brutally GASing for an old VOX AC30 - what i need to know

Make it loud here.
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ziess
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Re: brutally GASing for an old VOX AC30 - what i need to kno

Post by ziess » Wed Aug 16, 2017 2:47 pm

Been meaning to chip in here. I recently rebuilt a '64 Top Boost. It is without a doubt my favourite amp (and I have a lot of great amps). It is by far and away the best fit in a band mix, works awesomely with another guitar and really gets the best out of my pedals. You can set it up clean and sparkly, or set it up to sound like an early vintage Marshall. I love mine. The speakers are the best ever made in my opinion, and the cab really adds something to the tone.

But, you'd think it was glued to the floor when it comes to moving it. It's taken a serous about of work to bring it back to life, and working on them isn't for the inexperienced amp tech (so it's either complex home repair or throwing money at a good tech). They are a pain to work on, the tag board is flimsy and a lot of the components will have failed. They eat tubes for breakfast, and they don't tolerate shit tubes - they'll burn up most modern output tubes very quickly and are really sensitive to microphonics. The cab design is about as poor as you can imagine for cooling (who puts tubes running past the point of max dissipation in a sealed wooden box?). The cabs aren't as strong as a comparable Fender (think 1970 onwards silverface as opposed to tweed/blackface). Even though I've extensively rebuilt mine and I know what I'm doing I'm not entirely convinced it's not going to blow up at a random inconvenient moment. They are LOUD. You'll easily overpower a drummer when you're hitting it hard, and the terminal strip speaker connection makes it a pain to use an attenuator. Vib channel is useless with the vib turned off. The normal channel (at least on mine) is crap. Did I mention it's heavy and loud? They're not cheap.

If you're game for the above then go for it. If you're the kind of guy who prefers a real tape echo to the Strymon equivalent then it's maybe for you. But, like the real tape echo, there's a serious support bill that comes with it. For me it's worth it, but it might not be for you.

They are cool though.

https://flic.kr/p/We8WKw" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Tommy.

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Larsongs
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Re: brutally GASing for an old VOX AC30 - what i need to kno

Post by Larsongs » Wed Aug 16, 2017 8:49 pm

Do you play huge venues & Stadiums? Are you the Lead Guitarist? What kind of music are you playing? What Guitars are you using?

Even though they're 30 Watts they're really powerful loud! They do feel like they're nailed to the floor when you try to move them.

I can't speak for vintage Vox Amps as mine have all been newer over the part 6-7 years & are bullet proof. No problems. I don't need one that big, heavy or loud so I have an AC15CC1X with Alnico Blue. It is plenty loud for small & medium size Gigs & is pretty easy to transport. About half as heavy as the AC30. The Top Boost lets you dial in the right amount of dirt at any volume. The Blue speakers sound the best IMO.

There have been so many Records made with Vox Amps I see being without one if you really want to get the right Sound.

I have recently acquired a new FSR Vox AC10C1 with Celestion Greeback & have upgraded the Tubes to JJ's. See my Thread for more info. It's ideal for Practice & in the Studio it's the ideal Wattage for Recording. Haven't gigged with it yet but plan to soon. If need be I can Mic it. But even this Amp seems surprisingly loud.

I've got an '80's 100 Watt Marshall Half Stack & 3 Fenders. A Twin, 65 DRRI & 65 RI Princeton Reverb. All have there place as well. But a good Vox completes the Sounds the others can't get.

IMO you need a Vox!

Lars

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jhexp
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Re: brutally GASing for an old VOX AC30 - what i need to kno

Post by jhexp » Mon Aug 21, 2017 1:29 pm

If you can find an old JMI AC30, by all means get it. I have a '63 coppertop non-top boost (treble model) that's just an amazing amp. Rich, organic, 3-D, all the things that have been said of them are true--nothing sounds like it. They do get hot, though. I would get a fan.
They aren't as heavy as a Twin Reverb, not even close, and if you use a dolly or cart they're very reasonable to move around. And I don't find them too loud either. You will have to crank them to get them to sound best, but an attenuator or an overdrive pedal in front can take care of that.

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eigentone
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Re: brutally GASing for an old VOX AC30 - what i need to kno

Post by eigentone » Tue Aug 29, 2017 12:02 pm

For vintage Vox, you should focus on the JMI era. After Jennings left in the late 60s, the quality dropped.

I recommend reading Jim Elyea's Vox book before buying.

http://www.historyforhire.com/VB/voxguidebook.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I recommend original Celestion Blue or Silver speakers and original Haddon or Woden transformers. Albion if you want to go cheaper. Try to avoid one with many replaced components.

After that, it really depends on the features that you want. There are several variants of AC30s (AC30/4, AC30/6, Super Twins, Top Boost, Normal/Bass/Treble variants, etc). Try to find which you like the best.

If you want something smaller, AC10 Twins do the "Little AC30" thing and they typically cost a good deal less.

IMO the new ones are also very good and worth consideration. If there happens to be an AC3HW2X in your city, go try it out.

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