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The reason I start this thread is because I noticed that the icon for amps on this page is a Vox (looks like an AC15 or 30). I found that odd since I never really thought of them as great jazz amps. I have one and love it, although I haven't tried it with any jazz yet.
Does anyone have one and get good jazz tones out of it? Are these normally regarded as good jazz amps?
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09-26-2012 02:40 AM
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I have a Vox Valvetronix AD60 (modelling amp) - the older model that actuallylooks like a Vox rather than the and I use it most of the time. It's a good amp and very versatile.
It works for me, but YMMV.
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I had an AC30 for a few years, it was ok but it never really excelled at rich clean tones - there was always a bit too much bark. I sold it and bought a Rivera Chubster 55 and am much happier. For jazz I much prefer the headroom of the Rivera, but I do miss the crunch from the Vox.
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AC 15 would not be my first choice...they get dirty pretty quickly.
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Even at clean settings (irrespective of volume ) I havent had a lot of fun with my ac4 and jazz playing. Just doesnt seem to have the low mids I am looking for . AC4s are not GREAT Voxy sounding amps but they are definetly Voxy.
My traynor YGM-4 sounds more AC15 than the AC4 and I don't use it for jazz either.
DISCLAIMER: Not really a vox fan.. enjoy my fenders more.
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it isn't recommended (i guess), but it is certainly possible. normal channel, tone cut utilized, judicious vol/tone knob use on your guitar- sure.
all the same, it is a glorious amp. just maybe not for you guys
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Sorry, I had a feeling it might've been asked before.
I have an AC15 and love the thing to bits...just not for jazz tones. I guess I could work with the tone cut, etc. I'll have to give it a go.
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Brian May of Queen is a famous user of Vox amps (with the legendary treble booster mod) and there is a Queen album named "Jazz". Within that album is the hit song "Fat Bottomed Girls".
So there you have it: yes, Vox amps can be used to play Jazz with tone cuts to give more depth to the bottom end.
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I tried a vox amp I loved the sound...I think it all depends on what kind of sound you like...I wouldn't worry too much about what's classically thought about them.
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I have an ac4tv 10inch, i modded one capacitor to get better bass response, and changed the preamp tube so it stays clean. I really like it and it was cheap.
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Hey Pierre, What was the mod?
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+1, I'd be interested too. Does it come at the expense of any other frequency range or just bumps the bass up a bit?
Originally Posted by SamBooka
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i found the info on an another forum, here
The Gear Page - View Single Post - VOX AC4TV mods + speaker upgrades
I did the c5 cap mod and also put a Mullard 12AT7, i tried a 12AU7 but the it did not have enough gain. With the 12AT7 i can use the 4w setting at tolerable levels.
Actually i have another ac4tv not modded but landed it to a friend. I could try and get it back and make some audio samples comparing both.
With the cap mod you keep the vox tone but just get better lows.
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They are good amps, but they don't give me the traditional jazz tone I want. Too nasal and sharp and bright for my tastes. For other styles of music they are excellent though.
Only way to find out is try it for yourself and see how you like it.
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ah... Originally Posted by Pierre_P
Not used to reading values in nanofarads. I thought it was .047mF for the coupling cap which should give you loads of bass response (actually unless it is a bass amp probably too much). .0047 is yeah.. kinda small.. I should check it out.
Thanks
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Thanks! Actually I am currently in negotiations with the wife for 1.7 hours of uninterrupted workshop time to move ahead on my 5e3 cabinet (I finished the chassis a year ago.. :/ ) Once that is done the vox mods are pretty simple and can be done with jumpers. Will try it (or fix the reverb on my PR build... love my kids but getting time to do other things is a little tricky)
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I used a Vox a couple times while in a jazz workshop. It was OK but to me there's no substitute for the basic Fender design of Bass/Treble, or Bass/Mid/Treble. The Vox sounded rich but it's a different animal. Not the same flexibility you get with a Fender.
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i own a vox ac15c1. i've also owned the ac15cc1 and a couple of pathfinders. i had the ac15c1 modded by my local amp guy and changed out the tubes and it's a dream to play. i'm not a jazz player, but i love warm jazz tone. i think the vox excels at it.
i did the bright cap myself and had my amp guy do the tone stack mod. he also installed an extra switch to facilitate turning the tone stack on and off. yesterday i changed out the tung sol and sovtek tubes my amp guy had put in there over a year ago. the sovteks were always a little too bright and punchy for me. i changed them out with all jjs and added some dampers i bought on ebay. the jjs immediately smoothed and warmed the overall tone of the amp.
v2 and v3 are gold pin 12ax7s. v1 is a gold pin 12at7. the changing of the v1 tube has allowed me to get much more headroom. that's always been my issue with the ac15...i loved the size and tone but for larger gigs it didn't have the clean headroom. now i've almost doubled my amount of headroom. i also have a startouch aby pedal which i occasionally use to run both the normal and top boost inputs simultaneously which can considerably thicken up the sound, or just be used to make it a 2 channel amp. oh yeah, i also swapped out the reverb tank. all in all with about 60 bucks worth of mods and a full retube this amp is a fantastic, fairly lightweight player.
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After a few weeks of using the ac4tv and even after the mod i would not recommend it to anyone for a traditional jazz sound. It's a nice amp for other things.
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Greetings from Montreal.
Having sold my backbreaking Fender Deluxe Reverb, I am considering the new Vox Cambridge 50.
This amp has a NuTube in the preamp section and promises nice clean tones as well as a good sounding spring reverb.
I has preset amp modeling features that are of no interest to me.
Its attraction to me is the tube element, the light weight and 12 inch speaker.
Any comments, thoughts and experience with this would be most welcome. Thanks, Alan
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The spring reverb is digital, and Nutube (notube) is not analog tube engineering, it's a digital modeled component. The KORG owned Vox is famous for blurry marketing when it comes to having folks believe their solid state gear has functioning tube technology in some of their products.
They had a line of guitar processors called ToneLab, that had a 12AX7 tube showing through a window on the face. It was backlit with an orange LED to make it look like it was actually glowing! They had the Valvetronix line of solid stade amps with more confusing marketing about the 12AX7 tube in their SS preamp, they had the era of transtube technology in their amps that were all SS. Any close follower of Vox for the past dozen or more years knows about their blurry tech claims.
I'm sure this amp is light and sounds great. Just don't buy into all the science fiction marketing. Too bad they sling the technology bullshit around, because they do make popular SS amps, and historically great tube amps, AC15, AC30, and many more.
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I think you will find the Nutube is actually a triode vacuum tube :
NuTube
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A bottle rocket is actually a rocket.
Nutube is a Vacuum fluorescent display, which translates to "lightbulb" or a means of emitting light for a display using a filament.
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Looking for a very light amp for smaller gigs, I had two models in mind. Vox Cambridge 50 and Boss Katana 50 MKII.
My local music shop had both amps in stock and I could compare them. With the Vox and the Boss I only used the Claen channel, no distortion is needed. The Vox impressed me with its sound, powerful, very dynamic, good reverb, loud as a big amp. The loudspeaker seems to be very good. But why so much noise? I can't live with it. Maybe it was only this one copy?
The boss is a bit less impressive but still very good. The tone control offers more variations and the Boss doesn't hiss. Finally I left the shop with the Boss Katana. I think that was the right decision, because Boss builds very reliable and durable products. I played one gig with it, but I need more experience to be able to make a judgement.
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Hey hey, calm down you two! New Nutube is a vacuum tube AND a fluorescent display! Originally Posted by cosmic gumbo
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