Vox ac15 and ac30

[jackdc100]

I played through a (Chinese made) ac15 at guitar center on Saturday and was really impressed with the distorted tone of it, but it sounded a bit thin (for my taste) on single note lines, especially with single coils. It really sounded great, but didn't have that big yet bright clean sound on single notes of the black tolex fenders that I am really fond of. It is worth mentioning that it was the version with the warfedale speaker. I then tried out two deluxe reverbs, one silverface and one blackface. they really are the sound i am going for but were way too loud. The silverface one actually sounded much better; the bass was a bit flabby on the blackface one, but again, it is too loud. Anyway, do any of you guys have experience with the celestion loaded version? How do the english-made reissues compare sound-wise? I really want to buy one of these because they look cool, are widely available and are relatively cheap. The Princeton reverb clones I have been looking at are way too expensive but I guess that is the sound i am going for. I am really attracted by the idea of getting a tweed princeton built for me but I haven't had any experience playing though one, nor do I have access to one to try out. Anyway, Any recommendations for a princeton reverb type am for around 4-600 bucks?

[nonvintage]

I have an AC15CC1X it has the Blue celestion and it's a different sound than a DRRI it maybe a little more British Rock sounding than Blackface Fender amps. I like mine. I dont find it thin with a strat in fact it's pretty fat sounding. I use it in a 5 piece blues band a it's just loud enough. Typically I have the Master Volume 3/4 to fully dimed. The top boost volume at about 3/4 with bass at 2 o'clock and treble at 10 o'clock. The Reverb and Trem are solid state and are very good for the trem to not so good on the reverb but for what I use it for I set it just barely on between 7 and 8 o'clock and it's fine. It's a little heavier than a DRRI. About 47lbs. Check out (plexipalace.com).

[chet]

I really dug the tone I got from a AC15 w/Wharfedale speaker that I played with a Flying V I wound up getting. It's on my "want" list!

[LDM]

I was chatting with a local guitar guru (who can afford to have his amps hand made to his own specification) .. In the conversation he mentioned that the Chinese VOX amps are better than anything that VOX UK have made since about 1967!

He must have seen the look on my face, but he stressed the build quality, reliability and tone were superior, and that they represented great value for money. This guy understands tone, especially for that overdriven British sound, so I may have to put his theory to the test.

[klast]

I tested an AC15CC recently, at relatively low volume. The crunch from the topboost was impressive. However the clean wasn't as chimey as expected.
Could be that the clean is better at high volume, but at low volume I think my Laney VC30 is chimier.
Also, the AC15's reverb was way over the top.

You might want to consider a Laney VC30 or VC15 (that I haven't tried).

Klas

[markinlondon]

I haven't tried the cc versions of the Vox amps but I can state that you should avoid these ones. It's some years since I used an AC30 but the combination with a tele was magnificent. Getting enough volume is the answer to it sounding thin. It's a class A amp, you just have to get them to burn a bit.

[Twangmeister]

Do a search for Wayne Alexander's posts on this topic. He is the resident Vox maven and a heck of a nice guy, too. I have a Brit Korg AC30 RI from 2001 w/blues, have recorded, gigged and toured with it and it cooks. The blue speakers are key to the grind and chime. Wayne also digs the gold labels, but IMHO, an AC30 cranked to about 1:00 is Nirvana.

[jackdc100]

Yeah, you really have to let these things cook. The ac15 sounded pretty good at low volume, but it really came to life when I turned it up. The preamp distortion sounded ok but you really can't add more than a little bit without it sounding grungey. Anyway, I would love to get one. It wasn't insanely loud and could be the way to go for playing in bars.

[CIM]

Originally Posted by LDM

I was chatting with a local guitar guru (who can afford to have his amps hand made to his own specification) .. In the conversation he mentioned that the Chinese VOX amps are better than anything that VOX UK have made since about 1967!

He must have seen the look on my face, but he stressed the build quality, reliability and tone were superior, and that they represented great value for money. This guy understands tone, especially for that overdriven British sound, so I may have to put his theory to the test.

Hmm... well regarding build quality and reliability I don't know enough to comment on the Chinese amps but as far as tone goes, I would suggest he is dismissing at least one of the best sounding VOX amps ever made - the blend of an AC30 brilliant channel and an AC15 output stage which makes what for a lot of people is a dream combination - the AC15 Top Boost.

I have a VOX AC15TBR built in the late 90's - (actually by Marshall UK as it happens). It is something of a different beast to the AC15CC in having an all valve design with no less than five 12AX7 preamp tubes to handle reverb driver, tremolo as well as the three stage preamp. It also has a valve rectifier.

Whereas the AC15CC has solid state reverb driver, tremolo and rectifier and only 2 preamp tubes. I expect the output stage is similar to the AC15TB however and for all I know they may sound very similar.

The AC15CC uses cheapo looking plastic rocker switches instead of chunky metal toggles but they may well work fine, depends how well they are made.

Anyway the AC15TB is an amazingly characterful amp and if the AC15CC sounds any better I would be very impressed indeed, because I don't know what I would change to make mine sound better than it does! BTW I only have the humble Vox bulldog speaker, not the Celestion - and I have no intention of changing it - I understand the AC15TB Bulldog was built by Eminience in the USA which is curious for a 'British' voiced amp. (The AC15CC non-Celestion version has a Wharfdale speaker)

However there is plenty of room for improvement on the build quality and reliability stakes of the AC15TB. I have had to replace the main power transformer and reverb driver transformer as well as a mains LED indicator and some fuses. The build quality was variable on these amps, some of the early Drake AC transformers were unreliable for some reason - I ended up getting a heavier duty one custom made which should hopefully last.

I have also popped a few heater fuses - the cold start inrush current can be enough to pop 'em occasionally and a *slight* increase of value is recommended by some service guys which I have done - I went up 1A and used a different type of anti-surge which may be a bit slower to blow hopefully.

And also the reverb tray is famous for vibrating sympathetically with certain notes. Its fixable but annoying.

I suppose the message is the AC15TBR is a superb sounding amp but not one for the faint of heart when it comes to maintenance - they are also a pain to swap valves. All in all a very sweet amp but perhaps not engineered to the very best standards.

If you still need to be convinced that Vox has made any good sounding amps since 1967 and prior to the Chinese AC15CC's - here are some reviews:

http://reviews.harmony-central.com/r.../AC15-TBR/10/1

http://reviews.harmony-central.com/r...X/AC15-TB/10/1

[WrapAround]

CCs are good sounding amps but you won't get a typical "Fender sound" out of them no matter what. Different topology, different sound, etc., etc.... It sounds like you should go straight to Princeton to me.

I've seen SF Princetons on eBay for fairly short money. Isn't it still the case? You might have to be a bit patient for one to show up, though.

[CIM]

Originally Posted by WrapAround

CCs are good sounding amps but you won't get a typical "Fender sound" out of them no matter what. Different topology, different sound, etc., etc.... It sounds like you should go straight to Princeton to me.

I've seen SF Princetons on eBay for fairly short money. Isn't it still the case? You might have to be a bit patient for one to show up, though.

That's a good point - as well as my AC15 I have a SF Princeton and it is completely dissimilar tonally to the Vox sound. Personally I love 'em both for their own characters - but if a Fender amp voice is desired, a Vox is definitely the wrong place to look...

[hotraman]

Nothing sounds quite like a Vox.
Love the sound with my Tele

[tazzboy]

I played new Vox AC 15 and I really didn't care much for it. I thought it was way to bright sounding.

[CIM]

Originally Posted by tazzboy

I played new Vox AC 15 and I really didn't care much for it. I thought it was way to bright sounding.

Interesting, doesn't sound like a typical description of a VOX. I wonder if the AC15CC has the same sort of tone stack as the older top boost models? I would have thought so...

I don't know if you are new to Vox amps - it is worth mentioning that the Vox tone stack is a strange beast when you first try it - the treble control would be more accurately described as a treble/bass balance control - the more you crank the treble, the more you cut the bass, so it isn't really possible to boost bass and treble by setting both to 10.

BTW there is a nice little downloadable program called a Tone Stack Calculator available here which shows you an EQ curve change while you mess around with treble and bass settings on a Fender, VOX, Marshall and other tone stack designs. Some would say the VOX's stack is almost a design error in a way as it can seem odd to hear the bass fade away as you crank the treble, but its all part of the charm and character of Vox amps to many...

[tazzboy]

Yeah will it had the Celestion G12H-30 speaker I suppose Vox could have put something different in it.

[jackdc100]

Originally Posted by CIM

Interesting, doesn't sound like a typical description of a VOX. I wonder if the AC15CC has the same sort of tone stack as the older top boost models? I would have thought so...

I don't know if you are new to Vox amps - it is worth mentioning that the Vox tone stack is a strange beast when you first try it - the treble control would be more accurately described as a treble/bass balance control - the more you crank the treble, the more you cut the bass, so it isn't really possible to boost bass and treble by setting both to 10.

BTW there is a nice little downloadable program called a Tone Stack Calculator available here which shows you an EQ curve change while you mess around with treble and bass settings on a Fender, VOX, Marshall and other tone stack designs. Some would say the VOX's stack is almost a design error in a way as it can seem odd to hear the bass fade away as you crank the treble, but its all part of the charm and character of Vox amps to many...

Yeah, the one I tried was very bright. To be honest I though it sounded pretty bad with single coils but great with humbuckers. I didn'y mess around with the tone controls much though which in hindsight was really dumb, so this could be helped quite a bit. To be honest I feel really out of place trying out gear when I know I'm not going to buy it and it is worse when you have the saleman over your shoulder. As a result, I tend not to experiment as I otherwise might (or at all in this case). Anyway, I guess i am going to have to go back to the music store