Vox AC15, could it work out?

[eppito]

Has anyone here used a Vox AC15 for amping an archtop? The electric guitarist that plays on Ralph Towner’s “Travel Guide”, Wolfgang Muthspiel, appears to be using one.His sound on the recording is tremendous.I’ve never owned a tube amp in life, but the price on this piece is less than $700.00.I was thinking of acquiring it down the line(maybe as a retirement present to myself, though that is a few years away).

[Greentone]

The AC-15 has gone through changes down the years. In it's original version it was a great sounding amp that featured a volume knob on channel 1, a volume knob on channel 2, a treble knob and bass knob, and a cut knob on channel 2. The cut knob rolled off the very high frequencies on the amp--kind of a reverse of the top boost. Some AC-15s had a brilliant knob for channel 1 which was a top boost for that channel.

The amp would make an excellent, el84-based amp for jazz, IMO.

[eppito]

This is what they look like now in their newest incarnation. I imagine the cut knob would be handy to have, especially if you're using an archtop guitar.

Vox AC15 Custom - 15W 1x12" Guitar Combo Amp | Sweetwater.com

[Al_F]

Borrowed a neighbor's made-in-England (1 of the last year's before started making overseas but wasn't vintage) ac15, it was really sweet sound clean but had to keep volume low, and boy was it hard to keep the volume down, the tone is glorious when it starts to break up!

[neatomic]

gt, new mic ac 15's are not very much like the vintage ones...lots of ic's and solid state parts....plus the vintage correct alnico celestion speaker would be a costly ad on premium

2 el84 power tubes will not remain clean too long..they wanna crunch!..so if you are looking for a vintage type jazz tone, you will have to settle for keeping it at relatively low volume

if you like a more modern tone thats gonna be crunchy and brash..then it'll do fine


cheers

[bill.lee]

In my experience it's not hard at all to get at least a decent jazz sound.
I recorded the last solo of this song using my Gibson Les Paul speacial P90 through a new Vox AC15 (the one with only the top boost channel). I know the song isn't jazzy at all, but the sound is (to me at least): Nu u | EdisonBox Records

[Kolbi2112]

I have an AC-30 which is essentially the same thing except A LOT louder. I've never been able to get a jazz sound from it that I like, but that's not to say you can't. I'm still trying and am open to suggestions if anyone has any. I'm using a Heritage 575 and a Gibson ES-345, and have also tried a Strat and a variety of Les Pauls...with no luck.

[MaxTwang]

Not sure about an archtop, but if you have a tele - get a Vox! Great amps but very loud and heavy. With a Celestion Blue the tone is sublime.

[barrymclark]

I love, LOVE the sound of a Vox AC. Unfortunately, I have stuggled to get a tone that I'd like for jazzier pursuits. Granted, I don't really play with a jazz type of tone but when I was trying for such a tone, I struggled with the AC. YMMV, but that was my experience.

[barrymclark]

I typically rolled the Tone Cut all the way clockwise and had the Bass and Treble down at 9 am to start and then started bringing up the B-T controls to taste. The newer AC10 didn't have the tone or mid control so I just peppered in the BT controls. In the stock setup, I noticed the AC10 was quieter than the AC15/30. Could be garbage tubes in the 15/30 causing the extra noise. I just really dug the simplicity of the 10.

[J. Murrieta]

first things first - i am not a jazz player, but have a great love of "jazz" tone.

i have owned a number of AC15s, including the AC15HW1...my current amp! after owning and modding an AC15C1 for about 3 years, i sold it to help fund some GAS at the time. my current line up includes:

Vox TB18C1 - great 6v6 vox hybrid amp...clean, crunchy, warm, bright and light! dropped in a cannabis rex to increase volume and headroom! love it.

Carr Artemus - crazy loud! great tight tone...hard to manage in low volume spaces

Ampeg Jet J20 - great warm and classic clean tone

Vox AC15HW1 - the ultimate AC15, in my opinion. at home i rock it in 7.5w mode with another guitarist, electric bassist, drummer & percussionist. lots more headroom than your standard ac15. I prefer the "normal" input as it's about as warm and clean as one could hope. the top boost is much more of a rock feel and i prefer to rock with my pedal board.

long story short, the AC15C1 is great but if you want the full package save up a couple more shekels and get a used AC15HW...you will not be let down!

that is all.

[Longways to Go]

I picked up a new AC10c1 in December & I love it.
Small enough to be easy to move, plenty loud enough for me.
Super sweet tone -- clean enough, but not crystal clear or sterile.
I've only used it in practice so far, but planning to use it for a gig at the end of the month.

[neatomic]

the new vox ac10 uses the same top boost channel and double el84 power structure that the ac15 uses..major difference is ac 10 uses a 10" speaker...a celestion ceramic xv10

a speaker upgrade would significantly change things, if after your gig, you find you need a bit more..clean volume or low end


enjoy


cheers

[Longways to Go]

the new vox ac10 uses the same top boost channel and double el84 power structure that the ac15 uses..major difference is ac 10 uses a 10" speaker...a celestion ceramic xv10

a speaker upgrade would significantly change things, if after your gig, you find you need a bit more..clean volume or low end


enjoy


cheers

I love 10"s

The AC10 delivers louder cleans than I would have expected according to internet "research".
So far the stock speaker hasn't pointed to any major faults -- though I'm always open to fiddling!
I find the combo to be bass heavy if anything.

My gig volume (art gallery) is often quieter than my practice, so I'm not expecting to push clean volume.
I wouldn't choose it for a loud context. I'm looking forward to the test drive.

[neatomic]

just for info sake..since talkin vox

i found the jj el84's to be the best sounding "new" power tubes for a vox amp, since the original vintage mullards..they won't last 1/5th as long...but they bias right and sound good..just something to keep in mind...

good tubes and speakers (i like alnico's in a vox) really define the amps tone


cheers

ps- an alnico speaker like the celestion alnico gold will tighten up the low end..actually give you lower lows but without the boominess..(that makes it seem bass heavy)..will also bring out the hi end chime..a true hi-fi type speaker...$$$$ tho, its only drawback!

[Longways to Go]

Neatomic,
I'm currently running tung-sols throughout.
FYI, there isn't enough clearance for the Celestion Gold or other alnicos in there.
I look forward to hearing internet consensus is on best speaker for this amp . . .

Regarding the OP's question about the AC15, when I bought the AC10 I got to AB it with a AC15 for a while. They both sounded great! I chose the AC10 because it was smaller, cheaper and has simpler controls. Plus, my wife would have gone ballistic if I'd brought a big amp home!

[neatomic]

ok. cool..you are on top of things. good

(but never trust "internet consensus" haha)

cheers

[Jabberwocky]

I don't know about its suitability for jazz but I do know that it is not suitable for retirees: 48.5 pounds. If you do not plan on moving it much, it is all right.

This gentleman uses it with an ES-175 1959 VOS Reissue:

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[feet]

ok, so this made me curious, so i did some research, with a byrdland, an ac15hw, and a ac4hw. findings:

yes.



in greater detail-

the ac15hw (with a alnico speaker) is my #1 amp, and the byrdland is one of my brighter and most contextually appropriate guitar for this experiment. to my surprise, i wasn't displeased with its "jazz" tone capabilities. and depending on your needs from the amp, and how you choose to run it, you have several options as to how to arrive at those more "traditional", warm tones. (all these methods are for the normal channel only.) you could:

-simply flip the bright switch into the off position
-leave bright switch on, and engage the cut knob all the way (or fairly high up)

either way will get you in the ball park without having to mess with your guitar knobs (if that's what you prefer). you can leave the amp a little bright and fine tune it from each guitar and still have some tonal versatility, or you can set it to full butter and go. both methods are valid.

as for the top boost channel and ac4hw:

not recommended as is. but, should you happen to have an eq pedal lying around, you can dial it whatever you like. i used an edq tone job into the ac4hw and got a surprisingly great sound.

as noted above, both are astonishingly heavy, ear punishingly loud amps. and they were intended for something other than "jazz", so they have so may other awesome tones as well. current tungsol pre/mullard power tubes is my starting point, but i like to rotate random nos stuff in when i can. honestly, i just stopped messing around with tubes a while ago and now i play, instead.

[Jabberwocky]

BTW, there are 2 used ones for sale over at TGP Amp Emporium: an AC15HW1X asking for $1100 (with a Celestion Blue; check that it has the Mueller 1777 cone), and an AC15C1 asking for $430.

[eppito]

You've all given me a good bit of food for thought. For the time being I'm going to be acquiring a Vox VT20+ soon. I used to own the Peavey Vypyr VIP1, but found the thing mission control gone mad. It was just too complicated to use, so I gave it to my god daughter. The VT20+, which is also a digital modeling amp (and contains one 12AX7 tube), is much more simpler to use. I read somewhere online of a jazz player who used the amp for his purposes and found it great.


I retire in five years (counting the milliseconds), but before that happens I plan to expand my collection, which will include at least one solidbody that could be used with the Vox AC15 down the road. I was just blown away by the tone Muthispiel [sp] was getting out of the Vox he used on the recording.

[entresz]

I had a Vox AC-15 (a newer one) and I regret selling it. It was a great sounding amp. Not a whole lot of headroom, but it was loud enough to play with a soft drummer and still have a clean sound. I used to run the eq with bass on 10 and treble on 0. It had the best 'honk' sound. With a fat single coil pickup ie CC or P90 the sound was very cool.

[lebarbier]

I have playing through my AC15 creamback up and down for 2 years with swing bands, combos and trios. I like it. It's versatile and hauling it isn't all that bad. But here we are two years later of gigging this amp and I STILL REGRET BUYING IT. But I shoulda' coulda' woulda' bought a Fender twin or Hot Rod Deluxe instead. The Fender amps I've tried and now re borrowed , are very clean sounding amps. The Vox AC15 is great for Western Swing, Rockabilly, Blues, but for clean, Ellis, Farlow style, Jazz tones, like I like...i say absolutely, no. Unless you like Vox jazz tones. I've read on here somewhere saying that the Vox at higher volumes , while soloing, kinda gives you that Charlie Christian, almost to the point of it breaking up , tone. I agree with that. Staying at low volumes to avoid that Vox dirty sound and fiddling with knobs at higher volumes to avoid that Vox dirty sound, get's to be too much! I think all and all , it's solid amp that can hold a jazz tone for you, if you're willing to invest the time into finding it.

[feet]

try it with an eq in front of it to scoop out some mids, turn the cut knob up higher or sell/trade it toward a fender. none of those shouldt be that hard to pull off.

[lebarbier]

I ran a Boss EQ pedal through the AC15 the entire 2 years I gigged that amp. It helps, just too much fussing without a result I liked. Unfortunately, there is always something to change or add to your guitar or to the Vox AC15 to get a decent jazz tone out of it....add better pups, get an EQ, change the tubes to this or that, get a compressor pedal, blah blah blah. I tried it all seems like. Too much fussing!
I like my archtop, a pick, a cable , an amp and let's get on with it! My current amp takes care of all that fussing. I'm happily putting my well taken care of AC15 Creamback in its flight case and directly into storage. I'll see what resale value is in 5 years.
As for this post, if you like the Vox sound in other jazz players...Great , get it! Especially for a retirement present. I don't think you're gonna be hauling it from gig to gig. At lower volumes the AC15 sounds fantastic with an archtop guitar.