It occurred to me I haven't done much reviewing in a while. So I thought I would talk about an amp I recently purchased and one that doesn't have much written about online...an early 60s Vox AC4.
As a guitarist and performer I try to achieve a variety of sounds and tones. But my tone, like anyone, is influenced by where I am and the style of music being played. When I'm playing in the blues band I shoot for a Fender tweed or blackface type of sound. So I usually opt for my 50s Rickenbacker M11 or Gretsch 6159 Duel Bass which is similar to a Bassman, but with less gain. On the other hand, for Sunday morning church services(yes we have a full rock band and distortion is encouraged!) I tend to lean more towards U2's Edge sound. His tone and delay-drenched sound has shaped a lot of contemporary Christian music for the past 10 to 15 years. If you're not the church-going type, then just think clear and chimey vintage Vox on the edge of breakup with smooth treble and all the delay pedals you own patched together in a row. So I decided I needed to go out and buy whatever the Edge plays with...oh wait, the Edge plays a $4,000 1964 Vox AC30 that's so loud it could melt your face off right after it melts the guitar right out of your hands. So how about something with less power like a '64 AC15...well they didn't make too many of those 60's AC15's. They go for $10,000 or more. And let's face it, the new Vox AC30's don't sound much like their ancestors from the days of Beatlemania.
So I tried four different amps in my search for the vintage Vox sound. The first was a mid 2000's AC30cc with the Wharfdale speakers. It was a very good sounding amp in its own right. And the tremolo sounded much better than what you hear from Fender amps old and new, brownface, black, or silver. I loved that amp. But it seemed to be missing something. It was eventually sold.
I should now mention two experiences that altered permanently my tastes in guitar tone. The first was a couple years ago when a 60's AC30 appeared on consignment in my guitar tech's shop. I had the opportunity to try it for five minutes and was blown away. It had a very unique and cool sound with a lot of harmonics. But it was so loud it was almost uncontrollable. That sound was gorgeous. The second experience was with a 60s AC15 in a vintage store in southern California that I had the honor to test out. The clean sound was amazing. I think I had a Les Paul. I asked if I could crank it...and they actually said yes! What I heard coming out of the amp was the best distortion, overdrive, harmonic glory I've ever heard come out of a wooden box. I was in shock. I didn't really want to believe it could sound that good because I had been rolling my eyes at the $18K price they were asking. But I had to admit, it was everything I ever wanted in guitar tone. It had trebly chime, but was really thick, smooth, no harshness. It also had a warmth I wasn't expecting. It was just the total package in vintage overdrive. I imagined you could play anything from blues to country to heavier classic rock with ease. I decided this was the sound I somehow needed to get.
The second amp on the road to vintage Vox tone was a late 1960s AC50. Don't pay more than 1,200 for a 60's AC50 head. This, or less, is the market price for them. They are actually some of the most affordable vintage Vox amps for three reasons:
1. They are so loud they might possibly burn a whole in the wall at the other end of the room.
2. They are tough to achieve that smooth drive sound without cranking them.
3. They have a solid state rectifier tube somehow meaning they aren't any good.
*I challenge anyone to A/B two amps with the only difference being a tube or solid state rectifier. I doubt many, or anyone would notice the difference. But the sellers on ebay said it, so it must be true, right?
The AC50 was cool for sure. But it was way too loud even when shoved in a closet and a mic in front of it. And it was a pain to lug around as well. So it went.
Third up was my UK made JMI 4 which, despite it's name, is supposed to replicate an AC10. Well not quite. But it does sound really really good, cranked sounds like Brian May, and takes on pedals superbly. It does the Vox sound better than the Asian made Vox amps of today. But still, something is lacking.
Which brings us to my new 1961 Vox AC4. First of all, it sounds absolutely nothing like the new AC4s(which I love). It is really tough to find anything written about the old AC4, especially reviews. I was able to find a couple demo's on youtube however. Well the sounds is gorgeous. Mine was an ebay special and has a poorly repaired speaker cone which has a little rasp. But I am still in love with the tone. First I tried it with my Les Paul. This seemed to be the best match. With volume turned to 6 o'clock, on the bridge you have a nice bright tone with a little bite. If you dig in, you can get a slight crunch. But as a clean player, it's classic Edge tone at bedroom volumes. I usually mic and go through the PA so this is perfect for me. In the middle position things clean up in a flash. In fact, it's so clean it sounds like a Fender Twin, but warmer. I am liking this! The neck pickup is really all too warm. And this is where the cone starts rasping out badly. I'll retest when I change out the speaker. But for now, it's almost unusable. Cranked all the way up on the bridge pickup is where this amp comes alive. I kid you not, it brought me back to that day with the AC15. It really sounds like it, just less gain. It sounds awesome! I also heard some Beatles tones in there like Paperback Writer. With the middle position, things once again clean up but with bite. This tone is a very recordable sound. In fact I've already recorded a few clips on garageband and couldn't believe the tone using the internal mic on my iPad. It doesn't need EQ or even an external mic! How is this possible?! Once again the neck pickup is unusable.
Next up, I try my strat. Now the pickups in this guitar are very low output and clean. And it really shows here. I can't get the amp to break up with my strat. It sounds really good, but super clean. The sound is reminiscent of an old Fender Princeton non reverb on about 4 or 5. Clean and nice. Not super distict, but pretty cool.
The Telecaster with the amp cranked was a completely different story. On the bridge pickup there was some serious crunch, nice Voxy rockish crunch. It sounded very Tom Petty and some 60s jangle. It would make a perfect Brit-Pop set up for recording in my opinion. In the middle position we are suddenly in clean territory again...bright, smooth, clean. With a bit of delay, you could cover any U2 ballad. I love this position. On the neck, things muddle up a bit. I tried to dig in hard to get some blues tones, but they just aren't really there too strongly. I think with a tube screamer or fuzzy overdrive, you'd be in blues territory in no time though.
The AC4 has tremolo, tone and volume controls. The trem on this amp is pretty good, but not great. It is more of the pulsing volume trem than any sort of leslie-like 3 dimensional trem. To me it sounds like it has a bit more depth than Fender tremolo though. It doesn't touch the beautiful tremolo of the '65 Vox tube Cambridge I used to own. That started slow, speeding up, like a leslie, and had this gorgeous 3 dimensional quality I've rarely heard on the British made Voxes. Dare I say Thomas Organ US made a better Vox Trem then Jennings Musical Instruments in the 60s?
Overall, this is a great little amp even with a damaged cone. But at 3.5 watts, don't expect to gig with it even in a small club without a PA unless everyone else is unplugged. But really, who doesn't have a PA these days. I happen to acquire an AC4 that someone had modified with a line out. I'm not a collector so I'm pretty happy about this. If this thing sounds this good with just a 6" speaker, imagine through a 2x12 cab! Someone also added a switch on the back of the amp to turn the trem on and off without the foot pedal...bonus!
So the price tag...it was expensive. I paid $700 for it. I realize this is a lot of money. But in the scheme of things, imagine what you'd pay for an AC10, AC15, or AC30 of the same era. I figured it was worth a shot. And the resale for vintage gear is pretty good. I am using the funds from the sale of other gear to fund this amp. And right now, I've very happy with the results.
