Vox AC15C1 thoughts?

Jim54

Hi all, I've never had a Vox and fancy maybe getting a smaller wattage 2nd hand one to try out. What are people's thoughts on them?  Range of tones, how they handle pedals etc.

One video that made me look into these is this video on single pickup guitars. Really like how it sounds and the clean up you get with the guitar volume (the '57 LP junior probably helps too!)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUdq59CRcxk

JohnCordy

@Jim54 I think they're a really pretty underrated little thing, especially for the used prices you can get them for.

The only "downside" for me is that they can be a little on the noisy side but possibly some of that is baked into the vox circuit in general with the oodles of presence and high end in the tones?

Jim54

Thanks John. Maybe the slightly noisy aspect is down to the lack of negative feedback with Vox amps. I've heard this with my origin effects revival drive when set to Vox settings.

Petepassion

I had the ac15 but prefer my ac10. Although the 10 will struggle to hang with a band, beautiful little amp though and very cheap too.

ElectricXII

I use one for pub/ small club gigs and it's great, and much lighter and more manageable than my Marshall Bluesbreaker, which I only use for bigger gigs. I use the Normal channel as it plays nicely with gain pedals, unlike the Top Boost channel which can be a bit too toppy for my taste.  The amp is a bit hissy, but it's practically unnoticeable in rehearsals and at gigs. 

Supportact

I've got the AC15cc1, which is the earlier version I think. The c1 has an extra 'normal' channel, and I think has some other differences in the construction so not exactly the same.

I've been really happy with it, and I now gig with it. I got mine really cheap, about £200. There was some issue with the trem as I remember, so cost another £70 to fix that and have it serviced.

I upgraded the reverb pan which is cheap /easy to do and it made the reverb more usable across its range.

I also changed the speaker. Mine came with a vox/Wharfedale speaker but I think some of them had celestions so it's worth checking. Didn't hate the stock speaker at all but again it's easy to upgrade and it did make a noticeable difference. 

I've done a fair few gigs with it now and I really like it. Sounds good at gig volume and at home. Pedals I've tried so far have been fine, I set it fairly clean but not totally and then use pedals for dirt. Sounds great with telecaster into a compressor into the amp, then add overdrive if I need more. 

Yorkie

A lovely amp. 

I plug straight into the normal channel, with no pedals. There’s a superb review out there by a guy named Budda(h?). He tells you all you need to know about the amp really.

Mine is only hissy for the first couple of minutes. It’s a lovely recording amp, with a great spring reverb going into the tremolo. 

I don’t use it ‘glassy’ — I drive the normal channel more or less hard and with a big tone cut and ride the guitar volume. Sometimes the speaker (Greenback) seems to complain a bit, but that’s _the sound_ I use it for. I also use it for cleans with a long reverb. 

Jon

ICBM

You should definitely try one next to an AC10C1. Some people prefer the 15, some prefer the 10. (I prefer the 10.)

The AC10 is also smaller, lighter and cheaper - but doesn't have tremolo.

roberty

I have the AC15C1H which I really like. It gets quite filthy but does nice cleans too. I've only recorded with it so can't comment on how it holds up in a band. It weighs more than I expected, the box must be made of something heavy 

Jim54

Thanks for the input fellas. Definitely going to pick one of these up to try.

JohnCordy

@roberty I feel like the ones that are a few years old or whatever are chipboard? Or whatever the word for it would be?

roberty

JohnCordy said:

@roberty I feel like the ones that are a few years old or whatever are chipboard? Or whatever the word for it would be?

I think that's what mine is made of. It's new though

Dan_Halen

I had one provided as back line at a fairly big outdoor gig last spring. Was initially not amused as had a few preconceptions and thought it wouldn’t be up to the job. We did a quick sound check, it sounded superb and was way louder than expected. Used the normal channel wound up fairly high with a small pedal board in front and absolutely loved it. A mate was playing guitar in the next band after us and was really impressed as well.

Yorkie

Dan_Halen said:

I had one provided as back line at a fairly big outdoor gig last spring. Was initially not amused as had a few preconceptions and thought it wouldn’t be up to the job. We did a quick sound check, it sounded superb and was way louder than expected. Used the normal channel wound up fairly high with a small pedal board in front and absolutely loved it. A mate was playing guitar in the next band after us and was really impressed as well.

My initial impressions were not great because I was trying to compare its top boost channel to the AC10's – the AC10 only has a top boost channel, which I didn't like on either amp. But after that I plugged into the AC15's normal channel and had a blast. 

Aside from the tremolo, another key detail (for me) is that the AC10's reverb is digital while the AC15 has spring reverb. Meaning you could change the tank for peanuts if you didn't like it. 

PAL

The new hand wired amps may be worth checking out. They will be available in the summer !

Yorkie

PAL said:

The new hand wired amps may be worth checking out. They will be available in the summer !

No tremolo on those, though. 

guitarcookie1

I really like mine (cream tolex, creamback speaker). 

Definitely prefer the normal channel + pedals. 

Not noticeably noisy either. 

Yorkie

Stop it, you’re making me feel normal!