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Not that I need another amp...


JayGLongBeach

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Hello everyone!

 

I've seen the impressive arsenal of guitars and amps on pics posted so

i'd thought i'd just ask...

 

Is the vox ac15 tube amp worth the price?

 

I play all my guitars through my ever-faithful Fender 65 Super reverb

and have been gassing for a vox...

 

If you own both please let me know if the two amps are similar or a huge

difference.

 

Thanks for your feedback...

 

Jay

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I don't have an AC15 but I do own an old "Coppertop" AC30TB, along with a couple of modern Fender Deluxe amplifiers.

They compliment each other perfectly.

You can of course play anything through either amp.

Do you need it ?

No...but neither do you need another guitar if you've already got one !

I don't think you'd regret buying the vox. Go for it.

It would be the perfect partner in crime for your 65 SR.

[-o<

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No, but sort of. What I DO have, is a Vox AD120VTH that I am running into a 3X12 setup, with a pair of Vox Celestion Neodogs jumpered into an Eminence Private Jack 1x12. The 3rd speaker really opens up the sound. I've tried the same setup with my Epi Valve Junior 1x12 (Eminence Lady Luck) and its noticeable darker in tone. Add a little reverb and a touch of delay and a hint of chorus, it fills the room even at low volumes. The Vox emulates several Vox, Fender, Marshall, Mesa, Dumble (and I can't remember what else) amps and is known for being, maybe not perfect?, but pretty close anyway. I can make each of the amp emulations put out a tone that is similar to each other; mostly a 6L6 tone, but with hints of something else. But...there is a difference, even between the various amp settings from the same manufacturer. I very much like the AC15 setting with almost anything solid body. Not so fond of the AC15TB with anything. I can't seem to get anything but some blues out of the Bassman setting (and I go there a lot) whether solid or semi-hollow; but, my very favorite is the Blackface twin. Every guitar I have makes beautiful clear, crisp treble tones on that setting, and I can add overdrive from 3 different pedal emulations anytime I want to dirty things up a bit. Sounds so good sometimes I just sit on the couch tv, watching and play jazz warmup exercises over and over just because I like those chords. Come to think of it, warmup exercises are what I play best! Hmm, wonder if there's a connection?

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If you need to get one, here's the place to buy it from. I don't have one myself, though I do own a VOX AD30VT which as mentioned earlier has that model. NCM test each amp before it leave's the building, securing you of a well made amp. There have been problem's with the chinese reissue's I've read, but rest assured NCM won't deal you a bad one.

 

http://www.voxshowroom.com/northcoast/index.html

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Personally, my ears probably can't hear the differences in todays SS/Hybrid amps versus the "real" tube amps. I've been using a Roland Cube 60 for about a year and a half on gigs, and still love the sound from the JC-120 clean and Dyna-amp (tube emulation) settings. Dyna-Amp gives you nice tube style slight distortion when the drive is low and woman tones when you turn the drive up. In either case, you can clean it up for rhythm by backing off on the guitar volume control. It will cut through drums and bass on 3.

 

I just bought the Vox AD50VT 2x12, played with it at home for a couple of weeks and took it out on a gig. The blackface model gives you nice Fender style bell tones and a true Fender reverb sound (think Pipeline). The tweed bassman model is what I am using for a blues sound. You can find one of these online right now for $299 because Vox is selling them out. The 1x12 model is still $379. So far, I am happy with the Vox and will gig with it and leave the Cube at home. The Vox uses a 12ax7 tube in a power amp mode at low power coupled with an output transformer emulation circuit that changes the impedance of the output transformer circuit with the frequency and harmoncs of the notes you play. I have had the back off to install casters and the tube is installed upside down in the chassis and should be easy to change. The speakers are listed as Vox Originals in the specs and have no markings except "AD50VT2x12". The amp really does remind me of my tube days and has the feel of tube amps I have owned.

 

Personally, I would rather spend the tube difference on more guitars instead of an amp with 8 tubes for $1000 more. Like I said before, amps sound so much like tubes nowdays that I won't spend the extra to buy the real thing. I'd recommend the Cube 60 or the Vox. I tried the Cube and the Fender Hot Rod 4x10 at the store side by side and bought the Cube.

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Dave, I agree completely. I've been kicking around the idea of buying an all-tube amp for a couple of years now but haven't pulled the trigger because I'm very satisfied with the 'tube sound' I get from my hybrid Vox Valvetronix. I definitely hear the tube sound out of it & cannot say for sure that an all-tube would sound a whole lot different.

 

Plus, with an all-tube you really need one with variable power settings so you don't have to overdrive it in your living room in order to bring out the 'sweet spot' in the tubes. Your typical 40-watt Fender, for instance, is impossibe to play at home since you've got to pull about 35 watts to get to the 'overdriven' point where the tubes sound sweet. I typically use a 15-watt amp at home.

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Anybody's ears will struggle to criticise the best of today's modelling amps. From the audience's perspective or on a recording...they're right on the money.

The remaining issue is that they still don't feelquite right to player in the room with them.

Even the best [and Vox's Valve Reactor designs are very good ] don't respond quite like a good tube amp in terms of sensitivity to touch and dynamics.

The latest Voc AC15, like all good traditional tube amps has this, difficult to articulate in words, connection with the player. Playing through a good simple tube amplifier is a bit like playing an acoustic. The sound that comes out is perceptively from your fingers. Some folks get it and will know exactly what I'm talking about...whilst it's lost on others.

[Lucky sods ! they don't have to spend so much !]

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I've tried the Vox ADVT models and they are extremely versatile. But if you want that vox, may I suggest Traynor, very similiar, but more versatile. They're YCV20 has 2 EL84's (like the vox) and 3 12AX7's (1 more than vox). But unlike the vox, it's got 2 footswitchable channels, a footswitchable boost, a bright switch, FX loop and a middle EQ knob. The only thing it is lacking is the tremelo (and a Celestion Greenback speaker, but that's personal taste). And it's only about $40 more on musiciansfriend.

 

I have a YCV50 Blue with EL34's, and I love it a lot. Very durable, very great sounding. More comparable to a Marshall than anything, but it sounds amazing! I highly recommend checking them out.

 

Website is traynoramps.com

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I've tried the Vox ADVT models and they are extremely versatile. But if you want that vox' date=' may I suggest Traynor, very similiar, but more versatile. They're YCV20 has 2 EL84's (like the vox) and 3 12AX7's (1 more than vox). But unlike the vox, it's got 2 footswitchable channels, a footswitchable boost, a bright switch, FX loop and a middle EQ knob. The only thing it is lacking is the tremelo (and a Celestion Greenback speaker, but that's personal taste). And it's only about $40 more on musiciansfriend.

 

I have a YCV50 Blue with EL34's, and I love it a lot. Very durable, very great sounding. More comparable to a Marshall than anything, but it sounds amazing! I highly recommend checking them out.

 

Website is traynoramps.com

[/quote']

 

thanks, Copper- i don't know anything about the actual tubes or tube configuration other than how its sounds...

I will check out the website.

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I guess one could draw a parallel similar to the Epiphone/Gibson 95% sound for 1/3 the price when comparing tube amps to the better modelers. Most of the pros in the recordings we hear are using real tube amps. The sound I hear on the recording and the sound I hear behind me when I play are for the most part, identical. There is a feel thing associated with a properly biased and over-driven tube amp that is hard to put a finger on, but do I want to kick in an extra $1000 to get that?

 

Smoke is right. There is something that's not quite the same about even a great modeling amp, but you can tweak the controls and find a spot that is just about there, especially with the Vox VT amps that have the power soak knob on the back. You can get that sound in the living room or the arena by adjusting the power and overdriving. And, I am able to move in and out of the sweet spot by adjusting the volume on the guitar to the break over point and picking lightly or digging in to obtain the ruder tone.

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I ditched my Fender Hot Rod Deluxe for a Vox AD50VT. Best move I ever made. But also hang on to that '65 Super!

 

I don't know about the rest of the gang here....but I find your insert pic a bit disturbing! she is obviously underage and besides it being illegal, it's in very poor taste.

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I don't know about the rest of the gang here....but I find your insert pic a bit disturbing! she is obviously underage and besides it being illegal' date=' it's in very poor taste. [/quote']

 

Hey Capt.

It was a led zep cover years ago.

drew criticism then, too.

wasn't intended to though. you know, some great painters have done masterpieces celebrating innocence..

using partial and even complete nudity doesn't have to mean prurience..

eye of the beholder and all that rot.

in todays climate, and on the web, I can see where you'd be concerned.

But it's cool.

 

I remember once when I was just starting school.. maybe first grade.. took a bath first thing in the morning. I was running late.. and the family was all hurrying me up.. but being a kid, beautiful summer day.. stark naked..

it makes you feel free and you don't know any better..

what did I do? I ran out of the bathroom and jumped up on the back of the couch in front of the window to wave at all my friends walking to school..

 

I can still hear my mom screeching!

But nobody was hurt. *s*

 

TWANG

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Hey Capt.

It was a led zep cover years ago.

drew criticism then' date=' too.

wasn't intended to though. you know, some great painters have done masterpieces celebrating innocence..

using partial and even complete nudity doesn't have to mean prurience..

eye of the beholder and all that rot.

in todays climate, and on the web, I can see where you'd be concerned.

But it's cool.

 

I remember once when I was just starting school.. maybe first grade.. took a bath first thing in the morning. I was running late.. and the family was all hurrying me up.. but being a kid, beautiful summer day.. stark naked..

it makes you feel free and you don't know any better..

what did I do? I ran out of the bathroom and jumped up on the back of the couch in front of the window to wave at all my friends walking to school..

 

I can still hear my mom screeching!

But nobody was hurt. *s*

 

TWANG

 

 

[/quote']

 

Led Zep?=;

Wasn't that the first Blind Faith cover?

Maybe somebody here has a copy.

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One of the things that turned me off with the Fender Hot Rod was when I hit the strings on the guitar with the amp volume down and then reached over and cranked the volume to about 3. I jumped a couple of feet and everyone in the store turned around to see what the heck happened. I found a very touchy spot between 1.5 and 2 where it would go from "barely hear it" to "turn that sucker down".

 

They could have down better with the voume control taper on that one. It's definitely a log taper and not linear at all.

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I don't know about the rest of the gang here....but I find your insert pic a bit disturbing! she is obviously underage and besides it being illegal' date=' it's in very poor taste. [/quote']

 

Nekkid kiddies have been a symbol of innocence for thousands of years. Now, its illegal because some stupid git thinks he can't get any if he waits for them to grow up? Shoot the SOB and enjoy the picture as what it was meant to represent.

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One of the things that turned me off with the Fender Hot Rod was when I hit the strings on the guitar with the amp volume down and then reached over and cranked the volume to about 3. I jumped a couple of feet and everyone in the store turned around to see what the heck happened. I found a very touchy spot between 1.5 and 2 where it would go from "barely hear it" to "turn that sucker down".

 

They could have down better with the voume control taper on that one. It's definitely a log taper and not linear at all.

 

I have a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe and I haven't had that problem. I have a limited edition, Emerald Green with a Celestion Vintage 30. The clean channel sounds great, the overdrive channel leaves a lot to be desired, but I only use the clean channel and use pedals to get the sound I want.

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