MOOER GREEN MILE OVERDRIVE PEDAL
In keeping with Mooer’s philosophy of packing as many options as possible into small affordable pedals,
the Green Mile Overdrive features Level, Tone, and Overdrive dial controls as well as a switch for two operational modes: Warm and Hot. Not surprisingly, the Warm mode replicates the response of a tube amplifier, delivering that drive that many guitarists seek to just give their set-up a gentle nudge into dirtier territory. The Hot mode utilizes more power to generate a crunchier tone. While it’s certainly a cool feature to add, the ‘break-up’ point on this setting is a little less realistic, so given that this is an overdrive pedal one would think that the Warm setting would prove the more popular of the two.
Due to its size, the Green Mile does not run on batteries and an optional 9-volt adaptor is required to power the unit, but with a draw of just 7 milliamps, an average multi-adaptor will run several of these. And of course, for the purists, the Green Mile features true bypass, ensuring the signal path is not being compromised when the pedal is not engaged.
Like most Mooer pedals, the Green Mile Overdrive retails for just $89, providing an economically viable and reliable overdrive solution without breaking the bank.
VOX AC15C1 VINTAGE CREAM AMPLIFIER
With a design that suggests pure class and eye-catching colour schemes, the Vox custom colour models have proven a popular choice in the Vox catalogue. The Vintage Cream is one of two new colours with Elegant Purple also an option. The cream motif coupled with the Tygon cloth grill ensures that this amp will stand out as much for its aesthetics as its tone. This classy amp also features the G12M-65 Creamback speaker that has been recently re-introduced by Celestion, further cementing Vox’ reputation as the go-to brand for authentic 60’s tone.
The VOX AC15C1 features two channels: Normal and Top-Boost. Each channel has its own Volume control, and additionally the Top Boost channel offers Treble and Bass tone controls for further tone-shaping. Both channels can access the Tone Cut and Volume controls in the Master section, which manipulates the power stage rather than the pre-amp stage for further finessing. Then by balancing the individual and master volumes, the amp can be set to voice the quintessential clean Vox chime or a powerful old-school overdriven bark. Add to these tones the Classic Tremolo effect (with adjustable speed and depth controls) and a warm Spring Reverb, and you’ve got the essentials of great classic guitar tone covered. Both effects can be engaged and disengaged using an optional footswitch.
The amp utilizes three 12AX7 preamp tubes and two EL84 tubes in the to deliver 15 watts of power, and when the amp is opened up this proves to be more than enough wattage for the stage. In addition to this, a switchable 8/16-ohm jack for external speaker cabinets allows for a little extra volume spread if needed.
At a retail price of just $899, there’s a lot to like about the Vox AC15C1 Vintage Cream amplifier.
Gear and tech reviews by Chris Gibbs
