VOX AC15H1TV Hand-wired 50th Anniversary Heritage

[jetblack69]

Hi all,

decided to sell my 1963/4 VOX AC30(with top boost added),and buy a VOX AC15H1TV 50th anniversary limited edition,trouble is,i.m have difficulty finding one.

Anyone know where I can buy one from,I know one went for £700 on the well known auction site a few weeks back,but not seen any recently.Had a look at various shops on line but can,t find any for sale.

Steve

[Tone]

Hi Steve

They were discontinued a couple of years ago so you'll be lucky if you find a new one. I'm afraid you'll just have to keep your eyes open for a used one - they do crop up on the well known auction site from time to time, as you've seen.

I hope you find what you're looking for. I have one and I'm very pleased with it.

Cheers.

Tony

[fulham]

Hi Steve
I agree with Tony I bought the Head and Cab Version and just loveit a great sound I bought mine on Gumtree so you could look there as well
Regards Fulham

[shadfan4]

I know, not a lot of help but when you do get one you will love it. I do.

Mike.

[didier]

Feb 28, 2013 18:28:16 GMT jetblack69 said:

buy a VOX AC15H1TV 50th anniversary limited edition,trouble is,i.m have difficulty finding one.

I know a few people who have one, but they are too satisfied with it to sell it !
So as Tony wrote, you'll have to be patient and watch for any offer.

Didier

[Bojan Drndic]

Here is what I found just browsing through the well known auction site:
www.the well known auction site.com/itm/Vox-AC15HW1-AC15-HW1-Hand-Wired-Guitar-Combo-Amplifier-1X12-/321081190304?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4ac1ee27a0

www.the well known auction site.com/itm/Vox-AC15-Handwired-AC15HTVH-Heritage-Guitar-Amp-Head-/121070917916?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1c3063991c

www.the well known auction site.com/itm/VOX-AC15-HAND-WIRED-COMBO-WITH-CELESTION-GREENBACK-AC15HW1-/221194003810?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item338030a562

www.the well known auction site.com/itm/VOX-AC15-AC-15-Heritage-Handwired-Amplifier-Celestion-Alnico-Speaker-MINTY-/290870321995?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_2&hash=item43b938e34b

. . . so I'm sure you'll find what you're looking for sooner or later

[Tone]

Those are all in the US, though, Bojan so the cost plus shipping and the probability that you'd be stung for import duty and VAT would make them very expensive to bring into the UK (not to mention the sinking value of the pound against the dollar).

Cheers.

Tony

[jetblack69]

Bojan,

thanks for looking,and flagging those up........I have looked at the Heritage...with EL84,s,they are quite readily available.....but for me.....it has to be limited edition, EL86 version,just for pure tone.

As Tony says shipping them in from the states is not really an option for me,due to the cost.

regards

Steve

[Bojan Drndic]

I forgot about that aspect, since I live outside the US and the UK . . .

[levishadows]

Feb 28, 2013 18:28:16 GMT jetblack69 said:

Hi all,

decided to sell my 1963/4 VOX AC30(with top boost added),and buy a VOX AC15H1TV 50th anniversary limited edition,trouble is,i.m have difficulty finding one.

Anyone know where I can buy one from,I know one went for £700 on the well known auction site a few weeks back,but not seen any recently.Had a look at various shops on line but can,t find any for sale.

Steve

Forget this amp ...............,

Better you buy the Vox AC15HW1X , its much better ,

The sounds are also much richer , and smooth ..., its better made , and some of the features are superior over the tv model and the blue alnico speaker is also better quality than the one made in the TV model (ie; both speakers are chinese made , but the ACHW1X has the materials for the speaker cone made in the UK , where as the TV model the material for the speaker cone are chinese.

I have bought this amp myself , and its truely top notch .

[Emiel Visser]

Hi Levishadows,

First of all I think it is a matter of taste.
Second, if one is looking for the warm EF86 channel, then the AC15HW TV is the choice.
I have one and to me it sounds better than the AC30 that I sold.
But again, a matter of taste...

Regards,
Emiel

[jetblack69]

Hi all,

the comments on here just make me want to get hold of the AC15H1TV..50th more than ever.

I do have some reservations though,after something I read on a VOX website,about the normal(EL86) channel........the capacitors in the 50th anniversary model apparently are (.1uf) instead of (.01uf) in the words of the guy who said about it......"the EF86 channel sounds like its got a big blanket on it".

Anyone who owns one of these amps on here,can they confirm this,presumably you would have got a (schematic)with your amp.

Steve.

[Charlie Hall]

The old AC15 of 1960 had just a brilliance switch. When off it produced a bassier sound with a 0.01 cap, when on it put a 250pf cap in series with the 0.01 to produce a brighter sound with little bass.
I thought the newer ones have a multiway switch (4 way?) and one of the settings is more or less equivalent to the old 250pf in series. The point is that no one will hear the difference between 0.1uf in series with 250pf, or 0.01uf in series with 250pf. With only that switch setting of course, which is generally accepted to be the one to use for the old Shadows sound with the EF86.
Regards,
Charlie

[Emiel Visser]

There is a 3-way switch, for details see:

www.voxamps.com/heritagecollection/ac15h1tv/

Regards,
Emiel

[Tone]

For "Vintage" Shads tunes I use the EF86 channel with the Brilliance switch in position 2 which the manual says is as per the original AC15(bass removed) and, with appropriate adjustment of the Cut control, sounds very authentic. You can also get very much the same sound from the Top Boost channel by adjusting the bass and treble knobs.

Incidentally, with the EF86 channel and the Brilliance switch in position '0' (flat response) you can get a great "modern Hank" sound.

Cheers.

Tony

[Deleted]

Hi,

Well here's my tuppence worth ..

The characteristics of any sound are always dependent upon the ear that hears it !! Over the years that I have been contributing to these forums I have listened to hundreds of sound files attempting to replicate Hank's vintage sound.

I wish I had a pound every time someone commented that any particular file was close to the original. And yes, indeed many of them have been extremely good indeed - yet at the same time they have often been very different.

Yes, I have owned a Vox AC15 and a VOX AC30 with an EF86 channel and with Celestion Blue Speakers - and I have also used non- EF86 channel amplifiers. Indeed some of my sound files produced using a VOX AC30 CC2 have been considered by several members of this site to be as close to the originals as one could judge - with not an EF86 in sight !!

Frankly I would not get hung up about having any one specific amplifier or another - most Vox amps will give a pretty accurate sound in the right hands. For all but those with the most sophisticated of ears there are only minor differences between them. And let us not forget that the amplifier is only one element in the chain of achieving a realistic and close to the original vintage sound. The echo unit, the guitar, the strings, the plectrum and ABOVE ALL the playing style are as important.

To make a comparison with my own specialisation of photography - most makes of camera will produce a decent image - but the real magic is only produced when placed in the hands of a good photographer !

Best,

Ian

[abstamaria]

I am fortunate in that I have a number of Vox amps, new ones bought over the last ten years, including a handwired AC30 made (in the UK I believe) before the shift of manufacturing to China. I have the 50th Anniversary AC15, which we use in the studio, and also a 5oth Anniversary AC30, which we use on stage. The EF86 channel to my ears is quite special. While of course Ian is right, I prefer the EF86 channel, all other things (including the player) being equal, over the other Vox amps. I think it is closest to Hank's early sound.

I was quite unhappy that Vox discontinued the TV. If you can get one, or perhaps find a good boutique clone, I highly recommend it.

Here is my attempt at photography (the AC30) with a pocket camera, Ian!

Regards,

Andy

[Deleted]

Hi Andy,

I had one of these - a really lovely amp and a great sound particularly when it was raised onto its stand. I preferred this to the AC15 - whether this was down to the amp itself or the fact that it did sit upon a stand I'll never know.

Great image too - I would love to see a shot of the complete amp.

Best,

Ian

[abstamaria]

Yes, I also noticed a big difference in sound quality when I elevated the amp, Ian. I now have the cabinet on a shelf. with the head below it. The head seemed precariously situated on top of the elevated cabinet.

(We play Ventures music, too, so have those Victoria and Fender amps.)

Andy

Attachments:

[abstamaria]

Here's a full shot of the AC30. It's almost good enough to buy on looks alone.

Attachments:

[carl c]

Hi Andy,
Your right its a nice looking set up,but you would not have anything less in that fantastic garage/music studio.I was wondering why you have it so low you can get double rack for the head, Then again its just me thinking about my back every time I adjusted the controls
Do you have the head separate to stop it falling off the top through vibration.
Regards Carl.

[Deleted]

Hi Andy,

Thanks for posting the full size image of the amp - looks really great and leaves me just a little sad for having sold the one I had !

I think raising the amp onto the stand probably changes the nature of the sound that is transmitted at or through floor level. The house where I use my amps has a wooden floor which is raised and insulated above a 60cm ventilated space. Vibration does travel through the floor so I suspect sound will as well. The wood and the insulation is likely to accentuate the bass frequencies and deaden the treble ones - I suspect. I'm no expert, but that's what my ears tell me anyway.

Best,

Ian

[abstamaria]

Thanks, Carl, Ian.

Carl, I tried putting the head on the speaker cabinet, but then worried someone might trip on the guitar cable and yank the head to the floor. I could have put it on a shelf above the cabinet, but then it would be difficult for me to see the controls (I am 5'8"). If the controls were on the front, as on the Fender Twin Reverb, that would have worked!

Ideally, the head should be on the same shelf as the cabinet, but I wanted to put another amp there.

The shelf the head is on now slldes out on drawer slides, so the controls are easy to access. But one will still have to kneel or reach down. The good thing is that the EF86 channel really has the volume control only, so once that's set, no more fiddling.

Best to all from Manila, now firmly in summer mode. It's 32C in the shade. I know most of you are in the grip of a winter that refuses to leave.

Andy

[Darryl]

Mar 2, 2013 16:12:27 GMT Tone said:

Those are all in the US, though, Bojan so the cost plus shipping and the probability that you'd be stung for import duty and VAT would make them very expensive to bring into the UK (not to mention the sinking value of the pound against the dollar).

Cheers.

Tony

[Bojan Drndic]

Here's one in the UK

www.the well known auction site.co.uk/itm/151028199557?clk_rvr_id=468363810964

[Tone]

Well spotted, Bojan!

It looks good although the price is just about what I paid new for mine 5 years ago in which case these amps aren't a bad financial investment as well as being a great piece of kit.

Cheers.

Tony

Edit: I've just noticed that this is the same amp that's being sold by one of our members and listed on the For Sale board

[jetblack69]

Yeah,seen one or two turning up on the well known auction site now,in UK.

Makes you curious to know why they are selling them though.I know if I had one,I certainly would,nt be selling it.

Its a bit frustrating for me as I have,nt sold my JMI AC30 yet so at the moment,I don't have the money.

Steve.

[AdP]

Hi,
I sent you a PM...

Regards.

[jetblack69]

Hi Montaigne,

sent the Italian site an email yesterday.......they tell me they have some in stock

They quoted me €35 for shipping to UK,plus 2.9% if paying by credit card or pay-pal.........not sure if the shipping cost covers (insurance) as well,do you know.

Sent you a PM.

Regards

Steve

[rogerbayliss]

Re the bass cut switch on the Heritage range.

I own a Mahogany Cabinet version of the AC30 Heritage and I always use the bass cut rotary switch in the no 2 pos with the bass cut slide switch off.

However I had mine modded by a friend who understood the circuit needed altering to match the original bass cut of the early sound. It sounds right to me ! It involved changing a capacitor, but that is as much as I know !

The bass and treble controls when rolled fully off on the top boost channel, create an almost flat response curve and as such come close to the sound of the ef86 with bass cut. Albeit there is a slight difference in tone, it is a near approximation.

Using the Tone Stack amp curves tool from Duncan Amps, you can see the output curves of the Top Boost channel changing. Like I say flat response all off and as you increase, a certain amount of dipping around 800hz occurs in varying amounts.