Members bluesnapper Posted August 16, 2012 Members Share Posted August 16, 2012 I'm looking for a tube amp for home practice and jamming with a quiet drummer (5W will be fine). Main purpose of the amp will be home practice so the AC4's variable power switch appeals to me. I was going to buy the head but it seems to only have a 16 ohm output - I don't have or want to buy a 16 ohm cab. So I'm considering the combo version - but I've heard bad things about the boxy sound and I'd really like a 12" speaker. Marshall Class 5 was the other option - various ohmage outputs - but the head version doesn't have the low power option. And the combo is 3x the price of the AC4! Thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Grantus Posted August 16, 2012 Members Share Posted August 16, 2012 VHT Special 6 Ultra would do the trick as well. I had the Vox combo for awhile, and never really bonded with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members scott944 Posted August 16, 2012 Members Share Posted August 16, 2012 Typical HCEG answer: you ask "A or B", Grantus and I suggest "C or D". In my case, having tried both of the amps you're considering, I prefer the Blackstar HT5R. Not the cheapest option (though GC and others have used examples), but perhaps the most versatile with 2 channels, the ISF control, and reverb. Head and 12" combos are available. The only real way to know, of course, is to go play them all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bluesnapper Posted August 16, 2012 Author Members Share Posted August 16, 2012 VHT Special 6 Ultra would do the trick as well. I had the Vox combo for awhile, and never really bonded with it. Hmmm that look interesting... cheap too... what's the deal with the 'high-low' power switch? How quiet does it get? Do you have one? I'm not sure if you can get them in the UK though - so I'd have to order one without trying it out first. I'm not sold on the Blackstars - too much of a modern gain sound for me. Plus the HT5 doesn't have the attenuator. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Bbreaker Posted August 16, 2012 Members Share Posted August 16, 2012 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Grantus Posted August 16, 2012 Members Share Posted August 16, 2012 Hmmm that look interesting... cheap too... what's the deal with the 'high-low' power switch? How quiet does it get? Do you have one? I'm not sure if you can get them in the UK though - so I'd have to order one without trying it out first.I'm not sold on the Blackstars - too much of a modern gain sound for me. Plus the HT5 doesn't have the attenuator. I have a VHT Special 6 Ultra and like it a lot. You can run it at full power or half power and use the built-in attenuator. It gets a lot quieter than the Vox at 1/4 watt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GAS Man Posted August 16, 2012 Members Share Posted August 16, 2012 I've commented here before about the Vox AD4TV having a "boxy" sound. At first I didn't care for that amp and put it aside, I thought it sounded shallow and boxy. I recently got it back down again and started playing it again and I'm liking it more, I think the speaker is now breaking in a bit which helps, but it's mostly the chimy-ness that I'm enjoying. The tone knob on it acts more like a "top boost" (Classic Vox control) than a regular tone knob. In other words, it never cuts out most of the treble and sounds muddy. It just seems to change the character of the high end. So I'm liking it more now for practice in a smaller room. Still sort of boxy sounding, but now it sounds more like a "intended Vox character" than a flaw. Kind of a bit of a nasally voice in a good way. The Marshall C5 is more substantial sounding, though unfortunately I got one of the earlier ones with the rattle, so I have to put some work into it before there will be love. But it's an amp that sounds bigger than its specs. I think the real sleeper out there is the Laney Cub 10 It also sounds bigger than its specs, but what really surprised me about that amp is the deep bassy sound it has for a 10" speaker and a fairly small cabinet. I was also pretty impressed with the Bugera V5. Also a good amount of bass, good OD tones and nice built in reverb too. But I haven't A/B'd those two (or even played them close in time against each other) so I'm not too sure about which I prefer. But if you want to go with the Vox, I'd be tempted to find another $50 and get this upgraded version. It adds a gain knob (instead of a power select) and instead of "Tone" you get Bass and Treble I find that one very tempting to add to my noisy box collection. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bluesnapper Posted August 16, 2012 Author Members Share Posted August 16, 2012 I have a VHT Special 6 Ultra and like it a lot. You can run it at full power or half power and use the built-in attenuator. It gets a lot quieter than the Vox at 1/4 watt. Hmm, maybe I'll check out some Youtube reviews etc after work today. I'm a touch unwilling to order from Germany without trying one first though - especially as I won't be able to sell on an unknown brand very easily in the UK in the future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bluesnapper Posted August 16, 2012 Author Members Share Posted August 16, 2012 Hmmmm GAS Man - I'm veering more towards the Vox - I'll see if I can try both out - I was hoping to go with a power select rather than a master vol/gain combination but I suppose the best thing to do would be to try them out and see what I prefer. I like Laney amps but don't really want a 10Wer - it's mainly going to be used for bedroom practice in a residential area! I'll see if my local store has either of the Voxes in stock to try out... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members spacequixote Posted August 16, 2012 Members Share Posted August 16, 2012 I have an AC4tv and I like it fine. It has very little headroom with humbuckers, but I bought it mainly for its "edge of breakup" tone, which is excellent, especially with single coils. However, the AC4c1 has me intrigued for its versatility. Can anyone elaborate more on how they sound different? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bluesnapper Posted August 16, 2012 Author Members Share Posted August 16, 2012 Just to clarify - Gas Man and spacequixote - are you talking about the combo or head versions of the Vox? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members grunge782 Posted August 16, 2012 Members Share Posted August 16, 2012 Class 5 out of those two. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GAS Man Posted August 16, 2012 Members Share Posted August 16, 2012 Just to clarify - Gas Man and spacequixote - are you talking about the combo or head versions of the Vox? I have the combo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members spacequixote Posted August 16, 2012 Members Share Posted August 16, 2012 Just to clarify - Gas Man and spacequixote - are you talking about the combo or head versions of the Vox? I have the 10" combo version. It *is* a bit boxy sounding, and I hear a speaker swap (and also tube swaps) open it up quite a bit. Haven't tried it yet though. I think the boxy sound gets a bit worse with the attenuator (though that might be subjective when the volume gets quieter overall). If I were to get a combo, I'd look into the Lil' Night Train. Only 2 watts, 8 and 16 ohm outputs. However it sounds like the Night Train isn't quite as chimey? Here's a thread comparing them:http://acapella.harmony-central.com/showthread.php?2764364-Lil-Night-Train-or-AC4TV Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bluesnapper Posted August 16, 2012 Author Members Share Posted August 16, 2012 Class 5 out of those two. I've go no doubt that the Class 5 is better... as it should be for 3 times the price of the Vox! None of the new models are coming up on eBay used either - I'd have to seriously think about spending Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members taxerman Posted August 16, 2012 Members Share Posted August 16, 2012 I'm veering more towards the Vox -- I was hoping to go with a power select rather than a master vol/gain combination I'll see if my local store has either of the Voxes in stock to try out... The new blue VoxAC4 is the better of the two. I know that's subjective, but the power select knob on the AC4TV is very limiting, while the gain/volume knobs on the blue AC4 provides a much wider range of tones/headroom/volumes etc... Plus the blue comes with TWO tone knobs. Once again, that provides a wider variety of tones than the cream AC4TV. I have owned the blue AC4 for a number of months. Is it my favorite amp? Far from it. Yes, it does sound boxey; yes, it is a small sound. On the other hand, YES it provides a perfect, incredible VOX sound! Turn that thing on and you are in VOX heaven. It is a gorgeous looking amp, it does give that great Vox sound...it just needs some help from a pedal or two to beef up the sound. I use a reverb pedal with it and it does beef up the smallish sound. When used with a reverb pedal, delay, or chorus the amp sounds like a big guy and not the little guy it really is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members moogerfooger Posted August 16, 2012 Members Share Posted August 16, 2012 I have the AC4 TV head and cab. sounds way better than the combo -- i put an alnico gold in the cab correction = alnico gold I put blues in my AC 30 head and cab -swapping out the warfdales. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bluesnapper Posted August 16, 2012 Author Members Share Posted August 16, 2012 I have the AC4 TV head and cab. sounds way better than the combo -- i put an alnico blue in the cab Yeah - problem is it's 16 ohms - I'm only in the market for an 8 ohm cab at the moment (to pair with my main amp) and don't want to buy an extra one! Which is why I'm veering towards the combo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bsman Posted August 16, 2012 Members Share Posted August 16, 2012 You can get one of these for a few bucks more than a c-note and have lots left to spend on a good cab. I've been rocking one for months, and it's hard to get a bad sound out of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bluesnapper Posted August 16, 2012 Author Members Share Posted August 16, 2012 Hmmm the blue AC4C1 seems to cost Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members taxerman Posted August 16, 2012 Members Share Posted August 16, 2012 Hmmm the blue AC4C1 seems to cost Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bsman Posted August 16, 2012 Members Share Posted August 16, 2012 A Vox amp and Rickenbacker guitar??? Only a no-talent would play a rig like that!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members taxerman Posted August 16, 2012 Members Share Posted August 16, 2012 A Vox amp and Rickenbacker guitar??? Only a no-talent would play a rig like that!!!! Funny thing is, I prefer my Rickenbackers in my Fender amps, and my Fender guitars in my Vox amps. Fender Tele into a Vox is some incredible sound. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bsman Posted August 16, 2012 Members Share Posted August 16, 2012 The only Vox amp I've had was a VT30, and I have to agree it was a match made in heaven with my tele. The only reason I got rid of it was that I got a great deal on a Tech 21 Trademark 60, and I have no room for two full-size amps... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members taxerman Posted August 16, 2012 Members Share Posted August 16, 2012 I have no room for two full-size amps... I hear ya. I always wanted a Roland Jazz Chorus 120 but the size of the amp made me say no. Then I found out the Jazz Chorus used to come in smaller sizes. I bought me an old JC 77. I wish all amp manufacturers would provide smaller, home-friendly versions of their big guys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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