Vox AC15

This is a recent issue Vox made by KORG/Marshall. It has one channel with Volume, Treble, Bass, Trem Rate & Depth, Reverb and Master Volume. Switches are power on/off and standby. There is a line out jack, jack for foot switch and a jack for the speaker. 15 watts of "Class A" tube power drives a 12" speaker. (Mine has the Eminance)

I really wanted a Vox AC 30, but I can't afford it. This came along at a killer price, so I'll use it until I save up for the AC 30 or just keep using this amp. I use it with a Fender '52 RI Tele, a Rick 360-12 and whatever other guitars are around. I use the Vox in a two amp A/B set up. I intended to use it just for the songs that needed a little jangle, but I keep using it for more and more songs. To my ears, it doesn't sound like an AC 30 but it's in the ballpark. At some point I'll get either a Weber Blue Dog or a Vox Blue speaker to get closer to the tone. It's plenty loud for the gigs I play. Our drummer uses an electronic kit, so it all goes through the PA anyway. If you want distortion, get a pedal. Even though it has a master volume, I keep it wide open. I haven't experimented with craking the preamp and running the master low, but I'm not a big fan of preamp distortion. The tone controls are interactive. As you turn up the treble, the bass is rolled off. Different from the Fender style amps I'm used to. I find the amp to be very quiet with no background hiss or noise. It doesn't have a lot of sounds, but the ones it has are very good.

It looks well made. I understand there have been problems with transformers, but it seems like KORG has that taken care of. There is a reverb spring rattle that needs to be mended, but it's pretty minor. I would play a gig without a back up. The cabinet construction is very good.

Since I bought the amp used, I have no warranty, but it was owned by a salesman at the shop I bought it from. The owner of the shop told me to bring it in if I had any problems. I haven't had any dealings with Vox/KORG, but I know who to go to if I need to. I would expect good service.

This is a groovy little amp. It is different then what I expected, but it won me over in a hurry. It loves the Telecaster! It's a simple good sounding guitar amp. If it was stolen, I'd probably get it's big brother, the AC 30. It gives me a tone I can't get from my other gear. If I were to change it, I'd replace the master volume with a "cut" control. And I'd go with a Weber or Vox Blue type speaker. There's just something I like about Vox amps. I grew up in the '60's and seriously lusted after Vox gear. And now I finally have one. That makes me happy! I haven't played any Top Hat or Matchless amps. They might do a better job at getting the tone then my amp, but for the price I paid, nothing compares.

Preamp of the AC30 Brilliant channel. Tremelo, Reverb, 1x12 Eminence, Hi/Lo gain inputs, Treble/Bass/Volume/Master volume. Nice detachable power cord, direct out (?!??). The main feature: 2 el84's in Class A configuration, with a tube rectifier. Quite limited in features, but that's the beauty.

Used with a strat. Gets loud enough, but not too loud. I sold this amp, and it is the only amp I've ever missed after it was gone. It had the sweetest sounding tremelo and reverb I've ever heard. And it had the sweetest, purest clean tone I've ever played. So nice, warm, clean and responsive. Really sings. Shimmers. I know it's cliche, but it really does sound chimy. Individual notes are fat. Put the master volume on 10 and pretend it doesn't exist; use the preamp volume as your volume knob. Gets better the louder you go. I see another one of these in my future some day, or maybe the AC30. Problem (advantage?) is, the AC15 is sweeter at lower volumes, and costs about 1/3 as much.
The only complaint is that the flat out cranked AC15 tone does not get nearly as warm or full as the recordings of cranked Vox amps. I suspect that the AC30 distorts a lot better; I'm sure this is also a function of the speaker (mine was not the alnico celestion).

I've heard bad things about the reissues regarding the reverb pan and the output transformer.

KORG...draw your own conclusions.

Definitely would like to have another some day when I grow up and get a real job.

This is a reissue made in 97. It has 2 inputs on one channel (one 3db lower). It has chicken-head knobs for input volume, treble, bass, reverb, and tremelo speed and depth, plus a master volume. There is also a switch for mains and standby. This model has the 12'' vox blue speaker, but it is also available with a celestion (not sure which) or 2x10 celestions. This girl has 5 12ax7s and 2 el84 plus a 5y3 rectifier tube. No effects loop, has detatchable mains chord. This amp is loud for 15 watts. This will keep up with a drummer. There is a line out for a PA and a footswitch for the trem and reverb. This amp does one type of sound very well: a very full rich, toneful sound. Good for blues, jazz, whatever requires good tone. I give it a 9 in this category because it is not a swiss army amp. It will cover most styles, though and is much more more versatile than I believed it to be before purchasing.

I use a les paul with 57 classics in there. I also have a 50w plexi. This suits my needs nicely. It is low power enough to sound great in your living room, but has enough power to blast a small club. The sound is fat, thick, extremely harmonically complex. Tube changes seem to change the sound dramatically depending on what kind you use. I have Philips NOS in there and it sounds much warmer than the sovteks it came with. The sound is very much like my plexi cranked up, but at a volume I can have everyday. Fattest amp I have heard. The marshall goes untouched most of the time now, because it doesn't sound near as good at that low volume level. Very portable too. I tried the different speaker configurations and the vox speaker sounds the best. It boosts the mids like crazy, giving the sound incredible body, but still being very well balanced. Hard to describe; much like brian may meets tom petty. There is no mid control, but it doesn't matter because the mids are on full all the time! Turning up the treble reduces mids and bass, as opposed to adding treble in top of everything. The bass control reduces highs. Very interesting controls; extremely interactive. There is not a lot of headroom, but you can still be fairly clean even when cranked by controlling your pick attack. Extremely, extremely dynamic amp! Super touch-sensitive.

I've had this amp for a year with no problems and I play it every single day! The construction is very solid. 9-ply birtch cabinet, enlarged metal vents. Some of the tolex has began to come unglued inside the cabinet. Inside is a printed pc board (looks just like a modern marshall inside), plastic shafts on the pots! I hate this. A matter of time before those break. The tube sockets are also plastic! Crap. To get to the tubes, the chassis must be removed from the cabinet and then a protective grill must be removed. They are mounted upside down and in the front of the amp. This is a pain just to change tubes, but at least you can change without having to re-bias! Yes! The only other scarey thing is that this amp uses 5 different fuses. Some of which are easy to find, some aren't. But I haven't blown one yet, so maybe it's no big deal. I give them a 6 for the plastic pots shafts and plastic tube sockets.

Have not dealt with Korg/Marshall so I have no opinion.

I have been playing for ten years, one of those years was at Berklee College of Music. I would buy it again in a second if it was stolen. At Berklee I heard all kinds of amps and nothing sounds as good to me as this little vox. It is the perfect amp for me because it is portable, powerful, yet low powered enough to sound great at lower volumes. has reverb, incredible trem and master volume to drive it at even lower volumes. The distortion is just unbelievable-super thick and rich! It does have kind of a quirky sound though. Be sure this suits you before you buy. It has a lot of character, which may not be good for everyone. The vox speaker is also a must to really maximize the character of the amp.

The setup of this amp is very simple. 1 channel, 1 Vox alnico blue 12" speaker, high and low gain inputs, 15 watts, reverb & tremolo w/footswitch. It uses 2 EL-84 power tubes, 5 12AX7 preamp tubes and has a tube rectifier. Since I look for simplicity in an amp, it has more than enough features for me. Some people seem to prefer more complicated setups so I give this a 5 for versatility.

I use this amp with a Fender Telecaster '63 re-issue with a Duncan lead stack in the bridge position. It also sounds great with a strat. I have to say that this amp sounds amazing when you crank it up and use your volume knob to control distortion. This amp does not do high gain distortion. The distortion it does have has an incredible amount of clarity and depth. The clean sounds are very chimey and ringy. If you are into guitar sounds of Tom Petty or U2, this is definitely the amp for you. It is a very loud amp (to me) but does not have a ton of clean headroom. It begins to distort past halfway up on the volume control. The tremolo is one of the best ones that I've heard. The reverb is OK. It is not long and lush like on a Fender amp. It is very musical, though, and adds a nice subtle depth. The amp is very quiet - even at the high volume settings that I use it at. This amp has none of the twang that Fender amps have so I don't really recommend it for country but it will jangle 'till the cows come home.

It seems to be made really well. Relatively soon after purchasing it one of the preamp tubes became microphonic. The store replaced it free of charge. The amp itself, though, has been great in the short time that I've owned it. I can't really comment on long term reliability.

Besides having the tube replaced I have not dealt with customer support. The store was very helpful, though, when I told them about my tube problem and didn't hesitate to replace it.

Overall, this is my favorite amp for distorted tones. I also really love the clean sound but since it is only a 15 watt amp, I tend to use it for distortion. I also own a '65 Fender Bassman head, a Mesa Boogie Mark IIb, and a Fender Pro Junior. The Vox has a very specific sound. If you relate to it in the first place, this amp will deliver.

One channel same as the top boost channel of the AC-30.Reverb & tremelo with treble, bass,vol. and master vol. ALL Tube. Has five ECC83's (chinese), two El-84's(Phillips/u.s.a.) & one Phillips(usa) 5Y3GT rectifier tube. Has Great Tone very musicial!! The reverb is very lush and smooth. Not clangy & harsh like a Fender. The Celestion Alnico Blue speaker really adds to the sound. These speakers are much better than any Jensen I ever heard. Might be due in part to the fact that there is a larger magnet.The alnico Celestions have much better sustain, clairity & upper mids than there ceramic counterparts. I did a gig the first night that I got it in a small club and had NO problem being loud enough!! I play everything from hardcore blues to country to sixties British stuff and it works great for all of them.

It works for every style that I play. The amp is very quite even when cranked. The amp wide open has that smooth slightly compressed fat distortion. Not harsh. But that could be due to the fact that I changed all of the preamp tubes to N.O.S. military grade Mullards(which in my opinion are THE greatest Tube company that was next to M.O.Valve). Guitars used: custom made PRS Custom22, Gretsch 6122 & 6119('60's),'59 Les Paul Special(real one! not reissue garbage by Garbage Gibson) Custom made Mahogany Tele and Ricky 360/12.

I've only had it a couple of days(as of 10-18-96) The first shippment of these just came into the states on the 15th(of Oct.) The constuction looks very good. Better than average quality componets( silver mica and polystyrene caps)Drake transformers.

I've delt with Korg in the past and always had Excellent results.Warranty is one year.

I don't think that I would hesitate to get another one. The tone is there!!!!!!