Members schecterc1lh Posted March 2, 2011 Members Share Posted March 2, 2011 Back off the treble and see how that soundsBut i like the treble I will try it when i get home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members chris_d Posted March 2, 2011 Members Share Posted March 2, 2011 Ranging from extremely quiet, to reasonably loud. Say about 4/10. I have found with the style of master volume that Vox uses, it really doesn't like to work very well below about 9:30. 4/10 would be close but perhaps above that threshold. But basically, below that point, and the Vox master volume itself can give the splatty/fuzz/farting out behavior. Though they get loud as hell, they really work best when turned up properly. The master volume, while nice in theory, is in practice, only really much good, in my opinion, for taking just a little off the top on stage. The type that Vox uses sucks a lot for low volumes, definitely unusable for bedroom level stuff. YMMV. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Boltino Posted March 2, 2011 Members Share Posted March 2, 2011 I have found with the style of master volume that Vox uses, it really doesn't like to work very well below about 9:30. 4/10 would be close but perhaps above that threshold.But basically, below that point, and the Vox master volume itself can give the splatty/fuzz/farting out behavior. Though they get loud as hell, they really work best when turned up properly. The master volume, while nice in theory, is in practice, only really much good, in my opinion, for taking just a little off the top on stage. The type that Vox uses sucks a lot for low volumes, definitely unusable for bedroom level stuff. YMMV. I agree with this. MV can be implemented in a lot of ways and have different effects on different circuits. I spent some time with my friend's C1; the TB side had some fizz to it that only went away when I turned the master up halfway. Obviously the MV is handy to use to get gain at lower volumes but for that vox drive without the fizz it needs to be cranked up IMHO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Boltino Posted March 2, 2011 Members Share Posted March 2, 2011 This guy. Tom, it's all I can do to keep my Rat GAS under control. Please stop posting awesome pics and clips. Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members schecterc1lh Posted March 2, 2011 Members Share Posted March 2, 2011 Back off the treble and see how that sounds Yeah, i tried backing off the treble, and that helped slightly, but turning it up really made the difference! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Snufkino Posted March 2, 2011 Members Share Posted March 2, 2011 Hope this helps... if you are still in the market at all. I wasn't until I read this thread again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members stratocaster202 Posted March 3, 2011 Author Members Share Posted March 3, 2011 I wasn't until I read this thread again You should definitely do it, it seems like with the right RAT these things are capable of anything Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members brandnewzo Posted March 6, 2011 Members Share Posted March 6, 2011 Finally picked up and AC15. I'm still trying to nail down some permanent settings, but I'm loving it so far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Cirrus Posted March 6, 2011 Members Share Posted March 6, 2011 I agree with this. MV can be implemented in a lot of ways and have different effects on different circuits. I spent some time with my friend's C1; the TB side had some fizz to it that only went away when I turned the master up halfway. Obviously the MV is handy to use to get gain at lower volumes but for that vox drive without the fizz it needs to be cranked up IMHO. Yep, this is definitely the case. So much of what makes the Vox tone good comes from the output section being pushed; the preamp isn't really designed to give you a good sound on its own. The preamp distortion, especially on the normal channel where the only thing that's being overdriven is the phase inverter, just ends up sounding really bad without the power section smoothing it out. Maybe there's something about the master volume circuit that actually changes the behaviour of the phase inverter? Anyway, I like to run my ac30 with the master on full, no matter what volume I'm playing at - if I can't push the power section, I'd rather just use it as a clean amp and get distortion/overdrive from pedals. I think that sounds better that way than driving the preamp into an anaemic sounding choked power section. But honestly, if I can't have the amp loud enough to be compressing and breaking up when I play hard, it really messes with me. That's the point where it sounds alive. So what speakers are everyone using? I've been through a few with mine - it's a CC2 so it came with Wharfdales, swapped them out for Celestion Blues, then swapped a blue for a g12h30, then got rid of both and tried a Weber alnico silver and blue, and I've just got a made in England greenback and G12H30 heritage installed. I think I like that combo the best of everything I've tried. It's weird because most people rave about alnico blues, and they do sound great, but I've decided they compress and colour the sound too much for my tastes, which isn't easy to admit when you've sunk so much money in an Alnico speaker. With the ceramics in there at the moment, it's become an absolute "fire breather" (nice clip TomVanDeven!) that just sounds monsterous with my rat clone, clean boost etc, where the alnico speakers would sound nice and chimey at clean settings then completely fart out and mush up when I wanted to get a bit heavier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members stratocaster202 Posted March 7, 2011 Author Members Share Posted March 7, 2011 Anyone here ever use an Hiwatt voiced distortion on their Vox?I'm thinking of getting the Dr Watt kit. Or maybe the Shredmeister for the radiohead sound: http://www.olcircuits.com/olc_drwatt.htmlhttp://www.olcircuits.com/olc_shredmeister.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members stratocaster202 Posted March 8, 2011 Author Members Share Posted March 8, 2011 Yep, this is definitely the case. So much of what makes the Vox tone good comes from the output section being pushed; the preamp isn't really designed to give you a good sound on its own. The preamp distortion, especially on the normal channel where the only thing that's being overdriven is the phase inverter, just ends up sounding really bad without the power section smoothing it out. Maybe there's something about the master volume circuit that actually changes the behaviour of the phase inverter?Anyway, I like to run my ac30 with the master on full, no matter what volume I'm playing at - if I can't push the power section, I'd rather just use it as a clean amp and get distortion/overdrive from pedals. I think that sounds better that way than driving the preamp into an anaemic sounding choked power section. But honestly, if I can't have the amp loud enough to be compressing and breaking up when I play hard, it really messes with me. That's the point where it sounds alive.So what speakers are everyone using? I've been through a few with mine - it's a CC2 so it came with Wharfdales, swapped them out for Celestion Blues, then swapped a blue for a g12h30, then got rid of both and tried a Weber alnico silver and blue, and I've just got a made in England greenback and G12H30 heritage installed. I think I like that combo the best of everything I've tried. It's weird because most people rave about alnico blues, and they do sound great, but I've decided they compress and colour the sound too much for my tastes, which isn't easy to admit when you've sunk so much money in an Alnico speaker.With the ceramics in there at the moment, it's become an absolute "fire breather" (nice clip TomVanDeven!) that just sounds monsterous with my rat clone, clean boost etc, where the alnico speakers would sound nice and chimey at clean settings then completely fart out and mush up when I wanted to get a bit heavier. Mine has a stock MIC Greenback in it, I've never done a speaker swap before, is it really a difference that can't be achieved with an EQ pedal in the loop? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members IRG Posted March 8, 2011 Members Share Posted March 8, 2011 I'll have to try turning the MV up higher, and back off the preamp volume. I've been doing it the other way around, with just a little breakup, then using pedal dirt to push it more, works pretty good that way. But always good to try out different things. (mine is an AC15c1.) Any try some good tubes in this amp? Mine are still stock, but I'm thinking of trying some different tubes, that are reasonably priced. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Cirrus Posted March 8, 2011 Members Share Posted March 8, 2011 Mine has a stock MIC Greenback in it, I've never done a speaker swap before, is it really a difference that can't be achieved with an EQ pedal in the loop? Yeah, absolutely. The speaker is the thing actually making the noise, it's the final part of the signal chain, and its frequency and dynamic response is totally stamped on the sound. An eq pedal in the loop will never get a greenback to have the glassy treble or solid bass of a g12h30, and it'll never get a g12h30 to compress and have the woody midrange and soft treble of a greenback. And even apart from that, the way speakers start to distort at different frequencies and volumes isn't an EQ thing and can totally change the feel of the amp to play through. It really is the biggest single change you can make to your amp. But what I've learned is there's no better or worse, it just depends what you want from the amp. If you're happy with the greenbacks then stick with them! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Cirrus Posted March 8, 2011 Members Share Posted March 8, 2011 I'll have to try turning the MV up higher, and back off the preamp volume. I've been doing it the other way around, with just a little breakup, then using pedal dirt to push it more, works pretty good that way. But always good to try out different things. (mine is an AC15c1.) Any try some good tubes in this amp? Mine are still stock, but I'm thinking of trying some different tubes, that are reasonably priced. JJ's are a pretty good bet for vox amps - the el84's are nice and rich sounding, and the 12ax7's are smooth - some people think they sound dull but in a vox it's usually a good thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members timme_v Posted March 8, 2011 Members Share Posted March 8, 2011 Are the blue speakers "cleaner" than the greenbacks? I've got the greenbacks, and my new guitar (p90s) break up a litte sooner than I would like. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Taylor. Posted March 8, 2011 Members Share Posted March 8, 2011 This amp is too awesome. I've narrowed it down to two awesome settings to use live but I can't decide between them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Cirrus Posted March 8, 2011 Members Share Posted March 8, 2011 Are the blue speakers "cleaner" than the greenbacks?I've got the greenbacks, and my new guitar (p90s) break up a litte sooner than I would like. Celestion Blues are more sensitive speakers, so up to a point if you put the same amount of power into them as Greenbacks, they will be louder. They also have an upper mid spike that the Greenback does not, which makes them cut through a mix better. So you can run your amp cleaner to get the same overall volume and cut in the mix. But Celestion Blues are alnico speakers, and once you start hitting them with power approaching their rating, they start compressing and smooth out, so basically instead of getting louder from that point, they just get more midrangey, grindy but smoother in the treble. For that reason, I think for clean sounds they will be louder, but it'll change how your amp behaves when you want distortion from it - it'll be more compressed and the overall maximum volume won't be louder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members stratocaster202 Posted March 9, 2011 Author Members Share Posted March 9, 2011 This amp is too awesome. I've narrowed it down to two awesome settings to use live but I can't decide between them. What Cirrus said, don't leave us hanging Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Boltino Posted March 9, 2011 Members Share Posted March 9, 2011 This amp is too awesome. I've narrowed it down to two awesome settings to use live but I can't decide between them. That's definitely one of the great things about Vox ACs, there are so many tones in there. Recording with them is great because they can be super versatile just based on how you dial/blend the channels. Once you get familiar with each channel and how they interact with one another it's easy to get tons of different tones out of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members falseswipe Posted March 9, 2011 Members Share Posted March 9, 2011 What's a good price for a used AC30C2? ~$700? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members only_shallow Posted March 9, 2011 Members Share Posted March 9, 2011 played a valetronics 100 at a practise today and the ac15/30 models were really convincing. great amp. What's a good price for a used AC30C2? ~$700? yep. good price. they're around 800 euros here new, that was quite a price drop from the CC series. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Taylor. Posted March 9, 2011 Members Share Posted March 9, 2011 What are the two settings? Tell me! Then I'll tell you which one to use and why Heh. Gave myself a bit too much credit there, really. It's really just Normal-channel-edge-of-breakup vs. Top Boost-channel-edge-of-breakup. My Crunch Box slays through either channel. Delays + amp reverb disintegrate magically into ambience on either channel. Can't make up my mind which is better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Boltino Posted March 9, 2011 Members Share Posted March 9, 2011 Heh. Gave myself a bit too much credit there, really. It's really just Normal-channel-edge-of-breakup vs. Top Boost-channel-edge-of-breakup. My Crunch Box slays through either channel. Delays + amp reverb disintegrate magically into ambience on either channel. Can't make up my mind which is better. Answer = ABY to use either or both Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members hugbot Posted March 9, 2011 Members Share Posted March 9, 2011 How loud is the ac15 comapred to other 20w amps? Also, how well do AC's in general take distortion pedals? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Taylor. Posted March 9, 2011 Members Share Posted March 9, 2011 Answer = ABY to use either or both Shut up. I didn't know you could do that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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