VOX AC50 - Vox’s Marshall KILLER!
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- Опубліковано 6 жов 2024
- I play an amazing 1965 Vox AC50 MkIII through an AC50 2x12 Cab. For some odd reason these amps can still be had pretty cheap. They're a ridiculous bang for the buck. These amps use EL34 (Marshall) in the power amp rather than the EL84 that Vox is famous for. I'm using a 2010 Gibson Les Paul Custom Black Beauty to demonstrate it. I'm going through all settings of the amp, which actually is quite versatile. The cab has one of the original Celestion Alnico Silvers and one 1976 Goodman Audiom 12P-G. the close mic is a Unidyne IV 548 and the room mic is Beyerdynamic M160. I borrowed this one from Simon at Musikbörsen in Gothenburg Sweden, maybe it's still around. www.musikborse...
Also would like to make the point- Celestion csan often fool people into thinking they are listening to a Marshall. Put a Silverface Bassman, or a DR. Z whatever through some old Alnicos or G12M/H, and you will get "The Marshall Sound". Perhaps it should be called "The Celestion Sound" :O)
Hahaha! It is definitely the Celestion sound!
@@kris4107 Nah, everything sounds good through alnico blues
@@amritjanardhanan Everything sounds good through CELESTION speakers!
Big bottles two. Vox mostly use EL84
@@vucinicbozo except the AC50. It’s el34 based to accommodate the increased wattage
Wow what a fantastic sound. Sounds rounder than a Marshall. I just love this sound.
Thanks Jon!
I own an AC50, same year as this. Bought it at JAM in Stockholm. Used it for years in studio and live situations in my punk band. Love it! Great video as usual. Cheers!
Thanks, glad to hear that! Cheers!
Wow, man. That is like the perfect guitar tone. That sound - it's like a big, fat candy bar. Yeah!
Thanks ;-)
This was my first amp back in the late 90s and friend gave it to me for free broken from his grandmothers attic. Needed two new EL34s and a bias. Thinking about the first chord I struck on this still sends shivers down my spine, that moment hooked me on guitar for life! Sadly stolen when I was away at college.
I actually bought two of those after seeing the video in November, brought them to my tech and one of them (also a Mark3) is my main amp now, despite having different Marshall's and Orange and such from those years as well! ! Just something magical about it...
I loved that tone, it's very musical for being so crunchy! I've always loved the visual design of Vox amps, too. Wonderful!
Johan, ever thought about doing Kemper profiles of all those beautiful amps you have access to?
They would sell like cupcakes...
We’re gonna do a Kemper video soon, to see if the IR:s are good enough
O O
I love how the low end and low mids are soft and creamy but not mushy at all and are well defined and articulate this is not an easy feat to accomplish in an amp although I am sure the speakers are playing a large role in that low frequency quality.
Love those amps, Pancho in Crazy Horse used to play one. Such a great sound.
Honestly , think this is the best sound one could have , I like Fenders love Marshalls but this has the right mix of these tones , little bit of all but still very distinct and charactheristic
Glad to hear it, yeah it covers a lot of ground
Bought one of these, same version & year, back in March. It had been given a full servicing by the seller (a store) and was priced well below what I’d expected AC50s to sell for. Which was the main reason I bought it. 😊 It’s a *killer* amp! Weighs a freakin’ ton too.
It seems that if you get away from Marshall or certain Fenders that there’s lots of reasonable priced vintage amps out there. You’ve done a few now, thanks!
Thanks! Yeah a lot of tone can be had for very reasonable money
@@JohanSegeborn hey you should do a vid of the Carvin X100B. I'm really interested too hear what you have too say about one of those amps
Oh wow' such variable tone' I can imagine a joy to record with, that clear crunch is amazing' ...wonderful great licks and riffs that you demonstrate' thanks for sharing.
Thanks Ralph, it’s great to hear that!
AC-50s may be under valued {priced} in Europe, but that is not the case for the USA. The reason for that is this: When the Whirpool Corporation bought The Thomas Organ Company {exclusive producer of Vox amps in the USA} in 1970, they immediately stopped production of the Vox amp brand. The amps had been selling poorly for several years by that time, and it was losing money for the company. At the same time, they defended their Vox trademark, and forbade Vox's new parent company {Birch-Stolec Ltd.} from selling any new products into the USA. So the only AC-50 amps to be found in the US today are usually the vintage period JMI produced amps, and they bring a collector's premium. In Europe, Dallas Musical Industries {parent company for Vox outside the USA} was able to sell all the AC-50s they could supply to that market during the 1970s. Although still hand wired just like the old JMI amps, these have no collector premium attached to them, and they can be had very reasonably. Now you know how Fender was able to sell so many silverface amps back in the 70s! The Mrk IV is the one you want if you are looking for gain. Vox changed the pre amp section on the Mrk 4, and it has ALLOT more gain than the earlier ones.
Man Johan, you sure are a connoisseur of tone!! This thing is Amazing. Its like the best parts of Marshall and Fender combined into one amp. WOW! As always, thank you for sharing!!!
Thanks, I’m glad to hear that!
Oh wow man that is some exceptional tone coming from that old AC! Love it!
Thanks man!
I often forget to listen to the sound because I am too impressed with the playing and all those great riffs!
Thanks Claes, I’m really glad to hear that!
"The light that burns twice as bright, burns half as long .."
-Tom Jennings
I got to say Johan, that really does sound bloody amazing in every mic!
Its got that Marshall bark but its talking back to you, not just howling in to the wind!
Thanks, yeah Marshall tone with Vox playability
Johan, I have been enjoying your demos for years. Thank you for showing us the real deal. Keep up the great work , great playing 🤘🏽 rockin!
I own a 1966 Vox Ac 50. It is so fat sounding it is unbelievable. I run mine through a 15" Eminence Legend. It sounds beautiful. It does not get gigged any more as it is too loud for the venues I play!!
Page used an AC50 with the solid state pre amp for whole lotta love and most likely rickenbacker tranonic cabs but could have used one of his 1982 cabs as he had bought his first 1959 super lead and 1982 cabs around that time.
I must admit to preferring the sound of the vox over the Marshall's. The distortion seems to be much tighter, smoother and musical. My Selmer MKII has the same tight sound. Great value valve amps if you see one for sale.
Unless I'm using a Tele and going for a Jeff Beck Yardbirds vibe, I never get along with their little bottle amps, but the few big amps VOX have done with EL34s, I've always liked, no matter what guitar I plug in. Great demo as always Johan. I've really enjoyed your channel over the years!
Thanks Jeff, I’m glad to hear that!
By far one of my favorite channels. Always tasteful, amazing gear and great playing. Cheers my friend! Keep’em coming and thank you!! 🍻 You rock dude!
Thanks my friend! I’m really glad to hear that! Cheers!
The overdriven sounds remind of Angus Young's tone on the very early AC/DC records - very Marshall-like.
Thanks, glad to hear it
Johann, great riffs musical Bruder! Thanks for the motivation.
Thanks Manfred! Glad to hear it
Sounds absolutely amazing!
Thanks! Glad to hear it
Hi Johan! I got a ac50 with a fault for free from an old man. Just sent it to Daniel Forsberg for repair++😊 Really excited of how it will sound. Thanks for all the work you lay in these videos!
If tone could talk, this is what it'd say
Yes, it is absolutely great
Thanks Zach!
Glad to hear it!
Loooolll
The documentation you provide will not only educate todays guitarists. It will educate generations. Wish I would have been able to watch your videos years ago I would have saved thousands in uneducated purchases, THANK YOU FOR YOUR WORK>
Luv it well balanced, great deep lows, sweet high end and clean clear mids ... I’ll take two! .. cool tones as always
Thanks Gerry!
This sounds amazing. I think I like it better than a Marshall in a way. I also like that you have the full tone stack on the normal channel here.
As always, wonderful video! It's so great to be able to hear these amps. The old Vox amps are just killer - I love the Vox that the guys on "The Doug and Pat Show" use. Around here, I think the 65 Vox AC50 MkIII would go for around $1,500.
Thanks!
Awesome tone! You’re so right John, sounds exactly like JTM into a Vox Cab. Love to hear it through a 4 x 12 to see how it compares.
Great demo!
Thanks! Glad to hear it
I love ur videos the simple riffs inspire me to play all day. Love that les paul with those pick ups
Thanks, that’s great to hear! Cheers
@@JohanSegeborn what pick ups are they? Im curious. Really the videos
I always miss the premiers now :(. What a great amp! It reminds me of a JTM, but still doing the Vox thing. You're reminding me how much I love your Custom! What a great sounding guitar played by our tone guide :D
Thanks Andy! :-) Have a great weekend!
That was very interesting, never thought i would here a Vox sounding like a Marshall. Sounds killer.
Thanks man!
Sounds incredible. My favourite tone in this whole channel. Jaw dropping.
Thanks Carlos!
You are right, that thing does sound fantastic. Titanic sounding low end. I prefer the tone with the close and room mic mixed together. I don't believe I've seen or played one of these before. I'll have to start trolling Craigslist in my area for one of these. God bless and rock on. Have a great weekend.
Thanks J! Have a great weekend you too!
Johan! You are freaking awesome! Keep up the great tones! 🤘🏽
Thanks! I’m glad to hear that! 🤘
Great sounding amp! Rarely see them in the US. Have a great weekend, Johan, stay safe
Thanks man, you too!
It's really odd that we didn't get more of these in the U.S. Especially considering I see old AC 30's all the time.
@@jdj5952 Yes, when I worked in music stores in the late 70s and early 80s, we almost never sold VOX, once in a while we would get a few AC30s and sometimes the smaller combos, AC15,10 & 4, when the metal era started not many people were interested it seems
It also has one of the best clean tones out there. I also have a ‘65, been mine for 13 years. The lows on that thing can be absolutely massive. Not my main amp, but i would never get rid of it.
I'd love to hear P90s going through this amp
Sounds absolutely smashing! Cheers!
Glad to hear it, Cheers!
Johan your love, dedication and sincerity oozes man! Another great vid as always. VOX amps can be killer in the right hands yours included 🙂
The Hughes and Kettner Puretone , if you can find one, is basically the same circuit , and sounds very similar.
I've owned a similar-era AC50 for about 18 years now, and I've had a love-hate relationship with it. They need to be turned up to sound good, but anything over 4-5 is going to be loud enough to kill your pets. Similarly, the tone stack on these are extreme - your bass player will hate you if you have the bass control at anything above 1 (even more so if you're using the normal channel) and everyone else will hate you if you have the treble control at anything above 4-5 (even more so if you're using the bright channel and/or have single coil pickups).
All that being said, when you need a massive, punchy crunch sound, there are few amps that can compete. It seems like the Goodman speakers were actually a good match, based on this video and the comparison between the Goodman and Greenback.
In any case, thanks for sharing Johan - it's nice to hear one of these recorded decently and with good playing.
Lol kill your pets.. Thats the problem with tube amps without Masters...
You’re absolutely right about everything you said, had one for 13 years now and i think exactly the same about it. One of the best sounding and ignored amps out there tho.
Same. I find it either too warm/bassy sounding or too brittle & nothing in between. Still! I would never get rid of it.
Johan man what I'd love to see you get your hands on is one of the early cathod-biased Vox AC100 mk1 amps. Do it! Cheers
That lightning bolt strap on that LP is way cool!! Great tone from that Vox!
I played through a vox50 once. It was actually a venues stock backline amp. Thing is those days I played in a grungy/punky 3chord wonder band lol.
But I still remember the tone to this day.
I got an older one and it's the best sounding amp I have ever owned!. Mine sounds a little more aggressive than yours but that may be just the way it's recorded for You Tube. Mine will peel the paint off the neighbor's walls it has such big balls!
Incredible tone.
Thanks Billy!
Superb Johan!!
You don’t need drive pedals just can old amp and understanding neighbours!
🤣👍🤘.
Kev 🇬🇧 UK
Having Stone Deaf neighbors would be INCREDIBLY handy!
Awesome demo of an awesome amp! Thank you Johan!
Remarkable. I know each note is driving up the price. I must have one ! I see books and Smithsonian like archives surviving even us from this most amazing project you have going on here ;-) Please tell me you are keeping this one. If not I'm interested . Thanks JS. Love it. I'm wondering if behind the scenes you have a soldering iron and design projects, that would be amazing.
Ace Johan ,I've got two of them and they sound ace just like you man ....
Thanks man, glad to hear it!
Excellent as always Johan! Rock and Roll! 🎸👍🏻🤟🏻 - K
Rock’n’roll Kurt! 🤘Cheers
The high-frequency (high-frequency currents) component of the signal passes mainly along the surface of the wires. I think if you clean the contacts, remove the oxide, the device will sound brighter ..
Appreciate the sounds and pictures of this amp
Thanks Chris!
Definitely the bite of a Vox combined with the throat of a Marshall. Awesome amp, and great demo.
Great video as usual! Interestingly this has a lot of the vibe I get with my Victory VC35 with the mid boost enabled. It gets pretty Marshallish while still having that Voxy vibe.
Thanks!
Great sounding amp. I think Frank Poncho Sampedro used one of these for awhile for amazing rhythm guitar tones with Neil Young and Crazy Horse
That AC-50 sound very similar to my '66 selmer T&B amps. Both have mustard caps, and probably the same output transformers too, so it may not be that strange.
That riff on 3:21 is truely face melting. I love the video where Johan compares a ridicilous amount of classic guitar speakers with this riff only!
Thanks man! Glad you remember!
@@JohanSegeborn It is hard to forget greatness!
Hi, Johan!
Nice amp, Gibson sounds like Rickenbacker! I love english bands, even Suede and Ozzy. Excellent tones! We are on the trip in tamplers castle, rock in the middle ages! Have a nice weekend! See you!
Z.
Sounds interesting, have a great weekend!
this really has what I'd describe as a 'fat' sound, it has a thickness to it, very nice.
Thanks Ben!
sounds massive on the heavy riffs!
Cool Sounds like a Marshall and a Vox had a loud Baby. Cool amp Both tones are represented here and they compliment each other instead of fighting. Cheers
That's a sweet amp! Thanks for sharing brother and Be Well All!
Enjoy your Weekend!
Thanks brother, have a great weekend
wow great tones,im wondering if you could do comparison between this and a marshall,great videos as always!!
That’s Darryl! If I get the chance, I will!
I'd love to see you with an AC100.
If I get the chance I’ll do that one right away
Man, that sounds amazing!
Thanks Richard!
Johan, do the trayner bassmasters next. the late 60s models are monster amps and they are under $1k USD.
Greetings neighbor. Here in Finland I can find a couple of these heads for just under thousand euros. Will have to check them out.
Hi Nordic brother!
A shop near me has two of these, one for I think $850 and the other $950. I’ll have to try them next time I’m there.
Dude, killer sound 🤙
Some Killer tones indeed 🤘
Thanks Bryan!
WoW sounds really good EL34's or something else Pleasantly surprised Àre those Oxford spkrs
Thanks Paul!
Sounds great! If I found one with a blown output transformer for a good price I might wanna try a Marshall type output transformer for 50 watt out of curiosity.
Thanks!
Sounds awesome! Can you test a matchless dc30? Would love to hear the difference
Thanks, first chance I get
You got the touch!
I used one of these in the 80s with a 4x12 marshall cab having G12m greenbacks. It replaced the marshall jmp 50watt master vol and souded way fatter.
I love my vox but I had to start doing roids to lift it. The way you played the chords was a great way to show this animals true tone nice job man
Wonder what a treble booster would sound like though it Johan?
Yeah I should’ve tried that too. It’s the perfect candidate for that
@@JohanSegeborn i think it would scream Rory Gallagher. I'm suprised Rory didnt use one of these?
@@darrenc8776 or Brian May...
I bet AC30's were cheaper, lighter and more common in those days
As already mentioned very reminiscent of the Bon Scott era A/C D/C cool amp!
Funny that the vox Valvetronix models this same amp and has a preset for paranoid
Hi Johan, super cool video as always that's another great amp. Your playing is absolutely delightful and makes these amp shine, what is the riff you play at 3:20 ? Is it your creation? I just LOVE it, so groovy, rock and just a tad funky, it's a vintage-correct riff 😎 thanks!! Take care
Thanks! Glad you like the riff! Yeah its one of mine
That's awesome. I might practice a little on it if you don't mind haha. You could make a great song out of it. Cheers, keep it up
Killer riff at 2:17!
Thanks!
Poncho Sampedro from Crazy Horse uses one, I believe.
Id like to hear this run through a Variac. It gas a warm compressed tone like early EVH, but it's also chimey/sparkley. Nice sounds👍
Fantastic!
A great sound!
Thanks Joe!
What is that little riff you start playing at around the 3:20 mark? I heard you playing the same thing in one of your Orange amp vids, and I can't get it out of my head! Love the channel, thanks Johan! With love from Motown :)
Kinda reminds me of Last Child by Aerosmith
Johan, you did that cool riff again! (3:21)...are those by chance JJ KT 77's?...killer tone!
Started out life with a Vox, then Voxes, then traded them for Marshall's.. after a couple years love hate relationship.. the Marshall's (except for a Lead12 practice amp, I absolutely love) the Marshall's are all gone.. wish I never traded those Voxes away.. an expensive mistake.. replacing them cost me quite a bit..
That's actually the AC500! 5:15 :D
The price may have just gone up Johan haha. I love the way you say tube amp brilliant. Hope your all staying safe in Sweden
Thanks Darren! Yeah hopefully any second wave will be easier on us
@@JohanSegeborn yeah its not great here in the UK its coming back with a vengeance. So many people are not listening to the rules. Anyway another fantastic video Johan
Keep it up man. Such a great amp.
Thanks, I will
I heard slight strains of the ad50 in your bassbreaker 45 demo video . The ac50 is definitely superior by quite a margin but I heard some similarities.