Vox Ac-15 Reverb

jrs146 · #1 05-26-2017, 09:42 AM

Hi All,
Thanks to everyone who steered me to the AC-15. I wanted to get thoughts on the Reverb. I don't have a lot to compare to but it seems like I can't get a great Reverb sound even when turned up 100%. How pronounced should the Reverb be on this model?

muscmp · #2 05-26-2017, 03:11 PM

very well pronounced. i have the ac15c1 and i usually don't turn it up past 2 or 3. perhaps you have a loose rca connection to the reverb pan. easy to check but many screws on the back to get there. could also be a preamp tube that came loose during transit.

contact your sales rep and let them know about the situation.

some people have swapped out the reverb for one that has less decay and i'm one of them.

get yours working first, tho.

play music!

jrs146 · #3 05-26-2017, 03:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by muscmp

very well pronounced. i have the ac15c1 and i usually don't turn it up past 2 or 3. perhaps you have a loose rca connection to the reverb pan. easy to check but many screws on the back to get there. could also be a preamp tube that came loose during transit.

contact your sales rep and let them know about the situation.

some people have swapped out the reverb for one that has less decay and i'm one of them.

get yours working first, tho.

play music!

Thanks for the advice. I bought it brand new online. I'll contact the dealer. In the meantime I'll see if I can figure out how to open the back and look for the RCA's. Maybe it's just an easy fix.

jrs146 · #4 05-27-2017, 07:38 AM

I unscrewed the back. Checked the RCA's... no luck. It sounds the same as when the RCA's are unplugged so obviously there's a problem. I'll be contacting the seller for a return/exchange.

Hoyt · #5 05-27-2017, 08:59 AM

I had an AC15 (designated as CC1 or something like that). In addition to changing out the tubes and speaker, I installed a full size reverb tank because that edition of the AC15 -- probably 7 to 10 years ago -- had a short tank and it was an awful reverb. It's an easy job, the tank costs about $30 or so, and it made a big difference.

BTW -- that's a great amp. I went through a bunch of boutique "low-wattage" amps years ago -- Dr. Z, Matchless, Victoria, etc. When I finally got the AC15 set up right, it became my only electric amp. It was that good. The tremolo and reverb were sublime. The only reason I don't still have it is that except for electric bass, I have gone completely acoustic.

jrs146 · #6 05-27-2017, 09:02 AM

Well the seller is refusing to take it back. I've had t for less than 30 days. But he's stating his return is 14. When I got it I was out of town for a week and then got caught up with work and the kids. I didn't get s chance to mess around with it until yesterday. It's under warranty but I'm not looking forward to having to do all he work to figure out where to take it and how to get warranty work done. Kind of bummed.

muscmp · #7 05-27-2017, 01:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jrs146

I unscrewed the back. Checked the RCA's... no luck. It sounds the same as when the RCA's are unplugged so obviously there's a problem. I'll be contacting the seller for a return/exchange.

what about the preamp tubes?

play music!

jrs146 · #8 05-27-2017, 01:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by muscmp

what about the preamp tubes?

play music!

How do I go about checking those? What should I look for? Sorry... first tube amp!

muscmp · #9 05-27-2017, 01:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jrs146

How do I go about checking those? What should I look for? Sorry... first tube amp!

rotate a couple of them. make sure the amp is off first. if one is bad you'll notice that the reverb probably now works but one of the channels may not.

you'll want to get a couple of 12ax7s and a couple of el84 tubes as spares for the future anyway.

play music!

jrs146 · #10 05-27-2017, 01:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by muscmp

rotate a couple of them. make sure the amp is off first. if one is bad you'll notice that the reverb probably now works but one of the channels may not.

you'll want to get a couple of 12ax7s and a couple of el84 tubes as spares for the future anyway.

play music!

Will try. Thanks for the advice. There's an authorized Vox service center about 30 minute from my house. If that doesn't work I'll take it there for warranty work. Hopefully nothing major.