Vox AC15 which speaker for more clean headroom -- greenback or blue?

[CapnCrunch]

Please be true... please be true... please be true...

Not that I doubt these fine gennelmen, but anybody else wanna goad me into ordering a new AC15 greenback right now?

Please twist my arm?

IME an AC15 is very similar in volume to a Deluxe Reverb. I frequently have to attenuate mine and I can still easily monitor myself with 6 to 8 other musicians on stage, including an aggressive drummer. In some ways, the Deluxe Reverb is easier to play at lower volumes than the AC15, so I would say be aware that being too quiet may not be your problem. Being too loud, is frequently my problem with this amp. Mine is a vintage circuit so no master volumes. I have no experience with the new Chinese made circuits with a MV, so don't know how they sound at lower or higher volumes. The vintage amps don't sound very good turned down IMO. You really need to turn them up and then choke them down with an attenuator.

EDIT: OP posted before I posted this, so I would add that the AC15 gets into OD territory quicker than the Deluxe Reverb, but if you really want to drive the power tubes, it is still going to be REALLY LOUD. Most people are not prepared for how loud an AC15 is. Crank one before you buy. To double perceived volume you have to increase power by 10. So to be twice as loud as 15 watts, you need 150 watts. An AC15 is not half as loud as an AC30 they are, in fact, very close volume wise.

 

[robt57]

I had a Red Fang in one, sold amp kept Red Fang.

 

[MilwMark]

@CapnCrunch hit the nail - there is no real world volume difference between 15w and 22w. Circuit differences and speaker sensitivity make a real world difference in headroom and overall volume.

The AC15 has a very different sound than the DR. Most (all? I'm not a connoisseur) also have a MV arrangement. I find MV amps more flexible and versatile live - can get some nice crunch at slightly lower volumes. Of course, you can do the same on a non-MV amp with pedals.

DR vs AC15 really comes down to which SOUND do you prefer. The are pretty significantly different in that respect. Not so much in overall volume.

 

[CapnCrunch]

@CapnCrunch hit the nail - there is no real world volume difference between 15w and 22w. Circuit differences and speaker sensitivity make a real world difference in headroom and overall volume.

DR vs AC15 really comes down to which SOUND do you prefer. The are pretty significantly different in that respect. Not so much in overall volume.

Exactly.

My AC15 through a 2x12 open back cab with an Alnico Gold and a G12H30 (both 100% sensitivity) is pretty much as loud as my AC30 through my 4x12 closed back with Greenbacks (98%sensitivity). Not even joking. The AC30 is fuller and has much more low end, especially through a 4x12, but there is almost no difference in volume.

 

[Tele Porter]

So, like...

Order the AC15 with greenback immediately?

 

[Tele Porter]

"I cut it twice, and it's still too short....."

Yo, Capn. That right there made me laugh for real.

 

[MilwMark]

So, like...

Order the AC15 with greenback immediately?

No - go to a store that sells them, with your guitar and try them out. Most stores that sell AC15s will also sell DRs, so you can easily compare.

 

[CapnCrunch]

"I cut it twice, and it's still too short....."

Yo, Capn. That right there made me laugh for real.

Usually, when I'm building stuff, there is a lot of cussing when that saying becomes relevant..........

The newer Vox AC15's pop up on Craigslist very frequently for $300 to $400. I've been tempted a few times to pick one up just to have a back up and to try out the MV. Have you looked around to see if you could pick one up used? From everything that I've read, they're a really good bang for the buck, so I don't think you can go wrong even if you buy new. You can put an Alnico Blue in it later if you want. I'd say do it. It is a classic circuit that is still being built for a reason; like the the 5e3 Deluxe and the Blackface Deluxe Reverb. I find that it fits in a mix much better than many amps. If you like the classic British tone (and everyone should) then you can't get hurt with an amp like this.

 

[CapnCrunch]

Here's one near you.....

(link removed)

 

[GearHund]

I have an AC-15C1 with the greenback. It can and did easily hang with my four piece band - keys, guitar, drums and bass. Now, it's going to overdrive pretty quickly as you turn it up. But running the master high and the channel volume a little lower with keep it clean longer. Still, I can't say that it's ever totally clean, at least within the definition of "clean" that is usually applied to Fender-style amps. There always seems to be a little "edge" on the notes. I think it's a great sounding amp.

 

[misterdontmove]

I've got a Weber Ceramic Blue Dog in mine and gig with it regularly. They are LOUD!! Just get it up off the floor so you can here it.

 

[Tele Porter]

So yeah. I find a guy who's selling an AC15 in clean condition, he's about an hour away. So I ask what time can I come over tomorrow, Sunday, any time's good for me.

He tells me tomorrow's not good, he's got friends coming over.

He put an ad in the interwebs machine. I'm trying to buy an amp here. What is it with people?

 

[hrstrat57]

I have the AC15c1 Cream version with Celestion Creamback 65w speaker fitted.

It's loud real loud...easily as loud as a DR. Get it up on a couple milk cartons and it's louder....

Mandatory change v1 to a quality tube....I had NOS Amperex Bugle Boy in there but swapped out for a tung sol RI to save the vintage tube for a special day....

Change V1 mandatory or ice pick city.

I have all Tung Sol RI 12ax7 in and JJ EL84 duet for power sounds nice.

Also ditched the junk stock tank for a MOD upgrade reverb tank...about $16 bucks as I recall. It took a lot of time to break in the speaker....so don't get discouraged crank it up.

Killer amp now....and with the speaker broken in it sounds good as a bedroom amp too at low volume.

Good luck!

 

[TheletterJ]

There always seems to be a little "edge" on the notes. I think it's a great sounding amp.

The Edge and Vox amps go hand in hand.

I think an AC15 will do fine in a 4-piece band. I am using an AC30 with two Greenbacks and it is is overkill in any situation. I actually wish I had an AC15. Even in the largest venues I am micing up anyway and the AC30 never gets opened up.

I say do it. Get an AC15!

 

[Sjnoring]

So yeah. I find a guy who's selling an AC15 in clean condition, he's about an hour away. So I ask what time can I come over tomorrow, Sunday, any time's good for me.

He tells me tomorrow's not good, he's got friends coming over.

He put an ad in the interwebs machine. I'm trying to buy an amp here. What is it with people?

LOL I just love it when people make it difficult for you to give them money.

 

[robt57]

I have the AC15c1 Cream version with Celestion Creamback 65w speaker fitted.

Is that creamier and smoother pushed hard than the G12-25GB?

My AC15 had a Red Fang, TungSol RI AX7s and a pair of 1968 Mullard 6bq5s I got with another amp trade that were just put in prior to my purchase. Those tubes drove the purchase to a big degree.

The AC15 went/sold mainly as a result if Amp Per lb ratio. I put the 2 Mullards [running 1/2 tube mode] in a Peavey C50 Tweed that had lost my favor, it had a 15"NEO and was like 1-2 lb more than the AC15. But then I put the 212 baffle back in with an Alnico Blue/G12H-30 I also got in the amp with the Mullards. So that blew the comparable weight factor of course, but the sound of the C50 this way is pretty damn good and then some. And goes another place of two the AC15 can't doesn't. But misses what the AC15 did best by a good margin as well. That one fantastic tone I got outta the AC15 setup that way.

I should throw a YADA in here with this long winded rambling I guess...

 

[robt57]

I am using an AC30 with two Greenbacks and it is is overkill in any situation.

A friend I made a Tele for in Nashville had an AC30 head. He got that because the 40 watt HRDR was too much almost always.

He was wrong thinking the AC30 was going to cure that. Although I kept swapping speakers in a Deep 112 Cab to help him along. He wound up with a Reverbe Rocket 12" I had which really sounded less peaky and really good. [I have one of these left and they are great speakers] He left me with a G12-80 Rola with a 1777 cone. That with the AC30 in that deep Cab needed to be way loud to hit where it sounded best, which was SOOO loud!! I have it in an Orange 112 and love that old Rola even though not the most loved Marshall speaker de jour.

Yada!

 

[loco gringo]

Where are you guys playing that you can't get a DRRI over 2 or 2.5? I played mine at 7 in my spare bedroom today, and I'm on old guy. I guess it is possible that my hearing is gone. I have an AC15, too. I have dimed it in my living room many times.



"Back in my day, we walked to school 4 miles each way in the snow with holes in our boots, and we dimed our amps, and we liked it."

 

[robt57]

I have an AC15, too. I have dimed it in my living room many times.

When I had the AC15 set up as above, I had a neighbor two houses down knock on my door and ask me to knock it off.

 

[loco gringo]

When I had the AC15 set up as above, I had a neighbor two houses down knock on my door and ask me to knock it off.

Hah! It is a loud little sucker, isn't it?