Members docjeffrey Posted November 18, 2012 Members Share Posted November 18, 2012 I ordered some tubes from The Tube Store and spotted this Bit Mo Kit for the AC4. It consists of a nice JAN Philips 12at7 tube which is a great upgrade by itself!. But then you install a 3 way mini toggle voicing switch, an additional cap and resistor to voice the switch, and voila! The amp is actually useable. I never liked this amp much, but I've been playing it all night and I'm pretty stoked about this mod. Of course, when you send it to a 12" Celestion Blue, you really have something special!The Bit Mo kit, like most of these mod kits, is a bit pricey, but you do get a $13 preamp tube. The rest of the parts add up to about $6; so you are paying $10 for the plans. You could probably find details for this voicing switch on the web somewhere.Here's what it does: The BitMo VoxMo4 kit also adds a switch with 3 different voicings, making the amp much more versatile. The middle position is the (upgraded) stock configuration. The low position shifts toward a smooth treble, tightens the bass, increases the headroom and provides that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Hrafnkel Posted November 18, 2012 Members Share Posted November 18, 2012 You've got my attention. Does the AC4TV mini have the same guts as the bigger versions? I wouldn't mind doing the mod on mine. Guess I could crack it open and compare it to your picture. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members brandass Posted November 18, 2012 Members Share Posted November 18, 2012 I was sorely tempted by the Bit Mo kit, but ended up selling the amp. Great to hear that it's worthwhile, I might snag one again down the road just to give it a shot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members docjeffrey Posted November 18, 2012 Author Members Share Posted November 18, 2012 Originally Posted by Hrafnkel You've got my attention. Does the AC4TV mini have the same guts as the bigger versions? I wouldn't mind doing the mod on mine. Guess I could crack it open and compare it to your picture. I'm not sure, but it would be easy to check. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BG76 Posted November 18, 2012 Members Share Posted November 18, 2012 I had an AC4 and it's pretty cool for the money. I made a mahogany dovetailed box and speaker cab for it like the fancy AC-30 they made a few years ago as a joke and gave it to a friend of mine. I recapped it and did a few tweaks that I can't remember. If you have a router and can use a tape measure the dovetailed cab is a funny mod that looks cool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GAS Man Posted November 18, 2012 Members Share Posted November 18, 2012 doc, do you still use the stock speaker in yours? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members docjeffrey Posted November 18, 2012 Author Members Share Posted November 18, 2012 Originally Posted by GAS Man doc, do you still use the stock speaker in yours? No, I installed the Celestion V10 that you can see in the photo. It's an older made in England version that I bought for a Marshall JTM 30 2x10 ten years ago. I sold the Marshall but kept the speakers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Carbohydrates Posted November 18, 2012 Members Share Posted November 18, 2012 Jealous of your AC15TBX. I had an AC306TB for a while that I sold simply because it was just too powerful for my needs, and I gave up on looking for a reasonably priced 15 TBX a while ago. Best of the modern(ish) Vox amps by an enormous margin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members docjeffrey Posted November 18, 2012 Author Members Share Posted November 18, 2012 Originally Posted by Carbohydrates Jealous of your AC15TBX. I had an AC306TB for a while that I sold simply because it was just too powerful for my needs, and I gave up on looking for a reasonably priced 15 TBX a while ago. Best of the modern(ish) Vox amps by an enormous margin. I like both of my TBX's. Interesting thing about the 15, it was designed by Tony Bruno (sound familiar?) and it was only loosely based on the original, but it had some really cool features--tube driven reverb and tremolo, tube rectifier, lots of clean headroom, master volume, brich ply cab, etc. This amp was designed in the United States by amp guru Tony Bruno. Originally, Korg also planned to have this amplifier manufactured in the US by Bedrock Amplification. The early Vox publicity photo of this amp at left shows the original Bedrock prototype AC15TBX. Notice the leather handle and the slim air vents, both Bedrock cosmetic touches. The AC15TBX sounds a bit less Voxy than the tan colored AC15H1TV. It has less punch in the upper mids, but the tone is just beautiful. The highs have amazing shimmer and the bass is tight. I usually have the bass control up full and the treble at about 1/2 way. The amp stays clean well past half-way with single coils. With humbuckers, it just starts to break up at 5 and then gradually adds dirt until 8. Between 8 and 10, you get that typical saturated Vox goodness. Love it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members IBDBB Posted November 19, 2012 Members Share Posted November 19, 2012 i'd love to hear some clips doc i've been interested in the ac4 for home use as I just can't crank my ac30 at home but, clips i've heard of the ac4 stock have not been promising I was actually thinking of getting the lil night train instead of the ac4. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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