AC15CC Review

angry_young_poet · Post by **angry_young_poet** » Tue Aug 08, 2006 10:09 pm

i must admit i was a bit reluctant to buy this amp due to the fact that it was MIC and all that jazz.

but after first trying it out with a duesenberg, i was hooked.

the cleans were shimmering, breaking-glass like Vox amps are known for. Not fender clean, but that wasn't what i was after. There was that hint of mild overdrive that just sounded right.

i normally play it with the top boost volume at about 7 and the master at around 4-5. at this point the amp is already breaking up and with the stomp on a hotcake or cusack screamer, i get all the distortion i need, or just roll of the volume knob on my guitar and it cleans up nicely.

quite versatile IMHO, great for blues when played clean, great for rock when at the edge and with the help of a pedal. with a little fiddling, a lot of tones can be had with this amp.

and 15 watts may sound puny when compared to 100W mesa stacks.. but trust me, it's loud!

any other comments from those who have used one?

ant · Post by **ant** » Tue Aug 08, 2006 11:02 pm

Well I built one and it has a sweet sound

difference being mine could take 6v6 or el84. My mate who normally is a marshall rock guy including myself said it was the best clean he had heard, and we even jammed some country riffs

it seems most of the time people use vox's for pop/strummy stuff which they accel at eg stereophonics but they are capable of more for sure, the distortion when fully cranked is nearly marshallish but not quite, the just breaking up sounds are of course some of the best, myself I prefer a different amp for cranked up sounds but I never tried a dist pedal infront of it though. (it's now sold )

angry_young_poet · Post by **angry_young_poet** » Tue Aug 08, 2006 11:06 pm

it's great with a pedal in front to push it over the top.

Polar Bear · Post by **Polar Bear** » Wed Aug 09, 2006 9:01 am

It's an amp that definitely reacts better to being cranked through the Master Volume as oppoesed to the clean volume. It needs a fat sounding pedal in front of it to get the best out of it, but that is only due to volume restraints.

The cleans are out of this world, I can't tell if they are nicer than an AC30 or not. But they are amazing!

Post by **GrantB** » Thu Aug 10, 2006 11:37 pm

I have replaced the Wharefdale in mine with first, a Celestion Blue, anow a Red Fang. The Red Fanmg is WAY betrter than Blue foir this amp. More bass, better overcrive tones....BUT, less volume. It compresses earlier and hasn't the "throat" of the Blue.

Great amps - not one trick ponies at all. I use mine in stereo with the Vel,ocette (also sporting a Red Fang) and the sounds are lush and useable.

The Vox AC15CC in my view, with a tweak or two, is a good value for money high end amp. And it's made in China. Like 98% of everything else.

thehenderson · Post by **thehenderson** » Fri Aug 11, 2006 1:43 am

all the guitar amps ive ever owned have been made in USA, England or New Zealand. What's this china business? hehe

I had a crank through my friend ac30 a while back and remember it having the strangest EQ I'd seen for a while.

Do the Ac15ccs have this same wackness?

offender · Post by **offender** » Fri Aug 11, 2006 6:11 am

thehenderson wrote:all the guitar amps ive ever owned have been made in USA, England or New Zealand. What's this china business?

low cost for good features

angry_young_poet · Post by **angry_young_poet** » Fri Aug 11, 2006 9:00 am

thehenderson wrote:all the guitar amps ive ever owned have been made in USA, England or New Zealand. What's this china business? hehe

I had a crank through my friend ac30 a while back and remember it having the strangest EQ I'd seen for a while.

Do the Ac15ccs have this same wackness?

The AC30 doesnt have an EQ it's just loud-louder-loudest-louder than that..

the AC15CC's got bass and treble only

thehenderson · Post by **thehenderson** » Fri Aug 11, 2006 9:11 am

Does it actually not have an EQ...

I remember it having something weird like a two band EQ, plus two other knobs possibly a top and low boost or something. But the voicing of the bass and treble EQ was wack. it was really hard to use without having used one before

Polar Bear · Post by **Polar Bear** » Fri Aug 11, 2006 9:31 am

The AC30 Top Boosts have a bass cut on the normal channel and no actual eq and then through the top boost chanel they have a two band eq with the bass cut. If you play an AC30 often enough you can get all the sounds you want with those dials.

angry_young_poet · Post by **angry_young_poet** » Fri Aug 11, 2006 9:40 am

it took me a while to find a sweet spot.. but when i did.. coolness

but the ac15cc have friendlier controls.

Polar Bear · Post by **Polar Bear** » Fri Aug 11, 2006 9:45 am

They are? How so? They've both got a 2 Band EQ on them, and the 15 has the disadvantage (in terms of ease of use, not tone) of the Master/Preamp controls.

This of course could be cause I spend a lot of time with the 30.

angry_young_poet · Post by **angry_young_poet** » Fri Aug 11, 2006 10:09 am

i should look at the control panel again hmmm..

philipnz · Post by **philipnz** » Fri Aug 11, 2006 10:40 am

http://www.geocities.com/vintage325/topboost.html