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Pjones9 « Versatile,excellent tone and punch! »
Published on 07/23/14 at 11:39The Vox AC15 is a 15w, single channel all-tube (three 12AX7 preamp tubes and two EL84 tubes to drive a single 12" Celestion G12M Greenback) amp. It has a external speaker input switchable between 8ohm and 16ohms, with the purpose of powering an external speaker cabinet, and another extension speaker jack, which can be used to run another 16ohm cabinet along with the internal speakers, to get a more powerful sound. It also features tremolo (with depth and speed controls) and reverb, both of which are also switchable but via a two button foot switch. This amp offers two channels: Normal and Top Boost. Each channel has its own volume control, and the Top Boost channel includes Treble and Bass tone controls. Even if it's only a 15w amp, it can get surprisingly loud, not enough to fill an arena but for small venues it's ideal. The Vox AC15 is perfect for genres like blues, rock, vintage music and indie because of its classic tube tone.
UTILIZATION
A great thing about this amp is that it's very easy to get a good sound without the use of pedals. The reverb and tremolo sound amazing and organic. I hardly use tremolo or reverb pedals when using this amp. It's important to learn how to use the Master Volume control along with the individual volume controls, especially with the Top Boost volume knob. To get a powerful tone I put the Top Boost volume to the top and then use the Master volume control to adjust the gain. This way I can make sure I get the best overdrive tone out of this amp, which, as I stated before, can get extremely loud for its 15w. In the studio we crank it up to the limit to record high gain guitars, and they sound amazing in the mix, powerful, warm, and aggressive.
SOUNDS
One great thing about this amp is its versatility, You can have a clean, sweet sounding tone, but when you crank this amp up to the limit you can get an unbelievably loud and overdriven tone, thanks to the 12AX7 preamp tubes and two EL84 tubes it offers. I use it with a Fender Telecaster and it sounds amazing, when you attack with a pick you can really feel the crunch and power of this amp. I used to own a Marshall amp (which exact model I can't recall) which costed me approximately as much as the Vox AC15, and it's really nothing like this one, in terms of tone quality, versatility and over-all sound. The Vox AC15 is my favorite amp for recording almost any guitar. Since I don't play heavy metal or anything like that I don't need that much gain, if you play anything heavy that requires more power perhaps this is not the amp you need. However with the help of pedals you can still get more punch.
OVERALL OPINION
What I like the most about this amp is the tone, versatility, and quality of sound. It also is perfect for the music I play.
I think the price is very reasonable ( I paid around $450) and it's so durable that if you buy it used it will probably sound awesome too. I tried some other amps before, like Marshall and Fender, and even though I liked the Fender sound too, the tube sound of this amp captivated me. I definitely would buy again if I needed to, and I highly recommend it. In conclusion:
Pros
-Great tone
-Versatile
-Warmth
-Easy to use
-Crunch
Cons:
-Power
UTILIZATION
A great thing about this amp is that it's very easy to get a good sound without the use of pedals. The reverb and tremolo sound amazing and organic. I hardly use tremolo or reverb pedals when using this amp. It's important to learn how to use the Master Volume control along with the individual volume controls, especially with the Top Boost volume knob. To get a powerful tone I put the Top Boost volume to the top and then use the Master volume control to adjust the gain. This way I can make sure I get the best overdrive tone out of this amp, which, as I stated before, can get extremely loud for its 15w. In the studio we crank it up to the limit to record high gain guitars, and they sound amazing in the mix, powerful, warm, and aggressive.
SOUNDS
One great thing about this amp is its versatility, You can have a clean, sweet sounding tone, but when you crank this amp up to the limit you can get an unbelievably loud and overdriven tone, thanks to the 12AX7 preamp tubes and two EL84 tubes it offers. I use it with a Fender Telecaster and it sounds amazing, when you attack with a pick you can really feel the crunch and power of this amp. I used to own a Marshall amp (which exact model I can't recall) which costed me approximately as much as the Vox AC15, and it's really nothing like this one, in terms of tone quality, versatility and over-all sound. The Vox AC15 is my favorite amp for recording almost any guitar. Since I don't play heavy metal or anything like that I don't need that much gain, if you play anything heavy that requires more power perhaps this is not the amp you need. However with the help of pedals you can still get more punch.
OVERALL OPINION
What I like the most about this amp is the tone, versatility, and quality of sound. It also is perfect for the music I play.
I think the price is very reasonable ( I paid around $450) and it's so durable that if you buy it used it will probably sound awesome too. I tried some other amps before, like Marshall and Fender, and even though I liked the Fender sound too, the tube sound of this amp captivated me. I definitely would buy again if I needed to, and I highly recommend it. In conclusion:
Pros
-Great tone
-Versatile
-Warmth
-Easy to use
-Crunch
Cons:
-Power