AC4 Review

On/Off Switch. 4, 1 and 1/4 watt attunator. Volume and Tone knob. Has one extrenal speaker plug. 1 channel.

Features:	7
Sound:	9.5
Reliability:	9
Impression:	9
Overall rating:	8.6
Users rating:	7.2
Comments:	6

overall: 7.8

Featured review by: SameOld, on october 27, 2009

Price paid: C$ 330

Purchased from: Long & McQuade

Features: On/Off Switch. 4, 1 and 1/4 watt attunator. Volume and Tone knob. Has one extrenal speaker plug. 1 channel. 10 inch 16-Ohm Celestion VX10 custom speaker. One 12AX7 Pre amp tube, one EL84 Power tube. 20 lbs. It's simple and it's sleek. A lot of people are looking for more features in an amp, but I think at the price you get a lot of versatility, and excellent sound quality to boot. By adjusting the tone and volume knobs on the amp and your guitar it's possible to achieve a myriad of sounds. I'd like bass and treble knobs; furthermore, the lack of a standby Switch may confuse some people. // 6

Sound: I'm playing through a Statocaster. The Vox is quiet in spite of the single coils. The 10 inch speaker really gives it that extra oomph and sets it apart from other low-wattage tube amps. I noticed almost no difference in sound quality when switching from 4 to 1 watt, however 1/4 watts felt a little flat. The amp is quite bright; it is extremely responsive to pick attack. It's a joy to be able to go from a chiming clean to a gritty crunch just by hitting the strings a little harder. You can't achieve anything truly brutal with the Vox, however it does classic rock a la AC/DC very well. The cleans are extremely bright and shimmery; the overdrive can be sleek and smooth or dirty as hell depending how you play. // 9

Reliability & Durability: I haven't experienced any problems with it. Vox is a respected manufacturer of quality products; furthermore, I have a 1 year warranty. At 4 watts, I couldn't see gigging with the AC4, however it's great for jamming with other guitarists, and playing by myself. // 8

Impression: For rock, blues, funk, and anything in between the AC4 is affordable bliss. It won't give you uber gain, unless you're running a pedal through it. In this price range you'd be hard pressed to find another option that would give you such a warm sound. There are certainly features some guitar players might wish it had, but the Vox AC4 is deceiving in it's simplicity, and with a little creativity it's possible to coax anything from ACDC to Chili Peppers out of it. // 8

overall: 9.5

Reviewed by: Duv, on november 12, 2009

Price paid: £ 169

Purchased from: PMT Birmingham

Features: (2009) A very simple amp; no frills and great essentials make up for its lack of variety.

On/Off Switch.
Input jack.
Tone control.
Volume control.
Attenuator knob which can change the output from the full 4W, 1W or 1/4W.
10" Celestion speaker.
1 x 12AX7 (pre) / 1 x EL84 (power) valves

Admittedly there isn't much in the way of settings and variety, BUT it gets the 8 score for the attenuator which makes it perfect for bedroom/apartment playing, the valves which give it a good punch, and the 10" Celestion speaker which sounds great.

Since for the money it is tough to find amps with high quality components like these, this has to get an 8. // 8

Sound: At the moment I'm using this amp in my London flat so I have my Epiphone Casino (P90 single-coils) and Fender Telecaster (also single-coils). I play mostly blues/rock/indie/minimalistic/atmospheric music. This amp is able to handle exactly what I want to do, but is not necessarily an 'all-rounder' of a guitar amp.

Firstly, in relation to minimalistic stuff I play the Vox is great for it's warm 'Voxy' sound and fantastic cleans even at relatively high volumes. Arpeggios and stripped down melodies sound wonderful. The 10" speaker sounds great and packs a much larger punch than the 8" version or the Fender Champion 600 which has a smaller speaker and provides more clarity and depth.

When the volume is increased past about 5/6 o'clock the sound does break up, but this is perfect for the other types of music I play. For blues and so on the Vox is tonally rich enough to give me the kind of texture I'm seeking when playing blues. As for playing Indie the crispness of the sound produce sounds great, especially when using the telecaster.

All in all a great sounding amp which is able to cover the range of styles that I want to play. // 10

Reliability & Durability: I have only had the thing for a month so I couldn't comment BUT in terms of style of design and the general solidness of it, I would say that the build quality seems good and rugged. It also seems to have relatively thick walls, and there are no fiddly bits. // 10

Impression: In terms of the styles of music I play this Vox is a perfect addition to my arsenal. I bought this amp for use when I'm away at university (and can't bring my Marshall DSL401) and I must say that the sound of this thing is fantastic.

Warm cleans that seem to swim over you, and also the capability of it being able to provide crunch and bite at higher volumes and with the tone control rolled up make it a perfect bedroom/practice amp and I would definitely recommend it to anyone or rebuy if stolen/lost.

The attenuator is a great feature and I since I play good guitars through this thing, and have the relevant pedals that I want I was not concerned with features or too much EQ, the tone control is all I really need to get the sounds I want. Further this amp can handle using my TS9 Tubescreamer, Delay and Compression pedals no problem.

It was between this or a Blackstar HT5 and I bought this because it was notably cheaper (on the HT5, which was also great, I felt that I would be paying for features I might not necessarily use), and the sound was so much nicer. The warmth, richness and organic sound is unrivalled when looking at the competition.

This amp reminds me of listening to vinyls. They sound great in an imperfect way and are full or richness and tone that you don't really get with CD's or MP3s. This really is a superb amp and I couldn't speak more highly of it. // 10

Comments

[Wulver]

I've tried this amp a few times in various music stores, and it's pretty sweet. If you like the Vox overdrive sound, then you really can't avoid getting this, it's just too cool.

[SameOld]

Agreed. It's such a great amp, but it does lack features. Regardless, I love mine.

[GIBSONroks6167]

this is a great studio/practice/jamming amp. i recently traded in a guitar, and after I had picked out my new one I still had a couple hundred left so I picked up one of these (the stack version w/ the 12 inch speaker) figuring I'd use it as a practice amp. Low and behold, this amp became my favorite to play, and I would seriously consider using it in the studio. IMO, there is NO better amp for this price.

P.S. I've found it the best with single coils, so go crazy strat-addicts.

[cam_sampbell]

Which would be better? The 8" or the 10" speaker?

[SameOld]

The 10 inch

[Duv]

cam_sampbell wrote:

Which would be better? The 8" or the 10" speaker?

Definitely the 10"