48 years dream fulfilled: My new VOX amp

[Nick Allan]

Thanks a lot Michael. Because of your earlier reference to this site I managed to get to it.

Re their advice, I would be inclined to accept it, especially since the expert Amanda agrees !!!

Thanks to you both.I really need to become more literate in these matters!

All the best,

Nick.

[Amanda]

Hi,

I can give you another example, a few weeks back Roger Bayliss turned his
AC30 Heritage off to insert a lead and back on, it blew the GZ34!

This is because when the valve is hot there is a huge surge through it as
the reservoir and smoothing capacitors charge.

I've actually seen a GZ34 flash over internally as the standby switch was switched to on!

A lot of the people on The US site who were involved in the thread on Stand By switches
are amp builders and service engineers!

Regards

Amanda

[Nick Allan]

Oh dear, Amanda - bad news.

Was Roger using the standby switch, or if not, does that mean there is a risk, even with the standby switch permanently on, if you switch the amp off and then on again ?

Maybe I should have a spare valve, although I don't fancy fitting one in the middle of a gig !

Regards,

Nick.

[abel]

Thank you all,

I am glad I asked. Hopefully the first owner knew this too.

Jim,
Sorry to hear about your stroke. I wish you a prompt and full recovery with no chance of a stroke happening again. Blessings.

- I will leave the Standby switch ON (probably tape it so I won't make the mistake of switching it accidentally OFF).

- I will also try using the non-top boost channel with the brilliance switch turned on as suggested by Michael.

Blessings to all,
Abel

[roger bayliss]

Oh dear, Amanda - bad news.

Was Roger using the standby switch, or if not, does that mean there is a risk, even with the standby switch permanently on, if you switch the amp off and then on again ?

Maybe I should have a spare valve, although I don't fancy fitting one in the middle of a gig !

Regards,

Nick.

No standby switching on the Heritage Nick just turned off briefly as Amanda states to insert another lead and then switched back on and it was dead rectifier valve and Amanda helped me get that sorted. I have learned not to bother switching on and off now just leave turned on and turn volume down and had no repeat of this problem.. good on Amanda

[roger bayliss]

Abel

Glad to hear of your dream of owning an AC30 after all these years and it makes it all the sweeter eh ! ... same here I waited 35years till I got mine last year and I love it to bits the sound is just what I always looked for...

As for the settings on the top boost tunes use the bass up full and bring the treble up till it bites about 2 - 3 o'clock and I use the Cut control around 3'O' clock on a lot of stuff and use a little bit of compression on the top boost stuff. Do not forget Roger Allcocks Vintage unit adding a ef86 stage to your amp should you require that feature as a bolt-on later. Have fun !

[abel]

Hi Roger,

Thank you for your input.
Do you mean that you can actually simulate compression by tweaking the buttons on the Top Boost channel?.
Of course your unit would be a superb addition, but that will entails a series of negociations with the better half.
It's in my plan for the future (future?).

Also I am confused about the footswitch to use:
- I heard about the VFS2 and also the VF002
Do they both do the same function ie: switching the Tremolo and the Reverb ON/OFF?. Which one should I get?.
Thank you all.

Blessings,
Abel

[roger bayliss]

Hi Roger,

Thank you for your input.
Do you mean that you can actually simulate compression by tweaking the buttons on the Top Boost channel?.
Of course your unit would be a superb addition, but that will entails a series of negociations with the better half.
It's in my plan for the future (future?).

Also I am confused about the footswitch to use:
- I heard about the VFS2 and also the VF002
Do they both do the same function ie: switching the Tremolo and the Reverb ON/OFF?. Which one should I get?.
Thank you all.

Blessings,
Abel

The compression is added by using an effect pedal / rack unit for this purpose. I currently use a Behringher DC9 Dynamics Compressor which is a cheap but capable version of the famous MXR DynaComp which in itself is a clone of the ever popular Ross unit. Many use the popular Boss CS3 and so on. I like the one I use because it adds a really nice sparkle to the tone and is subtle not harsh and it's quite inexpensive ! I recently did myself a recording of Foot Tapper using those settings and got good results albeit I recorded my amp using the small / tiny condensor mic built into my Zoom MRS 8 track recorder/studio and it distorted a bit but the core sound was definitely there.

http://www.behringer.com/EN/Products/DC9.aspx

The Vintage unit is not mine ... it's made by Roger Allcock another member of this forum.

As to your foot pedal I am not sure and I looked on the Vox site but could not see in the manual what was needed and because you live in the USA might differ anyway to UK so suggest you talk to your local store / supplier bout that.

HTH

[abel]

Hi Roger,

Yes you are right, Roger Allock made that unit.
After reading your email, I went ahead and bought a Behringer DC9 Dynamics Compressor online for ...$29 and free shipping.
It's good to have some compression. Thanks for your advice.

Blessings,
Abel

[Amanda]

Hi,

That is correct, even without the standby switch, switching the amp off
and immediately on again can damage the rectifier, I've had somebody contact
me in the last few days with an AC15 Heritage to which this has happened as well.

One other thing to bear in mind is the fact that the amps are rated at 220 - 230v for the UK
(nominally 225v) and the mains voltage is 240V ( 245 - 250v at my house) there is more voltage being
handled by the rectifier.

Amanda