The Vox AC10C1 Amplifier
A Look "Under the Hood"
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The Vox AC10C1 returned to the Vox line in May 2015, fifty
years after the original JMI AC-10 made its final appearance in the May 1966 Vox price list. Let's compare the original AC-10 circuit, designed in 1960, to the 2015 model.

The Original JMI AC-10
The JMI Vox AC-10 was an open backed, hand wired amp that featured six tubes: an EF86, ECF82, ECC83 (12AX7), two EL84 output tubes and an EZ81 rectifier tube. The amp featured two inputs, two channels, tremolo and a tone control. The first channel was powered by the EF86 tube, the second channel and the tremolo circuit was powered by the ECF86. The ECC83 served as the phase inverter.

The 1960 design for the JMI AC-10 did not include separate treble and bass controls, sometimes called "Top Boost" in Vox parlance. The AC-10 only had a simple passive "Tone" control to attenuate the treble response.

A close comparison of the JMI AC-10 schematic (OS/008) and JMI AC-15 schematic (OA/031) reveals that the AC-10 and AC-15 shared a nearly identical output stage. Both had two EL84 output tubes, similar power amp circuitry and similar B+ plate voltages. The AC-10 and AC-15 power amp stages were so close in design that it would not be unreasonable to conclude that both amps should have been rated at 15 to 17 watts RMS.

Vox AC10C1
The Vox AC10C1 was a single input, single channel design with four tubes. In addition to the Top Boost tone control circuit and gain control, the AC10C1 also included reverb.

The signal path for the AC10C1 started with a 12AX7 (V2) tube. One half of V2 served as an preamp gain stage while the second half powered the treble and bass controls of the Top Boost tone control stack. A second 12AX7 (V3) was the phase inverter. The AC10C1 preamp also included a digital reverb circuit that was designed on to a small separate PC board (see photo above).

The output stage of the AC10C1 was powered by two EL84 tubes, just like the design of the 1960 JMI AC-10. The AC10C1 utilized solid state diodes for power supply rectification, eliminating the need for the EZ81 rectifier tube from the original 1960 AC-10 design.

The power amp stage drove a single Vox VX10 speaker, produced by Celestion in China. The chassis and speaker were mounted in a closed back enclosure constructed of MDF (medium desnity fiberboard).






North Coast Music offers a number of spare parts for the AC10C1
Genuine Vox AC10C1 Cover
Replacement VOX logo (p/n NCM-025)
Exact replacement handles for the AC10C1 (p/n NCM-104)
Vox Air Vents (p/n NCM-081)
Brown Diamond Vox Grill Cloth

White and gold cabinet piping for the AC10C1
Basketweave Replacement vinyl for the AC10C1


Gold Fascia Strip


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The VOX Showroom!


Photos and editorial content courtesy Gary Hahlbeck, North Coast Music

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