Vox MV-50 AC - with demos

[dave robinson]

I had an intensive session in my studio this afternoon comparing my Vox AC30/4 with EF86 against my 1960 Watkins Dominator and the new Vox MV50 AC, all with the TVS3 as the main echo unit for my Shadows sounds. I have to say that I was blown away by the fact that the humble MV50 AC through it's 8" speaker delivered almost the exact same tone as the AC30 did through it's two 12" speakers and I wouldn't have believed it possible until I heard it first hand. When playing to the backing track you couldn't separate the two amps and I had them on an A-B splitter box. The Watkins Dominator had the same characteristics too, which I expected it would have because Dick Denney nicked Charlie's idea for his AC15 in 1959.
So where does that leave me in my thoughts ? Well for starters I've ordered a second Vox MV-50 and BC108 cabinet so that I have a back up amp and a second cabinet to try iy in a live gig situation. With the second cabinet I'll get the full 50 watts from the amp and it should be amply loud enough to gig with should I wish to use it.
Over the next few days I'm going to fire the Meazzi Echomatic up and have a listen to how that sounds, but I doubt it can be better than what I've heard already because it was near perfection. What was interesting was that I had to reduce the treble on the MV-50 from what I perceived it to be against the AC30. There's a tone in a Vox that other amps seem to lack and having used my Fender Deluxe Reverb for the past two and a half years I'm hearing it more now upon revisiting the Vox amps.
As for the Spark amp that I was raving about, it is good, but it doesn't do an accurate Vox or Fender sound when compared with the real deal. It' is a good practice tool though and has a place in my kit.
But this is about achieving the magic sound of the Vox / Shadows sound but without the weight of the AC30 because the MV50 and cabinet are so small and light and I'm so pleased that I took the time to revisit it and check it out.

[guitarfred]

Dave, I just want to thank you for doing all of these test comparisons and sharing the results with us. I find it most interesting especially from someone who is able to try them in both a live and a home situation. Cheers mate.

[dave robinson]

Thanks Fred, I am going to try and make a video to demonstrate what I'm saying.
I'll set up the camera in my studio and play some tunes using my TVS3 going through each of the two Vox amps using an A/B splitter box so we can switch between the two amps and let people hear the similarity and judge for themselves.
Like I said, I am so pleased about it that I ordered a second identical rig so I have two small cabinets that should give me the full 50 watts output to work live. Should this proves successful I will probably sell my larger amps to free up space, as they won't be used for gigs anymore due to the difficulty in moving them around as I am not a strong as I once was.
The problem with demos on You Tube is that nobody shows us any of our type of music, so I want to put that right to help people make decisions.
If anybody has a preference of which tunes would best demonstrate this test, I would be pleased to hear what they are and will try to play them.

[TimRyland]

Dave,

I would be really interested to hear what it sounds like recorded directly out of the phones/line out. I rarely get a chance to play out loud, so am using headphones 90% of the time.

Tim.

[dave robinson]

OK we'll have a look at that Tim.
I currently D.I. into our PA via my Kemper Profiler and send a line to my Fender Deluxe Reverb behind me, but the core sound I use is the AC30 in the Kemper.
I have tried the MV50 directly into m FRFR speaker and it sounds exactly like a Vox should. We'll give it a go when I do the video and show that it does the job (or not)

[TimRyland]

Dave,

Thank you very much for taking the time to do this for members on here. As you say, most of the YouTube videos about this amp are always high gain demos

Tim.

[Somerset]

Well, I've had my Vox MV50 AC / BC108 for 24 hours now and I have to say that I think it is nothing short of fantastic.

I've used the settings that Dave showed in an earlier post except for the volume which I have at around 10/11 o'clock and that is plenty loud enough for playing shut away in my "music room" at home. I have the EQ switch set to "deep" which is recommended for small speaker cabinets.

So far I've not tried it through my Peavey Classic 112E 12 inch 16 ohm cabinet but I'm in no hurry to. I am more than happy with the BC108.

[dave robinson]

Yes I too was impressed by the little 8" speaker cabinet, that's what made me want to pursue this avenue.
I'm pleased you found my settings a help. I'm expecting the second amp and cabinet over the next couple of working days, it's coming from Germany, then I'll set it all up and do the video.
I'm currently playing in my living room using the Spark 40 with my Strymon Volante echo and it too sounds very pleasing, but it isn't as close as the Vox gear tone-wise.

[dave robinson]

https://youtu.be/0MXe_9_H-rE

my Apache demo, rushed as I don't feel great today but you'll hear what I mean, despite cock ups.

[dave robinson]

Wonderful Land demo
https://youtu.be/5IN_Kv0HDs8