Vox AC15 versus Vox AC30?

Denalihighway

Hi guys,

I'm making an amp purchase soon and looking at either the Vox AC15 or Vox AC30.

I'm wondering is it worth shelling out for the AC30? I'm thinking no myself as the AC15 seems to be sufficient for recording and gigs but just interested to see what people think about the necessity for a bit more power.

I'm recording an album soon and will gig the amp a reasonable amount (unlikely it would be more than once every 3 weeks)

Cheers

red_ice

we have a twin reverb custom 15 and a vox AC30.. also a fender hotrod deluxe as a backup..

Just started to record an EP and we ended up using the ac30 for everything, i never realized how versatile that amp is.. i didn't like it before, i thought the twin reverb was the mutts nuts, but now its ac30 all the way! dont know much about the ac15.. but the 30 its great!

Eoin Madsen

I made an album a while back with an AC30, and found I was using an attenuator to bring down the output volume most of the time, even in the studio. I haven't much experience with the AC15, but I reckon it would be plenty loud, assuming the preamp stage is more or less the same.

kranog

AC30 all the way man....I have an AC30 Blue Bulldog...it's awesome.
There's a vintage greenback on sale on adverts.ie somewhere, that might be worth looking into!

Denalihighway

this is the problem ...i know I want the AC30, but I think I'm putting off spending a grand! Unless I found something very clean second hand I'd buy new as I'm sure I wouldnt change it for quite some time.

Is there a chance the 15 would struggle if you wanted to hear it onstage? (we're a pretty loud band)

Doctor J

You should be gigging through a PA. Use your amp for the tone, the PA for being loud. The quieter you are on stage, the better the sound out front, usually.

red_ice

Denalihighway wrote: »

Is there a chance the 15 would struggle if you wanted to hear it onstage? (we're a pretty loud band)

Thats why we have stage monitors..

sbEdge

I bought the AC30 last year but within a month it developed a fault, The shop replaced it for me, but they lent me the AC15 while they were waiting fot the new AC30 to come in, Sound quality and tone are pretty much the same, but huge difference in power.

Seziertisch

Clean headroom is the big difference. This shouldn't be an issue for recording though.

All else being equal there shouldn't be that big a difference in overall loudness, clean loudness yes, overall no.

Logarithmically, when you multiply the wattage by 10 you double the loudness i.e. a 10 watt tube amp is half as loud as a 100 watt tube amp.

If you like to push the amp so that the poweramp is overdriving then maybe the 15 might be better. It will achieve it at a lower volume, which will still be pretty loud. In a live situation your ideal overdrive sound with the 30 might be too loud depending on the venue. I know that Nels Cline from Wilco is not a fan of Fender Twins for that reason. He says he can never get them to break up the way he likes at a reasonable volume and prefers to use lower powered combos.

Also, try and go for one with Blue Bulldogs, they really make all the difference for those amps. And if you can I would recommend getting one of the Heritage Series. They are some of the finest amps I have heard. I know Soundslive in the UK have the Heritage AC 30 head for 600 sterling. The cab is quite expensive but you could order a cab from TubeTown or somewhere and source the speakers yourself. I know there are sellers selling the Bulldogs for a lot less than list price on Ebay.

johnboy8

i have the ac30 and its very loud(i use a weber mini mass attenuator so i can crank it)i downloaded a spread sheet on power ratings(i can find it for you if you like)but it says that in relation to a 50watt amp,a 30watt amp is 86% as loud and a 15watt amp is 70% as loud,you have to go down to a 5watt amp to half a 50watt amp,now as he says this is not definitive(things like the tubes you use the efficiencey of the speaker and probably a whole host of other things come into it.this is just a rule of thumb.i can well believe it because i play with a guy that has a blues junior and that can keep up with the ac30.

ball ox

Id go for the 15. I bought an ac30 a while back and my only problems are a) its size and weight & b) it will blow the roof off your house. I saw some guy walking into a rehearsal studio the other day with an ac15 in one hand and just thought "bastard" :mad::o
As someone has already mentioned,the only real difference is how much clean you will get out of it at a decent volume

Denalihighway

thanks all for the input, much appreciated
if anyone else has any first hand experience sure fire away...

vox

They are both great amps. I would go for an AC30 over the ac15, however I have not tried the current versions of these amps. I have 2 vintage ac15's and a few ac30's. Although the Ac15's are excellent the AC30 just has a little more magic to it.

I would think that the modern AC30 and AC15 would share much more simalarities than they did back then. Either way I dont think you would be dissapointed.

dabhoys

I love either for running pedals through. I don't know what it is about the vox's but they love pedals in front They sound good anyway but I love running my fuzz pedals in there for some dirt

Both are nice amps I have had great success with both. I would recommend going and playing them and let you ears guide you...