The Vox AC15C1 Custom amp offers two channels: Normal and Top-Boost. A volume control is equipped on each channel, with the Top Boost channel providing highly interactive Bass and Treble tone controls. It's a powerful channel pairing, one that delivers an incredible amount of control as you hone in on that sound that is totally yours.
If you wish, you can sweeten the sound of your Vox AC15C1 Custom amp by using the VOX Classic Tremolo effect. With adjustable speed and depth, it allows you to produce the exact sound you want. This amp also includes a Spring Reverb to bring a spaciousness to the sound. In addition, you can use the VOX VFS2 footswitch so you can toggle the Tremolo and Reverb effects on and off while you are playing.
The AC15C1 utilizes 3 x 12AX7 preamp tubes as well as a pair of EL84 tubes to drive a single 12-inch Celestion G12M Greenback. The Vox AC15C1 offers a switchable 8/16 ohm output jack if you want to power an external speaker cabinet for those times when you simply want more authority. Using this jack will cause the internal speakers to become muted. Also, a 2nd extension speaker jack provides a way to run an extra 16 ohm cabinet along side the internal speakers if you are looking for a fuller sound.
The AC15 was originally introduced in 1958, and has been an amp of choice for countless guitar players around the world. With more than 50 years of expertise in the amp building arena, you know you will be getting solid craftsmanship and complete tonal dexterity with the Vox AC15C1.
While there aren't as many reviews of this product as some others, what we did find was that most people are happy with this product and are pleased with what Vox has done with this amplifier. One reviewer even gave it the full ten star rating in every department.
It was stated that it doesn't have a lot of features - 2 channels, one with EQ and one without. But the analog trem is very nice. Even though some people might find the reverb a little muddy, this current version is a big improvement over the last one, with this reviewer feeling that it sounds nice dialed in around 4. They didn't technically know what type of reverb it is, but said it sounds more like a hall reverb than a spring reverb if that helps.
This reviewer stated that this amp has the tone they've been searching for their whole life, a creamy natural British overdrive that is just perfect. This amp breaks up very nicely at low volumes so it doesn't really need a dirty channel. However, if you are looking for a clean amp, then you may be better off looking at a different amp. While you can get it by keeping the gain low, you simply won't be able to get that Fender type tone.
The reviewer mentioned that they were a little worried about the volume since they play in a loud 7 piece punk band, but during practice the volume rests around 5. It's honestly very loud, not only for a 15 watt amp, but for any 1 x 12. They stated you can't go wrong. With a couple knobs and a couple switches, just crank up the channel volume for overdrive, or stay on the master for clean and you're done.
Another person said the amp itself is amazing with beautiful tone. This reviewer is a mod freak and they don't think they are going to touch this one at all unless it needs new valves. What they didn't like so much, and felt was a considerable drawback, was that no foot switch was included. In their opinion, not including a $30 pedal was pretty silly.
If you are a fan of the Vox sound for British invasion and Classic Rock then this amp is great. With this new design, people felt that it couldn't be better. One reviewer has had his for about 3 months so far, and hasn't had a single problem yet. If you are worried about it being made in China, you can rest assured that it's under strict Vox British design and this amp has been flawlessly put together.
Plus you can find many other great reviews of a variety of guitar amplifiers here: Best Guitar Amplifiers
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Car Audio Amplifier Overview
Your amplifier takes the signal from your head unit and makes it big enough to be able to drive your speakers. It is preferable to use separate amps for high and low frequencies but it is not necessary. The problem with using one amp for all frequencies is that you cannot adjust the levels among different frequency ranges as easily as you can adjust outputs of separate amps. Many people begin their system with an amplifier for the low frequencies (bass) and use their head units built-in power to drive the higher frequency speakers. This is enough but the built-in power in a head unit is usually not strong enough for high volume listening and not clean enough for the discerning ear. There are lots of choices when choosing an amplifier.
Things to look for: RMS Power: The power output of an amplifier should be roughly matched to what the amp will be used for and what speakers it will be driving. Oddly enough, the most regular problem with matching speakers and amps is using an amp that is too weak to power the speaker. When an underpowered amp is used to power a speaker, the listener tends to turn the volume up higher in order to get more output of the amplifier. This usually leads to the amplifier running to its limit and distorting. This distortion can cause the output from the amplifier to become DC for short periods of time and DC signals of even low power can damage a speaker. Under powering a speaker in this way can be more dangerous than overpowering it! Also greater power is usually needed when powering subwoofers because of their greater size and excursion. Do not plan on using an amp of less than 75watts per channel to drive a subwoofer. The converse holds true for higher frequencies (midrange and treble) only 25-50watts per channel are needed to drive speakers in those frequency ranges, however more power will not hurt, it just probably will not be used. Another factor in power output is stability in low resistance loads. It is possible to wire mutiple subwoofers to a single channel on an amplifier but the amp will have to work harder to drive this kind of load. Many affordable priced amps can drive loads as low as 2 ohms or less, with 4 ohms being the typical load of a single speaker.
Power Supply Regulation: The power supply in an amplifier converts the 12volt DC that is available in your car's electrical system to something the amp can use to produce greater power. Several designs are used by manufacturers today. Two categories are regulated and unregulated. A regulated supply produces the same power regardless of whether your car's electrical system voltage sags (which a capacitor will help prevent). An unregulated supply's power output depends directly on the input voltage. This causes changes in the maximum output power with changes in the car's electrical system. I recommend getting an amp with a regulated power supply so power output will be constant regardless of input voltage changes. This changes if you have a stiffening capacitor or another regulation device (Accumatch) to smooth out your car's electrical system. In this case, buy an amp with an unregulated supply. Some cheap amps use unregulated supplies to save money but provide none of the benefits of a regular unregulated supply. One way to determine whether an amp has a regulated supply or not is to view the power output specs for 12volt and 14.4volt inputs. If they are the same then the amp probably has a regulated supply otherwise it has an unregulated one.
Tri-Mode: A few amps can play in what is called "tri-mode." In this mode, 2 channels are used to drive a pair of high frequency speakers and one subwoofer. The subwoofer receives power from both channels. This is a very efficient way to use an amp for more than one purpose. A special crossover is required to separate the two ranges of frequencies and it should have a way of adjusting the output level between the high frequency speakers and the subwoofer. This is a good way to save some money.
Other Specs: THD (Total Harmonic Distortion) is a specification that often shows up with the power output spec. An example would be "45wattsx2 @ 0.01% THD" This spec says that at an output level of 45watts into each channel the THD will be no more than 0.01%. At times manufacturers will quote the power spec at a THD of 1%. Be wary of this, 1% THD is low quality and either implies that the amp is not very good or that the manufacturer is artificially increasing the power output spec by running the amp into a higher distortion region where it does produce more power but more distortion as well. Either way it is a sign of a low amp or marketing that deceives. Anything lower than 0.1% is negligible.
Built-in Crossovers: These allow you to use the amp to only amplify certain frequencies and dedicate the amp to a subwoofer or some other specialized speaker. By using an amplifier's built-in crossover you eliminate the need for a separate one which can save you quite a bit of money.
Pre-amp Outputs: Some amps have pre-amp outputs which allow you to "daisy-chain" multiple amps together without splitting the pre-amp output from your head unit. Also, if the amp has a built-in crossover, you can use it to drive another amp.
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