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Vox AC15 CC1 Custom Classic Guitar Amplifier Combo

 

Review of the Vox AC15 Custom Classic by The Man in the Jar

Based on the originals that were introduced in 1958 this Custom Classic has got the immortal Vox looks and authentic valve power supplied via 2 x EL84 valves.

This amp has superb vintage looks, it's the face that launched a thousand back-lines. The AC15 Classic is marked out as a pedigree amp by the signature grille cloth that looks like it came from your Granny's radio and the bold and simple VOX logo.

On the topside are the required venting grilles to let out all that lovely valve hotness and the recessed control panel with vintage-style chicken-head knobs. Left-to-right on the control panel we find the rocker switches for Power and Standby. The standby option allows you to turn the amp off whilst retaining power to the valves. This leaves the valves in a state of immediate readiness when the standby is flicked back on and saves waiting for them to warm up again.

Next along is the Master Volume. Following that is the Effects Section with Tremolo and Reverb. The tremolo has a Depth control and a Speed control, the Reverb has a global Mix control. Both these effects are switchable from the supplied footswitch.

The main section of the amp is labelled Top Boost and contains Bass, Treble and Volume (which acts as a Gain control against the Master Volume).

The back panel is hidden away in the split-section rear of the cabinet. Here you'll find external speaker outputs with an impedance selector, the input for the footswitch that controls the effects, the fuse holder and the mains input.

This unit is loaded with either single Vox Wharfedale 12 inch speaker or a Celestion Alnico Blue 12 inch speaker. The AC30 version offers both flavours in 1x12 or 2x12 loadings.   

Plugged up clean (Volume down, Master Volume up) the Vox delivers one of the best and truest guitar sounds available, full of clean, bright and brittle highs. Teamed up with a Strat this can't fail but put you into a shimmering guitar nirvana. Start to edge forward on the Volume (Gain) and you are treated to one of the best vintage-valve overdrives that has ever graced the world of popular music. There's a gorgeous warmth to the harmonics and setting my Strat to middle pickup I could draw out the most velvety distortion that begged me to sustain, bend and vibrato. Lovely.

The inclusion of the Tremolo is great for historical correctness but its usefulness to the modern player is open to debate. But when you use it the general rule is that a higher Depth setting requires a lower Speed setting and a higher Speed setting requires a lower Depth setting.

The Reverb on the other hand is always a useful tool. The Vox Reverb rings and chimes beautifully with a true vintage-voiced resonance. Add a smidgen of this to give your overall guitar sound a touch of life.     

Overall impressions of the Vox AC15 Custom Classic

Unless you have money to burn you will never own an original AC15 or AC30. So these Custom Classic models are the closest you are going to get. As such, any debate about whether they match the originals is largely pointless. What you have in the AC15 package is an excellent valve amplifier with an impeccable pedigree that will make your guitar sound better than it ever has. As is the nature of valves, this amp will only sound better and better with age.

And that's where the Vox reputation has always rested. What it lacks in whizzy modern features it makes up for with basic tonal excellence. It only remains to ask yourself how serious you are about your sound.

Buy the Vox AC15 Custom Classic

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