I've heard the ravings about Vox tone....

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soundchaser59

Reluctant Commander
Heard about some anniversary sale at GC going on, since I was having dinner at Red Robin just 1 block from GC, I stopped in to test drive an amp.

First thing I noticed is the 15w Fender Blues Junior "Reissue" for $530. What's the difference?? There is a Blues Junior (regular black tolex, otherwise is it the same speaker, tubes, etc??) at the local dealer for $399, why is this "Reissue" BJ worth another $130 bucks?? It has a Jensen speaker in it, is that good? I dont know but I sure did love the sound!

MF online has a BJ Blond for $400, and a BJ "Blem" (I assume that means blemished?) for $340. How is this "Blond" BJ different than the regular black tolex version at my local dealer?? How is it different than the "Reissue"??

Next to that is a Blues Deluxe, same "reissue" look, with the dark wheat colored tolex and oxblood grill cloth, but 40w with an Eminence speaker, selling for $630. Does this one use 6L6's?

Next up, a Crate V16 Palomino (a line made exclusively for GC? that's the rumor) 1x12 for $400.

Finally, the Vox AC15CC 1x12 for $600. Am I understanding correctly that these are made in UK with birch plywood? That would be nice, nicer than the particle board VoxAD amp I had.

What was great? The Vox. What was good? The Fenders. What was good but not in a way that made me want to buy it? The Crate.

I was floored after I did several side-by-side compares and I kept going back to the Vox. Nothing else sounds like it!

I also noticed that every tube amp I've ever played and loved instantly has EL84 power tubes. In fact, I noted a while back that I wasn't particularly impressed with the Traynor YCV50 Blue sound...and now I see that it runs on EL34's.
 
soundchaser59 said:
I was having dinner at Red Robin
Click to expand...

good burgers there... u got a burger right?
eh sry i cant help wit ur amp things but hey i hope all goes well
 
The AC15CC is a great amp. I have two:) It sounds especially great with single coil pickups IMO.

I suggest buying youre AC15CC from North Coast Music

They bench test and break in every VOX amp before shipping. I havent had any problems with mine.
 
Well, in the last few hours I've learned that the Blues Jr "Reissue" has a Jensen speaker in it, that's really the only difference. It may possibly be a special made for sale at GC. I can put my own premium speaker in there for less than $130 bucks!

The Fender Blues Deluxe and Hot Rod Deluxe have great features, features that the Blues Jr does not have, and for some reason I really like the tone of the Fenders better than I like the Classic 30, which says a lot cuz the Classic 30 is a pretty darn nice little amp. I dont like the Blue Marvel speaker in the Classic 30, and the Fenders come with Emi's in them!

The Vox AC15CC has a Wharfdale speaker in it. Older solid state Peavey's used to have Wharfdales in them, not my favorite, but it sounded good in the Vox. And the Vox AC amps are supposedly built well, a lot better than the Valvetronix amps. Vox web site claims they make the speakers (except the Celestion Blue).

I would definitely have to spend some time test driving those Fenders before I sign any papers, but that Vox AC amp has a really nice sound!
 
I have a blonde blues Deluxe, I used to use a hot rod deville as my backup amp at gigs. The hot rod series are hot rod's because Fender added that third channel of gain and to me the 'drive' channel sounds different, as in more usable on the hot rods, on my deluxe it adds a little grit but not until the thing is cranked.

I appreciate the marshall sound, but those Fenders are where I go currently for a good full open tone. They 'roar' more than they 'distort' when you really give them juice which i like, saving my real dist for my DS-1 and FuzzFace. Good headroom with a bit of character on the top of the clean channels and some gusto in the drive channel on the blues series. The hot rods have that and the more drive which could peel paint from walls if you really needed it to.

I dont know anything about the junior RI but I also have a blonde junior, no theres no diff between it and the black one but the color of the covering. Great amp, not as full or open of a tone, distorts earlier and thicker than the other Fenders in the F.A.T. series. Not something I would play live because theres not a lot of clean going on when you open it up, but put a mic in front of them and they record with some real attitude and teeth.

I play 2 LP's, a strat, a mustang, and 2 SG's through the blues deluxe and the junior and am never dissapointed with the sounds I get, course I really like those amps so I probably wouldn't be :D
 
The Crate V16 needs a little massaging to make it a great sounding amp. The speaker (Celestian 70/80) is junk. The tubes are very weak. Cheap chinese crap! I put an Eminence Red Fang ,some Brimar 12AX7's and some NOS EL84's it think they are Sylvania's. It's a very good amp for the $400 I have invested in it.

I've never liked the Fender Blues Jr. at all in comparison. The Vox is a good sounding amp but not $200 better than the Palomino. IMO YMMV :D
 
North Coast Music, as the other guy said. If you are going to buy a Vox, buy it from him. He is the best around.
 
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