Vox AC30

Price Paid: 2000 (sFr.) used

Features: 8
2x3 Inputs Low/High

Just the most important knobs you need ;-)

One Footswitch

Sound Quality: 10
I use a solid body Hoefner (Gibson Les Paul Copy) with Diamond pickups.

I recently plugged a Crybaby Wahwah and a Ibanez Tubescreamer into the AC30 and cranked the AC30 up. I almost cried because of that sweet, harmonic tone after moving the Wahwah pedal up and down. Unbelievable.

I used the same effects with a solidstate Marshall a few years ago and it sounded just awful and gave me headaches.

I could'n imagine how beautiful the AC30 could improve the Sound...

Reliability: N/A
Never had a broken tube yet but i hope that this does not happen during a live-session...

Customer Support: N/A
Never had to use it.

The warranty of the amp was 1/2 year. Hey it's a used amp - what do you expect!?

Overall Rating: 10
I first bought a small Fender solid state amp for home use.
It's just a little noisy box but with impressive power.

Then the mentioned Marshal 30 Watt solidstate amp for home use
Nice to use for clean Sounds, built in effects are not very useable compared to real stompboxes exept echo and reverb.

----

I added a Behringer mixer between the FX chain and the AC30 to overdrive the tube preamp for home use. The equalizer of this mixer is just perfect to model the desired sound.

If you like the sound of U2, Heather Nova, Kathleen Edwards, Stones and many more this is just the amp you are looking after.

If you can afford the high price go and get one - you won't be disappeared and discover new sounds every new day !!!

Submitted by simon at 08/17/2005 13:56

Price Paid: 2100 (euro)

Features: 8
Tube amp with 30 class A Watts, 6 inputs (brilliant hi/lo, normal hi/lo, vibrato hi/lo), blue speakers, vibrato/tremolo. Made in year 1991, bought new.

Some spring reverb would have been nice...

Sound Quality: 5
I played this amp with prs standard 24 and home made alder telecaster. With old boss overdrive and warm settings, it's just great. But clear sound, don't like it at all. Theres something odd with the middtones. Just don't fit to my ears...

Reliability: 8
No bigger problems, just those ordinary tube-ones. But they are expected when dealing with tube amps. Tubes are been changed quite often...

Customer Support: 10
Great, had once questions about the amp, and i writed email to vox in english. Next day i got the answering email, with finnish, my mother language:)

Overall Rating: 7
Well, this only my opinion, but i would not buy this amp now. It's ok with some overdrive and some blues guitaring, but since i need clean sound that fits my ears... Too loud to my taste.

Submitted by antti at 08/08/2005 10:38

Price Paid: 4500 (australian)

Features: 8
i have owned a 2003 ac 30 vox with bluedogs for 3years and it is an extremely versatile amp with an incredibly clean sound and a nice distorted sound when past half way!The tremelo is by far the best trem i've ever heard. i use this amp live and for rehearsals in my band and it cuts through with ease at a low volume!

Sound Quality: 8
i own a 2003 ac 30 vox with bluedogs, i use a gibson es325 with 7 differnet effects pedals and the amp screams when need to be and whispers when it needs to! the only thing i wish it had is a distorted chanel but u can use a preamp and keep the amp running hot!

Reliability: 7
my vox has never broken down on me and i've toured with it for 3 years but it does make a high pitched funny noise when i play certain notes which is annoying when you are recording! I replaced the valves but the problem is still there but the amp sounds beautiful with the new valves! get a good roadcase!!

Customer Support: N/A
i've never had to deal with custome support!

Overall Rating: 9
i've been playing for 13 years and owned 4-5 amps(orange,fender twin,ashton,messa boogie) in my time all in bands and the only amp that is responsive to my playing is a vox.....

Submitted by joel at 06/01/2005 20:12

Price Paid: 1500 (Canadian) used

Features: 8
We estimate it to be built around 1973, and it is still in pretty damn good condition. (In fact it looks like it was babied its entire life.)

Still stock, no mods that I am aware of, and it's got the standard AC30 combo features. 212 Vox speakers, vib-trem circut (with the original foot switch to switch from vibrato to tremelo) the three volumes for the three seperate channels (vib-trem, normal, brilliant) two band EQ and a cut switch which works in reverse. (I believe this is normal for the AC30 according to the manual for my Vox AD60VT amp.)

Class A 30w...but man is it fucking loud!

Features are a 8 considering when the amp was built. I don't know much about vintage amps, but I'm guessing that back in this era having three sepearte channels (even if they are not switchable) is still quite versatile!

Sound Quality: 10
My main rig consists of an Epiphone ES-335 with Gibson Burstbucker II and 500T pickups. I used to run into a mesa boogie with a plethora of effects until recently. Currently my pedal chain goes: 1970's Vox Wah (or Union Jack reissue), Fender PT10 tuner, Daddy-O overdrive, Ibanez Lo-Fi...however this is where it gets messed up. To really make this amp work overtime I did something really messed up... Apex A/B/Y box. The A channel goes to a Voodo Lab Tremelo, then to the Brilliant channel of the AC30, the B channel goes to a Seymour Duncan Pickup Booster, and then to the Normal channel of the amp.

So now that I explained my setup, I can explain the sound.

When I plug in dry, and setup for a nice growly drive I find the amp is WAY to loud for my basement suite or most of the venues I play (and they thought the Mesa was painful!) so I use the pickup booster to add tons of gain but still keep the volume down. By hitting the preamp this hard I can still get a huge crunch, but without the police showing up at my door for being too loud. And man, does this amp growl! Its got such a deep throughty voice it just seems to be made for my customized ES335!

When I want a clean tone I use the brillant channel (since it doesn't break up till much later when you crank the volume) and delivers an almost fender like sparkle when activated.

However with all of this great tone their is one problem... when powering up there is no standby switch, so there is a spike of high voltage hitting the preamp that makes a loud crackling noise when its warming up. This crackling really messes up the tone of my guitar and sends it awol. For this reason I will probably install a standby.

Other than that this amp is great for my alternative rock styling!

Reliability: 5
Dependability is a very big question when dealing with amps that are 30 years old... However it has been babied and I did get a tech to look it over before I made the purchase and he says it's tip top! I would probably gig without a backup if I had to, but most of the time my Vox Cambridge 30R comes with me as an acoustic amp anyways.

Customer Support: 10
Vox are owned by Ericson music, who in turn owns Marshall...and this is definatly not a bad thing...as long as you find the right people to talk to. I've never inquired about this amp inparticular, but when I couldn't download a manual from the Vox site for my Tonelab and AD60VT units, I did get a quick reply by E-mail from a Vox rep who mailed me the manuals overnight and sure enough...they were in my hand within the next two days! Very great company to deal with indeed.

Overall Rating: 10
I've been playing for close to a decade now, and have always been a huge fan of budget guitars (Epiphone and the Japanese Squires) but have always sought after an incredible amp...and I feel my wait is finally over. After playing through a Mesa Boogie Dual Rec for over a year, and almost buying an orange Rockerverb 100, I must say that this amp was probably the best purchase I have ever made!

I just can't wait to record and use it on the road!

If it were lost or stollen... I don't know what I would do... probably buy a reissue or something.

Submitted by Anonymous at 02/20/2005 12:18

Price Paid: 570 + 900 (£) used

Features: 6
I recently buy a AC30 TB from 2002 with Greenback speakers (£ 900,-) to replace my old ac30 from 1960-62 with (replaced?) Rola-Celestion G12 speakers. This amp was in a very bad condition when I bought it (£ 570,-), and it has a (later buildt in) bas and treble on the back.
I find both amps very good, if not the best, for blues and rock. I use to play Fender Blues De Ville and Blues De Luxe, Marshall JCM 900 halfstack, Marshall JTM60, Trace Elliott and Musicman amps, but the AC30 beats the hell out of all these amps.

Sound Quality: 10
Mostly I play Gibson Les Paul Costum and Fender US Standard Stratocaster with it's standard Pick-Ups, which I find gives the best variety. These guitars simply sounds great and different on AC30's!
I find the increased distorted sound at higher volumes very cool, and the warm and crystalclear bright sound before 12 o'clock at the volume great for my music style.

Reliability: 10
The AC30 is a very relieable amp, and it wont let you down. I chance tubes every 2 years, and i only use American NOS (Sylvania, RCA, GE) or Westeuropian (Philips, Mullard, Telefunken) tubes.

Customer Support: 10
I allways get my repairs done by a nearby living tube-doctor, who also happens to be a great guitarplayer. In his younger days he'd listen to The Shadows, The Yardbirds and many other Vox-playing bands live, and he knows exactly how the AC30 should sound.

Overall Rating: 10
This is the ultimate amp for me. I'd tried tons of different amps, but I find the AC30 the best.

Submitted by JO at 01/10/2005 07:15

Price Paid: 50 (Quid) used

Features: 5
I think mine is a 1961. I once took it to an amp repairer who used to work in the old Vox factory in Dartford and he reckoned that date tho apparently it's not possible to tell exactly. No features, even the Vib/Trem channel was bust in 1976 when I bought it, for £50 ($80?). An AC30 only really suits 'earthy' sounds, but is unsurpassed at those.

Sound Quality: 10
I'm old so I've used many guitars with it. All good but it sure does love a Strat in particular, and pretty much any Strat at that. All the twang plus all the power, all at the same time. The bottom end is probably the most impressive aspect, very full but well-defined, though you can pull out all the harmonic squeals you need if you want them. I only ever use the 'normal' channel and boost the top-end externally, the 'bright' channel is too 'poppy' for me and lacks a bit of guts (though good for 'jangly' chord stuff).

Reliability: 6
I'm a bit nervous abt dragging the old girl around nowadays, though she's never let me down at critical moments. She blew once (only) at home and after a quick overhaul was fine, but I wld carry a backup amp now if i used it on gigs. Trouble is, the sound of any backup is always going to be very different unless it's another AC30.

Customer Support: N/A
N/A.

Overall Rating: 10
I'd been playing 4 years when I got this and it was my first real amp - I thought they all sounded this good LOL. An AC30 will not be versatile enough if you're required to do a range of styles but if you play vintage pop (natch) or blues/rock then this is not going to be beaten, though you will need to boost it a bit (a simple power boost, not a distortion box) for the latter to get it to really sing. But sing it will, from a deep throaty growl to a needle-sharp squeal.

Submitted by mike at 10/04/2004 10:03

Price Paid: 200 (IR£) used

Features: 7
I think mine is a late 70s model, back to valves after a transistor period? It's a non top-boost, classic three-channel affair, with a plastic pedal switch for the trem channel.

Sound Quality: 10
When I bought this opld AC30 sometime in the late eighties, it was the holy grail for me. back then everyone was into angled-headtstock guitars and transistors amps with ultra-clean, ultra-processed sounds. I wanted vintage, creamy overdrive and tube grit and for a paltry £200 i got that and more. It was quite simply the holy grail. For Brian May, Jimmy Page, Edge tones it was everything I wanted. The sound, when cranked, was simply awesome. Lush, thick overdrive, harmonically rich, just beautifulloy musical. And then my dog chewed through the speaker cover, wrecked one speaker, which i replaced with a celestion and since then it's never been the same. the richness simply isn't there anymore. To anyone buying one of these, have a look at the speakers, check what they are and if they're not original, think about replacing them with correct ones. The celestion I put in sounds weak and too clean. I have to find an alternative. I'm giving a 10 for sounds cause i remember it pre-canine canines

Reliability: 7
I've had it repaired once, which took ages and i was happy with the repair job done. Now I feel it needs a complete overhaul, though I'm reluctant about replacing the tubes cause i reckon the inefficiency of age is what gives the amp half its tone

Customer Support: N/A
never been near Vox. would love to know what year my amp is though

Overall Rating: 10
I play a variety of electric guitars through the Vox (Epi G1275, Fender Telecaster, Strat, Hohner ST57, 59) and they all sound great. Using the amp I just go through an Ibanez Tubescreamer, a Sovtek Stone Stone and a DOD stereo Turbo Chorus and it all just used to sing. These days though, I'm mostly home recording on PC and through a Roland VS2480, so I tend to put the guitars through amp sims etc. The Vox is, sadly, just too loud to use at home. But I will never, ever sell it. It's a family heirloom at this stage!

Submitted by Anonymous at 08/08/2004 10:49

Price Paid: £425 (English Pounds)

Features: 10
I own a 1992 ac 30 TB and have recently had enquiries for selling it. Although it's not a 1960s holy grail, it does have a Motherboard with the tube bases soldered on. All the other components are either on that single board, or are very neatly wired onto it giving rise to excellent reliability. No, really, this amp has been driven at full pelt, and believe me, it almost was laughing at me to turn it up even louder. As it's been a studio amp for the time I've had it, it's still in near mint condition, so I suppose my twenty minute ear wax removal excersise doesn't count for much, but I like it.

Sound Quality: 10
I use a standard American Strat, a Guild Starfire and a Maverick Extreme through this amp so pickup variants don't faze this amp too much. Single coils can be a little buzzy, humbuckers are creamy and the pickups in the Maverick give a real gutsy, hard distortion. I find that mixing the bright normal and the normal bright channels together (through a Pod Processor, wierd eh?), gives me the best results when playing using the Strat. The settings I use for the Guild mostly go through the bright normal channel as I require a rich sound which I get by the truckload, for jazz, blues and a small tweek on the volume can send the amp to give that hair tingling lead break sound no one else can get when this amp is warmed up and firing through my Bluesbreaker speakers. the Maverick uses the bright channel settings. Enough said!

Reliability: 10
It's never broken down on me. I've replaced one of the smoothing capacitors as it was getting a little noisy but reliability is the key word. I would say that If I ever gigged this amp, I wouldn't need a backup

Customer Support: N/A
N/A

Overall Rating: 10
These amps are expensive. I've been playing for twenty six years as a guitarist, tutor, session player, engineer and rock guitarist and I've come accross some fantastic setups, but for sheer reliability and versatility, you can't beat a vox, so you get what you pay for. I'll love 'em till I die!

Submitted by Joules at 03/27/2004 11:25

Price Paid: US $1030 used

Features: 9
This is a review for a 6 input 1962 vox ac30b with the factory installed top-boost module. It is a 2x12 combo laoded with celestion silver alnico speakers. Theya re not original, but the original blues were destroyed by a previous owner. It features 3 channels (trem/vibrato, normal, and brilliant -- which describes both the tone and the design). I'm sure everyone knows what the controls are on an ac30, but just in case: universal tone control (labeled cut on later models), 3 independent channel volumes, trem/vib toggle rotary, and trem/vibe rate control. On the back there is a silver plate with treble and bass knobs that are some of best centered controls on any amp. All the channels can be run together and both the high and low gain inputs sound stellar depending on what sort of sound you're looking for. I could try to descrine the sound of the channels, but you just have to play one and see for yourself how perfect it is.

Now for complaints: the vib/trem rate control does not go slow enough for my liking. It needs a wider range, especially for the tremelo. The amp also has an atrocious ground. Whoever soldered the gorundpoint made a msitake somewhere ebcause there is a ground loop that is very audible when the amp is cranked. Its still a very quite amp as tube amps go.

Sound Quality: 10
I've used the amp with 2 different alder body strats, both loaded with hot single coils, an es335, and an ash bodied tele. The results? OUTSTANDING. All the channels lack headroon, bu the overdrive is transparent and very touch responsive. Its sometimes tough to tell if you're drigving the amp or if the tone is just really compressed. Humbuckers are a little mroe overtly overdriven at low volumes, but extremely rich in useful harmonic overtones. I own 3 marshalls including a plexi and a jcm800 and this amp shames them both. Its so ahrd to describe the sound of this amp and its amazing versatility from jazz to full on british growl. You just have to hear it to believe it.

Reliability: 5
This amp is designed to run HOT! As it turns out, mine runs hotter than spec. The schematic for the '62 ac30 appears toc all for a power transformer that can put out 280 volts... mine does 320! My tech and I (alright, just my tech, but Iw as in the rom with him) calculated that after the voltage drop from the tube rectifier it was still withing safe operating parameters. But not by much. You can fry an egg on this amp after the first few mintues of play and the 2 little vents over the pwoer section don't inpire a lot of confidence. I have been told not to worry about, just to baby it and change the pwoer tubes regularly. It hasn't ahd a problem yet, but its one seriously scary fire haz--- I mean amplifier!

Customer Support: N/A
the Vox company that built this amp no longer exists, the name is owned by korg... sicne JMI vox used to upgrade their odler models to top boosts during the '60s I can only assume that the customer support would be great if they were still around

Overall Rating: 7
to sum up: if you see a 60s JMI vox that has been top boosted or IS a top boost model at a price udner 2 grand, BUT IT! I don't care if you have to sell your mother on the streets to pay the creditcard bill off, when she hears this thing she will understand! On the other hand, it is a lot of money for an amp that seems likely to burst into flames every time you strike a chord. Its not for the faint of heart and not a worthwhile investment for a palyer who will not love it and take care of it.

Submitted by Jimi Budah at 11/03/2003 08:32

Price Paid: euro (550,00-1100,00) used

Features: 10
I have a couple of vintage ac30. The older was built about in 1969 (grey bulldogs equiped), it is in quite poor conditions, I shuld restore it..but when I record the hum is not that matter (sometimes it gives you that oldish atmosphere...). The second is an early '80ies one: cleaner than the other, is more flexible, but it could never give that particular tone of distortion of the other one. the reedition is more powerful: I think it's bad, for you have to play at a very loud volume to obtain the tipical sound vox is loved for: on stage you never need that power. I don't like too heavy playing..old vox suit to me

Sound Quality: N/A
You can set these amps as you want: warm blues sound, clean and bright a-la Shadows, a little bit crunchy with echo...and you play u2 covers!!! But if you turn the volume of the bright channel to 10, use the effects you want, you can emulate Hendrix or Lou reed in Metal Machine, you can do everything else to break down glass. The vibrato channel is good on my elder one, it has a very lo-fi sound which takes me away from every politelyness in playing..is romantically broken and raw. The normal channel is dark enough to cancel the eccess of hi-middles that I heard sometimes while searching for the good sound during strange recording sessions. In the newer, there's an anonimous reverb, not bad but not unforgettable, also the vibrato-tremolo is a little too dark to use it without mixing with the bright channel; anyawy, if you have a reedition, mean not to use anything but the bright channel: the only good one. If you want very clean sound on clean channel and so on, don't buy an ac30, but you don't know what you are losing.

Reliability: 10
Once I used to play out, but not very often in the last 4 years. I'm very nasty with my amps, but I've never had particular problems with'em. I used to have a '90ies vox, I used to have a fender bluse deville 212, but now I don't play if I don't have an old vox (ok..I can play on a new one if there's nothing else, at last is a very very good vox too...)

Customer Support: N/A
never needed

Overall Rating: 10
I own a Rickenbacker 330/vp and a standard strat (both lefty!!!), I put a digitech 2112 between the guitar and the amp. I like '60ies beat rythm guitars, I like surf (do you know Dick Dale?) I like Jimi Hendrix and U2, I put everything into my two vox with the help of the right setting of effects, and I guess I could do a lot more with the ac30. I admit that you have to love that kind of amps to appreciate it

Submitted by Matteo at 02/25/2003 10:43