Vox AC4C1... Are they really this good?

equalsql

The following demo showing the little 4W Vox CA4C1 being played raw and then with some pedals to kick the front end makes the amp sound amazing. 

Does anyone own have experience of these little amps... and if so.. are they that impressive?

midlifecrisis

I remember trying one a while back and thought it sounded like a small amp, which is what it is I spose, didn't float my boat

Cirrus

That sounds good because the playing is good. Give one of those amps to me, I'll show you the true horror of their tone.

ICBM

It's not bad actually - miles better than the previous AC4TV. It's still a small amp and is never going to sound like an AC30, but some people like that.

thermionic

The AC4s in the Custom series have Top Boost controls and 2 preamp valves, the ordinary AC4s have a single preamp valve and a tone control.

impmann

I bought one based on that vid. And then sold it again.

I found it boxy and uninspiring. I think there may be quite a bit of post production EQ on this, despite any claims to the contrary.

Not a bad amp, just not as 'open' sounding as I want.

Cirrus

impmann said:

I think there may be quite a bit of post production EQ on this, despite any claims to the contrary.

I dunno, I can't hear anything there that sounds like enhancement. It just sounds like the guy picked a guitar that works well with the small amp, played in a style that worked to the amp's strength, and that's about it. The sm57 close to the speaker will give a little low-end reinforcement - but even then, you can hear that there's no real power below the low mids - especially later on in the video where there's distortion and he does the occasional muted rake. There's just no low end there, as you'd expect from a tiny cab. In fact I'd go so far as to say that once he moves away from jazzy, light, dynamic clean sounds, the overdrive sound is no better than what I'd expect from a solid state Pathfinder.

p90fool

Whenever we hear a great guitar sound on record we're by definition listening to a miked speaker. It's part of the whole experience and our ears are more accustomed to it.

It doesn't take masses of post-production, the mic itself is a very sympathetic filter.

Context also helps. The intro to Layla is obviously a small boxy amp, but on record can give you goosebumps.

57Deluxe

I never knew Inspector Montalbano could play a bit...

impmann

It was the clean sound I was referring to - not fussed about drive sounds.

But either way, it doesn't sound that good in 'real life' IMHO and so I was very disappointed with it.

Jeremiah

I wonder if they would be better with a better speaker - it's still going to be a small amp in a small box, but those Celestions VX10 that Vox use don't seem to have a very good reputation...

equalsql

I noticed they have produced a version of the amp with a 12" speaker, so I wonder if this improves the overall sound?

Jeremiah

I've just actually watched it - that Fulltone Plimsoul sounds pretty good; I wonder how much of this is the amp and how much is the pedal (and how much is in the player's fingers…)

Neckwringer

For those of you concerned about the 10" C1 sounding er 'small'

Try out the C1-12 its a bigger sound for sure.

Both are highly useable,especially for recording........