Two from the top and eight from the back. Since the amp has a closed back you need to remove ten screws. Tube swap is pretty easy and can be done in about 10-15 minutes. Amp sounds good, but I think these upgraded tubes make a nice improvement. Ordered Preferred Series tube set from the The Tube Store. Russian or NOS tubes should improve the amp and give it a bit more headroom and grind. Just need to take the back off and replace the tubes with a set of matched EL84 power tubes and two 12AX7 preamp tubes. The amp is cathode-biased so swapping out tubes is easy enough. Probably best to swap out these tubes for better ones. It is made in China and uses Chinese tubes (or valves). The AC10 Custom uses a compact design and a some compromises that allow this amp’s price point and size/weight ratio. I found that you can obtain nice tones at bedroom volumes due to the Gain/Volume controls. Amp does not have a standby switch or a effects loop, but not too surprising as most small wattage amps at this low price point don’t either. Sounding small and boxy.Īt 10 watts and featuring a master volume the AC10C1 is nice bedroom tube amps and great for the studio. When I tested the AC4 (4-watt Vox) it lacked the sound I was hoping for. Amp sounds a lot like an AC15 with less size, weight and cost. The 10-inch Greenback speaker can sound a bit like a 12-inch allowing this small amp to not sound so boxy mostly due to the closed back design. Gonna love a Vox amp that sounds bigger than it is and only weights 27-lbs! What I am after is the chimney Vox tone and the early breakup and the AC10 has this figured out. I own plenty of pedals that can give me those effects. The AC10 seemed like the best compromise to adding a real Vox amp, even if the reverb is digital and lacks a tremolo. Especially since I already own quite few nice tube amps including some boutique and vintage. The Vox AC10 Custom’s low price and size won me over. I wanted the sound of a real Vox amp…so I bought a real Vox amp! Even though it was made in China… Price was the biggest factor… Not being a Vox was another. Many of these offer better reliability, point-to-point wiring and are awesome amps. There are quite a few boutique amps available using basic Vox designs from makers like Matchless, Badcat, Morgan, JMI, Divided By 13, 65 Amps, Top Hat, Magic Amplification, Carr, Bruno, Swart, Mesa, Dr. The AC15 also offers tube Reverb and Tremolo. AC15 Custom is offered with either one or two 12-inch Celestion Greenback speaker(s) or Alnico Blues. Got really close to buying a AC15 Custom (AC30 volume, size and weight ruled it out from the beginning).

Next I looked in the newer Vox hand wired series which are probably some of the best Vox amps made in years, but the cost, size, weight and the fact that they offer no reverb or tremolo. I investigated vintage Vox amps, but the unreliability, cost, size and weight discouraged me. The new AC10 has a digital reverb that is quite sensitive and can easily go into drip territory. This differs from the original’s six-tube setup, but it shares the fundamental preamp-output tubes. It’s based on two ECC83/12AX7 preamp tubes and a pair of EL84 output tubes in Class A design. While the original was a dual-channel amp with four inputs, the new AC10 Custom has a single channel with one input. Reason seems the same however, to offer an amp in-between the AC4 and AC15. Took 50 years for Vox to bring back an AC10 10-watt amp although this version is quite a bit different than the 1959 version. Times change and small amps are back in demand. A 2×10 version came along in 1963, but as rock and roll got louder, the AC30 became Vox’s new norm, the Twin was gone as well in 1967. Making the original AC10 a very rare and collectable amp. The AC10 had single 10-inch speaker, but was discontinued in 1965. Vox originally introduced the AC10 in 1959 to fill a point between the entry-level AC-4 and professional AC-15. Mostly after some Beatles clean and chime and Tom Petty crunch tones. Looking for an Vox for mostly home studio use, but a small grab and go amp is nice to have. I tried using some pedals and had some success, but there is really nothing like a classic Vox tube amp. Vox AC10C1 Custom 10-watt 1×10″ Tube (Valve) Combo with Celestion Greenback Speakerīeen looking to add some Voxy tones to my amp collection for some time.

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