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Topic: Vox ac-30 |
John Neff
From:
Athens, GA
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Posted 27 Sep 2000 9:11 am |
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I haven't played through a million amps, but the last 2 or 3 studios I've been in have had AC-30s. To my ears, they were the sweetest sounding amps I've ever used. I think that they were all original(not reissues) and I've heard mixed reviews on the reissues. Does anyone else use these for steel? I haven't used one live, or even played in the same room with one, since I always set up in the control room.
John |
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Jeff Peterson
From:
Nashville, TN USA
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Posted 27 Sep 2000 10:30 am
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| Good ear John! The AC30 Top Boost was/is one of the greatest sounding Class A amps made. It was the model the Matchless was designed from. I think actually the new Vox's have gotten rid of some of the problems the early models had.....running too hot, stuff falling out of the chassis and like that. For steel, it's a good idea to use speakers other than the Celestions. I like EV's with it. |
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Martin Abend
From:
Berlin, Germany
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Posted 27 Sep 2000 10:41 am
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Eric Heywood uses a VOX AC-50 head with his Williams. He sounds great!
------------------
martin abend my homepage martinabend@yahoo.com
s-10 sierra crown gearless 3 x4 - fender hotrod deluxe
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Jay Ganz
From:
Out Behind The Barn
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Posted 27 Sep 2000 6:26 pm
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I've got two old AC-30's here from '63 &
'65. At reasonable volumes, their tone is
excellent for steel! The old blue (or early
silver) Vox speakers really contribute to
the overall tone since they're aged alnico
magnets. As Jeff says, you don't want to
push 'em real hard though. They probably
will handle the wattage of the amp, but if something happens to them, they're about $200 to recone (with the exact recone kit) & a TON of money to replace. Even the reissue speakers (which sound a bit "tighter" than the originals) run almost $300 each!
Thing is with those amps is they're a Class A
design, so if they do get slightly overdriven, the note actually sings instead
of sounding crunchy as with a typical Class
AB amp (like a Fender or Marshall).
If you like that old AC30 tone, there just ain't nothing like 'em on the planet these days![This message was edited by Jay Ganz on 27 September 2000 at 07:31 PM.] |
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Matt Hutchinson
From:
London, UK
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Posted 28 Sep 2000 12:56 am
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Hi John.
I've been using an AC 30 (1964) with my steel for a while and I love the sound but it simply isn't loud enough for gigs. I've been experimenting with a small flyspeck-type headphone amp for in-ear monitoring so I can keep the level down but it doesn't really do the trick, so I'm now starting to use my Fender 75 instead.
The bonus of the 75 is that - along with good reverb and a 15" speaker - it also has a switch which cuts the power from 75 watts to 25 (I think it's 25 anyway) for those times you can play quieter. |
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