Yall know anything about the Vox AC30?

[LazerBeakShiek]

Is there a bad model or type of VOX AC30? or is there something I need to know? For 40 years I have stayed ADA or CAE and in the rack. My old SS Fender M-80 combo is still downstairs somewhere. I wanted a refined nice combo to get the Tom Petty and Beatles tones, rock n roll. Something that looks like furniture. My buddy Dave found one near me. Vox AC30CC2 I think was the model type. Pick up only $750. So yeah is there anything I need to know about these? Like now's the time to say ' No don't get that one'.

 

[Papanate]

WEll there are a whole bunch of eras of AC30s

1. 1960s Vox AC30 w/TopBoost- expensive to get - lot of maintenance - glorious sound of both TP and the Heartbreakers and Beartles first three album tones.
2, 1970 - 1977 Vox Sound Ltd. VoxAC30s - absolute crap - but can be rebuilt into 1960s versions.
3.1976 - 1990 Rose Morris - through 1980 they were pretty good - went with a solid state Rectifier - 1980 on ward they are hti or miss - crap quality control.
4.1992 Korg - returned to the GZ34 rectifier tube and started using the then-newly-reissued Celestion Alnico Blue speaker. Fantastic Amps - Way more dependable than
their 60s counterparts - have the same sound too. In 2004 the AC30CC (Custom Classic) was introduced - it was made in China - definitely a budget version of the amp - kind of gets in the ballpark of the good ones - they still introduced more - the Brian May signature AC30BM (2006); the Custom series (2010), an update to the Custom Classics; and the AC30 Hand-Wired (2025) - the Handwired is the Collectors editions - rock solid amp and great tones.

 

[PorterhouseMusic]

WEll there are a whole bunch of eras of AC30s

1. 1960s Vox AC30 w/TopBoost- expensive to get - lot of maintenance - glorious sound of both TP and the Heartbreakers and Beartles first three album tones.
2, 1970 - 1977 Vox Sound Ltd. VoxAC30s - absolute crap - but can be rebuilt into 1960s versions.
3.1976 - 1990 Rose Morris - through 1980 they were pretty good - went with a solid state Rectifier - 1980 on ward they are hti or miss - crap quality control.
4.1992 Korg - returned to the GZ34 rectifier tube and started using the then-newly-reissued Celestion Alnico Blue speaker. Fantastic Amps - Way more dependable than
their 60s counterparts - have the same sound too. In 2004 the AC30CC (Custom Classic) was introduced - it was made in China - definitely a budget version of the amp - kind of gets in the ballpark of the good ones - they still introduced more - the Brian May signature AC30BM (2006); the Custom series (2010), an update to the Custom Classics; and the AC30 Hand-Wired (2025) - the Handwired is the Collectors editions - rock solid amp and great tones.

So I guess that's a yes?

 

[LazerBeakShiek]

Far as rectifiers are concerned I know SS rectification is or has less desireable traits. The popular tube amp southern drawl, or drop..'Sag' (but I hate that term) happens with a tube rectifier on a push pull plate amplifier.

Was not impressed with a Fender DRRI, or the Blues Junior.
Was impressed with the Vox Ac30(unknown model)
was looking for a nice Fender Cybertwin with motorized knobs, but they sound horrible. Think I'm done with modeling.

 

[LazerBeakShiek]

Are all AC30's able to bridge the channels?

 

[PorterhouseMusic]

Ruby '63 Top Boost Amplifier

Play through the valve amp that powered the British Invasion, perfectly emulated in a stompbox Stay inspired with rich Top Boost tones and tube-powered vibrato Take ace studio amp tones anywhere, complete with legendary mic/speaker pairings and famous boost effects Get MIDI control*, improved...

www.uaudio.com

 

[ecc83]

The AC30 range often ran the EL84s way above their book dissipation of 12W, if you see even the mildest sign of "red plating" get it fixed. The original '84s were tough lil buggers and could cope with the over D, modern types may not and you don't want to be shelling out for NOS! (and I wouldn't trust it to BE NOS anyway!)
Don't sweat the solid state rectifier. Being cathode biased the anode current draw change from no signal to full shred is not that great unlike a 50W say fixed biased amp (and even then I doubt it makes THAT much sonic difference!)

If you are looking for Brian May tones don't forget he ran a treble boost into his AC30s most of the time I understand.

Dave.

 

[Papanate]

Are all AC30's able to bridge the channels?

Yes you can jump the channels - the TopBoost Model sounds best IMO.

 

[LazerBeakShiek]

This one does not have celestions, Wharfdales?

this one I think.Found this yesterday.

The VOX Showroom - The Vox AC-30 Custom Classic Inside Story

Control plate looks like this

 

[ecc83]

I have waded through much of that link but found nothing to suggest the amps ever used Wharfdale speakers? I have never seen or even heard of a Wharfdale guitar/PA speaker.
Very early AC30s were loaded with Goodmans units but these proved a bit feeble and the swap was made to Celly blues.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/376576860777?shprz=EBAY_GB_293&_ul=GB&_trkparms=ispr%3D1&amdata=enc%3A1XiEPzGMDSF-RIvFlK8c3aw2&mkevt=1&mkcid=1&toolid=20006&mkrid=710-53481-19255-0&campid=5338986375&loc_interest_ms=&loc_physical_ms=9191252&adtype=pla&customid=CjwKCAjwyabTBhBFEiwAM3mNUGC7sLI-DmCfmRpch214NCLtXBxo5SefVq0zA0lZ4dz8z-3CYCuD7BoC-xwQAvD_BwE|null|null&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=20224678046&gclid=CjwKCAjwyabTBhBFEiwAM3mNUGC7sLI-DmCfmRpch214NCLtXBxo5SefVq0zA0lZ4dz8z-3CYCuD7BoC-xwQAvD_BwE

Managed to find the above but they are just re-badged Fanes. Apparently though some guitarists did fit the hi fi speakers in their amps. I doubt they lasted any longer than the poorly rated Goodmans!

Dave.

 

[ecc83]

Re the "bias switch" in that link? I would never run modern EL84s at the 50 Ohm* setting, almost certain to redplate and die within days. Might take the GZ with them!

The very minimum for Rk I would use is 68 Ohms but much depends upon the actual HT voltage. Keep G2 feed Rs a minimum of 1k as well IMHO.

*Likely actually 47 Ohms. Even worse!

Dave.

 

[rob aylestone]

The Rola Celestion factory in Ipswich near me were victims of their own success but frequently ran out of stock, so most manufacturers used the other speaker suppliers for short term stock when Celestion ran out. An old guy that worked in their office, totally non-technical, told me in the 80’s that it was normal to phone up the clients and tell them what they had available. If it wasn't the one they needed, but say, a different version, most times if they needed 50, they’d take whatever they had.

 

[LazerBeakShiek]

Why did they do this confusing stuff? So this is the China made, cheap speaker Vox, that nobody wants. Right. Okay.

About the power section, I just pull out power tubes. Doesn't hurt anything. Makes the amp get into power tube break up at lower volumes.

 

[ecc83]

The Rola Celestion factory in Ipswich near me were victims of their own success but frequently ran out of stock, so most manufacturers used the other speaker suppliers for short term stock when Celestion ran out. An old guy that worked in their office, totally non-technical, told me in the 80’s that it was normal to phone up the clients and tell them what they had available. If it wasn't the one they needed, but say, a different version, most times if they needed 50, they’d take whatever they had.

Ha! Bruce the late technical director at Blackstar told me that back then, the guitar/PA driver industry was pretty incestuous with technical people swapping allegiance from Celestion, Fane and Goodmans all the time. The result was many guitar speakers were sort of "designer mongrels"!

Celestion seem to have come out best these days, at least in terms of their reputation for honest, conservative specifications. You can put a V30 (60W) in a 50W valve combo and be pretty damn sure it will live for ever, even though some 50W amps can deliver over 80W at 50% THD! Other makes do not seem as tough. I have however heard rumblings that Cellie's far eastern products are not up to snuff but no really hard evidence.

Err? DON'T pull valves in a cathode biased design unless you have more $$$s than sense.

Dave.

 

[TalismanRich]

Apparently, the AC30CC2 from around 2004 used Wharfedale speakers. It was supposed to be their version of the Celestion "Anniversary" G12H-30. I don't think it was well received, although the people who replaced them get all the attention. Most people are probably like me, they just play their amps. It's like people who buy guitars and start replacing parts before they get it home! The last guitar I bought got a truss rod adjustment, and 6 months later, new strings!

 

[ecc83]

That is certainly the Wharfedale typeface Rich. IIRC the Goodmans Audioms were also rated at 30W? I hope those Whaffs are better!
Going to ask about this at the limely "fretboard" forum. There are guys there who know the most intricate details of the history of git speaks!

Dave.

 

[TalismanRich]

Here's a comparison of 4 speakers, including the Wharfedale.

 

[TalismanRich]

The Rola Celestion factory in Ipswich near me were victims of their own success but frequently ran out of stock, so most manufacturers used the other speaker suppliers for short term stock when Celestion ran out. An old guy that worked in their office, totally non-technical, told me in the 80’s that it was normal to phone up the clients and tell them what they had available. If it wasn't the one they needed, but say, a different version, most times if they needed 50, they’d take whatever they had.

That sounds like the type of thing that happened with Gibson's pickups in the 50s. Spec it with Alnico II. "Don't have IIs?" "What's in stock?" "Ok, give me 250 Alnico Vs."

That's why some PAFs have cream bobbins, others have black bobbins. That's the type of plastic the manufacturer had on hand. Of course everyone knows that cream bobbins give you a buttery sound, smooth and creamy. Black bobbins are dark sounding. It's only logical! (I wonder how long before we see that on a Chat GTP answer?)

 

[LazerBeakShiek]

Err? DON'T pull valves in a cathode biased design unless you have more $$$s than sense.

It has been a common practice of mine, to pull the power tubes. Said earlier in the rack, so Marshall 100/100 mono blocks, mesa 50/50's..20/20's rack stuff.

Pardon me, you're saying that because it has a tube in the rectifier circuit I cant do that anymore?

 

[LazerBeakShiek]

Here's a comparison of 4 speakers, including the Wharfedale.

The AC30 is definitely THE amp for classic rock n' roll. It will be vastly different than the grey furry Fender M80 solidstate, or my (Leo Fender) Music Man RP112.