Vox amps (and fuzz pedals)

Calum13

I’m thinking of getting my first valve amp when I have some more money because I feel my old solid state amp just can’t get the hendrix tones I’m after. I’ve heard hendrix used vox amps on the studio. What good vox amps is there under £600? I’m mostly a bedroom player so is an AC30 too loud or is it just an AC15 with more headroom?-and would the AC15 break up at bedroom volume? I’ve also heard fuzz face pedals don’t work well with the top boost channel and some amps like the AC10 or AC30s1 only have one channel that’s based on the top boost. My fuzz pedal is a Dunlop JDF2 (germanium fuzz) and my guitar is a fender strat (SSS).

DarnWeight

Forget about the AC30 for bedroom use.  A pushed AC15 will probably be too loud as well. 

If you're OK with a head rather than a combo, then the AC15CH head has a built in attenuator which goes down to 1/6W at it's quietest...you should be able to get a new one for £450 or thereabouts.  I have one, it lives in my bedroom, and it sounds great!  It's also a "proper" AC15 in that it has both a Normal and TB channel.

I've used a bunch of different fuzzes with mine, and don't recall having any major problems.  Sometimes they work better with the Normal channel than the Top Boost, but that's no biggie...the Normal channel is voiced well, anyway.  I've gt a DIY Si FF derivative that I built, and that sounds good.  Tonebenders work extremely well, too.

Voxman

Hendrix used a lot of different gear out live and in the studio including Sunn, Orange, Vox, various Fenders and of course, Marshalls.  Stuff like The Wind Cries Mary and Little Wing were done with Vox and Fender amps in the studio, but if you're after his raunchier tones such as Purple Haze, Foxy Lady, etc he'd mainly use a Marshall even in the studio, typically JTM45's and 100w Superlead Plexi's.  Having said that, he used so many different pieces of gear that it's not really that well documented as to exactly what amps he'd use for which songs in the studio and there's a fair bit of speculation eg for Voodoo Chile he might have used a Fender - probably a Dual Showman, but he used Twin Reverbs too.  

Even the guitars he used varied - whilst he's most famously associated with the Fender Stratocaster, he also used a Gibson SG, Flying V and even (albeit rarer) a Les Paul. Interestingly he didn't start using Strats til 1966 and before then he used Epiphones and Danelectros. 

Effects wise, the Dallas Arbiter Fuzzface, Vox Wah and UniVox Uni-Vibe (the speed of which he'd control with an expression pedal) were pretty much his staple effects - but he used others too including Marshall and Roger Mayer fuzz and Octavia units. But don't forget too that he used a long coiled guitar cable that cut the highs and so that was a very important part of his sound too. 

I'm not trying to put you off buying a good valve amp, but unless you get one with an attenuator, for bedroom use you might have more success/fun with either a good modelling amp that can give you a wide range of different amp and effect emulations to get Hendrix tones, or a good mfx unit with amp modelling and effects to use either through headphones or in front of a valve amp, that will help you get good tones at bedroom volumes.   

dazzajl

I’m not really much of a pedal user so I can’t help you much there. I can tell you that you really don’t want an AC30 though. 

I’ve recently got the 2 x Blue version and now I have to buy a stadium to go with it 

ICBM

Get a Digitech Jimi Hendrix Experience pedal and play it into any decent clean solid-state amp.

That will get you far closer than trying to do it with the ‘right’ gear at bedroom volume, which simply won’t really work.

The pedal is actually very good.

If you do want to do it with normal pedals and an amp, a good modelling amp will still probably work better than a valve amp for low volumes.

If you *must* have a valve amp and you’re set on a Vox, I would say the new AC10 actually sounds better at low volume than the AC15 - but an AC30CC or C still just sounds the best. It’s a bigger, fuller and more complex sound even at very low volume - the problem is the sheer size and weight of them.

jacksparrow

Get a Princeton reverb for home use, It really is the perfect home amp.

ICBM

jacksparrow said:

Get a Princeton reverb for home use, It really is the perfect home amp.

I nearly posted that too, maybe I should have . I’ve always thought Hendrix’s studio sounds were more ‘Fendery’, regardless of what he may actually have used.

thecolourbox

The Digitech Hendrix pedal is incredibly good, good call ICBM.

Kittyfrisk

I would advise you to go & listen to a few amps before buying anything. Don't get seduced by gear names & player associations.
For example, amongst a load of others, I have a Blackstar HT1R. 
This is a titchy little 1watt handbag with an 8" speaker, that if I have it on full volume with a bit of gain can easily annoy the neighbours & I live an old house with 30cm thick stone walls... just saying 

Modulus_Amps

What is your current solid state amp?

Have you got a fuzz face of some variety?

Have you got a wah pedal

Have you got a strat?

Those three things and you should be able to get pretty Hendrixy with just about any amp.

munckee

After always scoffing at this response until I recently acquired one, I finally find myself saying "get a katana!" 

Calum13

Modulus_Amps said:

What is your current solid state amp?

Have you got a fuzz face of some variety?

Have you got a wah pedal

Have you got a strat?

Those three things and you should be able to get pretty Hendrixy with just about any amp.

Marshall 5203, everything is fine about it apart from the distorted sound. It has only one channel with both master volume and pre-amp settings. It’s fine for clean sounds but I just can’t get a good overdriven  sound out of it. I have a TS style pedal which could be placed after the fuzz to simulate the sound of it going into an overdriven amp. 

Also, I do have a wah pedal and strat.

ICBM

Calum13 said:

Marshall 5203, everything is fine about it apart from the distorted sound. It has only one channel with both master volume and pre-amp settings. It’s fine for clean sounds but I just can’t get a good overdriven  sound out of it. I have a TS style pedal which could be placed after the fuzz to simulate the sound of it going into an overdriven amp.

That amp doesn't have a great overdrive sound, no - it's very old-school technology now, even though the build quality is outstanding. Try the TS, but if that doesn't do the trick I would get a Marshall Guv'nor or Drivemaster - the modern Guv'nor Plus is very cheap, and into a combo will give you more of the big 4x12" sound with the 'deep' control.

Calum13

ICBM said:

Calum13 said:

Marshall 5203, everything is fine about it apart from the distorted sound. It has only one channel with both master volume and pre-amp settings. It’s fine for clean sounds but I just can’t get a good overdriven  sound out of it. I have a TS style pedal which could be placed after the fuzz to simulate the sound of it going into an overdriven amp.

That amp doesn't have a great overdrive sound, no - it's very old-school technology now, even though the build quality is outstanding. Try the TS, but if that doesn't do the trick I would get a Marshall Guv'nor or Drivemaster - the modern Guv'nor Plus is very cheap, and into a combo will give you more of the big 4x12" sound with the 'deep' control.

I’ve noticed the TS cuts some bass out of the sound. I have the the presence, Mids and bass cranked and the treble on about 7. Instead of the Marshall pedal I could try an EQ pedal to add more bass.

ICBM

Calum13 said:

I’ve noticed the TS cuts some bass out of the sound. I have the the presence, Mids and bass cranked and the treble on about 7. Instead of the Marshall pedal I could try an EQ pedal to add more bass.

Yes, the TS does that - try taking the mids down on the amp (and maybe the presence and treble too), that will make the TS sound more like an overdriven amp and make the bass cut less obvious.

darthed1981

munckee said:

After always scoffing at this response until I recently acquired one, I finally find myself saying "get a katana!" 

It's like invasion of the body snatchers isn't it?

Kittyfrisk

darthed1981 said:

munckee said:

After always scoffing at this response until I recently acquired one, I finally find myself saying "get a katana!" 

It's like invasion of the body snatchers isn't it?

Bet you encourage people to 'just try a pod'...

Calum13

Is the AC15VR any good?

ICBM

Calum13 said:

Is the AC15VR any good?

Yes, as long as you replace the speaker - the stock one is *terrible*.

This isn't the most scientific test in the world but it's fairly accurate .

Calum13

ICBM said:

Calum13 said:

Is the AC15VR any good?

Yes, as long as you replace the speaker - the stock one is *terrible*.

This isn't the most scientific test in the world but it's fairly accurate .

What do you recommend? A greenback? Or is it worth getting the Celestion blue?

ICBM

Calum13 said:

What do you recommend? A greenback? Or is it worth getting the Celestion blue?

The Blue is over £200... so probably not.

I'd probably get the Greenback, or a G12H-30 if you're looking for more of a Hendrix sound, or one of the modern Celestions like the V-Type.

Any of them will give a huge improvement in tone and volume. I know you probably don't need volume, but the stock speaker really is weak and makes the amp sound underpowered.