From chime-like “toppy” cleans to mid-forward grind and saturated sustain, the Vox AC     is an undisputed classic, with an all-star list of users going back to the early 60’s. Vox’s AC amps are among the most recorded and instantly recognizable guitar amplifiers ever made. One of the major forces behind the British Invasion sound, from Day Tripper to Smoke on the Water and from Iggy Pop to the modern Nashville sound, the Vox AC sound is everywhere. 

This latest version of Vox’s top-of-the-line hand-wired AC series features old-school turret-board construction, upgraded to deliver even more vintage pedigree alongside modern upgrades essential to modern players. This new hand-wired AC4 is designed like a scaled-down version of the AC30/AC15, with 4 watts RMS and a single “Top Boost” channel. On the top-mounted copper (aka “candy”) control panel, the pointed “chicken-head” indicator knobs are arranged in a classic design layout. Choose high or low input, with a volume and two highly interactive bass and treble controls. On the far right, a master volume control lets you dial in glorious AC-style breakup at a level that’s just right for quiet practice, or recording. There is also a level control for the onboard true spring reverb tank, plus there is a modern FX loop—a first of its kind for the Vox AC hand-wired series. 

Inside, the AC4HWR1d1 features all-hand-wired-to-turret-board construction, just like the early Jennings-era classics, scaled down to a single 12AX7 preamp tube and lone EL84 in the power plant. This all-new hand-wired AC10 also features a completely redesigned power circuit and transformer design that helps eliminate ghost tones and improve reliability. The Black Tolex-covered Baltic birch cab has been redesigned to slightly thinner vintage specs, reducing weight while adding resonance and harmonic complexity. 

This AC4HWR1d1 is equipped with a 25-watt 12” Celestion Greenback speaker, which captures the vintage sound, with some additional midrange punch and a bit more modern breakup, at lower volumes.