Vox AC4TV

Nothing fancy, obviously, but everything you need for a great raw tone. Volume control has an enormous effect on the sound, and the tone control allows for finer tuning. Attenuator is great for people living in apartments or just wanting to save their ear drums.

I prefer to keep it simple and avoid clutter, and as such have held off on buying pedals, so I would've gladly payed 50 more dollars for a reverb tank in this baby.

This amp, coupled with my '72 Mustang, sound truely incredible. Crunches in a beautiful way. Clean tones are preactically impossible to dial in. If you're looking for clean, check out the small tube offerings from fender and epiphone. I've heard they overdrive much less quickly.

I've tried a good number of amps, tube and SS; only the AC30 can top the AC4, and I think that's fair. However, you can can gold tones out of the AC4 without ruining your hearing or pissing anybody off.

The amp sounds good with my friend's DOT knowck-off (humbuckers), and you can get wild sounds out of an acoustic electric, but is really meant to be coupled with some hot single coils.

With my single coil Mustang, the tone is bright, but not harsh, warm, but not muddy. Top-notch beatlesque sound.

Practically unbeatable. This little fella sounds awfully big, and is perfect for studio recordings.

Tricky Question! I had a curious experience here, and can't fairly say who or what is to blame, so I'll tell you what happened and skip the rating.

Bought a "DEMO" model with full warantee from Sweetwater for $30 off, which crapped out after 1 week. While I wouldn't really know, the way it crapped out (slowly and crunchily) leads me to believe it was nothing but a tube going, rather than the failure of some integral component. Probably got driven mad hard and moved around all the time on the showroom floor. It was replaced with a brand new amp which has given me zero trouble for a month a half.

Couldn't tell you.

Superb amp. If you use single coils, and you like crunchy, bluesy, beatley tone, you'll be very happy with this amp. Forget about getting clean tones.

It doesn't matter this amp has no features - it does one thing and that one thing it does as good as I've ever heard it in my 30 years of playing guitar - but for those of you looking for lots of amp models and so on, buy something else

I have several guitars - I originally tried the amp with an american strat I was trying out in a shop and decided I liked the amp more than the guitar, so I bought it on the spot. I have a custom built guitar by a guy called John Paulmann which has EMG SA SA 85 configuration and a tone booster circuit which was also custom wound - it sounds terrific with that. I tried it with my Gretch - two standard humbuckers, you really get the sound out of the guitar using this amp, also with my tele which has setmour duncans - quacks beautifully. In the past I have spend thousands trying to get this sound and her it is for ??180 ... what can I say

Only had it a day

Never had a problem with Vox stuff - I have a VT amo and Tonelab LE, all going well

I have been playing for 30 years this year - I am a studio session guitarist. I would buy this amp again without a second thought. The sound is a one off - it is what it is, a straight tube punch which guitarists all over the world spend forever trying to simulate with other kit - one sound only but perfect on that sound. I had no need to compare, I have this sound in my head as I've spend many hours in studios tinkering around for this very sound using very very very expensive gear, and not getting it most of the time. Wish it had onboard reverb, but who cares - just put a reverb on the input.

Above all, don;t buy this amp if you are after a one amp fits all solution - you will be disappointed. I have thousands of ?? of outboard gear and a couple more amps to get my sounds, so I'm only looking for this sound straight out of the amp

4 watt tube amp. 1x10 cabinet. External speaker jack (16 ohms) disables internal speaker when connected. Volume and tone knobs. What else would one need besides some reverb?

Using an Gibson SG Gothic, standard tuning, to play mostly rock and blues.

Not as warm a sound as I would like. The tone knob is only effective at high volumes. The attenuated settings (1 watt and 0.25 watt) sound very muddy and the breakup does not sound as good as the 4 watt setting. The 4 watt mode is the only way to use this amp with this guitar to get a quality sound. The breakup on the amp is not smooth enough for blues, I do not think I could get a blues sound out of this amp for the life of me with this guitar, but it does sound good for some 60's pop music.

The sound is terribly muddy on the neck pickup and does not have enough midrange to provide warmth or clarity. The bridge pickup sounds worlds better and provides many useful sounds.

Overall, I think this amp has uses for pop music and some very light rock tones and for $250 it may be the best deal out there, but it sounds muddy with humbuckers and it is not the best for blues. I think a 10 is reserved for amps with near perfect tone, Plexis, 5e3s come to mind, and I would call a 5 to be good. This amp is closer to a 6 in my ratings, but it does sound good. I think I may try single coils soon to brighten up the tone.

Too cheap too care.

Too cheap to care.

Been playing for about seven years and I have a very discriminating ear so most amps sound like junk to me. If you like Carvin nomad, then you have no clue about tone.

This amp is the best bang for the buck out there, but the sound isn't warm or smooth enough to be anything more than good.

This amp has very few features per se, but the power attenuator is a critical feature for me not present on far more expensive amps. It allows me to get an overdriven sound at low volumes, perfect for recording or playing in a city dwelling.

Other than the wattage setting, it has tone and volume. Rolling some tone off does have a major impact on sound as well.

Excellent for an amplifier at this price range. Before settling on this amp, I tried a Fender Blues Junior which I also liked quite a bit. I finally settled on this amp due to its ability to overdrive more easily. I upgraded the tubes to JJ's and have been very happy with the sound quality.

My greatest surprise has been just how loud this amp gets. While I bought it for home practice and for recording, I found it to be quite loud. In fact, I've been bringing it to band rehearsals. I play it in a full band setting and have not had to crank the volume past the half way mark on the 4 watt setting. At that setting, I'm able to get natural overdriven tone when I play aggressively.

I also have a British-made Vox AC15 with a Blue speaker. While my small amp does not have the range of expression of its larger brother, its portability is wonderful and it is able to get great Vox tone in a small package.

Have had this amp for three months and have used it regularly. So far so good.

No experience with Vox support.

A wonderful amp at this price range.

It is perfect for home recording (remember that Jimmy Page used small wattage amps to record much of Zeppelin's early work - a trick he learned from his session days in London - small amps have big sound when mic'ed).

It is perfect for city dwellers with neighbors and noise sensitivity issues. The 1/4 watt setting gets great tone at low volume.

Surprisingly, it is also great for band settings if you're not in a volume war with other guitarists (it will be quickly outmatched if this is the case).

While I'll bring my AC15 to club gigs, it would probably be fine if mic'ed. I may bring this as well to round out a stereo sound.

You know by now - 10' speaker, attenuator, volume, tone knobs, tubes. Pretty bare bones, but for what it does, it doesn't need anything more. Play with these knobs and your guitar's pickups and tone knob, and you have a pretty versatile little amp. The beauty is in the simplicity.

So I give it a 10 considering the intended usage. It seems this amp is built for teles - you can get a real wide variety of clean to medium gain sounds with them. Once you get up there on the volume, it seems to get too muddy for practical usage, but that's okay, it's just not meant for high gain usage. Having said that, you can put your OD of choice in front of it and there you go - take it wherever you wanna go. Speaking of pedals, this amp takes them all on with nooooo problems. Maybe not so great with a big muff though. Other than that, you can throw any pedal at it - I've used delays, compressors, envelopes, and all kinds of overdrives with excellent results. Back to the tele - you know all those funk sounds you've heard on your fav 70's tunes? Well this amp plus a tele IS that sound. It has some honk, some beef, some grit, and lots of bite on tap, all depending on what you do with the knobs. As for humbuckers - the SG sounds fun through it, and the Les Paul needs to be used at lower volumes/higher wattages cuz the output just overwhelms the amp, but once dialed properly, it sounds great on the bridge pickup. I just can't believe how sweet this amp sounds. I don't have enough good words for it. It just inspires you to play more.

It's fairly new, so we'll see....seems well built.

Bought second hand (I can't believe someone decided not to keep this future classic), so I'll probably never get to this.

Now traditionally I would want any of my amps to be beefier/louder/gainier, but this amp made me think a bit differently about that. It's the amp I play though most now. It's just got that clean/dirty clean thing down perfect in my book (ie best at less than max volume). It's also perfect for getting inspiring tones at lower volumes, but it can still be a bit loud for apartment playing - oh well, my neighbours can deal! It may qualify as 'boxy' sounding, but that's part of the charm in my book. I would call it 'compact' sounding, really tight. I picked mine up for $200 Canadian. Deal of the century in my books.

Paid: Rs. 12,000 (Indian)
Purchased it new from Furtados, Pune

What's good:
This amp features real tube amplification and a 10" Celestion speaker.
Other features are available on the VOX website.
Its a small amp but packs a lot of power. Enough if your playing the blues, classic rock or jazzy stuff. (Not metal)
Pricing is awesome for such a brilliant sound.

What isn't:
A line out option to connect directly to a mixer for live stuff.

I use a squier with vintage Japanese strat pickups.
Its practically noiseless (hum) compared to my older amps even on high gain. it has this awesome, amazing clean sound until 5 on the volume, you can eve add or subtract tone to give a shimmering brightness to your leads.
Going over 5 on the volume it begins to distort like any real tube and is usable till 8 i would say. However it is crunchy and could be used for blues to rock.
I would rather use a pedal for the overdrives and distortion.

I have recently bought it so cant really comment on that.

1 yr warranty

I have been playing since '97. I own a Samick H-S-S guitar and other overdrive and effect foot pedals. Considering the cost and sound quality I'd definitely purchase it again. If my budget was more i'd go in for a Vox AC 15 instead.

Features as far as lots of eq, or reverb- nothing to speak of. 1 tone and one volume. However the built in attentuator is SO good to have. Geez, why didnt someone think of this before?

Sound quality is VERY GOOD. Its not an ac30, but it sure gets you close. Clean is better at the 4 watt setting (obviously) but it gets nice and dirty at the 1 and .25 setting. It is classic vox all the way. My strat sounded very good through it, as did my les paul (both better in the bridge positions), but when I plugged my gretsch 6120 into it it was pure sonic loveliness. 250 bucks? are your serious?!

I don't gig. My amps just come home from the store and then spend the rest of their lives sitting all cozy in my studio

never dealth vox before.

Professional songriter, producer and musican- playing guitar for 20 years. I am not a shredmaster- but I play failry well. I love small tube amps (they work best for recording)...and I have to say that the ac4 sounds as good as anything I own. I have a crate palmino, and a few blackface fenders, including a champ which would be the best amp to compare the ac4 to. The champ is better clean, but the ac4 smokes the fender when dialing in some grit. No pedals needed. There is nothing i hate about this amp and i am very happy to have it.

Vox hit a home run with this baby-

New AC4TV one channel 4-watt combo, newer version with the 10" speaker. Very few features, just knobs for tone, volume and wattage attenuator switch. Factory Russian Sovtek tubes, better than what you would normally see in a $250 "practice" amp. It has a 16-ohm speaker output on the reverse (veeery handy). It's a no-frills, low-cost tube amp. 4-tube watts is plenty of power for my (home, practice/occasional jam) needs. The upgrades mentioned below made a big difference.

I use Fender single-coil along with PRS and Gibson humbucker guitars, and I use this amp for light break-up cleans and mid-gain tones. It can do the more distorted stuff, but those sounds can get a little fuzzy for my tastes when it comes to small low-power amps. Now that the Celestion Gold 10" version is available, I'm mainly writing this review to share my experiences pre and post upgrades. The other reviews are correct, this amp sounds great bone-stock for the price, especially when using the speaker output to run a quality cab/speakers. I wasn't thrilled with the factory Celestion VX-10 speaker and I could really hear the amp's capabilities when using other extension cabs. The factory speaker is adequate, but it felt lightweight and "cheap" like other "custom" Celestions I see in lower-cost cabinets these days. I wanted to be realistic considering the price and small enclosure, but then I plugged it into my Celestion Gold-equipped Marshall 4x12...wow. The amp drives it very well and surprising Vox tones oozed out of that little, inexpensive 4-watt combo! I decided to look online for 10" replacement speakers and learned that Celestion just released the 10" Gold...seemed like karma, but I wasn't sure it would fit depth-wise based on the specs. It would be close. I took the chance and ordered the speaker for $199, and I also dug out a NOS Telefinkin EL84 that I had sitting around. The Gold was a perfect fit with not a mm to spare! The power tube/speaker upgrades took about 15 minutes and it now sounds like a different amp when using as a combo. MUCH clearer, less harsh, more touch sensitive and articulate. The cabinet has hidden port slots under the grill cloth on the front, and the speaker breathes nicely. It's still a tad boxy-sounding due to the single 10" speaker and small enclosure, but I can't imagine how it could sound sweeter considering what I have in it. And it will only get better as the speaker breaks in. 8 before upgrades, 10 after.

Only owned for a few months, no problems yet, can't say how it will hold up. Like most Vox amps, not much ventilation for the tubes to breathe, but it's only a single EL84 and pre-amp tube in there.

Never dealt with Vox customer service.

Been playing about 15 years, some stage but mostly weekend bands. I've owned many quality and boutique amps, including an AC15 and first-run AC30HW combos recently. Both required too much volume to sound good for my needs and because of that I didn't see the value in keeping them. I've owned some beautiful tube amps and sold most for that same reason. I'm probably not alone there. You can easily dial in a sweet spot on this amp at reasonable home, recording or small(er) gig volumes. If you want a surprisingly authentic Vox sound and tube feel at truly reasonable volumes and for low bucks, your ship has arrived. Obviously not everyone will be interested in spending $250 for upgrades on an amp that costs about that, but it sounds and performs like a boutique tube amp for about $450 when the upgrades are performed. The speaker can always be removed (and sold) later if needed. With or without the upgrades, it's hard to beat this one.

Made in 2009 in Asia.

The AC4TV is versatile in the Brit Pop/Rock genre. It's funny to read some reviews of folks that compare it to amps that are 10X the price. Come on, seriously? The AC4TV is great, it has that classic rock tone, and the tube saturation is perfect considering its a 10" speaker.

I can easily use the amp for anything from pop plugging in pedals to classic bare bones rock and roll. Think The Smiths, U2, and any other British rock/pop bank.

One channel is all you need. Three knobs: Volume, Tone, Attenuator.

I don't think that for the purposes of this amp you need more. If you want more you have to pay more or get a modeling amp. Just learn how to control your guitar and play with the tone to mold the sound. I get an incredible range of tone.

I only use this amp for practice at home but it could hold a small band including the drummer. However you won't get the clean tones at higher volumes unfortunately. The amp is ideal for home.

The sole fact that it has a real tube, and it is VOX with the classic tone make it perfect.

Mainly play with a Fender Stat MIM single coils and a Gibson Les Paul Plus. The Fender Strat gets the most versatile tone; the Les Paul has a sweet tone in this AC4TV.

I love the tone since I play mostly British rock and pop songs.

The amp is clean all around, even when you get to the 9 or 10 mark, you have a controlled distortion from the tube saturation. The 8" saturates too early and at 10 it is useless! Do not get the 8"... save up for the 10".

The tubes start saturating at a little before 5/10, 5-7 it has the perfect tone, 8-10 you're rocking! Tone control is perfect. Much better than my old Crate V58 (new model is Crate V5).

Distortion like I said before is controlled and perfect. Not too much, not too little, just perfect. Play with your controls and you will get your tone.

Only had the amp for a couple of weeks. It looks sturdy, strong construction. I would not be afraid if it was dropped.

Never had to deal with Customer Support other than registering it which was a breeze.

Warranty is only 90 days... not enough but it would be asking too much to get something extended. You can buy warranties at large instrument stores for 10% of the price.. totally worth it.

I've been playing music for 17 years and professionally for 12 years.

I would definitely buy this amp again if it was lost or stolen.

I love the attenuator capabilities, going from .25 to 1 to 4W is great. I live in an apartment and I have not heard any complaints. I play in the 1W until 10pm.

Compared this to the Crate V5, Fender Champ, and some solid states. This one blew all of them out of the water based on the real tubes.

Very simple amp. Volume, tone, attenuator.

I first purchased the 8" speaker version of this from GC, which I returned to get the 10" speaker version. The smaller speaker didn't allow much clean headroom, and had almost no bass. The 10" version is exactly what I'm looking for. I set the volume on about 8 and roll back my gtr volume, just like the old days. I'm finding myself using less of my pedals and more of my gtr/amp. Comments on the amp were "very organic" and "warmer than your other amp" (AC15/Cel Blue).
Plus, it weighs under 20# and is plenty loud enough for my uses. I'm selling my AC15 and getting another AC4TV for home.

I haven't cracked the case to look inside yet, but others report good build quality. With only 2 tubes and low power, I would hope for good reliability.

I hope it doesn't break.

Awesome amp at a great price point. Perfect for church, recording, small venues. If it only had reverb...

The Vox AC4-TV was first produced in 2009. It's an all tube amp - with 10 inch Celestion speaker - with variable watt settings - and only lists for 250 Bucks! I got mine on ebay, brand new, for only $230!!!!!

Having said that - there isn't another tube amp out there, for this price, that sounds as nice, and also has the variable watt settings at the flip of a switch. This really makes it versatile. Solo practice amp at 1/4 watt, garage amp for jamming at 1 watt, and a gigging amp for small to mid sized clubs at 4 watts. Plenty of power for me playing in a three piece blues band with a bass player, and drummer with a cocktail set.

So my advise - If you need something with more volume, or you want more knobs on your amp - get a different amp. It does not pay to worry about swapping out tubes or speakers in an amp at this price range. It's always going to be a $200 amp no matter how much money you sink into it. But for the money - and for what it is - it's perfect!

I play the Blues using single coil Strats & Teles & this amp sounds great, from clean to dirty and greasy. Best little amp you will find for the money. Oh, and by the way - the tone control on my amp works just fine, bass to treble, it has a nice useable range.

I've had mine for a few months and have played it for long hours at a stretch, with no problems. Sure, some folks worry about the heat & the enclosed cabinet & burning tubes up - well I say BS. There are vents in the top of the cab, And there really isn't much heat emerging, I can hold my hand very comfortably just above the vents. There appears to be plenty of natural ventilation through the holes in the speaker panel & up through the vents. If the tubes ever burn out, I'll replace them. On that note, you only need to remove 9 screws to get the back off, and guys, it ain't that F'n hard. This amp should last a long time.

Who knows - I've never had a problem with a Vox unit.

I've been playing 40 years, I would buy another one of these amps any time. They are GREAT for what they are. back to the tweak geeks - You can sink a lot of money into this - or any other amp- to try to make it sound a smidgeon better, but why? Buy an amp that meets your needs that sounds the way you like it. There are plenty of choices out there.

I bought an AC4TV about 3 weeks ago, and I'm really starting to dig it.

Out of the box it sounded a bit harsh to me. I replaced the Sovteks with some NOS US tubes and that smoothed things out a bit, but the overdrive still was on the brittle side. I was even considering a speaker swap.

After having used it for a while now, it seems that the stock Celestion VX10 is starting to break in now, because the tone has improved significantly and the rough tonal edges are starting to wear down.

I'm on the fence about the 1958-style aesthetics. I would have preferred that they used 1960s cosmetics instead - but then the cabinet would've needed to be taller to allow room for the horizontal front panel. The off-white tolex does look very attractive though.


The two attenuator settings are genuinely useful, particularly when you don't want to disturb your family or roommates. You can get some serious power chord crunch at the 1/4 watt setting, but at bedroom volume. With each attenuation level, the tone thickens and deepens. If it gets too dark in the 1 watt or 1/4 watt modes, you can bring back the chime by turning the tone knob up. Or keep it sounding thick and play some blues!

I'm impressed that Vox has managed to capture the tonal characteristic of an AC30 and put it in a 4-watt $250 amp. The AC4TV really sounds like a Vox. It even has that Vox 'smell' when the tubes get hot - must be an EL84 thing. (My '02 AC30TBX and the '85 Silver Jubilee AC30 I used to own also have that smell.) It does sound box-y, but then again, so does an AC30. Being a pipsqueak of an amp, you can 'shape' its tone by placing it on different surfaces and at different heights. I like to stand at least 3-4' in front of it, to allow the sound to 'bloom.'

For a 4-watt amp, it has a decent amount of headroom, and its cleans sound really sweet and, yes, chimey. You can successfully dial in a bit of dirt - just enough to dig in - without the amp farting out. At full blast, the overdrive is tight enough to pick on open chords without everything getting messy. The highs do tend to get a bit harsh at full blast, but like I said before, it seems to be smoothing out with time and use.

As to whether or not the AC4TV would be a good recording amp, I haven't had a chance to experiment with it that way. My concern is it might sound "small," but I may be wrong about that. With an SM57 in front of it, it just might sound like a 'real' amp on a recording.

I wouldn't consider using it for any kind of use with a band - it's just not loud enough to compete with drums, although it might be OK for a low level coffeehouse gig - with a mic in front of it.

Too soon to tell how reliable it will be.

The build quality of the AC4TV seems very good. I'm not qualified to comment on the quality of the electronics, but the cabinet (particle board - oh well!) is solidly constructed, the tolex is applied cleanly and securely, and the control panel does not feel or look cheap.

I have a few Korg/Vox products and none have ever failed me, so I can't comment on the company's support. That said, the division's VP, Mitch Colby, makes himself very available on various message boards to discuss his companies products and answer questions.

I???ve been a Vox user since the late ???80s, when I acquired a Silver Jubilee AC30 (from the infamous Rose-Morris era). Currently my main amp is a 2002 AC30TBX (made in England at the Marshall factory). In the past I have also owned a ???65 AC50 and regularly use a friend???s JMI-era ???63 AC30. So, I think I have a good idea about what a Vox is supposed to sound like!

As far as my guitar choices go, mine are the traditional mates for Vox amps: ???84 Rickenbacker 330, ???66 Rick 330/12, ???62 Gretsch Tennessean, Fender Highway One Telecaster, etc. I play in a variety of styles and tones, usually with no pedals aside from the occasional use of a compressor.

The AC4TV definitely excels as a practice amp. Prior to buying this I was using a Vox Pathfinder 10. The P10 sounds pretty good for what it is, but it lacked the sparkle and touch-sensitivity of a tube amp. It felt kind of lifeless and flat to me. The AC4TV by comparison is nice'n'lively, like a tube amp should be.

It's not fair to expect the AC4TV to deliver the tonal complexity of an AC30, but you definitely get a good taste of the Vox sound in a small, highly affordable package.

New amp. 4 watt, 1 channel, 1 x el84, 1 x 12ax7, 10" Celestion ceramic magnet speaker. I will be using it for home practice and some jamming. I play blues, funk, classic rock type stuff. For an amp of this size, and price, I must say that I am happy with the simple features: Volume, tone, attenuator, speaker out jack. I would love an alnico speaker, but don't expect it at this price point. This amp has more than enough power - it is LOUD for a 4 watt amp, real loud. I swapped the Sovtek tubes for a JJ EL84 power tube and a Jan Philips 5751 pre-amp tube. I haven't been able to really hear the difference yet, since I have only played at low volume, but even at low volume the tone is a tad richer and sweeter than the Sovteks. I have used JJ EL84's and the Jan Philips 5751's before, and they are good for nice clean (but rich) tones.

I am using a G & L, ASAT Classic Bluesboy, semi hollow, which has a single coil in the bridge and a Seth Lover humbucker in the neck position. So far I think it suits my style perfectly, but I have only played it for about an hour at low volume. Even at the 1/4 watt setting, I could only turn it up one quarter of the way in my apartment, but the tone was impressive. Very rich sounding, even at low volume - I can't wait to crank it up.

Don't know about reliability yet, but when I swapped the tubes, I must say, it looked pretty well made under the hood.

Not sure yet.

I have been playing for 20 years. I have owned a few Mesa Boogie amps,(a studio 22, a Maverick (awesome amp), and another small 20 watt Boogie, but sold them when I stopped playing in bands several years back. I haven't got to play this amp much yet, but will do another review after I do. As of now, I am VERY impressed with it. I like the simplicity, compactness and impressive tone - all especially considering the price. So far I don't hate anything, but I'll see how noisy it is at higher volumes. I compared this amp to the Fender Champ, and the Princeton, but chose the Vox due to the price and good reviews it has received.

Features have been listed in the reviews below. This amp, though, isn't really about features (except the attenuator, of course). This is an amp designed to appeal to those who like it simple, who want to spend more time playing and less time turning knobs and adjusting parameters.

That appeals to me, as well.

However, if a manufacturer is going to add a tone knob to an amp's circuitry, it would be nice if the tone knob actually did something. I mean it: the tone knob does NOTHING. At ALL. Some of the reviewers dismiss that, saying that it doesn't matter that the turning the tone knob doesn't do anything, because they like the tone(s?) they get. Vox is lucky that people are buying in to that nonsense. That's like saying that one doesn't care if a car's steering wheel does anything or not because they like the direction the car takes them in.

Tube amps are all the rage, but many tube amps are more brittle than the Second Millenium's solid state amps. One might convince oneself that there is saturated sweetness because one knows that there is a tube in the mix or because there is something--a TUBE--aglow inside the box, but if you're looking for tube sweetness, I don't believe you're going to find it here unless you want to delude yourself. This amp is brittle.

I got rid of this amp as quickly as I could. It might be last forever. I don't know. And I do not care.

There are many players far better than me who might make this amp sound great. But if you're hoping, based on advertisements, that this amp is the Holy Grail, go in with very realistic expectations. Otherwise, I believe that you will be disappointed.

Little Practice sized amp with Attenuator, which is not at all common. Also has 10" speaker, tone control and external speaker (16 ohm) output jack...all features I use and enjoy.

Well, I sold my Fender Silverface Champ after I bought this little fellow. The Champ just sounded too "clean" after playing the Vox. I play Blues Slide Guitar, and find it a perfect mix with my Epiphone SG 400. It comes across right on spot with Muddy water, Robert Nighthawk, Elmore James, Duane Allman...those very different tones all come through . I do use a bad monkey pedal for low volume practice, but its not needed once the volume goes up above 1/3.
I ran this though my 16 ohm 4 x 12" Celestion cabinet, and on 4 watts it COOKS!!! I believe I could play a small club with drums!..but my aging back led to to just order the matching Vox extension 1 x 12 cabinet ($169.00), which is only 24 pounds!
I don't want clean and clear, so I won't penalize it for not possessing those qualities.

Has been 100% ded realiable for me ...for the week I've owner it...(HA HA!!)

I'll give them a 10, because I feel Sweetwater would stand with me if I ever needed support. I haven't had any problems with any of the many small amps I have owned yet!

Its the amp I've been searching for for the past 20 years or so. I've had most of the popular priced ones, and I love this little fellow. I'd buy it again if were stolen...Plus...its cheap enough that I won't die if it was!
I wish the little LED was a jeweled light...picky, eh?

This is just to add to my review of April 12 below. I've played through the AC4TV and a/b'd it with the Orange AD4, and I'm now even more convinced that, in spite of the cost difference, the Vox is the better sounding amp. The a/b was with Weber Silver Bell alnicos in both amps and NOS tubes (matched Bugle Boy EL84s...one in each amp, and 12AY7s in each). I think the closed cab Vox sounds much better; the Orange seems to have almost no bass response in the a/b, to my ears. I'm not one who likes a lot of bass; my Princeton Reverb and Victoria Regal II have the bass controls down close to or at 1 most of the time. But with this Vox the bass seems just right, and with the tone control I can find the right level of treble with no problem.

Like I said below, and as another reviewer has said, you don't want to open it up unless you have to or, like me, you cannot stop tweaking your sound. Or a tube goes, and as one below says the heat in there worries me too, but aside from opening up the back (which I'm not going to do) I'm not sure what can be done about that.

Overall, especially considering the price, this is a great amp. I agree it sounded great out of the box and no you don't have to make changes like I've made. The stock Celestion was very nice and the stock tubes were ok; I wanted an alnico speaker and had NOS tubes, so they all went in and for my sound/ears I like it even better now. But it's a fab amp stock! Buy one!

Manufactured: 2009. This amp has two tubes - 12AX7 pre-amp and EL84 power amp. It also sports a 10" Celestion speaker. The external finish is a cream Tolex and this cool diamond-pattern speaker fabric. It really looks cool.

I play blues, blues rock, classic rock, moderately heavy rock, pop, some country-ish music. This amp suits those sounds well.

This amp has one channel input, one volume control, one tone control, power attenuator (1/4 watt, 1 watt, and 4 watt), and external speaker jack.

I'd prefer separate gain and volume controls, but I knew exactly what I was buying, so I'm not disappointed. I use all the controls on the amp. I don't use the external speaker jack. However, I have heard it drive a 4 x 12 cabinet and it really can drive it!

I use the amp for small to moderate gigs. It works very well. It is easily mic'd to the PA if more volume is necessary. I stay mostly in the 1 watt setting. The 1/4 watt setting is very nice for the house when practicing alone.

Before I selected this amp, I took MY guitars to the music store and asked to sample amps with my instruments. The store was very pleased to let me do this. Before buying this, or any, amp insist on doing this. If the music store won't let you bring in your stuff to try, go to another store.

I give it a 9 for features. For small, low wattage, tube amps, this one has more than most.

I am using this amp with a 60th Anniversary Stratocaster with stock single-coils, a vintage 1975 Gibson SG with stock, original mini-humbuckers, and a 2007 Gibson Les Paul Custom. The Les Paul has the 490R and 498T humbucking pickup combination.

The amp does very well with these guitars. However, if you've never played through tube amps before, you'll need to relearn how to set up your rig. This amp requires you to manipulate the on-board guitar controls more...which is nice. It is responsive to your guitar and allows the real sound of the guitar come through.

The overdrive is good, but I don't like the amp volume past about 75%, especially with the Les Paul. Those pickups are pretty powerful and tend to break it up more than I like. My only real complaint is that the speaker breaks earlier than I like, though it's breakup is consistent with this type of amp.

I tend to keep the amp's volume about 60% and use a Tubescreamer, which works well with this amp. With this setup you can almost get into Marshall territory, if you set the Tubescreamer gain about 80-90% and adjust the tone controls on the amp, pedal and guitar. I'm not saying it sounds like a Marshall, but with the right combination of on-board overdrive, tone settings, and external pedal settings, you can approach some Zeppelin tones.

I've used some digital effects with it and even they sound pretty good, but I'm discovering that this amp doesn't really need much in the way of effects. The extra fullness provided by the tube fills the sound out quite a bit. The Tubescreamer sounds good. After I mod it to TS-808 spec's I'm anticipating even better tone! This is perhaps the nicest thing about this amp...I feel the need to minimize effects, not add more of them to try to concoct tone. The amp produces the tone.

Cleans are pretty good if you don't go much past 50% on the volume and watch your guitar's volume settings. It does tend to go into distortion a bit earlier than I like, but it's not too bad. You just need to get used to using your guitar's controls as part of the entire setup.

This amp is really quiet. I get only very minor hissing. Nothing out of the ordinary. I don't even get 60Hz hum from my Strat, even when playing just one pickup.

I give it a 9 because it's very good for what it is, but I'd like the cleans to be a bit better.

So far, so good!

I haven't had to deal with Customer Support.

I've been playing for 20 years. I've used all solid-state amps up until now. I've played through Peavey Transtubes, Marshall Valvestates, and small Marshall solid-states. On occassion, I've played through Mesa Lonestar amps.

I'd definitely replace it if lost. I love it's simplicity. I really wanted a small, low-wattaged, no frills amp. I compared it to the Fender Champion 600. I like the Vox a lot better. I suspect that if the Champion were remade with a better, larger speaker it would sound better. But the Vox sounds better to my ear. Of course, the Vox has an EL84 power tube and the Fender has a 6V6, so it's not really an apples to apples comparison, but the Vox sounded bigger to me.

Single channel, 1xEL84 and 1x12AX7 tubes. Volume control, Tone control and Attenuator (4, 1, and 1/4 watt) control. Single 12" Celestion special design speaker in a closed cabinet. 16 ohm speaker out to run a cabinet.

White Tolex with marron diamond grill cloth. Looks very nice. Everyone I've showed it too thought it looked good enought to keep in the classiest of living rooms.

Made in Vietnam.

For the money this amp has nice features. The controls work well and on mine at least the fit and finish are very nice.

The attenuator is really the star of the show features wise and works very well. Its still too loud at 1/4 watt to crank at night and not annoy people in the same small house.

I didn't think I would like the closed back cabinet. Function wise I don't but sonically the cab sounds very nice. I wasn't able to get the cab to fart out.

Changing tubes or servicing in general is a royal pain as the entire amp has to be taken apart to access the tubes. For this reason I will give the amp an 8. Swapping tubes etc on a Vibro Champ is MUCH easier.

I mainly play a Tele with Texas Specials and an SG with Seymour Duncan Antiquities. I was looking for a small amp I could crank at home and get some nice grind. I love my silverface Fenders for clean but always lean towards EL84 amps for cranked power tube oversrive. I had been using an Epiphone Valve Jr. with NOS Mullard Tubes for this but that amp is WAY too loud through a 1x12 cabinet to get the cranked tone in an apartment. Using an attenuator with this amp doesn't work on 2 levels. First, any decent attenuator cost at least 2 times what the amp costs and Second, the tone gets so squashed all the treble goes bye bye.

The AC4TV definetly satisfies my needs for the cranked british tone at managable levels. Its still loud at 1/4 watt but after a week of banging at full tilt my townhouse neighbors haven't made a peep.

The amp definetly has the Vox "sound" or "Chime" as people refer to it. Its not an AC-30 but its also definetly not a Champ. With a clean boost or treble booster and the SG the amp distorts very ealry to a nice grind around 3:00 and Marshally saturation at full tilt.

With the tele there is much more headroom and the amp will stay cleaner longer. The amp also cleans up nicely with the guitars volume knob and is very dynamic as well. The harder you play the more distortion, a light tough yields clean shimmery jangles.

I can't see anyone other than a pure metal player needing another dirt box with this amp.

I didn't expect the non-broken in, cermaic Celestion to do the amp anu favors but I'm pleasently surprised. The speaker matches the amp well and sounds very full without getting farty at full blast.

I usually rip the tubes out of an amp like this and replace instantly with NOS Mullards or Telefunkens... I have not found the need to do that.....yet. It sounds great out of the box.

Oh boy. The chasis is not fun to access. Like I said you must unscrew a LOT of scres to get inside. Also, while the amp is cleanly laid out the tubes are circuit board mounted and everything is so tight in there.... well... its gonna get hot and I don't know how long this amp will last with all that heat. Also, some funky looking grounding in there...I think it might be a good thing you must disassemble the entire thing to get inside. You don't want to go poking around on such a small board with this thing juiced up.

So far so good and I've owned other Vox products and never had a problem.

Never dealt with them direclty and hopefully don't have to.

I've been playing 24 years. I love tube amps and have been owend Tweed Fenders, Silverface, black face, Voxes, Hiwatts, Real Plexi Marshalls, Traynors, boutiques and even a few Peaveys.

If someone put this amp in a non-descript cabinet, and I couldn't see the insides and told me it was the latest product from some expensive boutique builder I would not have doubted it in the least.

To me the amp sounds much better than the Epi Valve Jr. and makes an AMAZING stero rig with my beloved Vibro Champ.

I haven't bought a factory new amp in 20 years. Vintage only. This amp piqued my interest enough to take a chance, and at $249.00 its a no brainer.

AC4TV 2009 Model, latest updated version of the "All Valve" AC4 originally released in 1961. Very simple control layout comprising an On/Off switch, Single Input, Volume, Tone and Power output which is switchable between 1/4, 1 and 4 Watt settings driving a 10" Custom Celestian speaker. The Cab is covered in "Blonde Tolex" and has "Vintage Brown" speaker cloth sporting a smart Gold Vox Logo. There is also a 16 ohmn output socket to power an optional 12" speaker Ext Cab.
The amps 4 Watts provide enough power for practice/recording duties which is what I use it for.

I play my Rickenbackers through this amp a 350v63 and a 660/12 both fitted with "Vintage re-issue Toaster" pickups so I'm mostly using clean tones, the sound is typical Vox, clear warm and bright. It suits my style of "Jangly" Beatle/Byrds/Powerpop stuff. When you pass the 12 O'clock setting on the volume control that's when the overdrive starts to kick in and "push the tubes" all very controlable providing many levels of "Crank". You do get a small level of hum but nothing more than you'd expect from a tube amp. When I tried this amp at the store I took my 660/12 and JangleBox compressor and I must say that the sound coming from this little cream box turned a few heads, it has loads of character!
I do think the amp provides it's best tone when on the 4 Watt setting.

To soon to tell.

Not needed yet?
Warranty 12 months.

I've been playing for over 25 years.
I also have a Vox AD30VT which is very versitile and I can dial in pretty much any tone I want, an ideal recording tool.
If I lost the AC4TV I'd get another, I love the retro looks and the sound puts a smile on your face.
When you want Vox tone there's no point looking elsewhere.
I wish it had a reverb unit but I guess it would have pushed up the price and I suspect the original did'nt have one!

The new 2009 AC4; the main feature seems to be that it does have the attenuator, 4 watts, 1 watt, 1/2 watt, which is handy for late night play. The 4 watt setting is plenty loud for practice, 1 watt is great for tube overdrive at low volume. That, the tone and volume knobs, and an on/off switch. One EL84 and one 12AX7 (came with Soveteks), a 10 inch Celestion ceramic 16 ohm custom speaker. Again, for practice, it's great; recording too although it can get noisy at high volume.

I've only had it for a couple of days but have played through it with several guitars....mostly Beatle....Custom Shop Strat, Ric 325 Hamburg, Gretsch Tennessean. It sounded good right out of the box but I HAVE to mess with my gear, so, with a broken in Weber 10 inch Silver Bell, a NOS Philips EL84, and a NOS GE12AY7 to raise the headroom, it sounds very good. I had been playing through a new Orange AD4 with the Weber in it for practice, but being a Beatle nut I had to try the Vox.......I have to admit I think the Orange sounded more early Beatle Vox with the Weber. The AC4 is close, and of course is almost half the price and with the attenuator is arguably a better buy, and the AD4 is VERY trebly, and the AC4 has a better bass response with the closed back. Both are great amps....and I think I'm close to very happy with the AC4 now. With a Strat and the right OD/distortion pedal (I'm using a Vox 840), on 1 Watt, it can get a great Revolver/Sgt. Pepper era distortion sound.

Too early to tell, although it is NOT something you can easily change tubes with. That is a CHORE...NOT user friendly from that pov. Lose a tube and you'd better have something else on hand.

No idea.

I've been playing since high school (now 54), and own or have owned all sorts of great and not so great gear. Amps and I take time getting to know each other, but even with my tube and speaker changes I'm already liking this one fine. Like I said above, the Orange AD4 I've had for a few months is also a very good amp, maybe a little better sound-wise but fewer features...well, one fewer, since it doesn't have the attenuator. I bought it because of the price and because it's a Vox and I'm a crazy Beatle fan. I'm not sorry I bought it and even without the tube change and the Weber speaker it would have been fine. If it were stolen I might try to be happy with the AD4.....but for the price I might buy another one. The only thing I REALLY don't like is the closed back and the chassis design; makes changing tubes a real pain in the @$$.

Made in Vietnam (surprisingly not China like all other low priced amps) and just released in the US in April 2009. The Vox AC4TV is a one channel 4w amp with a 10 inch Celestion speaker. It has the standard tone and volume controls but the best feature by far is the attenuator that lowers to wattage to 1w or ?? watts. I brought this amp primarily to use in my living room. The other two amps I use are a Mesa Express and a Fender Hotrod Deluxe. Even on the 5w setting the Mesa can be a bit too loud, and the Fender ??? forget it for using around the house. If there is one feature I wish this amp had it would be spring reverb but given the small package and equally small price tag that would be asking a lot. Looks wise the amp is attractive but the side and top cover seems to be some kind of plastic, not tolex.

I play many styles of music but tend to regress to blues based rock. I have only played my Gibson LP through this amp so far. The Vox breaks up easily in the lower wattage settings. The overdrive is natural and smooth sounding. I was actually more impressed with the overdriven sounds than I expected to be. The only complaint I have (considering the low price) is that the amp sounds boxy. I???m not sure whether the boxy-ness comes from the fact that the amp is a closed back design, has a 10in speaker, or whether the speaker itself sounds boxy. I???m sure plenty of internet forms will sprout up offering suggestions for ways to improve this. I ran the guitar straight into the amp and was happy with the range of sounds I was able to achieve but make no mistake the dynamics of the Vox are not nearly as articulate as higher end amps. You can hear the individual notes chime through much better than a solid-state but I still feel the overall sound is limited by the boxy-ness. I also tried running the Les Paul through a Fulltone OCD and then separately a Big Muff Pi. I felt the amp really came alive when the pedals were cranked through it. When the amp and pedals where on both turned to 10, the strength of the signal really pushed the overdrive and made me think this is what the early players of rock heard. I???ve given this amp an 8 on sound because for the price and purpose of being a small amp it fits the bill.

As it???s new I can???t say.

Never had a reason to call them.

Overall I rate the amp an 8 again. You just can???t beat it for the money. The only close product that I???ve owned was the Epiphone Valve Junior. The Vox is so much better in terms of being able to achieve that sweet power tube saturated sound. And I think it???s $50 less than the Epi? Plus if you get tired of the boxy sound you can easily plug the amp into a larger cabinet. Just like any one channel tube amp you may want to run pedals in front of it to get your ideal sound but that???s all part of the fun. This is an enjoyable little amp to have around and looks nice enough to keep in the living room. Is it a serious performance amp? Of course not but it???s definitely worth checking out if you want a real tube amp to play at home volumes.

- Controls: Tone, Volume, Output-Level (4W, 1W, ?? W)
- In/Out Jacks: Input, External Speaker Jack (??')
- Output: 4 Watt RMS 16-Ohm
- Speakers: AC4TV ??? 1 x 10" 16-Ohm Celestion VX10 custom speaker;
- Valve/Tube Complement: 1 x ECC83 (pre) / 1 x EL84 (power)
- AC4TV Dimensions: 13.78" (W) x 8.46" (D) x 14.76" (H)
- AC4TV Weight: 19.84 lbs.

For the features I give it a 9 because less is more!

Oh dear... this is a difficult moment for me...
I own a vintage JMI AC4 that is in an excellent condition. If I compare them i think that they sound not the same at all! This may be due to several differences: The original JMI has a much bigger cabinet as the AC4TV. This may be very important for the sound! In addition, the JMI has got a classy EF86 preamp-section before the power-section and this is what is shapeing most of the sound! In comparison, the AC4TV has got a ECC83 in it and is sounding quite harsher therefore. Also, the speaker of my JMI is (i must admit) from Jensen, but it's a AlNiCo-Speaker. The AC4TV uses a custom speaker from Celestion, that has probably got a ceramic-magnet speaker.

All in all, i give this amp "only" a good 6 because there is to much early distortion for my taste. even too brutal with humbuckers!
Sory folks!

It looks quite stury and is a heavy little box. Don't know how reliable it really is, though..

Well it's a nice little amp with a blonde tolex with the looks of it's bigger brothers (AC15 and AC30).
I think the idea of switching down the power to even ?? Watt is a bit strange but for a quiet practising, it'll certainly do the job.

From my point of view, i'd try to replace the speaker and see how it changes the sound. I wouldn't use it as a recording amp.

If this is the answer to the new series of single-end amps from Gibson, Epiphone and Fender, VOX is a bit late in the market and probably should use the original schematics to get a reallly cool reissue of the AC4.

Made in 2009 in Vietnam.
Very basic amplifier one input, one volume, one tone and a power attenuator (1/4, 1 and 4 watts) and 10inch Celestion speaker. The amp has a 16 Ohm external speaker out jack.
Has the same cream tolex covering and front speaker cloth as the the Vox handwired series and looks great.
I use this amp for home practice and its perfect, the power attenuator means you can get full tube distortion at very low volumes.
This is an all tube amp with one 12ax7 in the preamp and an EL84 in the power amp.
My rating measures the basic features against the price and the fact the features work very well.

I've only bought this amp recently but I am writing this review because this amp just sounds amazing for the price.
I've played a tele, a strat and a an LP through it and it sounds great even with cheap guitars.
This amp has a fantastic Vox sound with rich harmonics and tube tone and dynamics.
For such a simple amp it has a good range of tones from good cleans upto about the 12 o'clock position to full on screaming tube distortion all at varying volumes courtesy of the attenuator.
This amp takes pedals really well and adds a really rich tone even to digital pedals. Yes limited headroom andno it doesn't do metal but it can go from The Beatles to Brian May no problem.
I've played U2, The Beatles, The Stones and Radiohead through this amp and it is just simply a joy to play through. Jangling, chimey, grinding, screaming, rich and all those other Voxey adjectives.
In short if you want Vox tone and character on a budget this little amp is something special.

The amp had a couple of minor irrating "faults". I've heard of problems with The AC15CC1 range that are also made in Vietnam.
With mine there were some blemishes on the tolex and the power attentuator switch is a bit flakey on the 4 watt setting. But it still looks great and the attentuator works.
The amp feels well built and solid despite these minor faults.

No experience yet.

I've only been playing seriously for about the last 18 months and on and on for many years before that.
I have a Squier tele with TelePlus Lace Sensors, A squier Classic Vibe 50s Strat and an Epiphone LP. All really good value guitars and suit my level of playing.
I have a Vox Pathfinder 15R and Fender Super Champ XD. I was happy with both these amps they are both good amps for the money.
But.. the Vox AC4TV is an absolutely fantastic amp the tone from it is jaw dropping.
If my SCXD was stolen I would think twice about buying it again but with AC4TV I wouldn't hesitate.

Made in 2009 in Vietnam. I think the some AC15 models are made there now aswell.
Very basic features Tone (Dark to bright), volume(gain)and a power attentuator (4, 1 and 1/4 watts), 16 ohm extension cab output. It has a 10inch special design Celestion speaker.
This amp has the same cream coloured tolex used on the heritage series.

So the features are basic, if you want extras go for the valvetronix - this amp is all about a small, all tube vox practice amp.

Note: I have only had this amp a few days but I know there is a lot of interest so these as initial impressions.

I'll give it a lower mark because there is no EQ and the tone knob is quite subtle.

But read on....

I am a beginner playing for just over a year - learning with my daughter. I have played an Epiphone LP Special, a Squier Tele with lace sensors and a Squier Strat (Classic Vibe 50s) through this amp. I play mostly 60's pop rock (Beatles, Stones) and british modern (Radiohead, The Jam, U2(Ok Irish), The Libertines - all Vox users).
OK - what does it sound like. The reason I am writing a review so early - this thing sounds amazing. Vox tube amplifier all over it - punch, shimmer, chime it's all there with all the class A amp organic tube dynamics.
The attentuator works very well for a small practice amp. At a 1/4 watt you can pump it all the way up and get screaming tube distortion and sustain. At 4 watts you can turn it down and get chimey cleans.
Through the clean setting this amp takes my digital multi-effects pedal really well. With reverb and and delay this gets me all over The Edges Vox tones.
But on its own between the attenuator, the volume and the tone knobs you can get quite a few flavours of vox (AC15, AC30 top boost) all with that amazing tube responsiveness.
The 10inch Celestion speaker already sounds pretty good to me - great base response and top end bite. The cabinet it closed which keeps it punchy rather than boomey. I think I can detect some tube rattle though. Speakers have to be broken in to get their full tone so it's early days.
If you have already considered this amp for hitting that vox nirvana in your bedroom for the price I cannot imagine you will disappointed.

OK - some concerns maybe. I have read on t'internet that the AC15CC1 is made in Vietnam and there have been quality issues. When I got the AC4TV out of the box it had some blemishes the cream tolex and solder spills on the handle - irritating as this amp looks great.
More worrying is the attenuator switch which is a bit flakey on the 4 watt position.
I've already mentioned some tube rattle.
Overall the amp feels well built though and I have one of the really early models. But just to mention that it's not perfect.

Can't comment yet. I also have a secondhand Vox Pathfinder 15R and that well built and still going strong.

This is my first review and I have only been playing just over a year. My 1st guitar was a Squier tele which I've already modded with TelePlus Lace sensors - this is my favourite guitar. I also bought a Squier Classic Vibe 50s Strat. - fantastic quality for the price and fantastic strat tones.
I already have 3 amps a vox Pathfinder 15R solid state which gets really close for the money. I bought a Super Champ XD - I am happy with the Fender tones and people rave about this amp for the price. The all tube clean is classic Fender and great with pedals.
The AC4TV has no DSP bells and whistles like the SCXD - but it more than makes up for this in terms of chiming, shimmering, grinding vox tube amp character. This amp just makes me want to play my guitar all the time. What more can I say.
If it was stolen... well you know the answer already. The SCXD I would hesitate, the AC4TV not for a second.