Vox AC100CPH(classic plus)

Just received online delivery order from Guitar Ctr yesterday and had power trio practice with it same day. Gig next week so can update then. Features well-described in other entries.

If you want a two-channel amp, you know what you need and how/if to build on the amp's included basics. The other reviews are pretty accurate, one being that it does seem to take a bit of tweaking to dial in the right sound.

I may be having effects pedal board issues so I ran direct input.

Ohm selector is a slider versus as switch or toggle, need a flat head screwdriver to move, a bit inconv.

Footswitch seems cheap and gig breakable, a weakish click on switching versus a comforting chunk.

I club/bar gig about once a month and one feature you will notice right away is its weight. This is a very heavy amp and may prove to be tough for load-in/outs.

I'd appreciate feedback on my comments.

Using 2003 Gibson LP Standard with factory Burstbucker V p/u. First day ran thru my Yamaha 4x12 with Celestion at 8 ohm. Hard rock covers from 60s-today so need to cover a lot of ground but I am a set and go on each channel. Coming off of 6 years of a Fender Prosonic head (good but finicky). I'll need to get used to the EL34 sound compared to the 6L6.

Ch 1: (clean).
On start up, I was confused and concerned about Ch1. With master vol at 9/10 oclock and gain at 7/8 oclock, I have to turn the channel volume way up to 2 oclck to get a clean volume with headroom and band vol. Plus the channel seemed to be crapping out, but that may have been a pedal sitch, see above. On other amps, a 7-9 oclk volume begins to get really loud. I question the need to crank the chann volume to get usable clean but maybe this is how the controls interplay. Comment welcome.

You can turn up the Ch 1 gain and lower vol and get the promised Texas to classic rock od/dist and it sounds good. but I am looking for the clean voice on this amp to contrast with Ch 2. Need to better test with pedals but a clean channel should impart pedal sounds. Reverb OK, seems like it could be more "present."

Ch. 2 (distortion)
Pretty darn good...still need to tweak as I have never used EL34 or amps with a presense knob. Seems very bass heavy and so far the brite switch has minimal effect. The fat switch makes noticable difference and adds blister (and some noise) to the grind. Still trying to bring down the bass and find the sweet spot. Reverb on Ch 2 just OK, seems like it could be more present. No volume/setting concerns on this channel, they seem to align how I would expect to be the volume/gain mix.

I only know Vox sound from the bands the ID with it and online/magazine reviews of Vox (never played one) This amp seems to capture the signature Vox sound in its own unique way.

Lastly, it could be a need to tweak or the new EL34 sound (to me), but the distortion (ch 2) seems very dry (not it a lack of reverb sense). Notes sustain and harmonics, etc, but it seems you have to "work" at it more. This is not a buzzy, 80's metal machine and and does get a very aggressive hard rock sound. Maybe a delay or compressor may liven it up or I just need to work it more.

Brand new and per above, I already have commented on Channel 1 concerns above. At least one review has mentioned the stock tubes as a concern and another guy in a You Tube homemade demo video said the tubes suck. This may be true.

This is the first amp I have ever bought without trying before. I based my decision on Harmony Central reviews, online research (audio clips and reviews), etc. Bought online thru Guitar Center, but at the store, and did so because of GC's excellent return policy. Have a week before a gig so I'll use at practice and on my own to break in. I get how new tubes would liven this up but price was an attraction and don't want to add another level of expense to this.

I noticed that this amp (at least in the Wash DC metro area) is not even on display in retail stores and has been reported to be discontinued. It is still active on the Vox site as part of their current product line.

Two final thoughts today: 1) this is a heavy amp head; and 2) the footswitch is dingy.

I just bought this head last week so I'm still in the honeymoon stages. I bought it new for $835 Cdn After selling my Rockerverb 50 for $1600. It is a two channel footswitchable amp (comes with a footswitch) with completely independent level controls for each channel. Channel one goes from "the Edge" to "Angus", channel two goes from "Angus" to "Eddie VH"/"Steve Stevens". It has a series effect loop with a level control, a built in DI with level control. It runs on 12AX7's and EL34's. The stock tubes are ready for quality rocking with authentic classic tones. My ONLY complaint so far is that it takes 20 minutes of tweaking after buying it to find your sounds as opposed to my old orange, and old marshall JTM 45 where you just "dime" all the controls and rock. Cant complain too much tho because you can really control your sound to a uniquely honed edge.

I play mostly with an old Standard LP because im a humbucking kind of guy. I like SATURATION in my distortion, so my review will not do much for all the blues guys out there. I love meat and potatoes rock. Aerosmith, Eddie, Slash, Angus, and some flashier too like Def Leppard and Billy Idol. This amp NAILS it. The gain channel is QUIETunlike my orange i Just sold. I wanted to throw THAT thing out the window. This amp has a master volume so you can do sparkling U2 tones to crunchy JTM 45 tones on channel one and blistering plexi on channel two. All of it sounds 110% authentic. Real dynamic tube sound.

It feels like a tank and none of the knobs feel plasticy or loose. It is LOUD if you want, or use the master volume to play at home. Either way it has whatever you need. Since I just bought it, ill give it a 7

No idea so I'll give em the benefit of the doubt and give em a 7. Your not in the amp business for 50 years without being good to the folks who made you!

Ive played for 18 years and have owned an old Gibson tube amp, an old Vox pacemaker, a Marshall JTM 45 an Orange Rockerverb, and now this. At 800 bucks brand new, how good could this amp be? The answer is simple... This is the greatest rock amp I have ever played. None of that feeling " i love this tone, but if only it had THIS..." . I almost didnt want to write this review because i dont want every Tom Dick and Harry to own my new secret weapon. This amp has the tone and verstility i always dreamed of, vox sparkling cleans and marshall plexi dirt. Thank goodness it needs a few minutes of tweaking, maybe ppl will try it at the store and give up right away.

Bought it new for a stupidly good price on boxing day. It's got exactly the features I've been wanting in an amp. Basically it's a half plexi, half JCM800 with a bit of voxy bite thrown in. I'll probably never use the direct out, I prefer my SM57. Comes with a great looking sturdy footswitch, which toggles channels and reverb on/off. I'm giving it a 9 because the only thing I wish it had was an actual level control for the effects loop, not just a high/low slider.

100 Watts, 4x12AX7, 4xEL34. Spring Reverb

Front Panel:
Two channels with independent controls and a master volume. Single input mounted next to a channel select switch. Plexi-style Power and Standby switches, really nice compared to Marshall's usual plastic rockers.

Channel one has controls for Volume, Reverb, Tone Cut, Bass, Middle, Treble, and Gain.

Channel Two has controls for Volume, Reverb, Prescience, Bass, Middle, Treble, and Gain. Also, there are two mini switches for "Bright" and "Fat".

Back Panel:
Two speaker outputs with an impedance select switch (8/16). Effects loop Send/Return with Bypass switch and Hi/Low switch. Direct out with a level control, balanced XLR and unbalanced 1/4" inputs, and two ground lift switches. Foot switch input.

I'm running it through a beat up but great sounding 300w Fender 4x12. I play a variety of guitars (LTD, Ibanez, Yamaha, THC, Dean, Aria Pro II, Squier) with a variety of pickups (Duncans, DiMarzios, Mighty Mites and a few good OEMs).

Channel one:
It goes from twangy, full bodied, and detailed clean to cranky, crunchy Plexi. The cleans aren't particularly Fenderish, but they're a lot warmer than modern Marshalls. I can hear hints and nuances of AC30 with the right tweaks. Using the tone cut can help bring it out.
The Tone Cut functions somewhat like conventional guitar tone pot, only it's wired backwards so it rolls off highs as you turn it higher. I use it fine tune after I've set the other EQ knobs. It's quite versatile, a lot of different tones can be achieved by tweaking knobs. The reverb on this channel is simply delicious. I have no other word to describe it. I absolutely love this channel.

Channel two:
At first I wasn't too impressed with the high gain sounds of this channel. I was muddy and lacked definition and harmonics. I play a lot of Metal, including Slayer, Testament, Anthrax, Exodus, Pantera, and more shreddy stuff like Racer X and Yngwie Malmsteen. I require a lot of definition and punch, with no muddiness and it just wasn't cutting it. It was great for fat, overdriven, midrangey lead tones, but trying to play metal rhythm was just messy. After a few hours of tweaking I started to find it's zone. I had to dial down the bass quite a bit, click on the bright switch and dime the presence, treble, and gain to get a useable thrash tone. I tried an MXR 10 band EQ in the loop with a bit of volume/gain boost and a custom scoop. Better...but when I added a Boss noise suppressor with a compression/sustainer in its loop, with the right tweaks I was suddenly in heaven. That great boosted-about-to-explode JCM800 tone I had heard on all my favourite thrash records all my life is finally mine. I didn't expect this from a Vox.

One of the more Voxy elements of this amp is the way it responds to dynamics. If you're the kind of player that has lots of control and tweaks the volume knob all the time you'll really appreciate the responsiveness.

I'm happy with it now, but it gets a nine because I had to use pedals to make it perfect. Without them it's a great classic rock amp, but not a metal amp.

I haven't owned it long enough to really comment on it's durability, but from what I can see it's meticulously put together and well decked out. Time will have to tell, but I don' foresee any problems. It looks sturdy as hell, but classy at the same time.

Never dealt with them. Hopefully they're not dicks.

I like the clean/crunch channel more than any new Marshall or Fender, and it's got enough of that Voxy vibe for me to not want an AC30.

The lead channel is great for fat solos and classic rock, and with the right tweaks and pedals can be great for metal.

If you're looking for something that's simple, versatile, responsive and unique do yourself a favour and give one of these a test drive.

This is simple: The famous AC30CC with 70 additional watts + pretty rough overdrive/distortion channel. Plenty of power, when needed.

Two channels: one for clean, one for overdrive/distortion.

It has no tremolo, but I would't use tremolo anyway. The reverb is more than enough for me.

It has more than everything I need.

Like they say on manufacturer's website: "...can produce many flavours of tone, from pristine clean to impressive high-gains, and all points between." As far as I'm concerned, that's true.

But I don't use the second channel at all. When I want od/ds, I take it from stompboxes. But I can say the second channel can get nasty if you want it to.. On the other hand, it could be just a slight overdrive on lower settings. It can also be a nice boost for solos etc.

I just wanted an AC30 with more power and this is it. Of course, this is not a JMI VOX and doesn't sound as good, but it's closer than I would have thought. I was surprised, when I first time plugged in to this.

Many 50 watt amps start to distort pretty early volume stages. If you want the clean sound of AC30 with more power to stay clean at higher volume, this is the way to go.

I play it through greenbacks, but I don't think it would mind to be plugged with Alnico Blues... :)

I'm the second owner. The amp is 1,5 years old and no problems with tubes or anything.

I haven't had to use it. I like the way VOX puts information to their website.

Maybe some people would like some kind of O/P switch to reduce power. This switch would change the power output valves, so that it could be switched to 50 watts for example. But for me this would be worth nothing, because I wanted one amp, that has enough power.

Lucy You got some splainin to do....

I wrote the last review on this amp, after having it for one week. There is no doubt about it, it is an awesome amp. But as some of the people below have mentioned the tubes supplied are crap. A few of the tubes in my amp blew after 4 hours of jamming one friday night.

So buyer be ware you might as well buy new good tubes for the amp when you buy the amp. They will blow.

I bought this Vox head brand new.

Amazing clean and distortion tones, you can achieve anything from a soft O.D to a full out blistering metal distortion. Just by playing with channel 2.

It had 2 channels, Effects Loop and Direct out for recording with a volume knob for the direct out.

Clean channel has an amazing knob called "Tone Cut" which adjusts the range of the mid frequency. (all the way left is more treble all the way right is more bass), along with the mid bass treb and reverb knobs. The distortion channel has the 3 band eq with a reverb and the classic presence knob. It also has two toggles one labeled fat and bright. Guess what they do. Yes they add more bass or more treble. Its a smart simple design. And 100 watts of pure tube power is more than enuf for any band situation.

Do yourself a favor try this amp.

I bought the Vox AC100cph new. I've always thought the only good amps on the market are Marshall's, boy was I wrong. When I went shopping for my new amp, I went looking for a Marshall, but nothing had THAT tone. You know the tone you hear on Hendrix albums, or Beatles albums. I just didn't like the distortion on any Marshall I tried the clean was good (but common paying over 1300 bux for a clean channel... not for me). But across the room, in a corner stuffed away behind the Mesa's, I caught a golden gleam from the corner of my eye. The Vox AC-100cph. On a whim I decided to give it a try. Right away I was blown away. I messed with the clean channel and almost cryed when I heard how noiseless it was. No hiss, No buzz like I was getting on some of the marshall cleans. But then I messed around with the distortion. And I got the same thing when I was not playing there was no unwanted sound comming thrue. No Buzz, no hiss. Even with the gain maxed out. All I got to say is thank the rock gods for Vox amps. I am a convert.

I haven't had any problems with it. And don't expect I will.

Havn't had to use it. So thats a good thing. Lots of info on their site though.

I've been playing for 8 or more years, I play a Gibson SG.
I would cry if it was stolen. And then buy another.
Only love for this amp.
I put this up against a couple $1300+ Marshall amps and the marshall's couldn't cut it.

Aside from being a 100watt all tube amp with some bright puchy el34's welded in the monster heavyweight, its got some pretty awsome features! Loop effects, a hookup for direct sound recording (keep your speakers plugged in!), two channels, channel one can be clean and clear or you can even push it to full gain and get some real cruchy sounds similar (not the same, just similar) to Nickelback, Theroy of a Deadman, Chevelle, etc. Its my favorite channel, even pushed the its got a lot of punch and its bright. Channel two can blow your socks off! Even if you leave the two "fat" and "bright" switches alone its got balls!!!!Lots of'em!!!!Turn up the gain and pow. Look for sound similar to Slayer, Slipknot, Tool, Pantera etc...The "bright" switch cleans up the notes a little and the treble is boosted. Hit the "fat" switch and its a bass lovers dream. Notes arn't very pronounced at all. Just a messy meaty sound, but lots of room to adjust and make it clearer if you play with the gain and eq and presence. Turn down the gain to 1/4 to 1/2 and it get s little more clear. Channel one has a nice little tool called "tone cut". I don't know the true definition of it but what I hear is that its like a tone knob on the guitar. It cuts down the treble when you turn it up. On channel 2 you'll find a "presence" knob like on what you see on alot of high gain amps. I loved playing with this little key! Turn the presence knob up and every string became more clear and the gain sounded tighter! The amp comes with a dual foot switch. Its pretty heavy duty and I had no issues with clicking or popping sounds when changing channels. Its got jacks for two sets of speakers. Ususally there are three when it comes to a 100 watt amp. There is spring reverb on both channels. In Channel one (clean) its a great effect and sounds good. Wish it was a little more pronounced but its nice overall. The reverb on channel 2 for me is useless but its there if I ever want it.

This amps sound quality is best described as versitile!!! I run a Gibson Les Paul Studio with the original humbuckers. The clean channel is very clean until you get to 3/4's volume and thats with the gain @ 1/4. After that your starting to brake up a bit. Channel two sounds amazing when your given'er on the power chords and the drop d. However, when you go above 1/2 volume and gain the 2nd channel (i am told all amps do this) there is a high frequency squeal if your on the bridge pickup. Its annoying but I have had similar issues playing on a JCM800 and a Mesa single rectifier solo 50. I plan on getting a noise gate. Hopefully that will tame the freq! I am running a VOX a412 cabinet with the Wharfdale speakers. I love em! Overall there is such a range of sound styles you can get out of this amp, its all a matter of sitting down and finding your sound. I play (or try to) anything from Metallica, Nickelback and Tool to Stevie Ray Vaughn and even Clapton.

No issues.

The company I deal with has good prices. Thats the only reason I go there. As far as VOX's attention to their sale reps...this is an area VOX has to attend to. I have owned a VOX (AD100VT) before and every sales person I talked to says VOX is good but they try to move you in a different direction. VOX needs a fanbase. These amps won't do it on their own, they need some reputable endorsements by big name bands. The amps are great, VOX needs someone to let them know just how good they are. No repairs so far so they get a 10 for customer support, cause I haven't had to use them yet. All their information is available on their website. Not much info out there about the amps yet. Maybe a magazine will do an editorial...someday.

If your in the market for a amp like I was, my advise is to obviously listen to yourself or someone else who plays like you on this amp. Try a Mesa/Marshall/Traynor/Fender/Peavey/HIWATT/H&K etc... and think of the music you like to play and even stuff you might play later on. To me this amp was the most versitile and best bang for the buck! I would have bought a MESA dual rectifier if I had the extra money. But the MESA head was more and the cabinet was almost double of the VOX cab. Not that its a better cab but you pay for a name now a days. I compared this amp to a more affordable MESA Single Rectifier (and lots of people say that VOX is no where near a MESA........B!S! To me the VOX blows it away!)and a Marshall Vintage Modern and a Marshall JCM2000 (50 watt)and a JCM800. They are all wonderful amps! If I had the money I'd get em all! But the VOX is more the underdog. Its got a crystal clear channel and its got that mean side to it on channel 2. Soooooo mean its scary. I just didn't feel great about the squeal on channel 2 with a bridge pickup and high volume (I did later plug in other guitars and it made it better sometimes.) but I'll survive and throw in a gate or supressor. It could just be my guitar is in need of a good set up too. And remember anything in its class is half the power. Mind you the MESA was pretty damn loud for a 50 watt! But I love my VOX. Its mine and I know that since it isn't as popular as the other brands I know that I have the tool to create my own sound that no one has.....yet.

vox features, the versatility of a fender twin reverb set up almost like a marshall with a clean to grungy version of an AC30 SICK!

It cuts through on high end and has chunky bass. The fat distortion sounds so saturated fat and punchy that it feels overdriven in an explosive sort of way...it sounds like an atom bomb.

Ive never had a problem with all of the cheaper vox amps I've owned.

I got the bad wheels replaced twice on my 4X12 cab but now I use a dolly. The amp sounds better on the ground then up on wheels to me.

I've been playing for a while and have owned and operated in a loud progressive setting several vox amps as well as peavy yamaha etc but I can honestly say that I have tried many many amps from all different companies and vox always sounds the best to me. All expansions of government and any untested experimental social programs involving increased taxes are completely unconstitutional and undermine the very core of reasoning behind the existence of democracy leading us towards "idiocracy". This vox would be a good tool to distribute reason and logic to the disaffected masses choking down Nickelback via good songwriting and volume settings around three quarters, not 11.

Well, I bought it 1 month ago after testing it in a music store.
This amp is from 2007, a 100 watt all tube amplifier made in China.
2 Channels, clean & overdrive with many switches like bright & fat.
Fat is the "Lead channel" and its a pity, why you can??t control this switch with the footswitch, thats why just a 9.
You have toncut in the cleanchannel which is very handy, very nice passive eq and a reverb, also a gainswitch which is pretty unusual but cool when you want the punchy ac30 sound at acceptable volumes !

In channel 2 is presence and a bright switch, combined with gain and reverb.
Effect loop and active di and all the recording stuff :D

Well, i run the ac100cph thorugh an ad412, unusual but the neodogs do their job pretty well !
Punchy bass, clean at high volume with that ac30 feeling !
Not a perfect ac30, but you get a pretty intensive idea how a real ac30 sounds like and this is all I need !
I use a fender strat which is pretty cool for that rory gallagher stuff and a schecter for the sitortionstuff, because with the fat switch the sound gets pretty ugla distorted in my opinion.
In contrast, with hb the sound is getting pretty much into metal !
Like marshall style, which surprised me, I mean i have a VOX !!
All in all : Perfect sound Quality with much variety because you don't need effect pedals to get a nic overdrive with your ac30 .. all included !

Well, I have i just a month .. it gave one time a pretty annoying bang and i though my speaker or a vlave blown out, but I think the nreason was, that i had my rack on the amp where the louver is.. since then.. no problems at all, but china .. it does not make me feel safety at all :D

Never had to deal with them, yet, but i heard that they are very helpful !

Well i tested many tube amps available and this amp is very versatile, has many features, generates the Vox sonds with useful expansion like the dirty high gain channel and the record things and if it would come from uk it would be perfekt, but I would buy this thing again if it were stolen !

100 watt head. 2 separate channels. Check vox site.

Tried it out in a shop with PRS singlecut SE and a VOX cabinet. The clean channel is really nice. Chimey and punchy. You do get pretty much gain/overdrive at this channel. Cool.
Channel 2: Gain.. Punch.. Biting.. Smooth and raw at the same time.. Bottomline is that this amp works for any style, except maybe metal. Did not try that kind of sound.. Kind of Marshall-like type of sound.. IN A VOX!!?? I don't know if i am buying this amp now, but it is on my "want to have some day"-list. This list includes Bad Cat Hot Cat30R, Genz-Benz Diablo 60c, Mad Professor CS40, Carr slant6V6, Mesa Road King II.. I urge you to at least testdrive it, and see for yourself. I really liked it. I also tested a Genz-Benz Diablo 60C 1x12", side by side, and they sounded very different. The Diablo was much smoother in the sound, and actually i like the clean channel better. But the AC head was much tighter in the bass register, and i really liked both of them. I've heard that the VOX cabinet isn't the best, so try more than 1 cab.. Good luck

Played for 19 years.. Had lots of gear, and still got my share.. I'm going to buy this amp during this year.. It's a good sounding amp.