Vox AC50 Head

1963 single channel small box candy panel. Controls: volume, bass, treble pots. Single power switch with no standby. Three preamp tubes, not sure if they are all ECC82, ECC83 or a combination. A pair of EL-34 outputs. Single GZ34 rectifier. No second channel, no channel switching, no loop. Cabinet is North Coast Music AC100 4x12 repro with four Celestion Alnico "Blues" and two vintage Goodmans Midax horns. This is the amp the Beatles toured with circa 1963, except they utilized 212 Vox cabs with a single Midax driver. This was designed as a very clean amp with low preamp gain, lots of headroom, volume and very little distortion. Does what I need extremely well and lacks nothing in that regard. Produces a fair amount of heat which is channeled nicely out the large top vent. I rate it a 3 because it's a one/two trick pony and not a swiss army knife.

The absolute HOLY GRAIL of vintage clean amps, sharing the throne with the mighty Vox JMI AC 100. The biggest, boldest, open and airy bell-like tone on the planet. Destroys all Fenders including the custom shop stuff. I use this amp with many different guitars including relic strats and teles, Gretsches, Ricks and Gibsons. Turn it up and get instant Mike Campbell. I can see why the Beatles used these. Simply Superb.

Great, no problems. Vintage Voxes catch a bad rap for blowing up but you have to keep them maintained.

Not even...My tech takes care of my amps.

Playing for 35 years for personal enjoyment, not pro. I also own a '62 and '66 Vox AC30, 1967 Marshall 100 watt, 1972 Marshall 50 watt, Rivera TBR-2M, Rivera TBR-5 and Rivera S-120. If my AC50 were stolen? Don't wanna think about it...These early AC50 amps are now impossible to find. I've seen one on Ebay over the last 12 years and even the later large box versions are getting very scarce. If you are looking for this style amp with "the BEATLES sound" I very strongly recommend checking out the current production Xits X50 amp which is astounding and offers a second channel with higher gain.

1963 JMI Vox AC50 mounted in a NCM repro small box cab. This is the SINGLE CHANNEL version with bass, treble & volume controls, four jack input arranged in a diamond pattern, candy colored panel, three preamp tubes, a pair of EL34 outputs and a GZ34 rectifier tube. No reverb, no channel switching, no loops, no whizzers, no nothing. I think it's the simplest tube amp ever made. I pair it with a NCM repro Vox AC100 open back cab loaded with four Celestion Alnico Blue Bulldogs and two vintage Goodmans Midax horns. The amp is not versatile at all, but that's not a bad thing, as it does what I need (see sound quality rating below). I use this amp with my tele, strat, Les Pauls, Gretches & Ricks for original material heavily influenced by the Beatles, Marshall Crenshaw, early Joe Jackson and 60's guitar pop. Has plenty of power, no issues. I rate it a "5" because the amp is single channel and one trick pony.

Here is where the rubber meets the road. This amp has the best clean tone of ANY amp I have ever owned or auditioned, and I have owned lots of amps. Suits my style of music perfectly, there is no better choice. I set up this amp with an A/B switch next to my Fender Custom Shop Dual Professional and it squashed the Fender. It has a BIGGER clean tone than my '62 & '66 JMI Vox AC30 amps and destroys any vintage blackface. The tone is very full & rich with a rounded top end. Pick attack is soft and sustain blooms. Carries the Vox CHIME with added authority when compared to the AC30. Think of the LARGE NOTE. Brings out the best clean character of any guitar, especially vintage, VOS or relic models. Never noisy and always delivers the shimmer. Now I know why the Beatles used them. Simply amazing.

This amp was rebuilt by Victor's tech at Plexi Palace some years ago and has never given me any problems. I don't gig with it but probably would if it was not a hot outdoor gig, as the amp gets pretty warm even with the large top vent.

Not applicable. Tom Jennings and Dick Denny have left us long ago. Furthermore, Korg is NOT Vox.

This is my desert island amp, with a JMI AC30 a close second. I've been a player for about 30 years and also own a couple of vintage AC30's, a couple vintage Marshalls and couple of Rivera pieces made in the 80's. Have a few vintage style guitars, VOS Gibson Les Pauls, Fender relic tele & Strat, VOS Ricks and a couple Gretches. If it were stolen? Don't wanna think about it. I love everything about this amp. If I could find another I would buy it.

Jennings 1963 copper panel single channel "small box" amp. GZ34 tube rectifier, trio of 12ax7 preamp tubes, pair of EL34 outputs. Extremely rare. Treble, bass, volume. That's it. Two XLR speaker jacks on the back panel, one for 8 ohm load and the other for 16 ohm load. Detachable Bulgin AC receptacle. Tone is basically clean, unless maxed out with powerful humbuckers. Tone controls radically change the amp's EQ. I max the treble and add bass to taste, volume at 50-80%. Essentially a one trick pony, very clean amp. Perfect for chimey guitar, which is why I bought it. No frills whatsoever, no reverb, loops, switching, bla bla bla. Has the features I require for the application. Plenty of power for clean guitar work, as I couple it to a NCM reproduction AC100 4x12 cabinet with four blue Bulldogs and a pair of authentic original Goodmans Midax horns. Yea, baby! Currently this jewel resides in my basement recording room. I rate it a "1" because it is a one trick pony (with golden shoes).

I use this with the following guitars: Fender EJ Signature Strat, Fender Relic Tele, Gibson LP Deluxe, Supreme, P90 Historic, Gibson Johnny A Signature, Rick 360C63 & Roger McGuinn. The tone is HEAVENLY with all these guitars. Very quiet amp, no noise at all unless wide open. HUGE clean chimey wall of sound for days. Nails early Beatles tone (cause that's exactly what they used... okay they only used the 212 cab with the AC50 but who cares). Difficult to overdrive the amp but can be done with the proper humbuckers. I run the guitar direct into the amp, no gadgets or whizzers. They would muck it up. Sorry, no distortion here. Grab yer Plexi for that...

Well let's see it's 43 years old. I have it serviced at least every six months. No problems yet. These Voxes have a large vent topside so heat is pretty well ventilated. It does get warm.

Ha ha ha! JMI went south when I was six years old.

Been playing for 30 years. My other gear is Matchless HC30, Clubman and Superchief with various matching cabs. Also 1967 Marshall 100 watt, 1972 Marshall 50 watt, Bluesbreaker re-issue, Fender Dual Professional. If it were lost or stolen I would be heartbroken. Nothing sounds like this rig. I'm looking for another right now even though I don't need it. I wish it could clone itself (lol).

Do you know what year the amp was made in?

I do not know

Is the amp versatile enough for you and the styles of music you play? What are those styles?

Its VOX its my best amp ever.

How many channels? Does it have channel switching? Effects loops? Headphone jack?

2 channels brilliant and normal; treble, bass and volume. Headphone jack - give me a break lol and no channel swiching though one needs pedals to overdrive etc to use low volumes.

What features do you wish it had? Why? Are there features you never use?

It has all that I want; Deep, dark sounds and bottom thats not ever there in those solidamps.

Where do you use this amp? Does it have enough power for you?
Power is ok. I use this amp allround though its heavy.

I used to have solid state but now i had my VOX mended, new valves, biasing and condencers....and now its really awesome

50W = noisy? It has the power to kick ass so what?

Clean is clean when its clean and when one is using pedals ist not. I would not overdrive the amp as it is for heavens sake not without pedals. I think my neighbours.

If one does not depend on VOX what then?

My amp is 30 years old and did not need any repair exept condencerchange and tubes so...

Marshall 100 HDFX + angled can 4 x 12"
VOX 2 x 12" original cab with Fostex 100W speakers (they are enough to blow brains out if played too loud

AC50 big box, black cloth, one channel, valve rectifier. Bass, treble and volume control. two inputs (which sound the same).

I play a 90's les paul standard through it, with effects like delay, chorus, wah, overdrive/ fuzz. It is currently very noisy, but is due for revalve. At the moment it has 3x12ax7, which makes it ovedrive earlier, but I think I prefered it with the 12au7 first valve(or whatever) as it had more character then, as in the tone was softer and had more of the original guitar tone in it. This maybe just because I have to use effects in the band I'm in.
Sometimes, playing guitar really sucks, and you just wish you played something you can hit, or something that is always in tune and always get the sound out of it that you want, like a keyboard. This amp is able to bring all those worst things about guitar playing out. Very hard to get the thing sounding balanced with the rest of the band. Not only is it very loud, but the sound just seems'big', as in too big. Its fun to crank it up and let it rip on your own, but in a band setting, it is a nightmare.
Having said that, when its right, its the best sounding amp I've played through. Which is why I've got it and it is my favourite amp, and really one of the reasons am on this site is to find ways to make the thing more useable (withut takng two heads to gigs). I have never tried a power brake or those groove tube things which enable EL84's to be used in class A, which might be all I need to do.
One thing I've noticed with older amps, and more so with the AC50, is that there seems more scope to change the overall envelope of the sound, whether for good or bad, which can result in amazing sounds, or shoddy, unuseable ones. Where as with a modern amp you can almost turn the controls to any setting, and the sound stays within a useable range, if you see what I mean. Easier to use, but no adventure! The other amp I tend to use more for gigs is a Laney Klipp 100 watt head from the 70's. 2 channel,(through 4 greenbacks) so more flexible, no master volume, but actually quieter than the vox. Good compromise for gigs(though soundmen still often tell me to turn down, but clubs often small). I have given the sound a 10,but itis very capable of sounding 1 in my opinion.

Actually, I half expect to die of a massive electric shock everytime I switch it on, and often, as I go to touch the string of my guitar, I wonder also if I'll fry. Its hard not to remember that you have conneted yourself to something that is 40 years old and generates dangerous voltages. It actually is reliable though, but in 4 years of ownership, I have had it repaired twice, though both times it was just valves, and both times I was unlucky enough to use tech's who were ex muppet show. That I find is one of the problems with equipment like this - finding trusted engineers who know what they're doing and will do the best for your sound. I have not found him/ her yet.

I have not had any dealings with the company itself.

I have been playing for fourteen years. I didnt exactly choose it, I just boughtit becase it was there,and only aftr comparing to vitage marshalls,fender bassman, etc, that it has a lot of the qualities in aguitar sound that I like. I wish it had a second channel, and after readingthese pages, I havelearned that there was a twochannel valve rectified head made (I previously only believed the solid state rectified head was two chanel). I would like to know more about my particular model and get the schematics. As it is, I have the two channel solid state rectified head schematic, and ac30 schematic.
if it was stolen, I would replace it only if one came along, so to speak. I would not search endlessly for another one, as life is too short and I'm mainly a guitar player, not collector. Though I would love a collection of weird and wonderful old amps, I have not the means (space or money). My ac50 is just waiting to be my first giggng amp, but I need to investigate ways to make it more flexible/ useable!

My AC-50 is a largebox, 1964(JMI), tube rectified head.

This is as barebones as it gets. No master volume, no reverb, no
tremelo, no built in effects, not even an effects loop.

2 Channels (normal and brilliant); VOLUME, BASS, and TREBLE for each. That's what you get. But then again, I didn't buy this head because I wanted tons of features, I bought it for the TONE.

1 12AU-7, 312AX-7's, 2 EL-34's, and a GZ-34/5AR4 rectifier tube. (the 12AU-7 is the first gain stage for each channel, one 12AX-7 is for the for following gain stages for the normal channel, one 12AX-7 is for the following gain stages for the brilliant channel, and the final 12AX-7 is the phase inverter).

If you find one that hasn't had the speaker jacks modded, they're the 3 pin XLR jacks, which are useless without either a Vox cab, or a converter. Mine had been modded (quite well actually) when I bought it for standard 1/4" jacks so I could actually USE the freaking thing.

From being inside the chassis, it's apparent that Vox amps are in fact designed by aliens. Just look at the pictures of the AC-50 chassis on www.voxshowroom.com . Or email me for some of my head. "let's hide the tubes in this scary tomb of a headsleeve where the heat can't dissipate from them, put a tube rectifier in it, eventhough it's putting out wattages at or above the recommended max for a GZ-34 rectifier tube, then we'll put a little tiny light bulb in line with the bias circuit that doesn't do anything (yes there is a tiny light bulb in the amp that doesn't do anything)". I thought my Orange was designed weird, this thing takes the cake.

My current rig:
2000 Gibson SG '61 re-issue>>AC-50>>Hiwatt 4x12(75W Fanes) OR Marshall 1960A(2 G12-75's and 2 V30's).

I run the AC-50 head with Electro harmonix EL-34's, a Sovtek 5AR4, and Mullard ECC83 pre's.

Here's where this amp excels. I bought it because I wanted AC-30 tone, but couldn't afford an AC-30. I had heard that the AC-50 didn't quite have the magic of the AC-30, and was expecting to be let down in my search for the Vox tone I had in my head.

OVERALL TONE:
Upon plugging in, I was very pleasantly surprised. I will say this though, you can't buy this amp wanting it to be an AC-30. But since most people are familiar with that amp, i'll use it as a basis for comparision. The AC-50 doesn't sag quite as much as the AC-30, it's a little tighter sounding (probably due to the fixed bais circuit and the EL-34's). I'm toying with the idea of cathode biasing the amp, but it's in such great shape (and so close to all original) i'd hate to hack up the circuit too much. I'm sure my curiousity will prevail some day, and the AC-50 can quit being the jealous brother with Cathode bais envy.

At any rate, it's got that wonderful Vox chime and punchy compression. The top end just plain shimmers. The low end is round and fat and THICK. Think maple syrup surrounding your ears. It has such a wonderful presence and projection to it. I use the Brilliant channel exclusively. The normal channel may be good for very warm, muted jazz tones, or maybe even some blues. But for my purposes I love the liveliness and the charisma of the brilliant channel.

It sounds like a bigger, more defined AC-30. A little tighter sounding that it's little brother, louder, more gain, but also a little less chime and a little less of that Vox grind. It's still there, it still sounds like a Vox. But the amp is just plain different, due to the different power section. Not better or worse, just different.

People talk about this amp being the best vintage amp value. I completely agree. Find me a better sounding amp, even at twice the price. Multiple people (from bands i've played with, and friends who have heard the head or used it) have told me it's the best sounding head they've ever heard. One of them owns a guitar shop, he personally owns an AC-15, and a 1959 Fender Bassman 4x10 (a REAL one, not a reissue). He likes the AC-50 better than his bassman ;).

Tone is subjective, and everyone has their own opinions. But if you ask me, that only goes so far. There are certain amps that just plain sound GOOD. They may not be something you'd use for your style of music, but noone can ever argue that they don't sound good. THIS is one of those amps. 1959 Bassmans don't sound bad, Blackfaced Twins don't sound bad, vintage single-ended Champs don't sound bad, AC-30's don't sound bad. Period. I wouldn't buy half those amps, even if I had the money. But I can't argue that they don't sound good, even if not for what I do. The AC-50 sounds good, it sounds REALLY good. And if the tone sounds like something that would fit your style well. I can't recommend you a better head...maybe an AC-30 head though ;)

TONE CONTROLS:
The tone controls are very unique. I find that with the bass and treble pointing away from you (there's no numbers or markers of any sort on the control panel) you get a nice chimey tone without a lot of mid character. If you point them both toward you, you get the same amount of treble, the same amount of bass...but with more mid character. If you leave the treble stationary and move the bass, you'll get more or less low end, but the mid presence will also change, depending on where the treble is. Same thing goes for the treble. It's actually pretty hard to explain without actually standing in front of the amp and turning the knobs yourself. But to make a long story short, there's a pretty wide variety of sounds, and the tone controls are VERY interactive with each other.

GAIN/HEADROOM/VOLUME:
As you read through the other reviews, yo

My head had a replacement output transformer when I got it. You'd never know it from how it sounds though. A few components have been replaced (small 1/2W resistors). It had the original filter caps when I got it, and they were still working fine. That's like getting a car with 300,00 miles on it with the original spark plugs. I replaced them just for good measure.

I had a problem with the rectifier tube arching...but that was the ORIGINAL rectifier tube. I thought the amp was gonna blow up, I was playing and the sound fizzed out, and I saw a flash of light from inside. There was a red fireball making its way up the plate of the rectifier tube. I turned the amp off and took it home. Replaced it and put a new socket in, and haven't heard a peep since.

Unlike new amps, with something this freaking old, you can't tell much about reliability by reading about my amp, or the other guys here that own one. It all depends on how the head has been treated. I happened to get one that's been a workhorse of an amp since i got it (except for the one minor problem). But it's 39 years old...if you're not technically and electronically inclined, it wouldn't hurt to take it to a tech for a once over. Mine has obviously been treated well, but I gig with the thing (no backup) and play it quite often...always with the volume dimed out all the way. Never a problem. I trust it completely. I do, however, change the rectifier tube every 6 months or so, just to be on the safe side. Old tube amps are like old grumpy men ;)


Tech note:
I should mention that this amp was originally designed to run on 110V (among other options), and nowadays the wall voltage where I live is well above 120V, probably above 125V somtimes. This amp shouldn't even be functioning properly. But it's still alive and kicking, regardless.

Customer support! good luck ;)

I have to say, it's probably the most hideous head i've ever seen, simply because it's almost a cube (almost, but not quite). It looks so freaking stupid on top of a 4x12. But the sound more than makes up for any of that. When I got it, my girlfriend looked at me when she first saw it and said, "That THING...is the ugliest one you've bought yet! Even uglier than that Orange one you strap into the car seat with a seatbelt" To each their own. ;)

Overall...the amp is one of the best purchases I ever made with respect to guitar gear. It's a keeper, and with me, very few things are these days. But people are catching on, and eventhough I bought it only a year ago for $600, that would be considered a steal at this point in time. Prices are going UP. Hopefully they'll go back down again.

well firstly this amp as far as any records can tell me was made some time early 63 . it is in the first 200 made , because it has been owned by so many ppl i do not know what has been modified but i put in a custom powersupply to give it some extra kick .
the only feature i use is i bridge the brilliant and normal channel.
and it is far***king loud

I use a maingard tell with dean markley pick ups.
when i stand real close it gives a hum . and when the distortion is up high it tends to feed back

i have never had anything go wrong . and yeah i use it without a back up all the time

LOL

ive been playing about 3 or 4 years i geuss
i would cry and kill ppl if it were stolen . i love the way it is all
beaten up from years of club gigs, the way the vinyl is frayed . man i like it all and hate nothing. it was this or a marshall and well every tom dick and bob have got one of those so when i heard a deeper more tone filled sound i just said hell yeah. buy one .....
but watch out for those recurring nightmares of someone trying to steal it

Mine is a '65 JMI AC50. The amp isn't "gaudy" with features. I gave it a nine simply because I knew what I was getting into with this amp. No master volume, no effects loop, and no other junk to get in the way of the pure tone. I recently went through the entire thing and it's running like brand new. The only real changes I made was putting 12AX7's in all stages to produce more gain.

I generally play this amp (and any other amp for that matter) with a tele. I also use guitars such as a '67 Fender Coronado, a Les Paul Jr (single P-90), a strat, and I have also used an SG. This amp does all EXTREMELY well. When playing the tele, I find that the Brilliant channel is just that...BRILLIANT. Too much so to be exact (ouch). However, simply plug into the normal channel with the same guitar and you're golden again. In fact, it doesn't get much better. The amp isn't versitile in the manner that you flip a switch and you've got instant tonal change. However, it does handle the characteristics of each guitar very well. The tele, as I said, was too bright. So, common sence told me to try the other channel. The SG in the brilliant channel was simply perfect. It was very Jimmy Eat World, Foo Fighters tone. Really power pop sounding. For most of my playing I stick with the tele in the normal channel. I add a dan-echo, a phase 90, and a Reverend Drivetrain in front of the amp and that's it. I set the volume so it's breaking up a little and use the Drive train as a boost mainly. It boosts the preamp so it still sounds like my amp overdriving rather than a pedal. This combo gets a great Brit-pop type sound. Very Oasis, Travis sorta vibe. Sure, you can play about any type of music on this amp. This is just what I play mainly. This amp is great for blues and classic rock as well...obviously, it's a classic amp.
These amps came out in '63 shortly after the introduction of the JTM 45. With the JTM prototype coming out in '62 and immediately getting more orders than could be filled by Marshall at the time, the introduction of the AC50 came about. Coincidence? I doubt it highly. When looking at the specs of the two amps, you'd see that, other than some changes in component values, there aren't many differences in the two amps. Personally I like the AC50 better...especially when you start to look at the price differences. They don't call the AC50 the best vintage amp value for nothing.

I have never had a minutes trouble out of this amp. I would not hesitate to gig with it without a backup. I can't say the same about an AC30.

Hehe. Yeah, right.

I'm 23 years old and I've been playing since I was 5. In that time I've owned over 70 guitars and 65 amps. I've had Marshall, Matchless, TopHat, Dr. Z, Mesa, Fender, Vox, and MANY more. So far, this is the first amp to quench that everlying thirst for tone. I finally, after tons of guitars, found comfort in my tele. Now I'm content in knowing that I have a keeper amp as well. As I said before, They don't call the AC50 the best vintage amp value for nothing. This is THE amp...for me at least.

This is an update to my previous review. Well, the day after I wrote that review, my '69 AC50 got some serious problems. It squealed and hummed like hell. I first thought that some tube had gone microphonic, but that wasn't the case. "Cap job" was done about year before, so something else was causing these noises. Well, I took my multimeter, checked almost everything in the amp and I found several resistors and couple of caps which had to be changed. And because I had to work on it anyway, I thought I might as well modify the "tone stack" a little. Previously I thought the normal channel was too bassy and brillant was too high, so those things were changed. I also took off those preamp cathode bypass caps, so the amp runs little quiter (previously it was loud ass hell). That modifying took only about 5 minutes, but rest of the amp was open for repair about and week or two. Now, after the job, the amp is absolutely great. Hardly no noise at all and both channels are equally "nice". I also experimented with different pre-amp tubes in the tonestack section, and settled for having an 12AT7 in the normal channel and 12AX7 in the brilliant. It's impossible to describe the sound, but with my setup and playing style, the sound is SO warm... And for that other AC50 (circa 64-65) my friend installed new tonestack section for normal channel and also reduced some of brilliants high frequencies (And the amp got also a master "cut" potentiometer.). Needles to say, you can't get a bad sound from it!!! Ok, bottom line is; remember that these amps are old and they will some day need some work to do. But after they have been fully repaired, they should work like new amps (and last as long). And in my opinion, those modifying projects are not a thing that reduces the value of your vintage amp, because they can always be restored to their original specs (remember to save the original working parts!). If you see and AC50, please do yourself a favour, and check it out...Once you try it, you got have it.

Because of my bad english, I'll make this short. And after I read all those existing reviews, almost all have been said... Well, I have two AC50's . Another propably '65 (JMI) and another one is '69 (VOX product). Both have been checked about year ago (some new resistors and capasitors) and they work like new. 2 channels, 2 inputs for both, volume, treble, bass for both channels, 2 speaker outputs and that's about it. Very simple, but that's the way I like it!

I play instrumental rock / surf type stuff . I have 3 stratocasters (Fender '79 , '86 (JAP) Fender paisley red and one custom made "normal" strat) all with singlecoil pickups (vintage type sounds). Signal goes from guitar - Line 6 delay modeler (multihead and tape echo) - MXR, DOD or BOSS CS-2 compressor - AC50 (the amps have '66 VOX Defiant and Conqueror 2x12" cabs with Bulldogg and Goodmans speakers.) Note, compressor comes last before amp! This setup gives just the right "vintage rock" sound like the Shadows have...(shortly said, PERFECT surf stuff.) for Cleans sound like VOX and if you crank the amp, you'll get overdrive in the style of vintage Marshalls. But when it does distort, it is damn loud, so don't forget your earplugs.

No problems.

Customer support? Yeah right! (My friend is expert in repairinf vintage amps)

I would like to have JMI VOX AC30, but they are so overpriced... But AC50 as good as AC30, only sounds little different. Excellent amp for reasonable price. You bet I love these amps, why else would I have bought another one?

My amp is a circa 1965 grey panel "big box" solid state-rectified AC50, manufactured by the original JMI company. It has very little features - just Brilliant and Normal channels, each with high and low output jacks and each with volume, treble and bass knobs. This amp has TWO XLR outputs for driving a pair of cabinets, if desired. This is not the most versatile of amps, I suppose, but what it does, it does EXTREMELY well.

I have this amp hooked up to an open-backed 2 x 12 Vox "Washington DC" AC50 reproduction cabinet, manufactured by North Coast Music (http://www.voxshowroom.com/northcoast/vox/index.html). (NCM is a company all Vox fans should be aware of us - they make superb handmade repos of all of the classic 1960s Vox cabs, trolleys, hardware, logo plates, etc., and have a license from Vox in the UK to produce these items.) My cab is fitted with Rola Celestion G12M's, although I plan on replacing these with either WeberVST Blue Pups or Vox/Celestion Blue Bulldogs in the near future, for a more authentic '60s tone. For guitars, I use a Rickenbacker 330 and 360/12 (with scatterwound toaster pickups) and a 1962 Silvertone 1446, which is a Harmony-made semi-hollow archtop with Gibson mini-humbuckers). As you probably guessed, I play mostly mid-'60s garage and British Invasion-type pop stuff, and this is the amp to use for that! It is an extremely loud amp, and is excellent for the clear, clean ringing tones that this kind of music requires. The Beatles used these amps in the first part of 1964, and if you've ever seen the footage of their first US concert (Washington, DC - Feb. '64), you can see that they were able to maintain a clean guitar tone even at volume levels meant to compete with the screaming fans. If you are looking for a crunchy distortion, this is not the amp for you. Tone-wise, I don't care much for the brilliant channel - too thin sounding for my taste. The normal channel offers ringing highs and rich, deep, warm, resonant bass response. Excellent full spectrum of tones. Like all of the classic JMI-manufactured Vox amps, it has that wonderful compressed, punchy tone that so many of us love. These amps are often favored by bassists, and I can see why. Unlike a lot of powerful amps, the AC50 sounds superb even at lower volumes, so it is suitable for small clubs as well as bigger halls. At about half-way on the volume knob it starts to get into overdrive, and it reminded me of the classic Paul Weller tone of the Jam (he favored AC30's). By that point, the amp is pretty loud.

I've only had it a short while, but it seems to be solidly manufactured. Heck, it's lasted 36 years!

The warranty expired long ago!

I've been playing guitar since 1977. For the past 13 years I've mainly used a 1985 Vox AC30, which has quite different from the original JMI models and the current AC30 reissues. I'd been hankering for a "real" Vox, but the JMI models are waaaaay out of my price range ($2000-$3000), and for several hundred dollars less than the cost of a new AC30 reissue, I was able to get a genuine JMI Vox with a sound comparable to the classic AC30's. For some reason, these amps are not as sought after as their little brothers, and are a great bargain.

made in 1969 it has the standard treble bass pots and two chanels brilian and normal it is perfect so i would never mod it and i dont wish it had any thing my boss and ibanez stompbox collection do the rest

Ive used both of my guitars alnico humbuckers deliver a very crunchy sound while single coils give it a twangy jimi style

no trouble except i had to replace the on off light

N/A

This is an update to my original posting on the Vox AC50. I originally was using a reissue AC30 as a speaker cab (Celestion greenbacks, G12M reissues). Those speakers are very good. I wasn't thrilled with the sound, though, to rate it a full 10, but read on...
I had a feeling that the speaker combo (and cabinet) that I was jerry-rigging might be at fault. To make a long story short, I recently came upon a real, unmodified, 1966 Vox 2 x 12 cab with silver Vox Celestions (JMI) rated at 16 ohms each, 25 watts.
Needless to say, the old AC30 "reissue" and its speakers are HISTORY. I couldn't through the damn thing out fast enough. The 2 x 12 Vox cab (closed back) with the silver Vox speakers, paired up with the AC50, are like god. No shit. The compression that cab generates and the speaker combo generate so much grind, natural reverb, and pure tone that I have to change my original ratings on the AC50: TEN in EVERY FRIGGIN CATEGORY. It holds its own with any JTM45, Marshall 50 watt, Hiwatt -- you name ANY UK amp from that period and it can stand head and shoulders. You get wonderful, powerful overdrive at the 6 position on volume that it brings tears to my eyes (and has damaged my hearing permanently, but WELL WORTH the damage, you understand?)
Note that if you intend to go the vintage VOX route, you gotta pair these amp heads up with a vintage cab (with speakers) or at the very least, a modern, birch or other solid wood cabinet (no particleboard, PLEASE) and alnico or top-rated Celestion, Fane, Jensen, etc., speakers, preferrably in a closed-back configuration. Then, and only then, will you know ROCK as it was meant to be heard and played.

Probably a '64 version of the AC50 amp head; it has 2 x EL34 power tubes and a set of ECC83's in the preamp stage with silicon rectifier and input/output transformers. It's a JMI product with 4 inputs; 2 are "Normal" channel with low and high sensitivity, the other 2 are "Brilliant" with low and high sensitivity (I believe the brilliant channel is similar to the "bright" on a Fender). Each channel has 1 vol/1 treble/1 bass pot. There's a voltage selector. The speaker outputs are 2 XLR/switchcraft (like a mic cable) with 8/16 ohm selector plug; you can power two cabs off of this head. The basketweave cloth is black with white/red/green thread trim, with black plastic handle/"Vox" logo.
Really a simple amp, not unlike an AC30 without the top boost and vibra-trem circuits. No frills. The output is supposedly 50 watts, but its more like 60-70 watt rms. Is this enough power? Hell, yes, it can shake a house.
The versatility of this amp is on the same level as a '60's Vox or Fender product -- you get great tone which you can shape with the treble/bass and also use "cascading" (patching one channel into another -- read below).
This head weighs a ton! The transformers are massive (bigger than any thing I've seen on a tube Fender) and the chassis is steel, plus the birch cabinet is rather heavy on its own.

I've used Gibson/Fender/Rickenbacker with this amp and each guitar comes out sounding primo. The musical style that the amp is best suited for is similar to what you would get if you crossed a Marshall JTM45 crossed with a Vox AC30 without the top boost -- you can get a bright sounding tone on the brilliant channel and a more dark sounding tone on the normal. The EL34 pair produce a lot of "ommph". Usually, the normal channel on a AC30 is useless since you can't change the treble or bass (there aren't any pots!) but here on the AC50 you can. Hence, the sound you can get out of this channel is much better. Overall, the amp channels are not extremely "bass" oriented, so you can't get the deep dark sound that a Marshall can deliver, but then again, if that's what you want, then a Marshall is what you need.
The amp runs really quiet for something that is 35 years old. The channels are really clean up to 7 or above, so this amp is perfect if you want tone and can deliver the effects with pedals (which is what I do).
The overdrive on this amp starts at about "5-7" on the volume pot, but by that time you'll be deaf with this amp. Better to use a overdrive pedal than have your ears bleed.
I mentioned the "cascading" -- you plug your guitar into one of the output channels, and then use 1/4" jack cables to connect the "empty" inputs together -- for example, run "normal", "high sensitive" into the "brilliant", "low sensitive" input, and then plug your guitar into the "brilliant", "high sensitive" input. Then, using the volume/treble/bass pots on the normal channel, start pumping that channel into the "brilliant" by adjusting the "normal" volume up until you start to hear a change in the "brilliant" sound. Obviously, you can switch the inputs around any way you like and shape the sound accordingly. I've been able to get a pretty good vintage JTM45 sound this way by turning the treble down on the normal, pulling the bass up on the normal, and them "pumping" the normal into the brilliant channel. Likewise, I can get a "treble boost" sound by turning the "normal" channel treble to "10", bass to "1" and pump that in to the "brilliant" channel.
It's really like an old Fender amp -- you futz with the tone using the treble/bass pots, and once you've got the tone, you hook up the effects. By itself, it sound rather unique, cool, and POWERFUL.

It's really rugged in construction, but with its advanced age, I'd leave it in the studio or home. It has original electronics and has been taken care of very well over the years. Possibly this is due to the silicon rectifier; the tube rectifier version (GZ34) was a dangerous beast that could blow up if you cranked the amp too hard.
I would be careful using older amps with this much power; especially since the amp head is cooled by just a large vent at the top of the head. Use a fan to keep the EL34's happy. Also take care when doing things like "cascading"; don't overdo the "pumping".

There's no such thing -- best bet is to get the schematics for the circuit (go see http://www.voxshowroom.com) and then find someone who can deal with its innards.

The AC50 was JMI's answer to a loud amp that could be heard above the screams. Yeah, it does that very well -- I can't hear my neighbors scream at me at all when I'm past "5" on the volume setting. If you are looking for an interesting, offbeat British tube amp that will deafen your audience, get this amp. It is a great amp to play through, even at low volumes, and if you need the power, it's THERE.
I don't know much about what sort of "voice" JMI was trying to deliver on this amp -- seems that the choice of EL34's may have been influenced by Jim Marshall, maybe? The JTM bluesbreaker amp was released in '62 and I have a feeling that the bluesbreaker amp may have influenced JMI to develop their circuit to support the EL34. No matter -- the volume is there, and, there's still the "Vox" sound coming out of the speakers. The treble/bass pots on each channel really makes the amp more versatile than the standard AC30, although a treble boost would have been nice to add. But I doubt that the treble boost would have been heard above the screaming fans back in '64. Anyway, as I said earlier, a Vox is a Vox...
The bigger brother of the AC50 was the AC100, Mark I and Mark II models. Go see the voxshowroom page on info on these -- these were real mutha's with KT88 output tubes that were made in small numbers and were literally "bombs" in amp's head clothing waiting to go off -- I mean, UNSTABLE, man. I've never heard a AC100 personally but after playing through the AC50 I don't think I want to go deaf at this stage in my life.
How did I come across the AC50? Why did I choose it? I got fed up with AC30 reissues! Currently, I am playing this head through a reissue Korg/Marshall-produced Vox AC30 combo cab with Celestion G12m 8 ohm speakers. I used to play through the AC30 reissue itself but the amp circuit has been trouble since I got it back in '93 (volume jumping up and down, static, you name it -- a real piece of &*#&!, I've changed tubes, did every friggin' thing that I could) and I finally could stand it no more and just pulled the tubes from the AC30 and use it now as an "extension speaker" for the AC50. Wise move, in my opinion -- the printed circuit board on the reissue AC30 is a bitch to service and no amp person that I've talked to will touch it. Bad news.
At that point, I decided to go out and get the real thing -- the AC30's are WAY too overpriced, but the AC50 is decent money and many of them were used briefly and then put away in favor of more powerful amps (AC100, solid-state Vox, Marshalls, etc.) So a lot of AC50's have survived in really excellent condition, inside and out. I really don't use the vibrato or tremolo on an AC30, anyway, and the AC30 "normal" channel is a joke (I've read numerous posts on Harmony where nobody uses that channel at all) so the AC30 circuit doesn't really suit my needs, outside of the nifty treble boost.
Anyway, you can find these heads from time to time -- I'd demo one and see if it suits your needs, soundwise.