The Little Handwired Vox Is Pretty Cool

[UberMetalDood]

I never played one before but I spent a little bit with a strat and this little white colored Vox that's supposedly handwired. I don't know if handwiring in China is any better than manufactured PCB amps, but it did sound pretty cool. I'm not going to buy one, don't have GAS for one, but it was pretty cool getting some different tones out of an HSS strat with the S1 switching. I didn't really understand the top boost thing because there was just a singe EQ section and it was labeled "top boost." It had a hot/cool switch of some kind and a high/low input. I used a Boss BD-2 on the low input and it was very cool.

I don't know if they still make it but I remember a little Vox that was similar to the Handwired one, but it was blue and wasn't handwired. It didn't sound too great. The handwired amp blows that one away. Along with the BD-2, I used a Mad Professor Deep Blue Delay. The amp was able to output some pretty good distortion and sounded like studio quality with the pedals. I'd say that it sounds better than all of the Marshall 1 watt amps except for the 1w JCM800. It has a 12" speaker and probably sounds better overall and more versatile than the Class 5, but I don't know if it's build quality is as good as the Class 5 which I think is also handwired. Pretty cool amp.

 

[SongsForTheDeaf]

Re: The Little Handwired Vox Is Pretty Cool

Pics please!! :cussing:

I could never gel with Voxes myself. But I have never tried the handwired versions either

 

[James Rock]

Re: The Little Handwired Vox Is Pretty Cool

I assume your talking about this http://www.musiciansfriend.com/amplifiers-effects/vox-ac4hw-1-hand-wired-tube-guitar-combo-amp
Think the hot/cool switch bypasses the tone stack and the top boost just means they took the top boost circuit out of an AC30 as opposed to the normal circuit which had no EQ controls. Those AC4s are pretty cool but dont close to the sound of an AC30 w/ blues although they are alot closer then other little amps are to their big brothers (probably due to still using the same preamp through an EL84).

 

[UberMetalDood]

Re: The Little Handwired Vox Is Pretty Cool

I assume your talking about this http://www.musiciansfriend.com/amplifiers-effects/vox-ac4hw-1-hand-wired-tube-guitar-combo-amp
Think the hot/cool switch bypasses the tone stack and the top boost just means they took the top boost circuit out of an AC30 as opposed to the normal circuit which had no EQ controls. Those AC4s are pretty cool but even come close to the sound of an AC30 w/ blues but alot closer then other little amps do to their big brothers (probably due to still using the same preamp through an EL84).

Yeah that looks like the one. I don't play Vox amps, and although I've played many of their models like the AC15 & 30, CC, etc..., I couldn't make a comparison. All I know is that the sound was pretty good, and the fact that it has a 12" speaker was even better. I'm becoming a fan of low wattage amps with 12" speakers like the Slash Sig. combo which sounds terrific with a single EL34 and a 12" Celestion. The handwired AC has a unique sound.

 

[Zombiwoof]

Re: The Little Handwired Vox Is Pretty Cool

There's also a handwired AC-15 amp out now, I thought he was talking about that one.
Al

 

[sixstringsamurai333]

Re: The Little Handwired Vox Is Pretty Cool

The Vox AC4HW1 is an AMAZING little unit! I had one for a few weeks from the local distributor, and was pretty tempted to buy it by the time I'd finished doing all the clips. Definitely not going to be the same with Greenbacks and a small closed back box as an AC30, but it had a great chimey vibe, and the closed back meant some pretty cool, tighter gain sounds could be had as well.

Btw, they're made in Vietnam, not China.

There are various clips in here if anyone is interested:
http://sixstringsamurai.co.nz/2012/11/26/vox-ac4hw1-handwired-chime-and-chunk/



UberMetalDood - do you really like the new SL5 combo??? I was SO disappointed with that one. I literally drove for an hour around the city to the various branches of my retail contact to get one when they first hit NZ, but when I finally got it home and put it through its paces, I thought it was just a completely generic sounding small Marshall combo. No Slash vibe at all, and I'm a huge Slash fanboy - so if it had had even the slightest bit of what my AFD has, I probably would have bought it

 

[UberMetalDood]

Re: The Little Handwired Vox Is Pretty Cool

The Vox AC4HW1 is an AMAZING little unit! I had one for a few weeks from the local distributor, and was pretty tempted to buy it by the time I'd finished doing all the clips. Definitely not going to be the same with Greenbacks and a small closed back box as an AC30, but it had a great chimey vibe, and the closed back meant some pretty cool, tighter gain sounds could be had as well.

Btw, they're made in Vietnam, not China.

There are various clips in here if anyone is interested:
http://sixstringsamurai.co.nz/2012/11/26/vox-ac4hw1-handwired-chime-and-chunk/

View attachment 46903

UberMetalDood - do you really like the new SL5 combo??? I was SO disappointed with that one. I literally drove for an hour around the city to the various branches of my retail contact to get one when they first hit NZ, but when I finally got it home and put it through its paces, I thought it was just a completely generic sounding small Marshall combo. No Slash vibe at all, and I'm a huge Slash fanboy - so if it had had even the slightest bit of what my AFD has, I probably would have bought it

Great job with the audio samples and web review. You made it sound even better than it sounded when I tried it out. About the SL-5, well it wasn't THAT impressive or I would have kept it more than a few days. I think it did have a bit of the AFD thing going on, but like I said in my review, it's NOTHING like the AFD100 which I so regret not getting when I could have bought a new one relatively cheap. What I like about the SL-5 is not necessarily the tone but that you can juice a single EL34 with more-or-less the Marshall sound, AND it has a 12" speaker. It's essentially just a Chinese made Marshall but it has some high points. However, I would not go as far as to criticize it too much (for the price they can be had) without playing one with humbuckers and a broken-in speaker.

 

[James Rock]

Re: The Little Handwired Vox Is Pretty Cool

The Vox AC4HW1 is an AMAZING little unit! I had one for a few weeks from the local distributor, and was pretty tempted to buy it by the time I'd finished doing all the clips. Definitely not going to be the same with Greenbacks and a small closed back box as an AC30, but it had a great chimey vibe, and the closed back meant some pretty cool, tighter gain sounds could be had as well.

Yeh definitely want one for home practice and recording not that I can afford any amps right not. The 12" speaker makes a huge difference I reckon, its just a vital part of that mid focused tone.

 

[zzmoore]

Re: The Little Handwired Vox Is Pretty Cool

Cool little amps indeed.

 

[Inder_Cine_Mann]

Re: The Little Handwired Vox Is Pretty Cool

The regular Class 5 sounds so big. I feel they nailed that amp. Jesus it takes pedals so well