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LANEY VC 15-110
CLASS A/B VINTAGE AMPLIFIER Reviewer: Phil Para Distributor: Lamberti Bros |
When I’m about to begin a review on a new product I usually go to the manufacturers website to find out what I can about it and download some specs. This time I was convinced I must have keyed in the wrong product code when I saw the catch phrase it was tagged with …...THE DARK ART. I double checked and yes they were referring to the Laney VC 15 watt amp.
Intrigued? Well so was I, how dark can a 15 watt amp be or even need to be? At this stage I had already played through the amp using the clean channel at low volume so some further investigation was definitely needed and more on that later.
The VC15-110 is the latest addition to the Laney VC range. Modeled on the well-known tradition of the VC30, the VC15 is all about classic tone. Driven by a 10" Custom Jensen speaker it produces some very warm vintage tones and great blues tones.
The valves are matched TAD EL84's and there is a choice of two dedicated extension cabinets - the GS112VE and the GS210VE.
The VC15 features two channels; clean and drive, a clean volume control, a bright switch, drive control, drive activator switch, three band EQ, spring reverb with a separate tone control, hi and lo input jacks, send and return jacks for outboard effects, a footswitch jack for drive and reverbs switching and an extension speaker jack at 8 ohms.
Once again Laney have employed a no nonsense approach to the design. The VC 15 has black tolex covering with black grillecloth set off by white piping and a white Laney logo. The amp’s top mounted chrome control panel has small retro pointer knobs recessed at the rear of a thick leather handle and chrome vents. The speaker is mounted in an open-back cabinet fitted with a protective metal grille. Although the amp is lightweight, the brackets securing the handle are fixed with screws which from experience, I believe, could eventually work loose.
I tried this amp at home first as I don’t usually use anything lower than 50watts on stage. I was really pleased with the flexibility it offered and using a variety of different guitars and effects I found the tonal quality was superb in all cases. Better than I expected in Class A/B tube amplification there was little crossover distortion, good note definition and no compromise of tone at any point on the volume control. Authentic vintage tones are easily set up with the VC 110 and great blues solos and sweet smooth rhythm tones were my favourites.
Something I have noted with all the Laney amps that I have reviewed so far is their serious gain control and this little 15 is no exception.
The ultimate test came when I ventured out with the VC 15 to a duo gig and it came through with flying colours. I found that the power amp section truly comes to life when driven hard. On the clean channel I ran the amp at full volume, which at only 15 watts is never going to be too loud, but this is the best way to achieve the pure valve tone. For clean rhythm I backed the guitar’s volume control off and for fat compression and sustain tone I simply increased to full volume on the guitar.
The drive channel was very responsive and the dynamics between guitar and amp blended well. Great blues solos and crunch rhythm were achieved on the drive channel. Although not to every players taste I liked the sparkle that the bright switch added to the top end.
The spring reverb has a great retro sound that is warm and complex and subtle enough to be able to use most of the time as it aligns really well with the original signal.
Versatility is the key here and although the VC15 -110 is a perfect studio amp, as you can achieve all the above plus distortion and overdrive at low volumes, I can definitely recommend it for solo and duo gigs and can actually even see a relevance in some band situations as well by adding one of the dedicated extension cabinets and of course it would be interesting to run a pair of these amps together.
Once again Laney has managed to exceed preconceptions of what can be achieved from lower wattage valve amps. Like its big brother the VC 30 series, the VC15 -110 has captured that retro combo tone with very versatile capabilities.
"The Dark Art" referred to on the Laney website is the theory of pushing the power amp tubes hard for maximum tone and distortion. And in this little demon it certainly works!
At $899, the Laney VC 15-110 is affordable and in my opinion a seriously good amp that will cope well with most musical genres.