Dissatisfied w Vox AC15CC--ideas?

[dffny]

Every time I play a gig with my Vox I realize it doesn't sound anything like I want it to. I play a jaguar and a Rickenbacker--I like chime and sparkle and treble and play garage rock. I like all that bands that you typically associate with Vox amps--and that's pretty much why I bought it. If I want distortion I can use a pedal.

To me the AC 15cc sounds like an overdriven Marshall--kind of a cheesy broken up sound even on 3 or 4---no headroom, no clear sparkly ringing chords. More of a pop punk sound. Not bad but not what I want.

What should I do? I know I'd like a deluxe reverb but that is twice the price. Worth changing a speaker or tubes or is that good money after bad? Fender blues or other model?

Any advice appreciated.

Thanks!

[Singlebladepickup]

I don't know how similar it is to a drri, but my friend has a Blues Deluxe that sounds pretty good. I've saw one for sale locally for $300 not two weeks ago. Someone would probably even trade one for your AC15. If you put an ad in CL or somewhere specifying for trade, you might get an offer for something like that, or an Ampeg or something interesting.

[InLimbo]

An old Traynor, something like a YGM-3 sort of lands right in between the Vox and Fender sound. Prices are slowly creeping up, but they're still a steal.

[rumfoord]

If you haven't already, definitely try being very creative with your eq settings. For me, sometimes that feeling of inescapable cheesy tone is remedied by turning the tone knobs waaay down---or other seemingly 'extreme' settings.

Took me a while to realize that, anyway.

[Embenny]

If you haven't already, definitely try being very creative with your eq settings. For me, sometimes that feeling of inescapable cheesy tone is remedied by turning the tone knobs waaay down---or other seemingly 'extreme' settings.

Took me a while to realize that, anyway.

Good advice. As they say, "Listen with your ears, not your eyes". Doesn't matter what the knobs are set at if you like what you're hearing.

When it comes to tube/speaker/other component changes, my experience has been that if I'm unhappy with an amp, I'm unhappy with it. Speakers and tubes are best changed in scenarios of "I like this, but it's missing just a little something" or "I like this, but I'm bored and want to make a small change".

I cannot for the life of me make Vox amps sound good. Whatever combination of my gear/fingers/ears result in disappointment with Vox over and over. I totally dig plenty of other peoples' tone who use them, but they just don't suit me, apparently. Maybe you're the same?

[wproffitt]

I'm going to second the recommendation with the EQ settings. When I got my Marshall Class 5 years ago, I was a bit bummed that it wouldn't do anything but 70's hard rock. Later, in a band setting, I found that I actually like it quite a lot with the Mids ALL the way up, the Treble most of the way up and the Bass turned completely off. I would never use these settings on any other amp and it's counter-intuitive for a someone used to dialing in a Princeton Reverb. You may find a setting that gives you the sound you'd like to hear on settings that seem absurd. Good luck!

[salty]

If you know anyone with one, try a celestion blue in it. I think the greenback, if that is what you have does add a Marshall tint and the blue is more sparkle and chime. They are expensive, so I would try one out of you have access.

I play an ac30 and two blues was too much sparkle and chime for my fuzzes, so I put a greenback style speaker in place of one blue to tame it some.

[Jestapali]

I think you hit it in your own opening post. No headroom. I practice in two different rooms, one has an ac15 cc2 and the other one an ac30. In order to keep up with the volume of our drummer and rest of the band, I have to push the ac15 to levels that make it sound too distorted for my taste (I know, our volume for practice is too loud, I know). No chime or clean ringing tones.
On the other hand, the ac30 provides all the headroom I need. It sounds much cleaner at higher volumes, unless I purposefully tweak it for dirty sounds. Both of these amps are the green back version, although the ac30 is the handwired version. This specific amp is expensive, but I recently bought an ac30 cc1 for 500 eur (I see them often around that price) and I"m very happy with it.

[spacecadet]

AC15's are definitely their own thing, and I do think you either like and know how to use them or you don't. I'm pretty much the same in that I know a lot of bands I like use Voxes, but I just cannot get them to sound good to me when I'm playing. Maybe there's some magic those bands I like are doing that I'm not aware of (basically all the British bands I can even think of), but I think it's more likely that I just have a certain sound that I like to listen to and then a *different* sound that I like when I play myself. Maybe you're the same. I like to hear the full range of what my guitars can do, whereas I feel like Vox amps sound very compressed.

You probably just need a more neutral amp...

[InLimbo]

Voxes are also one of those amps, at least when I had one, that didn't makes sense until you put it in a band context. It was something to behold, really, just how well it would sit in the mix (I had an AC30, which doesn't address the headroom issues). I'd probably still have it if I didn't go through three of them in a 12-month period.

I made the move that you mentioned in your first post - swapped for a DRRI. Completely different amp, and honestly, probably doesn't sound as good. But it's reliable, half the size of the AC30, and has plenty of headroom. Plus, it takes pedals quite well. The Traynor I mentioned before is similarly sized, similar power, but with EL84 tube complement, so it has a bit more snarl to it with slightly less headroom. Definitely enough for a band context, though. I run them in stereo 100% of the time and couldn't be happier.

[Chippertheripper]

The 15 just breaks up too early. Everything good that is Vox is inside, it just doesn't have the headroom. And it may not even have the power to keep up at stage volume even when cranking.
If you need that Vox sound you'll need a 30 or a 50 to keep it clean.
If you want a deluxe sound without the deluxe price tag, look at some of their lesser popular 40w amps, silverfaced or red knob, even the hot rod. Keep in mind that even those 40w are going to begin getting growly at stage volumes too, but not like ac/dc overdrive.
Maybe a deville would suffice and still be within budget. Although IMO, the deluxe is most famous for getting mild OD at reasonable volumes, I'm not quite sure exactly what you're after.

[Lock]

An old Traynor, something like a YGM-3 sort of lands right in between the Vox and Fender sound. Prices are slowly creeping up, but they're still a steal.

Almost: I traded mine for a Traynor YBA and 2*12.

I had the same issue with headroom and it hating some pedals. I got out rather than mod or swap parts.

That being said, I did really like the overall sound of it as guitar--->amp just breaking up. If the reverb was more to my taste I might have kept it for that.

[dffny]

Thanks for all this info guys--much appreciated. I was starting to think the breakup issue was in my head or my guitars--nice to hear others have been there.

After reading through everything I think one of the problems is that, yeah, I really just wanted an AC30 but in a smaller box. That said, it is not feasible for me to start lugging an AC30 around--the AC15 is bad enough at 50 pounds.

Thanks for the info about Traynors--I have zero experience with them but will check them out. The place we practice has hot rods and devilles and they're okay but not quite sparkly enough for me. I'm starting to think I'm just going to sell every extra bit of gear I have and stretch for the deluxe reverb!

Cheers!

[danbind]

Have you seen this video?

"That Pedal Show – The Vox AC15: Different Drive Pedals, Guitars And A Bit Of Wet-Dry Too"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ggi4Nkwmkf4&t=1326s

May provide some insight.

[stevejamsecono]

Have you seen this video?

"That Pedal Show – The Vox AC15: Different Drive Pedals, Guitars And A Bit Of Wet-Dry Too"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ggi4Nkwmkf4&t=1326s

May provide some insight.

This was a really good one, and honestly them debunking the "Voxes are bad with pedals" thing by utilizing the Normal Channel saved my ass at a gig where I had to borrow an AC15 a week or so ago.

I'm gonna throw this out there and it might not be a popular opinion, but I'll stand by it. As much as the current craze for low wattage amps is justified, it really, truly, is NOT for everyone. A 15-20 watt amp cranked up is certainly loud and certainly awesome sounding, but whatever it is will be pushing it's upper limits for gain and will not be a versatile sounding thing nor will be especially great with drive pedals. I like the sound of an amp cranked up, so it works for me, but in doing so I'm not really able to use any fuzz or OD boxes to control dynamic levels, and unless the room is mic'd my low-end isn't typically the best sounding. I do a lot of work with the guitar's volume knob to get my cleans, but that approach isn't something everyone would have the interest in.