VOX AC15H1TV Heritage Handwired

[kidsmoke]

so my pursuit of the perfect, infinitely versatile combo continues. Reading about this very limited edition AC15, it seems to good to be true. They were made for one year only. 50th anniversary offering.

 

2 channels

2 inputs per channel

Brilliance switch

bass shift switch

EQ

EF86 mode

Pentode Triode switch

 

• Power Output 15 Watts RMS into 8 or 16 ohm loudspeaker load — selectable via rear panel switch.
  
• Valve Complement 1 x EF86, 3 x ECC83/12AX7, 2 x EL84, 1 x EZ81 (rectifier).
  
• Loudspeaker VOX/Celestion Alnico Blue 12" loudspeaker - 8 ohm.
  
• Dimensions (W x H x D) 527 x 527 x 263.5 mm / 20.75 x 20.75 x 10.375 inches
  

 

What couldn't this amp do?

 

Anyone familiar with them?

[GuitArtMan]

I own one. Mine has been upgraded by Don "Tone-Man" Butler. He replaces critical components in the signal path as well as replacing the transformers and choke with ones from Mercury Magnetics. Mine also has a ASW Absolute Retoned Alnico blue.

 

First off, box stock they sound great. The Alnico Blue takes a l o n g time to break in and can be kinda ice picky until it does. The stock Chinese tubes have gotta go, especially the ef86. I belive one reason the new version doesn't have an ef86 channel is the fact that the Chinese ef86 sucked! If you get one find a Dario Minwatt ef86 (if you can) - it's the best I've tried in there so far. I replaced the output tubes with JJ el84s as well as the pre-amp tubes with some NOS stuff I had lying around.

 

Vox tone in spades now (once the Blue is broken in). My favorite channel is the ef86 channel, but the 12ax7 channel sounds great as well. Make sure to tighten everything in the cabinet. For whatever reason they were/are prone to rattling and it's almost always something that needs to be tightend.

 

Some of the puritst complaing that it's not truly hand wired. Others complained of the Made In China quality was lacking. Others complained it wasn;t a true RI (it has feature not avialble on the originals). I remember one of the Guys in the musictoyz forum comparing it very favorably to his Vintage AC15. He said when he swapped in his Vintage blue he actually liked the sound of the new one better! I like mine, though the tolex does seem a little less tough than American/English tolex.

 

It's fairly large/heavy for a 1x12 combo, but the tone is there - with the right tubes and a broken in blue.

[DetroitBlues]

There was a used hand wired ac15 at my local GC. That amp was the best production amp I've played. I was floored on the difference between a normal AC15 and the hand wired model. Total night and day difference.

[kidsmoke]

Well there's the AC15, The AC15HW and the AC15 Heritage, which was made for one year only, 2007. The HW's currently getting attention are very different from this Heritage version. This was a 1 yr 50th anniversary edition, with a badge on the grill saying so. As Guitartman says, the HWs now in stores don't have the '58 ef86 circuit.

 

This thing looks pretty groovy.

[knopfler74]

I've played these a ton, and I actually ended up having KBP on this forum make me a 15 watt amp instead. Mine is a virtual clone of a Matchless lightning, with a couple of tweaks. I dig it more than I did the AC15 HW, but it's only one channel; however, I've found that I can get every sound I got with the HW and more out of the KBP I had built. That being said, I love the AC15 HW's, and I think they're one hell of a great amp. Your take on it maybe being the perfect amp is valid, I think. I do think that my KBP is a beefier tone than the HW and also has better clean sounds due to its overwound output trannies. FWIW