VOX ac15c1. cheap and GOOD!!!

[glblues]

i picked one up today. i played it for an hour and i was sold. S$732! ironically, i picked the floor model. it was free from dings and scratches and the speaker sounded more broken in. a brand new one out of the box sounded too stiff. but the thump was more prominent.

nice with my es135 w/ lollar p90s. i play west coast blues mainly and it holds up in most regards. i havent even changed out the crappy chinese tubes yet.
cant believe what it will sound like with JJ/tung sols in it.

the tone cut is immensely useful in getting your clean sound round and warm. i have it almost all the way up with p90s. then again, i will probably back it off in a gig situation.
its just what i needed. a small step up from my 5e3 and no need to carry around reverb, trem and overdrive pedals.
i play in a pop rock band too and its amazing how versatile this amp is. its got crunch and it sounds pretty darn good. surprisingly nice bass too for a 1x12.
i dont know why people complain about the trem. it sounds pretty nice to me. better than the drri thats for sure.

negatives: portable it is not. 22kgs (approx) but at least its not bulky (smaller than a drri) and i can go on the mrt and bus with just guitar, amp, the reverb/trem footswitch and a/b box.
tubes are also not accessible on the fly. you have to take out the bottom back panel to access them.
it'll be good for small to small/medium gigs. i doubt it has enough clean headroom with a loud drummer, but if u play mainly overdriven, it should reasonably hold up. i reckon it has slightly less clean headroom than a drri.

for the money, this is a formidable workhorse amp

 

[dudelove]

THANK YOU for the review! I really appreciate it. I was thinking of getting an AC30CC1 because the older AC15CC1s didnt come with the 2 channels and the tone cut. But now the new series have arrived at City Music, I'm definitely gonna go for this new amp. How's the greenbacks? Do they sparkle like the Celestion Blues?

 

[glblues]

according to reports, the greenbacks sparkle but in a different way from the blues. dont ask me how, i havent played the blue one lol.
dont bother getting the old one. apparantly they improved the ac15 with this model, functionally and tonally too.
the old one with the wharfdale which i tried seemed too trebly and sharp but this one sparkles and has bloom to it.
a step up imho. bear in mind that my tones are in a blues and early rock context.
it probably doesnt have the crunch necessary for heavier styles.
oh, it also doesnt sound too good at practice volumes. but at gig volumes, it positively rocks

 

[dudelove]

Thanks, your review has been really helpful..

I'll probably get crunch from my pedals. But I don't play much high gain stuff anyway, same as you, blues and early rock.

Anyway, how pedal friendly is the amp? I have not played much with Vox amps but I love how they sound.

 

[glblues]

not sure. i havent run any pedal through it yet.
i'll let you know when i've got proper tubes in it and i get to gig with it in 2 weeks time or i have a weekday afternoon free lol.
btw, u need an A/B/Y box to channel switch between them

 

[theGroovyMusic]

^They actually can handle pedals really well imo, the upgraded version really improves it ALOT, good on you glblues

 

[dudelove]

Awesome. I'm excited. You guys just made my decision much much easier.

Intending to purchase really soon.

Btw what do I need to do if I want to bridge the 2 channels

 

[glblues]

an AB box is something like this:

http://www.little-black-box.co.uk/AB-Switch/AB-1-Input-2-Outputs/prod_11.html

that will make the 2 channels footswitchable

 

[theGroovyMusic]

Oh yeah dudelove, super high-gain stuff don't really sound very well to me on the amp, sorry if i misled you. The top boost channel really gives it a really classic, warm tone, CHIMEY to it, coupled with the spring reverb and tremolo, doesn't sound 'plastic' at all. It's that awesome, too bad I could only tried it at my friend's crib, if i had the moolah, i would definitely buy it.

But don't take our word for it, die-die-must-try man

 

[junhao405]

I played the ac15cc and ac30cc.. I just plug in a hamer guitar.. which not suppose to.sound well.. sound well.. ac15cc sound great for home playing.. the overdriven sound sure work for old sch player..

 

[Godspeed64]

Actually the custom series and the heritage series (which are highly acclaimed) are similar, the only major difference is the Greenbacks in the Custom and the Alnico Blues in the Heritage..

I'm contemplating selling/trading my night train for one!

 

[dudelove]

Thats why I wanna know if anyone has changed the greenbacks for the blues. So many people have proclaimed that the blues IS the speaker for Vox amps and there should not be a compromise. But then again, I've been reading many comments about how great this little amp is, without complaints about the speaker and the tubes.

 

[Godspeed64]

It's a preference really.. The Night Train's Bright channel can be set to an identical AC tone going on and I find that I prefer Blues with it compared to Greenbacks.. The Greenbacks is great, but the Blues had something that the Greens were missing.. Can't put a name to it.. But if you want an AC, a Hotcake's a must!

 

[dudelove]

The Greenbacks is great, but the Blues had something that the Greens were missing.. Can't put a name to it.. But if you want an AC, a Hotcake's a must!

Your cab is loaded with the blues?

Anyway I've read the blues chime more, while the greenbacks are crunchier.

Why hotcake?

 

[glblues]

Actually the custom series and the heritage series (which are highly acclaimed) are similar, the only major difference is the Greenbacks in the Custom and the Alnico Blues in the Heritage..

I'm contemplating selling/trading my night train for one!

i have the ac15 c1 and the heritage version of the ac15 in my living room. they sound very different to me.
overall the heritage version is much better, more organic but headroom and flexibility is an issue for me, which is why i chose to gig with the c1 series. tone is still good! but admittedly its not like the old ac15 tone

 

[joewong]

I just pick up the Vox AC15C1 the other day, and man, this amp rox! Very nice warm tones, especially with the Top Boost channel.

 

[wood&nickel]

i have the ac15 c1 and the heritage version of the ac15 in my living room. they sound very different to me.
overall the heritage version is much better, more organic but headroom and flexibility is an issue for me, which is why i chose to gig with the c1 series. tone is still good! but admittedly its not like the old ac15 tone

hey glblues,

Care to explain more about the difference? I'm interested in getting one myself!

 

[PeanutDude]

Still for sale? How about a trade for an AC30, no top up required.

 

[jskadiang]

^........NO.