ShortScale.org

Just wondering if anyone has experience of this wee guy.
Specific questions:

tones?
loud enough?
build?

Any comments appreciated, thank yew all.

Tones: Clean, Gritty, and I've never pushed it any further. There's a good range of "Vox Chime" available, thought it seems the new ones have a little more sparkle then the originals (not a bad thing IMO).
Loud Enough: For what? Playing at home - more them enough. Rehearsal - enough. Live - probably enough if you don't mind distortion.
Build: In China. Jacks are wank, pots are wank. At $600, though, it's reasonably good.

I don't actually own one, but it's usually what I check out guitars with in shops. I really like the sounds available, but it's a bit too big for me to manage.

I still kick myself for not getting an English AC15 2x10" that my local shop was selling for $400.

I'm thinking loud enough for live - but I need to be able to do clean as well as durdy in that situation - as well as recording.

I think you're going to get some grit on your cleans in a live situation on 15Watts I'm afraid. It will sound nice, but not crystal clean.

Yeah, right enough. I guess I'll stay with the greater wattages for live "headspace". I've never actually played out with an amp under 30w, apart from that Audition (Woolies' own brand) piggyback set-up I had in 1972. It was like, 9^3/4 watts or something.

AC15 seems like a good wee amp, but. I've been offered one and I'm tempted to get it for recording with.

Can't afford it, really*.


*like that would ever stop a guy

The guitarist in my band has been talking about getting one to replace his hotrod deluxe...
I'm not convinced that it's gonna be loud enough to use live, however he's never taken the hotrod past 3 in any live situations...

It depends on yr band I think. I was able to make a SS 15W 1x8" work well enough with the school group.

15W tube is a nice level in that it's just loud enough for most things but not too overpowering. If you've got a loud drummer, bass player, and 2nd guitarist you might get lost, though.

Our drummer plays really loud unfortunately and we've only one guitar live which all the riffs hang on... so it sounds like it's not gonna be enough for him...
I'm gonna try to convince to get an AC30 instead...

Make yourself a cup o' tea and listen to a little story about me and my AC-15.

Ok, so I borrowed a CC1 off a friend of mine who was genial/stupid enough to lend it to me. It was pretty nice but left me a bit...unelated. As an aside, I also broke it after two weeks. Some months later (after he'd taken it back and repaired it) I played it again and got overexcited; he had torn out the pretty awful stock speaker and replaced it with an alnico blue. Much school girl giggling and rawk ensued.

So, on the back of that, I bought a CC1x. I cannot stress strongly enough that thinking "omg cool AC-15s are cheap" and ignoring the fact it comes with a wharfedale or whatever the fuck it is, is a mistake of biblical proportions. If you're going to buy one of these, either have a definite plan to upgrade the speaker (and build it into your costing) or just buy the CC1X. You have been warned.

Tone
Well, pretty much as described in above posts. However, the presence of the alnico blue gives a much more pleasant sound, losing the horrible spiky top end that I experienced without it. If it's balls out distortion you want, forget it, it's a Vox. If it's a completely clean tone you want to drown out your drummers attempted solo, forget it, buy an AC-30. To be honest though, I think people become scared by what is meant by "clean" - you're given the impression that anything over bedroom level will be crunching and spitting like a bitch which it just doesn't.

Volume
It's a 15 watt. Usual problem of being a bit too loud for home and (possibly) not enough grunt for live. However, as mentioned above, as long as you're not looking for the kind of squeaky clean tones generated at twin reverb volumes, you will not have a problem.

Build
Well, I broke one within two weeks (but this was an early model which had broken TWICE previously) but my current one has been perfect. I've seen a lot of snobbery based around it being produced in China etc but, frankly, the build quality is fine. Nothing's blown up, gone south or fallen off. Yet.

Reverb
I've heard a lot of people moan about the spring reverb and plans on changing the tank and what not but I've never worked out why. Seems to be plenty available and sounds pretty much ok to my ears. Having said that, I never use it, I use a pedal instead. Make of that what you will.

Tremolo
Hmm, should have been labeled TREMOLOL. Enough said, good as useless.

Taking pedals in the arse
Ok, this is where you have to be careful. If you're armed with a Telecaster, a RAT2 and skinny jeans you are going to have to be patient. Finding the point where you get lovely sweet, crunchy distortion and avoiding the point where it sounds like a broken glass and paper clip cocktail, takes time and a lot of experimentation. I was playing for some time a Strat-->RAT2-->AC15 and ended up having to mark the pedal to get the TONEZ reliably attainable, such was the degree of subtlety. Incidentally, I also tried Reutz modding the RAT to soften its blow a bit, but found that just made it, well, shit. YMMV.

I found a TS-808 through it sounded alright, but stayed firmly in the realm of creamy overdrive and just didn't get me going. My current setup (which ill admit gives me a rubbery one) is a Jag (JB Jr in the bridge)-->TT Classic-->AC15. Warning: RAWK TONE ABOUNDS. I guess the empirical evidence here is that the AC-15 likes valve pedals more than SS pedals. An added bonus of the TT Classic is that, effectively, I have a 3 channel amp. Word.

Summary
So I guess the AC-15 will do you well unless you want true cleans at face melting volume. I notice, though, you will be migrating from a Fender HRD, which is a brutally loud amp. To illustrate, if the AC-15 is your genteel, well dressed, wine-sipping indie chick, then the HRD is your foul mouthed, vest wearing, snakebite swilling dyke. However, if you're concerned about losing the AC-15 amongst everything else, then the HRD certainly would certainly suit you better plus it has two SWITCHABLE channels (unlike the AC-15). Horses, courses and all that. I'm confused, to be honest, as to why he wants rid of the HRD.

Good luck, anyway!

That post is awesome.

Yes indeed, thanks for an awesome thread Jamieb.

This is also The Thread Of Coincidence.

Vivadeluxxe's guitarist wants rid of a Hot Rod Deluxe, and that's also what I've got. Jamie's uh..lesbiotic metaphor was not only a tickle but unerringly accurate. The HRD is an absolute brute of an amp.

I bought mine after two Peavey Classic 30s went bad on me - I dunno, it's not exactly a lovable amplifier but I've had some great sounds out of it - stunning cleans and pedals for OD (+ the OD channel or the more OD channel for me is bang-on: instant wheening feedback at the push of a button!).

Brilliant.

I'm the only guitar player in my band and yes, our drummer is extraordinarily loud. If you stand in the wrong spot, his snare will make your heart defibrillate.

I'm serious.

I just fancied kind of downsizing - call it a whim - and the Vox looks just about as cool as fuck. But I won't buy it now.

Vox AC's have been my favourite amps since ...the first time i heard by coincidence.
I was planning to get the AC15CC1X only judging by my prior experience with ac's
so I went to local guitar store to play the CC1X.

My first impression besides the flimsy construction was quite disappointing as the trademark tone of vox was rather "immitated" than reproduced by those chinese models.
The clean tone was very good but those nice mids of vox, you know, that amazing attack that makes you hear guitar before you even strum was missing.
Things got even worse when I tried to use pedals before it. It tends to sound like crackling fart when you turn up the OD knob but I trust what jamieb said, that there can be a sweet spot if you are patient and properly work around with the amp (something i didnt do)
also, it looked like the amp coudnt stay clean enough for rehearsal volumes.

if i was to choose between hot rod and ac15 i would choose fender.

meh, that post was informative, but way off the mark when it omes to the tremolo. it is a very usable vintage trem. its not all wacked out and crazy and wont do weird shit but it does does subtle to intense trem very well.

i owned one for a month or two before i upgraded to the ac30. i wanted more volume.

it is pretty damn loud, but it starts to get overdriven kinda soon.

and the wharfedale speaker isnt bad. people complain about it constantly but its a great speaker.

mewithoutus wrote:meh, that post was informative, but way off the mark when it omes to the tremolo. it is a very usable vintage trem. its not all wacked out and crazy and wont do weird shit but it does does subtle to intense trem very well.

i owned one for a month or two before i upgraded to the ac30. i wanted more volume.

it is pretty damn loud, but it starts to get overdriven kinda soon.

and the wharfedale speaker isnt bad. people complain about it constantly but its a great speaker.

Unless 'vintage' has recently been synonymous with "wank", I guess I missed something.

Hi, since I own Vox Ac30 CC1 w/Celestion Neodog for year and so, my experiences are:
The sound is wide and shiny, a bit hairy ( classic Vox sound ), can crunch very well ( its very tight combo, I prefer it than 2x12, can lift it myself and the there's no extra loose bass); I gig ocassionally, no tehnical problems, no brakedowns; Generally the combo is still too heavy for 1x12 and there is no normal/top boost switching, so thats it

jamieb wrote: Unless 'vintage' has recently been synonymous with "wank", I guess I missed something.

no need to be snarky. maybe its not for you and thats fine. i just think a more objective review would be more useful.

Mike wrote:That post is awesome.

+10456

jamieb wrote:
Tremolo
Hmm, should have been labeled TREMOLOL. Enough said, good as useless.

hahaha

mewithoutus wrote:

jamieb wrote: Unless 'vintage' has recently been synonymous with "wank", I guess I missed something.

no need to be snarky. maybe its not for you and thats fine. i just think a more objective review would be more useful.

I'm going with jamie on this one. He gave a full and in-depth review.

Do likewise or lay off him.

they're arguing opinion, though, so it's not like there's a clear WINRAR.