Anyone using a Vox AC15 at church?

I think it would be be perfect for CCM. Anyone using an AC15C1 at church? How's is it working out for you? Any good or bad pedal experiences with it?

I don't use one, but I played a worship service a couple weeks ago with a guy who did. It was a big church, so big I brought my 66 Fender Super Reverb. He was just as loud and clean as me with that little AC15. One thing though, he had the handwired version. He had a pretty big board too, the amp seemed to handle pedals pretty well. I liked it alot, but I don't have that kind of money for an amp right now.

I do indeed use an AC-15C1 Blue in church. It works great. Sweet chiming cleans with a gritty overdrive. I use an A-B switch to move between normal and top boost. Board is crybaby- oc full tone fat boost- tube screamer - SD1 - DS1 - dyna comp - Volume - tu2 patched off tuner- mxr phase 90- mxr carbon copy- dd7 w/ tap tempo.

I find normal channel takes my OD best as I have the dirt turned up on the top boost channel for a warm natural OD. I also bleed in just a little bit of reverb and tremolo to give it a big fullnessh . Mic it with an SM -57.

I have the ac30hw2, which drops down into 15 watt mode. So it is the same wattage, and I can get very loud and keep a good amount of clean headroom. Obviously when i have more in 30 watt mode. I've heard the ac15cc1's take pedals very well, My amp takes them pretty well, you don't need an effect's loop, I just plug them in front. I almost got one myself, but I decided to get an amp once, and I needed to make sure i had enough clean head room.

If you like the vox sound, you will be very pleased with the ac15. Here is a comparison between the ac15c1, and the ac15hw1.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZuTPxdAVlcA&feature=fvwrel

Well, I picked one up and I'm sure anxious to use it. It sounds amazing, if a tad heavy in the weight department. I can live with that. We have an acoustic drums set behind a clear shield, a loud pass player, keys, acoustic guitar through an SWR and three singers on any given weekend.

I'll be spending the weekend finding the right combination of pedals to go with it.

Yes i do!!
It's great. Really does exactly what i need it to. occasionally it can be a little to bright (the fact that im playing a tele probably doesnt help...), but thats only on occasion and other than that i have no problems. Im running it with a mexi tele and my board is pretty straightforward; just a couple delays (one with tap tempo), a couple overdrives, volume, tuner, and a Voodoo lab pp2+. really versitile. I can kick on my light overdrive and get a classic hillson type sound, or go clean and get a really great coldplay type guitar sound (a la "parachutes" era. Ps, if you havent listened to it, you should listen to the song "spies" by coldplay. it on parachutes and has some really fantastic guitar going on.)
So yes, in short, i do play, and do recommend, my AC15c1 for church playing.

Vox amps (specifically AC15s & AC30s) have been a staple in worship settings for more than a few years at this point. So much so that a Vox, Telecaster, & a huge pedalboard is a fairly stereotypical P&W rig. Partly because of The Edge & partly because it's a working combination. My next build is going to be an AC10 twin. Enjoy the amp!

The AC15 is a great amp... Just make sure to get the right one... A few years back I didn't do my homework and ordered a AC15CC1 with the wharfendale speaker... Terrible. Vox has quite a few variations in the AC15 so do your due diligence.

Im using my Egnater Tweaker 15 set to the AC30 mode on Sunday. There is no reason with modern sound systems that 15 watts (or less) isn't enough head room.

Actually, my advice would be to buy the Tweaker 15 for the same money and have more versatility.

The guitarist in a jazz group that I play bass in uses one. It's a great amp!! He has the hand wired version

I A/B'd the Vox AC15 and the Fender Blues Jr. NOS a few weeks back at chuch. Started out with the AC15 and I didn't mind the clean tones, but as soon as I tried adding drive it started sounding poor (i.e. I didn't like it). I have never been able to get the dirty tones I like out of a AC15. This is not the case with the Blues Jr. I love the grit I get with Fender. Who knows, maybe I just need to spend more time with an AC15, but twenty pounds difference really makes the Blues Jr. more attractive.

Two other guitarists on the team use the AC15. One plays a 70's Fender Strat AVRI and can get some tones that sound o.k. to me, not my sound, but it works for him. The other guy plays a 80's Charvel and the tone is just awful. Kind of a real flat fuzzy sound- compressed in a bad way.

I play a 57 AVRI Strat, an American Tele, or a Les Paul. I get the tones I like out of the Blues Jr. much more readily than the AC15.

Kuskas, are you all using the same model ac15?

Not only the same model, the same amp itself.

That's kind of my point though, there are a lot of AC15 variants. I had one of the bad ones, my friends has one of the great ones.. two completely different amps, same name.

that being said, there is a preference between EL34's or 6V6's that's a lot like Single Coil vs Humbucker

I play the older 'handwired' version of the AC15H1TV w/ an Alnico Blue paired with the tc electronic nova system. It is working out pretty good. Generally I find that, pedals that give you plexi-type tones tend to go well with AC15s for a dynamic rhythm sound while a tubescreamer-like pedal for lead tones. I use the built in 'drive' module in my tc and I tend to stay on the 'distortion' setting all the time as it cleans up so well and kick in the boost for a dynamic lead tone that reacts well to pick attack and the like. I think tc sell it seperately as the dark matter distortion or of course the Nova Drive. It might not sound like the kind of thing you'd pair with this amp (as I thought first too!), as the name suggests that the pedal might be 'modern' flavoured, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that it is a more of a vintage plexi sound. Worked really well with both my Top Boost and the EF86 channel. Worth a look. Also, stuff like Fulldrive 2 sound good with the AC15, as the other guitarist in the band uses one with his AC15C1.

AC15s are so cliche in the modern church is that you almost expect to find one in a typical church these days. They have become part of that modern sound and I've grown a bit tired of hearing it! I'm about to get myself a Tweed Deluxe clone and pair it with my Germanium OD for a bit of fuzz and zero delay! I've gotta get away from that Edge sound. The Vox's biggest positive is that it sits well in the mix with the keys which is crucial for me as often the keys tend to get in the way of me.

It worked great. It took a bit to dial it in for my first time using it at church. But, I got a LOT of compliments this weekend so, it must have been the new Vox AC15C1. :shock:

I used an AC15C1 on Sunday, plugged into the normal channel. Vol and master both just past 10 o'clock. Cut knob up at 2 o'clock. I've found I like brightness to pre rather than post drive, so first in my signal path is a Durham Sex Drive (with a piece of tape!) with the tone knob full up, into a Tim or a Fish Factory, both able to cut treble to taste.

I used my AC15C1 yesterday in church for the first time. It sounded incredible. I used the high gain channel and played my LP Studio. I have the cut knob set at about 10 o'clock when I play my LP and when I use my Tele I turn it up to about 1 o'clock or else it's too bright. Like fingernails on a chalkboard. Anyway, IMO after playing through a Fender Deville 212 and never really being happy with it, I think this Vox is a great amp that I will stick with.

The AC15 is a great amp... Just make sure to get the right one... A few years back I didn't do my homework and ordered a AC15CC1 with the wharfendale speaker... Terrible. Vox has quite a few variations in the AC15 so do your due diligence.

Im using my Egnater Tweaker 15 set to the AC30 mode on Sunday. There is no reason with modern sound systems that 15 watts (or less) isn't enough head room.

Actually, my advice would be to buy the Tweaker 15 for the same money and have more versatility.

I use a Tweaker 15 as well and give it high marks for versatitly (and an effect loop!). AC tone setting is good and gets you in the general AC15 neighborhood, It doesn't quite capture the magic of a good AC15 if that is the tone you are set on. If you are dead set on a Vox, the AC15C1 is one of the better versions of that amp for the money IMHO.

AC15s are so cliche in the modern church is that you almost expect to find one in a typical church these days. They have become part of that modern sound and I've grown a bit tired of hearing it!

Truth!!! Most of the time these days I play a POD HD direct. It has been fun auditioning different tones to see what works and what doesn't. When I do pull out the Tweaker, it has been in the Brit (Marshall) mode recently. Really liking the way it sits in our band mix.

I don't have the actual AC15 amp, but I use my Vox AD30 at church, and I use the AC15 and AC30 models for rhythms and leads. That AC15 model is the best one in the amp for playing singing leads!

Snglecoil,

I agree its not 100% but when I can click the AC15 setting for rhythm on my jazz box and switch to fender settings for my Tele to get Coldplay leads the next week, then it's awesome.

I had a Fender Deville 2x12 and a AC15 before... I choose versatility in the long run with out sacrificing too much sound with digital (I had a Line6 PodXT before the Vox)

Now I'm GASing for an AC15. Just sold my Fender Blues Junior, but that funded my 66 Bassman purchase. I don't have a little amp anymore. I have the Bassman and a 66 Super Reverb. It might be time to sell some guitars.

An AC15 is really heavy for a "little" amp.

I think it would be be perfect for CCM. Anyone using an AC15C1 at church? How's is it working out for you? Any good or bad pedal experiences with it?

I used an AC15C1 everytime our band played until about a year ago when I purchased a new amp. It has a beautiful, chimey clean tone that can get into that classic Vox breakup if you can turn it up to the required volume. As far as pedals, it takes OD pedals exceptionally well. I ran a Fulldrive 2 Mosfet with it and it sounded extremely close to the amp's natural drive at a reasonable volume for smaller churches.

I use a VoxAc15HW1 every week. I use the Normal channel with the MV bypasses, and the Volume at about half way maybe just a little more- nice and crunchy!