Vox AC-1 Mini Combo

Price Paid: US $25.00 used

Features: 9
This amp is a mini-amp by Vox that has just what it needs. How could anyone expect more than volume, cut, and gain, headphone jack, battery power and a/c power from a $35 amp? I played it at about half volume in the living room and my wife heard it in the bedroom with the door closed and window unit air conditioner going and she thought it was my Fender Champ! This little solid state one-watter is worth more than the asking price. It may not have loads of features, but for the price and the fact that what it has works excellent, I give it a 9 in this category.

Sound Quality: 10
I use a Epi Casino with this amp and it likes the middle pickup the best. I love the clean voxy sound and it will give you some light distortion at higher volumes. The amp sounds much larger than what it is. By itself, it is not for metal but for a good clean amp with tone--that's right--tone, this baby is a winner. You can always add a distortion pedal. I've been playing for nearly 30 years and I give this little bad boy a 10.

Reliability: 9
Mine is 3 years old. It looks and sounds like new. I plan on trying it out on a small crowd of maybe 20 people with my effects board. I'm confident it will be heard. It is a plastic amp with a nice grill clothes over the speakers. Obviously, you want to be careful with any amp. You wouldn't want to sit on it!

Customer Support: N/A
Bought mine used.

Overall Rating: 10
I've been at it 28 years and own a Casino guitar, Peavey DB 115, Fender Champ, Digitech RP-2000 at this time. I would buy another one of these amps in a minute. I love the fact that it is so light and small and can produce sounds equal to much larger amps up to a certain volume. It has wonderful tone. I did my homework on this one reading reviews on this site and asking around on the Fender forum. The majority of fingers pointed out the Vox AC-1 mini amp as the best in the bunch of mini amps for under $50. When I say majority I'm saying 8 out of 10 at least chose this amp over all the other mini amps from my sample. This won me over. Plus, I like Vox products and this just re-inforced my opinion of Vox products. This may very well get most of my playing time. I wish I had bought one sooner. May not have even needed the other larger amps. Try one and see what I'm talking about. You will find yourself asking: how can so much good tone come from such a small inexpensive little box?

Submitted by mike baggett at 06/16/2004 08:38

Price Paid: US $34.99

Features: 7
it has volume, gain, and tone(cut) knobs. it is what i intended on buying. the reviews preceding this one were accurate. it gets loud enough to bounce around the walls of your apartment. at least you don't hear the strings rattling over the top of it. it has a 1/8 inch headphone jack, and an outlet for a 9v adapter(not included)

Sound Quality: 9
i've played through it with a gibson sg, and a gibson es-125(p-90, neck position). it sounds good. it get's semi-clean with the gain all of the way down, and the volume up. turn the volume on the guitar down, like any one of you would, and it gets clean. it is very treble heavy. the E, B, and D strings are prominant. it has a good crunch when you crank it. it is a smooth distortion like the postcard-sized instruction sheet claimed. i plugged a turbo rat into it, which gives a lot of volume boost, and the speakers could handle it. i tried it compared to a fender mini-deluxe, and overall it sounded better, but the fender's distortion was much thicker, but the fender would crap out on the bottom e string. all in all, it is worth 35.00.

Reliability: 4
it's entirely plastic. the fabric that imitates grill cloth is as well a synthetic blend. it looks like it could be cheap and easy to build a wood cabinet for the amp, but i haven't taken it apart yet. it's heavier than i thought it would be, it is thick plastic. perhaps it could be dropped from waist level on a linoleum floor and remain intact.

Customer Support: N/A
if you call for customer support on this i hope you record it.

Overall Rating: 9
it is exactly what i wanted. and it sounded better than i thought it would. definitely worth the money.

Submitted by Anonymous at 08/05/2003 19:30

Price Paid: 85 (Australian)

Features: 5
You've seen the features from the reviews below. Basic features but very versatile for a battery amp. Great little amp. I actually did a small solo gig at a friends party with it (no drums). Really good tone control, you can really tailor the sounds to your liking. The volume control is not a simple roll off type control, it is an interactive part of the circuit and when dimed it gives you a beautiful power amp sounding overdrive. The gain is good for adding more or less dirt. Housing is not so good, plastic and not all that solid. Can get rattly when you crank it. Solution, see below.

Sound Quality: 10
I loved the sound of this but didn't like the speakers. So I housed the guts in a home made stomp box. I added a level control (simple roll of pot) to turn the level down for other stomp boxes I have hooked up after it. I keep the volume control maxed to give that spongy feel to my sound and adjust gain and tone to suit. I love it as a mild overdrive unit to give clean sounds a bit of dirt. Won't do metal, but hey, its a Vox. Brilliant for blues, classic rock etc, anything where low to mediium levels of dirt are required. I love using it with a clean amp setting. I use a V-Amp 2 and regardless of what clean amp setting I use it give me that characteristic Vox tone.

Reliability: 7
The speakers are small and glued to the plastic housing. The plastic also rattled. It sounds awesome through larger speakers. Apart from the cheap plastic and speakers (which I don't use anymore) the construction seems really good. It's all PCB mounted but very solid and the pots are all smooth and crackle free.

Customer Support: N/A
Never needed it so I can't comment.

Overall Rating: 10
I've been playing for 5 years now. Owned quite a bit of gear in my time and have now settled into a home recording setup. Got lots of pedals that go into a V-Amp 2 then to a mixer (or hard disk recorder), power amp (with subwoofer) and home made speaker boxes (woofer and tweeter). My guitars are Gibson Flying V, Gibson Blueshawk, ESP LTD MH201, Ibanez 1976 SG Copy, '80s Hohner Les Paul Copy, Custom Made Stratocaster. All guitars sound great with the Vox AC1 stomp box. I love it and find myself using it more than any of my other 15 or so pedals. I bought it on a whim and it has become a staple of my sound. Couldn't ask more of it. For less than the price of an average stomp box it sounds fantastic, better than any I have tried. I also play through a Marshall JH-1, Vox Distortion Booster and Mica Fuzzder (old '70s fuzz). I play mainly indie/alternative pop/rock with a hint of blues.

Submitted by geoff at 06/01/2003 21:14

Price Paid: 31 (pounds) used

Features: 7
Cheap plastic toy that looks like a miniature AC30. 2 tiny speakers, gain, volume & cut (tone) controls. Headphone jack & ac adapter jack.

Some attention to detail (fake vents, handles, chicken-head knobs, back panels etc), but if only they'd put the jack on the other side and made the panel copper-coloured!

Sound Quality: 9
I use it with a 50s Classic Tele and an Epi Dot. The first thing I noticed when I plugged in my Tele - it buzzes like a real amp! The next thing I noticed was that it actually sounds like a Vox. That's not to say that it sounds like an AC30, just that it has that Vox character. It overdrives very smoothly, much better than my first 5W solid state practice amp, and even better than the clean channel on an all-valve Marshall DSL combo (which was very harsh). Very loud for its size as well, but obviously, some bass will be missing from a box that size. Miked up with an SM57 and a hint of reverb it rocks! I want to disconnect the speakers and wire the output into my AC15's 2x10"s... I also like picking it up and holding it to my Dot's F-holes to get some tuneful feedback! The interaction of the gain/volume is remarkably similar to my AC15 in that it gets more overdriven as the volume is turned up, with a limit to how much overdrive you can get from maxing the gain at a low volume.

Reliability: 8
Would I gig with it without a backup? I could probably use it as a backup, as long as there was a decent PA.
I opened it up and it's only a couple of transistors and some resistors & capacitors. Looks impressively solid & well-built.

Customer Support: N/A

Overall Rating: 9
I used to own a '62 AC30, now I have an AC15RI for recording and stuff (no gigging), so I chose this mainly because the Vox sound (and look) is a big part of my sound. I have the AC1 on my mantlepiece, so I can noodle away while I watch tv. It's a cheap plastic toy, but I reckon it's a notch above similar cheap plastic toys.

Submitted by Rhys Williams at 03/14/2003 16:20

Price Paid: US $45

Features: 9
gain, tone, volume
Rating it a 9, because itīs not very versatile. Itīs just what it is, and itīs pretty fine for the matter.

Sound Quality: 9
I used a american strat and a les paul.
This amp sounds better with the strat.
The amp it self has an excellent tone considering itīs size, the speaker, and the features. You can have a good clean sound. In fact, very good. If you crank the volume you get something like a poweramp distortion. if you crank the gain, you have something like a preamp distortion and the sound gets fuller.
Thereīs not a great amount of bass frequencies, but i think itīs due to the speakers too.
Iīm going to connect it to my marshall 1960A when i have time to see how it behaves.
I was told this amp sounds amazing with a 12" speaker.

When i crank it loud... it makes some buzz. I took of the battery door and some has disappeared. But thereīs still some, like if it was going to break.
Anyway, this is about sound.. and the sound is really Fantastic for itīs size.
Yes, itīs Voxey like. Maybe good for recording too.
But no, itīs not like an Ac-30. Letīs say it reminds it...

Rating it a 9, because itīs a small amp for practice.

Ps - ITīS LOUD. the midrange blows it away!

Reliability: 5
Seems fragile. Made of plastic..
Donīt overcrank it and make sure it wont fall off the table.

Customer Support: N/A
Never dealt with them.

Overall Rating: 10
Itīs a great practice amp.
Itīs able much more than practice. I guess it will be good for recording too.
Anyway, excellent.

Submitted by Franco at 01/29/2003 13:04

Price Paid: US $35

Features: 7
PLEASE VIEW ALL COMMENTS IN THE CONTEXT OF THIS BEING A $35, 90% PLASTIC AMP!!!

Cool looking, pretty functional practice amp that delivers decent tone at a volume that won't wake up the kids or wife. Volume, Gain, Cut (works the reverse of the std treble control), 2 speakers (I think) and a 9V battery or adapter. It's a cheap practice amp that does the job it's designed to do.

Sound Quality: 6
I play a variety of guitars but mostly a stock MIJ Strat with this little Vox. It sounds fine for what it is, but don't overcrank it or it sounds like sh*t. You can get a reasonable clean sound (which you can't with my other mini amp - a Smokey) and the overdriven tone is pretty good as well.

Reliability: 5
It feels fragile, I wouldn't want to drop it. Conversely, I've dropped my Smokey many times but it's built like a tank. The guitar input is on top of the amp and a cord with a metal jack makes the amp unstable and prone to falling over every time you move - don't put it too close to the edge of the table!!!

Customer Support: N/A
I've not dealt with Korg.

Overall Rating: 10
OK, this is a very cool looking amp. Does it sound like a vintage Vox? NO (I own 3). Does it sound decent for late night practice? YES. Is it a bargain at $35? ABSOLUTELY. Nice product, better vlaue for money than Smokey and better tone than the Marshal MS-2.

A RANT: Folks who use this site and just give everything a 10 because the product they are reviewing is their current favorite toy aren't doing other Harmony Central users a favor. Some of the reviews of this amp are just plain silly. Harmony Central is a great resource and people should be more objective in their reviews.

Submitted by Anonymous at 01/14/2003 13:57

Price Paid: US $20.00

Features: 10
Features: 10

Assume this amp was made 2000-2002. Was looking for a quiet practice amp for late-night practicing and this VOX AC-1 fits the bill perfectly.

Single channel, Volume, Cut(treble), and Gain. Has headphone jack and AC adaptor input. Also has the funky cloth diamond-quilt speaker cloth just like the legendary AC-30.

Plenty of power! This thing can bark!

Sound Quality: 10
Sounds: 10

Use a Fender 62 Telecaster Custom RI with this mini-amp. AC-1 has outstanding 'clean' tones, with the typical VOXY chime. The cool thing is, to make this thing really distort you got to crank both the 'Gain' and 'Volume' controls, just like with a real tube amp.

Very sweet 'chime' with clean settings, raucous distortion when fully cranked. Overall, this amp has killer tones for such a small mini-amp.

Reliability: 10
Reliability: 10

I don't think this amp is suitable for gigging, unless perhaps you were accompanying the Singing Nun in a tiny prayer chapel.

As far as reliability goes, as long as you don't drive over it with a pick-up truck it should last forever. The only maintenance is replacing the 9 volt battery. I use the 9 volt adaptor so that's not an issue.

Customer Support: 10
Customer Support: 10

I’ve dealt with VOX/KORG in the past and they have always been very friendly and helpful. As I already stated, I can't conceive of this AC-1 having any problems, it's very well built.

Overall Rating: 10
Overall Rating: 10

I've been playing for just over a year now. I already own a VOX Cambridge 30, which sounds terrific too, but is a bit loud for practicing at night. If it were stolen, I'd replace it in a second if I could still find one...sadly, VOX recently discontinued this little beauty.

For $20, just can't beat the value of this AC-1. To be truthful, I usually reach for this amp first anymore when I practice. Hook it up to a multi-effects pedal, like the AX1G, and this thing realy rocks out. Believe me, even just stand-alone, with great clean tone, and terrific overdrive distortion when you crank it, the AC-1 makes a perfect and very economical practice amp.

lr**
Michael Behuniak
Seattle, WA
Dec 29,2002

Submitted by Michael Behuniak at 12/29/2002 17:11

Price Paid: US $35

Features: 10
2002 Vox AC-1 mini amp. Volume, treble cut, and gain. Headphone jack and DC In that proves much more useful than the 9 volt battery. (see reliability. Simple design (but it's a mini-amp, c'mon, you don't pay for the features) but totally versatile and balsy. The treble cut really only seems to be useful while playing with clean settings. When the gain is up, you won't notice too much of a change. For what it is ($35 dollar toy, when it comes down to it) nothing beats it.

Sound Quality: 10
I play through a G&L 2002 custom Comanche (unbelievable), Epiphone Elite Les Paul, and Dean Avalanche as a backup. This baby sounds sweet and really reacts well to any pickup combinations you throw at it. If you tweak it right, you can get a huge range of sounds, and they're all pretty decent. I've had the Marshall MS-1 (Decent distortion but low volume level and terrible clean) and Fender Mini Twin (great in it's own right, especially distorted, but not nearly as good tone in my opinion) and the Vox blows them away. As others have mentioned, it really is Voxy. The clean begins to break up right about at half volume but that only creates a wider array of overdrive to work with. (besides, the volume control on your guitar can compensate greatly for the breakup and you can get some fairly damn loud clean and overdrive out of this.) I play thousands of styles of music, but blues, jazz, and acoustic comprise most of my playing. This is definetly a blues amp. It's got terribly smooth gain that is a joy to work with in chords and soloing. Oh yeah, THIS BABY GETS SOME GREAT FEEDBACK!!!! It really blew my mind. Turn it up, position your guitar in front of it and let it wail. crazy....

Reliability: 10
Right, so when I opened up and plugged in, I immediatly noticed a rattling while I was playing, that I found to be very annoying. I figured it was just the sound of the amp considering that it's a plastic toy (although very detailed and beautiful) but I found out about 30 seconds later that it was the 9Volt cover. I play now through an AC adapter, with the cover off. kind of gay, but definetly nothing to fret about. I figure this amp will never break. I've dropped it more than a few times and it's still just as good as the day I purchased it. I might mic it at a gig for a song or two just as a joke, although I've heard it gets great sounds through an extension cab.....hmmmmmmmm.

Customer Support: 10
It's $35 dollars. Who the hell would call costumer service. if it broke, i'd buy another one in an instant.

Overall Rating: 10
I'm 18 and have only been playing for the last 4 years. My other equipment includes a Crate Blue Voodoo half stack, (Not quite good, but trying really hard to be) Vox Valvetronix AD120 (quite possibly the best sounding, most fun amp I've ever played through) and various recording and PA equipment. Overall, I've got to give this a very high rating. For what it's worth, nothing even comes close. Vox nailed this little mo fo fo sho......right. They're fun too. get one.

Submitted by Jonathan Branham at 12/02/2002 15:38

Price Paid: US $29

Features: 8
This ia a mini amp, similar to others made by Fender, Marshall, Danelectro, etc. Volume, tone, and overdrive controls. The one feature I wish it had is some sort of tilt-back stand,as it can tip over easily, and the weight of a guitar cable is enough to move it around easily. Two speakers, and a very good looking front grille with Vox logo. It does have a headphone mini-jack.

Sound Quality: 9
I've used it with Fender, Gibson, and Parker guitars so far. I own a few og these mini amps (Fender, Danelectro, Smokey, Prime). Most of them are good enough at distortion to double as fuzz boxes, but can't do clean tones well. The Fender Mini Twin gets AMAZING distortion for its size.

Yhe Vox is just the opposite. Its tones range from clean to a crunchy overdrive. Any harder distortion, even at high volume, would have to be done by an external pedal. If the clean sound is what you're looking for, you won't find a better mini amp than the AC-1.

Reliability: N/A
Don't know, but at the price, who cares?

Customer Support: N/A
Bice web site.

Overall Rating: 9
I own about 20 guitars. I like these portable mini amps for portable/travel/outdoor use, and for playing without annoying my wife. This and the Fender Mini Twin are my favorites - this one for clean and the Fender for distortion.

Submitted by Bob DeGrande at 07/09/2002 17:52

Price Paid: US $20

Features: 7
Plug in and it turns on. Volume, Gain & Cut controls. Headphone jack not on top (would be more convenient.) I'm not aware of the adapter plug in, probably overlooked it because I just assumed it was 9-volt only - will have to try one out.

Sound Quality: 9
The key to this little amp, as was stated before me, is the TONE. When I opened the box (don't know what I was expecting because I had never seen one, maybe something a little bigger) I thought that this little toy would just sound awful. This thought was seconded by a friend who plays and laughed his ass off when he saw it. I WAS SO WRONG! This little bugger Kicks Ass, especially when you turn up the gain. Classic distortion and it DOES GET LOUD!

It's quite remarkable for it's size. As much as I like it, I have to give it a 9 because when the gain is turned down to provide a clean sound the output level still has to be kept down to keep it from breaking up. BUT when I plugged in my Overdrive pedal (Boss OD-1), keeping the gain down and just using the level for more volume I got a much louder clean sound. Also, the Cut control is pretty much useless. When you turn it up it just gives you a muddy, compressed sound. So don't bother with it, leave it all the way down.

I have only played through it with my Jap Strat (Hot Rails/single/single), because I'm using it as a practice amp at a cabin that I have, but for Rock & Blues I think it's great. You won't get a "modern" buzzsaw sound out of it and if you're a metalhead, then shy away - it's not going to get the sound you want. But anyone else wishing for a portable

Reliability: N/A
Doesn't matter. Obviously, it's plastic so you can't thrash it.

Customer Support: N/A
n/a

Overall Rating: 10
I'm just getting back into playing, my 2 sons are growing up now and I can crank again. I mostly play in my basement but recently hooked up with some guys in a garage (literally) band. My main guitar is a Hamer Standard and I'm the proud owner of a Rivera Thirty-Twelve Combo and also have a Marshall Lead 20.
I don't think you could find anything better for the price and sound - PLUS it is VERY cool looking, love that grill covering and the chicken head knobs! If lost, stolen or broken I'd buy another one in a heartbeat.
I haven't heard the Marshall Mini or Fender Twin Mini, but I can't imagine that they could sound any better than this little gem.

Submitted by MarkM at 07/09/2002 10:39