Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Guitars, Amps and Effects => Topic started by: TheIronBeast on November 18, 2009, 10:45:07 AM
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My band were playing our first gigs in the north of England over the weekend (we usually just play throughout Scotland) and while in Manchester I went to visit an old friend of mine who buys and sells vintage amps. I walked into his store and noticed he had a vintage 1964 Vox AC30. I tried it out, loved it, but the price he was wanting for it was a bit out of reach for me, so I asked him if he was open to offers and he said yes but I would need to be quick because he had two potential buyers coming in to see him with offers. So after a bit of haggling we agreed a price that we were both happy with and I went away and even played my gig in Bolton on Saturday with it too!
I'm not much of an amp guy, and don't buy many of them at all, but this amp just sounds unbelievably good. I played in Bolton on Saturday night with it and it and it just sounds killer when cranked up at gig volumes.
It has had a few modifications over the past few years. It has been re-capped, a new piece of vinyl fitted under the centre handle, and two replacement side handles too. When new this amp would have been loaded with Alnico Blue or Silver speakers but the speakers were changed a long time ago to original 1970 Celestion Pre-Rola Greenback speakers.
One of my finest purchases this year! I don't have any pics at the moment, so I'll just post the pics that my friend took of this amp.
(http://i595.photobucket.com/albums/tt39/bigfishmusic01/AC30Cel/IMG_0010.jpg)
(http://i595.photobucket.com/albums/tt39/bigfishmusic01/AC30Cel/IMG_0005.jpg)
(http://i595.photobucket.com/albums/tt39/bigfishmusic01/AC30Cel/IMG_0009.jpg)
(http://i595.photobucket.com/albums/tt39/bigfishmusic01/AC30Cel/IMG_0006.jpg)
(http://i595.photobucket.com/albums/tt39/bigfishmusic01/AC30Cel/IMG_0003.jpg)
(http://i595.photobucket.com/albums/tt39/bigfishmusic01/AC30Cel/IMG_0004.jpg)
(http://i595.photobucket.com/albums/tt39/bigfishmusic01/AC30Cel/IMG_0011.jpg)
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An all time classic - looks great!
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They are great amps for sure. I remember years ago a guy in a band I was in used one with a Les Paul Junior and the tone was sublime.
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that's fantastic! if it sounds as good as it looks you're a lucky man ;)
do i really count 11 valves?! and what is that huge one?
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Wow, that's an awesome investment, and I'm sure it sounds great! Congrats for an amazing classic!!
@blue, the big one is the rectifier tube.
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I've told the story before (apologies for repeating) but the best amp I've every used was a '60s AC30, that was being re-valved by a friend. The warm-clean (I know that means nothing as everyone will have a different idea of what that means) sound is the template I keep in my head and compare all other amps to. The amp didn't have the cabinet so I was playing through a 4×12 with greenbacks from '69 (so the owner said), so the sound I got that day was probably very similar to the one you are getting :)
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YOU DAMN bar-steward!!!! :o
I love it!!!! Can you make a clip of it?
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I am loving the AC30 at the moment. I have always considered buying one and I was going to go with one of the AC30cc2 re-issue ones, but I think paying a little extra and getting a 60s vintage one was definitely the right choice. It sounds fantastic. I love it!
I will probably make a video with clips of it sometime. Will try and get something sorted soonish.
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git bag.
Glad you got a cracking deal & it looks Ace mate. Well done
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Can't see the pics at work, but NICE ONE...
I assume you'll be playing the Rory beast through it? :D
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Now there's a classic.
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Drool.......... VERY nice :guitar4:
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I assume you'll be playing the Rory beast through it? :D
I played most of the set in Bolton on Saturday with the Rory strat and the Vox. Including a cover of Shin Kicker ;)
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Was it a private gig?
If not, you should have told us about it and I could have popped along!
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It was a public gig. It was at The Alma in Bolton, I was told they normally have goth and metal bands that play there so I guess we were a bit out of place :lol:
Didn't know you were from the Manchester area. I'll know to make a post about it if we are ever down in England again.
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Bloody nice amp. I wish I had one too!
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So now you have the Rory strat and an AC30......Dallas rangemaster next?
(Also, have i mentioned how green i am with jealousy!!!)
Does you friend have a shop or something then? Or a list of his stock?
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badass :D
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So now you have the Rory strat and an AC30......Dallas rangemaster next?
(Also, have i mentioned how green i am with jealousy!!!)
Does you friend have a shop or something then? Or a list of his stock?
I think I'll just stick to using my Ibanez tube screamer ;)
Well it's not much of a shop so to speak, it's kind of like a showroom, on Jersey St. in Manchester. He buys and sells vintage amps, guitars, pedals etc. I think he sells most of his stuff on eBay, not sure though.
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That is a stunning an iconic piece of functional rock and roll heritage right there. Wow, I'm jealous, that's a beautiful piece of kit.
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a most excellent purchase - those are great amps. the grey panel ones with the integral top boost controls are quite rare too.
note to anyone else thinking of getting a Chinese AC30CC - DON'T!!!! I've had two in for repair recently and while the tone is 'ok', it ain't classic AC30. the Korg-made AC30s from the 1990s up to when the CC's were introduced are great amps and very much in the classic AC30 vein in terms of tone.
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note to anyone else thinking of getting a Chinese AC30CC - DON'T!!!! I've had two in for repair recently and while the tone is 'ok', it ain't classic AC30. the Korg-made AC30s from the 1990s up to when the CC's were introduced are great amps and very much in the classic AC30 vein in terms of tone.
I've heard the ones by JMI are pretty decent?
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They've got a very clean Super Bass 100w head and speaker cab in there at the moment as well. It's had me salivating, but I've already got the head and I don't need two of the buggers.
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Nice. Six preamp tubes? Seems like a lot of gain for a vintage amp.
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So now you have the Rory strat and an AC30......Dallas rangemaster next?
(Also, have i mentioned how green i am with jealousy!!!)
Does you friend have a shop or something then? Or a list of his stock?
I think I'll just stick to using my Ibanez tube screamer ;)
Yep, that's "vintage correct" as well :lol: - that seemed to be his main solo boost when I was at his feet a few times in the early 80s. That was when he'd use a Marshall 2x12 50w combo and an AC30, or two Marshall combos if there were "phase problems".
However, I think he had the rangemaster up on top of the amps as well, probably on all the time - he'd go and fiddle with a box up there every now and then. Years later I found out what that box might have been.
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So now you have the Rory strat and an AC30......Dallas rangemaster next?
(Also, have i mentioned how green i am with jealousy!!!)
Does you friend have a shop or something then? Or a list of his stock?
I think I'll just stick to using my Ibanez tube screamer ;)
Yep, that's "vintage correct" as well :lol: - that seemed to be his main solo boost when I was at his feet a few times in the early 80s. That was when he'd use a Marshall 2x12 50w combo and an AC30, or two Marshall combos if there were "phase problems".
However, I think he had the rangemaster up on top of the amps as well, probably on all the time - he'd go and fiddle with a box up there every now and then. Years later I found out what that box might have been.
I always thought he just used the AC30 in the early days with Taste and switched to using Fender amps. I never knew he used tube screamers either. I'm always finding out knew things I didn't know about Rory :lol:
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So now you have the Rory strat and an AC30......Dallas rangemaster next?
(Also, have i mentioned how green i am with jealousy!!!)
Does you friend have a shop or something then? Or a list of his stock?
I think I'll just stick to using my Ibanez tube screamer ;)
Yep, that's "vintage correct" as well :lol: - that seemed to be his main solo boost when I was at his feet a few times in the early 80s. That was when he'd use a Marshall 2x12 50w combo and an AC30, or two Marshall combos if there were "phase problems".
However, I think he had the rangemaster up on top of the amps as well, probably on all the time - he'd go and fiddle with a box up there every now and then. Years later I found out what that box might have been.
I always thought he just used the AC30 in the early days with Taste and switched to using Fender amps. I never knew he used tube screamers either. I'm always finding out knew things I didn't know about Rory :lol:
He did use fenders on Irish tour i think, possibly a 4x10 bassman?
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Definitely Fender on Irish Tour - Rory when interviewed, and then the later Donal/Gerry commentary, are slightly confused over what it is exactly. I get the feeling Gerry knew what it was, but didn't want to make Donal look too much of a nob!!
I'm not sure it's a bassman, especially not 4X10 - didn't look the right kinda size/shape. But he did like them - I think he might be playing one on at least one of the Montreux gigs or Rockpalast gigs I've got on DVD.
By the time I caught up with him (1980) it was usually 2 Marshall 50w M/V combos. I'm not sure I ever saw the Marshall/AC30 combination, but that was his stated favourite at the time. He'd wheel them out at the soundcheck, any phase problems and the AC30 was straight off and replaced with the other Marshall. And he always had some other stuff - including a Stramp over on Gerry's side. Gerry used to get sh1t for trying to turn it down so's he could see, let alone hear...
Later on he moved to Marshall heads and 4x12s - not sure this was the right move personally. He was so f***ing loud on stage, horribly loud. Last gig I saw was Worthing Assembly rooms, it was just after Fresh Evidence came out. He was good, but no longer "mystically" good - I understood everything he played, it had never been like that before.
That night he kinda fell off the pedastal I'd put him on. I was right down the front (my wife at the time retreated to the mixing desk halfway through the first song). You couldn't hear any drums, bass, or vocals, to start with. He kept getting on at the monitor engineer because he couldn't hear his vocals. At one point during the gig he even did a "tut" rolling his eyes thing at me in a "can't hear meself, can't get the staff, eh?" sort of way. I just looked up at my idol and thought "you idiot, your guitar's too bluddy loud, SERIOUSLY too bluddy loud!!"
It was a great gig, I think the fifth I saw, but I'm kind of glad I didn't go to anymore after that - I've heard the last ones were a bit sad.
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Definitely Fender on Irish Tour - Rory when interviewed, and then the later Donal/Gerry commentary, are slightly confused over what it is exactly. I get the feeling Gerry knew what it was, but didn't want to make Donal look too much of a nob!!
I'm not sure it's a bassman, especially not 4X10 - didn't look the right kinda size/shape. But he did like them - I think he might be playing one on at least one of the Montreux gigs or Rockpalast gigs I've got on DVD.
Yeah, i couldn't really remember, its been a while since i watched it, but i remember Gerry saying it was a tweed fender of some kind.
I never got to see him live, seeing as i only discovered him about 2 years ago now, one of my favourite players though, just for Irish Tour really!
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Later on he moved to Marshall heads and 4x12s - not sure this was the right move personally. He was so f***ing loud on stage, horribly loud. Last gig I saw was Worthing Assembly rooms, it was just after Fresh Evidence came out. He was good, but no longer "mystically" good - I understood everything he played, it had never been like that before.
I never understood why after all these years using combos he switched to using Marshall heads and 4x12s. I always thought it was cool that he didn't come on stage with a wall of Marshall 4x12s that so many other rock n roll bands do, and instead he would just use 1 or 2 combos.
I really wish I could have seen Rory live, but I was too young, I was only born in the 80s. I did see Ted McKenna perform with a Rory tribute band a couple of years ago though, which was cool. He had quite a few stories to tell too :lol:
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I never understood why after all these years using combos he switched to using Marshall heads and 4x12s.
Probably because he was already pretty out of it by that stage, I guess?
Roy Buchanan was using a Tele with EMGs near the end of his life - I'm sure it was a good guitar but I doubt it sounded anywhere near as good as his old Teles. But he probably wasn't in a state of mind to really tell the difference.