Vox AC15

2008 Chinese made CC1X, all valve, with Alnico Blue speaker. This amp is ridiculously good for the money - I paid 450 GBP which is cheap for an amp that sounds as good as this. Covers all the styles I play in my covers band - Beatles, Stones, Motown, CCR, Everlys, REM, 50's & 60's RnR.

Single channel - I like simplicity - add a pedal or two and that's all I need. The controls are fine, I've had this amp for 6 months (from a previous owner) and it has been 100% reliable.

15 watts sounds like it might be underpoered - but this is 15W VOX clean watts - this baby is loud! I can rise above my drummer on half volume at live gigs in small/medium sized venues.

This amp rocks with my Baja Tele, G&L Broadcaster, H&L Legacy, Tom Anderson Classic SSH, Heritage H150m and Music Man Sabre II. All sound f**k*ng "orsum". I have a Custom Vibrolux Reverb and I thought that was the biunsiness, but this AC15 CC1x just blows it out of the water. The CVR is hissy, noisy & thin sounding by comparison - and it is a good amp! The VOX is quiet, quiet, quiet.

This amp gives you that classic VOX nailbomb sound, you want early, Beatles - you got it, you want early Stones - you got it, you want REM - you got it, you want Tom Petty, Byrds,Neil Young, you got it.

Distortion reaches Neil Young Down by The River, Tom Petty Mary Jane's Last Dance style plus any kind of Beatles Revolver/Rubber Soul sound, whihc is good enough for me - if I need more I strep on my Fulltone OCD.

The best thing about this amp is you can drive it jard and get that AC30 sound at resonable volumes. It's teh AC 30 you always wanted.

Yep I gig with this regularly - no problems in 6 months use. I will get another one as an insurance back up for live gigs in due course. This thing is built like the proverbial brick ****house - so it will take knocks.

No cause to deal with Korg on this yet.

Been playing long enough that I should be better than I am! I don't skimp on quality and I like bang for my buck - this amp is perfect for my current needs - I can't think why I haven't discovered VOX before now - and I'm a BRIT!!! I own a Custom Vibrolux reverb, but it ain't my go to amp - the AC15 is. I've had Allesandros, Tech 21's, Peavey Classic 30's - all OK amps but the VOX wins hand down - it's the sound you know and want.

If it were stolen, I'd get another, it wouldn't get lost - amps don't get "lost".

update from previous review, by 'dan'. same gripes as before re: features- no effect loop and no line out. not a huge deal.

Got the Celestion Blue 8 ohm speaker and installed it. Beautiful sparkly highs, smooth lows. It changed the feel of the amp, including giving it a cleaner sound. Best money I've spent to improve my tone.

I'm going to give a rating this time, since i've had it and used it hard for the last 8 months. It was played at least 3 times weekly for 5 months playing out, and then still played regularly. It's not had a single problem. So far so good, and it sounds really nice.

No real need for them yet, but they answered emails, even called me when i asked questions about the amp/speakers/tubes. I trust them.

With the Celestion Blue, a 10; with the wharfdale, an 8. I love this amp, and get compliments from other musicians about how it sounds. It might not be big enough for some people, but it can play plenty loud and sound good doing it. If your thinking about getting one, either spring for the Celestion or upgrade at some point to it- best investment I could have made on my sound.

1999 - in the Marshall plant - these are the ones that VOX first came out with to try for that early 60s original JMI AC 15 sound. Single channel - has a pre-amp drive, 15 watt - not hand wired - EL84 - reverb and tremolo - with a 12" blue. They cut some corners on this one at the Milton Keynes facility but still not bad - good mid-range growl.

I wanted the real 63 sound - you can hear this on a youtube video " 63 clean AC 15 " - this is a video clip of a strat into a 1963. It has that mid range thing and especially that ringing sound ( you know what I mean if your reading this probably ) - Maybe I'm a snob but I wasn't willing to settle for less than this and I'm not going to buy ( and can't aford )a real 45 year old VOX and take it to bars. My English 1999 did not have that real tone and I tried two of the " CC ' models ( new ones ) and the tone just wasn't there. A well known amp tech in the bay are ( I don't like to drop names ) set it right. He added a choke
( whatever that is ! ) He tells me this was a corner they cut - they used a25 cent piece instead of the correct $22 one. He cleaned up the power transformer and removed 5 feet of excess wire ( He tells me this is typical in that Marshall plant ) He back dated the power supply and bias circuit tp original specs - ?smaller 22uf filter ( whatever !! ) When he was finished I had that JMI sound. So - $1000 for the amp and $225 for his work - really worth it.

It's a VOX - i take an extra ( small amp ) if I'm playing far away. But no breakdowns yet

I don't think so.

p90 ( casino - bridge PU expecially ) into AC15 is the sound. - I am old ( playing for 40 yrs ) - past 10 in a cover - dance music pop-rock band. Sometimes a strat - tuned down 1/2 stop and am really happy with this amp.

New AC15- single channel, master volume, reverb, tremelo, bass, treble, volume. Footswitch for rev. and trem. The controls are very responsive- adding treble and/or bass changes the character of the sound a ton. Same for the volume. Reverb is only useful up to about 1.5- after that it's honking, can't see a use. I wish it had an effects loop and a line out. I got the wharfdale speaker in mine and it sounds fine.

Sounds awesome. I'm playing it with a stock mexi strat, and an old washburn electric with an emg in the neck pickup position, unknown other bucker in the bridge. It's got a lot of different sounds in it for so few controls. It can go from a nice clean (not Fender clean but very nice) to good hard distortion (not metal). I was breaking it in and found a serious 'townsend' sound that I couldn't believe. It's can be clean, slightly distorted with that wonderful note breakup, or full on driven. Very sweet tone.

Just got it, so can't speak to reliability. No problems so far. Fires up every time.

I did email asking about the manual (before I even got the amp), and got a response back after a few days. That puts them towards the top for me already in customer support.

Been playing for 28 years. I wanted to get an amp that didn't weigh a ton (my Fender Twin is 90lbs), and always wanted to try a vox. SO happy that I did- it's excellent. Other than a line out and effects loop, I'm perfectly satisfied with it. If it were stolen I'd get another one, maybe an AC30 (but then the weight's back!), and in the future I'd love to try a Celestion Blue in it.

AC15 Custom Classic. Manufactured in 2006. Perfect amp for me in a working Blues/R&B band. Simple, straight forward, all tube, 15 watts, 1-12" speaker, 1 channel w/tremolo and reverb. Both effects sound great. Light weight. Could re-tube for less than $50. Not recommended for uber metal, hi-gain Guitar Hero's but a great working mans amp for small club work, recording etc.

The tone (and the Vox vibe) is why I purchased the AC15. It has a beautiful and meaty clean sound. The highs can get a little harsh with single coils but just turn the treble down. My ears prefer humbucking pickups thru this amp. My main guitar is an Epiphone DOT with Duncan Antiquity pickups. I also use a 69 Strat, 02 USA Strat and a Tele Custom. With the DOT , treble and bass at 12 o'clock, turn the channel (top boost)volume way up and then set the overall level with the master volume. You will hear the Devil and the sound that made us all guitar players in the 1st place.

Don't know, just got it. Played 2 jobs and a jam with it last week without a back up.

Haven't had to use it. At 1 year there are some better warranties out there, but those amps don't sound like this one.

I've played professionally for 40 yrs. and still going. My other amps are 1975 Twin Reverb, 1964 Tremolux, Line6 Flextone, Yamaha JX65D, Kustom. I was looking for an EL84 amp (Matchless, Dr Z. Marshall 18watt) when I stumbled onto the AC15CC1. If my AC15 were stolen, somebody would die and then I'd buy another. I love the sound, the look and the weight. Last week I participated in an impromptu jam at a local bar. Drums, Bass, harmonica, vocals, couple guitars through a Fender Deville 410 and a 1966 Super Reverb. Without even breaking a sweat, the tone of the AC15 cut right through.
Baddest 15 watts I've ever heard. Now I want 2 AC15's.

single channel but with tremelo and reverb, to be honest ill prob never use the tremolo or reverb but it sounds pretty good to be honest

i agree with everybody else really its a great sounding amp. Im mainly going to use this amp at home, and even at low volumes its a great sounding amp. Very very little hum coming from the amp as well.

The build quality is awfull, for a rrp of ??500 its poor! like a few reviews on here my footswitch LED doesnt work and its brand new! why oh why would you send such crap out!! come on vox! the handle looks and feels cheap, the knobs are cheap plastic rubbish and feel as if there going to break and the plastic input jack is pure cheapness. And finally the gold trim that keeps the tolex on the front is falling off!!

not tried yet

if your looking for a great sounding poorly made amp then this is the one!

This is a new 2006 VOX AC 15 with the stock speaker in it - not the Alnico Blue. I do not like the stock speaker but I use a closed 2x12 with Celestion vontage 30s. The features are fine. I play classic rock. Primarily a an old reissue Strat - My main amp is a Marshall 50 Watt Plexi head with 4x12 (greenback 25 watt). I used to A/B with a Twin. That's a lot of work. I was looking for something small enoguh for rehearsal and small clubs. I tried a vintage Ampeg that sounded great on it's own but wouldn't cut through with the band. This has plenty of features for me and I am surprised at the volume. I would like second input, somtimes I like to tie (jump?)amps together.

I run it it clean to the point where it's just about to break up. I use a Full-drive, Tubescreamer and a DS-1 to get an array that covers most classic rock between the strat and Les Paul. Very low noise. I mentioned that I do not use the encolsed speaker instead I run it into a Mojo 2x12 closed back cab that has celestion Vintage 30s. I think it's a Bluesbreaker extension cab. My band mates love the combo. They say it's more articulate than my usual Marshall into 4x12. They are not easy to please so I give this a favorable rating. I would like to get closer to that tone without having to drag a seperate cab, that is my only criticism.

No probelms in the six months that I have owned this - bought it new.

n/a

I have been playing for 30 years. I have had my currnet Marshall set-up for 25 years. I just sold the Twin after many years. I have lots of smaller old tube amps that I love to crank up. This is a nice medium sized amp. As I mentioned, after hearing it with the Bluebreaker cab I cannot play the amp using the internal speaker that it came with so that is my only disappointment. Maybe I'll have the head installed in that cab and call it good.

1999 English AC15. I use this in a cover - band ( R+B, rock, - dance music ) I don't use the master volume - just leave it maxed and use the pre volume. Tremolo is great - sometimes use it. Subtle reverb. This has enough output for clubs, bars - 4 piece band with lots of space in the music ( no wall of sound things ) so no need to overpower. Once-in - awhile I get the yearning to hear this into 10" speakers to compare sweetness but the single 12 is nice as is.

I am stuck on my casino with P90s after decades of strat-tele-strat-tele-strat dancing around. P90s in a hollow format give you growl and bite with a great 6th string bark and this is the right amp. My amp before this was a tweed bassman which also is good with a casino - maybe a little sweeter because of the 10s but the vox is more immediate and breaks up better. One big advantage of a casino is controlled feedback and the AC15 works great for this. I've learned to use the epiphone with the guitar volumes below 1/2 ( you can only do this with a casino - strats and teles, etc lose character down there ) and the amp volume up - also fairly high treble setting on the amp - bass barely up a bit. This is a sweet melodic tone. then I use my guitar volume for cranked tunes. The tone controls on this AC15 really give you control. This is a quiet amp ( as quiet as anything else with P90s - total silence means your using a humbucker guitar and I don't like the drabness of these) The amp reverb adds a little humm when I bring it up high - but I don't use reverb much.

1-2 gigs per month - so far so good - 8 years old.

don't know

I've played 40 years - have owned 20 amps and 150 guitars maybe - also lots of little boxes on the floor. I noticed that my # of stompboxes gradually went from 10 down to 3 after I went to the combination of casino + ac 15. Everytime I've run around looking for different effects to use with a guitar-amp combination it has meant something is missing from the basic tone and I'm trying to compensate. Less boxes is equal to great guitar + amp tone. I like my epiphone + AC15 combination for way more than 60s rock. I get more interesting harmonics and overtones in high gain stuff than I ever got with a strat, tele or humbucker. The original owner had swapped out the original bulldog for a celestion blue. Fortunately he included the original old speaker when he sold it too me. As soon as I had the bulldog back in all that wonderful aggressive chime, jangle and bark was there. China is making an AC15 re-issue today. I hear they are pretty good but you can't get that awesome Milton-Keynes bulldog anymore - only a generic speaker or a blue - just not the same. If I had to replace this I MIGHT look at one of the heritage AC15s or I'd find another british AV15 with a bulldog from the 90s. I can easily carry this up a flight of stairs ( approx 47 lbs ) I would never want an AC30 - don't break-up as well and mega-heavy.

AC 15cc1, made in 2006. Interesting choice of features for this version of this classic amp. The tremolo and spring reverb are nice little extras, very effective but somewhat obscure. They give the amp a little extra appeal though. I chose this amp over many others simply because the sound is what i'm after, i play experiment/art rock/blues. Self biasing so no over priced techs for most of us who aren't game to bias our amps.

It is not the most versatile amp i've ever owned but it has the most amazing tone of any amp i could ever afford. I replaced the wharfedale speaker with a celestion vintage30 simply because the wharfedale is too floppy around the lower end and more importantly lacked upper mid clarity, though a reasonably speaker for it's price. The amp performs brilliantly on all gain settings, from very "chimey" cleans to very smooth but responsive distortion. Not noisy compared to many other amps of similar class. The top boost eq controls create a big scoop in the midrange so for brightening up a hollowbody clean tone or thickening up a single coil they work perfectly, not of much use to me however, my sound is very clear with mainly upper mids. The celestion blue model is a worthy replication of the original vox tone, though not quite the same. I would recommend thinking very carefully about buying that model as opposed to buying the cheaper version and finding a cheaper, classier sounding version of the blue ;).
Overall, amazing sound for the price and simplicity of the amp. Don't buy an amp without at least trying this delightful amp.

I've only owned these amps for a little over a month and thus far had no problems. I run two in stereo for shows and studio work so if one has a problem live i can just revert to one temporarily. Not easy to access tubes so no changing during a show. I'm not a fan of the chinese pcb work so make sure you have any complaints checked out, i wouldnt want to wait for a replacement transformer.

No problems with amp so far.

A great sounding amp for a very reasonable price, a must try. They would be missed if mine were stolen and very quickly replaced. Stood out from the rest in it's price range. Probable one of the best amps that isn't some overpriced boutique masterpiece. Very satisfied.

AC-15- one channel, master volume, vibrato etc. Chinese-made.

Bought it used but in good cosmetic shape and issue-free.

I got it because I have a jones for that British invasion sound. Simple is ok- I wanted a fundamental amp.

Okay. The Chinese voxes will NEVER be the British voxes. The rectifier is solid state, the boards are CAD...I switched out the Wharfdale speaker for a genuine Alnico and...the 'aaah' quality was there, but no chimey overtones. And I have sweet instruments (Gibson Fat Neck 335, Fender Jaguar). I don't know what else to say- the sound just isn't there. I switched the tubes for EV EL84s...began that journey...

And rehearsing with a band was a big letdown. It sounds like a whiny little kid straining to be heard. I sold it a month after I got it and bought a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe and went--"OOOOHHH...That is what real cleans sound like!!" I was the second owner before sending it along to another sucker.

I heard a story about a performance Brain May was giving recently (sure he plays AC-30s but listen) when the tech set him up with two new AC30cc2x amps he sent them back to the rental house and specifically requested a pair of Korg AC30TBs, which he got and sounded phenomenal on.

I wouldn't risk playing this amp w/o some kind of other amp to lift the sound. Turning the dials makes you feel like you have a toy, not pro gear. Everything is constructed as cheap as possible for the hobbyist who saw a picture somewhere or heard that these amps were cool, but never actually "heard" one. Not for pros.

Also- old voxes are notorious for their perishablilty- they overheat, rattle, etc, but people tolerate them like a drunk feeble uncle because of the breakup and the overtones.

I can assure everyone that this amp does not inspire that kind of love.

It's every man for himself out there in the big big world..

I am a pro- been playing 20 years. I never had a Vox, always fantasized about having that tone--knew the Lennon ac15 story, had big hopes...it's just not there- they discontinued this model- you see them all the time on craigslist as people who thought they were getting sonic glory come to realize that they've been had. I predict some kind of strategy shift for Vox- at least if they want to keep market share. If you just bought one of these new Voxes, my condolences. Sell it asap or it will collect dust in your garage.

I made my money back when I sold it (including the Alnico!). I've considered getting a hand-wired AC30 but their resale prices don't reflect reality of playing music for money and travelling from gig to gig. There is a whole gear market for stockbrokers who buy elite items and use them as decorations, or for studios who purchase them for recording, which makes sense. But if you spend thousands for finicky vintage gear that you will drag from gig to gig you are either independently wealthy or an idiot. Get something you can carry, which costs less than $1K that is easy to fix. Keep it simple.

And when a company claims that new, cheaper products can compare to old, idiosyncratic products that they have very little in common with, BE SUSPICIOUS.

The best thing to come from this was discovering Alnico speakers, which sound amazing when the right amp is pushing them.