The Guitologist I used to love playing a freinds who had a little shop down on Madison , “mikes music “up from strings and things at the time if your farmiliar with Memphis but ,the ac50 has the most incredible brown sag even slower than the 30 , I have one a freind builtand probly closer to 35 Watts with a dual tube rec that sounds quite close and am proud to own and play and know the builder , the pawn shops won’t lend money on them ( Robt Henson built amp w no name ) and this has enabled me to keep them through the years.
Man that AC50 sounds pretty raunchy but it's cool....definitely hear the Beatles tones in it. They must have used them a lot even for recording from the sounds of this amp. I know they used AC30's too but I think they used them briefly then moved to these. Not sure.
The AC50 is the best-sounding VOX amp, in my opinion, followed by the single 12" early AC15. We used to have eight of them at a store I worked at - and no one wanted them. Soon, everyone realized the Beatles used them on that first American tour - you hear them in the amazing Ed Sullivan and Washington concerts. Their best guitar tone ever!
So nice to hear something other than a Fender or Marshall. Nothing else has that Vox sound. Best sounding amp for "rock" music IMO. Highs aren't harsh, bass isn't saggy, balanced mids, just perfect.
I got my Vox AC50 in Lexington KY in 1981 and used it for as my main amp for 35 years. Still has the original tubes. I recapped it 20 years ago and now it is time to recap it again. Thanks for the video. So much good info compared to 40 years ago.
Having played virtually EVERY model of VOX - and many of each model, I can say that I think the AC50 is the gem of the bunch. They are rare now, but used to be unwanted and always for sale cheaply. The AC50 cabinet is also the best-sounding guitar cabinet I've ever found. Incredible combination - and now so rare. The Beatles on Ed Sullivan (and Washington DC concert) is all AC50 amps for guitars.
I have a later AC50 and love it. But too HEAVY for standard club gigging. If I ever do major tours, it would be in, but it's too easy to wreck them, and the tolex is like old lady skin, what a terrible choice that was. But it's great.
I can't believe how much gain this amp has! Marshall didn't catch up to this amount of gain until about the mid to late 1970's! It's nice and smooth gain too. I bet this is a very loud amp too. And the component placement and lead dress look sweet. I WANT ONE!!!
Now that’s a cool amp! Quite a few over here, UK. On an AC50 the first two reservoir caps are both 32μF. Also for interest, those dual caps have a higher current capacity on the red and lower on the yellow. If used as the first HT reservoir, then red is always the first used in line and has its ripple current marked on the case. Great playing as always.
Same mods that I would have done to that amp. I'm on Louisville too (active musician) and have to do repairs/mods on my amps. Been in electronic field since 1976. Love bringing this stuff back to life!
Awesome job (as we've come to expect), Brad. It was a real treat to look inside a working amp of this type: hope you had as much fun doing the actual work. Back in the '90s, I had to spend several months working on assignment in the Czech Republic; it was not long after the Velvet Revolution. I knew no Czech, but I kept asking those who knew a bit of English about Tesla. Finally, one day, they piled me into a Skoda (wish I could have brought one home) and we drove off into the country, and I was treated to a very limited tour of what I was told was the Tesla tube factory. I wasn't allowed to take any pictures, but at the end, they let me buy all the tubes I could carry (for about $2 a pop), and I still have a pretty good stash of lead crystal EL34s at home...should last until I croak...
The first tube amp I built from scratch in 2003 was a Vox Cambridge Reverb (US Thomas Organ era design) clone and I researched the Internet for 9 months before I built it. One of the things I discovered about Vox tube amplifiers is that their tone stacks are widely known to be interactive and players learn to exploit that characteristic deliberately. I really appreciate your RU-vid channel and want to thank you for this particular video featuring a Vox design.
Hey, Brad ! I've been watching your YT channel for the last year, and everytime I turn on my PC, one of the first things that I check is to see if you posted a new video ! I just want to say that I've been watching since I've came back to messing around with tube amps, and you've helped me a lot and made interesting for me to come back to it. I've worked at a local workshop in my country for three years straight, building only Fender tweed-era replicas, and I've stopped because I was diagnosed with two herniated discs on my neck and I've switched my main working area. I'm better now, and I'm back to building amps part-time and your channel has been as interesting as ever ! Best wishes, Rafael.
Just got back from shoulder surgery so no playing guitar for me. But I am feeling no pain and what better time to watch you and uncle Doug and digging on those happening tones! Aah yes,life is good! Great video.
Please, when swapping out Double Cans do not replace them with tie-wrapped Nichicons... that’s russion style. F&T makes really reliable double cans which fit and look nice in such a precious Amp!
I was thinking about that when he did that. I don't know anything about electronics but I do HVAC. We use dual capacitors, that's what we call them, & some guys will install 2 single caps if they don't have the dual cap they need. Also I was wondering if replacing those 2 8 mfd caps with 10 mfd caps would change the sound.
@@charlieb.8441 I think that's right on target. Each customer will have a different set of priorities/requirements. The vast majority of my work is done for people who want the amp (or guitar) to work again and be reliable, and that's the extent of it. They don't care what's inside. Only a small minority care about restoration above and beyond functional repair. Can I do that work? You bet. But it's extra time and extra $$.
Just watched a vid from Rhett Shull where he played in London at an event using an AC30 cranked up to 10 almost. He was pretty impressed by it, from what I saw.
I have a "newish" Vox AC15 amp (my guess is 5 yrs old max) and I absolutely LOVE it. I pulled the back off and was delighted to find that there is NOTHING inside of it that can't be fixed/replaced with a soldering iron. All the circuit board components are throughhole mounted. I don't know if all the major tube amp manufacturers still make them this way, but I think it's bloody fantastic. At least there is one thing being made today that isnt disposable junk.
I’ve watched this a few times. Mine was sold to me as working, but….. it’s a Mkii which has a GZ34 rectifier and no kathode resistors. In its past it had power supply failure. Power tx replaced with the correct Haddon, the GZ socket had scraped clean carbon tracks and other poorly replaced wires and components. My house voltage is 122VAC which put about 570vdc on the 550 volt caps. I built up a couple of 700 volt caps. Good to go. The amp is sounding great. I have NOS EI EL34 and all euro 12A_7 tubes. I expect my repairs will outlast me. It scared me when I saw the condition when I first opened it up. I’m glad this is a hobby, it’s taken me over 40 hours to make it reliable.
Thanks for your enthusiasm - my (mid1960s) Vox AC50 was originally equipped with a pair of columns (each containing x4 10" JMI speakers) - a mid-60s PA head not an instrument amp head. The only Vox guitar amp combo I had was an AC60 mounted on its speaker cabinet. Happy to share.
Fascinating ... I completely understood the guitar playing bit at the end. The rest was an interesting blur of mostly the removal of 'Made in UK' components...
I grew up in OKC. When I was about 12 or so, our next door neighbor, who was USAF(I think, could be wrong), he was always playing a Vox guitar through a Vox amp.(AC 30 maybe. Didn't keep up with amps guitars etc back then. I got a TG&Y guitar for my 7th birthday (put Mom in the hole $5). But I do remember how clean that guitar sounded. He played a lot of Johnny Cash, etc. BTW I had to play C&W if I wanted to practice in the house.(Dad's orders!). Speaking of which I've played 50 yrs & think you're an outstanding guitarist.(I don't pass around compliments btw). Love your videos.
Thanks for another great video,takes me back to my first decent amp an early sixties AC 30. I played a strat through a WEM copycat(tape echo) into the vox for that Shadows sound,I wish I'd kept that amp!
really like the way you did that advertisement. having it short and in the beginning means I'll actually watch it. I'm happy to click "skip" on those long winded ads at the end of other channels. but one of my favorite things about your channel is the honesty. seen you tear into shoddy craftsmanship and trust your judgement. make sure you're not ruining your reputation by being a spokesperson for bullshit!
Thanks dude. That comment really means a lot. I am trying really hard to balance being professional and yet loose, and yet having the channel help me make ends meet all at the same time. I don't always get it right, but I've never been accused of being perfect.
At one time if you looked at the interior of ANY electronic product, you'd have seen fuses. Everything was tubed. And Great. I had a tube amp in the 70's and performed the very same test. The amp down a flight of stairs in my house. It's my opinion that Playing, not violence caused the amps to fault out, not the tubes, although the tubes blow in the process of playing.
Thanks for the video. I’ve developed a love for the Vox sound over the years, and recognize it as among the three most recognizable amp sounds. The voltage selector was made in a time, unlike the present, where people were expected to know how to use controls. Seems out of place now, doesn’t it? Mine has that, and I’ve never considered it a danger or problem, and have never inadvertently moved the setting. I always wanted to try an AC50, but my AC30TB is much louder than I have a use for so I’ll probably never actually buy one. Thanks for the tour and demo!
More Vox please. Vox Groovy! Thank you! You know... I mean, keep an eye out for opportunities, if you can. I realize you get what comes in... Wow... in my opinion, this amp was engineered very very well. I’m so happy to see inside this thing. Thank you!
Thanks a lot for this video Brad, first time I’ve seen the insides of a VOX and it’s really a cool amplifier. Also seems like it’s build really well too. Your explanations also were really informative. I love it when I learn stuff during your videos. The diode board was interesting to see and it was also interesting to see your oddball capacitor values. I’m glad you set and figured out the bias where everyone could see it, that was really great. Damn, it sounded amazing too! You totally rock.
This is an oldie but I've got almost the same amp on the bench here and your video was very helpful. I know we don't agree on much but the images were exactly what I needed as a confidence check.
great vid! My friend is an ace amp designer (Alanis Morrissette's guitarist uses one of his amps) and does a killer mod for new Vox's that'll make them sound just the ones from the 60's. His name: Kurt Calder. BTW thanx for the Ventures....now I feel justified...you play it like I learned it...from the "Golden Greats" LP.
One interesting aspect of these amps is that the PI is paraphase instead of the more common long tailed pair. I think that gives it a different sound than a Marshall or AC-30.
You had to have been there with these amps, to understand them. They were still new to us (in the US), you rarely saw a British amp here. By the time the US got Vox, it was the transistorized "Thomas Organ Vox", mass produced on the West Coast! I've had a couple of British AC 100s, but I was a lot closer to L.A., where the tours would save money, by selling them here, rather than pay to have them shipped back home.
So you KNOW how clean they were! I'm 66, and have toured and recorded since the '60's! Now I too live in a small town in Colorado (pop. less than 1,000) so shops and stores are a hard thing to find!
I fell in love with vox amps i just got myself a VOX AC30VR and god it sounds really great! Till now its the best hybrid amp i've ever heard. Great video as always!
I was never big on Vox until I went over to a friends place. He was a Marshal guy, had a huge ass collection of Marshal heads, combos and cabs but he had just picked up an AC30 for a steal from somewhere and was putting it through its paces. My god that thing sounded amazing in person.
wingracer 16 same with me, the only reason i bought the vox is because i wanted a new amp and then suddenly I saw it for 185 euro's and instantly fell in love. I was gonna go with a jet city 50 watt full tube and a 2 x12 cab but that was way more expensive probably would have gotton me closer to a stoner rock sound but this vox is pretty versatile to!
When I was a kid maybe about 1968 or 1969, I came home from school one day and my older brother had hauled a Vox Buckingham amp and a steel tube rolling frame up to our second floor bedroom! It was huge looking because I was like 8 or 9 years old! That thing was loud! It belonged to a friend of his, I remember my folks couldn't wait for that thing to leave the house because it was so loud! I wonder what it would be worth today! PORK RINDS! A bag of Doritos was spotted in my last video! Haha, I love BB-Q Pork Rinds!
I'm sorry but the Beatles played with the AC30s, the ones you marked in red are the Vox Tank Reverb .. if you can see well they don't have the two XLR outputs
i like the idea of an advertisement at the beginning rather than sending products for review.. even though i know you are to be trusted with this.. still can't shake off the feeling, that if you get something for free.. you are biased, at least i would be.
Loved the playing at the end. I have a Butterscotch Blonde G&L ASAT, that I put a black pearl, 3 ply guard on, just like yours. I also loved RCA the banner hanging behind you, I worked at the RCA picture tube plant in Marion IN. for 16 years, until it closed and moved to Mexico (screw NAFTA).
Brad, you can get the smaller diameter octal sockets from Dynakit parts as the are the same as the Dynaco ST-70 el34 sockets. They are under mount sockets and should work well for you. Just a thought! Btw. Keep up the great videos. I have really enjoyed them and learned much!
Brad, I love your channel and your playing. Your demo of the Telectro reel to reel mod has tons of tone, which speaks both to your playing and your tech skills 👍👍🤟🤟
Nice historic photographs views of AC50s in action plus great views of the amp plus good repair job! Between your playing and the owner's playing in the follow up video , a good listen to the AC50. The best hint I got from the repair was the new flexible output leads , and the setting of the variable grid bias pre-set resistors was interesting.
Oh yes! Walk don't run on a tele through a VOX, very cool, now with a little (a lot!) of reverb. Fantastic sounding amp and amazing guitar work! Thanks.
Watch it if those caps blow, it looks like they had a pillow fight inside! The rarity you're seeing , may have been the result of one of the Vox/JMI technicians that they used to have travel with some of the bigger(more famous) bands, to assure their product functioned the best for their company. I agree that the bigger cab is an odd one, my AC100s both had smaller ones. Also, remember that the norm of the day, was a clean sound, no overdrive! The clean sound of an AC50, would blow you out of the room!
As a huge Beatles fan its cool to see these old amps. I had an old solid state Vox supreme head 25 years ago, it wasnt in the best condition electronically although it looked in pretty good shape from the outside. That amp was noisy (hiss) as hell due to some problem that i couldnt find out at the time since i didnt have the knowledge then, it still sounded good for bass which i used it for in spite of that and i used it for a few years and later sold it. I think i remember seeing The Beatles using the supremes as well in pictures or videos.
Yes they are ! Dartford - also home to Mick & Keith , the Pretty Things , Peter Blake . Clapton , Beck , Wood , Townshend & Page all from close by as well .
They once made a combination organ/guitar. Jennings' roots was in organs. They were pioneers in electronic musical instruments, producing the Univox, featured in the Tornadoes' hit "Telestar", and a series of portable Vox solid state combo organs, including the popular Continental.
How did you get the overdriven sound ? If it was just turning up the volume it must have been really loud. There,s no master volume right. Or did you use some pedal. Good video anyway. Theres one up for sale in my town at the moment.
I saw one of Vox's ad campaigns from around 1969 - 1972 where they did a durability test by taking an AC50, dropping it down a small flight of stairs and powered it on... to the shock of everybody but the VOX engineers it took only cosmetic damage and the amp itself was still in working condition. tubes and all.
ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-oQud4emaSek.html - at about 1:15 (though I think that's a re-creation). There's a second reference from a first-hand witness at 11:50 - they rolled the fuckers down THREE flights of stone steps, plugged 'em in, and played 'em. Fuck yeah!
Cool bro, I'm just getting back into this stuff, after a hiatus of about 15 odd years, and though the 'surrounds' (I'm in New Zealand and tend to have to build from scratch) the outlook tends to be similar... appreciating your sharing Dude!
Where were you with this video one year ago? :D A friend of mine has a similar one but with 4x 12ax7 and no death cap. It also had no sound. I found burnt cathode resistors, red plating EL34s, the pots were totally locked and it also had a couple of bad 12ax7 tubes. I also found some resistors way out of tolerance. The power switch had alot of wear and it wasnt making proper contact. The cable to the speaker jack was also loose from the solder. After replacing all of that I biased the amp using the schematic info "bias setting to give 2.2v across 47ohm resistors". The amp sounded great and all the controls were working. Later on, motorboating showed up and it went away after I replaced another 12ax7. Its been working fine now. It was the 1st time I actually had a look inside a tube amplifier. I have you and Uncle Doug to thank for some great guidelines!
Nahhh, I'm no amp tech. I just really enjoy to watch your vídeos. My friend didnt trust a real tech to fix it as his uncle had already tried it and the guy had loose screws and stuff loose inside the chassis. I must admit, I was a bit afraid to touch it myself with all the hazard warning :) but I do have some pictures of the amp as it was before.
By the way, what would you recommend to replace the Birmistor? Its basicly there to prevent the tubes to get instant B+ while still being cold. My friend's amp had a shunt in its place.
Brad, like others have said, I'm learning a lot watching your videos and need to learn a lot more. You've inspired me to start buying the tools and reading books, so I can learn to confidently diagnose and do board level repairs. A great way to spend the autumn of my life. You said this Vox amp is a fixed bias, but then you made some adjustments to the bias. is there a bias pot in this amp? How exactly were you changing the bias? Thanks for sharing your work with us!
The Guitologist Thanks! I bought the multimeter you recommended on your Kit page, and did my first bias on my 1 yr. old Fender Super Champ X2. Very simple, very basic, but it was good experience for me.
I see a Weller is it a wc-100 or wc250 soldering iron, dude you totally know what your are doing good to see. I've been servicing electronics for close to 20 years and it's a buzz to see a counter part a work! There are less than fewer techs that know this type of diagnostics and repair.
one of the best things I like in your repair videos is when you play at the end. how do you get the time to practice? keep up the good work and the nice playing.
I don't practice. It's pretty much all the crap left over from forgetting everything else at this point. It's like those buttes out West. They are just the hard bits left after the softer earth and rock has eroded away. Stubborn fuckers.
The AC-50 is a kickass amp. Had one. oh i forgot that I had the combo head and yea it did shock me a few times and it also did sorta have that same problem on brilliant channel.
Fantastical amp ( better than the AC 30 if you ask me ) the head model w/ a 2-12 pair of bulldogs , the brown syrupy sag in these amps were almost edible !!!
Groovy fix up. I have a collection of fairly modern Vox stuff, as a friend of mine was a Vox dealer. Even the present day Korg made stuff has good mojo. It's my opinion that Modern day Vox stuff is still solid quality, which can't be said about all amp makers.
I've got a few of them on my channel... Night Train series (especially gen2) are a neat departure from the "vox sound". Also, there's the "Bruno" series, that run 6V6 or 6L6 power tubes. I have the TB18, and it's a terrific amp. Korg uses a digital circuit for reverb, and it's not bad. I got a NightTrain 15G1 on Craigslist for 200$, and it was totally worth it. I really have a fondness for the 15w night train heads... crank up the gain, and it's a micro-marshall... PUNK ROCK.
The Guitologist The hand wired ac’s are fantastic. I have a regular newish ac-15 and it’s great but the HW ac-30 my friend has sounds amazing. (He doesn’t even play guitar...😑)
