Vox AC50cph

I was having problems with my Marshall. I have a 1979 100W JMP Master Lead that was having tube and other misc. issues, so I took it in to have it repaired. The guy said it would be at least be 2-3 weeks (but probably more like 4-6 weeks) before I would receive a call estimating the repair cost. I needed something quick and I had seen this Vox listed on the Internet on various sites. I played this in the store at a low volume and really liked the tone. I saw one cheap on eBay and bought it. I was really nervous before it got here - would it be loud enough? Would there be enough gain? Will it sound right with my cab? Well, let's just say that I'm not sure what will happen when the repair guys finally call about the Marshall. It's comparable to having your girlfriend go out of town and you "accidentally" meet a really hot chick...

This amp is the best of both worlds - great Vox clean (and incredible spring reverb) with a Marshall-esque overdrive channel. In fact, my band mates and I were laughing about how close the face of the Vox resembles the old JMPs. My main guitar is a Les Paul Studio and when it's coupled with the Vox, it puts out a big biting AC/DC-type tone. Plus, I think the clean channel with the gain cranked sounds better than the gain channel. I almost wish it had two clean channels. Now for the odd features, there are two switches on the overdrive channel: Bright and Fat. I don't really see much use for either of these since the Bright is so piercing that it's nearly unbearable and the Fat puts out a dual-rectifier-sounding hum along with a sub-par muddy "gugga gugga" sound. I'm sure this was added to appeal to the modern high-gain generation, but I don't think it would meet expectations. Plus, this thing doesn't sound great straight out of the box. It takes some tweaking from the EQ and a good solid 4x12 cab. I'm not even sure what kind of cab I have - Peavey, maybe? Hard to tell, I got it second-hand with the logo missing off the front. Anyway, I think my cab sounds better than the intended Vox one.

No problems yet.

Haven't called 'em.

If you're looking for a new amp that sounds vintage and has plenty of tone and power, this is for you. If you want that "gugga gugga" modern high-gain sound, buy a Mesa. The AC50 is a nice looking, heavy, well-constructed head for the money and I've seen them on clearance on various websites shipping out for around $570 new. I bought this as a cheap, temporary "fill-in" for my Marshall, but I plan on holding on to it for years to come.

I won???t go over the features as others have. But certainly the feature set was one of the reasons I chose this over some other options I was looking at including a 1960s Vox head, and AC30, and an Abbey combo: the two very different channels, the footswitch, the effects loop. it's a pain that the Fat setting is not footswitchable. I would rather that than reverb, which I never switch in the middle of a gig.

I'm using a couple of vintage guitars with it (1957 Maton Premier 45A archtop and 1967 Maton L-202 semiacoustic, with 1 and 2 (respectively) single coil pickups) as well as a 1998 Maton MS500 solidbody with a single coil (neck) and splittable humbucker (bridge). I'm happy with all of them. This amp brings them all alive in a way that nothing else I've used has.

The style I play is mostly retro indie rock, and it's perfect for that. I reckon if I was wanting a really intense distortion I would be a little unhappy, cos although it has a great solid overdrive on Channel 2 it's no Marshall. But I like a less intense overdrive and it does that way better than any Marshall I've used (AVT100, JCM900).

The clean channel (1) starts to distort beyond about half volume or almost half gain. It's a nice mild distortion that I would use if I didn't also want a completely clean sound sometimes. The right master volume settign allows you to get a strong clean sound loud enough o gig. Channel 2 wil still give you the mildly distorted sound Channel 1 is capable of.

The EQ on bothe channels is briliant. There is so much varoance, especially with Channel 1 which has the Tone Cut control in addition to bass mid and treble. Takes some experiementing, but worth it.

But most importantly - and I wonder of this has been overlooked by one or two other reviews - this amp REALLY needs the right cabinet. More so than, say, the JCM900 I used to have. I have used 3 different cabs and it was only the third that really made this amp sing. I first used a Trace Elliott 4x8 - not by choice, but because I was cabinet-less so I borrowed it from a friend who used it as a second box for his bass. It sounded pretty good, but nothing to rave about. I then went to a secondhand shop and tried out a whole lot of different cabs with a JCM900. it ended up being a very close choice between a closed back 2x10" (Celestions) and an old Vox open back 2x12" (also Celestions, Vintage 30s). They sounded practically the same with the JCM so I bought the 2x10" which was smaller and cheaper. But when I got it home I wasn't convinced. I took it back the next day and swapped it for the old Vox 2x12" and it was 100 times better. I repeat, these two cabs sounded almost identical with the JCM900. I reckon this Vox amp is extra picky with regard to the cabinet. For me, certainly, I was never gonna get the maximum value from it without the exact right cabinet. That's not to say this cab will be the right one for someone else. But it seems to be more critical for this amp than others I've used.

Oh, and it's very quiet.

Can't say, I haven't had it for long enough.

Not dealt with them

I love it! It's the best amp I've ever had or used. I've been playing for 25 years, gigs and recording. It suits my music style perfectly and I love the sound and the versatility. I hate the fact that it weighs a ton, but I;ve never had a good sound from a lightweight amp so I accept it.

All the Modern features that I never use, but I suppose if you used effects loops, D.I. you would be happy.

This is what I don't get, people are saying they don't like the AC30 tone of this amp's Channel 1. If you plug it into a 4x12 cab an AC30 sounds a lot different than with it's open back 2x12 standard cab. I played this amp through a 2x12 open back cab w/ nice Alinco speakers and it sounds 99% as good as the best AC30 I've ever played. The only downside was at 50 watts it doesn't break up as easy. Which if you want more headroom thats great. I hate it when reviewers go on a big rant about all the gear they have, but here I go. In addition to this amp I have a Vintage Modern Marshall, a JCM 800 Combo, a Laney G50L (Which is highly underrated), and a '69 Vibrolux. That being said Channel 2 plugged into a Marshall 4x12 w/ Green backs absolutely kills. Not high gain metal but think AC/DC, Zep, Aerosmith, Sabbath etc. I think these people who reviewed the amp before me must have played through the Vox cab they try to sell w/ these amps or expected a Krank or Mesa.

2008, very versatile, 2 independent channels, higain, effects loop,, everuthing you need to get it right, 50w wich is enough for any gig.

CRAP, CRAP, CRAP!!

I had it for 3 days becuase I couldn??pt take it back to the store earlier.. I play a Fender USA standard strat and a Gibosn SG with EMG??s... I play Ac-dc, alice in chains, Metallica, sondgarden, tool, coldplay, foofighters, a lot of blues, and a lot of rock. I wanted an amp that could get everything and I thought this was the one,,, so they told me... I only played it for a while in the store, not too loud. I didn??t get the sound I wanted but I thought it was a matter of time and of cranking the volume a litlle bit more,,,, so I bought it... I took it home, I started playing, and instead of playing my guitar I spent 2 days touching here and there in the amp, trying to get my tone,,, just one tone wich I could be counfortable with,,,, 2 days,,, the only decent tone was the clean one,,, yes this amp is okay for cleans,, but only just okay,,, I should have bought an AC30 for this. If you are looking for crunch this isn??t your amp,, if you are looking for highgain, it ain??t either. The distorsion is fuzzy, no real valve tone into it, and crunch exactly the same

I changed it for a Sinmarc g100r HEAD...this one is what I wanted, fender cleans, marshall gain..... belive it, it??s true

Introduced late 2006/early 2007 (depending upon where you live).
Power Output: 50 Watts RMS into selectable 8 or 16 ohm loudspeaker load.
Valve complement: 4 x 12AX7/ECC83 (V1:Low microphonic) and 2 x EL34B.
Dimensions (W x H x D): 702 x 265 x 285 mm / 27.6 x 10.4 x 11.2 inches
Weight: 22 kg / 48.5 lbs.
Included items: Power cable, VF002 footswitch
2-channel footswitchable, effects loop capable, XLR and 1/4" direct output with level control on the back. This output is switchable Pre or post the power amplifier???s phase inverter valve, and before the Output Master Volume control.
Channel 1 has vol, 3-band EQ, tone cut (to roll of the high end bite) and gain knobs. This channel is a very classic sounding one. While it doesn't exactly get "crystal clean," as the website touts, it is a very powerful and complete sound. Of course, all of my pick-ups are high output and this could be the source. Or, with the gain cranked, you can make this channel a solid hard rocker or anything in between. this channel also get's really bluesy if you find a midway point between the gain and the vol. controls. Just enough bite but, most importantly, incredibly full tone. The "Tone Cut" knob is very handy to be able to dial in just enough of the high-end ring as it is very sensitive and behaves much live the tone knob on a guitar.
Channel 2 is where the fun really starts up. Features out the wah-zoo!!! This channel, as with channel 1, contains the vol, 3-band EQ, and gain, it also has some other additions. There is a presence knob that actually acts as a presence control should. It is definitely not just another tone knob that is LABELED "presence." There is also 2 switches that can really color this channel: a "Bright" and a "Fat" switch. The bright does exactly that; it brightens to almost and oherwheling level (for my ears anyway). It works wonders for pickups that operate a bit too far in the low end; really pumps up the bite in the sound. The Fat switch acts more like a gain AND midrange boost at the same time. It forms a full, singing, powerhouse sound loaded with gain. Since I play heavy stuff I've found this to be one of its more important features. But even with the Fat switch turned off, this amp still produces massive rocking gain. Unfortunatly, these two switches can NOT be controlled by the footswitch and that is something I'd really like them to change. Lastly, there is the master vol. located to the far left. As with most tube amps, it's better to make more use of this then to have the levels on the channel vol's way up. It makes better use of the power tubes that way.

Variety is the name of the game with this amp. With two independant channels, each having two different behaviors, a plethera of tones can be attained in a snap. As I stated before I use this amp for heavy music (metal and rock) but, I have experimented with this amp extensively and many more sounds are available: thick jazz, deep blues, classic rock, modern, and many types of metal tones. I doubt this could really be used for country though but I haven't tried that yet. It seems to have too dark of a tone to be able to "twang."
Other pluses are that I get nealy NO feadback even while cranked. You pretty much have to stand in front of it with no hands on the guitar whatsoever to get any. That doesn't mean that harmonic squeals are unobtainable; just the opposite. With this amp you can pinch harmonic til your heart's content. I use mainly humbuckers and p-90's and have been impressed, no, floored every time I play it.

I have been using this amp in my gigs the last couple of months and have been completely impressed every time. I do not carry a backup and do not worry about the amp dying on me. I do keep spare tubes but who doesn't. I have gotten many complements on the sound from people in the crowd and from other bands we've played with. Most importantly my band mates have been astonished by the sound as well and our other guitarist is currently thinking about getting one too! This amp has given me no signs that it will fail any time soon. But I haven't had it that long.

I'm giving them a middle-of-the-road rating on this one simply because when I wrote to them to obtain the owners manual (mine didn't have one with it due to the fact that it was sent to the dealer before they were actually released) and they didn't write back or anything. Kinda sad for such a cool company. That, and their US website has nearly nothing on it.

I love this amp. That's the best way I can put it. I tried out many other amps (Orange, Mesa, Peavey, Marshall, etc.) before deciding fully on this one. What they lacked this one had. I'm sure it's not for everyone and I'm sure some just won't like it. I also tried this amp with several different cabs and to tell the truth, the Vox cab sounded the worst. If you try it out, try it with OTHER cabs besides the Vox 4x12 that accompanys it. The Vox cab just had a real "fizzy" sound.