Laney VC15 mini review/impressions.

[Transcend]

My first thought was 'WOW this is a stunner. It's a right mix of Blackface, Marshall and Vox cosmetic. And it's black. And dark. And I think it's uber hot.

Second... it's heavy, but not TOO heavy.

Comes with TAD valves... two EL84s and 3 12AX7s/ECC83s. One of the 12s isn't badged. The others are actually high grade 7025. So I think as far as valves go, it's a 10.
Dunno why, I replaced the one closest to the power valves with a JJ ECC83S... I HOPE it's the PI valve hehe... I wasn't able to find which is which. I just took off the not badged 12AX. If I don't find much difference I'll try the JJ in the middle valve. The way I figure it, in clean, the middle valve is bypassed and in dirty, it comes in to add 2 gain stages. So with a JJ in the middle I'd keep the cleans I love and possibly boost up the dirt? Or maybe I'm twisted. I haven't tried it like this though.

First thing I did was to put everything on 5. And I kept it this way for a while. The amp sounds absolutely GORGEOUS. I always had this idea that EL84s are pretty thin sounding. No idea why. Maybe because they ARE thin :laugh2: But nooooo... this amp is VERY, very nice sounding.

Speaker is a Jensen Custom 10''. The seller of the amp also gave me a free Vox speaker which is darn nice.

I saw no faults in the Tolex.

The amp's reverb is NICE and not overcooked as it's often the case. So I put on a little bit... Though pretty much nothing comes up until around 4 or 5. I don't mind, it's a good reverb to my ears.

The amp also has a TONE control! It works instead of a presence. Basically if you play exclusively with a Tele or Strat bridge pup... you can tame it down. But I don't find the treble harsh at all. Though that could be the guitar, maple neck through with a Screaming Demon.

Mhmm ok just downloaded the manual and it appears I was right. The one closest to the OV is V3 and the PI. Laney even included a basic block diagram of the overall gain layout! It appears the effects loop is SS boosted but eh. I got nothing in it right now. It appears V1B is the drive triode though. V2 is just before the EQ (I thought it'd be one half before, one after).

I plug into the low output. Why? No idea. The notice said so. And that's about the first time I ever follow a notice hehe...The hi input is just marginally louder, which I don't need and that's all I noticed. That diagram implies a pad for the low input...Does this mean the natural sound of the amp comes through the hi input?

I'll get a Laney FS2 footwich (which I can ALSO use for my AOR. Woot!) and have the basic clean and drive sounds from it. Then use my route 66 for boosted cleans with a hint of breakdown, or to really get that edge with the drive channel.

Or of course use the CrunchBox on clean ^_^ Sounds excellent too!

I couldn't be happier with the amp. I don't notice less bass than I want, more like the opposite. That speaker seems quite nice.

What else can I mention... did I say it's a stunner yet? ;)



The ebay seller was VERY nice and delivered it to me this morning... While I was on the plane! He lived in Glasgow and accepted to deliver it but could only make it this morning. So I told my flatmates to reception it and everything went fine. That was very cool of him if you ask me, and he was great to deal with from the start.

I may get a AB/Y box and run both Laneys. So that I'd always have a nice clean sound WITH The drive sound of the tiny one. Or to better compare them simply enough. Right now though my old faithful AOR could disapear and I wouldn't notice. Hope I don't hurt its feelings, it served me well and will get some upgrades soon.

I'm a happy man!

how is the laney aor?? do you have any clips of it?

[Pierre]

It needs some repairs and no. I don't have anything to take clips of my gear, sorry...

[Transcend]

It needs some repairs and no. I don't have anything to take clips of my gear, sorry...

could you give me a description of the sound please as theres one ive spotted on ebay cheap and am thinking about getting

[Pierre]

No idea man. I honestly only ever used the clean channel on it. It's a decent clean sound but not as good as my VC15. I got the AOR cheaper than most SS stuff though so I don't mind. When it finally gets done it will kick ass (hopefully).

[JoeHenry]

Question for Muzz,

Noticed that you mentioned the fact that you have a VC30. I've just bought one. Fantastic tone - very happy with it. However, there is quite a bit of hum from the amp particularly on the drive channel. I would say more than other amps that I have had. Do you happen to know if this is normal or likley to be a faulty valve?

Many thanks

Joe

[Davey]

Question for Muzz,

Noticed that you mentioned the fact that you have a VC30. I've just bought one. Fantastic tone - very happy with it. However, there is quite a bit of hum from the amp particularly on the drive channel. I would say more than other amps that I have had. Do you happen to know if this is normal or likley to be a faulty valve?

Many thanks

Joe

what guitar, how much gain

[JoeHenry]

Hi Davey,

thanks for your reply.

I get hum on both the clean and drive channel - even at low gain on the drive channel. This happens with no guitar input and the fx loop unplugged or turned to 0. Seems that it's definetly hum generated in the amp. Do you have a VC or much experience with them. I'm really trying to find out if this is a noisey amp in general or if my one has a fault.

Thanks for your help

Joe

[38thBeatle]

Joe, I have a VC30.Mine doesn't produce noticeable hum. I did change a few valves a short while ago as it was hissing a bit and lost some of it's sparkle. I cannot diagnose the hum for you but I would say if it is new, get the dealer to check it, if not then may be worth having a tech climb over it for you. Great amps btw-for  the money, very very good.

[JoeHenry]

Hi 38th,

Thanks for your coments here.
I have just noticed that I actually asked the wrong guy the question - I meant to ask your good self rather than Muzz - my mistake (new to the forum), thanks for picking up on this.

There is a noticable hum and certainly a bit of hiss at higher volumes although I don't think it is a real problem. If it degrades any further I will look at returing or replacing valves as you have suggested. Laney do a free 5 year extended warranty which seems pretty reasonable of them, however, I am reluctant to package and ship on a marginal warranty as this is just as likley to cause some other issues.

Like you, though, I think that this is a very good amp for the price. Need to play it in a bit more but I have been very impressed with the tone - nice sparkle and warmth - and would highly recommend. We should be earing comission from Laney.

Cheers

Joe

[Muzzzz]

I have just noticed that I actually asked the wrong guy the question - I meant to ask your good self rather than Muzz - my mistake (new to the forum), thanks for picking up on this.

Ha, no worries dude :P