daryl_skinner's Reviews

Fastest tracking speed I've ever seen on a tuner.

I've yet a find a tuner that tracks my guitar signal anywhere as fast and accurately as this tuner.

As good as some of the best vintage halo inductor based wah pedals.

This wah pedal is like multiple vintage halo-inductor based wah pedal stuffed in one pedal. Back when I bought it, it used to cost around $100. If I ain't wrong they have hiked the prices, but even after the price hike it offers unbeatable value for the money. If anything I like it better than vintage Eleca halo inductor based wah pedals because BBE's halo inductor has lower noise, and the pedal has great quality true bypass switching.

Best Firebird pickups I've ever used.

Before you read this review let me make one thing clear. I'm a die hard Johnny Winter fan, so this may not be the most unbiased review.

As for the pickups, if you own a Gibson Firebird and you want your guitar to sound great then don't even think twice, just go for these pickups. They're the best Firebird pickups I've ever used. The thing I like the most about them is the beautiful overtones they produce when I use them clean.

Gibson's stock Firebird pickups ain't bad but these puppies take the guitar to the next level. There's no mini humbucker trickery over here. It's a true blue Firebird pickup built in the good ole way. They make my Firebird V sound like a genuine '63 and '64 Firebird, albeit with even better dynamics.

Gets rid of the hum but retains the toaster sound.

The folks at The Creamery claim that this pickup is a bit fatter sounding than the toasters from 1957. I ain't sure about the 1957 era toasters but compared to current generation of toasters they sound nothing different. The only difference I could hear between them and the current generation toaster pickups is that they don't hum. That may sound like a minuscule difference and to be honest if you use your Rickenbacker guitar for clean or cleanish low gain applications then switching to them won't make a big difference for you.

However, for me they make a big difference. Since they don't hum I'm able to use them for comparatively higher gain applications than what Rickenbacker guitars are generally used for. I know Rickenbacker makes their own humbucker too, but they don't sound like the toaster pickups. These humbucking toasters on the other hand sound just like toasters but without the hum. These pickups open up new horizons for Rickenbacker guitars without sacrificing the qualities that make a Rickenbacker guitar unique.

Can't go wrong with the Rick.

I bought my Rick used. Since I use my guitars at a comparatively higher gain than most Rickenbacker users, I have replaced the stock toaster pickups with hum-cancelling Low '57 toaster pickups from Creamery. It doesn't sound anything different from what it used to sound with the single coil toaster pickups, but with the hum-cancelling toaster pickups the hum is gone.

Since it's no more held back by issues concerning pickup hum I can use them with higher amount of gain, and the Rickenbacker armed with the hum cancelling toasters sounds glorious through my Vox AC100 CPH. As far as playability is considered, well it's a Rickenbacker, one can't go wrong with it.

Best and most versatile guitar ever made by Gibson, period.

If I need to describe the Firebird in one word it will be perfection. It hands down best and most versatile guitar ever made by Gibson. I use Mojotone Johnny Winter Signature Firebird pickups in my Firebird. Through my Vox AC100 CPH the Firebird can pull off anything starting from the The Beach Boys to Diamond Head.

An otherwise good amp ruined by poor marketing, and absurd choice of speakers.

Let me get few stuffs clear about this amp. This amp was marketed rather poorly. Vox marketed it as a modern high gain amp, even its extended control layout and features are similar to a modern two channel amp but that's where all the modernity ends. If you're looking for an alternative to a Marshall DSL100HR, or JVM210H, or a Peavey 5150 then sorry to disappoint you, but this amp isn't meant for you. It's high gain by Vox standards, but it's by no means a modern high gain fire breather. It's more or less a vintage high gain amp.

It's an odd amp among legions of hot-rodded Marshall, and Fender based amps. Its preamp section is basically a VOX AC30 preamp that has been heavily modified for extended tone shaping and higher gain, and its power amp section is derived from the second generation fixed bias Vox AC100.

This amp is picky when it comes to speakers. So far I've had excellent results through Weber Ceramic Blue Dog, and pretty great results through the Celestion Heritage G12M Greenback speakers. Too bad Vox marketed it with the Wharfedale GSH-1230 speakers which are based on Celestion G12H30 speakers. Like every other Vox amp this amp too sounds okay through G12H30 style speakers when clean, but absolutely terrible through them when overdriven. Its performance is pretty lackluster through the Vintage 30 too.

When paired with right speakers it does the nice old-school Vox tones, as well as a unique high gain hot-rodded take on the classic Vox tone with aplomb, however with wrong speakers it either sounds rather lackluster or downright terrible. Same is true when it's about using various kinds of boost pedals with it. Overdriven Vox amps sound rather poor when boosted by a Tube Screamer, unfortunately that trait is true for this amp too.

For this amp either stick to using transparent overdrives like Timmy as boost, or if you want the best performance opt for a modernized treble booster that has a gain cut knob and a controlled voicing like the Naga Viper. It's a good amp provided you know what you're getting into. The best thing about this amp is that it not only sounds great but it also has its own unique tone that you won't hear from any other amp.

With the right set-up it does classic rock, arena rock, old school Black Sabbath style metal, and old school NWOBHM like a boss. If your musical style is similar to those then you would astonished by the tone of this amp. It can go from The Beatles style guitar tones to aggressive Riot style guitar tones without breaking a sweat. This amp is like the souls of multiple Vox amps stuffed in one single amp. The only catch is that you need to pair it up with the right speakers.

The cab is good but the Wharfedale speakers are terrible.

The Vox V412BN is quite ruggedly built, in term of quality it easily trumps over the current generation Marshall cabs. However, the stock Wharfedale speakers were a rather poor choice for the Vox AC100 CPH.

Best speakers for the Vox AC100 CPH.

I replaced the Wharfedale speakers in my Vox V412BN with these speakers and my Vox AC100 CPH came to life. The AC100 CPH sounded terrible with the Wharfedale speakers, it sounded dull, buzzy and hissy.

Before buying these speakers I tried my amp through my bandmates Marshall 4x12" loaded with G12M Heritage Greenbacks. Although it sounded good but the unique qualities of a Vox amp were gone with the Greenback. The overdrive channel sounded great but the cleans were a bit lacking for my tastes.

Then I tried them through a Mesa/Boogie Traditional 4x12" loaded with the made in U.K. Vintage 30 speakers. With the Vintage 30 the mid-range response was okay but the the complex upper mids, and the chime that you expect from a Vox amp were completely missing. Instead of having a detailed and complex chime the Vintage 30 made the cleans smeared in the high end. In overdrive channel the Vintage 30 made the upper-mids sound congested and smeared. So I contacted Weber Speakers and they recommended the 50 watt Ceramic Blue Dog speakers for my amp.

With these speakers my amp sounds absolutely beautiful. In the clean channel it produces the nice signature Vox chime that is rich in complex harmonics in the presence and high end spectrum. In overdrive channel not only the speaker has a nice low end response, and detailed mid-range, but it also has detailed and complex upper mids like an Alnico Blue speaker. However, unlike an Alnico Blue these speakers handle high gain with aplomb, and have a faster low end response.

With these speakers my AC100 CPH sounds exactly like what it was built to sound like, it sounds like a hot-rodded Vox amp. If only Vox would have put something like this speaker in the VOX V412BN the AC100 CPH wouldn't have been such a failure.

Decent speakers but poor match for the Vox AC100 CPH

They are not necessarily poor quality speakers. If anything they're pretty decent G12H30 style speakers. However they are a rather poor match for the Vox AC100 CPH. Through them the VOX AC100 CPH had rather harsh and hissy high end, and extremely dull mid-range. The amp sounded outright horrible through them. I replaced them with 50-watt Weber Ceramic Blue Dog speakers and the now my amp sounds exquisite. Maybe these speakers will work better in some other amp.