Help! Vox AC15 & Impedence: Help!

markisonfire

Slightly-less-n00by than a few posts ago
Hey guys,

I have a few questions regarding my Vox AC15 and, in general, what adding an additional speaker will do.

I'm having a tiny bit of trouble keeping up with my band during practice. I really like the time I get with my AC15 at lower levels, but in order to hear myself, I really need to crank up the volume, leading to a crunchy, overdriven tone (when I want a clean tone).

My question is, how low can my amp's be when mic'd in a live setting? Or, basically, should I pony up and get the AC30 instead of the AC15?

My next question is regarding wattage and volume. If I were to add another speaker (the AC15 currently has a 1x12 Celestion Greenback) will the volume be much louder at a lower volume level on my amp with the additional speaker?

If so, I want to make sure that I understand what I'm doing. There is a switch on the back of the AC15 for 8 ohm sand 16 ohms. If the AC15 is 16 ohms and the extension cabinet speaker is also 16 ohms, would I set the switch to 8 ohms?

Sorry if these are beginner questions, but all answers are greatly appreciated.
 
Yes. If you run an extension speaker you'll have to change the switch to 8 ohms. It's not going to make a big difference in volume but it will sound nice and full.

It's not a squeaky clean beast but I like some dirt in my clean. You guys must play pretty loud. You could try a more efficient speaker like a weber Californian. The greenback is holding the volume back a touch. If you really need it to be clean I'd buy the 30.
 
Yes. If you run an extension speaker you'll have to change the switch to 8 ohms. It's not going to make a big difference in volume but it will sound nice and full.

It's not a squeaky clean beast but I like some dirt in my clean. You guys must play pretty loud. You could try a more efficient speaker like a weber Californian. The greenback is holding the volume back a touch. If you really need it to be clean I'd buy the 30.

Thanks for the response. I don't really have anything to measure it against, but I suppose we play pretty loud. Like I said, I practically have to turn the volume all the way up. Is there a big difference in volume between the AC30 and the AC15?
 
Natural male enhancement?
Once upon a time I played in a band with 3 Marines and we practiced at the Tustin Marine Corp Helicopter Station in the base theater. All their buddies would come hang out and watch our rehearsals on the weekends since there was nothing else going on on the base...there was a guy named Brent (whom @El Borrachito would later rename "Brentless") who tried to play bongos and help with sound. We were looking for an impedance transformer to plug an extra mic into an amp and he kept calling it an "Impotence transformer".
 
Thanks for the response. I don't really have anything to measure it against, but I suppose we play pretty loud. Like I said, I practically have to turn the volume all the way up. Is there a big difference in volume between the AC30 and the AC15?
What kind of music are you playing? Have you guys gigged out much yet? I played a couple of AC15s a few weeks ago at Guitar Center and thought that they were pretty loud for the wattage. If you like the sound of the speaker thats in it even though its too loud telecaster911 also turned me onto the 65 watt version of it, which is called the Celestion Creamback. I just put one of those in my Suhr Badger 30 and I love it.
 
What kind of music are you playing? Have you guys gigged out much yet? I played a couple of AC15s a few weeks ago at Guitar Center and thought that they were pretty loud for the wattage. If you like the sound of the speaker thats in it even though its too loud telecaster911 also turned me onto the 65 watt version of it, which is called the Celestion Creamback. I just put one of those in my Suhr Badger 30 and I love it.

Hey Mark,

We are playing alternative- and indie-rock type stuff. We haven't gigged at all yet, but we will starting next month. I'd rather have pedals give the Vox gain or distortion (if need be) and maintain the really really clean tone, which is why I'm considering the AC30 over the AC15 after trying the AC15 for a few practices. The AC15 is pretty damn loud though – I have a Fender Super Champ SE25 and it seems like the Vox gets louder.
 
How loud are you guys practicing that you have to dime an AC15? Tell your knuckle dragging drummer to quiet down!
 
I can't imagine an AC15 not being able to keep up. How loud are you guys playing, and do you own good earplugs?

Seriously, that's crazy.

I have a hard time grasping this.
 
I have never been successful at playing Vox amps and keeping them clean at high volumes. I would add a second speaker before upping the wattage. Especially since AC30s are hernia inducing.
 
Hey Mark,

We are playing alternative- and indie-rock type stuff. We haven't gigged at all yet, but we will starting next month. I'd rather have pedals give the Vox gain or distortion (if need be) and maintain the really really clean tone, which is why I'm considering the AC30 over the AC15 after trying the AC15 for a few practices. The AC15 is pretty damn loud though – I have a Fender Super Champ SE25 and it seems like the Vox gets louder.
I think you probably should look into the AC30 then.....it'll be more than loud enough. One thing to remember though is that if you are loud enough not to hear yourself with the AC15 chances are you're rehearsing too loud and/or will be too loud on most stages.
 
We rehearse fairly loud, and the old guitar player had to use the axe fx ii to keep his ac30 from killing us all.
 
Haha. Eh, practicing in a smaller-sized room with backing tracks and whatnot. I'm much more concerned with being too loud onstage than not being loud enough in practice, though. Yes, I use earplugs. I guess, for now, I'll try getting everyone to turn down (quite) a bit! If that doesn't work, I may look into getting the AC30.
 
OK...I took my AC15 to a pickup gig on Saturday and had to basically turn it up to 10 to hear myself over the bass and drums, hehe. Here's what it sounds like. Gain was on 7, master on 10.

 
OK...I took my AC15 to a pickup gig on Saturday and had to basically turn it up to 10 to hear myself over the bass and drums, hehe. Here's what it sounds like. Gain was on 7, master on 10.



On a mobile phone and can't watch the video - were you miked up?
 
Being a regular AC15 user, I can say that your band is just too loud. The amp shouldn't any problem whatsoever keeping up.
I've used mine on rehearsals and gigs with 4 different bands, and never had any problems.
One important thing about them though - get them up off the floor. They're extremely directional, so to hear properly you really need to stand right in front of it.
Your legs don't have ears. :wink:

Did a 2 day rehearsal with the Queen tribute band I play in this weekend, and was plenty loud enough. This is a band with 5 singers plus keyboards and backing tracks/samples. Had the master on 10 and channel volume at about 4 (using pedals for dirt, obviously).

And yeah, on a gig...unless you're playing a ridiculously loud halfstack (Marshall or similar), always mic your amp.
 
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