Vox amp with archtop?

**Bryan T** · 08-13-2012, 07:16 PM

Hi! Do any of you use a Vox amp with your archtop? I used a Fender Princeton Reverb as my main amp for years, but am considering something with a different voicing. I'm thinking about an AC-15.

**feet** · 08-13-2012, 07:28 PM

totally possible, even with a blue. run the normal channel and adjust the bright switch and tone cut to taste. fine tune with your guitar's knobs. you can even darken up the top boost channel if you like, but the normal is probably a better idea.

i'd try and give it a shot before buying just to be sure you're ok with it. i will say that although i think it sounds good, it doesn't seem "voxy" to me. it could be, but that sound may not work for you or jazz.

**.02$** · 08-13-2012, 07:32 PM

The Ef86 channel on my Hayseed sounds great with an archtop.

**ruger9** · 08-13-2012, 07:40 PM

I'm running a Genz Benz Black Pearl, which is essentially a 4xEL84 hotrodded AC30/Matchless, and yeah... it'll git 'er done. Maybe not as nicely as some vintage amps or amps with vintage voicings (like Swart, for example), but yeah.

**barrymclark** · 08-13-2012, 07:40 PM

I used a Vox for a couple years. For tube amps, I love the Vox and Gibson sound.

**Gabe** · 08-13-2012, 08:38 PM

I used an AC30 for around 3-4 years. At the time I bought it I was playing heavy rock and indie - think Radiohead/Thrice mix. But as I moved into playing and studying jazz exclusively I stuck with the amp. They sound ok for some things but I was never totally happy. I'd much rather use something else for jazz, I'd most definitely choose a Princeton reverb over a Vox. Just my opinion though.

**Keira Witherkay** · 08-14-2012, 03:53 AM

Yeah that princeton will be way better for cleans than a vox , i tried ac 15 and settled for a princeton , they just better voiced for clean tone , vox or any other amp could work but you will need to twiddle a lot or have to use eq pedal whereas the princeton you simply plug in and you get instant clean tone as you should know if you been using one , so why fix what ain't broke ,

only issue with a princeton is maybe if you play real loud you'll want a bigger amp because of volume , then e fender deluxe reverb is next step up , other thing you can do which i have done is replace the 10' speaker with a 12' makes a huge difference

**marcwhy** · 08-14-2012, 07:42 AM

Originally Posted by Bryan T

Hi! Do any of you use a Vox amp with your archtop? I used a Fender Princeton Reverb as my main amp for years, but am considering something with a different voicing. I'm thinking about an AC-15.

Most decent amps can get a decent clean sound suitable for most jazz. A Vox is fine, as are EL84 amps in general. They're different sounding than a 6V6, 6L6, or even EL34 amp, but they're all fine.

I'd be curious as to what kind of "vibe" you're going for with your sound? Or is there a particular guitarist whose sound you're attempting to sound similar to?

**Bryan T** · 08-14-2012, 02:57 PM

Originally Posted by marcwhy

I'd be curious as to what kind of "vibe" you're going for with your sound? Or is there a particular guitarist whose sound you're attempting to sound similar to?

I mainly play fingerstyle and play a lot of acoustic, so I get a lot of volume out of the guitar. I use a lot of right hand harmonics, so having clarity in the highs is important. When I use a pick, I strive for a sound similar to my fingers. Loud and full sounding.

An issue I'm worried about it controlling the lows and low-mids. I play all over the neck and like to use the A and the E string up near the 12th fret. Those notes tend to jump off the guitar, so I want to tame them with EQ if I need to. I was thinking about getting a tweed Deluxe style amp, but I don't think the EQ would give me enough control.

There isn't a particular guitarist whose sound I'm imitating.

Thanks!

**kenbennett** · 08-14-2012, 05:56 PM

I have found that I can get a good sound out of almost any amp. Tube amps are great, in general, in my opinion. I have a Vox AD30VT, and I hate it, not because it sounds bad, but it only has one tube, which isn't a problem in itself, but that one tube keeps on dying--a brand new tube only lasts a couple of months at best. It's a discontinued model, so you probably won't be considering it anyway.

**ruger9** · 08-14-2012, 07:17 PM

Originally Posted by Bryan T

I mainly play fingerstyle and play a lot of acoustic, so I get a lot of volume out of the guitar. I use a lot of right hand harmonics, so having clarity in the highs is important. When I use a pick, I strive for a sound similar to my fingers. Loud and full sounding.

An issue I'm worried about it controlling the lows and low-mids. I play all over the neck and like to use the A and the E string up near the 12th fret. Those notes tend to jump off the guitar, so I want to tame them with EQ if I need to. I was thinking about getting a tweed Deluxe style amp, but I don't think the EQ would give me enough control.

Thanks!

Voxes excel in HIGH mids, not so much LOW mids... I actually swapped the speaker out in mine to get more low mids.

Don't know how much headroom you need/what volume you require, but the tweed deluxe ain't known for it's headroom...

**lareplus** · 08-14-2012, 09:44 PM

What speaker did you swap into your Vox and how did you like that?

I like Voxes and if a speaker swap would do the trick I might go that route.

**ruger9** · 08-14-2012, 09:56 PM

Originally Posted by lareplus

What speaker did you swap into your Vox and how did you like that?

I like Voxes and if a speaker swap would do the trick I might go that route.

My amp isn't a Vox, but it used a vintage AC30 and a Matchless as it's "design inspiration"... I have a Genz Benz Black Pearl 30, which is basically an AC30 with more EQ and an extra switchable tube gain stage. It comes with the Eminence Red Fang, which is supposed to be a copy of the Celestion Blue (GOLD, actually, since it's rated at 50W), and I swapped it out for an Eminence Patriot Canis Major, which is an alnico magnet hemp cone speaker. It's not a copy of anything, but it is a warmer, smoother speaker than the Red Fang or Blue/Gold.

A speaker is what gives the amp a VOICE. No other amp component affects the sound of an amp more than the speaker.

**lareplus** · 08-14-2012, 10:00 PM

Thanks for the excellent response. I am going after the tones and on a speaker quest right now.

**ruger9** · 08-14-2012, 10:02 PM

check youtube... some great speaker vids there... let me see if I can find one, then the same people did several, so you can take it from there...

This is the one that made me decide to go with the Canis Major.

**mangotango** · 08-15-2012, 05:39 AM

I use a Valvetronix 60, the old model that looks like a Vox, LOL. Though it's a modelling amp with a valve (tube) in the front end, it still (to my ears at least) gets the sound of a Vox I used to borrow a long time ago, when I was changing from being a bassplayer into a guitarist.

I usually use the AC15 voice and it sounds fine for me when working with the quartet. If I want ultra-clean, I'll use my Henriksen.

BTW, I have now (as I was talking of doing a little while back) tried running the two in stereo. Not quite as jaw-droppingly awesome as I was originally hoping

; but am getting better results as I spend more time on it.

**jorgemg1984** · 08-15-2012, 06:26 AM

Originally Posted by Bryan T

An issue I'm worried about it controlling the lows and low-mids. I play all over the neck and like to use the A and the E string up near the 12th fret. Those notes tend to jump off the guitar, so I want to tame them with EQ if I need to. I was thinking about getting a tweed Deluxe style amp, but I don't think the EQ would give me enough control.

No amp's eq will. Find the one closer to what you want and an eq pedal to do the rest.

**J. Murrieta** · 11-08-2012, 01:59 PM

i own a vox ac15c1. i've also owned the ac15cc1 and a couple of pathfinders. i had the ac15c1 modded by my local amp guy and changed out the tubes and it's a dream to play. i'm not a jazz player, but i love warm jazz tone. i think the vox excels at it.

the mods i performed can be found here:
Harmony Central Forums

i did the bright cap myself and had my amp guy do the tone stack mod. he also installed an extra switch to facilitate turning the tone stack on and off. yesterday i changed out the tung sol and sovtek tubes my amp guy had put in there over a year ago. the sovteks were always a little too bright and punchy for me. i changed them out with all jjs and added some dampers i bought on ebay. the jjs immediately smoothed and warmed the overall tone of the amp.

v2 and v3 are gold pin 12ax7s. v1 is a gold pin 12at7. the changing of the v1 tube has allowed me to get much more headroom. that's always been my issue with the ac15...i loved the size and tone but for larger gigs it didn't have the clean headroom. now i've almost doubled my amount of headroom. i also have a startouch aby pedal which i occasionally use to run both the normal and top boost inputs simultaneously which can considerably thicken up the sound, or just be used to make it a 2 channel amp. oh yeah, i also swapped out the reverb tank. all in all with about 60 bucks worth of mods and a full retube this amp is a fantastic, fairly lightweight player.

i play an Eastman T165SX and T146SMD & Alvarez AD65E through it and they all love it. i also used to play my Gibson L4-CES through it but i've since let her go.

**Jim Soloway** · 11-08-2012, 02:05 PM

I sure wish you had a chance to play through my rig Bryan. I think it would be as much an eye opener for you as playing your Princeton was for me. It's continued to evolve and I just can't begin to tell you how often the sounds I'm getting these days make me smile.

**Bryan T** · 11-08-2012, 02:19 PM

Originally Posted by Jim Soloway

I sure wish you had a chance to play through my rig Bryan. I think it would be as much an eye opener for you as playing your Princeton was for me. It's continued to evolve and I just can't begin to tell you how often the sounds I'm getting these days make me smile.

My wife and I keep threatening to take a trip to Portland ...

**Jim Soloway** · 11-08-2012, 02:24 PM

Originally Posted by Bryan T

My wife and I keep threatening to take a trip to Portland ...

That would be VERY cool. You have no idea how many good will points you scored with Deborah with your first CD.

**Jazz_175** · 11-09-2012, 02:36 AM

Originally Posted by mangotango

BTW, I have now (as I was talking of doing a little while back) tried running the two in stereo. Not quite as jaw-droppingly awesome as I was originally hoping

; but am getting better results as I spend more time on it.

Could you tell us how you got the stereo combination, I mean, did you use any particular pedal?

**peterpanico** · 11-09-2012, 07:21 AM

It's amazing,one starts a thread related to a very precise question and....everybody goes astray and talk about "their" thing....:-)
about the original question,I do not like Voxes at all,too bright for my likings,but if you like them...why not? ;-)

**ChrisDowning** · 12-09-2012, 04:44 PM

Agree - the VOX sound is based on lots of sparkle, jangley chords, great for a 12 string Rickenbacker. Just don't get this for jazz unless you want to plough a new furrow (alla Mike Stern?)

I think you need to get the playing right first, because if Joe Pass is saying he just used the stage PA and didn't want to hear himself much - that pretty much tells us its all about the fingers, style, vibe, and taste.

Get a Fender Frontman 25R and roll off the treble and some mids. Cost on eBay - £50. Trust me you won't need more volume than that. Then come back to consider what to buy after a couple of years.