Vox AC15C1 users, still happy?

[IRG]

 

Don't count out the tweaker because of what the knuckleheads on tgp say.

 

 

Actually it was a comparison of both amps, from a forumite who's tried both. TGP amp forums seem a lot better than our amp forum here, but that isn't saying much is it:lol:

[arcarsenal72]

Very happy, probably one of my best purchases. Seriously for $500, I don't think you can do much better if you dig Brit tones.

[juri]

 

From what I've heard on TGP, the tubes aren't always great, but that's about it. The standard Greenback speaker is a very good one, and an upgrade from the Wharfedale that was in the CC version.

 

 

You would almost want manufacturers to sell their amps without tubes these days. I think the same is true for the PRRI.

[IRG]

You would almost want manufacturers to sell their amps without tubes these days. I think the same is true for the PRRI.

 

Yeah, either without, or maybe package separately, I think that is a lot of the problem. ANd then make it easy for the consumer to put them in. I think this new version does indeed make it somewhat easier to put in the tubes. I had a Traynor YCV50 that was a bitch to get to the tubes. I can see why amp techs charge some of the prices they do.

 

Anyway, yeah I would get this amp, and maybe try some JJ preamp tubes, and Tung-sol power tubes, unless the stock tubes turn out good. I changed tubes in the Traynor, but couldn't hear a difference. Stock tubes in my Blues Deluxe have worked fine. Fickle things, these tube amps.

[DanJep]

 

Actually it was a comparison of both amps, from a forumite who's tried both. TGP amp forums seem a lot better than our amp forum here, but that isn't saying much is it:lol:

 

 

Don't get me wrong, the amp forum of there is lightyears ahead of where our amp forum is. There aren't many knuckle dragging booger eaters over there but there are a lot of guys that hate things just for the sake of being pretentious. Like the 15+ threads about how the blues junior is the worst sounding amp of all time.

[Blues Junior]

Yeah, either without, or maybe package separately, I think that is a lot of the problem. ANd then make it easy for the consumer to put them in. I think this new version does indeed make it somewhat easier to put in the tubes. I had a Traynor YCV50 that was a bitch to get to the tubes. I can see why amp techs charge some of the prices they do. Anyway, yeah I would get this amp, and maybe try some JJ preamp tubes, and Tung-sol power tubes, unless the stock tubes turn out good. I changed tubes in the Traynor, but couldn't hear a difference. Stock tubes in my Blues Deluxe have worked fine. Fickle things, these tube amps.

 

I've had the AC15 for about a month, and it's a really cool amp with a great vibe. The speaker is starting to break in slowly, it's less bright than it was out of the box. I did a tube swap as well, put JJ power tubes, and Tungsol pre's. Sounds excellent.

 

I didn't like any kind of TS overdrive with it, it sounds too choked. A Timmy sounds real good though. I'm looking to pick up a Hotcake at some point to give it a try as well. I have a couple of treble booster/rangemaster pedals that sounds absolutley killer with the amp though.

[BlueSteam]

I don't have this model, but I can say you can't beat if for the price. They seemed to have fixed all the problems that I had with the older version... speaker, tube placement... breakage. You can't get an amp with as much character as the AC15 for anywhere near the price.

 

And I agree with those who say it isn't loud enough to use with a band... I think it's perfect for filling a room on it's own in your house though.

[IRG]

 

I've had the AC15 for about a month, and it's a really cool amp with a great vibe. The speaker is starting to break in slowly, it's less bright than it was out of the box. I did a tube swap as well, put JJ power tubes, and Tungsol pre's. Sounds excellent. I didn't like any kind of TS overdrive with it, it sounds too choked. A Timmy sounds real good though. I'm looking to pick up a Hotcake at some point to give it a try as well. I have a couple of treble booster/rangemaster pedals that sounds absolutley killer with the amp though.

 

 

I wonder how the Rockbox Boiling Point would work with it. It is a TS type pedal, but no midhump, and good bass. I think the Hotcake is kind of a TS type too, but also no midhump, so I would assume the BP should be fine. Did the tube swap do much for you? And reason not to use all JJs?

[freddyd]

I have the AC15C1, and it has the traditional VOX tones, and it is 2 channels, so it has some colorful options. It was able to get louder than expected, and it loves every pedal I ran through it. It really has a magical sparkle to it. If you record in the studio, you will find it to be an absolute gem! Live sound engineers gave me great compliments on this combo as well.

[airoz]

oh oh

[TravvyBear]

So its not loud enough in a band situation?

Even for rhythm guitar?

[Mitchell?]

idk, it gets pretty loud, yeh.

 

But, a 1x12 15 watt combo isn't exactly the best option for room-filling sound, yeh. If you put it on an amp stand, it'd fair betterer. And through a 2x12, or 4x12, even betterer.

 

But, wit the master vol cranked and teh volume at noon yeh, i tink you'd be fairly good, maybe.

[crowquill]

 

I've had a lot of people ask me about the reverb I switched so I thought I'd post it here, this is the unit I got: http://www.tubedepot.com/rt-8eb2c1b.html It's a big improvement over the stock unit IMO, much more dynamic without the ridiculously long decay the stock unit had. It's not as nice as say a Fender Twin's verb tank but I think it sounds really great, I actually sold my reverb pedal after installing it. It's a super simple drop-in replacement, the screws line up exactly, all you need is a screwdriver. I also bought some JJ's output and preamp tubes but the stock ones haven't bothered me yet, so I'm saving them till these wear out. The greenback speaker is really nice, I actually prefer the sound over a blue.

 

 

Do you know if that's that same tank to replace the stock one in an AC30C2 too?

[Phil O'Keefe]

I played a Tweaker at a local store a couple of months back, and I was pretty impressed with the sound of it. It definitely was able to capture a classic Fender clean sound, and you could get some nice overdrive sounds out of it too. I didn't try any pedals with it - just the amp. But for - what? $400 street? It was very impressive sounding. :phil: Easy to use too, despite the versatility / flexibility / array of switches / controls.

[IRG]

 

I played a Tweaker at a local store a couple of months back, and I was pretty impressed with the sound of it. It definitely was able to capture a classic Fender clean sound, and you could get some nice overdrive sounds out of it too. I didn't try any pedals with it - just the amp. But for - what? $400 street? It was very impressive sounding. :phil: Easy to use too, despite the versatility / flexibility / array of switches / controls.

 

 

Yeah the head is $400, the cab another $250, still a pretty good deal overall. From clips I've heard, it has a lot of tonal variety to it, so that's a definite win. But I don't think it has any kind of a signature sound to it, which I guess it isn't supposed to. So it comes down to whether you want a number of good tones, but a master of none, or get something that is a great one trick pony, but might not have the variety. In a perfect world, I would own all the great amps, in a much less perfect world, a couple a really nice amps that give me a variety of classic tones would suffice nicely.

[Blues Junior]

 

I wonder how the Rockbox Boiling Point would work with it. It is a TS type pedal, but no midhump, and good bass. I think the Hotcake is kind of a TS type too, but also no midhump, so I would assume the BP should be fine. Did the tube swap do much for you? And reason not to use all JJs?

 

 

The Hotcake isn't a TS type pedal, it's got it's own thing going. The Rockbox is cool, and probably would sound great. Unfortunately it costs almost as much as the amp:mad: Ideally, grab a Rangemaster clone that has a full range/mid switch or pot and you'll find it's really killer in front of the AC15.

 

Tube swap is imperative IMO. The stock tubes can be microphonic, and they sound really thin, no sustain. No problem using all JJ's. I had a set of JJ & TAD power tubes, and a set of Tungsol & JJ ECC83's lying around so I tried them all. I thought the TAD were excellent, but added a little more bass than the JJ's, and lost some of the sparkle and chime as well. But they do push the amp harder than the JJ's. The JJ's are well rounded and sound real good, and i like that. I may put the TAD's in there again though.

 

The JJ ECC83 didn't sound as good to me as the Tungsol. I like how the Tungsol broke up, and i found they had more gain and punch than the JJ's. I just preferred the Tungsol's.

 

So if you want chime, sparkle and gritty drive go all JJ's. If you want a thumping amp, with more drive and rawk go TAD & Tungsol. Or mix them up like it did, and get a little bit of everything:p

[IRG]

 

The Hotcake isn't a TS type pedal, it's got it's own thing going. The Rockbox is cool, and probably would sound great. Unfortunately it costs almost as much as the amp:mad: Ideally, grab a Rangemaster clone that has a full range/mid switch or pot and you'll find it's really killer in front of the AC15. Tube swap is imperative IMO. The stock tubes can be microphonic, and they sound really thin, no sustain. No problem using all JJ's. I had a set of JJ & TAD power tubes, and a set of Tungsol & JJ ECC83's lying around so I tried them all. I thought the TAD were excellent, but added a little more bass than the JJ's, and lost some of the sparkle and chime as well. But they do push the amp harder than the JJ's. The JJ's are well rounded and sound real good, and i like that. I may put the TAD's in there again though. The JJ ECC83 didn't sound as good to me as the Tungsol. I like how the Tungsol broke up, and i found they had more gain and punch than the JJ's. I just preferred the Tungsol's. So if you want chime, sparkle and gritty drive go all JJ's. If you want a thumping amp, with more drive and rawk go TAD & Tungsol. Or mix them up like it did, and get a little bit of everything:p

 

 

 

Cool, and helpful. I already have the Boiling Point, so no added expense here on that front. I might have to try a Rangemaster clone at some point, any recommendations?

 

Also, thoughts on the cabinet construction of the new AC15c1? I know it's mdf, which seems like a significant downgrade from the solid birch they used before. Also, the Greenback is a good speaker, should it give this amp a bit more of a Marshall sound than Vox? Not a bad thing mind you.

[Phil O'Keefe]

I have not tried the AC15c1 yet, but in theory, and as an AC15cc owner, I do like some of the changes they've made... such as the separate normal and top boost channels, as well as the tone cut on the master section. The tube access is supposed to be a bit easier on the new models too.

 

But the choice of speaker kind of baffles me.... (edit: no pun intended! ) a Celestion Greenback? That seems more appropriate for a "Marshall" than a Vox to me. Those of you who own one, how does it sound? I mean, I KNOW how Greenbacks sound, but how does it sound in an AC15? Mine came with the Wharfedale speaker in it stock, which wasn't horrible, but it sounds MUCH better (and more traditionally "Vox" to my ears) with the Weber AlNiCo Blue Dog I have in it now...

[TravvyBear]

Hey Phil, have you ever used the AC15 in a band situation?

[IRG]

I have not tried the AC15c1 yet, but in theory, and as an AC15cc owner, I do like some of the changes they've made... such as the separate normal and top boost channels, as well as the tone cut on the master section. The tube access is supposed to be a bit easier on the new models too. But the choice of speaker kind of baffles me.... (edit: no pun intended! ) a Celestion Greenback? That seems more appropriate for a "Marshall" than a Vox to me. Those of you who own one, how does it sound? I mean, I KNOW how Greenbacks sound, but how does it sound in an AC15? Mine came with the Wharfedale speaker in it stock, which wasn't horrible, but it sounds MUCH better (and more traditionally "Vox" to my ears) with the Weber AlNiCo Blue Dog I have in it now...

 

 

Yeah the speaker choice does seem a bit odd perhaps, but owners at least over in TGP, seem to really love this speaker with the amp, dunno if it's because it ends up sounding more Marshally or just because it's signficantly better than the Wharefdale you had with yours originally. Most of the owners there, have not upgraded the Greenback to the AlNiCo blue. I'm not sure either way, if it sounds good, that's all I care about really.

 

How are you liking the Class5 btw? I may want to try one of them too.

[Offthiscentury]

Anyone have any idea why the ac30c2 doesn't get the same love around here?

 

I'm not knocking the ac15c1, I just bought one myself, but I'm contemplating taking it back and getting the 30 for the headroom, the ability to blend channels and the extra volume should you need it.

[IRG]

 

Anyone have any idea why the ac30c2 doesn't get the same love around here? I'm not knocking the ac15c1, I just bought one myself, but I'm contemplating taking it back and getting the 30 for the headroom, the ability to blend channels and the extra volume should you need it.

 

 

I think it doesn't get the love, simply because it costs more, and is a lot heavier/larger. Not everyone needs that. But I would agree, if you need more volume and headroom, and dont mind the size/weight, it would seem to be the better option of the two.

[comrade_jon]

 

FOr me, the AC30 would be overkill for home use, wouldn't it?

 

 

If it's only for home use then yeah. It's a heavy beast too. But if you can get it to and from band easily, then sorted.

 

It's usually at the bassist's house where we practice for me, so this isn't such a problem, but taking it down two flights of stairs is kinda tough.

 

In theory I think with the money, I coulda bought this, or this, Princeton's not too far off either, but I plug in and I play and I forget it all. If I bought the AC15 a bit of me would niggle that the AC30 was better - it's also made all the funnier when you and the bassist are drunkedly carrying it out slipping at every opportunity.

[echodeluxe]

i think the ac15 gets more love because people are realizing lower wattage amps are really what they want.

 

if i could afford it, id get the new ac30 with breakneck speed. that thing is so good.

[Offthiscentury]

 

i think the ac15 gets more love because people are realizing lower wattage amps are really what they want. if i could afford it, id get the new ac30 with breakneck speed. that thing is so good.

 

 

I haven't played out in a year or so, but I'd like to think I will again someday. I just don't want to be in a position where I have to buy a louder amp however long down the road.

 

On the other hand, I mostly just like to record at home (a house) and wank about. The consensus is that the 30 is probably too much for just that, then?