Vox AC30

Mr Alan · 03-09-2009 8:47am #1

Looking at buying one of these (second hand)

http://www.thomann.de/gb/vox_ac30_cc2_gitarrencombo.htm

Peoples opinions on them seem to vary from great to awful! depending on the person.....any inherant flaws with them? would it be a mistake?

Any help would be apprecianted.

Thanks,
Alan.

CatacombKittens · 03-09-2009 9:20am

What? AC30s are amazing, any kind of AC30 even the Solid State one from the late 60s.

Glassheart · 03-09-2009 9:30am

Mr Alan wrote: »

Looking at buying one of these (second hand)

http://www.thomann.de/gb/vox_ac30_cc2_gitarrencombo.htm

Peoples opinions on them seem to vary from great to awful! depending on the person.....any inherant flaws with them? would it be a mistake?

Any help would be apprecianted.

Thanks,
Alan.

They are VERY unreliable.I only wish i paid closer attention to the negative reviews before i bought mine.
The thing that pisses me off the most is that i only had it a few months before it started acting up.It was never gigged,used 2-3 times a week and well looked after.
I had the CC2X which is a step up from that model.

Cheap components and cheap labour and still priced alongside well built US and UK amps.Their profits must be huge...

Mr Alan · 03-09-2009 9:57am

thanks folks.

still really torn. for every negative review, there seems to be a positive one.
is it just that a small minority are unreliable? or are the dissenting voices just the loudest?

So hard to know.

I could possibly push my budget to €700, would hope to do with it as well as do some studio work. Any ideas on anything that would be better in that price range?

Glassheart · 03-09-2009 10:09am

Mr Alan wrote: »

thanks folks.

still really torn. for every negative review, there seems to be a positive one.

Thats a 50/50 split :pac:

Mr Alan wrote: »

I could possibly push my budget to €700, would hope to do with it as well as do some studio work. Any ideas on anything that would be better in that price range?

What kind of band are you in?
There has been some great stuff on adverts for around that price over the last few months...

Mr Alan · 03-09-2009 10:12am

www.theevora.com

play indie rock i guess.

Glassheart · 03-09-2009 10:31am

I didn't listen to your stuff because i'm in work.

The closest thing i've ever played to an Vox AC30 was an Orange AD30.
It doesn't have Tremolo,Reverb or an FX loop but it sounds great and it's rock solid.
Maybe a good Fender tube amp like a Deville would be suitable.

CatacombKittens · 03-09-2009 10:37am

Oh, I didn't realise you were talking about reliability. I'm not so sure about that.

The Orange ADs are darker voiced than the AC amps especially the ones with Top Boost, but they can get some of the sound sounds and are probably more reliable than the cheaper Voxes.

Mr Alan · 03-09-2009 10:42am

just how unreliable are they? would it make it a nuisance to gig with?

68 lost souls · 03-09-2009 11:51am

Pretty much every ac30 that was made in the last year or two has or will break down. I heard that the chineese factory were putting the wrong transformers or similar into them and it was a few months before they realised. If you can get an old AC30 go for it, otherwise wait a few months for all the dud stuff to get off the market.

They are great amps when they work but be warned they break down a lot.

Hockney · 03-09-2009 12:09pm

I was debating buying the AC30 with the Orange Rocker 30 (now E888 on Thomann) for ages but went for the Orange, mainly because I'd heard of the Vox being a disaster reliability wise, and because I'd heard the Orange was fantastic at low volumes which is rare for an all tube amp.

I can't recommend it highly enough! You sacrifice some options (reverb, fx loop, extra boost for leads) but playing the thing I can't help but smile! Whatever you sacrifice in features you gain threefold in tone.

And it's excellent for bedroom practice aswell as the stage. Brilliant overdrive, brilliant cleans, and built like a brick sh!thouse.

If I were you I'd head into X-Music and give one a whirl, you'll be smiling yourself. E969 in there at the moment but I'd say if you stuck E850 cold, hard cash on the counter my bet would be that'd you'd walk out with it.

Secondhand these are rarely on the market (check adverts.ie) which again is only testament to how good the Rocker 30 is.

Do it!

Mr Alan · 03-09-2009 12:36pm

if i could get a second hand mesa boogie 22 for around that price, would i be much better off?

Seziertisch · 03-09-2009 9:23pm

Blackstar Artisan 30 is also very close to the AC30. I wouldn't necessarily go for the combo, though. It comes with Celestion Vintage 30 speakers which I don't think are particularly suited to that kind of amp. It also weighs quite a bit.

i57dwun4yb1pt8 · 03-09-2009 10:01pm

dont buy an amp thats gonna fcuk you over mate - listen to the advice .

CatacombKittens · 03-09-2009 10:15pm

Mr Alan wrote: »

if i could get a second hand mesa boogie 22 for around that price, would i be much better off?

Dude, Mesas have a totally different sound. Mesas are "American" voice - more lower mids, less higher mids. Darker overall and probably a little higher gain. AC30s have a real "Wall of crunchy glass" sound when cranked and are brighter.

What kind of sound do you want? Don't get an expensive t00b amp for t00b amp's sake, especially if you're looking at one with reliability issues. If you're that unsure it might be best to try out a modeller first. My AD30 does quite a good AC30 sound.

Mr Alan · 03-09-2009 11:17pm

thanks for all the help folks.

the sound i want will vary quite a lot tbh, hard to pin it down to any one particular sound

or maybe i just need to stop reading about amps & go to bed

gonna go with the mesa i think, seems to be more versatile & reliable-as well as having a great sound quality.

Thanks.

CatacombKittens · 04-09-2009 11:24am

Mr Alan wrote: »

thanks for all the help folks.

the sound i want will vary quite a lot tbh, hard to pin it down to any one particular sound or maybe i just need to stop reading about amps & go to bed

gonna go with the mesa i think, seems to be more versatile & reliable-as well as having a great sound quality.

Thanks.

Well, there's lots of other options here. I'd definitely check out the Blackstar stuff, they're great and probably cheaper.

I'm not sure a Mesa would be best for "Indie rock", they're more for blues and metal, though that's a very broad spectrum, it could mean everything from Smashing Pumpkins to the poppy "Indie" a lot of radio stations seem to play nowadays. Though that might be a good thing in of itself, since Indie shouldn't mean any one thing really.

What are your influences? There must be some guy's guitar tone you like more than others, or a general type of tone.

If you're really unsure, get one of the newer Vox Valvetronix amps or a Peavy VYPYR. They'll have both good AC30 sounds and Mesa sounds. Then when you're done you can sell it and save up for a "real" amp. Or at least try one out, to get an idea of what the different types of amp sound like.

Seany · 04-09-2009 12:13pm

I had my AC30 CC2 for over 2 years and never had any problem with it. I acknowledge that a lot of people seemed to have issues, but there was never any problem with mine. I gigged with it I'd say 20 times and also rehearsed on average once a week.

They are very heavy and very loud. The only thing I didnt like about the AC30was that it didnt have switchable channels. If you are getting one - I would also spend a few bob on a decent flight case for it to keep it secure (that's what I had which may be the reason why it never broke down on me).

Never played a mesa so cant comment. Played a fender deville and deluxe and although I thought they sounded nice, I prefered the AC30.

Vox AC30

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