Amp Shootout! Vox AC15 vs. Fender Blues Junior 

Album rocks!

@@AustinAzz93 thank you kindly! Appreciate you listening 🙏🏻

Yeah it does rock ! He did that himself ?

@@JackFossett Did you use the Vox on your album !? I don't have the Vox name brand but I've got a super killer AC 30 custom shop 12 inch combo with finger jointed custom wood cabinet made out of super wood, can't even remember what it's called but it's tweed fender on the clean channel and very anger AC 30 dirty channel that just screams on it's own with no pedals ! I would have to choose the Vox out of the 2 of your amps between fender Jr and vox I choose vox !

@@auntjenifer7774 I didn't use an AC30 however some of the solo tones I recorded direct in, and they were using a high quality AC30 model. So kind of. The tones I recorded live though were either on a Supro or a Fender.

Not to take away from Jack, who's videos I enjoy, but you should also check out Toby's Guitar Gear Demos. His amp reviews are top notch.

I bought the ac15 and a few weeks later played through an ac10. I too prefer the ac10 over the ac15. Much simpler to use and sounds awesome.

Straight fact tho👆

@@zoltar7274 having played both today, not sure I agree. you also lose tremelo and it did not sound as full. I could be wrong- only spend about 10 minutes with each...as long as you are happy.

​@@MOAB-UTYes, it's so different.

@neonthunderbird I don’t have a favourite as they both have their own sound characters, so will sometimes try them both with different guitars to find the sound that suits the song I’m working on. Cheers

Yeah no... The opposite is true. The Vox doesn't have enough headroom to be versatile. You have Vox style breakup period..... With any overdrive pedal.... Unless you go full out distortion pedal.

@@ramspencer5492 nope

well the Vox suffer as a blues rock amp , what is left ? jazz and pop ?

1. Your mention of the replacement reverb tank perked my interest... what is the brand and source? 2. I just replaced the Chinese-made preamp tubes with Russian-made electro-harmonix 12AX7's and it totally cleaned up the intermittent hiss and brought so much dynamics, clarity, and tone! I have a couple of Russian-made electro-harmonix EL-84's on the way, which should serve to further revive and redefine this glorious AC-15C1.

@@christophertaylor1671 I used the MOD 8EB2C1B - It was sold on Amazon. Amplified Parts also sells the Accutronics version of the 8EB2C1B; It may be a little cheaper too. They are medium decay so you still get that lush reverb but not quite as "boingy" sounding as the stock tank. Hope this helps! (good job on the tube swap my friend. AC15s Rock!)

Paul, pairing the two was just my thoughts! Each has its own strong points (and lots to count!). I use an ABY Box to pair my AC-15C1 with a Quilter 101 Mini Reverb through an ENGL 112 Cabinet to fill the bass and mids and it is... glorious!

Right on!

The Blues Jr. Sounds better here, for me.

Go to a shop and listen to them. It's a big difference. You can also get the 10 watt version of the vox. I found the Vox to be brighter. No recording on any channel I've found picks it up properly.

I am with the BJ and some easy and inexpensive mods.

yes a pedal amp that is what vox is , not much as a tube amp

Is pairing big muff and ac15 a good idea

@@maximmm5462 there’s tons of videos on that. Check out The Tone Lounge. But yeah Muffs and fuzzes generally can sound great through Vox amps. Limitations with AC15 might just be headroom and being heard. Muffs are typically scooped and if you’re in a loud band you are probably gonna struggle, but that’s just a general limitation to the AC15 when not mic’d up

Jazzmaster single coils pair best with Vox tho

But the Vox also sounds better with single coils (particularly a Tele) and P90s

Deluxe Reverb

I loved mine with my old Maton semi. Sadly, both are sold now. Still have a semi, just not a Maton!

Psionic Audio has great videos to that point. That is my reservation also because I have played and been inspired by the Blues Junior sound, especially the FSR models, but worry about quality over time.

I like how you think 😉 although immense wealth made be chuckle a nervous chuckle

@@JackFossett maybe a small exaggeration

Thank you kindly!

I've got an AC15 (Sunday best) and a katana 2 100 (Swiss army knife). I frequently get confined to the bedroom for a few days with health issues so I wanted something cheap, very unobtrusive and not total crap so I could noodle away upstairs. I looked at the Nux Mighty Air but didn't really want to spend £149 on something that may not live up to the hype. Someone pointed me to the Pathfinder 10, and I was a little put off by no reverb but I saw one on ebay, still in the box for £40. Took a chance and ordered a cheap donner reverb pedal, same day delivery from amazon. Wow! The sound from the Pathfinder was way beyond my expectations. I didn't expect much from that 6.5 in speaker but its great, and with reverb it really sounds like a Vox. I threw my Zoom G5n through it just to see, and it handled it like a champ. I can't understand why these things aren't more popular as practice amps given their super low price and sound quality.

I got it too, what a great little dude!

I use pathfinder 15r....nice

@@rashidrani2333 me too, it’s an awesome amp

Glad I could help!

Do yourself some inexpensive mods and you are golden. Tone stack, bias of the tubes. I also changed the speaker

Best comment so far. Spot on!

@@georgefromgreece4119 thank you! Too kind

How would you compare the Laney to the Jr? I was thinking of selling my jr and buy a Laney (I already have a blues deluxe so I would like something different). Thank you!

@@jackgraffiti9815 I own the Laney Cub 15, and have used the BJ (not too extensively). Take notice: The Cub's circuit is a Marshall JCM 800 copy. It doesn't sound like a typical Marshall though cause the elements have different values. It has: Papery overdrive (not a bad thing, good if you play 50s 60s genres). A liiittle bit like a Marshall. Chunky lows as a Marshall. It is very bass/ low mid heavy on low volumes, this is not bad cause gives the amp a lot of body and sweetness. It is very sweet on the high end. It has a lot of chime (the stock speaker is kind of dark, as a Celestion G12-65, very similar, I have done A to Be to that). It sounds a little bit boxy- natural, it is very small and compact in enclosure- I have connected it to larger cabs and it becomes a monster of an amp (in the good way). The total timbre of the amp is reminiscent of something like a lower headroom HiWatt amp- it NAILS David Gilmour tones. Some Vox chime. Some Marshallness. A lot of HiWattness. Like a blend between different brit amps. With a brit voiced speaker you will rock, for sure. It also has a very appropriate tone for jazz- a lot of warmth. It doesn't have the mid tweed crunch of the BJ, neither the round bass and open highs... But then again, BJ's speaker contributes to the above, so with a different speaker... I currently have an Eminence Legend 1218 in. Don't expect Marshall voicing with an american voiced speaker like mine. But with a brit voiced yes. Not textured Marshall mids though. BUT... if you want a Marshall sound, by changing some components values on the Laney, you turn it to an exact JCM copy- still 15 Watts, though. I totally recommend any of the aforementioned amps: the Laney, the Vox, the Fender. The Laney, stock, is low mid heavy (a lot of low mids- body), has a lot of sweet chime, isn't sizzly/ fizzy at all, chunky not round bass (Marshall type bass), warm mids not crunchy, boxy sound, deep punchy clean sound, papery not too clear distortion (sounds less clear in general, but very sweet), very lightweight, compact and easy to carry. It is versatile for what it offers. On the dark side stock, opens up with different speaker, valves, cab (very decent sound stock though, it's a matter of taste if you like a sweeter darker amp or a bitier best). Oh and it takes pedals like heaven.

@@georgefromgreece4119 thanks!!

Awesome! Do you run them in stereo? I bet the CV30 and the Rex would compliment each other well in a dual amp setup.

@@JackFossett Thank you Jack, I haven’t done as yet, although it had crossed my mind. They’re for home use. At present I run the CV30 at level EQ with pedals, and the CR straight in. I think the neighbours would love the stereo set up, when cranked 😊

Thank you! No tour, but my group is back up and rehearsing and we have a few performances coming in the Fall up here in Maine. Thinking about doing a vlog if anyone would be interested in that.

@@JackFossett sweet. I come up to the 207 pretty regularly to see music...If you are going to stream a performance that would cool...See you live or on the stream soon...

Mine has the C-Rex speaker, and like you said it’s made all the difference. Mine also needed a cap job (bought it used) and now it’s HUGE sounding.

Tonally I’m right on the same page, although the Blues Jr is so finicky and I do find the AC15 had a more usable range of tone. But in general for me, Fender > Vox. Wish I could draw the little Ms Pac-Man half circle to symbolize consumption there.

What's not obvious is how relatively well the blues Jr tonescape compares to a real late 50's fender 5e3 circuit versus how poorly the VOX to early AC15s. The 50s fender 5e3 deluxe had the tone that creamed nicely and became treasured by late 60's American rockers throwing in that halo of blues. It was how the late 50's fenders naturally compressed the tone when pushed. But nobody had a boat load of those small amps, enough to use for a loud-as-you-could-get concert of the late 60's when their tone became so treasured; so, they were more of a very clever studio recording amp. The late 50s VOX AC15, on the other hand, was the cleaner tone of early 60's brittish rock that preempted both the Marshal-brittish-blues-rock and the American-blues-rock of the late 60s. The new VOX AC15c in the demo does not capture the magic of that early 60's brittish tone as well as the blues Jr does the original 50's fenders. (That's not to say the Blues Jr has as tastey a tone as the original 50's fender tone.) Ironically, the blues Jr uses EL84s unlike the original fenders.

@@whimpypatrol5503 yeah, I never thought the vintage vox were magical. I still thought/think they are bright and thin. They use .01 coupling caps vs the fender and marshall .02. They also use. 02 in the phase inverter vs .1 in fender/marshall. They will always be thinner and brighter by design....vintage or modern. Just not my cup of tea....pun intended.

@@whimpypatrol5503 my thoughts. It's such an excellent comment!

I have a solution! 😃

@@JackFossett Ha ha. I was at the store today looking at a Princeton and a 15C1. I just don’t have the dough right now but…. Oh Gawd.

@@JackFossett Bought an AC15C1 yesterday! Well paid for it. I'm away for 2 more weeks so you can imagine the frustration! I'm thinking of that Blonde Tonemaster Twin also. There's in fact a real Twin that I see on FB for actually a couple hun cheaper than a TM. Not sure what to do there. Both?

Either is a good choice so I might go the real tube one if you don’t mind the weight

Correct!

I had an AC15h1TV, and it's definitely the one that got away. I loved that amp, will definitely get another one someday.

Which means the BJ will blow if you use it cranked up for long periods of time. But on moderate volume w pedals it will be fine.

I agree. While the Jensen is in itself a very good speaker, I think its too bright and spikey for this circuit.

Probably not loud enough for what you’re looking for. AC15 maybe able to get close to some classic punk tones though.

I tend to agree

@@JackFossett and you know what… one simple mod to the AC15 circuit and you can have almost the blues jr clean tone. Just making the bright cap switchable. It can get pretty warm and full just by switching the bright cap off.