Any love for Vox amps?

Make it loud here.
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somanytoys
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Re: Any love for Vox amps?

Post by somanytoys » Tue Jul 30, 2019 4:42 pm

Question:
I bought a celestion alnico blue for this ac15c1, it’s 8 ohms/15 watts. The amp is 15 watts, 16 ohms, and has a selector in the back for 8/16 ohms, but (I think) it only for using an extension speaker (so the internal cuts off), not when using the internal and with an expansion speaker.

Is that dangerously close to the speaker’s power rating, especially running it at 8 ohms?

Is it okay, or just make sure I don’t tank it?

I’ll likely be running it along with the 4 watt, so it shouldn’t be cranked too often.

But it sure as shit will be sometimes...

Any info is appreciated, before I’m elbow deep in speaker cabs.

Edit - nvm, I'll start a new thread for this info.
-David

It's a boost booster, to boost your boost - it makes your tone much muchier.

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Re: Any love for Vox amps?

Post by Larsongs » Wed Jul 31, 2019 10:02 am

somanytoys wrote:
Mon Jul 29, 2019 8:34 am
Well, I broke down over the weekend and finally bought something I've been wanting for a while now - a mint condition AC15C1 TV BC, to go with my mint condition AC4C1 TV BC. They're very nice, not top of the line but good for where I'm at currently in the Vox line. I really love the split combination of cream & blue tolex, with the gold piping separating them.

It should be shipped sometime this week, and likely arrive next week. I can't wait to get it in. It's kind of sad, I don't even have it yet, and I'm already considering the tubes I'm going to put in it, and the speaker I'll likely replace the Greenback in it with. I'll probably put the Greenback in one of the AC4TV stacks' cabs, I already have a 10' Greenback in the AC4TV combo I'm keeping, so those should play nicely.

Here's a flyer with pics of these - I'll have the 2 smaller ones.
http://www.voxshowroom.com/catalogs/2014_npb_tvbc.html
Nothing sad about changing out the cheap Stock Chinese Tubes IMO.. I did in my AC15CC1X & have no regrets. I go back & forth be tween JJ's & Tung Sol's. Both Brands sound miles better than the Stock Tubes..

As for the Speaker, is it too late to return & exchange for the correct Ohm Blue?

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Re: Any love for Vox amps?

Post by somanytoys » Wed Jul 31, 2019 10:16 am

No, not sad really, just that I'm already contemplating everything and obsessing, and I don't even have the amp yet.

No, I can't return it, it's a used speaker in great condition that I bought from an individual. I bought it specifically for this amp, thinking that a 15 watt speaker should handle a 15 watt amp, but just want to be sure that it isn't dancing really close to the line, and might ruin the speaker. And while I think it's okay to run an 8 ohm speaker with that amp, I don't know if running it at lower ohms would increase the wattage even more and possibly put me over the line if the volume is up high for too long.

I want that speaker in this amp, even if I just have to be careful and keep the volume lower, and just eventually buy a higher wattage model for the amp, and then put that speaker in the V112 cabinet to use with the 4 watt head instead.

My whole Vox experience has been a progressive leap frog thing, anyway...but it's been a lot of fun.
-David

It's a boost booster, to boost your boost - it makes your tone much muchier.

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Re: Any love for Vox amps?

Post by chrisrnps » Wed Jul 31, 2019 1:13 pm

somanytoys wrote:
Wed Jul 31, 2019 10:16 am
I bought it specifically for this amp, thinking that a 15 watt speaker should handle a 15 watt amp, but just want to be sure that it isn't dancing really close to the line, and might ruin the speaker. And while I think it's okay to run an 8 ohm speaker with that amp, I don't know if running it at lower...
It is dancing close to the line, but that’s “the sound” of that particular combination - preamp, power amp, and speakers all breaking up or edge of breakup (even the sought after clean “sparkle” sounds that way because it’s never totally clean).

15 watt AC15 into a 15 watt speaker, or a 30 watt AC30 I to a pair of them, does go against the later “common wisdom” that says you’ll poke your (speakers’) eye out with that thing, but that’s “correct” for AC15/AC30 with Blues. At least with the modern Ac15c/ac30c versions you don’t have to simultaneously worry about the thing catching fire, blowing the GZ34 on a monthly basis, AND blowing the speakers.

Since you have an 8 ohm speaker, you won’t be able to use the internal and an external speaker simultaneously, but other than that, make sure the 8/16 ohm switch on the back is set to match the ohm load of the speaker, and you’ll be fine.
'Excellent! A little more practice will make you a regular whale. Now, if I may trouble you to unlace my back and front plates two holes more, I'll try that fascinating bend that you say is so easy. Won't Painted Jaguar be surprised!' ~ Rudyard Kipling

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Re: Any love for Vox amps?

Post by somanytoys » Wed Jul 31, 2019 2:19 pm

Cool, thanks for that. I don't plan on turning up to 11 all the time, just curious how dangerous it is, to know how much or little to do it.

I have a feeling I'm going to love the tone, so there's going to be a propensity to turn it up loud more often - just want to be sure I[m aware to temper that if I need to, either less often or for less time, or both. And if it's going to be dangerous, I'll just need to get a higher wattage rated blue when I can, and move that speaker on to the 4 watt Vox's cab, where it will be well below the danger zone. I'll just have to remember not to use that cab with any higher wattage head than the 4 watt Voxes.

I'll need to read up again on the switch. I got the feeling that it was for the external speaker, but it could be for the internal and external combination.
I'll have to read again to see exactly how much it controls. I'd love to be able to set it on 8, and have that control the amp's signal going into the speaker in its own cabinet.

Watts, volts, milliamps, ohms and how they all relate - I should have taken some electrical courses in school...
-David

It's a boost booster, to boost your boost - it makes your tone much muchier.

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Re: Any love for Vox amps?

Post by dinosaurkale-> » Wed Jul 31, 2019 5:12 pm

anyone compared a mini superbeatle MSB25 vs a pathfinder yet ?

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Re: Any love for Vox amps?

Post by chrisrnps » Wed Jul 31, 2019 7:19 pm

somanytoys wrote:
Wed Jul 31, 2019 2:19 pm
And if it's going to be dangerous, I'll just need to get a higher wattage rated blue when I can, and...
No danger to worry over - the 8 / 16 ohm switch on the back of your amp switches to the correct “tap” from the output transformer windings to work correctly for an 8 or 16 ohm speaker.
'Excellent! A little more practice will make you a regular whale. Now, if I may trouble you to unlace my back and front plates two holes more, I'll try that fascinating bend that you say is so easy. Won't Painted Jaguar be surprised!' ~ Rudyard Kipling

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Re: Any love for Vox amps?

Post by somanytoys » Thu Aug 01, 2019 6:14 am

Thank you.

I have switches like that on my Frenzels and the Laney, but it wasn't very clear from the manual what outputs that switch controls exactly. There's the internal speaker, the extension speaker output to use with the internal, and an external speaker output that cuts the other outputs off. If it controls all of the outputs, that would be awesome.

I was honestly only worried about the ohms because if using less resistance (8 ohms) allows the 15 watt amp to work harder and increases it's wattage by a few watts, then that could end up going over the 15 watt rating of the speaker if I'm turning it up to 11. But also, I've read that the Blue is a much more efficient speaker, so I probably won't need to turn it all the way up very much. But let's be honest, I'm going to sometimes...

I use an 8 ohm speaker or 2 with the other Vox amps, but they're all of 4 watts, maybe 5 or 6 working at 8 ohms, and I've never had a problem. I just don't want to blow this speaker or damage this amp.
-David

It's a boost booster, to boost your boost - it makes your tone much muchier.

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Re: Any love for Vox amps?

Post by SonicC » Thu Aug 01, 2019 11:34 am

Love the look of the classic AC30/AC15 but I don’t think they take fuzz pedals well so I’ll stick to my old Marshall 5203.

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Re: Any love for Vox amps?

Post by mackerelmint » Thu Aug 01, 2019 12:00 pm

This mini superebeetle thingy is very intriguing.
This is an excellent rectangle

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Re: Any love for Vox amps?

Post by fuzzjunkie » Fri Aug 02, 2019 8:00 am

SonicC wrote:
Thu Aug 01, 2019 11:34 am
Love the look of the classic AC30/AC15 but I don’t think they take fuzz pedals well so I’ll stick to my old Marshall 5203.
The Beatles, Jeff Beck with the Yardbirds, Jimmy Page with the Yardbirds, The Edge, a lot of Keith Richard’s fuzz tones are from Vox amps, Radiohead, the Stooges on Raw Powr, J Mascis uses Vox amps in the studio a lot, Kevin Shields uses Vox amps in the studio a lot, Tame Impala and Wilco use Vox amps a lot. Brian May and Rory Gallagher routinely slammed their AC-30s with Rangemaster treble boosters, which are more fuzz than overdrive.

1960-1970-1980-1990-2000-2010, almost 6 decades of guitarists using fuzz pedals with Vox amplifiers successfully, in at least 6 genres of music, from psychedelic rock to punk to alt-country, but somehow “Fuzz doesn’t work with Vox amps?”

My AC-30s and Tone Bender Mk-1, Tone Bender Mk-2, Tone Bender Mk-4, Tone Bender Jumbo, Op Amp Big Muff, germanium and silicon Fuzz Face, Roland Bee-Baa, Rat, Octavia, Four Eyes Fuzz, Maestro Fuzz, along with 3 treble boosters, all say you’re wrong.

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Re: Any love for Vox amps?

Post by SonicC » Fri Aug 02, 2019 9:34 am

fuzzjunkie wrote:
Fri Aug 02, 2019 8:00 am
SonicC wrote:
Thu Aug 01, 2019 11:34 am
Love the look of the classic AC30/AC15 but I don’t think they take fuzz pedals well so I’ll stick to my old Marshall 5203.
The Beatles, Jeff Beck with the Yardbirds, Jimmy Page with the Yardbirds, The Edge, a lot of Keith Richard’s fuzz tones are from Vox amps, Radiohead, the Stooges on Raw Powr, J Mascis uses Vox amps in the studio a lot, Kevin Shields uses Vox amps in the studio a lot, Tame Impala and Wilco use Vox amps a lot. Brian May and Rory Gallagher routinely slammed their AC-30s with Rangemaster treble boosters, which are more fuzz than overdrive.

1960-1970-1980-1990-2000-2010, almost 6 decades of guitarists using fuzz pedals with Vox amplifiers successfully, in at least 6 genres of music, from psychedelic rock to punk to alt-country, but somehow “Fuzz doesn’t work with Vox amps?”

My AC-30s and Tone Bender Mk-1, Tone Bender Mk-2, Tone Bender Mk-4, Tone Bender Jumbo, Op Amp Big Muff, germanium and silicon Fuzz Face, Roland Bee-Baa, Rat, Octavia, Four Eyes Fuzz, Maestro Fuzz, along with 3 treble boosters, all say you’re wrong.
Didn’t know J and Shields used them! That’s cool. Do you use the top boost channel or the normal one with fuzz? I’ve heard too boost doesn’t sound good with fuzz so have stayed away from small Vox amps with 1 channel based on the TB one. I saw a YouTube vid comparing the JDF2 fuzz (the one I use) and the Big Muff Pi and neither sounded good. Maybe it’s just his amp settings. I think the top boost has that classic vox tone and the normal channel is good for pedals. That’s just my opinion though. To me it’s a choice between that classic vox sound or a fuzz pedal- not the 2 at once. I’m actually looking into getting an AC10 in the future but only if it’ll work fine with my fuzz.

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Re: Any love for Vox amps?

Post by Maggieo » Fri Aug 02, 2019 10:02 am

mackerelmint wrote:
Thu Aug 01, 2019 12:00 pm
This mini superebeetle thingy is very intriguing.
I saw one last week at the local GC and my heart was filled with lust.
“Now I am quietly waiting for/ the catastrophe of my personality/ to seem beautiful again.”- Frank O'Hara
I am not an attorney and this post is for entertainment purposes only. Please consult a licensed attorney in your state for legal advice.

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Re: Any love for Vox amps?

Post by somanytoys » Fri Aug 02, 2019 1:15 pm

Maggieo wrote:
Fri Aug 02, 2019 10:02 am
mackerelmint wrote:
Thu Aug 01, 2019 12:00 pm
This mini superebeetle thingy is very intriguing.
I saw one last week at the local GC and my heart was filled with lust.
You should have played it so that you could give us a full report.

I mean, you went into GC, ferchrisesakes... (I hate GC almost as much as Walmart, but I have spent my share of money there, and it's too damn close to my house)
-David

It's a boost booster, to boost your boost - it makes your tone much muchier.

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Re: Any love for Vox amps?

Post by fuzzjunkie » Fri Aug 02, 2019 1:16 pm

Didn’t know J and Shields used them! That’s cool. Do you use the top boost channel or the normal one with fuzz?
J uses a ‘59 AC-15 in the studio. I think he said rhythm parts with a P-90 and leads with a Tele bridge. MBV use AC-30s all over their albums and live too, but mix them with Marshall amps.

Which channel can depend on the fuzz. A bright 60s fuzz like an early Tonebender, Fuzzrite or Rangemaster Boost sound better through the normal channel, since that’s what they were made for. Something darker like a germanium Fuzz Face or Tonebender Jumbo sound fine going into the Top Boost channel.

The best thing to do is combine the two with a jumper cable, that’s what I do when using different fuzz tones, but my Tonebenders sound just fine through my AC-4. When it’s cranked everything thickens up. Also, my Jazzmasters have been modded with 500k volume pots. I also use Gretsch and Telecasters with the same set up, and players like the Edge change guitars quite a lot without issue.

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