coldwaraudio
Joined: Apr 07, 2009
Posts: 18
Elkhart, IN USA
|
Posted on Apr 05 2011 09:43 AM
Hi, guys I was wanting some input I need a good all around amp mainly for instrumental and surf music with a little grit for beach music and was wondering if an AC15 would give me what I am looking for? My ideal setup would be a '59 Bassman with an outboard tank but sadly funds will not allow for that at this point and time so thats something for next years tax return :). Any advice would be great and if you think the AC15 won't give enough clean headroom please recommend a tube amp in the same price range with tremelo and reverb.
Thanks, Joe
— No such thing as too much reverb!
|
morphball
Joined: Dec 23, 2008
Posts: 3324
Pittsboro, NC
|
Posted on Apr 05 2011 09:59 AM
Well, surf-music bad ass Ivan Pongracic from the Madeira has been known to use an AC30 (with blue Celestion Alnico 12" speakers), and I'd say it sounds pretty damned good:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXN1icaRW0s
Regarding the '59 Bassman... I'd aim for something more in the brown, black or even silverface era; from experience, tweed is a bit on the bluesy side for most surfer's tastes. I had one and sold it less than a year later, bought a brownface bassman clone instead, very happy with it. +1 on the tank, you won't regret it.
— Mike
http://www.youtube.com/morphballio
|
coldwaraudio
Joined: Apr 07, 2009
Posts: 18
Elkhart, IN USA
|
Posted on Apr 06 2011 12:07 PM
Yeah I think I am going to go for that setup but with an ac15 as the ac30 is too costly for me at this point im thinking the red tolex version is pretty rad looking!
— No such thing as too much reverb!
|
elreydlp
Joined: Sep 04, 2009
Posts: 1800
Temecula, CA
|
Posted on Apr 06 2011 01:56 PM
AC15 should sound great. If you can find a Mesa Subway Blues, it will do what you want and sound a little more "Fenderey". The onboard 'verb is great too!
|
coldwaraudio
Joined: Apr 07, 2009
Posts: 18
Elkhart, IN USA
|
Posted on Apr 06 2011 07:11 PM
awesome thanks a ton for the info
— No such thing as too much reverb!
|
tiki101
Joined: Mar 22, 2009
Posts: 101
pgh, where the zombies live
|
Posted on Apr 07 2011 09:17 PM
i have an AC15 currently. It might not have the headroom of a fender amp, but I really dig it. I'm not very excited about the on-board reverb, though. At all settings, it's more of a giant "hall" verb, never splashy. The further you go, the bigger the room gets.
|
seafoam_johnny
Joined: Jul 27, 2007
Posts: 1099
4 faces. (Where the buffalo roam)
|
Posted on Apr 07 2011 09:37 PM
AC 15 and Boss '63 reverb pedal surf very well in my spare 10X10 bdrm.
|
coldwaraudio
Joined: Apr 07, 2009
Posts: 18
Elkhart, IN USA
|
Posted on Apr 08 2011 02:41 PM
Yeah I will get a reverb down the road and the drip isn't really there on any of the amps in that price range that i have played but i definitely am digging the ac15 I think it's the one. I mean if it was good enough for Hank Marvin it is good enough for me.
— No such thing as too much reverb!
|
cyclopean
Joined: Mar 01, 2011
Posts: 40
innsmouth, ma
|
Posted on Apr 11 2011 03:39 PM
my main amp's an ac30 knockoff (crate vc50), and it's got nice cleans.
|
Reverb17
Joined: Jun 14, 2006
Posts: 522
NYC
|
Posted on Apr 11 2011 05:41 PM
I've been using an AC30cc1 for surf for 5 years now and it works great.
The cleans are a little different from a Fender, but it sounds killer with reverb, and the tremolo has a nice throb.
— TarantinosNYC
TarantinosNYC FB page
The WrayCyclers FB page
Rockaway Beach Surf Music Festival
|
jaguar
Joined: Oct 15, 2007
Posts: 126
Sicily
|
Posted on Apr 21 2011 11:34 AM
The Torquays recorded some songs with a Vox AC15, but I don' know what particular model they used
— Massimo Pafumi
Jaguar & The Savanas facebook
Jaguar & The Savanas web
|
GuitarBob
Joined: Jul 31, 2009
Posts: 139
Monterey, CA
|
Posted on Apr 21 2011 01:17 PM
Yes: are you talking recording? or inside volume?
If you mean with a drummer, the AC-15 won't have the headroom.
|
IvanP
Joined: Feb 27, 2006
Posts: 10331
southern Michigan
|
Posted on Apr 21 2011 10:27 PM
I love the Vox sound, it's awesome, and it surfs very well. Tons of surf bands (mostly European) have been using Voxes for many years now, and they work extremely well.
As far as the AC15, well, I actually stopped using an AC30 live because it wasn't loud enough - but then, we play insanely loud! There's actually a recent example of a great and well-known surf band whose lead guitarist used an AC15 live, and it seemed to have worked great, so the headroom doesn't have to be an issue if you're playing in a band with fairly good control over the volume. The band is the Huntington Cads, and you can see the AC15 in action in these videos (plus many others on YouTube):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=edgLfJ2Kh4I&playnext=1&list=PL5035AE5E3B7A0545
http://youtu.be/Gk5VhfS8nZw
http://youtu.be/1YiiNzonYks
It's a great sound! Good luck!
— Ivan
Lords of Atlantis on Facebook
The Madeira Official Website
The Madeira on Facebook
The Blair-Pongracic Band on Facebook
The Space Cossacks on Facebook
The Madeira Channel on YouTube
|
May Birthdays 
