fender blues jr. vs vox ac15cc1

[toomuchtodream]

hello! this is my first post on the gearwire boards. i figured i would come here to ask about these two amps because gearwire seems to lack the "guitar asshole" attitude that most online communities have.

$600 is my limit(pushing my limit, really) on an amp. i am not interested in super high gain amplifiers with 20 knobs on them, but two things i am really interested in are the reverb on the blues jr and the tremolo and reverb on the ac15cc1. anybody have any experience with how they sound? i am interested in a really fuzzed out 60's psych sound and just making a lot of noise in general.

would i be better off just getting something else in general plus reverb and tremolo pedals?

i know i should just go out and play each and see what i prefer, but are there any technical problems with each that i wouldn't notice just playing them for a few minutes at a guitar shop? i've heard about people modding their blues jr's because they run too hot, anything like that on the ac15cc1?

if there are any other suggestions in my price range that would fit what i am looking for please let me know!

[GearJunkie]

Both of those amps sound pretty different actually. Both of my guitar players in one of the bands I'm in use the Blues Junior, and it's a great little amp. The reverb on it pushes out pretty hard and you can get some awesome grit on it.

The circuitry in the Blues Junior will usually garnish a cleaner tone over all. Granted, you can push the hell out of it and make it break up, but the AC15 will give you that over the top British tone in no time flat.

In terms of speakers, they're both using Chinese made "meh" speakers (with the exception of the AC15CCX which has the British Alnico Blues, but are WAY more expensive).

Tonally, I think you'd be able to get more out of the Blues Junior (more EQ and sound shaping abilities), functionally I think you'd get more out of the AC15 (footswitchable trem and reverb).

The Blues Junior will be a great amp out of the box, but the AC15 will shine a little better and be a little more dynamic if you buy the lower-end version and swap out the speaker in there with something nicer.

[toomuchtodream]

do you know how the tremolo sounds on the vox ? if i can get a tremolo pedal that sounded as good or better for 80-100 (maybe more, if it would be a significant difference in quality) i'd much rather pick up the blues junior and spend the extra money on another pedal or something like that. i am glad to hear the reverb on the blues junior sounds good

i'm not looking to push the amp into breaking up necessarily either, but having a nice clean tone for the reverb/trem is desirable. most likely i'll just put a fuzz pedal infront of the amp instead of cranking it if i wanted a dirty/harsh sound.

sorry if i ramble a lot, i'm very hesitant about spending about big purchases and 400 or 600 dollars is a big purchase to me. thanks for the reply!

[GearJunkie]

Originally Posted by toomuchtodream

do you know how the tremolo sounds on the vox ? if i can get a tremolo pedal that sounded as good or better for 80-100 (maybe more, if it would be a significant difference in quality) i'd much rather pick up the blues junior and spend the extra money on another pedal or something like that. i am glad to hear the reverb on the blues junior sounds good

i'm not looking to push the amp into breaking up necessarily either, but having a nice clean tone for the reverb/trem is desirable. most likely i'll just put a fuzz pedal infront of the amp instead of cranking it if i wanted a dirty/harsh sound.

sorry if i ramble a lot, i'm very hesitant about spending about big purchases and 400 or 600 dollars is a big purchase to me. thanks for the reply!

it's a nice, warm tube trem. I'd recommend going with your own pedal though. I've got a Dunlop TS-1 (which I just did a video for on the gearwire homepage) that I love. You can get a ton of sounds out of that thing.

[smopo24]

Originally Posted by GearJunkie

it's a nice, warm tube trem. I'd recommend going with your own pedal though. I've got a Dunlop TS-1 (which I just did a video for on the gearwire homepage) that I love. You can get a ton of sounds out of that thing.

Awesome! I'll check out that video too; I am in the market for a good trem; does it effect the high-end like the boss trem? I've borrowed one from a friend, and just don't like the way it makes my guitar sound so much darker.

[GearJunkie]

Originally Posted by smopo24

Awesome! I'll check out that video too; I am in the market for a good trem; does it effect the high-end like the boss trem? I've borrowed one from a friend, and just don't like the way it makes my guitar sound so much darker.

Oddly enough that high-end is a big problem for users of that Boss trem, and a lot of pedal modding websites will put a mod on that to get rid of that high end. A tremelo that is trying to sound like an amplifier's trem is going to be dark. That Boss trem might be your best bet. That or to get a more workable trem (like the TS-1) and then using a treble booster with it.