Vox AC15 C1

Harrastelijakitaristin arvio:

Tästä vahvistimesta saa stratocastrin kanssa todella helposti ja oikeastaan automaattisesti hyvän Pulliais-soundin. Tällä onnistuu agents ja yölintu osasto erinomaisesti enkä jäänyt kaipaamaan mitään. Minulla oli lisänä Bossin volume ja kaiku (DM-2) ja toimi erittäin hyvin iskelmäbiiseissä joihin tarvi kirkkaan kitarasoundin.

Tone cut nupista pitää kommentoida että se ei tunnu tekevän mitään. Koska vahvistin muuten kuulostaa niin hyvältä ja tuo oli nettikeskustelujen pohjalta odotettavissa niin tuon takia vahvistinta ei viitsi palauttaa.

Ongelmia minulla tuli biiseissä joihin kaipasi muuta ääntä kuin todella kirkasta agents soundia. Vahvistimen ääni on todella kirkas ja voi olla omasta osaamattomuudesta kiinni mutta en millään saa tästä ruuvattua tummempaa soundia. Ennen tämän vahvistimen testaamista en oikein ymmärtänyt mitä tarkotettiin kun sanottiin että vox on kirkas vahvistin. Tämä tuli selväksi kun vein vahvistimen ensimmäisiä kertoja treeneihin. Kotona rauhalilsella voluumilla saan vahvistimesta ihan hyvät soundid vaan treenisvoluumeilla kuulostaa ihan liian kirkkaalta ja läpikuuluvalta (kaikissa muissa kuin agents/yölintu biiseissä). Tuota vielä korosti bändistä löytyvä haitari ja vaikka miten yritin niin en oikein saanut haitarin äänimaailmaan osuvia soundeja tästä ulos. Noin kuukauden testailun jälkeen päädyin palaamaan takaisin Bugera V22 vahvistimeen ja täytyy jatkaa sen oikean vahvistimen etsimistä.

Älkääkä käsittäkö edellistä väärin. Voxista vain oli todella vaikea saada ääntä joka oli sopusoinnussa haitarin kanssa ja Bugerasta sain semmosen helposti. Pulliais soundi joka voksista tulee on aivan loistava ja vastaavaa en Bugerasta saa. Kitarabändissä Vox olisi ehdottomasti valintani. Ei ihme että haitaria sanotaan hanuriksi...

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 =)

After much research I chose the AC15, the other main contender was the Fender Blues Junior but the Vox won on looks, sound and features. I also considered the AC30 but in real world use it was too loud and had too much headroom in that as I don’t play stadiums, I rarely would be able to get the amp cranked to the sweet spot & would risk a mutiny with the other players. The AC15 is loud enough in a band situation and you can get the power tubes cooking enough to get the true Vox sound.
The first impression as I took it out the box was the look of quality, the amp, it looks fantastic & well put together. In terms of sound, it just oozes classic tone which is effortless to achieve. There isn’t an effects loop but takes pedals great just going direct into the front end of the amp. In terms of genres I play mostly rock so with or without pedals it works great and Jazz & funk tones are easy to dial in. Nothing not to like so far.
In summary, it’s a fantastic buy, I’ve owned pretty much every major brand of amp and this is up there with the best and certainly at this price point, probably is the best!

Thanks to the guys at Thomann, flawless service as usual!