vox ac15 ?

[mickeydean]

my tone king imperial covering is falling apart. it still sounds great buts it's been on a couple thousand gigs and i am really thinking about keeping it in the studio.

i was thinking about replacing it for live stuff with an AC15. any of youse guys play one?

are the china ones ok?

[Rumble]

Here's a couple recent threads:

http://www.tdpri.com/forum/amp-centr...thusiasts.html

http://www.tdpri.com/forum/amp-centr...v-ac15cc1.html

http://www.tdpri.com/forum/amp-centr...more-ac15.html

[Colo Springs E]

....my experience wasn't that great. However, Rumble and many others here totally dig them and have had good service out of them.

I will say, you either like the sound of it with the top-boost dimed or you don't. It is its own sound, I'll give it that. To me, it just seemed to trebly and "lo-fi," but that is a tone that a lot of folks are looking for and can make work for them. Frankly, it may have had something to do with my playing abilities as well--I am by no means a "polished" guitarist, so my sloppiness could've accentuated (in a not good way) the sort of brash sound of the amp.

I have to say, the medium top-boost/medium volume tone was just sick it was so sweet. Just a little bit of edge around the tone, especially when you dig in. At that point (top boost at about half, and the volume halfway or higher), it is loud, at least loud for playing in your house. But to me, it's more of a nice living room/small jam amp. I can't see gigging it in a 4-piece rock band, but maybe that has to do with my musical tastes/style.

Try it out and see if you like it. I think it is wise to try it with it LOUD and find out if that loud tone works for you.

-Eric.

[Rumble]

It does have a lo-fi, AM radio sound. I think that's why it's so popular with roots rock and country players. It's definitely not a heavy metal amp. I like it for Stones/Tom Petty type tones.

I'd gig with it with a rock band, but I never play clean. At drum volumes an AC15 will always have some grit to the tone, if not a lot of dirt. If you want crystal clean tones alongside drums it's not the right amp for you.

My favorite setting is actually when it's not that loud. I like it with the top boost volume dimed and the master about 1/4 to 1/3 of the way up. I roll back off the tone on my Tele and off the treble boost on the amp and it gets me where I want to go. It's a very touch sensitive amp, much more than my Marshall JMP or Blues Deville. With the AC15, if you strum softly, the tone will be pretty clean, even with the TB volume dimed. Dig in a little and it gets dirty. Dig in a lot and it gets very dirty. It's got a very unique sound; it either does it for you or it doesn't. (And I'm an unpolished rhythm player myself .)

[JohnnyCrash]

They can sound brittle and harsh in the top end at first.

1. The speakers need to be broken in (especially the Blues which can sound very brittle until broken in).
2. You need to get used to the tone controls... it's called TopBoost for a reason :)

For Petty, Alt Country, early primitive Kinks/Stones/Who, and Roots Rock they are great... though I have to say, for Clean Country picking they can be downright awesome depending on your personal preferences.

For hard rock or blues it can take some dialing in and/or the right OD pedal and/or guitar/pickup... and could be very ugly sounding to some.

[Colo Springs E]

Originally Posted by Rumble

My favorite setting is actually when it's not that loud. I like it with the top boost volume dimed and the master about 1/4 to 1/3 of the way up. I roll back off the tone on my Tele and off the treble boost on the amp and it gets me where I want to go.

I agree with your settings, that's where it sounds best to me. Either that, or the top boost on maybe 1/2 to 3/4, and the master 3/4 or dimed. And did I mention the tremolo is fantastic?

Originally Posted by Rumble

With the AC15, if you strum softly, the tone will be pretty clean, even with the TB volume dimed. Dig in a little and it gets dirty. Dig in a lot and it gets very dirty. It's got a very unique sound; it either does it for you or it doesn't.

Agree, it does respond really well to picking dynamics.

Originally Posted by Rumble

(And I'm an unpolished rhythm player myself .)

You'll never take my title (PSGHOF)* from me!

*President, Sloppy Guitarists Hall of Fame

[EasilyAmused]

I'll just chime in and say that I think they are great - and they certainly work in a 4 piece rock group in my experience... I guess it just depends what you want out of an amp.

I used mine at Lee's Palace in Toronto this past weekend. It's a big room and if the amp was fine there, I can't see myself needing more amp ever. The amp was mic'd, but that was just for FOH. I had no problem hearing myself and I really liked the sound. I only had the amp turned up to about 10:00 on the volume knob too.

Check it out:

http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=-3fHl68BVEM

The solo section starts around 3:06

[DickensCPA]

I let my DRRI go in favor of the AC15 about 4 or 5 weeks ago. At Church we're very progressive with P&W and I play very little pure clean. I keep myself out of the monitors pretty much and rely on the amp. 20 yr old drummer who's extremely loud but just as talented and I hear myself just fine with TB at 12:00 and MV at about 9:30, guitar volume all the way up. Both tremolo settings around 9:00 and reverb barely on. Bass at about 3:00 and treble at about 9:00. Only pedal getting use on my pedal board is compressor for a smidge of sustain. Sanctuary is about 300 people.

Played a quasi outdoor blues jam about 3 weeks ago and left all settings the same except MV got bumped up to 11-12 ish o'clock. Used a tad of my delay pedal on select songs, used compressor same as usual and had a Bad Monkey set up to just boost volume ever so slightly for solos. Bass and treble straight up 12:00 and the gain was at about 8 or 9:00. Sounded great to me.

As with my DRRI and now the AC15 it gets turned on at about 7:45AM Sunday morning and played til about 9:30AM, put on standby and then played from 10:00AM til 10:45. Put on standby and then played from about 11:45 to 12:30.

I practice with another band that plays out on Tuesday nights for about 1 1/2 to 2 hours and depending on schedule we play somewhere either a Fri or Sat night for an hour or so. I might play it a bit during the week at home but mainly rely on an EVJr so I don't have to set the AC15 up and tear it down for home use.

The DRRI and so far the AC15 have both been reliable.

[mickeydean]

thanks guys . i called all the music stores around and nobody had one in stock.

maybe i will just get a used one off eBay!

[holgaguy]

Originally Posted by DickensCPA

I let my DRRI go in favor of the AC15 about 4 or 5 weeks ago.

No regrets letting go of the DRRI? Which one has more headroom?

[Wayne Alexander]

I love AC15s, make sure you get the Celestion Blue speaker, it's a huge part of the correct sound. But note that if you need clean headroom at gig volume, this is not the correct amp, that's what the AC30 does. The AC15 at gig volume will be semidirty to dirty, it will not give you loud clean sounds unless miked.

[Colo Springs E]

Originally Posted by EasilyAmused

http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=-3fHl68BVEM

The solo section starts around 3:06

Very nice! Thanks for sharing...

[DickensCPA]

Originally Posted by holgaguy

No regrets letting go of the DRRI? Which one has more headroom?

I'd have to say the DRRI had more headroom but the Vox's clean sounds sweeter to me, if that makes sense. There's obviously not a lot of total volume difference between the two, but the Vox gets that slight bit of edge much earlier without drowning everyone else out.

As far as regrets about letting the DRRI go, no not really. We never really bonded. I'd get discouraged, read something here, go home and try it and have a love affair with it for a very short period. Honeymoon was always over too quickly.

ETA: My only major complaint about either (really any combo) is they're too heavy for me now. I'm 37 and NEVER had a back problem. Workout religiously and always had a good strong back. A coupla months ago I twisted and bent kinda backwards to pick up a 5 gal gas can I thought was empty. I had filled it to the top and forgot. Tweaked my back and couldn't even walk for 3-4 days. Every since then I have to be VERY careful or I can feel it about to tweak. I have to back out slowly and regroup. Even standing on stage with my Tele around my neck I have to concentrate on my posture or I have to get help getting my amp into the truck.

My next focus is to look for something comparable to the AC15 in a head version.

[holgaguy]

Originally Posted by DickensCPA

I'd have to say the DRRI had more headroom but the Vox's clean sounds sweeter to me, if that makes sense.

I've played through both (in stores) so I get that. The weight issue is one reason haven't sprung for an AC30. Now there's a sound, but it's just way too heavy.

[EasilyAmused]

Originally Posted by Colo Springs E

Very nice! Thanks for sharing...

Thanks, I'm glad you liked it. I love those AC15s!

[Hoodster]

"My next focus is to look for something comparable to the AC15 in a head version."

Your prayers answered, 12 pounds of AC15 tone in a handwired USA head for $750, the Winfield Cyclone:

http://www.winfieldamps.com/
.

[LFB1988]

I think I'm in love with the AC15. I'm thinking about replacing my Hot Rod Deluxe with the Alnico Blues version; only concerns I have are whether it's loud enough, and some people have had reliability issues. But that tone...man.

[Rumble]

Originally Posted by EasilyAmused

I'll just chime in and say that I think they are great - and they certainly work in a 4 piece rock group in my experience... I guess it just depends what you want out of an amp.

I used mine at Lee's Palace in Toronto this past weekend. It's a big room and if the amp was fine there, I can't see myself needing more amp ever. The amp was mic'd, but that was just for FOH. I had no problem hearing myself and I really liked the sound. I only had the amp turned up to about 10:00 on the volume knob too.

Check it out:

http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=-3fHl68BVEM

The solo section starts around 3:06

Nice. I like the U2/AC30 tone you were getting out of it. I've never pulled that tone out of mine. Time to experiment a little.

[Wayne Alexander]

There is an AC15 head, in the handwired heritage series:

http://www.voxamps.com/us/heritageco..._head_and_cab/

I've got this in the combo version, it's a great amp.

[EasilyAmused]

Originally Posted by Rumble

Nice. I like the U2/AC30 tone you were getting out of it. I've never pulled that tone out of mine. Time to experiment a little.

I have to admit - I did 2 mods to mine - I changed R6 from 100k to 220k to give more gain/compression and I cut out the bright cap. I also connected the third lug? (I can't remember exactly now) to the ground so that the tone controls work like a traditional vox treble boost. Total cost - about 35 cents!

Mine is also the version with the celestion blue - just for reference.

[Rumble]

Originally Posted by EasilyAmused

I have to admit - I did 2 mods to mine - I changed R6 from 100k to 220k to give more gain/compression and I cut out the bright cap. I also connected the third lug? (I can't remember exactly now) to the ground so that the tone controls work like a traditional vox treble boost. Total cost - about 35 cents!

Interesting. Are there links to the directions for those mods?

How does a 'traditional' Vox treble boost differ from the stock one?

[SoulPedro]

Originally Posted by Rumble

Interesting. Are there links to the directions for those mods?

This one was useful for me: http://www.guitarpug.com/2008/06/vox-ac15cc-mod-guide/

[EasilyAmused]

Originally Posted by Rumble

Interesting. Are there links to the directions for those mods?

How does a 'traditional' Vox treble boost differ from the stock one?

The controls are more interactive in the traditional one and it allows you to actually dial out a bit more mid range because of that...

All you need to do is this is run a wire like this:


The resistor mod is a little trickier, but there are good details in the link by SoulPedro above. I will say that the site mentions changing both R6 and R7 to 220k, but from looking up older vox schematics, I would suggest only changing R6 - that's all I did and I love it!

The bright cap mod it super easy and can be found there too.

[Singin' Dave]

Originally Posted by Hoodster

"My next focus is to look for something comparable to the AC15 in a head version."

Your prayers answered, 12 pounds of AC15 tone in a handwired USA head for $750, the Winfield Cyclone:

http://www.winfieldamps.com/
.

I actually just ordered one of these from Winnie this week and am very pumped about getting it. The one he had in stock for me had just what I needed, which was 4ohm and an 8ohm speaker outs (vs. just 8 on the stock model), and a vintage OT to boot! Peppered him with emails and he replied to every one quickly and answered questions patiently. Very reasonable shipping as well. Will report back after I receive it and have a chance to put it through its paces alone and with my band.

[Hoodster]

Very cool, Dave. I think you'll love it. And I'm glad to see that you play with a band, because the Cyclone is an extremely loud 15 watts and it's pretty tough to crank it into the overdrive zone at household volumes (although the cleans are fantastic and it does sound wonderful at any volume). What kind of cabinet/speaker will you be using. I have tried both the Eminence Wizard and Ramrod, and both are matches made in heaven with this amplifier.

I'll be looking forward to your report.

[Singin' Dave]

Originally Posted by Hoodster

Very cool, Dave. I think you'll love it. And I'm glad to see that you play with a band, because the Cyclone is an extremely loud 15 watts and it's pretty tough to crank it into the overdrive zone at household volumes (although the cleans are fantastic and it does sound wonderful at any volume). What kind of cabinet/speaker will you be using. I have tried both the Eminence Wizard and Ramrod, and both are matches made in heaven with this amplifier.

I'll be looking forward to your report.

Don't want to hijack thread, but I'll be using the head mostly through a 1x12 loaded with a Celestion Gold. Also a TopHat 2x12 with G12H30s and occasionally a Showman 15 with a JBL D130F. Only mod I plan to make to the head is some NOS tubes.

[mijblonde]

It is a good amp at a really cheap price. The only downside is that it is a bit heavy. But it's plenty loud for its wattage.