Vox AC15 C1

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!

I have the amp for a while now and i love it. I play it with a player series Telecaster and it just sings on both clean and dirty tones. I haven't had
the chance to listen to it before i bought it and i took a risk. It's way better sounding than any review on youtube. I thought Fenders were the cleans champion in my ears but the Vox is right next to them. That chime is awsome!

So,t to answer some usual questions: Tried it with a loud drummer and had no problem at all. I play mostly RnR with overdrive or distortion. For clean sounds you might need to mic it in a big gig situation. For home use is great as soon as you don't want to play too quietly. You can play it at low volumes and it will sound ok , but it shines more when it's loud(....and trust me this thing is loud). Master volume helps a lot in. I play it home at low volumes and i'm happy with how it sounds. I'm realistic, no loud valve amp will be great at low volumes.
I don't use many pedals but it took anything i threw at it great. No problems there.

So , is there anything i don't like? The amp is on the heavier side. I work out and i'm in good shape but still is not easy to move. More handles like the ac30 would help to carry it with a friend. I really don't think i should deduct any stars from my rating for it.

Thomann packaging and service was great. I really hope their aftersales policy is as great as i've read in many forums i follow.

Overall i recommend it. As i've already said...i love it!!

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.

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.

I was always a fender amps guy so I wanted a blues junior because my housemate has one and I thought that it was amazing. To be honest the only reason I bought the ac15 was to compare the two models and then decide.

As soon as I turned my ac15 on, that was it, I fell in love with it immediately! It has such a nice chimey and bright tone but at the same time it's not harsh at all and it's warm as well! It's so easy to get a nice tone out of it, and I have played with my strat and with my duesenberg (humbacker + p90) and both of them sound fantastic with it.
It also works great with my pedals (OCD, Mulholland Drive, Timeline, EP Booster, Mobius) and even though it hasn't got a pedal loop in and out it still sounds great.

I haven't used much the tremolo but it's really nice and great for country stuff etc. The reverb is always on, even though I'm not a reverb guy, but having it set at 3-4/10 it adds a really nice and gentle ambience to my whole sound.

I don't have to crank it up to get a good tone, the master volume allows me to have a nice tone in low volume, but when I cranked it up once, it was like a dream!

Only one thing I have to warn you about is that when it came i noticed a rattling sound, but as soon as I contacted Thomann customer service, they immediately responded to me, sending me free postage stamps to send it back to Germany (I'm based in UK) and they sent me back a new one, which works perfect.

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.

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!

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.