They have now made an AC-15 Hand wired as well as AC/30TBX in both Combo and Head and Cab versions using the EF-86 pentode tube in the preamp sections of all and those are what I would like to have next. It will not replace the head I have. It sounds great is versatile can be played in many types of venue

Sound
This has the tighter low end and higher head room in one of its settings producing 30 watts. Great for stage work with a band. If your PA can amplify the lower watt settings you want to get that Yardbirds, Beatles tone then you kick in the lower settings on the caps which gives you that great tube rectifier sag (compression) and natural power tube distortion at 22 watts and you get chime and grind just moving your guitar's Volume/Tone pots. That's added to by the use of the two channels normal and brilliant which you can blend and a hardwire bypass effects loop that you can cut out of the circuit or use as a clean boost. Tele's Strats, 12 strings, LP's, 335's and SG's even PRS sound great. I use the head with my own cabinets loaded with EV 12L's or EV SRO Alnico's. The tubes are okay and you can upgrade them to JJ's or NOS tubes if you got the dough. The circuit board, the traces are all heavy duty and appear mil-spec so they should last. I use an OCD, Carl Martin Compressor, Cry Baby, TC Chorus Pedal, Carl Martin Layla delay. The reverb and tremolo are non tube driven and while they can be useful providing ambient textures you need… read more a spring to get Surf. The DeLayla will get the slapback echo for rockabilly.The upper mid voice of the amp no matter what your running through it places it very well within the mix of sounds made by a band. Needs little post eq on stage or in studio. When changing out tubes I noticed that the wood tray the amp chassis was anchored to had very long wood shipping screws to hold the unit from being jostled. They're a pain to get out so the chassis can be slid out and the screw metal was cheap so the heads stripped real easy. So they were a pain to get back in and its debatable whether once you have them out do you need them back in. I see on the photo of the back of the head they look like they've gone to a chrome heavier gauge screw on the panels

Features
The amp pedal that turns on/off tremolo/reverb is a little clunky and the switches make an audible pop when engaged/disengaged. Not a microphonic pop just a ching from the metal casing. A little insulation might deaden that a bit.

Ease of Use
They give you a template to lay over the top of the amp with visual explanations and suggestions for getting various clean, gritty, distorted tones, including use of loop boost. The amp is dead easy to get great sounds out of as a deliberate combining of the circuits used in its older brothers handwired version. So you can get AC30, AC30TBX tones and very useful combo's of both. The master volume allows the power tubes to crank at bedroom levels, and the cut feature does just that cut treble instead of adding mud on the bottom. The tone controls work like in the Handwired also and they do change function depending on how they and the amp are set. More good variations. The reverb as mentioned above is not tube driven it sounds like a small room to small hall type and the reverb has a setting that changes the reverb dynamics based on whether your intending to play clean or dirty and that keeps the reverb from sounding fizzy. It's highs produce a sound that is referred to chime as it does not sound clinical, it breathes. It can faithfully reproduce what your hands and the instrument are doing but with the added second order harmonics takes it to another level.

Quality
Everything on the amp except the shipping screws are heavy duty. Even the I/O jacks are well made the toggles feel firm as do the chicken head knobs. Birch Ply is heavy but better than MDM if you want the amp to resonate.

Value
Yes

Manufacturer Support
Since they are Korg, Marshall etc they haven't always been quick on the trigger answering customer emails. No problems with the amp so no reason to call service and or buy one of those ridiculous extended service contracts.

The Wow Factor
I played Dr Z's, Fender's, Marshall's, VHT's, Mesa's, for years and was not in a financial position to get the Ltd Hand Wired version when it came out. I was sitting in my local store when it arrived I plugged it in warmed it up plugged in a Custom Shop Strat off the wall and played a couple of chords some riffs some runs unplugged the strat, unplugged the amp and took it home. I'd say more than the looks, the design, the feel, it has a sound all its own. As kids we wracked our brains trying to figure out how they got 'that' sound. Take one part Fender Esquire and one part AC/30TBX, no effects just turn it up loud.

Musical Background:
Old Pro Mainly Decomposing

Musical Style:
Roots, Blues,Country,Folk,Rock&Roll,Classical Jazz read less