Vox AC15 Hand Wired AC15HW1X
Specs
Format: 1x12 combo
Watts: 7.5 - 15
Preamp Tubes: Three 12AX7s
Rectifier: EZ81
Normal Channel Controls: High/low inputs with volume knob and
bright switch
Top Boost Channel Controls: High/low inputs with
volume, treble, and bass knobs and
hot/cool switch
Master Section Controls: Tone cut and volume knobs with master
volume bypass switch
Additional Features: 15/7.5-
watt op mode switch, included
footswitch
Speaker: Celestion Alnico Blue
Price: $1,449 street (Also available
as a 1x12 combo with a Celestion
Greenback for $1,199 street.)
voxamps.com
The Vox AC15 is the granddaddy of low-wattage
EL84 amps, and as such it’s the genetic blueprint
for each of the amps in our roundup. This
latest handwired incarnation is a sonically faithful
offspring of the original that provides tones ranging
from classic sparkle to rough and rowdy.
Locke: The first thing I noticed about
the amp is the fawn, early-’60s classic
Vox look—I’m pleased they’re bringing
that back. Both channels sound a bit different,
which is cool—that’s what you
want. At lower volumes, it has the classic
Vox chime, and as you turn it up you
get a grindier Vox sound. The sweep on
the volume is very linear, which I like.
And there wasn’t an abrupt change from
sparkly clean to really overdriven—you
can hear all the shades of overdriven
textures in between as you turn up.
With a hollowbody guitar, it’s easy to
get feedback and it’s very responsive. It
sounds like a Vox AC15 should—they
successfully made a faithful reissue of a
classic amp.
Derrico: It’s got that real nice,
glassy thing that all Voxes have. And I
really love the way it looks—it’s sexy as
hell. The top boost has a ton of gain,
which could be really cool for rock ’n’
roll stuff.
Trovato: This amp does exactly
what the name on the front suggests—
it’s got that sound. It’s got a 7.5-watt or
15-watt mode, and it’s a loud 15 watts.
The controls are easy to read, even if it’s
a guitar geek’s heaven back here—it’s
got so many options. The first one, the
normal channel, sounds just like it’s supposed
to sound. I was tempted to play
a lot of open-position chords because
it has that jangly sound with that tight
low end. It doesn’t sound floppy on the
low end at all, which is the sound these
amps made famous. The other channel is
better for distortion. It doesn’t sound quite
as jangly as the normal channel to me. But
where I would use a distortion pedal [with
the normal channel] I can go into this
other channel instead. You lose some of the
high end, but it sounds better than using
a pedal, which gets too ice-pick-in-theforehead
for me.