Vox AC1RV Bass

[iovar]

Hello everyone!

Does anyone have any info/experience about this little amp: VOX | AC1RV Bass Miniature Battery Amp with Rhythm Patterns ?
It seems to be available for pre-order on a couple of sites but I can't find any more concrete info about when it's going to be available.

It seems like an interesting option for practice and I haven't seen anything else around the price that is indicated on sites (around 50 £, on uk sites).
And since it is made for bass, I guess it won't distort badly, like I'm reading that those mini-guitar amps do.

Opinions?

[GrowlerBox]

1 W of earth-shattering raw bass power. And that's at 8 ohms! Add an extension and you'll be lifting skirts from Crete to Ibiza.

(I think it might be a toy.)

[paganjack]

I have a feeling it would distort terribly. Maybe not, but I haven't had great luck with tiny battery powered amps.

[iovar]

I'm hoping that it won't distort, though I do imagine that the sound will be tiny. The only reason that I'm considering it is that, at this(supposed) price range, the only other battery "amp" is the Amplug and I want to avoid headphones, cause I value my ears.

[Ferniff]

I got some friends coming in next month and I want to jam out with them in the park but don't want to invest in a new amp altogether. Just something small for a small group of 3-4 can hear, would this be good?

[iovar]

It's not out yet. I think it'll be around July.

I don't believe it will be good for groups, though. I see it as a "practice away from a power-line amp".

Anyway, I wanted it for the summer so waiting July (and probably some more until it reaches retailers here) wasn't an option, so yesterday I ordered the bass amplug, along with that funny little cabinet accessory (though I don't know if that will be audible over the sound of my breath).


For 3-4 people, you might want to look into these:

1) Pignose Hog-30 (30 watts ~160$). If I had the money and it was a bit easier to find outside of the US, I'd go for this.
2) Roland micro cube (5 watts ~200$).
3) Roland mobile cube (5 watts, not bass specific, but may do the job, around 120$)
4) Thomann's HBAC-30 (30 watts, ~90-100€, depending on VAT. It's an acoustic instrument amp, but the 8" speaker may handle bass better than Roland's 5" speakers that the cubes have. One problem is the weight : around 10kgs)
5) Vox Amplug + cabinet (0.7 watts, 60-65 $. You'll have to only play interludes, though, while your friends are resting )

[Ferniff]

Originally Posted by iovar

It's not out yet. I think it'll be around July.

I don't believe it will be good for groups, though. I see it as a "practice away from a power-line amp".

Anyway, I wanted it for the summer so waiting July (and probably some more until it reaches retailers here) wasn't an option, so yesterday I ordered the bass amplug, along with that funny little cabinet accessory (though I don't know if that will be audible over the sound of my breath).

----------------

5) Vox Amplug + cabinet (0.7 watts, 60-65 $. You'll have to only play interludes, though, while your friends are resting )

Did you mean this? NAMM 2010: Vox Amplug Cab - A portable mini amp!

Please tell me how that is with a bass, I thought about getting it but wasn't sure how it would be with a bass.

[iovar]

Originally Posted by Ferniff

Did you mean this? NAMM 2010: Vox Amplug Cab - A portable mini amp!

Please tell me how that is with a bass, I thought about getting it but wasn't sure how it would be with a bass.

Yeah, that's it.

I'll post back as soon as I get it, though it might be a week or more before I do, since the store doesn't stock these (or the fender flats that I ordered with it).

[iovar]

I got it (the bass Amplug and the cabinet).

When I use only the J pickup near the bridge, plucking (lightly) over it, I can set the volume at around 70%, before it starts distorting too much.
If I use the neck P pickup, I have to set it even lower, to avoid excessive distortion.

As you'd expect, 70% of the 0.7 watts is of course very low in volume,so it's definitely not for playing with others.
Except if you use and equalizer as a high pass filter and you play like an electric guitar
(enabling the distortion and playing with the speaker feedback can be quite fun!).

Another thing is that it produces ear bleeding high's, unless if you set the tone very low (but then it distorts a lot easier).
This means that in order to get a non-offensive slap tone out of it you have to set it even lower.
Putting the whole thing in some kind of pouch(whatever is used to carry it outside) seems to reduce the offensive frequencies a bit .


My verdict:

The amplug on its own:
Cool , but I'm a bit afraid of using headphones regularly, so most of the time I'm going to be using it with the cabinet.

The amplug + cabinet:
Only good for low volume practice, which is what I got it for.

[psonic]

what about this
http://www.ibanez.co.jp/products/amp...&series_id=295
the sound samples are very good, it costs 25 €

[Ferniff]

Anyone try the Vox AC1Rv yet? I just got the mini cabinet to go along with my vox amplug headphone amp.

I will be returning the cabinet soon....