Alright geezers?
I’m Rick Hollis, this is my really bad attempt
at a British accent.
Let’s check out the Vox AC10 in a demo song
I recorded with it, then go over the features
and specs while I turn some knobs and see
what this little fella can do.
That was the sound of the Vox AC10, an amp
every tone hound should have in their collection
if you’re seeking that distinct Vox chime
without busting the bank or blowing out windows
to play in the sweet spot like you would with
it’s bigger siblings- the AC15 and AC30.
The AC10 is a 10 watt valve amplifier built
upon 2 12AX7 preamp tubes and 2 EL84 output
tubes packed in to a small combo weighing
almost half the weight of the AC15 at just
12.3kg or 27.12lbs.
Why the hell is pounds abbreviated to lbs?
The AC10 packs a lot more punch than you would
expect from an amp rated at just 10 watts,
with just the right amount of volume to pull
off playing small gigs or mic’ed up on mid
size stages.
I personally find my AC10 to be too loud to
play at apartment levels, with the volume
going from nothing to too loud at the bottom
of the volume dial, then not getting much
louder as you progress around the dial, just
more compressed and spongier feeling to play.
You might want to check out the Vox AC4 if
you’re looking for a Vox tube amp to play
at home.
The AC10 features a Celestion VX10 speaker
and also has an external speaker jack so you
can connect the speaker cab of your choice
if you wish.
I found the built in10 inch speaker sits perfectly
in a mix when mic’ed up for recording or
for small gigs, however hooking up a bigger
speaker cab extends the low end making making
it sound a lot more, how you say rock!
The AC10 preamp circuit is based around the
Top Boost channel found in the bigger Vox
AC’s, and features a simple layout of just
Gain, Bass, Treble, Reverb and Volume controls.
The built in reverb is a studio quality digital
version with the decay time being quite long,
but winding it back to just fill the room
subtly works a treat.
EQ wise, the Treble and Bass controls in a
Vox amp are placed before the gain stage,
so adjusting the EQ not only affects the tone
coming out of the speaker, it also affects
how the amp breaks up.
Vox amps tend to get a bit loose sounding
at higher gain settings but placing an EQ
in front of the amp changes the characteristics
dramatically and is why guys like Brian May
and Rory Gallagher use Treble Booster pedals
in front of theirs.
Let’s have a play with the knobs and see
the range of sounds we can get keeping this
in mind.
The engineers have voiced the AC10 to not
have as much headroom as it’s bigger siblings
so it breaks up a lot sooner and you get that
creamy compressed tone out of it at a lot
lower volumes as opposed to the AC15 and AC30
which will take your freakin head off trying
to find the sweet spot.
There isn’t quite enough headroom on the
AC10 to bump your lead volume up to compete
with a full band when taking a solo live though
so you might need your sound guy to stay on
top of that at gigs.
Now let’s check out how the AC10 takes various
pedals by throwing some effects you might
typically use in front of it.
That concludes our little play with the Vox
AC10.
I absolutely love mine as a recording amp
when I need a low to mid gain sound that just
sits in the mix without having to eq the crap
out of it.
You wouldn’t use it to play metal, but most
high gain amps can’t deliver what the AC10
can either.
Thanks for your time folks, I trust you got
something out of my little demo and I hope
to see you again next time.
Cheers
