Post by stevedallman on Feb 27, 2024 11:54:50 GMT -5
I've been hankerin' for something Vox a while. I broke down and bought a like-new AC10C1, after a lot of research. As I am want to do, I was planning on upgrades before this little gem was in my hands.
The speaker is a Vox branded Celestion 10 30. I love the Celestion 8 15's, so I'm good with that stock speaker. Even people who put in a 10" Greenback said the improvement was minimal.
This amp only has a 16 ohm output. When an extension speaker is plugged in, the internal speaker is disconnected. I have a few older 12" Greenbacks and wanted to use one in an ext. cabinet. So I bought a Hammond 15 watt transformer with multiple output taps. I replaced the speaker jack with the same switching jack used in a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe/Deville. I wired it to switch both speakers to the 8 ohm tap when the ext jack is used. Perfect. I had to isolate the jack from the chassis.
Tubes...I have some old NOS 12AX7's and chose an old Mullard. Noticeable improvement in V1...no difference I could hear in the V2/PI position, so I kept the stock tube there as it is clean and quiet.
The amp started crackling after warmup. I chased it for a while, but it was a bad EL84. I put in a pair of JJ's and the improvement was pretty great. The amp went from somewhat thin to full and rich. I'll stick with these for a while.
I added Vox corners as the tolex is pretty fragile.
I love this thing. My favorite amp to this point in my life is the 1965 Princeton Reverb I found in a pawn shop 15 years ago for $89. Now, I'm loving this Vox. It's louder with more headroom than I expected from a 10 watt amp. The breakup is just fun. My Bass VI sounds fantastic into this amp with the ext speaker. The reverb...digital, is really good. I've not been a fan of spring reverb, but this digital thing is pretty close to a decent spring circuit. The decay is a little longer than I prefer, but it's good.
The tone controls...Vox Top Boost circuit, are more versatile than most two band EQ's. I don't hear the bass control acting like the Top Boost copy of a misprinted Gibson circuit. Gibson drew their schematic wrong, and Vox copied the mistake. Wired like the Gibson the bass control also works the midrange. Turn the bass up, the midrange goes down. Turn the bass down, the midrange goes up. In this amp the midrange seems to just be preset, like a Fender.
But the Treble is great. There is a range, from 11am to 2pm where the voice of the amp changes a lot. From generous low end to thinner and punchier...all with good high end. Nice.
I'm really happy with the amp as is. The only mods I'm still considering is adding a line out (padded down from the speaker out) and I may move the power tube assembly off to the side, to get it away from the speaker magnet. This amp is known to be hard on power tubes and the proximity to the magnet may be part of that issue.
I started playing guitar in 1967 and quickly got into a band. We ran all Vox and even though I used a SS rig (Buckingham head/Super Beatle bottom) I loved the look and sound. I've even built the Brilliant Channel Vox circuit into a couple of my guitar amps.
I switched to bass 2 years into playing but still keep up on guitar.
The Vox AC10C1 is a lightweight Vox amp, with "mostly" tubes that sounds and acts like a little AC30 Top Boost. I love it. With just a power tube upgrade (ANYTHING but the stock EL84's) one can have Vox for a reasonable price. $570 new, or $300-400 used.
The speaker is a Vox branded Celestion 10 30. I love the Celestion 8 15's, so I'm good with that stock speaker. Even people who put in a 10" Greenback said the improvement was minimal.
This amp only has a 16 ohm output. When an extension speaker is plugged in, the internal speaker is disconnected. I have a few older 12" Greenbacks and wanted to use one in an ext. cabinet. So I bought a Hammond 15 watt transformer with multiple output taps. I replaced the speaker jack with the same switching jack used in a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe/Deville. I wired it to switch both speakers to the 8 ohm tap when the ext jack is used. Perfect. I had to isolate the jack from the chassis.
Tubes...I have some old NOS 12AX7's and chose an old Mullard. Noticeable improvement in V1...no difference I could hear in the V2/PI position, so I kept the stock tube there as it is clean and quiet.
The amp started crackling after warmup. I chased it for a while, but it was a bad EL84. I put in a pair of JJ's and the improvement was pretty great. The amp went from somewhat thin to full and rich. I'll stick with these for a while.
I added Vox corners as the tolex is pretty fragile.
I love this thing. My favorite amp to this point in my life is the 1965 Princeton Reverb I found in a pawn shop 15 years ago for $89. Now, I'm loving this Vox. It's louder with more headroom than I expected from a 10 watt amp. The breakup is just fun. My Bass VI sounds fantastic into this amp with the ext speaker. The reverb...digital, is really good. I've not been a fan of spring reverb, but this digital thing is pretty close to a decent spring circuit. The decay is a little longer than I prefer, but it's good.
The tone controls...Vox Top Boost circuit, are more versatile than most two band EQ's. I don't hear the bass control acting like the Top Boost copy of a misprinted Gibson circuit. Gibson drew their schematic wrong, and Vox copied the mistake. Wired like the Gibson the bass control also works the midrange. Turn the bass up, the midrange goes down. Turn the bass down, the midrange goes up. In this amp the midrange seems to just be preset, like a Fender.
But the Treble is great. There is a range, from 11am to 2pm where the voice of the amp changes a lot. From generous low end to thinner and punchier...all with good high end. Nice.
I'm really happy with the amp as is. The only mods I'm still considering is adding a line out (padded down from the speaker out) and I may move the power tube assembly off to the side, to get it away from the speaker magnet. This amp is known to be hard on power tubes and the proximity to the magnet may be part of that issue.
I started playing guitar in 1967 and quickly got into a band. We ran all Vox and even though I used a SS rig (Buckingham head/Super Beatle bottom) I loved the look and sound. I've even built the Brilliant Channel Vox circuit into a couple of my guitar amps.
I switched to bass 2 years into playing but still keep up on guitar.
The Vox AC10C1 is a lightweight Vox amp, with "mostly" tubes that sounds and acts like a little AC30 Top Boost. I love it. With just a power tube upgrade (ANYTHING but the stock EL84's) one can have Vox for a reasonable price. $570 new, or $300-400 used.
