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Dirty-South Blues Harp forum: wail on! > VOX AC4TV Mini
VOX AC4TV Mini
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Killa_Hertz
1717 posts
Aug 25, 2016
6:16 AM
I've had my eye on one of these for a while. Ive seen a few used for harp. I really like the compact size and the variable wattage.

So I found one on sale last week and I bought it. It's a pretty kick ass little amp. Very nice warm sound. And at very low volume at that. Set on 1 watt setting this thing is very home usable. And nice Tube warmth that its hard to get from anything else at that volume. Using pedals to get the tube warmth I find you still get a bit of that Solid State type processed sound. Which isnt always bad, but I digress.

The only problem I have with this amp is that its kind of a one trick pony at the moment as it's really hard to get a clean sound out of it. Really Dirty Amp. With a CR JT30 or PE53 its crazy dirty. I've found that with a EV 627C its just about perfect.

But my question is which Tubes would you recommend if I were to swap them out to try to get a more usable range? It uses a single 12AX7. I just want to be able to set it a little cleaner. At any volume what so ever its Super Dirt. Lol

Thanks
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ValleyDuke
88 posts
Aug 25, 2016
8:28 AM
I still want one of these. I used to have the 10" speaker version. Very smooth with a stick mic.

They use an EL84 as a power tube. I'm not sure what you can swap for that. But, you can always put a 12AU7 in the pre-amp to calm it down.
FatJesus
77 posts
Aug 25, 2016
11:34 AM
I've long had the AC4TV (not the Mini one)... so if it's comparable... I swapped my tubes to a 12AY7 and a mellower EL84 (instead of the Sovtek, which it had). It's been less dirty and a good bit cleaner (but not too clean, if I use my biscuit, and dial the tone way back).

If you go that route, I did the Doug's Tubes thing, and it was great; I might have picked up JJ's NOS, or something like that (been a while).

The big thing: It makes a HUGE difference, replacing the stock tube with something less powerful, for harp.
Killa_Hertz
1718 posts
Aug 26, 2016
6:46 AM
Yes the mini also has an EL-84 power tube ... i think? According to the VOX site.

Ok so 12AU or AY. Guess I'll do my research on which does what.

Is it simply less gain or are there other factors at play that change or color the tone? Just speaking AU vs AY.

And then how about brands. What's the big differences there?

Thanks.
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SuperBee
4032 posts
Aug 26, 2016
7:19 AM
You know, I would say if you want it cleaner, turn the volume down.
Generally folks are tubing down to get dirty before they hit feedback.
Is it just too dirty on the low power setting?
Like the common complaint is that an amp is too gainy and that makes it hard to control because it is too touchy and feeds back when you play dynamically, you can't turn it up and consequently can't get it to really sing. So you swap a lower gain tube in, which gives a bit more sweep on the volume control, gives more useable range and let's you get access to some more dirt when you want it. But if you are saying too dirty at any setting, I am not really seeing how lower gain is gonna help with that really.
I would say look to the mic you are using.
Killa_Hertz
1719 posts
Aug 26, 2016
9:08 AM
yea, im not sure if its just this specific amp or if its the model. But at the 1 watt setting its muddy from bottom to top. Down low its a nice warm sound but not crispy by any means. And also not loud enough. The rest of the range depends on the mic ( as you said) but it is pretty feedback prone once the volume gets up to about 30%. Really at the volume range I want to use it at it's just too dirty. Which varies from mic to mic, but its about 50% @ 1 watt. However I have been thinking of either Micing it or hooking it up to an extension cabinet. This may be a better solution. Perhaps its the smaller speaker that is the issue.

The 4 watt setting seems to be a little more crispy at the bottom. Altough i havent really used the 4 watt too much yet so i cant give a real good description of that. Its far too loud at 4 watt for home use. But since I'm thinking of it I'll put the 4 watt through the paces today and see.

The Mic I have found that sounds pretty amazing with this amp is my EV 627C. It's perfect IMO. So maybe I should just leave it alone and only use this mic for it.

Ive only had it for a few days. So It'll take some toying. Perhaps I should take some recordings so you can better hear where its at.
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Last Edited by Killa_Hertz on Aug 26, 2016 7:34 PM


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