John Lenon's First AC15

[Tonray's Ghost]

Very Cool !

[Tonray's Ghost]

And Now...Rory Gallagher's AC30 !

[tobijohn]

I've got one of those but unfortunately, the only time it gets turned on is accidentally when I do my quarterly house dusting)...

[tonebender]

Me and my AC15 back in the day. Also my Tonebender Tele in action, it was great combo. I was a Tele guy back then but these days it is all Les Paul.

[tobijohn]

...I was a Tele guy back then but these days it is all Les Paul.

What happened to cause the switch and who's the lefty to your right?

[Tonray's Ghost]

I've got one of those but unfortunately, the only time it gets turned on is accidentally when I do my quarterly house dusting)...

During my recent gear swap I was a keystroke away from bringing one in. There had been a limited edition with a Warehouse speaker that sounded fabulous but alas shops in Bangkok keep terrible inventory and while online they assured me they had one, when I went to take a look, they said they think some staff member took it home for good.

In any event, it was just slightly too wide for my tiny living room alcove and would have caused a problem when trying to open the closet door.

[tlarson58]

@tonebender That was some tasty playing and the best amp tone in the post by far.

[andrewsrea]

AC15's are a great amp. I prefer them with a Celestion Blue or a Weber Blue Dog speaker.

[mozz]

Was there proof in that video that it was actually Johns Vox? Being just 1962 doesn't mean much.

[tonebender]

@tonebender That was some tasty playing and the best amp tone in the post by far.

Thanks Tommy! That was my original Tonebenders rig. It eventually changed to a P90 Les Paul and a Peavey Delta Blues which I think was even better.

@andrewsrea IIRC, I had an Eminence Red Fang Red Coat in my AC15. It came with a Greenback which I have never liked. When I switched to a Les Paul and Delta Blues I ran a Weber Blue Dog Alnico. Both rigs were great sounding set ups. I actually owned an AC15b twice. I got rid of the first one and missed it so I got another one. I do think they are one of the best sounding amps of all time. If you think about it there are 3 amps that all other amps are compared too when trying to describe how they sound, a Fender, a Marshall and a Vox.

@tobijohn My bandmate playing the Agile was an original founding member of the Tonebenders. The five members in the video were the original five. He called me one day and said he found this guitar called an Agile on CL and asked me what I knew about them. I had never heard of them at the time but did a google search. That is how I ended up on the AGF. The rest is history. Ray and the bassist moved out to Vegas and are still there as far as I know.

[andrewsrea]

Was there proof in that video that it was actually Johns Vox? Being just 1962 doesn't mean much.

The serial number matched a business record (Apple records?), and the amp had been painted black for a Beatles tour, to which a person restored it by removing the paint. There are pictures of John using a creme AC15 early on.

[andrewsrea]

I had an Eminence Red Fang Red Coat in my AC15. It came with a Greenback which I have never liked. When I switched to a Les Paul and Delta Blues I ran a Weber Blue Dog Alnico. Both rigs were great sounding set ups. I actually owned an AC15b twice. I got rid of the first one and missed it so I got another one. I do think they are one of the best sounding amps of all time. If you think about it there are 3 amps that all other amps are compared too when trying to describe how they sound, a Fender, a Marshall and a Vox.

I got an Montgomery Ward Airliner combo amp (Valco) for $5 at a yard sale, built it into a head, built a 1x12" cab with a Celestion Classic Lead 80 speaker. Given that the circuit was so close to a Vox, I modded it to be a cross between a Vox AC15 and a Marshall 18w. I gigged and recorded with that with a 1992 PRS CE24, for next 15 years. It now sports a Celestion Blue and sounds even better. I heard that speaker in James Shaffner's (old AGF guy) AC15 and thought it was a perfect match.

[tonebender]

I think I selected the Red Coat Red Fang because it was suppose to be comparable to the Celestion Alnico Blue. It was an amazing speaker. I think I also put one in a 1x12 that I used with my George Dennis tube head because that amp was very Vox-like. That GD amp was made for a Telecaster. Nothing else worked as well. If I were to switch back to Tele I would try to find and acquire another George Dennis Blue Beetle. Some other speakers that are amazing are the Black Shadows that used to come in Mesa amps. Not sure if they are still around or not. I had several cab loaded with those back in the day. I think they are actually Celestion 80's.