Vox AC15 C1 Reviews

VOX AC 15

Wonderful 15 watt amp just right for recording or smaller gigs

I bought this amp after a 15 year hiatus playing guitar and never owning a tube amp. Im always happy with the sounds it produces whether im using my Fender strat or an epiphone or harley benton LP.

I'm not going to knock any marks off because its the nature of the amp itself, but I will say that bedroom playing is possible but not easy, even with a master knob. The amp wants to go loud and the increase in volume using master knob is very sudden from inaudible to moderately loud, so it takes a bit of finesse to get just right for low volume. Even then ,YOU will want to go louder as the tone only seems to improve with a bit of volume. I intend on trying an attenuator to see if it can help produce a happy medium but with this amp it requires a bit of light modification.

Great sounding amp

I tried the amp with a Strat and I fell in love with the tone. Very bright with a good reverb and many tone options.

Cons: It is a single channel amp, I guess this might be an issue for some people.

Classic Vox Tones

After playing a VT20 for a couple of years, I decided it was time for an upgrade. I was torn between the AC15 and a Marshall Origin 20, eventually the classic Vox chime won out.

Build quality:

The build quality of the AC15 is very very nice, it's basically built like a tank (and 21.7 kg heavy like one too). I would expect this amp to last a long time.

Sound:

First up, it's loud - and I mean really really loud. But hey, loud is more good right? Honestly, though it is probably too loud for bedroom use (if you want to crank it that is). I will almost certainly get an attenuator as I only play at home.

I love the sparkly Vox tone, and this delivers in spades. You can go from beautiful rich sounding cleans to full on throaty rock tones.

The only downside I can see is that the speaker is hard wired so to use the internal speaker with an attenuator, you need to mod it.

Profitable amp if you know what you want!

This Amp-series might be one of the more famous ones in the world, and the "status" that it has is understandable. I've it stationed in my bedroom beside my little "studio" corner and of course, it's a good looking amp and also a sort of decoration. The features may be limited but that's almost what to expect, if you're looking to buy an amp from the AC-series you know what you're searching for. As in my case i'm a huge U2 fan and that's is actually the main reason why i bought it.

Basically you have two options, either the Top Boost or the Normal channel.

I'll summarize it quickly from my point of view.

Top Boost - No additional pedal is needed to create a crunchy/overdrive sound.

Normal - Might need something between the guitar and amp to crunch it up a little...

A really good additional pedal to the Top Boost option is a simple Compressor pedal, my main order is basically: Guitar - Dyna comp - Delay - Vox Ac15. And for solos i usually add a Boss Sd1. It's quite simple when comparing to the tones you can get.

Then should you buy it? It depends...

1. Do you want to imitate specific bands, for example U2, Queen etc?

2. Do you have access to a place where you can really crank an amp to it's max?

3. Do you have a few different guitar pedals? (Probably yes..)

If you can tick these 3 then you might be the one to buy a Vox AC-15.

Now comes the 3 opposite questions..

1. Do you play at home, ex in an aparmtment/townhouse?

2. Do you have a really expensive guitar and almost no pedals?

3. Do you want a Vox AC-15 but with the Alnico blue speaker instead of the Greenback stock version?

If you can tick these 3 then might not be the one to buy a Vox AC-15..

I'm living in a house with neighbours in almost every direction and it's not very often when i can even crank it up to 50% without worrying about getting complains, i've solved this sort of by having compressor with relative low volume on. But i'm not fully satisfied with that solution.

Then as i said it's features are limited. Tremolo and Reverb is the only effects you can mod around with so i'd recommend having a few pedals just to spread the capabilities.

And the speaker... i underrated the Alnico blue speaker and planning on ordering it to get it replaced with the Greenback speaker. I'm not saying the Greenback is bad (which it isn't) but it's not the tones i'm searching for. So dig into the two options just to be sure you're choosing the right one.

Summarized it's a great amp and of course a really good option if the AC-30 is too big for you. I'm only 17 and i do not have all the money in the world but i still find this amp "cheap" compared to its capability. And especially to U2 fans wondering if it's any good for "U2" purposes - It doesn't requires more than this amp and ex a Korg SDD 3000 to give me shiver =)

Classic tones

Love this amp, delivers the classic Vox tones without having to crank the volume right up too!

small amp, big sound

premise: this is VERY loud. You cannot expect to run the tubes at full power in a house.

The dynamic response is amazing, the sound is clean and creamy and british and the eq settings can shape the tone with elegance. The best part though is the built-in true spring reverb. No effects pedal will give you that.

Excellent vintage sound

I bought this 9 years ago and it will probably last a lifetime, it is used only ocassionally as I play another instrument. Build quality is excellent. The control knobs are not even making any noise after all these years.

Probably best used with single type pickup guitars. Some players will miss the middle frequency tone control and you have to buy a router to easily switch between normal gain and high gain without having to pull the cord, but if you are going for vintage, this is not an issue. I have the version with Greenback speaker and have not tried the others.

King of Tone!

Amps are subjective like all tone-related stuff but man does this VOX AC15C1 inspires! have played all from Bugera V5, V22, V55, Bugera G20, Fender DR, Laney Cub10, Peavey Bandit, VOX VT20+ , Boss Katana 50 but nothing really comes close to this (exept the Fender DR but is a different beats tone wise). Right now I have an Egnater Tweaker 15 into a Palmer 1x12 cab loaded with a Jensen Blackbird alnico 12" speaker and is a lovely sounding amp but nothing like this AC15C1.

My playing style is clean to slight overdrive and then some lead tone and all this can be found in this spungey, gritty, vintage indie goodness! I mean as soon you hit a chord Radiohead comes to mind!

At first i was eyeing the AC10C1 but it had only the top boost channel and I wasn't sure it would play well with my pedals and I also dislike closed back amps.

Im glad I chose the AC15 as both the top boost and the normal are usable and some of my guitars prefer one over the other but both take my pedal board well.

Fantastic buy! Amp with great dynamics and really responds well with the use of guitar tone and volume knobs without tone getting muddy when volume is reduced. Also turning down the tone knob on the guitar brings about some very nice crunch for rhythm!

Very happy with it! Im keeping it stock!

I'm sorry

I'm sorry I waited so long to get to know you, AC15. I will get the one negative out of the way first: It's very heavy. Despite that, the AC15 is a timeless classic. Funny how from this dinosaur you get tremendous dynamics! Even with my Strat's volume at 10, simply strumming softly or picking produces edge-of-breakup until you strum hard and get great overdrive sound without colouring my Strat's voice at all. And the spring reverb -- although not Fender's -- can still give you just the right surfy sound, if like me, that is what you're looking for. Lastly, the tremolo -- for me at least -- is just right not too intruding. Before I forget, the AC15 doesn't need an FX loop, because all pedals translate beautifully up front; nothing is missing coming out of the speaker. I really am sorry for not having gotten this British classic earlier.

Superb amp

Only 4 stars for handling as it is a heavy amp for its size but well worth it.

Great Amp under €1K

No plan to gig. This amp is fine for apartment dwellers like me. The Master volume allows you to keep the volume down. Very important feature. Takes pedals well, especially in the Normal channel.

What an amp!

If you're looking for that classic british sound and the perfect sized amp for both rehearsing with a drum kit and playing small - medium sized gigs without being amplified to front of house. This is for you!!

Very good amp for one sound

This is a very good amp, has lots of clarity and you can definitely get some good sounds out of it.

The downside is that you can also get some bad sounds out of it, it's easy to get really thin sound if you're not careful with tone controls. Also, it's almost impossible to get rid of specific "chime", which can be desired but limits possible uses of this amp.

Overall a good amp if you're into this specific kind of tone but I'll only give it a "4" since I believe you can get better quality for this kind of price.

Had it for more than one year

Sound quality is great, this amp is the love of my life at the moment. It handles pedals really good. I used this distortion pedal on my previous amp and I thought that I would sell the pedal because it did not sound very good. Once I tried it on this Vox, it blew my mind.

I recommend this amp for those who are planning on building a pedal board.

The best rhythm amp

Great tones out of this amp. The extra weight of the bigger box really pays off. The amp sounds huge. The Greenback speaker is a great speaker too! Most amps in this price range do not have such premium speakers

What a Sound

I reviewed quite a few amps and watched tens of videos too, before I got my new amp after many years using a Marshall. I wanted a tube amp and in the end I got this. No regrets, sounds great, very nice clear sound and nice overdriven sound too. Tremolo and reverb are unmatched.

Not cheep for a 15 watt amp and quite heavy too (22Kg), but for the sound it gives, well worth it. Maybe I sound have got an AC30, costed some +¤300 and 10kg heavier.

Classic Amp, Classic Tones

I was on a budget and wanted a classic ?British?sounding amplifier. This just beats everything hands down. You can have the classic Vox chime or a fatter bluesier overdrive all at a sensible volume....don?t get me wrong it is more than capable of handling a pub gig and as a blues/classic 60s/70s type of player, I don?t need clean headroom. I did swap the Chinese tubes for JJs and that made a big difference. The only drawbacks for me are the absence of an effects loop and the reverb tank has never worked on my amplifier, so I bought a ?verb pedal that would sound better in a loop but never mind! All in all very pleased.

Classic British tube tone in a durable, solid and attractive package.

When the time came for a decent amplifier upgrade, the main options I was looking for were mainly Fender and Vox. With a budget of roughly 1000E to spend, the main amps in my mind were the Fender Blues Junior, Fender Hot Rod Deluxe, and the Vox AC15c1 and AC30c2 models. Playing in a 60s rock'n'roll. rhythm and blues band. I always loved the tones coming out of the Vox AC30s and AC15s of The Beatles, Rory Gallagher and Brian May - and while the chiming rhythm sounds and soaring, overdriven solos of some of their iconic songs always resonated with me, the appearance of their Vox amplifiers (with their iconic tolex grilles), always appealed to me, too. It was for these main reasons that I gravitated towards the Vox amplifiers over the Fender ones.

Why did I go for the AC15 over the AC30 though? The Vox AC15 does the chime and jangle that are perfect for the 'Hard Days Night" early Beatles tones and jangle of Tom Petty, as does it the crunchy, overdriven tones synonymous with Brian May, Rory Gallagher and Oasis. It's smaller frame is also more suitable for my home environment, though it retains much of the tonal qualities of it's larger brother (but it houses a single Greenback speaker instead of two and a lower output of 15 watts). The amp is built to be durable and mine has seen no signs of damage or detrimental wear (or tonal / speaker degradation) in it's extensive use since it's purchase in May. Furthermore, the smaller body won't break your back in comparison with the lumbering AC30!

Overall, the amp is pure Vox tone - sounds terrific with my Rickenbacker and Fender guitars, and does both chiming, jangling rhythms and scorching, gritty leads perfectly. If I had to find a fault in it, it would be that in comparison to the AC30, the AC15 has slightly less 'headroom', with not much in the way of mid-range tonal control. This may be nit-picking though, as I genuinely believe the AC15 does both clean and overdriven tones justice, and handles a multitude of pedals very well. The amp also excels in studio and the tones recorded from it are crisp and colourful. Lastly, for around the 500E mark, you're absolutely getting bang for the buck and won't break the bank! I'm delighted with mine.

AC15 C1

I wanted this amp for ages and as soon as I had the money, I had to get it. Totally worth it! Great sound without any pedals and features great reverb and tremolo settings. It's also such a handy size for transporting and packs quite a punch. I thought the weight of the amp would be an issue but it's totally manageable. Much lighter than the AC30 which can be a nightmare to bring around.