VOX AC15/30 Reliability

Just wondering what folks experience with Vox reliability has been. Had one dealer who no longer has the line tell me he quit them due to problems with reliability. I'm hot on the Vox trail right now and would appreciate advise on that issue. Not sure it would stop me though after the tones both the 15 and 30 put in my head lastnight. Still, it would be good to have open eyes going in.

I had one a few years back (AC30-CC2 w/ the wharfdales). It was one from VERY early in the china production of those amps... Build quality was totally embarassing - for an amp at that price point, I couldn't believe it. I THINK that they recognized this pretty quick and quality has improved. Build quality vs reliability are related, but not exactly the same thing. I got rid of mine before too much went wrong, so who knows. I think if you were gigging & moving the thing a lot, there'd be potential for all kinds of trouble. BUT you should probably get advice from more folks with recent experience.

p.s. the amp sounded pretty darn good, but the weight was the real deal-breaker for me. admit that I still think a lot about the ac15 sometimes. :-)

I have an AC30CC2 and have had 0 issues with mine other than the back breaking weight. That said... The above poster is correct that there were lots of complaints about the early run of these amps - especially related to bad tubes. I recommend trying out the exact amp you are going to buy before taking it home. Otherwise - I'm right there with ya - I love Vox amps - nothing sounds quite like them.

BTW... the other thing to consider is that these amps are difficult to service. The tubes are all in front of the chassis... Changing a tube requires undoing like eight to ten screws, and pulling the entire chassis out of the amp, and depending on the age - possibly desoldering the speaker leads. Huge pain, but worth it for the gobs of tone in my book.

I have an AC15CC that I've gigged for almost two years now with zero problems. Excellent amp.
The build quality on the AC15 is actually pretty good. The tubes are chassis mounted, not PCB mounted, and the wiring is neatly done. The cab is birch ply and is solid.

The build quality and design and reliability of the current production CC series amps , both the 15 and the 30, are as high as any other mass produced amps. They're very good, almost any problem that doesn't come from dropping the amp will be tubes, so just use known good tubes (don't rely on what comes with the amp) and you're very unlikely to have any problems at all. As to the current production handwired amps, those are a couple steps up from regular production amps, are VERY well made, mostly handwired. Only the on-board connections between components are via traces on the board (a good idea by the way) every other component is wired with turrets or wire leads, very good quality and reliability.

Two to four gigs a week for the past year with a Vox AC30 cc1 with no issues at all.

I bought an Vox AC15CC1 at GC on Monday and I love it.I played a 52 Tele reissue through it and Wow,I have to get this!I don't usually buy an extended warranty on anything but I remember reading about some people having some problems with Vox amps MIC so I decided to get one.Actually I got a discount at GC that paid for the extended warranty so it's not a big deal,I guess I could cancel it within thirty days(I think).What do you guys think?Also If I were to change the speaker,would that void my warranty?Not that I am going to get one anytime soon,but the new Celestron Blue clones just came out.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v228/fuzztone65/Vox/100_0381_edited.jpg

Bring in the Clones!

X882Wq1qTpI

what's that crazy see through guitar you got there?

Ah, the Dan Armstrong Lucite.

Ah, the Dan Armstrong Lucite.

Thats right,mine is a 2006 reissue.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v228/fuzztone65/Dan%20Armstrong/case_edited.jpg

It sound's like this:

ei-L_AuuaxI

Wow, you got to play with Rod Stewart?

Wow, you got to play with Rod Stewart?

No that's not me.I should have said that is what it would sound like if Ron Wood played it.

I've had my British made 2000-ish AC-15 for years now. Zero problems other then a mystery fading in and out of volume, but it seems that the problem was the cable I was using. Different cable = no problem. I love the sound of that amp with a Tele!

My best playing bud bought a AC30CC1 in early 2006 and he Has played it for at least 12 hrs every week since and he's had no problems at all except one blown fuse and a broke reverb spring.

I liked his so much I was a Mr.Meetoo and got a used one for myself this past spring. Mine was extensively used. The guy I bought it from gigged it alot and it had some cosmetic issues. I had to replace the grill cloth and piping and the handle. I thought it sounded great until just recently when I was getting weird noises so then I replaced all the tubes and now it sounds magnificent. I also put a celestion Gold in it.

My preamp tubes are PCB mounted.
The original tubes are all Chinese standards
All the hardware is metric with small shallow screw heads which makes it a pain to pull apart.
Also the tolex is very thin stuff.

Those are the only nits I have to pick.

The switch I use the most is the bias switch. Cold or Hot. Book says 22w/33w output.

Those CC1-15's are going "near new" in the $450-$500 range on ebay (plus shipping)
The AC30 CC1's are just 54lbs but you have to find one used now as they are discontinued.
Im keeping mine.

Oh yeah, by the way, Northcoast music is a big VOX dealer. Parts and all. Worth a look. I was looking for a cover for mine everywhere. As far as I have found, they are the only ones that have any.

Those CC1-15's are going "near new" in the $450-$500 range on ebay (plus shipping)


I bought mine on Ebay for $345 with the box, the paperwork, and the stickers still on it. No issues, just sweetness.

I just ordered a Vox cover for my AC15CC1 from Musician's Friend.I hope that will keep my cat out of it.He likes to play with the speaker wires.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v228/fuzztone65/Balloo/100_0375_edited.jpg

I just ordered a Vox cover for my AC15CC1 from Musician's Friend.I hope that will keep my cat out of it.He likes to play with the speaker wires.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v228/fuzztone65/Balloo/100_0375_edited.jpg

Maybe you need a 'Bad Cat'! Some of them are Vox clones....

So, I'm down to the VOX AC15 and the Orange Tiny Terror. I was very impressed with the TT, but I'm concerned that I can't use reverb with it...at least I think it'll sound crappy if I put reverb in front of that amp. Other than that, the Orange really sings. I was very very surprised at the sounds I could get with it...

Thing is, I'm a blues and classic rocker...even like to play some strumming songs, clean, with maybe a little reverb.

The other amp I considered was the Blues Jr., probably the NOS version.

Any thoughts or experience with the Orange and how it stacks up to the VOX or Blues Junior?

...to like them. But when I went 0 for 4 along the Front Range of Colorado in trying them out--every single one of them had an issue of some sort--that ended my fixation with Vox tone.

The only reliability issue I have experienced with voxs are tubes. They run hot and burn through them fast and it takes a while to replace them as you have to pull the whole chassis out. So just keep an ear out for microphonics and get in there and change them while its convenient.

Keep spare tubes around and transport the thing carefully. When I bought mine I went to test it out and it was too heavy for me to take back on the train, so I got a courier to transport it. I was horrified when I saw the gimp in the van push it off the back and say "What ever a Vox is its really heavy" and then zoom off. After that treatment the preamp tubes went after 30 minutes playing. Since replaced they have never faulted.

I would never expect any of my fender amps to fail, even though they are 40+ years old, but with my Vox I just know if I abuse it it will fail. So keep it in mind that its probably gonna need some care.

I've had my British made 2000-ish AC-15 for years now. Zero problems other then a mystery fading in and out of volume, but it seems that the problem was the cable I was using. Different cable = no problem. I love the sound of that amp with a Tele!

Cool, my first post, but a subject dear to my heart:grin:

I have had an AC15 for several years now, and recently had the fading in and out issue, but same fix. Different cord fixed it right up.

I LOVE this amp!!! I can get just about any sound, from a great clean to a nice full overdrive/ dirty sound. Sounds great with my all my guitars.

I like having it because it's little different and not everybody (at least around here) has a Vox.

I have the AC-15 and a AC-30 head/cab. I've had a (new) AC-15 for about six months and no real problems.
Just got the head/cab (both used) but it sounds awesome!

I have a recently discontinued Vox AC50CP2 that has had no issues. I do not gig, but I do lug it to different houses to jam on a regular basis. Had it for about 4 months. No issues but a thumbnail size tolex tear that i was able to glue back down. It isn't exactly like an ac30 except for the weight. But I love it's versatility for some of the harder music that i play.

I do have a couple of spare NOS EL84s but the stock ones seem to sound pretty good (especially the AC-30s) so I left them in the amps.

Er, why do you think the AC30CC1 has been discontinued? - no sign of that right pond.

... the AD30VT has been discontinued and replaced by the VT30.

Is the CC2 fixed bias so you can replace the power tubes yourself?

Is the CC2 fixed bias so you can replace the power tubes yourself?

AC-15 and 30 are cathode biased, meaning that you can change the power tubes without need to re-bias (fixed biased actually means that you have to bias the amp according to your new tubes).

Ive had a Vox Heritage Hand-Wired AC30 Combo for a few months now and have had no problems.

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b88/LtShady/-1.jpg