Author Topic: VOX AC30 (Read 5737 times)

SamR · « **on:** July 31, 2007, 12:15:01 AM »

Me and my dad took a trip to Professional Music Technology sometime last year, for a quick browse at a few guitars. My dad was drawn in by a few pushy salesmen (no offence to any of them but i did find myself being pushed into trying absolutely everything at pmt) anywho long story short... after about an hour i found my dad scratching his chin over a VOX AC30, the salesmen had mentioned to him... that ''from this amp i could get any tone i wanted when played from my POD XTlive pedal''. I went home, I didnt think much more of it, until a few months later...

My dad, bless his cottons... had bought me an AC30 for christmas! I was chuffed, but theres a few things i just... really want from this amp, and its been bugging me for months...

Ok so i get gain when its played through my POD XT, but is this ruining the amp? also... other than turning up the amp, is there any other little secret hidden switch of something that i can turn up the gain from? I guess im goin to have to accept that its a classic rock amp, im just wondering if theres something im missing, the VOX is a real let down, to be honest its a bit pants. I dont really want to sell it because i havent really played it much, but if its no good for what i want then i guess im going to have to.

indysmith · « **Reply #1 on:** July 31, 2007, 12:32:09 AM »

ohhhh sam- i don't think you realise what a fantastic amp you have! :P a lot of people (myself included) would kill for an AC30.
The gain from the Pod won't do the amp any harm at all. The thing about the AC30 is that to get a substantial amount of gain out of it you have to crank it, and i mean full volume. However - AC30s are DAMN loud amps, and to be able to play at a volume that leaves your eardrums (and those of others in the surrounding mile) intact, you're going to need a power attenuator, such as a THD HotPlate, Weber Mass, Marshall Power Break, to get the best out of your amp.

By the way - what kind of styles and sounds are you hoping to get out of the AC30?

38thBeatle · « **Reply #2 on:** July 31, 2007, 07:36:22 AM »

The AC30 is a classic and you are a lucky man but it is not a high gain amp. Personally I'd dispense with the Pod and use the raw amp and use a decent pedal for gain but that is minimalist me-having said that, the Pod is a decent bit of kit (just using that expression makes me sound old) and I'd be inclined to work at it. If ever a mate is having problems with his gear in terms of sound and asks my view, I usually start be reducing the effects being used and that is often the cause and then start over from the basic tone and then add by increment and watch the interaction between effects-just my opinion and clearly I am not in the room with you so my point may be totally invalid.One thing for sure, you have a great Dad! Of course, as great as AC30 s are, it may not be to your taste.

WezV · « **Reply #3 on:** July 31, 2007, 08:35:22 AM »

i think you should be able to get the ac30 to work for you.. It is a classic british design so thats what it does best, obviously.... but it will still be able to do other stuff as well - it just might take a bit of experimentation with the pod or various pedals

it might also be worth looking into tweaking the amp to suit you better. The sound of valve amps can be changed drastically by using different valves or speakers. It might be worth speaking to a reputable amp tech about exactly what you want from the ac30 and maybe he can get it closer for you!!

It will still always have some of the characteristics ac30 sound what ever you do but i dont see why you cant get that to work for you!!

LazyNinja · « **Reply #4 on:** July 31, 2007, 09:07:41 AM »

Sell your Pod and buy a great distortion pedal like Radial Tonebone or Blackstar Dual pedal with the money you get from selling it. I think it's the best solution to getting killer distortion from that amp without spending any extra cash.

gwEm · « **Reply #5 on:** July 31, 2007, 11:01:27 AM »

cool dad indeed ;) you dont want to upset his feeling by selling the amp either i guess - after all - what a great gift!!

+1 with everyone else. selling the pod and buying some other kit to work with the vox (like a nice distortion/overdrive pedal or a hotplate) is a good idea.

what guitar/pickups do you have? what sound do you want?

Elliot · « **Reply #6 on:** July 31, 2007, 11:53:06 AM »

Have you tried putting trebleand bass to 0 and mid (is it 'cut' on AC30s?) to max and playing your pod through the AC30 - that normally makes POD sound better.

Brow · « **Reply #7 on:** July 31, 2007, 05:43:33 PM »

Quote from: Elliot

Have you tried putting trebleand bass to 0 and mid (is it 'cut' on AC30s?) to max and playing your pod through the AC30 - that normally makes POD sound better.

I personally wouldn't kill the sound of a great amp by using a POD with it AT ALL! But that's just imo :lol:

Is it 1 of the new Custom Classic amps with the master volume control? Depending on what style of music you play, and what sonds you want from the amp, I'd set the amp to crunchy when you play hard and then kick it up a notch with a good quality Overdrive or Distortion pedal :)

indysmith · « **Reply #8 on:** July 31, 2007, 05:52:03 PM »

anyone played one of those custom classics? are they any good?

the_bleeding · « **Reply #9 on:** July 31, 2007, 09:13:19 PM »

ac-30's are notorious for making distortion pedals sound like cr@p for some reason. So i'd stick to overdrives so you can just use the amp's natural tone. Maxon OD-808 or a Fulltone OCD :)

WezV · « **Reply #10 on:** July 31, 2007, 09:36:25 PM »

i played one in a studio last year. Nice amps - but i didnt think it sounded as good as the originals i had played. it was actually very similar to the 70's soild state ac30 i sold a few months ago when played clean.

i tend to be a bit of a vintage snob when it comes to brand new amps from the big names though - they all seem a bit more lack-lustre than i expect!!

Blueminerva · « **Reply #11 on:** August 01, 2007, 02:38:08 AM »

Buy the blackstar HT-DISTX and whack that in front of it. I got one of these babies the other day and I tell you it makes my Laney sound KILLER!

Sneedy · « **Reply #12 on:** August 01, 2007, 10:28:23 PM »

Quote from: WezV

i played one in a studio last year. Nice amps - but i didnt think it sounded as good as the originals i had played. it was actually very similar to the 70's soild state ac30 i sold a few months ago when played clean.

i tend to be a bit of a vintage snob when it comes to brand new amps from the big names though - they all seem a bit more lack-lustre than i expect!!

I think along similar lines, though I'm not a purist by any means, I just appreciate the sound of those older amps, and if I had my druthers I'd take a vintage every time (but then again, who in their right mind wouldn't?).

Vintage amps and guitars have skyrocketed since the late 1980s (and it seems skyrocketed again due in part to eBay and the means to acquire any rare gear for far more than its worth), and companies have re-visited their infamous models, at prices that almost border reasonable. That's a lot of money for an amp that isn't really the amp you're really after.

Still, no matter what guitar rag you read, just about everyone used (or uses) the Vox AC30 or the Fender Twin Reverb in the studio, making them the industry standards. Even the models today, if they're not comparable to their vintage counterparts, are still the most sought-after in terms of reliability. I look at a lot of websites that sell botique amplifiers, but the prices are ridiculous. I realize they're handbuilt in most cases, but the average joe (i.e. me) can't afford one of these amps, which are usually carbon copies of vintage amps from 50's-70's. So that's the alternative. Pay out the arse for a modern redux, or pay a little less for the real thing (not including money to get the old rig serviced).

Bad Cat makes some cool-looking amps, yes. Will I ever own one? Not with my health condition.

Now, if you want something to shred, I'm sure you'd be better off with something that produce a wall of sound like an old Marshall Plexi, but an AC30 is a good amp. It's a stalwart of the industry, and that can be a good or a bad thing. If you want to run with the pack, or get the sound players got for decades using those amps, keep it.

If it doesn't suit you, there's no point in keeping it. Somewhere out there there's a perfect amp for everyone. I don't believe in true love, but I believe in the perfect amplifier.

HTH AMPS · « **Reply #13 on:** August 01, 2007, 10:38:58 PM »

AC30s are one of those amps that just need some volume. A hotplate would be a great investment to get the most from this amp so you can use some of the natural amp overdrive.

I'd then use a MI Audio Crunchbox for extra gain - the Crowther Hotcake is also famed for sounding great with AC30s too.

Are you wanting rock or metal amounts of gain - what bands would you like to emulate?

You could try a treble booster into the normal channel for some classic rock in the Queen vein, this is a pretty raunchy overdrive tone I've used myself.

:twisted:

SamR · « **Reply #14 on:** August 01, 2007, 10:59:38 PM »

thanks for the pointers guys, im gonna fire it up again over the weekend, i dont get back from work till late so i dont think the neighbours would approve! lol worst comes to the worst i dont think my dad will mind me selling it, he knows himself what happens if he's let loose in a music shop, we now have 2 PA systems sitting in our own little studio that we built! he just couldnt fit them in the house :P

Anyway i hope things go well with it cranked up, ive already had a fiddle and cranked everything as hot as it will go, my POD has a lot of the overdrive and distortion effects, i usually have my laptop on the floor next to it aswel to do tweaks in between playing anyway.