![]() ![]() “As much as I loved the different guitars and amps,” he says, “when a potential new addition to the Vox collection would appear, another guitar would go on the block: 360/12, 370, 6120, ES-5, SJ-200, TV Junior, pre-CBS Strats, black guard Teles-they all were sold to buy more Vox.” Though just the thought of parting with such a bevy of great guitars is enough to make any gearhead rueful, the end result of all this trading-off was the Vox Museum, so the story is a bittersweet one, rather than just bitter. He began his gear collecting with a general interest, but as he got more interested in Vox amps he decided to focus solely on them, foregoing guitars, effects, and other amplifiers alike. It must have been Elyea’s obsession with Vox amps that started it, but his quest to find out everything that could be found out about Vox Amplifiers in the early years can only be described as relentless. What sets it apart is its depth of detail. It’s not just that the text and the photography are equally edifying, organized and easy to navigate, or even just that it covers so much territory, from history to field guide, to reference manual, to nostalgic coffee table book. Oh yes, there’s also plenty of gear porn.Ĭertain to become the definitive book on the subject, Vox Amplifiers also sets a new standard by which other books on the history of our most beloved gear might be judged. Laudably, he is never reticent about what he could not verify. Interspersed throughout are charts, sidebars and illustrations, and a running item called “Setting the Record Straight,” in which Elyea clears up many popular myths with the information he dug up in his years of searching. In these pages is a seemingly endless array of pictures detailing every aspect of Vox history, familiar and unfamiliar, along with an engrossing narrative and meticulous documentation. In terms of what this book achieves, it may be even bigger than its outsized proportions can convey. Twelve years in the making, it is a very big book, and I’m not just talking about its physical size-although at 9.5 x 12 inches and 682 pages, it’s no slight thing in that regard either. I'd definitely recommend this amp.The History for Hire Press has just published Vox Amplifiers: The JMI Years by Jim Elyea. Z Maz 18 and its just not a fair comparison. (I've spent more on a pedal) For ME the most satisfying is in the clean, to just breaking up tones. This amp has the classic VOXy tone in spades and is an awesome deal at such a low price. The Chicken head controls are a nice touch and keep within the style of the amp. The brown speaker grill and antique white finish, definitely get you thinking VOX. Makes me think of an old VOX amp, not something that cost me so little. I definitely like the way this amp looks. The Gibson worked good, but I defintely see this amp gravitating towards single coil, bright guitars. Very very nice!!! The Gretsch took a bit of fiddling with (on the guitar, not the amp - pickup setting and tone control), but I was eventually getting the tones I wanted. I have to say the amp absolutely loves the Strat!!! Fantastic tones from it, I could bare stop playing. A Strat (Suhr), Les Pauls (Standard and Studio), and my Gretsch 6118 anni. I tried several different guitar with the amp. At 50% is gets pretty gritty and beyond that it very distorty, which maybe some peoples thing, just not mine. ![]() The ability to control the sounds by the way in which I'm playing. This is my benchmark for a great tube amp. At around 35% you still get a clean sound playing normally, but when you dig in, you get a cool breakup sound. Really really nice chimey sounds, you'd think of with a VOX. Keep the volume low! Around 25% gets you a fantastic clean sound. After more fiddling, I found what I see as the key to this amp. In defense of the VOX amp, the Airbrake cost me more than the amp, so to expect the quality of the attenator to be as good is kinda silly. I found I could get some nice chimy tones without it being too loud. (really too loud) I then hooked up my Airbrake and applied some attenuation. I found that configuration gave a more open sound, but at 4 watts, it was pretty loud. I then decided to use the external speaker jack and hooked up my 1*12 Orange Cabnet. The more attenuation, the muddier the sound got. The first thing I noticed was the amp definitely sounded better in the 4 watt mode. I then calmed down and took some better approaches. The tone had a very muddy quality and didn't make me think VOX at all. I found the internal speaker kinda farty and my hardwood floor was shaking as the bass was too much for the tiny speaker enclosure. I wasn't terribly impressed at this point. When I first fired it up, I plugged in my Les Paul Standard and cranked up the volume. Initial Impressions (or shall I say initial mistakes)Īfter seeing all those cool YouTube videos. Just thought I'd post my review of my new Vox AC4 amp. ![]()
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