Vox AC10 Hand-Wired 10-watt 1 x 12-inch Tube Combo Amplifier
The AC10 Hand-Wired is a 10-watt 1 x 12-inch valve combo built the way Vox built amplifiers in the early 1960s, using turret board wiring and top-quality components throughout. It is the smaller of the two Hand-Wired combos, with the same chime, jangle and British grit at a wattage that suits a room rather than a hall.
- Hand-wired throughout: traditional turret board construction, wired the same way a Vox would have been in the 1960s.
- Custom transformers: custom-made transformers and custom-designed power circuits, for tone quality and reliable operation.
- 10 watts, 1 x 12-inch: the lower-powered Hand-Wired combo.
- Thinner cabinet: adds harmonic content and makes the amp much easier to carry.
- True spring reverb: the splashy old-school circuit, adding space and dimension.
- FX loop: crisp, clear integration of time-based and modulation stompboxes.
- Dynamic feel: extraordinarily touch-sensitive response that follows the picking hand.
The AC10 Hand-Wired is Vox's 10-watt 1 x 12-inch valve combo, built the way the company built amplifiers in the early 1960s. Rather than a machine-made board, the circuit is assembled by hand on turret board using the highest-quality components, which is the same method a Vox would have been wired with sixty years ago.
Traditional turret board construction
Turret board wiring is what sets the Hand-Wired series apart from the vast majority of modern machine-made amplifiers. Each connection is made by hand rather than printed onto a circuit board. Alongside it sit custom-made transformers and custom-designed power circuits, chosen to deliver the highest quality of tone and the most reliable operation possible.
Chime, jangle and British grit
The voicing is the classic Vox one. Clean settings ring with the chime and jangle the brand is known for, and pushing the amp brings in British-style grit in spades. What players tend to notice first is the feel. The response is extraordinarily dynamic and touch sensitive, so how hard you pick changes how hard the amp breaks up.
A thinner cabinet
The Hand-Wired cabinet is thinner than the standard enclosure, and that does two useful things. It offers enhanced harmonic content, and it makes for much-improved portability when the amp has to move between home, rehearsal and a stage.
Reverb and effects loop
A splashy old-school spring reverb circuit is built in, imparting space and dimension to your sound. An FX loop is fitted as well, so time-based and modulation stompboxes sit after the preamp and integrate crisply and clearly instead of muddying the front end.
Where it sits in the range
Ten watts of hand-wired valve power suits a home room, a small stage or a studio. If you want the same construction with more output, the AC15 Hand-Wired is the larger version of the same design.