ratherdashing
Kablamminator
I tried a new AC15cc in the store today. Here's my review:
SETUP: Plugged in direct with a Fender Strat Deluxe and a Fender Jazzmaster (which was a SWEEEET guitar btw).
DESCRIPTION: Single channel 15 watt all tube combo with a single 12". Bass, Treble, and Volume controls labelled "Top Boost" for some reason, and a Master Volume. Rate and Depth knobs for the tremolo, and a Reverb Mix knob (I didn't use any of these - I never use an amp's onboard effects). Single plastic Input jack, and flat plastic Power and Standby switches. Cosmetics similar to Vox amps of yore, but somehow not quite right. Priced at $800 CAN.
THE GOOD: With the Volume set low and the Master Volume at about 3 or 4, I got an excellent quiet clean tone. Definitely had that EL84 feel to it. It would be a great amp for blues, clean rock tones, and of course early Beatles-type stuff. The tone controls - especially the treble - cover a lot of ground, and you can get a lot of sounds out of this thing just from tweaking. My favourite tone was with the bass up the middle and the treble at about 60%. It was the kind of tone that made me want to sit there and play guitar all day. The amp sounded equally good through the Strat and the Jazzmaster, and brought out the character of both very well. Turning up the volume yielded a middy barking gain that I didn't really care for with the two Fenders, but I bet a humbucker-equipped guitar would have sounded great. I should have grabbed one and given it a shot, but I was having so much fun with the Jazzmaster I didn't want to put it down
.
THE BAD: With the treble past 7 or so, this amp gets so harsh it is painful. That's not really a big deal though - all it means is there is less useful range on the treble control than on some other amps. My two main complaints with this amp are that it doesn't have much clean headroom (though some may consider that a bonus), and that it appears to be pretty cheaply made. If your goal is to get a nice clean sound out of this amp, don't expect it to be able to compete with a drummer. It's got decent volume, but that doesn't come without a fair amount of power tube distortion, which didn't sound all that nice to my ears. As for the cheapness, the thing looked like a swift breeze would tear it apart. The controls felt junky, the plastic input jack was a big turn-off, and the tolex, diamond grill, and Vox logo gave off this cheap Chinese knock-off vibe. This wouldn't bother me too much if the amp had been in the $300-400 range, but for the kind of money they were asking I expected a lot more.
SUMMARY: Really nice clean tone, but the dirty tones weren't to my taste. That said, I bet you could get a really sweet Marshall-y crunch out of this thing with the right pedal in front of it. For the price, I expected a louder amp with much better craftsmanship. Overall, a disappointment.
SETUP: Plugged in direct with a Fender Strat Deluxe and a Fender Jazzmaster (which was a SWEEEET guitar btw).
DESCRIPTION: Single channel 15 watt all tube combo with a single 12". Bass, Treble, and Volume controls labelled "Top Boost" for some reason, and a Master Volume. Rate and Depth knobs for the tremolo, and a Reverb Mix knob (I didn't use any of these - I never use an amp's onboard effects). Single plastic Input jack, and flat plastic Power and Standby switches. Cosmetics similar to Vox amps of yore, but somehow not quite right. Priced at $800 CAN.
THE GOOD: With the Volume set low and the Master Volume at about 3 or 4, I got an excellent quiet clean tone. Definitely had that EL84 feel to it. It would be a great amp for blues, clean rock tones, and of course early Beatles-type stuff. The tone controls - especially the treble - cover a lot of ground, and you can get a lot of sounds out of this thing just from tweaking. My favourite tone was with the bass up the middle and the treble at about 60%. It was the kind of tone that made me want to sit there and play guitar all day. The amp sounded equally good through the Strat and the Jazzmaster, and brought out the character of both very well. Turning up the volume yielded a middy barking gain that I didn't really care for with the two Fenders, but I bet a humbucker-equipped guitar would have sounded great. I should have grabbed one and given it a shot, but I was having so much fun with the Jazzmaster I didn't want to put it down
.THE BAD: With the treble past 7 or so, this amp gets so harsh it is painful. That's not really a big deal though - all it means is there is less useful range on the treble control than on some other amps. My two main complaints with this amp are that it doesn't have much clean headroom (though some may consider that a bonus), and that it appears to be pretty cheaply made. If your goal is to get a nice clean sound out of this amp, don't expect it to be able to compete with a drummer. It's got decent volume, but that doesn't come without a fair amount of power tube distortion, which didn't sound all that nice to my ears. As for the cheapness, the thing looked like a swift breeze would tear it apart. The controls felt junky, the plastic input jack was a big turn-off, and the tolex, diamond grill, and Vox logo gave off this cheap Chinese knock-off vibe. This wouldn't bother me too much if the amp had been in the $300-400 range, but for the kind of money they were asking I expected a lot more.
SUMMARY: Really nice clean tone, but the dirty tones weren't to my taste. That said, I bet you could get a really sweet Marshall-y crunch out of this thing with the right pedal in front of it. For the price, I expected a louder amp with much better craftsmanship. Overall, a disappointment.
I like to use the same amp for recording, practice and live playing. The ac30, OR a Celtic Franklin 30 watter :naughty: may be the ticket for an el84 amp.
