THE ONES THAT GOT AWAY

VOX AC15 CC1 AMPLIFIER

Haven't written in awhile, but I've got a few things to add lately. This first one is a little amp that sounds so good, I've saved the guy's email and phone number that I sold it to so I can maybe buy it back some day. It's a Vox AC15 amp, which is commonly known as the little brother to the legendary Vox AC30. This is the CC1 model, which stands for Custom Classic. It's a reissue that was made sometime in the double oughts...otherwise known as the 2000s. I found this amp listed on Craigslist for $400 and that's what I paid for it. Worth every dime.

It was owned by an officer in the military. I live very near Camp Pendleton in Southern California, and many times guys in the military will get shipped out or get out of the military and move back home and they don't want to take extra gear with them. You can find some good deals without taking advantage of our brothers in the service. This guy was extremely nice and was bummed that he was moving. He had raised his family...wife and two kids...right here in the area while stationed at Camp Pendleton, and was very unexpectedly reassigned to somewhere in Texas. He didn't want to have to move the amp, so Craigslist was the answer. The price was very fair and I was happy to get such a great little amp. These things put out only 15 watts of tube power, but it was nice and loud for only 15 watts.

I had the opportunity to use it when I opened up for Chris Shifflett of the Foo Fighters when he was on tour with his band the Dead Peasants, and it really filled the room.

The sound was fantastic and I had a few people actually ask me what I was playing through. One thing I will mention about this amp is that, when I first got it, I was pretty disappointed with the reverb. I'm a Fender geek and this was not up to standards. I found the correct Accutronics brand replacement for the reverb tank and made the switch...super easy to do. And boy howdy did it improve the sound. All the difference in the world. Plus, I put the Vox reverb tank on eBay and got most of my money back. Sweet. I don't have a great photo of this amp, but you get the idea. I would really recommend this amp to anyone looking for a smaller size amp, with one 12" speaker and not so much volume that it alerts the neighbors.

UPDATE: Well, here is a happy update to this story. A few months have gone by since I sold this amp and I have regretted it ever since. I started putting a few pennies away to get another one at some point and started keeping an eye on Craigslist. Lo and behold, I happen across an ad that has a Vox AC15 for sale. I clicked on the ad and it was MY old amp. The guy that had bought it from was in the military (ironic, since I originally bought it from a military guy) and he found out he was about to get discharged. He decided to sell the amp rather than take it home with him. I recognized his name and shot him a quick email. I would have the money in three days if he could just hold onto it for me. He agreed and the rest is history. I have my own amp back and it still sounds extra fine. Pretty pleased about this one.

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN 2011