NVAD - 1962 Vox AC4

Make it loud here.
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UlricvonCatalyst
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Re: NVAD - 1962 Vox AC4

Post by UlricvonCatalyst » Wed Mar 23, 2022 1:35 am

Nice job on the clean-up, and lovely wee amp too. I'm a bit mystified how you and Johnny Somerset both managed to pick up part of this vinatge cache though, given the geography.

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Re: NVAD - 1962 Vox AC4

Post by ziess » Wed Mar 23, 2022 3:20 am

I work all over so down south for a bit.

Tommy.

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Re: NVAD - 1962 Vox AC4

Post by i love sharin foo » Wed Mar 23, 2022 1:19 pm

That is an amazing little amp! I have one of he newer hardwired AC4s and it's fantastic. If mine sounds anything at all like an original, then you are in for a real treat! I think you got one hell of a deal on it!
The whispers cut like hard rain, Like sugar in a hurricane

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Re: NVAD - 1962 Vox AC4

Post by ziess » Wed Mar 23, 2022 5:12 pm

Looking forward to sorting it out. Hopefully will get it done this weekend.

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Re: NVAD - 1962 Vox AC4

Post by ziess » Thu Mar 24, 2022 8:30 am

Image

:k

Looks like there's a crack in the base of the ECC83 unfortunately. Oh, and 'Foreign' in this context (1962) equates to 'Made in Holland'!

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Re: NVAD - 1962 Vox AC4

Post by JSett » Thu Mar 24, 2022 8:36 am

ziess wrote:
Thu Mar 24, 2022 8:30 am
Image

:k

Looks like there's a crack in the base of the ECC83 unfortunately. Oh, and 'Foreign' in this context (1962) equates to 'Made in Holland'!
WELL, FUCK. ME. Look at the state of those hahahahah
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ziess
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Re: NVAD - 1962 Vox AC4

Post by ziess » Thu Mar 24, 2022 8:42 am

I know, right? Still, they're not hard to clean;

Image

I'll do the rest when I'm home and try and save as much of the original lettering as possible.

Tommy.

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Re: NVAD - 1962 Vox AC4

Post by JSett » Thu Mar 24, 2022 8:53 am

I can smell that from here
Silly Rabbit, don't you know scooped mids are for kids?

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Re: NVAD - 1962 Vox AC4

Post by ziess » Thu Mar 24, 2022 8:55 am

Believe it, it’s fucking stinking! I think I’ll strip it apart and leave it in the garage for a few weeks. Definitely don’t want it in the living room if it smells like this!

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Re: NVAD - 1962 Vox AC4

Post by JSett » Thu Mar 24, 2022 9:09 am

It's stuff like this that make me glad I quit smoking and how it took 25 years and a cancer scare to do it!
Silly Rabbit, don't you know scooped mids are for kids?

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Re: NVAD - 1962 Vox AC4

Post by ziess » Sat Mar 26, 2022 10:40 am

Got it home and started with the proper clean up;

Image

Managed to get the speaker sparkling though:

Image

The eagle-eyed might spot that the cathode bypass cap on the left of this picture is installed backwards. It was also not really connected at the ground end, so I suspect it wasn't really doing anything.

Image

Recap complete now:

Image

Hopefully I'll get a chance to fire it up tonight.

Tommy.

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Re: NVAD - 1962 Vox AC4

Post by i love sharin foo » Sat Mar 26, 2022 11:34 am

Looking good! I am envious!
The whispers cut like hard rain, Like sugar in a hurricane

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Re: NVAD - 1962 Vox AC4

Post by ziess » Mon Mar 28, 2022 12:30 am

It lives! Sounds pretty decent, maybe a little mid-focussed but I'll live with it for a bit before thinking about a new speaker.

There were a few crazy mods I didn't spot initially. Check out what the tone control is wired to in the pic above. Presumably some form of crude MV attempt. Needless to say it didn't work and the tone control was inoperable. Likewise, WTF is going on with the input jack next to the volume control?

All returned to stock now though. Tone control might need some love to make it work a bit more smoothly as it's a bit crackly for now.

Tommy.

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Re: NVAD - 1962 Vox AC4

Post by ziess » Mon Aug 15, 2022 1:12 pm

Clips here - https://youtu.be/7qyLJlBzINQ

Tommy.

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Re: NVAD - 1962 Vox AC4

Post by MrShake » Mon Aug 15, 2022 4:18 pm

That is gorgeous! Great find and great restoration, I always love seeing an old dog of a player brought back to life much more than a pristine closet queen. And good karma for saving another machine with a few more miles in it. Who knows, it could have ended up in a junk heap prematurely!

I bet it sounds f'in wonderful, reading this warmed my crusty little heart.

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