Vox AC15CC1 112 Combo

well people have done an already pretty thorough job of this so ill run thru it quick. made in china but what isnt nowadays? more versatile then you might think, change how and what you play and ull find it can do more then you might think. i doubt i played the same things as the other reviewers, im in to heavier stuff. i still really like mellow cleans, and the raunchy overdrive, but i also like hard rock tones(iron maiden,randy rhoads) and occasional older metal(metallica and such). i knew it couldnt do metal but i wanted to see how far it could go past classic rock. these features although seemingly simple can do a lot more then meets the eye.

Now i just tested this amp i a store to get an idea of the ac30 which i was actually planning to buy. i was quite unimpressed with the amps i tried before this in the store including a genz benz el diablo and the black pearl which is more similar to this amp. i plugged in a valvetronix and was pretty suprised to how it sounded. Then i tried the ac15 and my jaw dropped, the valvetronix was garbage compared to this! this is what a tube amp should be! i went through all the classic rock stuff like queen and then even tried some hard rock(Dont wrry, definitly NO metal) and was suprised it kept up. i mean it could use more gain( wished i coulda plugged in my ts808) but as they say, tone is in the fingers and i made my fingers do hard rock. she followed and what was lost with gain was made up with rich harmonic overtones, beautiful! i have never really been happy with my amp tones and am ALWAYS dispointed with the amps i try with very few exceptions. Now i havent tried every amp but there are only 5 amps i havent been left wanting. The ac30,ac15,jcm 800,plexi, and the mesa boogie express 5:50. obviously a bogner would or something would be on that list but as i said i havent tried every amp. ill give it a 9 because nothing is perfect but that rich harmonicy sound sure comes close!

i only tried it in the store but it sure looked beat to hell with scratches and cuts. voxs r known for being fragile so becareful with that tolex!

no idea

this amp had something that no other amp iv tried had. it just simply sounded like a real tube amp with the real soul of the tubes coming through. this sucker was also super loud! easily hold itself in a jam situation but she wont stay clean! This amp at the very least is worth a plug in at a store and a whirl, i promise ull love it. this is coming from a person who has NEVER done a postive review and i always bash where i can because the person reading the review needs to know where there might be faults. i never found any but i never got to try it too long. just dont count on this thing doin marshall gain levels perfectly. it can stretch that far but it IS a stretch!

sorry for my english!

new Ac15cc1 with stock speaker, stock everything. Very versatile amp, from warm clean to warm thick tone. single channel, no effects loop, no line out. basic, made to sound good, that's it. would dig another channel and the other features but i'm not complaining. i gig with this amp and haven't needed to push it past '5' or so to keep up with the rest of the band (bass, keys, drums, another guitar, vocals).

I love, LOVE this amp. It blows away my fender twin (although they're totally different beasts) for warm wonderful tone. turn up top boost and it gets warmer and more broken up, beautiful musical tone. It sounds great with my strat, but incredible with my SG (epiphone g-400). It's got presence and a tone that really fits great in a band sound. Pedals sound GREAT with this amp. Again, my twin sounded sterile next to this thing, pedals the same. the vox ac15 is my new favorite amp (ac30 rocks too). I play rock, honky tonk/country, reggae, surf with it. the amp can stay pretty clean but at loud volumes it's gonna break up--- it's only 15 watts after all. Distortion doesn't approach metal, but anyone who plays metal would not be looking at this amp.

Sounds like the amp can break down judging from other reviews. Works fine for me so far.

Emailed a question about the amp before ordering it- got a response quickly. good job.

I've had my Twin for 22 years; it does clean tones nicely but CAN'T do distortion, and it had no presence, no clarity when pushed. It's a nice tone, just not dynamic or musical. The AC15 is the opposite. It's a beautiful tone that stands out with amazing warmth. Hugely variable in tone, the controls all seem more responsive than other amps. The only other amp I still really drool for is the ac-30. I'd also love to check out the celestion speaker in this. For the money, the best amp I've ever had or heard.

same features as them all..30 watts..1 12 inch speaker..i like the features..good reverb and tremolo...good master volume...it works great...it is plenty loud...great tone..sounds killer..

i play all styles.....the sound of this amp is great.....unfortunately, the stock warfdale speaker is the biggest piece of tone sucking crap i ever heard....if you can afford one, buy a celestion gold 50 watt speaker.....in this amp, it sounds totally freeking amazing....

get a good tech...this amp will break....on a whim...the chinese use the cheapest possible parts..but somehow make an incredible soundng amp...even the screws they use are pitiful cheap....they should have their ases kicked....use some quality fuses and decent screws, you chinese bums.........

i bought it used..

i rate it 10 for sound, with a good alnico speaker..like a celestion gold or a red fang ......a 4 for sound with the original speaker...this is the only ac-30 an older guy can possible move around...i wish it had decent hardware....the grill cloth droops too...if you can buy one used, buy one that a good tech has already repaired...it'll probably be reliable after that..

This is a followup review, now that I've had the amp for more than a year now.

I use a homebuilt strat/tele hybrid, although the bridge pup is a Dimarzio from a Mosrite Mark II, gets me about mid-way between the strat and tele sounds, which is what I was looking for ... I also play a 50s reissue ash Tele, which sounds truly awesome through this amp. I have a few other guitars, but pretty much stick to these two these days.

I kind of wish there were a boost switch built in, but you can't have everything, can you?

But don't let the 15watts fool you-- this amp is plenty loud, thanks to the 12 inch speaker really. I haven't run into an occasion where I wished I had more power, frankly. And usually I get yelled at to turn down (happened at a gig the other day, at an open air show no less, the sound guy kept asking me to calm the thing down...).

Let's get this out of the way: I still love it, it's exactly the amp I wanted, the amp I need. And I'm playing a dual-amp setup in the new band, I'm tempted to get a matched set.

Mine's still stock. I'll be tempted to replace the tubes soon, but the speaker sounds just great, now that it's been worked in. No reason to change it, really.

Only thing about the amp...it really seems to take a long time to open up...a good hour or so, maybe more. At first, the sound is a little stiff, a bit cold, even sterile. But after a while, the amp really starts to sing. Nice and warm, a nice bloom and sustain that isn't there when you first start to play. It's not always possible to turn the amp on in advance though, which is a bit of a problem.

The reverb is really over the top...a bit much. Turn it up much past 9 o'clock and the sound just gets drenched. And not in a pleasant, surf-like way. I tend to switch it off when playing alone. With the band, on the other hand, the reverb sounds really great, helps the guitar snuggle into the mix, without getting in the way at all...kind of weird. Part of what I like about the amp though.

I bought the amp for the tremolo, and it's still one of my favorite features. It's a nice, soft-edged, rounded tremolo (I have a pedal for sharper-edged tremolo sounds).

I don't like the sound of the boost all that much-- I tend to keep it at about 1 o'clock. More than that and it has a harsh, thin sound that doesn't appeal to me. I use a DIY Tubescreamer with Fat mod in front of it instead. I tried running the power tube at maximum and turning down the boost, but I haven't mastered that yet, seems more difficult to get the sound I want that way. I also keep my guitar volume at maximum, I don't like the cut in the highs when it's turned down.

Since I play single-coil guitars pretty much exclusively, I'm more accepting of a bit of hum and noise...now that I'm routing most of my effects to the second amp (I split the output from the Tubescreamer into the two amps--the Vox gets the cleaner path), there's not all that much noise to deal with though. But the other amp gets so noisy, it doesn't matter anyway.

As for fitting my style...hard to describe what I'm doing, since it's a bit eclectic -- but the Vox lets me get the job done.

This is why I'm writing a followup. I had the fuse issue--blew the first one the first day I had it. I replaced it with a stronger fuse, blew that too.

I eventually figured out I just wasn't shutting the amp down properly. The Vox works better if you put it on standby, then wait a few minutes while the tubes cool down, before shutting it off altogether. (I also leave it on standby for a few minutes when just turning it on too).

Ever since I figured this out, I haven't had a problem with the fuse. Haven't had any other issues with the amp yet.

I don't imagine the company will be helpful. I bought the amp at the local music store because I know they'll take care of me if I need them.

Like I said, I'm thinking of adding a second AC15CC1 to match this one, since I'm using a dual-amp rig these days. Right now my second amp is a Laney VC15, but it suffers from its 10" speaker--a shame. I'd be tempted to get a Fender, since the sound would be so much different from the Vox. Anyway, I'd definitely replace the Vox if I ever need to (hope I don't).

2007 modle the non-blue edition

I have the Vox AD30 10" and I have to say this AC15, stock, is a step above the ad30 in this reguard: It is more particular in the guitars you plug into it. The sound of the guitar itself comes through better. The ad30 fatigues the ear sooner also. Expect a long break in peroid for the Warf.. speaker. but it is not a horrible speaker.

Now if you are NOT going to improve this amp with tweaks then buy the AD30. The Tung Sol reissue that was in mine is crap compared to the real thing. (Tung-Sol 12AX7A) Try another 12AX7. Anything, I recomend the Tung sol 12AX7A. The speaker replacement vastly improves the amp I used the Celestion Vintage 30 16 ohlm (china) sound much better, what ever you use $80 or so on ebay it will be worth it. One thing I noticed right away was the full use of the Master and Gain, a good speaker lets this amp come alive. The reverb unit is shat, Gordon Ramsey would have a field day with this worthless piece of crap. The good thing about this amp is you dont need reverb it can sound so good. but get a proper box if you want/like reverb. Like everyone else said it goes into cavernous piles of shat 1/4 turn into it. At 12 o clock its worthless. The best news is replacement of the EL84's are cheap, what ever you do JJ's TAD -if they will fit- is a cheap plus. Although the Electro Harmonix arnt that bad. Go for the pre-amp and speaker first.

Look for a cheap AC15cc1 on ebay in the future for 400+ and dump 200 into it. Then you will get an amp that it should be for retail.

I was looking for a tube amp for home use to replace my marshall 8240 valvestate combo, which doesn't really sound good. After trying some fender amps and this ac15, the choice was obvious. I like the clean in this amp. features are ok, but it would have been nice to have 1 clean and 1 "drive" amp section. Tremolo is a nice feature, but i don't really like the reverb sound, maybe i'll replace it someday.

I mainly use a american standard fender strat and tele. It's unbelievable how well this amp reproduces the characteristics of my electric guitars. very responsive. I don't use it for shows, only for home use (for shows i use a marshall tsl100+1960cab). Live, i play alternative rock at home i play all sorts of music. don't really know how this amp sounds with humbuckers

My amp had a fuse problem. The mains fuse blew repeatedly. The problem was that VOX put a wrong fuse in the amp. It came with 630mA. After my local dealer contacted VOX they stated that a fuse of 1,6A should be used instead of 630mA (Netherlands, Europe). This is the only problem i had, but i won't give it a low rating because of this.

UPDATE 9/3/2008:
I really did not like the sound of the amp with an overdrive pedal. So i replaced the wharfedale speaker with a celestion heritage greenback speaker (G12M20). WOOOWWWWWW!! What a difference. It's like having a totally different amp. The good thing is, the characteristics of your guitar remain intact, as with the wharfedale. If you like to play rock, i suggest you give it a try. It sounds absolutely superb.
I also bought a reverb pedal (holy grail by EHX), because is didn't like the reverb.

very well handeleb by my local dealer and good info from VOX. Maybe it's a good idea from vox to send a letter out to vox dealers to address this fuse problem

for such a small amp (size and watts) it sounds great, even on low volume.

I play rock and blues - mostly in the studio. I use a lot of different guitars but mostly my USA Deliuxe Strat with noiselss pick-ups.

This AC15 has few features but the tone is both phenominal and flexible. The interactivity of the treble and bass controls is something to behold.

Switchable reverb and tremelo - very useful.

Simple but toneful and loud enough.

You can make any tone you want. Clean sounds are great but get good pedals in front of the amp - in fact, just get one good overdrive/treble booster (spend more than ??150) and you'll be in tone heaven for ever.

Make a setting on your amp that suits your guitar (using gain, bass and treble controls) then use your guitar volume, tone and pick-up selector to dial in a huge variety of tones. The interaction between guitar and amp is very useful for live work.

I use a 2002 American Deluxe Strat with noiseless pick-ups.

Haven't had it long enough to say. But I got it second hand two months ago and accidently left it on for 48 hours. Got back into my studio and there were no problems whatsoever.

Not applicable.

Having played for around 30 years and had so many amps, I can honestly say this is my favourite.

Can't wait to use it every day and I am finding new sounds all the time.

As other reviewers have noted, it's an AC15. It's simple.

If you like superloud clean tones, then this might not be loud enough for you. But if you like the edgey roundness that slight power distortion imparts -- a certain breadth of tone -- then this should be loud enough for the kinds of bands you'd be playing in if you wanted this tone (i.e., drummers who aren't ridiculously loud).

I'm an Americana roots-rocker, so the clean tone is killer. Nice bass reponse even with the Wharfedale (tried it with a Buddha and it was actually too dull. Don't know about the Alnico blue, but I think I'll break it in and see how the Wharfe settles in).

Very quiet, comparatively.

With crappo ElectroHarmonix tubes, it thins out in the bottom as the gain is increased. I expect a new set of matched JJs will tighten this up.

I'm not a big fan of any Vox totally gained out. But that's just a matter of taste. I love the lower power because I can get the output section really humming, generating a nice saturation without killing the front row in a bar.

This is one-trick pony in my mind. Either you like what it does, or you shouldn't have it. I wouldn't want any Vox as my only amp. I like other tones.

Unknown. No problems yet.

Unknown. No problems yet.

I've played about 30 years. I own a Les Paul, an old SG, teles, strats, etc. They all sound great through this.

I would always want some type of Vox in the arsenal. Records very nicely. Excellent presence. Not my favorite live amp, though.

Don't like it much for leads, but for rhythm, it's the best amp I own (and I have a lot, including a Sundown, Peavey Classic 30, Fender Hotrod DeVille, Marshall JCM 800, Line6 Flextone).

Buy one used for $400 and you can't go wrong.

This is a 2007 custom classic, made in China. One channel, Vol, treb, bass, master vol.

2 EL84's and 2 12AX7's so it's economical to retube.

Silicon rectifier, but it feels very much like a tube.

It's extremely versatile.

It works great with HB's and single coils. Very quiet. Beautiful tone, it's all in there: it's got the chimey Beatle sounds and the Brian May crunch.

I use a Barber Small Fry about 70% of the time, and a Barber Tone Press about 10% of the time, and a Nova delay about 90% of the time. This amp loves pedals.

I run everything at 12 oclock, with the exception of the master which is sometimes maxed (when I can get away with it).

This is a loud amp, suitable for small clubs and functions.

I have the stock Wharfedale. It was pretty harsh sounding for about 2 months, but it's been sweet after having been broken in. Many rave about the Celestion Blue, and I originally intended to put one in, but I'm telling you this speaker is decent. Wait until it breaks in, you might decide to keep it.

The amp arrived DOA. Problem was tubes. Vox sent replacements. Amp has worked perfectly for 9 months.

Vox takes and returns calls.

Been playing 40 years, and have owned many amps. For $540 this is a phenomenol deal. Boutique sound, Walmart price.

Not many but who needs more than what this will do??

Frickin' amazing. Stock is very good, new tubes/speaker upgrade is unbelievable! Just get your pre/master leveled out and put a nice overdrive/booster in front for a whoopass tone! I use a Burriss Boostier in front of mine, or a Zinky master blaster. Amazing!

Don't know yet, from what I hear beware!!

Buy this, I have owned Dr. Z's that don't sound this good.