Vox AC15H

L’AC15 è una testata grande, ingombrante e pesante per avere solo 15 watt. I comandi sono scomodi essendo posti in alto e posteriormente. Essenzialmente è un combo senza speaker. Lo chassis metallico interno all’amplificatore è lo stesso del combo e posto nella stessa identica posizione. Ovviamente l’altezza complessiva dell’AC15 head è minore del combo, ma è tutto qui lo sforzo che fecero negli anni 50 - 60. Avrebbero potuto ridisegnare l’amplificatore per renderlo più compatto e sistemare i comandi anteriormente. Avrebbero potuto sistemare le valvole nella posizione più ovvia per la dissipazione del calore. Invece fecero una scelta prettamente economica e i comandi sono scomodi, le valvole sono a testa in giù come nei combo, e la testata è larga quanto un cabinet 2x12.
Quindi? Sono soddisfatto del mio acquisto?
Assolutamente sì. Ormai l’AC15 head è fatta così e gli ingegneri della KORG non hanno pensato neppure per un attimo a cambiarla. Di sicuro sono intervenuti a livello elettronico. Questo non è un amplificatore point to point, ci sono circuiti stampati e integrati. Viene prodotto in Cina, ma la qualità è molto elevata e il costo la rispecchia. Ci ho trovato valvole made in Russia e marchiate Electro harmonix. Sono facilmente accessibili e sostituibili, senza bisogno di regolare bias o altro.
I relativamente nuovi AC15 e AC30 – a partire dall’acquisizione da parte della KORG - hanno un suono un po’ povero di medi, ma basta un qualsiasi tubescreamer o overdrive per compensare e farlo cantare. Il TUMNUS DELUXE svolge questo compito alla perfezione, ma anche un più economico TC SPARK va benissimo. Sono solo esempi. Una volta ripristinati i medi e dosato gli alti con il TONE CUT (accanto al volume) è un amplificatore con il quale si può fare quasi tutto. Il validissimo attenuatore integrato permette di utilizzare la distorsione a basso volume, ma ovviamente non tanto basso da permettere a qualcuno di dormire nella stanza accanto. Per abbassare ulteriormente il volume si può lasciare pulito l’amplificatore e usare un pedale distorsore, come il versatile MXR Super Badass per esempio, che vi permetterà un distorto a volumi bassissimi.
E’ un amplificatore con bellissimi puliti e distorti, lo si può usare liscio o on the rocks, cioè con tutti i pedali che vogliamo. Dato che non dispone di FX loop gli effetti di modulazione vanno usati tenendo l’amplificatore privo di distorsione, ma non lo considero un vero problema. Sicuramente l’FX loop lo renderebbe più versatile, ma l’AC15 risponde bene ai pedali e ci si può divertire.
L’ultimo aspetto, ma in realtà è il primo, che mi piace da morire è la sua silenziosità. Che un amplificatore sia silenzioso anche con tutti i potenziometri a zero non è affatto scontato. Questo è SILENZIOSO. Anche senza utilizzare l’attenuatore integrato. Super consigliato. Amplificatore iconico che suona alla grande!

I am, admittedly, a 'livingroom warrior' at this point in my life. I wouldn't have bought a valve head to lug around to gigs, lol. I've been using amp sims for the past few years, and started to get a bit tired of them. So, I started to research amp heads, as I have a 12" cab. When I saw this model, I was intrigued, and decided to give it a try. I wanted a traditional amp with a real reverb. I didn't want to pay for USB/Headphone outs, as they are irrelevant to me. I didn't want any DSP in the amp. That ruled out my other choice, the Fender Super Champ, which seems like a nice amp, but didn't fit the parameters of what I wanted.

As I mention in the title, this is the fist VOX amp I have played in 44 years of playing, and I can only say I wish I had done so earlier. I absolutely love the wide variety of tones that can be dialed in very easily. It does clean very well, and the crunch/overdriven sounds are the best I've heard on an amp that wasn't loud enough to blow the windows out. Speaking of volume, I am quite pleased with the built in attenuator. I have been playing it in its middle setting, which is 1.5w. You would be surprised how loud 1.5 watts can get! The dynamic range is something amp sims cannot yet emulate really well. Pick gently, it is clean with a tiny bit of grit. Dig in, and you get that really creamy overdriven crunch that is not muddy. This amp has two channels, with a master volume, and you can get the overdriven tones on both the 'Normal' and the 'Top Boost' channels, and they both sound different. The reverb I find merely adequate, though since I am not playing surf music, I don't need to use very much of it, just enough for a bit of depth. This amp also has a tremolo, again adequate. I've heard better on Fender amps, but this is fine for me.
The only real niggle I have is the dimensions of the unit. It won't sit on my 112 cab, nor will it sit on the Vox 112 cab. It needs the 212 cab to sit properly on. This is why I took 1 star off for 'handling.' I am going to think about getting the 212 cab, but in the meantime will have to find another place to put it.

To sum up:

Pros:
Great variety of tones. As I don't do hi-gain metal stuff, this does everything I need it to do, and it does it well.
The attenuator is a welcome feature for those of us who don't want our neighbours showing up at the door with torches and pitchforks.
It is stylish, and with a Vox cab, will look absolutely killer.

Cons:

Size is a bit awkward;
Reverb/Tremolo are not the absolute best I've heard, but are adequate for my purposes.

I will be using this amp for recording, and just having hours and hours of fun. Again, I wish I'd tried a Vox amp sooner!!!

Was beginning to give up hope of buying a tube amp online without hearing it in store but my faith has been restored. This is a near perfect tube amp for me.

Huge variety of classic rock and blues tones available from just a little grit and gravel to a full-on saturated roar, and including, of course, that iconic chiming Vox clean sound.

When attenuated down to 7W or the ultimate-neighbour-friendly 1/6th of a watt you get the joy of all the tube tone you want without blowing out the windows, but the full 15W is plenty loud enough for good-sized gigs or simply showing off.

Just a little real spring reverb fills out the sound and stops it feeling flat and dry, while the responsive tremolo is a whole playground of tonal possibilities.

Takes pedals really well in the front (no effects loop). A built in footswitch connection would be nice, but the addition of an affordable AB-Y pedal would give you the options of either/or or BOTH channels together for even more tone exploration.

It is beautifully quiet, with pretty low levels of hiss at the crucial 'all at 12 o'clock' setting even at 15W, and completely silent when attenuated unless pushed to more like 'everything at 3 o'clock'.

All in all having tried to order to order multiple tube amps from a different well known brand and from different suppliers this year, and having had to send them all back for virtually unplayable noise levels (even with nothing plugged into the amp and everything at zero), I am finally in tone heaven!

Great purchasing experience from Thomann too. Good communication and order tracking and a pleasure to deal with.

I got this for my home studio. I specifically wanted a separate head as I'm gonna use it for recording with an iso cab.

First of all, let's be honest: This isn't REALLY an AC15 at all. It's more like a half wattage version of the current version of the AC30. A real AC15 is a completely different amp with a different tube configuration and of course a different tone.

When judged on it's own terms this "AC15" head is still a very nice little amp though. For my needs it's a much more practical option than the full size AC30 (or even the AC15 combo). Very nice tone. When used with an Alnico Blue it more or less nails the famous 60s "jangle" tone. With Greenbacks or other speakers it can get more versatile and cover a wider range of musical genres.

There are a couple of disappointments though. Firstly, the built in attenuator only works at 16 ohm. This is only mentioned very briefly in the product manual. I find it rather sneaky when Thomann + Vox omit this important information from the product description and specs. I have a nice selection of 8 ohm speakers that I wanted to use with this amp but I now realize that the built in attenuator will be useless for this.

Secondly, I find it slightly disappointing that they've dropped the channel link feature you get with the AC30. How much more money would it cost to include this very useful feature on the AC15? Peanuts! Of course I knew about this before I purchased the amp but I needed a head and Vox don't sell any AC30 heads so...

The build quality is more or less the same as any other amps that are mass manufactured in Asia. It's decent enough for the price but it certainly won't last as long as a properly built, vintage Vox.