Vox AC30CC Head

Price Paid: 720 (EURO)

Features: 9
Two channels:
1) Normal/Brillance = perfect! I plug any guitar or bass and it sounds loud and noiseless. The brillance switch turns on the real Vox sound, meaning that it's different from any other amps I've played with (BluesBreaker, Twin Reverb, Blues DeVille). It has a great sustain and it's crisp and clear. I've been looking for this sound for years.. I've bought mine one week ago, but i think i'm gonna order another one quite soon!

Sound Quality: 10
I use a classic 50 (made in Mexico) strato and my own replica of a Red Special (with Burns Trisonic pickups by Kent Armostrong) and then I use a 4x10" open back cabinet with Eminence Speaker;

I use a Rickenbacker Chris Squire Limited Edition 4001 bass or a '78 Precision Bass and then I use a SVT 18" classic Ampeg cabinet

It's great for both bass and guitar; I suggest to use the normal if you don't need a strange eq (it means that you might like your cabinet tone!)

As I said before it's clear and hot; the reverb it's long and it's very nice to have the possibility to use the Tone to bost or cut some frequency of the reverb tail. The vibrato is amazingly natural and adds some crunch that is really "british"

Reliability: 9
Mayby only the mains plug seems to me a little bit cheap.
other finishing are very good and there is nothing that let you know that this amp is made in china .. or, if you are a little more open minded, this am is made with great care by experienced people that will give Europe and U.S industries a lot of trouble in the next future!

Customer Support: 10
I've been waiting for this amp for 6 months, but the customer service was quick and concrete

Overall Rating: 10
The best amp I've ever heard.

Submitted by Ludovico at 01/02/2006 08:10

Price Paid: US $850

Features: 9
You've read the reviews lots of features. Enough to soothe me. The only pain in the ass was switching the inputs

Sound Quality: 7
I used this with 2 custom teles and a rickenbacker. Tried a les paul through it. Main pedals i used were a keeley mod ts9-time machine boost-memory man-wiggler-worm-qtron-big muff-eq pedal.

The tones on this are pretty good. It nails the classic ac-30 sound almost to the t. I wouldn't notice the difference between this one and a vintage one.

With that being said, i really liked this amp until i cranked it up. At low volumes this baby shined. Once i turned it up to almost full volume, it squealed and hissed at me. It was totally unusable.

The thing is that i really liked the tone of this amp. It was a great compliment to mr dr z maz 18. But the simple fact of the matter is that i cranked it and it didn't perform.

It really sucks, i sent it back and bought a jazzmaster guitar. Still i wonder if i should try another one out, maybe i got the bad one of the bunch.

Don't let this review fully take you away from this amp. For tone it gets a 9. But the squeal docks it a few points.

The trem is very nice.

I can't say the reverb was that nice on here. It works for playing chords and that type stuff. But it definately doesn't have that lush reverb that my dr.z has. So it gets docked a point for that.

So without the problem it gets a 9 for sound. The clean is jangly and the crunch is smooth, the overdrive is awesome. Trem is good, reverb is okay. Squeal sucks

Reliability: 5
The only problem i had was the squeal so it gets a5

Customer Support: N/A

Overall Rating: 7
Overall its a wonderful sounding amp. I am tempted to buy the combo or maybe give another head a shot. We'll see. But overall if it doesn't squeal then its a 9 squealing its a 7

Submitted by Anonymous at 12/16/2005 16:10

Price Paid: 1150.00 (Australian)

Features: 8
AC30CC Head made 2005. All the features have been mentioned below. For essentially a 2 channel amp it's a little odd that they're not footswitchable....instead the footswitch is for Verb/Tremolo ON/OFF...to me, odd.
(You can get around this by using an A/B/Y pedal)
But other than that it is a very full-featured amp, should keep most people happy as to how they want to run it...place their effects..etc etc.

Sound Quality: 9
(I'm running this head through a Peavey 5150 slant cab @ 16ohms)
Up until now I've never had an amp that does the clean/semi-clean/slightly broken up type thang....now I've got that. It's got the classic Vox tone but to my ears can also sound quite Marshall-like when pushed into overdrive territory.
The master volume is helpful for lower volume practising etc. but the tradeoff is a less full tone. I think eventualy I'll incorporate an attenuator like a Hotplate to run the power valves where they sound best (ie..full whack!)
It's "only" 30 watts...but it's a LOUD 30 watts.
My main guitar is an EB/MM EVH signature model, and with this amp, is a very nice partnership. Great for classic rock type tones.
I quite like the Tremolo, although as mentioned before the Tremolo rate could be faster at the highest setting...(maybe I'll mod this at a later date.) The Reverb is not to my taste, but I never use reverb with my live rigs anyway so that's no great loss.
The background noise is really quite low...nothing compared to high gain amps (my other amp is a 5150 head....nuf'said).
The settings on the back of the amp to switch wattage & filter caps are subtle, but I DO feel the difference. I've settled on 50ohms/44uF as my preferred choice, this offers a 'tighter' overall feel for me.

Reliability: 10
So far I'm impressed with the build quality. I've had a look inside, everythings's in order, nice wiring, no bad solder joints, all valves seated correctly. No screws are loose, have been stripped or over-tightened (a problem others HAVE encountered). No flaws or marks externally either. All switches and pots tight & working as they should.
I know the quality of the valves as been questioned by other owners, and some have had microphonic issues out of the box (or the dreaded 'motor-boating' problem.) Touch wood, everything's been fine with mine so far, but I will be buying some replacement valves to experiment with very soon. (Probably a set of EI Gold's & JJ's)
I can at this point only give it a ten 'cause everything's working as it should....(ask me this question in a years time hehehehe)

Customer Support: N/A
N/A

Overall Rating: N/A
I've been playing live 22 odd years, if this was stolen or lost I'd get my insurer to get me another one straight away.
For an all valve brand new VOX amp I personally think this is excellent value for money. The Made In China tag doesn't bother me one bit...more importantly it's designed by Vox UK.
I only wish that out of the box you could footswitch between the Top boost & Normal channels rather than switching the Verb/Trem on/off. I also wish that ALL amps (regardless of brand) came standard with an amp cover.....but that's just wishful thinking on my behalf! :-)

Submitted by Dave at 09/01/2005 22:46

Price Paid: US $850

Features: 9
Serial #370. This amp has many switches that tweakers can have fun with; but also sounds good without much twiddling. Dual channels that are linkable, but not a channel switching amp. This amp has everything that I need. Plenty of power for small and medium gigs. Both reverb & tremolo!

Sound Quality: 10
Used with Rick 330, G&L Legacy Special, Gibson SG, Reverend Slingshot Custom. Played through the $300 VOX V212BN cabinet(with Wharfedales).

This is the amp sound that I've been looking for 15 years! It has all of that chime and grind that you've heard on recordings. I am absolutely 100% excited by the sound of this amp. It's put my Fender Deville 4x10 to rest in the closet. It is as quiet as any other well made tube amp when idling. Both the reverb & tremolo sound great. Either single coil or humbucker guitars are awesome through this. It covers a wide range of musical styles from twangin' clean to rockin' dirty. It doesn't speak metal though - see Mesa for that. Follow the included settings card at first since some of the best settings are'nt intuitive.

Sounds fantastic with the Wharfedales. I can't imagine how another $550 for Celestion Blues could make it even better?

Reliability: 9
I was afraid of what I might end up with after reading some of the downer reviews here. But mine was built flawlessly and worked perfectly right out of the box. I feel sorry for the players who have written problem riddled reviews since they're are missing out on a wonderful experience.

Customer Support: N/A
No opinion here. Their website is kinda clunky and they don't sell head covers yet. The manual is too short and gives no basic tube change info (it doesn't even say what tube types are in it).

Overall Rating: 10
This is the only piece of music gear that I have ever bought that I would give a 10. I've tried a bunch of stuff. If you love a complex chimey guitar tone, the clang of EL84 tubes in class A, this is clearly the holy grail for $850. I don't know how it stacks up to the $3500 boutique amps cause thats out of my league.

I'm overwhelmed.

(Check out the review on page 188 the Sept '05 issue of Vintage Guiter Magazine. They love it too.)

Submitted by gearhund at 07/29/2005 10:31

Price Paid: 860 (euro)

Features: 8
Look Below for further info. Really nice head with a lot of "tweaking" possibilities.

Sound Quality: 9
I'm playing on a Duesenberg John Platania (semi hollow body) with P90 & Duesenberg pickup and a Tele with Jon Suhr PU's. Both guitars sound excellent on this head. Tele "twangs" like never before and the duesenberg (which is a real tonemonster) sounds very lush. My music style is pop with a few hints of blues, and this amp really does the trick for me. It's a lot of fun getting these "dirty clean" sounds on this amp. It's very direct and respons really well. I set the switches on the backside on 22W and modern, which sounds real crispy in clean. The reverb is nice if you use it in small amounts. The tremelo is very usable although my Fulltone Supatrem sounds better.

I experimented a lot with cabinets and finally I stayed with the wharfdale speakers. I tried (the new) alnico cabs from vox and did't like the sound. Then I used a Bogner Vintage 30 2*12 cabinet (expecting very much from it) and the sound was terrific but... I missed the sound from the standard wharfdale speakers. For the time being, I stay put with the wharfdales, but in the nearby feature, I'll get myself a Bogner 1*12 closed back with V-30 to combine them both.

The distortion, if you crank the amp up, is realy nice with my Duesenberg P-90), especially with the two channels blended. ( I use the Barber Launch pad for this, you can switch between clean and top boost and also use the two channels together). With my Tele I like my pedals (Z vex Super Hard On, Blue Boy OverDrive and T-rex Dr Swamp) better.

I'll give it a 9 because it has excellent price-quality value. Nevertheless, if you compare the AC 30 CC head with a Bogner Metropolis (my favourite amp) it falls short, but hey, the metropolis costs more than twice as much.

Reliability: 6
So Far So good, but I think the clothing of the head is rather chinese quality. The first day a bumped - slightly- against the wall and there was a peace of plastic clothing (about 1 inch) which fell off. I can't imagine this will happen with a "real" american or british amp.

Customer Support: N/A
Ok I think, didn't need it so far..;

Overall Rating: 9
Excellent amp! I owned a peavey delta blues before, wich I really liked, but this amp is definetly a higher class, although it's not the best amp out there, but considering its price, maybe it is... ;-)

Submitted by Anonymous at 07/23/2005 15:21

Price Paid: N/A

Features: 10
Plenty, if you got an ear for them. You can dial in the sound YOU want on this baby. I have not been impressed with any new fangled mass produced amp in years. (And I mean years) I'm a tube man. I've heard a number of boutiques but each had a unique sound that I was not used too. Maybe it just wasn't on any record that I liked. I don't know

Sound Quality: 10
This sounds great but with all the features you real do have to understand each switch to get this thing to rock the way you want it to. It would be an easy amp to pass up if the settings weren't the way you liked them; so you got the sound that means something to you. I know a lot about amps but I'm thankful that the Guitar World (Don't get me wrong I normally wouldn't touch that mag but someone had the article on Voxtalks---they should have it on voxamps.com as well) article went into detail concerning each switch and how uou can use it to your benefit. Also I'm ashamed to admit it but the little "settings card" that comes with the amp to me was absolutely necessary. It has "clean" "classic" "overdrive" and "crunch" I'm not sure with this amp I could get to each of those without help (listen I rebuilt my Fender 68 head completely--I'm not a complete idiot---I mean not complete anyways) Once you have those down and they are great settings you could go from there, if you need to.

Reliability: N/A
Motorboating out of the box. Customer support was very helpful. Turned out to be one of the chinese 12ax7 tubes. They have EH for power and a Sovtek for the rectifier. A NEW AMP WITH A REAL TUBE RECTIFIER---YEA! Sorry I'm 53, I shouldn't act that way. I had a couple of EIs that I could swap to get it working. Here is the politically incorrect kicker. I like the sound of the chinese tubes better. They are sending me a whole new set to see if that is the motoer boating problem. I couldn't wait for them to come, but that was the problem. If your going to get any tube amp you better get up the guts and knowledge to at least change the oil. I've only had it a week so I'll refrain from a score here but it's as quite as a dead mouse right now.

Customer Support: N/A
Very good. One year warranty.

Overall Rating: 10
Finally a vox AC30 I can use in my bedroom. I'm using with two Eminence RedCoat speakers. I like the warfdales but these use alnicos so I went this route. It sounds like the sound to me. I've been shooting for this for years. I've tried to make my fender sound like this---stupid, it sounds great as a Fender. That was a long process. Tried to get my Velocette 15 watt class A to sound like this. That by the way is also a great amp. Didn't happen. I had a Korg AC 30 with blues. Too heavy and too stinking loud, so out the door she went. Now this. End of search. Don't worry I don't mind it ended. I'll live.

Submitted by Terry at 07/16/2005 15:40

Price Paid: US $850

Features: 10
Excellent features. Now if only they could work for you...

Sound Quality: 7
4X EL84, but even though it's a Vox, this is really a Class A/B configuration: sounds great, but the high fidelity is a little rounded off compared to Class A EL84 amps (like my Top Hat Club Royale, Matchless Lightning or Dr Z Carmen Ghia). The blending of the channels was nice. The reverb on this particular head was ganky; I tried out the AC30CC2x combo with Cele Blues and that reverb was lush. The tremolo sounds organic but the pace when opened up is too slow; its construction led me to return the amp within the 30-day, 100% satisfaction guarantee at my local retailer (one of the giants on-line, actually) since it started "motorboating" with nothing plugged into it the second time I used it, and I just don't need the hassle of repairs/warranties/lost playing time/etc.

Reliability: 2
After everything I read about Vox reliability, including the AC30CC series, I prayed that I'd be a lucky one. But I was not a lucky one. The ganky reverb and the motorboating contributed to my first and last tube Vox experience (love my Pathfinder and both Brian Mays). Even the 212 I tried out had its particular issue distinct from the head (horrible treble squeal with Master up, treble up, dialing in TB & Normal volumes for loudness past 3:00) that indicates manufacturing inconsistencies. Too bad: I'm back to saving up a lot more dough for hand-made, point-to-point amps.

Customer Support: N/A
Hadn't needed 'em before, not going to use them now.

Overall Rating: N/A
I wish this amp was as good as it ought to be.

Submitted by donnyrocker at 06/20/2005 16:07

Price Paid: US $850

Features: 8
Everyone else has posted the features. It's pretty good as far as features go. The channel mixing was a little disappointing though. It doesn't do that much but give you a little more dirt when you have both channels cranked.

Also the cut knob doesn't do as much as i expected. Mr dr z cut knob totally changes the tone. The cut knob on this changes tone very small.

The EQ features work but could be better.

Overall it has some great features. But some don't work as well as I would like. But overall I can get what I want out of it.

Sound Quality: 8
I use a tele with antiquity strat pickups, jazzmaster w/ p90's, and hollow body tele with filtertrons. Effects are keeley compressor, boost, and ts808 mod.

Overall the sound is good. For the price range it can't be beat. It doesn't sound as good as my orange or dr.z/ But they cost $1500+. If you have $1500 buy a z or an orange. If you don't this is the next best thing. Beats any fender.

The clean sound is great. Very comparable to the orange an z. Its very sparkly and spanky.

Overdrives very nicely. Nice tube breakup. It does need a bit of compression to fill out and become usable for leads. I have to take off a point for that.

Tremelo is really great. But the reverb can't cut it. My z's reverb gets a 10 this reverb gets a 6. This was a let down. It will sound good for rhythm. But won't work at all for blues.

The major drawback of this amp is its hiss. When i crank it, it hisses. More of a squeal. It's not noise coming out of the speakers, but squeal coming from the amp; at leat i think. It's annoying but I can deal with it

I really like the tone. It is worth $850

Reliability: N/A
too soon to say

Customer Support: N/A
Never called

Overall Rating: N/A
Great Amp at a great Price. Like I said before it is not as good as an orange or a z. I would say it can perform and sound up to about 90% of a z or an orange. So for the price it is the best amp out there.

Submitted by Anonymous at 06/04/2005 14:40

Price Paid: US $850.00

Features: 7
This amp has a boat load of features (many of which don't really work very well) covered elsewhere here. Before I start, I want to clarify that so far, I love this amp. So if my review seems a little harsh, it's because I think they miss the mark in some significant ways. Mostly marketing though. The bias switching and filter swithcing to my ears does little or nothing. The trem goes too slow for my taste. The reason I give a 7 is the reverb. It sounds very nice and seems very controllable for as gainy an amp as this. As far as versatility, turn it down, it cleans up, turn it up, it grinds with the best. More about this in a moment. I hate the master volume, but that's cool, I hate all master volumes. Volume wise, it's almost perfect for my band and venues. In other words, sometimes it's a tad loud, sometimes it's not loud enough but very often, it's exactly right. More maybe than any other amp I own. For the responsiveness to guitar volume manipulation and the cool reverb, I give it a 7.

Sound Quality: 9
I want to state that this review is done by a gigging guitarist on stage with my usual bandmates with whom I've been playing for several years and in rooms I also have been playing for several years in. Also, the rig I'm using it with is a two amp rig, the second amp being a mid-sixties JMI top-boosted AC-30 so I'm actually A\Bing onstage. Ok, here's where the rubber meets the road. First off, it sounds NOTHING like an AC-30. When I say AC-30, I mean JMI or Vox Product, not re-issues. The normal channel is not dark like an original and will not yield the Brian May tone with a Burns guitar and top boost pedal. Likewise, the top boost input sounds nothing like an AC-30 either. The literature and user manual would have you believe that you can get it to sound like a 4 input AC-30, a JMI top boost and George Harrison's amp on Nowhere Man ( I think that's the song). Well, it sounds like none of those amps. At all. Not even close. Well Mark, what does it sound like then, you might ask? It sounds an awful lot like a late '60's jmp Marshall but with more filtering. Tighter in the low end. It's very aggressive and articulate and cleans up very well. My favorite amp happens to be a '68 plexi front 50 watt 1987 circuit so I guess I'll compare it to that. It's not quite as loud (good) so I don't have to attenuate it. It is easily as aggressive and is tighter in the low end (more filtering?). Even when using an A|B box to switch or blend the inputs, it behaves way more like a jmp. The top boost being a little brighter and the normal being a tad thicker sounding. When blended, you get a bit more gain and thickness. It's very cool. It does not take that well to boost pedals and absolutely hates my Analogman Sunface fuzz (the jmp loves boost pedals and especially, fuzz). That's ok as it has enough grind for almost anything I play without boosting. It tends to "crap out" with too much input signal (ok, I guess that's kind of like a vintage AC-30). No matter though. For me, the tone and feel are really, really good, just not good like an AC-30. If you are buying one to replace your vintage AC-30, whatever you do, don't sell the vintage amp first! I'd say it would be a better replacement for your late '60's Marshal 1987 jmp. Soundwise, possibly the best sounding new amp I've ever owned.

Reliability: N/A
I hope nothing goes wrong later as I don't like to work on these type of amps (pcb construction).

Customer Support: N/A
Korg is huge. Coincidentally, they own Marshall as well.

Overall Rating: 9
If Korg wanted to give me a useful feature instead of a lame master volume and bias and filtering switches that don't really do anything, I would much rather have a switch for tube or solid state rectification as maybe it would even get closer to that perfect jmp tone. Overall, for the money, this amp is a big winner. It seems to like my strat as well as my Les Paul equally and responds to nuanced playing and volume manipulations magnificently. The reverb is beautifully subtle and I can hardly tell when it's on. I sure hear it when I turn it off though. It hangs with amps costing 3 times as much.

Submitted by Mark Gregg at 06/03/2005 18:25

Price Paid: US $850

Features: 10
Same features as listed in other reviews. Way more than anyone needs and a fab master volume!!!

Sound Quality: 10
I use teles. The amp is stone quiet except when the trem is on (just like any other amp). If you like Byrds, U2 and Beatles guitar sounds you will love this amp. Clean and semi dirty tones are the best I've heard and I'm a boutique snob. Metal gain? Look under Peavey 5150.

Reliability: 10
Been abusing it for 5 weeks now - nary a problem. So far so good!

Customer Support: 10
They answered my questions promptly so far- unheard of for a big corp.

Overall Rating: 10
I have sold my boutique collection which included Komets, /13 and Budda amps, as well as my 1962 AC30. This amp outshined them all and at a fraction of the price. These are not less reliable than any UK or boutique amp I have owned. Don't be scared people, these are the real deal, and at this price how on earth could you go wrong. As good a Vox as I have ever heard!!

Submitted by deathcabconfessional at 06/01/2005 20:57

Price Paid: US $850

Features: N/A
This is a follow up to my review below. It is almost a month later since I got the amp and it has been used for 5 hours a day with no problems. My impressions are still that this amp compares very well to the JMI and HW products. Since owning this amp I have now sold my Top Hat KR and my Matchless DC30 - it is that good. I wish that boneheads would refrain from reviewing a product that isn't actually working. If you get one and it is not working right don't review it. Wait until you have actually heard one and then factor in the non working one into the reliability rating. Trashing all the other criteria like sound quality is really very dishonest and is just an attempt to get even with the company.

Sound Quality: N/A

Reliability: N/A

Customer Support: N/A

Overall Rating: N/A
This amp simply is the best bang for the buck in the history of good tone.

Submitted by wordson at 05/14/2005 13:33

Price Paid: US $719

Features: 10
Amp was made this year, it's the AC/30CCH. Blues,jazz,country,rock&roll,
instrumentals,even electrified folk,funk,soul. 2channels but it does'nt need channel switching though you could put an A/B switcher in front of the 2 inputs. The effects loop's good for delay/chorus/flange. I played thru this amp for 3 weeks before putting a pedal in front of it. I use this amp in my studio but it fulfills my need for a small class A amp to play out with. Plenty of power,headroom and with the handwired features of switching out caps and bias makes for good versatility without the $3K+ price tag. I've played thru some very expensive gear. Vox's use to blow up on stage when I was a kid. This sounds like a Vox.

Sound Quality: 9
Gibson Les Paul,ES137,ES335,all with '57classic humbuckers,PRS Custom 22 with Mcarty Pu's, 2 Fender Tele's with JoeBarden and Seymour Duncan Custom Shop 48 Broadkaster pu's, Fender JB Strat with Lace Sensor Hot Golds, Fender Squire 12 string with Duncan US pu's, ESP Ltd7string with Duncan Designs a Fender Electric mandolin with a Fishman and 2 Martins with Fishman Rare Earth soundhole pu's and even they sound great thru this amp. You can get differing types of clean,hairy and overdriven tones using the caps ouput bias as well as the various channel options. I found the amp to be exceptionally quiet even near mini flourescents and pc display. I use the 82warm bias setting and the 44uf filtercaps. The only noise was when I plugged in pedals; they were the groundloop not the amp.

Reliability: N/A
Vox was notorius during JMI days, we'd joke about needing a fire
extinguisher as a necessary along with sneakers to keep from getting
zapped. So as yet have no opinion yet. They should have a "sofarsogood"
instead of that stupid stoner awesome.

Customer Support: 1
Not very and I don't base that on a friend of a friend or mom in law's
dog. I had several questions about registering product on line and also
questions on construction and I got squat and answers via email that
sounded as canned as an autoreply, meaning they had nothig to do with
what I was asking.

Overall Rating: 10
36 years as a guitarist, 53 years as a musician. I own 5 Fender Amps dating between 1961 and 1967,a'69 Marshall Metal front 50watt TremHead .A VHT Two/Fifty/Two Tube rack setup and a POD2.0. They all work, I've used them all for studio and gigging. I'd buy this one again unless I
heard the quality went in the crapper. I love that I spent less than the$2K to$5K I was agonizing over to get that signature Vox sound. I have several different speaker cab/setups so the head was the best choice for me. I have'nt been able to get a bad sound out of this amp yet and I get to put the difference I saved not buying a Matchless, or AC Handwired,BadCat towards a new guitar. If the quality coming out of China stays consistant then we're in trouble as the fit and finish on this amp was Boutique quality.

Submitted by Anthony Martin at 05/12/2005 22:38

Price Paid: US $849

Features: 8
Bought it new after hearing a friend's. Was not at all disappointed with the tones, they were very good right out of the box! Swapped in some E.I. El-84's and some nos preamp tubes and it got even better. My friend A/B'd his with another friend's early 60's AC-30 and there sure wasn't $2000 worth of difference! Lot's of bang for your buck here in the tone dept. Do have a few issues with it. Cheapo Chinese hardware ain't up to snuff. All 4 chassis bolts were bent at install and one broke off upon removal. Replaced those with some heavy duty US construction screws - problem solved. Switches on back panel are cheapo and you need a tool to change positions, a footswitchable loop would have been nice in place of the manual switch on the back, custom/normal eq switch doesn't seem to do anything? Some of the circuitry components aren't the best quality parts possible, but it'll be an easy cheap upgrade to do. But all that stuff seems minor when I turn it on and play. I'm getting great tones! I'm happy, especially at this price point!

Sound Quality: 9
Played it with a variety of speakers I have here: JBL D-130F, Weber alnico California, Weber P12N, Weber blue pup & silver bell, Celestion blues. Liked it best with the Weber P12N's and of course the Celestion blues. Getting great tones from rock overdrive to blues to clean. Nice chime. Really enjoying this amp!

Reliability: 5
Remains to be seen. I take care of my gear though. I don't think it's built as robustly as it could be, and probably wouldn't put up with much abusive handling.

Customer Support: 5
Emailed Vox for a schematic but got the stock "not available" brush-off answer. Grrrr! Servicing/upgrading one could be an issue for some folks.
I'm not about to drive 100 miles for "authorized" service here. I just think a schematic should be standard fare. All my Fenders came with them!

Overall Rating: 9
Gave it a 9 just because it sounds so good! I've been a musician for 30+ years and took up guitar about 8 years ago. Since then I've owned about 25 amps and at least as many guitars. Most of them cost a lot more than this! Tone was what I wanted and it's what I got. If that's what's most important to you, and you don't get a first-run lemon, I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Submitted by chaz at 05/08/2005 08:34

Price Paid: US $849.00

Features: 10
AC30CC Head, made this year,2005.... New model from the China factory.
I used to own the Korg AC30, two years ago I sold it because of concerns about the PCB construction... so I went into the hand wired boutique world...buying several and always wanting the expensive "Clones" to sound like the AC30 I used to have... Now I am back with more features than I am used to...

Sound Quality: 10
I have had so many amps since the 1960's when I started playing that it is hard to remember them all... Many, many handwired tube amps, not to mention the ones I used and didn't own... The AC30CC is one of the best amps I have ever had the pleasure of playing thru! I got the matching 2x12 cabinet with Wharfedale speakers which I think sounded great....alot like the Celestion G12H-30....but I have two vintage VOX AlNiCo Blues that I got out of a 1960's VOX cabinet and put them in... Very Awesome! Plug in my Tele, hit the power switch and I feel like I've called a "Legion of trumpet playing Angels" at my fingertips...
That is with the stock tubes....
Also great with pedals!!!

Reliability: 8
Still concerned about the PCB and being one of the first to own the "New Model" AC30CC head.... Are we, the new owners, Guinea Pigs for the reliability? So far so Good!
Maybe the guy posting right below me about his with the low ratings had bad tubes or a fluke somewhere! It happens....

But that price I would get another one....AND MIGHT!

Customer Support: N/A
At this point way to early, thank goodness, to need customer support for anything...

Overall Rating: 9
I have to give this head and cabinet a high rating because it is everything and more that my Korg AC30 ever was, which I really missed after I sold it.... I have felt like a dog chasing its tail with the boutique stuff I went thru in the last couple of years, just to get back to a VOX AC30 sound....

Submitted by sunkidd at 05/06/2005 17:04

Price Paid: US $849.00

Features: 5
The amp has a lot of features. You can patch the Treble Boost and Normal Channel together, change the eq from a tone stack to a more marshallesque eq with the bass and treble functions. The ideas are good on the amp. But What good are the features if they sound like crap! But I have to say the amp is supposed to be versatile. But I cannot with clear conscience say that it sounds as versatile as the features that are on the amp. So a five is fair in this regard.

Sound Quality: 1
I am using a Gibson SG Standard with Seymour Duncan Phat Cat P-90's and Pete Cornish G-2, Pete Cornish Battery Wah, Fulltone Deja Vibe, and some other cool stuff. My musical style is based off of classic rock so this should be the perfect amp for me. Unfortunately this is the biggest disappointment of an amp I have experienced in my life. I was really wanting to love this amp because I've had a really good experience with my Vox AC30 2000 Reissue that I feel sounds very excellent, it just had some "Ghost Note" issues that Pete Cornish told me was due to the Power Supply not being adequate. I thought it was annoying enough to sell it and buy into the new Vox AC30 CC and chose to get the 2X12 Celestion Blue Alnico's to compliment the Head. The cabinet sounds incredible with other heads. But now onto the Vox AC30 CC Head.

The Vox AC30 CC Head is Garbage!!! I got it in and the footswitch didn't work for the Reverb side. The Tremolo side worked fine but didn't sound as good as my 65 Deluxe Reverb Reissue tremolo. But I didn't buy the amp for tremolo, I wanted that Vox AC30 overdrive like my Korg Reissue w/o the "Ghost Notes" This amp had "Ghost Notes" on the treble pickup at a low volume of about 4. For me to get any resemblance of a good overdrive sound I had to turn the Master Volume all the way up and turn the Volume to about 3/4 of the way up and it still sounded like a stompbox style overdrive. It was as uninspiring as Star Search! I tried the Normal Channel and it sounded pretty dead with the brilliance switch on but brighter with the switch off of brilliance. The switch jack was put in exactly 180 degrees of where it was supposed to be. So the Quality Assurance at the NEW CHINESE FACTORY is not very good. The patching link switch was a very good idea, but when you stack crap on crap it sounds like even more crap. What surprised me most about this amp was the lack of highs even with the Blue Alnico Speakers. The Master Volume is TERRIBLE!!!!!! It's unusable!!! It sounds flat and like you were using a Marshall Power Brake which are very terrible in their own right.

Now on to the cleans, not chimey by any stretch. I must say it almost sounds solid state. I don't know what they put in this amp but it is seriously lacking Edge!!! I am thoroughly disappointed in the sound of this amp.

This is at very best an unusable amplifier due to the "Ghost Notes" at moderate volumes. This should be enough to keep anyone from wasting their money on one. And if that is not enough then the Quality Assurance should be enough. Mine came with a broken switch on the footswitch.

The amp looks cool though! If you want to look cool and don't care about using an amp void of tone this the amp for you!

Reliability: 1
I wouldn't trust the reliability of the amp even if it sounded good. The switches are cheap and a little loosey goosey. The power supply on these things are definately not adequate enough to rely on them enough to record with. All you solos would sound partially in and out of key/tune. Mine came out of the box not working properly.

Customer Support: N/A
What's the point!? It's obviously a poorly designed and poorly put together. Nothing for Customer support to do but apologize.

Overall Rating: 1
Well the amp doesn't sound good, it doesn't work properly, and is a waste of time and money. I've owned and performed with Germino's, Dr Z's, Fender Deluxe Reverbs, and Vox AC30 Reissues. All were toneful and musically rich amps and obviously on a whole other level than this amp. Vox has decided to compare this amp with boutique amps, I'm afraid alot of people will be as disappointed as me. I just wanted a Vox AC30. Vox if your reading this review PEEEEEAAAAASSSSE make a real AC30 again! I love them, but this is seriously a crappy amp! You've cut too many corner with this one! I am now in the process of returning it and will be finding another amp to buy in place of it.

Submitted by wade burrow at 05/04/2005 15:01

Price Paid: US $849.00

Features: 8
2005 Vox AC30 custom classic head. Just pulled it out of the box tonight (UPS thankfully didn't destroy it as I know they are capable of...) The first review clearly states ALL of the features per the vox website, so I don't really need to go there. I've gotta say that this is one of the most cleanly and logically laid out amps I've ever played. Very easy to get familiar and comfortable with. Under the hood its got Electro-Harmonix el84's stock (which are pretty good el84's--are you listening MESA/Boogie...) and a sovtek GZ34. I couldn't see the preamp tubes from the vents or the front--yes the grill on the front is partially open to let air get around those tubes! Yay!! Build quality seems very solid--its heavy for a head. North coast music has pictures of the chassis and internal pc boards:
(http://www.voxshowroom.com/northcoast/vox/new_amps/insidestory.html)
Footswitch for reverb/tremolo is a little on the lite side but I'm not real hard on most of my gear. Normal channel with "brilliance" switch uses no eq, only the global "cut" control. Topboost channel with input link to use the normal and topboost channels simultaneously. Topboost channel uses bass and treble and the eq standard/custom switch. Reverb with tone, dwell and a hi/lo drive switch. Tremolo with fully variable rate and depth. Global "cut" and master which I've heard was a Post phase inverter which means that when its all the way up its out of the circuit--very nice. For an amp thats based off of an incredibly simple circuit it has a lot of useful features.

Sound Quality: 9
I'm using a fender tele thinline with the wide range humbuckers, a fender standard tele with vintage noiseless pickups and a gibson les paul standard with some sort of PAF in the bridge. I have never owned a vox before this and had never even played this particular model before I bought it. I knew I liked the sound of the AC30 and decided I'd put vox to the test since they have said that this is basically every ac30 ever made and more. I use pedals (keeley modded ts7, boss blues driver, superoverdrive and rat) and wanted to get an amp with a great clean tone to really make my pedals shine. I am running this head through a marshall 4x12 w/vintage 30's and a mesa 3/4 back 1x12 with the stock celestion 90. Through the 4x12 this amp just rocks. The clean tones are perfect for effects or just perfect all by themselves. I was playing for awile with my pedals untill I remembered that this thing has a master. Down went the master and up went the channel volumes. Wow--this thing does a great ac/dc type drive all by itself. Just rips, really snarly with lots of attitude. Something I noticed is that when you're really pushing a clean setting hard, it starts to break up but in the best way I've heard and I think it has to do with the absence of negative feedback. Fenders and Mesa's are clean, Clean, CLEAN and then all the sudden distorted where as the vox will distort if you strum hard but then set back down once your attack wears off a bit and it blends well with other distortion effects going into it. Amazing. I'm not used to amps that can do this. Usually I've looked for amps with a loud clean channel that can stay clean up untill a high volume but then once its to the point where it distorts its no longer usable for pedals. This amp can stay clean at pretty high volumes but once it starts to break up it just gets better. Really cool. The lo-power setting sounds good as does the modern voiceing setting--makes it a little tighter for when you're using the amps preamp distortion. The difference between the standard and custom eq options is subtle but it is there. It makes the controls much less interactive and more independant. Through my 1x12 cab it can get a great glassy blues tone and more airy clean sounds--real sweet. The reverb is not as deep as a fender but who needs that much? Sounds very musical. The tremolo sounds nice. Doesn't get insanely fast but I think I can find a use for it. Vox really didn't waste any features or controls--they all do something cool and useful.

Reliability: N/A
Well, like I said I just got it. I have heard the vox horror stories but I also know somethings about where those problems came from--either bad rectifier tubes or overheated pc boards. Well, the powertube sockets are mounted to the chassis this time around and the stock rectifier is not too shabby. I will probably replace with a jj rectifier in the future though. Well, I'm gonna gig with it tommorow night so we'll see how things go eh...

Customer Support: N/A
Never dealt with them... Warranty is 1 year I believe.

Overall Rating: 10
I think its a great amp and certainly a great value. This amp gives alot of chowder for the clams. I can't think of anything that should be different.

Submitted by Peter Trulin at 04/15/2005 00:17

Price Paid: US $849

Features: 10
2005 Custom Classic Vox tube head made in China with more features then you can shake a stick at. I play power pop and alternative rock music. I have been using this amp at home, at rehearsal and on tape for the last week and a half. It has pretty much all the features that I wished an ac30 would have as listed below. Plenty of power and switchable form 33 to 22 watts at the flip of a knob, as well as a useful master volume.

I will list the features as stated on their website: http://www.voxamps.co.uk/products/ac30/ac_30cc.htm.
With twin inputs (high and Low) and a Master Volume circuit, these amps offer highly interactive Bass and Treble tone controls, as well as the VOX Tone Cut control (which varies the presence in the power amp section) for even greater tonal variety. Included is Classic Tremolo with variable Depth control and a tube-driven Accutronics reverb with Level and Tone controls as well as a Dwell switch.Not only does the AC30 Custom Classic include two channels, it also offers the ability to blend those channels together (a first for the AC30!). The Top Boost Channel serves up that classic AC30 tone, while our new expanded Normal Channel now offers two modes, Normal and Bright, which allow you to achieve the sounds of an assortment of vintage AC30s. Use the channels individually or blend them together for increased tonal flexibility to create a unique sound and feel that's all your own.The AC30 Custom Classic is fully equipped with well thought out and easy to use controls. With a Custom/Normal EQ switch, Tone control and Dwell switch for the spring reverb, Master Volume, fully variable Tremolo on all channels and a true bypass Effects Loop! It has a switchable cathode resistor that lowers power output and increases tube life. The Custom Classic comes with standard controls like Treble, Bass, Tone, Volume, Standby and more.

AC30 Custom Classic Specifications:

* Front panel controls: Inputs x 2 (Top Boost & Normal);
* Input Link Switch for blending channels;
* Normal Volume;
* Brilliance Switch;
* Top Boost Volume;
* Treble;
* EQ Standard/Custom Switch;
* Bass; Reverb Controls (Tone, Mix, Dwell Switch);
* Tremolo Speed & Depth;
* Tone Cut;
* Master Volume;
* Standby Switch;
* Power Switch

Rear panel controls:

* Loudspeaker output jack x 2 (Extension & External);
* Output (O/P) Impedance Select (8 or 16 Ohm);
* Output Bias (82 "Warm" or 50 "Hot");
* Smoothing (22uF "Vintage" or 44uF "Modern");
* FX Loop (Send, Return and Bypass Switch);
* Footswitch Jack (Tremolo and Reverb);
* HT Fuse;
* Mains Input;
* Mains Fuse;

Sound Quality: 10
I use mainly ASATS, and other single coil guitars (rickys and a dearmond as well as LP copy).The amp suits my style perfectly, I have found that the classic vox tone is what suits my style best. The amp is very quiet for a cathode biased amp. It does all the classic vox sounds you wished you could get from an ac30. It has a normal channel for those darker tones and with the flip of a switch you get the brilliant channel of a non tb ac30. Plug into the tb channel ans you have an awesome sounding Vox tob boost amp. With the flip of the link switch you can use the top boost vox at the same time as the normal channel and for the first time you can listen to a brilliant non tb vox with a tb vox sound. The tones are awesome - if you like Byrds, here you have it. Enjoy early Beatle tones - this is your amp. Do you have a craving for Tom Petty or REM jangle - this is your amp. Do you want classic rock crunch like Zep - crank up the volume and turn down the MV and you're there. Use a Rangemaster and now you're into Brian May territory. This amp covers all the ac30 grounds and does so brilliantly. I have now A/B'd this amp with the HW Vox series, and a host of "boutique" amps. The CC hangs in there and in most cases I preferred its sounds to the boutiques. It has all the chime of any Vox I've heard with the ability to turn the volume down to bedroom levels. This amp nails and in some cases surpasses the sound of any Vox I have ever owned including the HW, the Korg UK ones, Rose Morris era, Vox product era and JMI. Through a set of old bulldogs you are right there in JMI territory. The reverb is the 2nd best I have heard in a Vox with the best having been in an HW series. The trem is nice but not capable of the same depth and speed of the HW series, though it is variable so that puts it above most previous incarnations of the AC30. This amp is amongst best sounding Voxes I have heard and easily competes with the other higher end offerings I have owned or own and that list includes Matchless, Bad Cat, Top Hat, Valvetech, Dr. Z etc. It is a real winner.

Reliability: N/A
I would never gig without a back up but with all the simulator boxes out there (tonelab, pod) it is easy to have a portable back up these days. It is too early to comment on reliability, time will tell as with any new product. It is PCB construction with several PCB boards connected by ribbon cables a very common modern amp construction technique. The inputs are soldered onto a seperate and small PCB board as are the knobs. It hasn't misbehaved on me yet and I've put in about 40 hours already - knock on wood. All the speculation in the world will not reveal how this will pan out so I cannot give a rating here.

Customer Support: N/A
Customer support on these new products is in early days. All I know is that anyone who has ever contacted Vox personally, especially the higher ups, has received stellar service. I have never had to be one of those people yet so I cannot fairly rate this yet. If I ever have to I will be sure to come on this site again and enter a rating. I will say this, the designer of the amp Mr. Steve Grindrod as well as Mitch Colby are unafraid to haunt and post on the various vox boards out there and are always helpful and forthcoming on any matters. If their support is as good as this, it bodes well for Vox customers.

Overall Rating: 10
Here we go, the list of things that HC wants you to write at this stage of the review: been playing for 20 years, and I currently have a Vox HW head, a Valvetech Hayseed 30, a Top Hat King Royale, and the CC. The CC sounds as good or better than any of these. I have previously had Matchless DC30's, Bad Cats, Alessandros, etc etc etc you get it - I have heard the best constructed amps on the planet as have many of us. The CC sounds as good as any of them. Many would prefer these boutiques over any Vox, but if you are looking for a Vox tone that sounds as good as any of the best Voxes recorded in rock history look no further because the CC is for you. I love everything about the CC except for the trem which I like - for the price you cannot do better and for triple the price you will not get a better sounding Vox type of tone - you may get a Vox inspired tone you prefer, like some may prefer a DC30 - but it has way more midrange and aggression than most Voxes I have heard - it is filtered so differently than a Vox - if you like that sound then get a Matchless, but the CC out Voxes a Matchless or Badcat or "insert boutique Vox inspired amp here". If a great sounding Vox AC30 is what you seek, the CC is for you - and for the price this is a no brainer. It is the first Vox that makes fabulous tone available to the masses. Vox lovers rejoice!!

Submitted by wordson at 04/13/2005 21:08