AC4HW1 4-watt 1x12" Handwired Tube Combo Amp Review

Well worth the wait!

I'd been wanting to pick one of these up for a while, since my primary interest is in amps of 5 watts or less. Finding good tube distortion in a low wattage amp turned into a bigger challenge than I expected. This amp is the best of the bunch. The distortion breakup can be dialed in beautifully, and it sounds incredible, and at bedroom volumes! Up to now I've been mainly a Fender… read more tube amp guy (Bassman, Princeton Reverb RI, Fender '57 Champ), but this amp has changed that. I know it's back-ordered, but it's worth the wait.

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For 5 Stars - Replace the Tubes

This is a stellar amp! I purchased this 9 months ago and experienced the tubes making noises and harmonics after about 3 months. If you replace the tubes with your favorite tubes, I found this amp came alive and even changed (in a good way the dynamics of the eq and interrelationship). Im still an intermediate player but my guitar instructor was able to coax sweet harmonic chiming… read more cleans to self sustaining feedback single notes. All at non-ear splitting volumes and so very Vox :) Some of the magic is its' single ended power and the interrelationship of the eq. Very nice to have the 12in Greenback. This is solid state rectified but through a series of diodes handwired with the rest on the circuit. This helps keeping the overdrive controlled but not stiff. The size is ideal for portability. The tone is inspiring while practicing and brings out the aspects of my playing I need to work on. Bring your favorite mic for the PA. I plug straight in to the amp mostly and use the guitar volume and tone. The quality of the construction is all around excellent! Also the customer service at Sweetwater is second to none! Thanks Tiberius!!

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Classic VOX sound in a small package

I love the sound of this amp. While I use this low wattage amp for gigs in smaller rooms, I mainly use it for recording in my home studio. Explaining how any amp sounds is obviously a subjective matter, but to me, the amp sounds "thick" or "creamy" without sounding muddy. Classic Vox in a small package!

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A Vox all tuber that I can actually carry

Now I finally have a "Practice Amp" that actually inspires me to practice. Plug the 16ohm speaker out into a Bad Cat Unleash V2, plug in your favorite speaker cab and rule any gig with that glorious Vox Top Boost Tone.

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Great Amp

I was looking for a low wattage amp with Celestion Greenbacks that would be used mainly for recording in my home studio. Also wanted a VOX "sound" having played through an old AC30 a few years back, so I thought I'd give this amp a try. Right out of the box, I noticed the beautiful construction and attention to detail. Solidly built and somewhat larger than I would have expected… read more for a low wattage amp. I then played several guitars through the amp (LP, Strat, ES336, Ovation acoustic electric) and it was actually hard to get a bad sound. More importantly, since I'll use it for recording, I've been able to easily dial up a variety of sounds (clean, crunch, etc.) through the amp using just the volume control on the guitars. No harsh highs or muddy lows. Highly recommended.

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