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James... « One of the best AC15's »
Published on 08/12/11 at 16:18Vox has made a tone of AC15 reissues and redo's and what have you. People have their opinions about which ones are better. These days the common consensus is that the chinese ones are trash and the hand wired series are some of the best ever. I have played both and can say that both those statements are a bit of a stretch. Although the hand wired are very good. Most people forget about these TBX amps though, which in my opinions are some of the best AC15's VOX has produced.
The control layout is very close to the original, unlike some of the newer ones which have Vox's "improved" controls which are honestly pretty bad. This one is simplified which is the way an AC15 should be. Anybody who knows these amps will tell you that less is more and that the fancy updated controls Vox is giving them are a waste. These were made in the Marshall factory in England, which should be an indicator of the quality. They definitely aren't chinese. Mine came with an alnico blue, which in my opinion should be mandatory for these amps.
UTILIZATION
With the simple controls it's easy to get a good sound. You don't really need a manual. Just turn the knobs till it sounds good.
SOUNDS
This is my workhorse gigging amp because it has never failed me yet. All I need is this and a pedal board with a couple overdrives and a delay and I'm good. I can cover pop to rock with it. It sounds golden. I've heard these marshall made ones are hard to service but I wouldn't know because it hasn't given me trouble. I have used to high end Vox handwired series and this is right up there. It evens gives my Morgan a run for its money. A lot of guys don't know about these or seem to think they need an AC30. But 15 watts through an alnico blue is a lot louder than you would think. Some people like this amp with a greenback for more dirty sounds. I get that. If you want that chimey vox sparkle this amp will get you there. Period.
OVERALL OPINION
These kill the chinese AC15's that are being made now. It's not even close. I have a hand wired AC30 and it's roughly on par with that. The hand wired are might nice and I think if you want the best possible vox tone, you might wanna shell out the change. But for the price this TBX is the bees knees. I want to get another just because of how great the value is.
The control layout is very close to the original, unlike some of the newer ones which have Vox's "improved" controls which are honestly pretty bad. This one is simplified which is the way an AC15 should be. Anybody who knows these amps will tell you that less is more and that the fancy updated controls Vox is giving them are a waste. These were made in the Marshall factory in England, which should be an indicator of the quality. They definitely aren't chinese. Mine came with an alnico blue, which in my opinion should be mandatory for these amps.
UTILIZATION
With the simple controls it's easy to get a good sound. You don't really need a manual. Just turn the knobs till it sounds good.
SOUNDS
This is my workhorse gigging amp because it has never failed me yet. All I need is this and a pedal board with a couple overdrives and a delay and I'm good. I can cover pop to rock with it. It sounds golden. I've heard these marshall made ones are hard to service but I wouldn't know because it hasn't given me trouble. I have used to high end Vox handwired series and this is right up there. It evens gives my Morgan a run for its money. A lot of guys don't know about these or seem to think they need an AC30. But 15 watts through an alnico blue is a lot louder than you would think. Some people like this amp with a greenback for more dirty sounds. I get that. If you want that chimey vox sparkle this amp will get you there. Period.
OVERALL OPINION
These kill the chinese AC15's that are being made now. It's not even close. I have a hand wired AC30 and it's roughly on par with that. The hand wired are might nice and I think if you want the best possible vox tone, you might wanna shell out the change. But for the price this TBX is the bees knees. I want to get another just because of how great the value is.