About this listing for the 1962 Vox AC10 in FAWN serial #3698

This 1962 Vox AC 10 amplifier 1 x 10 is in excellent original condition and sounding very healthy. It is all there; The transformers, fawn covering, grill cloth, back panels with serialized name plate, Elac speaker and ‘egg’ footswitch.

This 1962 Vox AC-10 Fawn thin edge copper panel version is a rare and highly collectible vintage tube combo amp from the golden era of Jennings Musical Industries (JMI). Finished in its iconic fawn-colored tolex, this 10-watt Class A amplifier delivers the legendary British chime and creamy overdrive that defined the early 1960s rock and pop sound.Sonically, this amp is everything you want it to be, with the full-bodied midrange of early Vox amps. Thanks to its EF86 front end, Vibrato channel has plenty of Vox chime, while the Normal channel offers a similar character--just with less extended top end. In typical Vox fasion, the clean tone transitions seamlessly into a gorgeous touch-sensitive overdrive at a very reasonable volume.

Equipped with EL84 power tubes and EF 86 preamp yields a simple yet musical control layout. Paired with the original 10-inch blue 16 ohm Elac speaker, the AC-10 is perfect for studio recording, collectors, or vintage tone enthusiasts. This AC-10 is a piece of Vox history—compact, tone-rich, and visually stunning. And, at 30 pounds, easy on the back for a Vox.
This amp has been serviced and ready to play saving you time and money. Check out my feedback, buyers appreciate my efforts in ensuring a great purchase experience for vintage amps. A few electrolytic caps, input jacks with 68k grid stoppers and a US style grounded power cord have been updated. (The original jacks, UK style power cord, and a custom amp cover is are included). As these Vox‘s originally have the speaker hard-wired I added a nifty bracket hidden inside the cab with 1/4 jacks, so you can disconnect the stock speaker and easily hook it up to other speakers, cabs, attenuators, Oxbox etc. This bracket can easily be removed if the convenience is not appreciated.  The same goes for a fuse holder installed to protect the power supply (something Vox omitted) that is easily removed if the new owner prefers. A video is supplied to demonstrate the amp is in fine working order. Although this amplifier is set up for US voltages, vintage Vox’s are recommended to be run at 105-110 volts which requires a Brownbox attenuator or a Variac. Please view the pictures for a more detailed visual description. Thanks for looking.

Careful packing and insured shipping is provided to the continental US of A. No returns on amps.

A word on some AC10 unique features

Grid Stopper" Resistors

The AC-10 used 220k grid stopper resistors, more than three times the resistance of other Vox amplifiers. While this had little effect on gain, it had an effect on audio response. The treble response of an amplifier decreases as the value of the grid stopper resistor increases so these amps may sound a little dark in comparison. Perhaps Vox was using this larger value grid stopper resistor value to trim the treble response of the AC-10 as not to outshine the AC-15. Aside from the AC-10, Vox used 68k grid stopper resistors in all of their tube amps. Most Fender tube amps used 68k grid stoppers as well. The Grid/ input resistors on this amp is 68k reduced from 220k.

Vibrato channel intensity knob

The Vibrato channel incorporating the EF86 valve has much more harmonic content, especially if you turn the ‘vibrato amplitude’ knob to max even when the vibrato is disengaged. It's almost like a gain control...it changes voltage on the ef86 screen- try it out. From the back looking at the panel turn the pointer all the way to the right. This is not a ‘mod’ but a welcome peculiarly to this circuit. But, for full intensity of the tremolo effect the knob works best all the way to the left. Counter intuitive but they are all that way.