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1965 Vox AC100 Mk II Vintage Tube Amp Head JMI UK-Made, Clean & Serviced

$3,399.99

+ shipping

Up for sale, a 1965 Vox AC100 Mk. II vintage tube amp head in excellent condition and in perfect working order. The iconic AC100 was designed specifically for The Beatles in 1963 by Dick Denney, with the goal of producing an amp that was loud enough to be heard over the shrieks of Beatlemania. At the time of its inception, it was the loudest production amplifier ever created; taking the crisp and balanced tones of the AC30 to ear-splitting 80-100W (while clean) levels, delivering instantly-recognizable Vox sizzle and, when really pushed, fat overdrive chime. The AC100 is a dual input design, with simple Volume, Treble and Bass controls.

Today, original AC100s are exceedingly rare, with only a few thousand produced between 1963 and 1969. This particular example is a first-year Mk. II (1965-69), which features an RMS fixed bias output stage as opposed to the original cathode biased power amp section of the Mk. I; known to be prone to overheating and thermal issues.

The circuit is very original, retaining its trio of Woden transformers. The output and power transformers have matching B.W. date stamps, translating to February of 1965, while the choke has an A.W. code from January of '65. The tag board circuit retains the majority of its original components, with two original pots and one CTS-made replacement. The power supply has been professionally recapped with F&Ts, and the 100R plate resistors, cathode resistors, and cathode bypass caps on the output tubes have been replaced as well, ensuring optimal performance. A three-prong power cable has also been installed.

The tube complement features a matched quartet of new Electro Harmonix EL34s, with one J&J 12AU7 and two Groove Tubes 12AX7 preamp tubes. This particular unit has been modified to include a simple 1/4” output, replacing the two three-pin XLR outputs initially utilized. There is a factory hole on the back of the enclosure where one of the XLR outputs was removed.

Cosmetics include black basketweave tolex, diamond lattice grillcloth, gold and white piping, one-pin corners, the original handle, and a gold Vox badge on the face of the head. This amp is in great shape, with cosmetic wear limited to just a scant few scuffs on the black tolex and a small tear central to the right side of the lightly faded grillcloth.