Vox Amps Big vs. Small

Folkie · Post by **Folkie** » Tue Feb 14, 2012 12:20 pm

Thanks, Tommy, I'll look into that!

8mileshigher · Post by **8mileshigher** » Mon Feb 27, 2012 4:52 am

Robert --- how do you like the AC-15 with the Alnico Blue from North Coast ?
Have you written a review yet ?

Folkie · Post by **Folkie** » Tue Feb 28, 2012 12:27 am

8mileshigher wrote:Robert --- how do you like the AC-15 with the Alnico Blue from North Coast ?
Have you written a review yet ?

Rich,

Thanks for your continued interest in this thread. After an hour or two of adjusting the amp, guitar, and Janglebox settings, I concluded that I absolutely LOVE the sound of the AC15 with both of my 12-strings (Haven't got to my other guitars yet.) It definitely trumps my Princeton Chorus, which can get so thin and trebly that it (along with the treble boost on the Janglebox) tends to magnify any buzzes and rattles on my guitars. The Vox boasts even more jangle and chime, but also a deeper, richer low end.

Unfortunately, I immediately noticed some problems: lots of static and a loud popping sound when I turned the amp on. Gary from NCM was extremely helpful and even called me long distance to help troubleshoot the problem. At his request, I tried turning on the amp with nothing connected, and it still had the same issues. After hearing my description, he said it was most likely a faulty preamp tube. He referred me to our local authorized Vox repair center, which is about 40 minutes from where I live. It's a good thing Gary offered to step in if there were any problems, because the owner at Empirical Sound was very rude. They estimated a 1-2 week wait for a simple tube change (but I have no experience with tube amps, so Gary recommended that I not try to change the tube myself).

So that's the lowdown. I just hope the folks at Empirical Sound are cooperative. Will keep you posted.

Robert

k43rover · Post by **k43rover** » Tue Feb 28, 2012 4:16 am

Hi Robert, disappointing to hear that your new amp arrived in less than perfect condition

On the other hand, these things happen and it sounds like a simple fix (even if they are making it difficult for you!). Really great to hear that you are already lovin' the tone. I suspect now you have set off down the path of Vox valve tone, you will not be turning back

I'd recommend as a next step, whenever you can, to audition any vintage JMI's that you come across locally so you can build up your own personal reference points for the difference in tone between vintage and modern. All the best Ed

8mileshigher · Post by **8mileshigher** » Wed Feb 29, 2012 6:42 pm

Sorry that you had a fix-it required right from the get-go.

Hopefully everything gets straightened out with the local repairman .

Folkie · Post by **Folkie** » Wed Feb 29, 2012 10:24 pm

Rich and Eddie,

Thanks for all the good wishes. It just so happens that a close friend of mine just had a similar experience with his Egnater Rebel 30, only his repair is turning out to be more complicated than a simple tube replacement. He had to drive all the way to Canton and back several times, and the warranty repair center there were a marvel of incompetence. He's now sending his amp directly back to Egnater for service.

I just hope the problem I was experiencing shows up when the folks at Empirical Sound finally give my amp their run-through. The worst case scenario is that I'll lock horns with Don, the person I dealt with when I dropped the amp off, and I'll have to ask Gary from NCM to intervene. I've been told that the owner of Empirical Sound is an okay guy (He only works part time, so I didn't meet him when I dropped the amp off), and Gary assures me that it's their job to accommodate me.

So I appreciate all the advice and the moral support. I'll keep you posted on how things go.

Robert

jps · Post by **jps** » Wed Feb 29, 2012 11:03 pm

Folkie wrote:...I've been told that the owner of Empirical Sound is an okay guy (He only works part time, so I didn't meet him when I dropped the amp off)...

Robert

Is that Jim?

Folkie · Post by **Folkie** » Wed Feb 29, 2012 11:19 pm

Jeff,

I believe Jim was the very nice gentleman who helped me carry the amp in. My friend who's done business with Empirical tells me the owner is Mike Frate. He also raves about a tech who used to work there named John Leonard. Unfortunately, my only contact with Empirical was a rather rude exchange with a guy named Don, who seems to have a chip on his shoulder.

I just hope they're cooperative about settling this warranty issue. I've already agreed to wait up to two weeks for what should be a simple tube replacement. Anyway, if you've dealt with them in the past, I'd be interested to hear what your experience was like.

All best,

Robert

jps · Post by **jps** » Thu Mar 01, 2012 12:05 am

Mostly I have just bought parts from them, they are close to work. Jim did do sound for Rare Blend once at Wilberts a few years ago. I know who Mike is, tall guy, Jim is the short one.

Jahn · Post by **Jahn** » Mon Mar 05, 2012 5:10 pm

Congrats on the new amp, I hope it's just a retubing that will sort that issue out for you. You mentioned before (or someone did) that you'd like to go direct-in from the amp. My little trick is to stick the speaker-out into a Direct I/O box, mine is the Palmer PDI-09 Junction, and then have that speaker out from the Junction go to an attenuator, mine's a Weber Mass, which then goes to the amp's speaker. That way you can even dial the attenuator to silent running, and the signal gets all the preamp and tone stuff from your amp into your computer. You'll still have to craft it a bit with some cabinet/speaker modelling on the computer side, but it's a small price to pay to get some of that real amp flavor in there.

Folkie · Post by **Folkie** » Fri Mar 09, 2012 10:11 pm

jps wrote:Mostly I have just bought parts from them, they are close to work. Jim did do sound for Rare Blend once at Wilberts a few years ago. I know who Mike is, tall guy, Jim is the short one.

Jeff,

Got the amp back from Empirical Sound. They were unable to find anything wrong with it, and I had to pay a bench fee for their time.

Still got a little static the first time I turned it on, but I'm not too concerned.

As it turned out, Don was okay to deal with, and I think they did their best to accommodate me. So now I know how to get back there and whom to speak to, should there be any future issues.

One thing I noticed today: the amp has so much natural chime and compression that, when playing my 12'ers, I haven't felt the need to use my beloved Janglebox. It could be a combination of the Alnico Blue speaker and god knows what else.

So now I have two amps with totally different sounds: the Princeton Chorus, with it's thin trebly edge, and the Vox AC15C1 which chimes like the best of them but also has a certain warmth and balance that the Princeton lacks.

Robert

8mileshigher · Post by **8mileshigher** » Fri Mar 09, 2012 10:54 pm

Folkie wrote: The amp has so much natural chime and compression ....
It could be a combination of the Alnico Blue speaker and god knows what else.

Yep ! That's why the Ric and Vox combination has so many fans

8mileshigher · Post by **8mileshigher** » Fri Mar 09, 2012 10:56 pm

Folkie wrote:Got the amp back from Empirical Sound. They were unable to find anything wrong with it, and I had to pay a bench fee for their time. Still got a little static the first time I turned it on, but I'm not too concerned.

Re the "noise" the amp was making, that Empirical coundn't diagnose -- have you experienced the same noise with different guitars and pick-ups plugged in ?? Maybe humbuckers sound way different than single-coils ? Maybe Gretsch guitars sound different than Rics or Fenders ? How about trying a new guitar cable ?

The other thing is the authorized repair facility isn't going to change the stock tubes if they test OK, but that doesn't mean you can't put a better sounding tube in. You've probably seen dozens of postings on this forum and various Vox forums about people doing all kinds of tube replacements and all kinds of evaluations of what brand/type of valves (tubes) makes better sound.

For the cost of a 12AX7 replacement inserted in your pre-amp section, you may find your noise problem tamed and just keep the stock tube for an emergency spare.

k43rover · Post by **k43rover** » Fri Mar 09, 2012 11:22 pm

Folkie wrote: One thing I noticed today: the amp has so much natural chime and compression that, when playing my 12'ers, I haven't felt the need to use my beloved Janglebox. It could be a combination of the Alnico Blue speaker and god knows what else.

...I know exactly what you mean Robert. I have the JB2, which is just a fantastic pedal, but Ricks sound so good direct through a Vox that usually I don't bother with the extra compression myself.....unless, that is, I am craving for a fix of extreme Byrds tone

rkbsound · Post by **rkbsound** » Fri Mar 09, 2012 11:36 pm

My Vox AC15C1 makes a considerable amount of noise with my Rickenbacker 360. I have switched to an Epi Dot, which has humbuckers, and the amp is pretty quiet. I think that my pedals have also been adding to some of the problem. I just purchased a Pedal Juice power supply and will be trying it next week ( the amp is at the house we practice at). I'm also considering switching out the pups on the Rick to RIC humbuckers, because the tone is really good. Just a bad hum.

Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum