Found a 15w amp i'm very interested in-Vox AC15

[3notes]

Originally Posted by Jaden

I only ask in case you’re not familiar with the kind of volume/ power a 15 watt tube amp is capable of for home use. It’s convenient to have a smooth volume taper or attenuation as these things can be heard far down a city block. On the other hand, the Yamaha THR looks desktop friendly - in a completely different league.

I think Jaden brings up a valid point here. I ordered an amp yesterday from Sweetwater.

Buying an amp is no picnic. I thought about what I wanted for a month. It came down to a Bugera v22 Infinium or a Fender Super Champ x2. It was a tough choice. I looked at it this way.... I know I can tame the Fender down and still have excellent tone. The Bugera is what I consider to be a big amp. I really like the Bugera but it's waay out of my league. No effects loop but a row of knobs that would confuse me. And while it does have the triode/pentode(i think it's called) any reviews that I've seen the player was pushing the amp and its loud. And it sounds super.!! I was tempted to go large and loud but in the end, that's not what I want. One last important point about these great amps, most do NOT have a headphone jack. Whoever is in the house is likely to hear you each and every time you play. That's why I'm keeping my $130 Fender Champion 20. Sounds fantastic with or without headphones. The Super Champ arrives Friday.

I considered Yamaha's amps too. I like them but I need something more pleasing to the eye. I like grill clothe. And at least an 8" speaker. The THR series being wireless is awesome. To me it seems tech heavy. I desire a more vintage style cabinet.

[Jaden]

Originally Posted by 3notes

I think Jaden brings up a valid point here. I ordered an amp yesterday from Sweetwater.

Buying an amp is no picnic. I thought about what I wanted for a month. It came down to a Bugera v22 Infinium or a Fender Super Champ x2. It was a tough choice. I looked at it this way.... I know I can tame the Fender down and still have excellent tone. The Bugera is what I consider to be a big amp. I really like the Bugera but it's waay out of my league. No effects loop but a row of knobs that would confuse me. And while it does have the triode/pentode(i think it's called) any reviews that I've seen the player was pushing the amp and its loud. And it sounds super.!! I was tempted to go large and loud but in the end, that's not what I want. One last important point about these great amps, most do NOT have a headphone jack. Whoever is in the house is likely to hear you each and every time you play. That's why I'm keeping my $130 Fender Champion 20. Sounds fantastic with or without headphones. The Super Champ arrives Friday.

I considered Yamaha's amps too. I like them but I need something more pleasing to the eye. I like grill clothe. And at least an 8" speaker. The THR series being wireless is awesome. To me it seems tech heavy. I desire a more vintage style cabinet.

Thanks. I think the pros on this forum are aware my input on this board is mostly concerned with steering beginners in the right direction, or at least, coming from an acoustic guitar perspective, volume (sometimes piercing volume), power, size and weight can be overkill for home use. I know some insist on a hand wired twin reverb or super for home use, but that’s well experienced folks usually with a long background in electric guitar and band. All I know is whenever I see a new DRRI in shop, the size scares me, and so would a Bugera V22. Huge. Leave it to the pros.

I think you made a great choice. Fender offers a lot of colour and brightness in their amps, have historically done so, and now have offerings more than ever friendly for home use and hobbyists.

[Yamaha Man]

Originally Posted by 3notes

Nice tone. Ya man. That sounds good. What did the Line Out go to.?? Direct to a computer.?? Is it safe for me to assume that any effects, pedals, will be in the recording.??

I have these questions because I've ordered a Fender Super Champ x2. This amp has a Line Out and a USB cable. I get the lacquered tweed edition Friday. I'll post up when I get it. Don't mean to hijack the thread.

You must be loving that Supro. Sounds great.

It went direct to a Denon mixer then into the computer, no effects added in this recording. Yes I am loving the Supro.

[IMG][/IMG]

[DukeX]

If you like the Vox tone and the AC15 is too loud, the AC4HW1 is a great home amp.

Also, lots of folks at the Tele forum love the AC10 for home use.

[ataylor]

Originally Posted by Jaden

It’s a good amp well suited for gigging. Last time I checked you seemed settled on the Yamaha THR—. Have you considered the Vox AC10C1

Was going to suggest this as well. I haven’t played either a lot, but I do prefer the AC10 to the AC15.

Another Vox option to look into — a lightly used Pathfinder 15R. Possibly the best bang-for-buck amp ever created, and discontinued by Vox six or seven years ago because I really do think they decided it was just too good for the price point and likely cannibalizing sales of their small tube amps.

I’ve got one and it’s just lovely. Has that warm Vox chime, really nice tremolo, and a nice subtle spring reverb. If you didn’t know better you’d assume it was a really nice little tube amp. They’re getting harder to find because they’ve become something of a cult classic, but they’re out there.

[darylcrisp]

thanks guys,as you suggested i looked at the AC10 and its actually better suited for my use. I like it a lot. Lots of video of it out there, i'll definitely hone in on this one. Everything is better, price, size, weight, and actual use.

thank you all very much for this suggestion
d

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVJvlgQOrRc



lots of tone variation with only a few knobs-i like this
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBlGt6b8BUE


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bYB43PLMJ0

[Steve DeRosa]

Originally Posted by 3notes

...Buying an amp is no picnic. I thought about what I wanted for a month. It came down to a Bugera V22 Infinium or a Fender Super Champ x2...The Bugera is what I consider to be a big amp. I really like the Bugera but it's waay out of my league. No effects loop but a row of knobs that would confuse me. And while it does have the triode/pentode (I think it's called) any reviews that I've seen the player was pushing the amp and it's loud. And it sounds super!! I was tempted to go large and loud but in the end, that's not what I want...The Super Champ arrives Friday...

Some observations:

• The Bugera V22 is indeed a hefty package - comparable to a Vox AC15 or Fender '65 Deluxe RI (considered to be on the lower end of the mid-size range, in terms of both power and weight) - but that's because it's built like a tank (these guys use anchored machine screws to secure the back panels - check out what Fender uses, even on their top-line stuff - and beefy transformers)
• Effects loop is on the back panel, right alongside the footswitch jack
• Knobs aren't vastly different from the Super Champ: clean volume, OD gain/volume, EQ (added midrange dial and mid-boost button), presence (affects the "sparkle" range of the tone spectrum), reverb, an overall master volume to keep things in the tone zone whatever your living conditions - and while you can get some great tones if you push it you don't need to, unlike some other tube amps
• Triode/Pentode control not only allows you to kick things down to 15W (same as the Super Champ - BTW the 22W Pentode setting is more big-clean "American," by way of the blonde Fender/blue-check Ampeg school) but also allows you to achieve some nice pre-Top Boost Vox-type tones - or kick in the OD and mid-boost for some medium-brown all-tube crunch
• The V22 is essentially an old-school tube amp brought into the 21st century: simply put, like its '50s/60s forebears you're not going to get instant gratification by pulling up a built-in preset, but if you've got the patience to play with it you can dial in your own signature tone rather than what some manufacturer decides is the flavor-of-the-week - and there's a whole bunch of very satisfied fellow owners here on the Electric subforum who will be happy to substantiate all of the above

Speaking from ten years of hands-on experience the V22 truly is an all-purpose amp that'll take you from the bedroom to a 700-seat hall with equal facility, and packs it all into a $400 package that IME can go toe-to-toe with combos three times the price; don't know if you've had the chance to try one, but I'd strongly recommend doing an A/B playtest (I have on several occasions, with different iterations of both amps) and see what you think...

[Chickee]

I just pick up a black on black limited edition Vox AC10C1 from a very cool cat in Manhattan this morning. It is perfect for what I’ve been doing lately(playing out on small sized gigs with an assortment of musicians) and at right around 25# is easy for this old man to grab and go. Future plans are an updated retube with a good quality tube set. That’s it. Bugera’s are nice amps, but they weigh a ton.

[RoyBoy]

Hi Daryl,

You don't mention what electric(s) you'll be playing through this amp. I suspect some of the magic you're hearing is the magic of tubes being cranked. Speakers make a huge difference. The pricier Vox has an alnico speaker. They tend to be brighter and have more chime (think: Ticket to Ride). The Vox is very distinct and has great on-the-edge-of-breakup mojo. The AC-15 makes way more noise than you would suspect, judging by its size, and is plenty loud enough to gig a band with. It'll also get loud enough to rattle your windows and annoy the neighbors when you get carried away. Tons of fun. In that range, I would try out a black face Fender as well, the cleans are to die for and they really take all manner of pedals well. As a fellow mandolinist, I found the combination of a tele through a Princeton Reverb magical, Deluxe Reverb even better. Fenders are going to be pricier as they're made in California, whereas the Vox comes from China. You can always make a clean amp dirtier by pushing it with an OD pedal. The reverse is not true. Enjoy the adventure.

[egordon99]

Originally Posted by 3notes

One last important point about these great amps, most do NOT have a headphone jack. .

I don't think anyone expects tube amps to have a headphone jack. 😀

[egordon99]

Love my Tele (and Strat) through my Princeton Reverb RI. I also have a Peavey Classic 30 (which gets crazy loud!) And a Vox AC4TV which can be much more manageable in the home volume department. 😀

[PTony]

Originally Posted by darylcrisp

thanks guys,as you suggested i looked at the AC10 and its actually better suited for my use. I like it a lot. Lots of video of it out there, i'll definitely hone in on this one. Everything is better, price, size, weight, and actual use.

thank you all very much for this suggestion
d

I initially bought the AC4 and realized it was not what I expected. To me, the cabinet is too small and doesn’t allow the 12” to breathe like it needs to.

While I waited for my 15 to arrive I played a 10 at a local shop. It sounded great! I liked it, but had always wanted to try an AC15 so I maintained course. There are definitely things like price and weight that may be a better fit for you.

Having said that, I’ve never really understood the mindset that more wattage means less useable in a home setting. I was even able to make my 65 TRRI work at home. Although, it never moved past 1 or 1/2 typically. And, if I wanted to I could’ve always bought an attenuator. In this case...85 Watts of tube amp IS overkill. But...that doesn’t mean it wasn’t useable.

I fully understand that to get the tone that we hear famous musicians producing the volume needs to be cranked. But...that’s not realistic for most.

I also understand that tube amps sound best when the tubes are cooking, but many amps (the AC15 included) have master volumes as well as channel volume. In my case I simply crank the MV and then use the channel volume to determine overall volume output. This keeps the tubes hot but volume very useable/manageable.

In the end, it’ll come down to personal preference, but I don’t think you lose any “useable volume” when going from a 10 to 15 watt amp.

Honestly, you can’t go wrong with the 10 or 15. Heck, you may even like the 4. Please keep us posted. I love my Vox amps (I have the MV50 on my live rig...thanks Roylor). Looking forward to seeing how this shapes up!

[Jaden]

Originally Posted by PTony

I initially bought the AC4 and realized it was not what I expected. To me, the cabinet is too small and doesn’t allow the 12” to breathe like it needs to.

While I waited for my 15 to arrive I played a 10 at a local shop. It sounded great! I liked it, but had always wanted to try an AC15 so I maintained course. There are definitely things like price and weight that may be a better fit for you.

Having said that, I’ve never really understood the mindset that more wattage means less useable in a home setting. I was even able to make my 65 TRRI work at home. Although, it never moved past 1 or 1/2 typically. And, if I wanted to I could’ve always bought an attenuator. In this case...85 Watts of tube amp IS overkill. But...that doesn’t mean it wasn’t useable.

I fully understand that to get the tone that we hear famous musicians producing the volume needs to be cranked. But...that’s not realistic for most.

I also understand that tube amps sound best when the tubes are cooking, but many amps (the AC15 included) have master volumes as well as channel volume. In my case I simply crank the MV and then use the channel volume to determine overall volume output. This keeps the tubes hot but volume very useable/manageable.

In the end, it’ll come down to personal preference, but I don’t think you lose any “useable volume” when going from a 10 to 15 watt amp.

Honestly, you can’t go wrong with the 10 or 15. Heck, you may even like the 4. Please keep us posted. I love my Vox amps (I have the MV50 on my live rig...thanks Roylor). Looking forward to seeing how this shapes up!

I’ve read numerous critical reports of the Vox AC4, most are critical of its lack of of bass and lower midrange, making it tonally unbalanced in favour of the upper midrange and treble, which is the classic Vox strong point anyway.

With regard to 15 watt amps for home use, I have two Fenders, one MV and one without, that provide sweet low volume performance that compares and even exceeds my multi-k acoustic guitars for quick, touch sensitive response. I’ve appreciated being able to turn up tube amps in the past, but it’s a myth that should be put to rest that good ones don’t perform equally well at low volume, equal to a good acoustic guitar, but sensitive hearing is a prerequisite.

[darylcrisp]

Really appreciate the continued thoughts and discussion, all of your replies are definitely helping me define more of exactly what I want, and will realistically be able to use.
I have a PRS CE 24, 85/15 humbuckers with split tapcoil pickups, that I recently traded for. In time, I may get either a slimline PRS mccarty or a gibson les paul special. I'm going to build some sort of partscastor soon. I know the tone I want from it, but I've got to research what pickups will give me that.

Right now the list to consider is Fender Bassbreaker 15, Fender blues jr sweetwater edition with brown western design and a cannabis Rex speaker, the Vox AC15 or AC10, maybe the fender tone master deluxe reverb.

I like all of these a lot. Each has something different it brings to the mix (I guess that's why you end up with more than one amp, right?).

I'm hoping Campbell Morrell music in Johnson city, TN has a few of these. In a few weeks I'd like to take a day off, take the prs and go hang out there. It's about 1.5 hrs away, neat old shop. Nice folks, very honest, they try hard to meet prices found elsewhere. I've bought from them for years.

So today, the top 3 are Bassbreaker, blues jr IV, Vox AC10
d

[Jaden]

Originally Posted by darylcrisp

Really appreciate the continued thoughts and discussion, all of your replies are definitely helping me define more of exactly what I want, and will realistically be able to use.
I have a PRS CE 24, 85/15 humbuckers with split tapcoil pickups, that I recently traded for. In time, I may get either a slimline PRS mccarty or a gibson les paul special. I'm going to build some sort of partscastor soon. I know the tone I want from it, but I've got to research what pickups will give me that.

Right now the list to consider is Fender Bassbreaker 15, Fender blues jr sweetwater edition with brown western design and a cannabis Rex speaker, the Vox AC15 or AC10, maybe the fender tone master deluxe reverb.

I like all of these a lot. Each has something different it brings to the mix (I guess that's why you end up with more than one amp, right?).

I'm hoping Campbell Morrell music in Johnson city, TN has a few of these. In a few weeks I'd like to take a day off, take the prs and go hang out there. It's about 1.5 hrs away, neat old shop. Nice folks, very honest, they try hard to meet prices found elsewhere. I've bought from them for years.

So today, the top 3 are Bassbreaker, blues jr IV, Vox AC10
d

Reads good. I will say, generally speaking, there has been an underlying assumption running through some of the general discussion, that an upgraded, increased quality amplifier equates to one’s guitar playing “sounding that much better” - but equally it’s about amplification of mistakes - I think the popularity of the Yamaha THR and small units make players sound much better than they really are, and that’s ok but the extra detail is missing that a larger speaker reveals. The Bassbreaker will be darker voiced, designed for more gain. The cannabis rex speaker is dark too.

Good luck