Vox AC4 C1-12 (4 Watts of Vox Valve Tone)
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- Опубліковано 2 сер 2020
- The Vox AC4 C1-12 is a fairly affordable all valve/tube amp. It's compact, but it also has a 12 inch Celestion speaker. Could this be a great practice amp?
The AC4 isn't loaded with a bunch of features, but then again small tube amps seldom are. It has an external speaker out jack so you can hook it up to a massive cab if you want to. So, how does the Vox sound? Check it out.
Hope you enjoy!
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SUCH a great idea to put it through that Marshall cab! Thank you for thinking to do that for us.
👍
Elmo -Thank you for another fun, honest and entertaining amp demo and review!! 👍
My pleasure! Glad you liked it :)
@@MrPolevaulter they take pedals well ? Ok - but not well I think. . It would help if it had a FX loop, but this is a basic combo ..
dude, you do a great job of your videos. Informative yet funny. Love the levity. Would have liked to hear an LP through this amp but I think I get the idea. Sub'd!
Thank you very much :)
Nice War-Face Elmo, This Amp Sounds Good!
It does yeah :)
hot damn I love that Vox tone
At 5:02 is what it's all about. Fat distorted sweet sticky goodness of sound. Nice demo as always. 👍
Thanks :)
Vox have always been famous for their amplifiers, the sound is just perfect, for Malmsteen and Queen + 1 more like!!!
Yeah, the valve amps I've tried from them have been really good.
I owned one of these about 5 years ago. Fine clean tones but boxy when cranked. After 2 years of not playing it...I sold it.
World’s best 4 watt amp, and the more time you spend with it - the better you get on with it. At certain settings and pedals mine reverberates naturally, loud as hell! I think the 10” version has more character and open back 2x12 cabinets just roar. Don’t look for ultra high headroom clean tone - look for pedals that work with the onboard grit. I can’t live without mine. The AC10 is easier initially to get a great tone - the AC4 ages like fine wine!
Very nice amp for sure :)
What pedals go good with this amp, would distortion work good for this and would you be able to make this amp sound metal
I have the AC4HW and the speaker took forever to break in, totally different animal now. Much prefer it to the 57 tweed champ that it replaced!
Good golly, that was some outstanding playing.
Thank you very much 😊
@@MrPolevaulter Love the scalloped neck too. Is that a short scale strat? Is it a Warmoth?
@@LooseOrangeJuice Mostly the specs of an Yngwie Strat, custom built for me.
I like it. No angry bees with chainsaws. No hissy snakes. No fx loop is not a big deal breaker. Not particularly heavy to lug around. And the price is easy on the wallet.
Not big hissy snakes, anyways.
That's strat looks cool
Excellent review, greetings froms Argentina.
You got that Max Headroom thing going on.
I had the small ac 4 watts amp.Some years laterI got a cabinet (for car sound)and a Vox
12 Speaker.My neighbors couldent never guess, that 4 Watts, with a decent speaker,. How cool sounds can played.
So I bought one of these for $80 at an estate sale this past weekend that a friend of mine recommended to me after he had gone there the day before “because they had a lot of guitar stuff.”
Same dude comes over to my house and takes a pic of the front and back of the amp and sends them to his old lady a day or 2 later. She’s the sound engineer at brewery that has an outdoor amphitheater that hosts 3 bands a day, and has WELL over 10k patrons on a daily basis. He then made a few videos of me dialing in a Hendrix tone, a Brian May tone (well, several actually) and a David Gilmore tone using just a Strat, a cord, and the Vox AC4.
She bought this amp from me for $350 to use at their facility. The artists just bring their instruments, the house provides the amps, drum kits, pianos, etc.
They mic all the amps anyway and run them through the house PA system. It doesn’t matter how loud they are. If it’s got a good usable tone, you can make 10k people hear it properly if you know what you’re doing.
I dont care what anyone says. It does not take any pedal well-ok , but not well. It's a small cheap amp, having tubes is not enough to make it great sounding
Bad ass little amp.
Any Vox AC amp works fantastic with either a Rat pedal if you set the amp on edge of break up or a Treble booster into a cranked amp, only problem with the 15 or 30 is the weight starts to become an issue.
Luke yep they’re chunky, head and cab is the way to go unless you have your own roadies, I run an AC15 at home which doesn’t move and have an AC30 head and cab for gigging still heavy but much more manageable.
Yeah, I've heard the bigger ones are heavy. Probably going to test an AC15 soonish.
Elmo Karjalainen see if you can get hold of the head, it comes with a reactive attenuator if you plug into a 16ohm cab (the matching cab is 16ohm greenback)
I have one of these picked up for $149 secondhand. I really like it, but the EQ works in a bit of an odd way. The Treble knob sounds to me like it’s rolling off low-mids as you turn it up. The bass knob works the way you expect it to.
But can confirm, I play this thing unmic’d with friends. At home I just use a Rat for distortion to keep the volume reasonable.
Cool :)
All vox amps eq works that way. Turning the treble right is actually cutting the treble. Same with bass.
This how passive tonestacks work, the bass and treble interacts with each other - mids are pretty independent of everything else
Valve shmalve… the AC10 sounds better than what I’m hearing here, both clean and dirty. Good demo!
Thanks!
thank you for your review. Have you allready tested/tried the vox MiniSuperBeetle ? Not fully valved (Preamp Nutube+Amp SolidState), but may (May?) be better for practicing at low volume ? a 10 inch but reverb and tremolo, more or less the same price
Not yet, but there's a fair chance I will.
Great review, Elmo. Thanks for playing "normal" music as well ;) Three years ago I bought the AC4-TV (I think that's what it was). Great looking white amp. It came with a a built in power soak attenuating down to something like 1W and 1/4W. The lowest setting was atrocious -- sounded like a swarm of buzzing mosquitoes. The 1W setting was ok, but honestly, the amp needed to be played wide open with lower volume for it to sound good. However, it came with a 10" speaker... it was trebly enough to cut through the windows of the house. Yes, way too loud for ordinary home use (at least with a half-decent tone). Overall, I found it awful and returned it. No regrets. I was always wondering if the 12" model would be better but after hearing your demo, I don't think so. Oh, and no, playing a reverb pedal into the front was not a good sound! I agree that the AC10 would be way better.
Thanks! I usually only try to play abnormal music :D
@@MrPolevaulter haha. I was obviously talking about your more usual playing style which is just a little heavier, faster, and more modern rock than mine. But you are nonetheless clearly very accomplished at the more roots sounds of blues and jazz-blues as well. And I think that's what makes you such a great guitarist!
@@anthroknight Cheers!
you should try the ac4tv it's almost like this but change the speaker from 12 to 10 and the controls
I’ve had this amp a week and can’t find any weakness. With a Strat its killer! I have to wait for the wife to go out before I can crank it.
I got mine cheap ,so I put in a blueback speaker and Boogie valves.Now fav. Amp ever...all I need for home
Cool bananas :)
Very nice review, Elmo.
I’m trying to buy a 5w max amp and this fornecer help.
I’d like your opinion about what amp would you buy? Could you make a showdown video?
Best!
Sorry, no. I've sold all those small amps. I can't afford to keep most of the gear I review. I might do a compilation of some sort though. In terms of price, the Harley Benton Tube5 is tough to beat, plus it's a great amp. If you want a loop, then the Harley Benton Tube15 is cheaper than most 5 watt amps, and is great.
@@MrPolevaulter Thanks for your reply! The Harley Benton sound more like a Marshall or Fender?
@@GaBeSBR Here: ua-cam.com/video/Ua3opHgAJfI/v-deo.html&t=
Always great info. Have you an opinion (or video) on the Hand Wired version? Thanks.
Philip
NYC Area
Haven't tried the Hand Wired version.
It's jolly hood.
Wicked man.
Cheers!
I would buy this amp but it has no reverb.. I got the pathfinder 15 R.. the no reverb is for me a no go... the style of Vox , I love the sound yes of corse, but why no reverb?? Harley Benton can do it.. what shall I do?
Personally I'd go for the Tube15 by Harley Benton.
Hahahha I really like that I want to break free solo piece
:)
Does this amp work well with pedals, and does it sound good with distortion pedals, and would it sound good as a metal style amp
I try it with an overdrive pedal in the video. Probably not a good metal amp.
@@MrPolevaulter thank you
Quick question: Why would you look to vox for a metal amp? There are so many good amps that come to mind for metal. Just curious. Thank you.
I was looking at a used AC4 that sounded pretty decent in the store, but didn't really get to crank it. From what I'm hearing here, it sounds like it's giving up a bit with higher gain. Might have to take a pass on this one. Love to hear suggestions for a small-ish tube amp I can pair with my DSL-5 for a dual amp rig. Cheers
Not sure what you should get to for a dual amp rig.
Orange rocker 15
Choosing between this and Marshall dsl1cr. I usually play thrash and heavy metal and hard rock (but sometimes I love to play blues, depends on the mood). So what should I choose. And btw I really hate "boxy" sound
Sounds good on clean and light overdriven ... and at 10:06 !!!
Cheers!
I owned one. Used to run it parallel with a Orange Micro Dark w/ a 1x12 cab via Radial splitter. Fantastic recording sound! Way too loud for my small apartment tho, and both unfortunately went with a bunch of other gear during the "Great Covid Gear Purge of 2020". ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Just bought one second hand for 175 euros. Sounds great
And has more grit than my bugera v5. And for the price I couldn't say no.... It was cheaper than the bugera. Jijiji
And I'm going to put it through my 1x12 cab and see if it opens up a bit more.
You got a great deal! Way to go!
Great review, but i wonder if it is usable at low volumes at home?
It might be a bit too loud if you want power amp breakup.
Way way too loud if you want to crank the master volume. But it has great tone at low volume levels too, just not exactly what is vox ac is famous for. I play it with the volume at 9 o clock, and the rest comes from the gain knob. I also did a bright switch mod and replaced the speaker for greenback. Love this amp, but it is not for everyone for sure.
Sir,can you tell us about that fender yjm overdrive....is that one is the same like the old black yjm that need noise suppresser pedal...and can that pedal can be use with humbucker kind of guitar...tq
The Fender YJM overdrive doesn't sound like the original DOD308 it's not miles away but it doesn't sound the same it, the Fender one has more high end and more bass cut than the original as far as noise go they are both very noisy pedals
@@jasonkaminas9708 tq for the info bro.....
@Ramli Hassan Np mate I currently own the 308 and have compared it to the Fender one personally I ended up even modding my YJM to add more bass easy off some of the high end boost and reduce some of the gain to make it less noisy. If you are considering buying one they are great pedals both of them I use it as a clean boost now with the EQ shaping it has, for the real YJM sound just crank vol and gain no matter what you do a noise gate is a must with such pedals (also consider asking from a pedal builder to make you a clone of it it's stupid simple to make even the original)
@@jasonkaminas9708 tq all members here....for all the tips...very much appreciated...😅😅😅
I made a couple of videos on the topic. ua-cam.com/video/k5Wh1ZROBAM/v-deo.html
ua-cam.com/video/e-GG2iYNJfE/v-deo.html
Great video but just one doubt... between this AC4 12 and the AC10 which one do you prefer?? I'll appreciate u reply me 😊
AC 10 I'd say.
I prefer my AC15 but its too loud for the house.
Oh, you need to turn it up.
I bought the AC4 TV and couldn't get a good sound out of it , way too muddy. Returned it and got the AC4 112 and in stock form it was much better. After replacing the stock crap speaker with a British blue Celestion, just barely fit, and doing the tone cap mod for better bass control this amp screams! When I plug it into my 410e Peavey cabinet with stock speakers it gets really fat sounding.
vox ac4c1-12 or Laney Cub12R or Fender Bassbreaker 007?
My brother works for Evertune and he keeps this amp on his work bench. He told me it was very LOUD and sounds great for the buck...if I recall...the only drawbacks if that's what you want to call them...just the obvious quality issues inside the amp...that one would expect from an amp made overseas nowadays.
If it's made in Mexico, and you live in the US, it's not made overseas :D
@@MrPolevaulter I guess I stand corrected. Honestly thought made in China. ( most seems to be going that direction...Marshalls UK custom shop is only a matter of time...what I heard through the grapevine) anyways...get the good ones while you can is my thoughts. That made in USA red knobbed Champ was made in Mexico also. And ...I love it. No Ming Dynasty find by no means...but a decent tube amp...pedal friendly...that didn't bust my bank
2:53 let's drop gain
3:00 let's add a bit of gain
:)))
Your amps sound better turned off than mine sound turned on. :)
Haha :D Thanks :)
@@MrPolevaulter By the way...got a full refund on the Katana 50 MKII I bought. Ordered the Monoprice/Harley Benton 15-watt tube amp yesterday. Not sure if I want to go the stompbox route (I really only need delay, reverb, drive, and maybe chorus) or perhaps get a Boss GT-1.
Decisions...decisions...
@@keithbenedict8764 But trying that stuff out is fun 😊
add gain... and check out if your audio card clipping lights are brighter than the sun (-:
10:07 = Flight of the junkie Bumblebee
😍🎸🤘🎸😍
Ok.... how does it compare to a Katana!? Don't you just love it. At least you know I'm watching
:D
Elmo Karjalainen :D and:D
Katana has more tonal options, built-in effects, various settings, can be not too loud and sound good, can also be loud as fuck, if needed, does not need tube changing, can reproduce vox chime easily and you can save this preset. Vox looks better and classy.
I actually have the same trouble of choice wether to get ac4 blue 12, or katana mk2... There was a time I had AC4 tv, with 8' or 10' speaker (don't remeber it well) sounded great with my les paul, best sounds were at 1watt setting, but the thing had gain and volume in one knob, so to have really cool overdrive you had do dial it almost all the way up and it was too loud for home usage. So I sold it and bought yamaha THR 5 amp - what an improvement it was. Lots of effects, great sound, very responsive to attack and neighboor-friendly volume level.
So I am gravitating to katana rather than to vox ac4.
@@user-lx3dn9bt9e ... I own the Katana 100
@@kmichaelp4508 are you satisfied with it then?
I love tone and a low watt all tube amp is a perfect platform for home or small gigs BUT this awesome little amp even with it's 12" speaker is hard to find but lacks one much needed thing and that's AN EFFECTS LOOP!!!! Without reverb built into the amp it should have an effects loop for modulation effects so they don't muddy up the front end of an amp,and one more thing is it should have a mids EQ but that can be fixed with a simple EQ peddle
Yeah, the effects loop is something that I'd also want.
And even then The Edge runs his army of FX in the regular input of his old AC-30 (which of course has no fx loop).
Thanks I know now I don't want one of these... think I can just about get away with AC15 at home. Plus I know I can take the same app to the gig.
👍
AC15 is loud.
@Luke I agree.
It is just a tad not enough for gigging. It needs to go to eleven.
Yep :)
IMO such low watt tube amps do not make sense. I tested and owned lot of them, my conclusion is they are too loud for use in a flat, but not enough loud to gig, and at low volume they sound is thin. In particular the AC4 C1 has got top-boost eq, but miss the cut treble control that is useful to tame hight frequencies, also the cabinet is too small for 12" speaker and miss low end. For bed-room use modeling amps perform way lot better and costs less.
The Tube5 was fairly quiet in 1 watt mode, and the Bugera V5 Infinium got really quiet in 0.1 watt mode.
low watt tube amps are great for studio work
I have AC4c1-12 and don't miss low frequencies at all! I keep lows at half, treble at half or a bit below. More than enough lows for me. But I am a person who turn lows down on most amps.
@@nevosound Except the Vox AC4 which I had because it was noisy as hell. Way too shrill as well with no bottom end whatsoever. I hated this amp and returned it immediately.
thanks for saving me from buying this mistake.
what makes you call it a mistake? Not my favorite amp for higher gain, but clean and breakup sounds awesome. I especially love to play jazz on neck humbuckers with this amp. Replaced speaker with Greenback to smoothen the treble, but the same can be achieved with super simple mod by removing one or two bright caps. If needed.
@@SergeiVlassov it would be a mistake for me, that's all, if you like it good on you sir. I was looking for a good low watt amp that has a not so fizzy tone when pushed a bit and imho this amp has failed, plus no efx loop... didn't want to do a bunch of mods as well.
I do however like my Blackstar Series One 10th Anniversary 10-watt 1-12 combo amp... lots of player don't like Blackstar as well, go figure.
Like i always say, "Tone is like chili, flavor to your liken".
@@sonny6string822 agree! I had Blackstar Studio 10 6L6, but unfortunately it has crazy low frequency hum, so I returned. The sound was good. Maybe the best bedroom combo I had was Marshall DSL5CR, but it had the same speaker as this VOX - Celestion 70 80 (Vox just renamed it to VX12), so it was fizzy at higher gain. But cleans were beautiful, reverb was nice. Fender Bassbreaker 007 Head was wonderful with proper cab. I had lot of small tube amps. Now I have Rocker 15 Terror - highly recommend to try if you havent. It has 0.1 W mode and sounds really great at all gain levels with my 1x12 greenback cab.
@@SergeiVlassov thanks for the reply, maybe you had a bad tube giving you the hum. I did replace the speaker in it with a WGS Green Beret and put a 12au7 in the preamp... might give the Blkstar HT5MkII a try, although I really don't need another amp, just this dang gas won't stop.LOL
Actually, just got a Boss Pocket GT, since their blowing them out, and having a blast with the little bugger.
Happy Pickin"
@@sonny6string822 yes, I am sure this was just my unit that had hum, because others did not complain. But I had 30 days to return without questions, so I did not take a risk to dig in. I solved my GAS by buying used equipment - after I plays it for some time I resell it for similar price ) Works especially well with pedals ) But my favorite bedroom amp is... Yamaha THR30II :) But connected to 6" studio monitors.
wonderfull but no clean tone ? Thx for great demo, very fast playing .....
Tuo strymon kuulostaa vähä liian agressiiviselta.
Sehän se hieno juttu siinä on. Siitä saa tosi vähän, tai tosi paljon :)
This amp with a surfybear metal reverb is all anyone could want
Ethereum 🎸
Som de corda velha!
Sounds flubby
Everyones a comedian. oy vey
Tone is sharp and scratchy to my ears. I'm sure Vox AC4 is a great amp with a long history ... but why doesn't it sound great? I don't think EVH and Lynch could get their tones out of these ... It's puzzling.
Duh
You should talk more, I stopped the video at 3 minutes in and you were still yapping.
Sounds flat and dead in the lower registers. Needs to be set free (sorry Brian - 2 winces in one video !).
:)
To me it sounds choked like something is holding it back, don't like it much
Fair enough.
Sounds like even the slightest touch of low end in this thing makes it fart 😆 oh well nice try vox.
It sounds harsh, if that's what you mean?
:D
Let me guess does he hate it because it doesn't have an effects loop 🤣🤣🤣 - this guys entertaining but can't take him serious. His name is not difficult to pronounc. Subbed for entertainment.
Cheers 😊