Thinking of buying a VOX AC-15 OR....

[ACIDBANDIT]

I already have a marshall VS100 Half stack but I want something more portable that's not as difficult to transport to jam sessions and would also double as nice at-home recording amp. The VS100 is a solidstate amp, so I want to go with a tube amp as my next one. I came across a VOX AC-15 which I tried out at the store with my guitar and this thing kicks ass! It's listed for 700 quids and is used but I can probably talk the guy down 50-100 bucks. I recently just bought a VOX pathfinder and I love the little dickens! My only concern is that 15 watts wouldn't have enough "oomph" to be heard over a drum set and a bass amp. The dude at the store told me that it is 15 LOUD watts, but how loud can 15 watts be? Or should I look for something else altogether?!?! Suggestions anyone?

-daveyboy-

[ACIDBANDIT]

well in an off topic update, i bought a boss dd-20 tonight. wooo, nice gear it is, nice gear i must say

[michaelst]

Davey... an AC15 is plenty loud enough. It's a class A amp and moves quite a bit of air. We use AC30's in the clubs with the Beatles trib band I work for and they are rarely in the PA.

[HangDawg]

Originally Posted by ACIDBANDIT

I already have a marshall VS100 Half stack but I want something more portable that's not as difficult to transport to jam sessions and would also double as nice at-home recording amp. The VS100 is a solidstate amp, so I want to go with a tube amp as my next one. I came across a VOX AC-15 which I tried out at the store with my guitar and this thing kicks ass! It's listed for 700 quids and is used but I can probably talk the guy down 50-100 bucks. I recently just bought a VOX pathfinder and I love the little dickens! My only concern is that 15 watts wouldn't have enough "oomph" to be heard over a drum set and a bass amp. The dude at the store told me that it is 15 LOUD watts, but how loud can 15 watts be? Or should I look for something else altogether?!?! Suggestions anyone?

-daveyboy-

You could always look at the Fender Blues Junior too. It's $400-$450 15W tube. I got one for Christmas and it's pretty nice. I need something a little more mellow than the Dual Recti I own.

[ACIDBANDIT]

Originally Posted by michaelst

Davey... an AC15 is plenty loud enough. It's a class A amp and moves quite a bit of air.

Ah, as I suspected! Yeah, I love the sound of this amp. I haven't really looked at much else though.. maybe I'll browse around a few shops tonight. This dude at Guitar Centre that I spoke to via telephone told me I should look at some Mesa Boogie amps but I know those cost some serious cash for tubers. Most likely, Vox it is.

-daveyboy-

[toddyjoe]

I have a Vox AC-15 TB from the mid-1990's with a single 12" Weber Alnico Blue Dog speaker and NOS Telefunken and Philips tubes. It is a wonderful amp and is certainly loud enough to compete with a non-maniacal drummer and an average bass player. You might have problems cutting through -- particularly with clean rhythm parts or dirty lead and solo parts -- if you have a loud drummer or bassist. Of course, there are some simple non-drilling, non-soldering mods that will let you use a stiffer rectifier tube and get a few more watts of power and volume. Guys like Don Butler also have more invasive mods to open the sound up even more and get you that much closer to a J.M.I.-era Vox tone.

Aside from the Vox's chimey and jangly reputation, it additionally is capable of spanky, compressed country twang a la John Jorgenson and Brad Paisley. Cranked to the hilt, it also produces a strongly British, smooth, midrangey distortion that approaches (but never reaches) stereotypical Marshall territory. Unfortunately for some, the Vox never breaks up enough even at full tilt to be a metal or heavy distortion monster unless you push it even further with a boost pedal that does not emphasize mids. At maximum volume, the Vox's bottom end mushes out a little but this is typical with many cathode-biased amps using Alnico, low-wattage speakers.

My current (and so far favorite) guitar setup has me daisychaining the Vox via instrument cable with a 50's tweed Deluxe clone with NOS tubes and a 12" Alnico speaker. The tweed also has the channels jumpered. I basically turn all the amp volumes up and control the overall volume (and clean/dirty tones) with my various guitars' volume knobs. With this rig, I can get everything from smokey neck-pickup jazz, twangy country and rockabilly, classic British rock and great, Sonny Landreth-esque slide tones.

Of note, the price on these British Vox AC-15 amps has steadily risen since they stopped making them a few years ago. I paid $600 for mine about six years back and I now see them on Ebay quite often for closer to $1,000. Now that Vox has started to make budget AC-30CC amps in China, the 90's British-built Vox amps might continue to go up in price.

[tubesrawsom]

whats stopping you dive right in

[gibsonguy09]

15 can be loud VOX are pretty nice amps i can hear mine over a loud drummer

[Enzo Polotso]

you were looking at a Vox and the guy told you to look at Mesa Boogies? I wonder if he knew he was steering you in a completely different direction or if he was just an idiot

[Ron Chalice]

The pathfinder 15 is plenty loud in a studio setting, even with a few other musicians. Kick in the overdrive button and you'll blow away the room. I've even tried it live on an OUTDOOR gig... with a helper... the pathfinder is ok for stage volume, but won't penetrate far. However, the line out jack (also great for recording), plugged into my 120w keyboard rig has plenty of punch and it retains that AC-30 like sound.