it's the 10" one. i'll really suggest this one instead the 8" one, which break up heavily at really low volume and has less bass (and even the 10" one is very mid oriented, not much bass neither in this model, maybe ideal choice will be the 12" cab with the head).
rafport 1 year ago
i'm in the market for a small valve combo for convenience when gigging.
is there a decent amount of clean headroom on the ac4?
idioteque987 1 year ago
@idioteque987 this is a very nice amp, but terms like "clean" and "headroom" are unknow for this baby :) it start to distort even at low volume with vintage pickup, no really clean tone here. if you need a good clean you should check something else
rafport 1 year ago
@idioteque987 Hey man, just to answer your question, if you're looking for clean headroom, you're probably not going to find it with these low wattage valve amps. Even the Fender Champion 600 breaks up fairly early. Surprisingly, the cleanest of these low wattage amps I've found is the Marshall Class 5.
CalebNaquin 1 year ago
@idioteque987 if you want a nice clean channel, check fender champion 600...
delosss 1 year ago
This has been flagged as spam show
Nice video !!!
SEE THIS:
Turn Radio into Guitar Amp:
youtube.com/watch?v=YHfoON7ukSc
pegasomarcelo 1 year ago
Good Good
arjunkaul 1 year ago
What are your settings if you dont mind me asking?
Commiteee 1 year ago
@Commiteee oh don't mind :) ac4 has just a volume and a tone, here tone is almost to mid and volume (who on this amp work as saturation level too) is variable depending on part. this amp has his own tone... you cant change. with strat usually i use tone to mid or a bit more and volume from 4 to 8 (considerating 5 as mid)
rafport 1 year ago
Nice - tried one with my strat - now ordered one - this would have convinced me however. thanks
mikejhughes 1 year ago
@mikejhughes happy to be useful :) have a nice time with your ac4!
rafport 1 year ago
nice playing and a sweet sound from that little Vox.
peskypesky 1 year ago
@peskypesky very thanks!
rafport 1 year ago
if you put it on 4 watts and you turn the volume on your guitar on 10 will it give you good overdrive or mess up the amp
guitartuner7 1 year ago
@guitartuner7 if you intend put volume to 10 on the amp, it come very dirty and overdriven but is still pleasant even in a vintage way (it is not the right amp for someone who search for hi gain modern amp). 4-1-1/4w tone is almost same, it has an attenuator so tubes work in 4w all times, just the overall volume is decreased. i play to 10 volume guitar most of time, it can be reduced for cleaning a crunchy tones and the vox is very dynamic on this sense
rafport 1 year ago
@rafport thank you. i am thinking about buying this as my first tube amp because my solid state doesnt give me a solid oerdriven sound.
guitartuner7 1 year ago
@guitartuner7 i love this amp, it is a "true" tube amp with tons of power tube harmonics, extreme dynamic and has a low wattage and a bundled power reducer. anyway try before buy, because has his own tone, it is vintage and is with lot of mids so you can love or you can hate it, it depends on your style and on your skill and picking expression. it cant play real clean if you've got more than a vintage single coil. work very well with a good pedal in front of it
rafport 1 year ago
do you play with a tele? or does it have that twangy sound to it?
satjathamma 1 year ago
@satjathamma the guitar is a stratocaster, you can find some info on the video information. bye!
rafport 1 year ago
for this amp the higher the volume the more gain and OD?
reaLJustiFied 1 year ago
@reaLJustiFied exactly :)
rafport 1 year ago
@rafport one more thing, would this amp be loud enough to practice and be heard over drums?
reaLJustiFied 1 year ago
@reaLJustiFied it really depends on drummer. i played a lot with a trio with a bass and an acoustic drum and volume is more than sufficient. there are drum with dynamite on they hands who hit very loud anything and can be unsufficient even a big tube amp. consider also the miss of headromm, ac4 start to crank fast with volume (is marvellous for this) but you cant obtain a loud clean tone in any case. it is mid range oriented, so dont expect from a so small cab deep bass
rafport 1 year ago
Superb demo thank you.
pickslap 1 year ago
@pickslap thank you for visit my video and apreciate my playing :)
rafport 1 year ago
which one is better..this one or the peavey mini colossal??
monnig 1 year ago
I enjoy the reviews you do on your amps!
Do you like your Blues Custom better?
I'm looks for a good lower wattage tube amp to record at home with. Is there anything else worthy of a look?
Regards,
Stang
StangLX718 1 year ago
Thank you Stang. Blues Custom is really different, is 15-30w amp with 2x12 speakers, it is a GREAT amp and is rather cheap but is heavy and loud. You will never has cranked tube at home, or you need an attenuator. Blues Custom has 6l6 tubes, has a warm, genuine bluesy power stage overdrive, and plenty of bass and high brillance thanks to the speakers too. AC4 is much, much less powerful amp, has a power attenuator inside, is light and got a 10" spekaer. has a classic Vox tone, so...
rafport 1 year ago
... you get a vintage british rock tone, reactive, lots of mid and quite nervous character. You wont have a really clean tone on this amp, and with powerful pickups you will ear overdrive even a less than a quarter of the volume. It really depends on your need and your style. I try several little amp, but honestly is rare a good amp with few watts in a shop. anyway you can find marvellous little amp in boutique market, with kits (if you can build) or pre builded like ceriatone
rafport 1 year ago
ho dang nice tones coming out :)
pur3kill3r 1 year ago
@pur3kill3r thank you
rafport 1 year ago
How would you compare this to the ampmaker 18?
Really not sure what should i choose?
Also doesnt ampmaker 18 soun too mellow? not so tight?
Thanks!!!
Kitarist88 1 year ago
the vox ac4 is a great tube amp, is small, has plenty of dynamic and a genuine break up in power stage and in speaker. it is absolutely not an hi gain modern amp, so not good for metal or similiar. but the ampmaker pp18 is simply the best amp, the most dynamic i ever used of any price. you need a good cab, you really need a good building tecnique (an hand made can be far better but even worst or noisy, really depend on your skills). no doubt which one i prefer, but are very different products
rafport 1 year ago
Is it possible or worthwhile to consider running this head version through a 2-12 cab? Any thoughts or insight as to what it would sound like? Thanks.
wpaone 2 years ago
i drive on a 4x12 cab. you can connect where you want, if the cab has same impedance of the amp :) anyway i love inner speaker, putting on a very big cab increase bass and modify tone but you never break up speaker... you can at opposite break up the 10" speaker quite easy
rafport 2 years ago
Comment removed
Appleguy2456 2 years ago
Great review!
Have you maybe tried Laney Cub10?
picajoool 2 years ago
thank you! no never unfortunately
rafport 2 years ago
Damn! :-(
I would love if you could compare them!
You realy make outstanding reviews and your playnig is wonderfull!
Cheers!
p.s. must decide VoxAC4 or Laney Cub10! Shit!
picajoool 2 years ago
you're very kind. i just can say i tried some other similiar product of same range (fender champ, champ XD, epiphone junior) and this one beat them easily, or for my taste in tone is much more dynamic and interesting and emphatize my playing. in doubt i'll run for the ac4.
rafport 2 years ago
it would have been nice with humbuckers...
ruffles272 2 years ago
i've a video with the ac4 and a les paul, search on my page :)
rafport 2 years ago
vox ac4, champion 600, Blackstar HT5 or epiphone junior valve???? i need help lol
iaser1 2 years ago
i'll chose the vox without doubt :)
rafport 2 years ago
@iaser1
I went with the vox, it is much more versetile. The Fender 600 has a superior clean tone in my opinion, but can't get as overdriven as the vox, and when it is overdriven is fairly loud, so not too good for practicing rock.
If you have a guitar center near you I'd suggest going there and testing it out for yourself.
PoloniumZeppelin 2 years ago
i think blackstar's HT5 is an amazing amp.
BILLpunkrockXD 2 years ago
Oh yes she is a beauty. Got it yesterday. I think we will spend the rest of our lives together. What se cant do, - she cant do. But she rests at your feet singing and whispering gently to you if you let her, - and just as hard as she is able to ( and with charming distrortion too)
Strangely I do not think this is a beginners amp. She needs tweaking and searching. But then she starts singing if you are able to give her the good inputs. Thanks vox -people.
legebakkenb 2 years ago
it is a great amp. i dont think there are amp for beginners, there are amp good and less good, cheap and expensive. there are amp who emphatize dynamic and touch, so if you're good the play good, and amp who has confused (usually hi distorted) tone, so if you have not touch is not a problem... but for beginners too, if they want learn to pick and bend, they need a good amp. this is for sure a good amp for any level players, and is rather cheap too :)
rafport 2 years ago
@rafport Great playing.ive been playing for 10 years does this amp take pedals well? i was thinking of running a tonelab st through the tv? or should i wait and get a vox ac15? I love tubes just now been able to start messing with them as im older and can buy my own gear,lol,thanks
eatthemoon13 2 years ago
thank you for compliments. ac4 it works marvellous with analogue pedals. ac15 is a very different amp, with different price, different weight and different wattage, you should analize how many watts you need and how many dollars you have. i'm not sure that connect a modeling multieffect is a good idea, at opposite... i'm quite sure it is not and must be avoided. this is a real tube amp, it play like tube amp, you need real overdrive/distorsion/fuzz pedals here.
rafport 2 years ago
1:47 was a beautiful riff. awesome freakin amp too. i want one!
samantonio 2 years ago
thank you :) yes, it is a great amp, i agree with you!
rafport 2 years ago
that must be it. people must be having trouble finding that sweet spot, but it sounds nice here. i'm definitely considering getting an ac4 now.
marcusolp 2 years ago
it is a great amp, a great tube sounding amp. so results depend mostrly on instrument and on touch, and can have great difference changing guitar and player. is a vintage amp, so no hi gain tone here, no preamp distortion, just glorious power tubes tones. anyway with mid volume (4-5, depending on pickup output) near breakup, it sound marvellous with good external overdrive
rafport 2 years ago
what mic did you use to record? it sounds better than the videos using an shure sm57 i've heard so far.
marcusolp 2 years ago
it is a shure pg57, it should be the cheaper version of sm57. this amp rocks, it isnt the mic to do the trick :) maybe position, but i notice it sounds good even in other position
rafport 2 years ago
hey, i just got this amp! and its really!(!) LOUD!^^
Do u think it's better to play this amp with 10" on 1/4 or 1w or try the 8" speaker version - may it's quiter?^^
silentium2k7 2 years ago
i never tried the 8", but i talked with a guy got it, has less bass and break up sooner and is quite unusable at full volume. he returned back the 8" and buy the 10" and now is satisfied. you should try both, i wont change my 10 for sure for the 8 :)
rafport 2 years ago
@rafport Have u tried the head and cab? Love the jam by the way. Im torn on geting this or the 12inch cab with head. alot of people are saying the 12 is better? thanks
eatthemoon13 1 year ago
@eatthemoon13 i've tried my amps on other cabs, but i have never tried (and seen) the original vox cab for the ac head. for sure a bigger cab has more bass and more volume (i tried also with a 4x12 :) but i really love the tone of the 10" speaker in the combo version, and price is just a bit bigger than the head, so i will buy again the combo and maybe i'll buy the cab in a second time. i'm using a lot my vox because is so light to transport, and is enough to play with my drummer on his own
rafport 1 year ago
@silentium2k7
The 8" version goes down to 1/10w, but it's going to sound thin compared with 4W. I tried it at one shop, at 1w was ok, but at 1/10w the amp just asks you to go back to the 4w position.
I would love to have this amp at home, but I know I'm going to crank it up, not sure if 1/10w would be usable. Maybe at 1w..
triviani1234 2 years ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
Strats don't sound good distorted. Plug in a Tele or Les Paul and demo it.
ryan06105 2 years ago
i really love strat, in any kind of amp, and for my ears sounds great here too and is for sure my favourite guitar (and my favourite kind of guitar). anyway i've already demos on youtube with some les paul and teles with this vox... and you can find several by other users too.
And remember everyone has his taste and his skills, i really apreciate other's opinion but is not kind post something like "this dont sound good change this and retry".
bye and thanks for seeing my video
rafport 2 years ago
Oh my god... tell me I did not read thid...
wow, what would Jimi Hendrix or Eric Clapton or David Gilmour or Jeff Beck or.... or..... or........or....... or even Slash (who has recorded with distorted strats) say?
And most of all, tastes are subjective...
vomae 2 years ago 3
Agree completely. I actually prefer strat breakup to a les paul, imo les pauls are too "proper", per say. But as you said, tone is completely subjective.
Ilovemyfender2 2 years ago
Love your playing. Really skillful, playful and inspired. Great demo clearly showing the dynamics of this little power pack. Thanks
spaceguitars 2 years ago
you're very kind, i really apreciate your words :) thank you for visit my vides
rafport 2 years ago
hey
this is the combo amp, right?
how loud is it? do you think it would be possible to play a small gig (for about 100 people) with it?
thanks for your help
cheers from brazil
gabrielresende 2 years ago
hi, yes it is the 10" combo (it exist a 8" version, who it should be weaker). it's louder than you can expect from small dimension, but it really depends on your drummer, if he/she's light in hitting pads the 4w can be sufficient. consider that it overdrive easily so you cant afford a loud volume with a real clean tones, but this is the tube magic :) i tried with external cabs and is much louder, so the head+cab version can be better for play in gig. hi from italy ;)
rafport 2 years ago
for sure. this amp is plenty loud man.
1694kyle 2 years ago
Don't know if you've bought this already, but keep in mind: Volume is logarithmic. That means 4W is only half as loud as 40W, 1/4W is only half as loud 4W, and 1/4W is only 4 times less loud than 40W.
So yeah it's plenty loud, but maybe not loud and clean at the same time. It will be with an external cab. It makes a huge difference.
JDarkooJDarkoo 2 years ago
it's not exactly like this 4w is half of 16 more or less instead 8, like, is like not divided by 2 but divided by himself. clean tone depends on way of final stage and pre manage signal, have volume and clean tone on this vox is quite difficult, with an hi gain pickup it start to overdrive at 2 of volume :) anyway it is really great, i love just for this
rafport 2 years ago
i just got this amp, and i have to say that i absolutely love it. Its got the perfect amount of smooth clean, with good breakup. However, i cranked it almost all the way up on the 1/4 watt setting for some good crunch, and its pretty damn loud. almost too loud to play at night as i live in an apartment with a family above me. I wish there was a headphone jack, thats about the only thing this little monster lacks. Great Amp for the Money!!!!!!
BornAgain4him 2 years ago
it is quite difficult for a real tube amp to have a phone jack, it is needed a dummy load to fully reduce volume to zero (without speaker resistence the output transformer blow) and a di box. Usually solid state and modeling amp get headphone out, can be cheaper this way and use the ac4 (that is loud!) just when you can use. Anorher solution can be an isolation box, the ac4 is really small so you can build something at least to reduce most of decibels :)
rafport 2 years ago
Great video! This'll most likely be my next amp once I save up enough. It sounds really good. :D
wirelessrock 2 years ago
thank you, yes i really love the ac4 tone and his genuine vintage sound that breack up so easily :)
rafport 2 years ago
You have got some great taste man. It makes me sad to see some people do reviews on a kick ass amp and then just play death metal or wail on the guitar. Tasteful licks make much better reviews
1694kyle 2 years ago 11
thank you. usually metal and modern heavy gain styles fears what classic rock and blues guitarist love, and just the opposite. i want power tube cranked into sparlke mid oriented tone, as dynamic as possibile for use with various picking and guitar volume and tone as i find quite unuseful the second or third channel. usually metal guys search for hi gain preamp stage, deep low end, compressed sound. this amp for sure is not for their... but i love it :)
rafport 2 years ago
the only problem with this amp is that the head-cab 1x12 sounds a lot bigger... try it u ll know what I mean
And if u have a 16ohm cab look no other way...
Nice playing(not my style though )
*METALheads this amp is not for u :)
NikoAlexi 2 years ago
I bought the combo for my dorm room! I love it! It doesn't sound thin at all really; or at least with a humbucker guitar. I haven't had a chance to hook it up to a different cabinet but i know it'll probably sound even better. After school it might be my go-to recording amp!
classael84 2 years ago
i tried with other cabs and to be honest i prefer the 10" speaker celestion custom on the amp itself...
rafport 2 years ago
i like something with a bit more guts then these ac4's..sounds good though just a buit thin for me..thanks for the video..
fretboarder 2 years ago
everyone has his taste, as it is right... i love it :)
rafport 2 years ago
What a great clip! You're really pulling some great tone out of the Vox! Did I understand you correctly, that you like the 10" in the combo better than the head with a 12" cab? Thanks again, Mark
MarkSpaniel 2 years ago
thank you :) no, i never tried the 12" i'm curious to ear but i cant find one or some review and neither some speaker specs. i just say this 10" rocks, and "bigger is better" does mean nothing in music and tones. (in tubes usually is the opposite!) can sound similiar and fatter, can sound different in a better way but can play even different in a worst way. i like this one, better than other cabs i tried with the ac4.
rafport 2 years ago
Thanks for the demo. Have you had a chance to check out the Vox AC4 head with the 12" cab?
I'm between this and the new Marshall Class 5 for my next amp. Decisions...
centrum2k4 2 years ago
unfortunately not. i tried to inform about that, because i'm really interested on the 12" cab even for other amps (i'm frequently changing/experiment bethween cabs and amps) as this 10" simply rocks. but there is almost any info about, i can't reach to understand neither the exact wattage of the 12", surely is sufficient for the 4w but how many W carry exactly? i guess it sound "fatter" than the 10, but for example i tried the ac4 with other cab (is only 16ohm so i can just connect with
rafport 2 years ago
this impedance speaker or speaker. anyway the tone was very different and worst that the one with the inner cab. this 10" speaker get a great contribution in tone, so it can be better try the external cab that can be better... can be. i never tried the marshall... anyway i'm a little upset with "modern" marshalls, i've some and all broke, or damage, and anyone i know had pots damaged in any marshall after 2 years. and usually they sounds quite far from my actual taste in tone..
rafport 2 years ago
hey there, great vid ;)
i tried that amp today at my favourite guitarshop, and i was really surprised... just as you probably were^^
anyway what i wanted to say is, that you probably could get a more detailed sound review of the amp if you'd do it with a les paul style guitar or any other guitar with humbuckers, i did that today and MAN did that thing scream^^
damn cool anyway, great playing ;)
TakkaTakkaDude 2 years ago
thank you :) yes, this ac4 is a surprising amp, far better than i ever imagined for a this price/size amp. for pickup, it really depends of your feel... i've a pair of humbucking guitar (and i sell several, years ago i preferred different guitars). today i really felt confortable with single coil. as the ac4 is a very good amp, it sounds different with just any guitar/pickup so it has several different tones to show depending of the situation :) bye!
rafport 2 years ago
Wow you got really nice tone control :)
SearchInSun 2 years ago
thank you :) i used much larger capacitor than usual rating. i've put on other guitar too and i prefer a strong and speed high cutting when i move the knob (tone to 0 is too closed, but is much responsive when you move... it look like a wha :)
rafport 2 years ago
can it handle band practice?
Gel1ebtedesregens 2 years ago
mmm, in a group can be surely heard if drummer has a light touch. but maybe cant be as loud if it punch heavy. anyway is louder than people can imagine for a just 4w :)
rafport 2 years ago
Great videos you have posted... do you know if there is a big difference between the 8" and the 10" speaker regarding the sound? Is it worth it to "upgrade" to the 10"? I got the 8 by mistake...
alexnasralla 2 years ago
i guess in another amp, the ac4 should have the 10" as stock. speaker discussion is quite complex, in general bigger speaker move more air, so trend to be more bass and more output powered, smaller brighter and easy to break up and lower volume. but in reality things are just different and with lots of variabiles. it really depends on your taste too... and anyway in a 8" hole you cant fit a 10" :) i can just say this 10" celestion custom in the ac4 sounds very good to my ears,
rafport 2 years ago
Yes, I do the same thing, browsing through videos to get an overall understanding of the sound. I live in a place where it´s hard to go and try myself all the amps I would be interested in. So your video was helpful aswell, thanks for that.
I´m in the process of selling my boutique practise amp and buying something cheaper instead. Also considered the AC4, but i think i need more power so I´ll propably end up buying the Night Train or an AC15.
ploukusa 2 years ago
night train is a very interesting amp, i've eard several good samples of it. unfortunately, despite i saw into catalogue, i never seen or try one "live". i've some friend who play, but the one most "maniac" about tone, amps, pickup am just myself! and here most of shop are aboslutely unpleasant about trying stuff... and the ones who are kind, have very little stuff to try! so youtube and internet is the first place for ear instruments because it is hard try live somewhere...
rafport 2 years ago
not far from the budget of the night train, i can suggest to consider the Epiphone Blues Custom 30? (if you need just head it should be even the head, or an head with same architeture... the SoCal 50 or something like this i forgot exactly). is one of my favourite amp, despite has 6l6 tube instead el84 (quite different tone) is one of sweetest i ever tried and is real cheap. eminence speakers are greatly voiced, and break up easily past 4 of volume and in a warm and bluesy.
rafport 2 years ago
Thanks for the demo! Nice playing.
But I kinda disagree you on this this power chord issue you were discussing about. Take Link wray, Pete Townshend, Jimmy Page, Tony Iommi... they all used power chords with cranked tube amps & power tube saturation and built that classic rock sound. Sometimes simple is better ;)
ploukusa 2 years ago
so dude do u think that this amp with the volume(drive) to the max and an additional distortion pedal used with it , will song great with power chords????
sid17391 2 years ago
zeppelin or who uses of power chords are quite different from "post iron maiden" uses.... and this amps is more vintaged tone than them (their tone at the time was quite heavy and extreme, vox is more rock than hard rock voiced). you will never obtain a metal tone with this an serious volume, this has a sweet, warm and spongy classical power tube addition and this wont change despite what you insert before. anyway i'm just saying my opinion and suggesting...
rafport 2 years ago
Rafprot, I did not catch the "post iron maiden" issue... kinda sounded like you were saying power tube saturation and power chords will not work together at all... which is not true, at least to my book. My bad.
I think you are right on this issue. To get modern high gain, hard rock distortion more on the heavy side, on a budget, definitely get the modelling amp instead the AC4. This small amp is more for slightly distorted or classic rock sound.
ploukusa 2 years ago
dis17391 can ask exactly "in your opinion this amp can achieve the tone of XXX group" so i can understand exactly which tone he's searching. there are several kind of power tube saturation depending of tube, of class of the amp, of speakers. the AC4 ones has a warm and muddy response at high cranked settings, and can achieve greatly blues-rock tones but not hard ones. and i think if someone ask me to ear how an amp sounds with power chords he is asking about their hard rock tones
rafport 2 years ago