Vox AC15 Settings Guide
The compact 15W sibling of the AC30 — class-A EL84 design with the same Top Boost voicing and chime character in a smaller, more manageable package. The AC15 is the entry point to genuine Vox tone: less headroom than the AC30, but the same fundamental EL84 character. It breaks up earlier at lower volumes, making it more home-studio and small-venue appropriate.
Used by: The Edge, Johnny Marr, Brian May
The best Vox AC15 settings start with: Top Boost Volume at 7/10, Bass at 5/10, Treble at 7/10, Reverb at 3/10. Adjust from there based on your amp, guitar, and room volume. For Indie / Jangle: Top Boost Volume 5/10, Bass 4/10, Treble 7/10, Reverb 4/10.
⚡ Start Here — Recommended Settings
| Control | Starting Position | Range |
|---|---|---|
| Top Boost Volume | 7/10 | Silent → Full |
| Bass | 5/10 | Thin → Warm |
| Treble | 7/10 | Dark → Bright |
| Reverb | 3/10 | Dry → Wet |
These are universal starting points. Adjust based on your amp, guitar, and room. Scroll down for genre-specific settings and artist-documented positions.
What Each Control Does
Recommended Starting Settings
Safe starting positions for any style. Adjust from here based on your amp and room.
All values on a 0–10 scale. These are starting points — fine-tune by ear.
Settings by Genre
Clean headroom with bright chime — pull Bass to 4 for the jangly, articulate character suited to Rickenbacker and Telecaster. Lower Volume keeps the amp clean; Treble at 7 gives the Vox sparkle. Add delay (250ms or less, moderate feedback) to fill the sonic space. This is the sound of 1980s indie — The Smiths, The Cure, early R.E.M.
Push Top Boost Volume high — at 8–9, the class-A EL84 power stage compresses and saturates musically, producing a harmonic richness that no pedal fully replicates. No drive pedal needed at this Volume level; the amp's natural saturation is the tone. Minimal reverb — the room character comes from the saturated amp itself.
Moderate push into natural EL84 compression — the AC15 at Volume 7 is entering its responsive zone where picking dynamics are most expressive. Back the guitar's volume off for clean passages, push it up for overdrive; the amp is doing the work rather than pedals. Treble at 6 rather than full gives a warmer blues character.
Amp pushed to maximum compression with heavy reverb — add fuzz (Big Muff, Fuzz Face) in front for the wall-of-sound character. The reverb should wash; the saturated amp provides the compressed foundation. Pull Treble from maximum to 6 to prevent harshness under fuzz at volume. This setting's low headroom is an asset rather than a limitation.
Low Volume for maximum clean headroom — the AC15 breaks up earlier than its bigger siblings, so pull Volume back further than you would on an AC30. High Treble for articulate string definition; add a compressor in front for sustain and chicken-picking clarity. Note: the AC15 at these settings is a clean platform, not the amp's strongest character.
Artist Settings
Documented settings used by professional guitarists on this unit.
The Edge used AC30s for his iconic tone — the AC15 approximation. His approach is effects-driven with the amp providing a clean, chimey platform: moderate Volume before natural compression, then delay (Korg SDD-3000 for classic tones) does the atmospheric work. Top Boost at 6 with Treble at 7 gives the jangly, present quality his Telecaster tone is built on.
Marr used AC30s with Rickenbacker and Jaguar guitars. Pull Bass to 4 for the jangly, articulate chord clarity his rhythm playing requires; push Treble to 8 for the sparkling upper-register definition. Volume at 7 puts the amp in its natural compression zone so strummed chords bloom slightly. The AC15's chime reinforces rather than warms Rickenbacker's naturally bright character.
May drove his AC30s extremely hard — the power amp compression and natural saturation are essential to his "creamy" lead sustain. He used multiple AC30s in parallel with his Red Special (Burns Tri-Sonic pickups). The AC15 at Volume 9 produces the class-A compression that is the foundation of his tone; the Red Special's specific pickup character and in-phase/out-of-phase switching does the rest.
Tips & Common Mistakes
- The Tone Cut control on the Normal channel is INVERTED — clockwise reduces treble, not increases it. It is the most common AC15 source of confusion for new owners.
- The AC15 breaks up earlier than the AC30 at lower volumes — this is a design feature, not a limitation. The class-A power stage at 15W compresses and saturates more readily, making it the better home-recording and small-venue tool.
- Use your guitar's volume control to clean up rather than reducing amp volume — the AC15 responds dramatically across the guitar volume range, from fully clean (guitar at 5) to full saturation (guitar at 10).
- Bridging the Normal and Top Boost channels (a short instrument cable between the two inputs, guitar plugged into the remaining socket) blends the warm Normal character with the bright Top Boost — the classic AC30 technique that works equally on the AC15.
- Single-coil pickups (Stratocaster, Telecaster, Rickenbacker) are the natural companion — humbuckers push the AC15 into saturation at lower Volume settings and reduce clean headroom significantly.
- At bedroom volumes the AC15 can sound thin and harsh without power amp engagement — a speaker attenuator (THD Hotplate, Weber MiniMass) lets you push Volume into the sweet spot while reducing output level. The class-A stage needs to work to produce its character.
- The spring reverb is more splashy than a Fender spring — 3–4 is the most musable range. Above 6 becomes washy and less controlled. Use a separate spring reverb pedal (Catalinbread Talisman) if you need more reverb than the onboard tank can cleanly provide.
- Compare the AC15 with the Fender Blues Junior before buying — both are 15W tube combos at adjacent prices, but the AC15 prioritises harmonic richness and chime while the Blues Junior prioritises clean headroom and American sparkle. Which character you prefer determines which amp is correct for you.
FAQ
Vox AC15 — Common Questions
Best starting settings for Vox AC15: Top Boost Volume at 7/10, Bass at 5/10, Treble at 7/10, Reverb at 3/10. Adjust from there based on your guitar, room, and playing style.
For Indie / Jangle: Top Boost Volume 5/10, Bass 4/10, Treble 7/10, Reverb 4/10. Clean headroom with bright chime — pull Bass to 4 for the jangly, articulate character suited to Rickenbacker and Telecaster. Lower Volume keeps the amp clean; Treble at 7 gives the Vox sparkle. Add delay (250ms or less, moderate feedback) to fill the sonic space. This is the sound of 1980s indie — The Smiths, The Cure, early R.E.M.
For Classic Rock: Top Boost Volume 8/10, Bass 5/10, Treble 7/10, Reverb 2/10. Push Top Boost Volume high — at 8–9, the class-A EL84 power stage compresses and saturates musically, producing a harmonic richness that no pedal fully replicates. No drive pedal needed at this Volume level; the amp's natural saturation is the tone. Minimal reverb — the room character comes from the saturated amp itself.
Normal Volume: Normal channel — warmer, darker character than Top Boost. Less treble emphasis and a rounder response. Bridging both channels together (short cable between inputs) blends the characters. (Silent to Loud). Top Boost Volume: The signature AC15 channel — Top Boost chime and class-A EL84 compression. Pushing Volume here drives the power amp into natural saturation. The sweet spot where the amp starts to breathe is typically 6–9. (Silent to Full). Bass: Low-end body on Top Boost. Lower values (3–5) produce the jangly articulate Vox character; higher values (6–8) give warmth at the cost of definition. (Thin to Warm). Treble: The chime control — the AC15's hallmark glassy top-end lives between 6 and 8. Below 5 becomes uncharacteristically dark; above 8 can be piercing at volume. (Dark to Bright). Tone Cut: INVERTED control on the Normal channel. Turning clockwise REDUCES treble, not increases it. Fully clockwise = darkest; counter-clockwise = brightest. Confuses most players initially. (Bright to Dark). Reverb: Spring reverb. More splashy and less controlled than Fender spring reverb. Keep it at 3–4 for room ambience; above 6 becomes washy. (Dry to Wet)
The Tone Cut control on the Normal channel is INVERTED — clockwise reduces treble, not increases it. It is the most common AC15 source of confusion for new owners. The AC15 breaks up earlier than the AC30 at lower volumes — this is a design feature, not a limitation. The class-A power stage at 15W compresses and saturates more readily, making it the better home-recording and small-venue tool. Use your guitar's volume control to clean up rather than reducing amp volume — the AC15 responds dramatically across the guitar volume range, from fully clean (guitar at 5) to full saturation (guitar at 10). Bridging the Normal and Top Boost channels (a short instrument cable between the two inputs, guitar plugged into the remaining socket) blends the warm Normal character with the bright Top Boost — the classic AC30 technique that works equally on the AC15. Single-coil pickups (Stratocaster, Telecaster, Rickenbacker) are the natural companion — humbuckers push the AC15 into saturation at lower Volume settings and reduce clean headroom significantly. At bedroom volumes the AC15 can sound thin and harsh without power amp engagement — a speaker attenuator (THD Hotplate, Weber MiniMass) lets you push Volume into the sweet spot while reducing output level. The class-A stage needs to work to produce its character. The spring reverb is more splashy than a Fender spring — 3–4 is the most musable range. Above 6 becomes washy and less controlled. Use a separate spring reverb pedal (Catalinbread Talisman) if you need more reverb than the onboard tank can cleanly provide. Compare the AC15 with the Fender Blues Junior before buying — both are 15W tube combos at adjacent prices, but the AC15 prioritises harmonic richness and chime while the Blues Junior prioritises clean headroom and American sparkle. Which character you prefer determines which amp is correct for you.
The Edge settings: Top Boost Volume 6/10, Bass 5/10, Treble 7/10, Reverb 3/10. The Edge used AC30s for his iconic tone — the AC15 approximation. His approach is effects-driven with the amp providing a clean, chimey platform: moderate Volume before natural compression, then delay (Korg SDD-3000 for classic tones) does the atmospheric work. Top Boost at 6 with Treble at 7 gives the jangly, present quality his Telecaster tone is built on.
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