Has anyone had problems with the new Vox AC30?

[James Lugo]

I bought a re-issue Vox AC30 CC2. The first one had a bad speaker, returned it. The second had faulty reverb, returned it. The third one I picked up this morning and it sounds like ass, rattly as hell and this wierd cheap sound munchy thing in the sound. WTF! Am I alone????

[Tibbon]

I'm skeptical about these amps. AC30's aren't cheap to make, and they are really selling these for cheaper than you can even make one by purchasing the parts. I played through one recently and it sounded ok, but without the full same 'vibe' as the real AC30. I wasn't able to crank it up all of the way, due to being at Guitar Center and I knew that the power would take the paint off the walls (assuming it gets as loud as the real deal).

Get an AC30HW. If something's broken, unless it's the transformer, bust out an iron and fix it!

[James Lugo]

The price thing makes me skeptical too. I payed $875, seems suspect. I'm not a Vox guy but I like the sound of it for the studio but these guys are messed up. They rattle so much it's unusable. Thanks for replying.

[kellyd]

We have one over here w/ blue alnicos and it's great. It's the new house amp. I like it more than the Matchless Chieftan and Z Maz we had for awhile. It's very versatile with all the options and it tracks really well. So far no build issues. Maybe we have a good one. Does it rate up against a well maintained orig Vox? Probably not but then I really could care less. It sounds like a Vox and we get the tones we're looking for. I've had a few older AC30s in but they were all in different condition. In many ways we've had an easier time getting tones with the reissue than with the origs that came around.

[indie]

Hey James,
I had a AC-30 reissue (the purple special edition) GREAT amp. Mine sounded as good as any old AC-30 I've played...as any player that knows AC-30s will tell you, the sound is in the Blue Bulldog speakers. AC-30's with celestions don't sound like the "classic" AC-30 we all know and love.
I did however sell it when I bought my Bad Cat.
Good luck with it.
Micah

[Musiclab]

I bought the head and it works great, no problems at all

[tvanveen]

I'm thinking of getting one of the new AC15's, but was concerned about the QC issues I've heard about. Someone turned me on to this dealer -

http://www.voxshowroom.com/northcoas...ping/index.htm

They test them before they ship them.

[James Lugo]

We had a rough day tracking guitars. The 3rd Vox AC30 was a nightmare, it rattled so bad I returned it and gave up for today...:(~ I'm tired.

So, I'm in need a cool amp ala AC30. Any ideas?

I played a new Fender Deluxe tonight at GC, it sounded nice but rattled too. I don't know if I'm going insane or I'm obsessed or just some bad luck. You ever have like a cable crap out or a tweeter go in your studio and then all of a sudden everything you think you hear has a buzz or rattle in it?

As a consolation prize to myself I picked up a Soldano Avenger tonight, that is one mean ass sounding amp. I'm ready to get in touch with the spirit of down stroking or my inner James Hetfield!

[Slideman]

Same thing happened to me, James. Went through 3 rattly AC30s and 2 bad Deluxes last year and gave up on them both.

[superburtm]

I thought that I heard that korg makes them now(AC 30)? That could be part of the problem. What the hell does Korg know about Tube Amps?

[tvanveen]

Well, Korg has made them for a while now. They used to be made in the UK, and those were pretty nice. I had a Korg UK AC15 which I stupidly sold.

The problem might be that they're made in China now. Korg has supposedly set up a brand spaning new factory to churn them out...looks like they haven't quite got their QC in line yet.

[BCains]

I bought a reissue AC30 about 2 months ago, great buy.
I had no problems what so ever with mine.
Sorry to hear about your troubles, thou. Have you had problems with other instruments coming from that store?

[neve1073]

Originally Posted by James 'LA' Lugo

.

So, I'm in need a cool amp ala AC30. Any ideas?

Get an old hand wired ac30. It'll cost three-four times the money of the made in china look alike but so will any of the expensive boutique ac30 clones. From the AC30 CC you shouldn't expect much more than you would from a 5$ rolex you buy in times square. It will tell the time (if you don't get a lemon), but...

That said, I know someone who has an $875 ac30 cc and he hasn't had any problems. It does sound in the ballpark but definitely way out of the strike zone imo.

[James Lugo]

Thanks Neve.

Slideman and I seem like brothers.

[retrograde]

We've got 2 of the new heads and 1 new combo and they all sound fantastic. They are much more versatile than the older Korg reissues. No build problems at all. Sorry to hear about your bad experience.

Geoff

[Tibbon]

There's plenty of pretty cool amps under 1K that will work a lot better than the AC30CC.

One that's really cool for recording is the Zvex Nano amp. Very cool look, very cool sounds.

For a more vox-ish tone, perhaps look into a Class A mesa combo? Again, not right on the nose, but good tone.

I've been looking at some really old fenders (Old champs and stuff). If you see a Magnatone around that works, pick it up. Way cool vibrato circuit. Keep an eye on Craigslist depending how strong of a presence they are in your area (super strong in Boston, NY, SF, etc..)

[Tibbon]

Originally Posted by neve1073

Get an old hand wired ac30. It'll cost three-four times the money of the made in china look alike but so will any of the expensive boutique ac30 clones. From the AC30 CC you shouldn't expect much more than you would from a 5$ rolex you buy in times square. It will tell the time (if you don't get a lemon), but...

That said, I know someone who has an $875 ac30 cc and he hasn't had any problems. It does sound in the ballpark but definitely way out of the strike zone imo.

I'm not sure of what you meant by "old" (3 years or 30), but I've put a Vox AC30HW (reissue amp with custom wound transformers and all hand wired, limited edition goodness) up against a 1963 one and it really did best the old one. Best of all if wht a AC30HW you don't have to worry about it having bad replacement parts in it, having a bad history, etc... But Korg stopped making them after a short run. Too bad. Amazing amps.

[Oats]

i have a reissue ac-30 thats about 10 yrs old and i love it. it has the bulldogs and i had it modified-- put a big ass old capacitor in it and made one channel a post preamp effects loop. i will say that they can be finnicky esp on the road. but i have always considered it the price to be paid for that tone. i have also played alot of originals and would say that they sound SLIGHTLY better-- but they are even worse as far as reliability. u really need to take em in for a once over about 2-3 times a year esp if on the road.

[James Lugo]

On a completely different note - I bought a Soldano Avenger 100 watt haed, that thing is evil sounding. I love it.


I need the AC30 thing in my studio, I'm going to resume the quest when I return from vacation.

[Jay Kahrs]

FWIW, I was in GC last week and played a new AC30 Custom Classic while test driving Strats and the amp melted! After a while something started to sound BAD, then a puff of smoke and no more sound! I guess the China thing just isn't working for 'em. I've got CDogs old top boost AC30 here, it's a mid-90's reissue and it's been great! It also has more depth and dimension to the tone then the new $1000 Custom Classics too...also weighs more!!!

I haven't tried this guys amps yet but word on the street is that they rock pretty hard and he can tweak them however you want; www.CelticAmplifiers.com I'd also look for Matchless/Bad Cat & Dr. Z amps if you need the AC30 "flavor" but are willing to wander from AC30-ville. There was a Boogie that was an AC30 "clone" too...Blue Angel? Maverick? One of the recent ones they discontinued a few years ago, they sound great and have the reliability thing down cold.

[neve1073]

Originally Posted by Tibbon

I'm not sure of what you meant by "old" (3 years or 30), but I've put a Vox AC30HW (reissue amp with custom wound transformers and all hand wired, limited edition goodness) up against a 1963 one and it really did best the old one. Best of all if wht a AC30HW you don't have to worry about it having bad replacement parts in it, having a bad history, etc... But Korg stopped making them after a short run. Too bad. Amazing amps.

I was talking about ac30 jmi amps from the '60s. Now if you buy a '60s ac30 jmi you'd better have a really great amp tech on hand to get it to the point I'm talking about. It's an expensive labour of love. But when I have compared a really good vintage ac30 (with original bulldogs etc) to even the korg reissues (which are pretty great), or handwired matchless, tophat etc, the real one always wins for me. (Trainwreck is the one exception.) They are all great, but the '60s jmi is the daddy.

[neve1073]

Originally Posted by Oats

i will say that they can be finnicky esp on the road. but i have always considered it the price to be paid for that tone. i have also played alot of originals and would say that they sound SLIGHTLY better-- but they are even worse as far as reliability. u really need to take em in for a once over about 2-3 times a year esp if on the road.

Agreed.

[Jay Kahrs]

Originally Posted by neve1073

(Trainwreck is the one exception.) They are all great, but the '60s jmi is the daddy.

Yeah, but Trainwreck's are rare as hell and Ken Fisher isn't building anymore so that's not an option. Dumbles are really sweet too & have a different vibe then an AC30...closer to the 'Wreck thang. Still major tacos though...

[thesteve]

Well, even though its a slightly different tone, I just have to say that the Mesa Lone Star Special is an incredible studio amp. Its class A, can run at 5 wattts or 30 and is very versatile. Not as cheap as the vox, but I have heard lots of complaints about the new ones from the guys at the shoppe where I buy my gear. Same problems as you had. Bad reverb tanks, rattling chassis, speakers mounted improperly..... you name it.

[Fibes]

Originally Posted by indie

Hey James,
I had a AC-30 reissue (the purple special edition) GREAT amp. Mine sounded as good as any old AC-30 I've played...as any player that knows AC-30s will tell you, the sound is in the Blue Bulldog speakers. AC-30's with celestions don't sound like the "classic" AC-30 we all know and love.
I did however sell it when I bought my Bad Cat.
Good luck with it.
Micah

I AM AN INSANE AC-30 NUTCASE.

That said, my purple AC-30 reissue with bulldogs sounds great but is very different from my (and other) JMI era AC-30s. The same issue as the purple ones were the best reissues IMO but they still are much brighter and have a different kind of 3dness to them. They get different calls for different tunes.

I'm saddened by the news that the new ones are not living up to the Standards although they are notoriously finicky amps.

[James Lugo]

Well, after all the drama with the 3 AC30's I bought and returned I bought a 4th one today. I went into Guitar Center Sherman Oaks, they had 2 in the iso room, one sounded not so good and the other was 30 watts of Vox love!!!! The crossing of the fingers will now be under way.

[Rader Ranch]

http://recforums.prosoundweb.com/ind...6/0#msg_118126

check it out re: the new Vox.....

[weatherbox]

The Valvetech Hayseed seems to be the pick for current boutique Vox-style amps. I'm an EL84 Vox-style fanatic, too - I've got an old red AC30 I love terribly and a host of other EL84 Vox-inspired amps to go along with it. I am tempted to check out a Hayseed given the glowing reviews they've been garnering, as my AC30 gets a little puckish on the road...

nothing records like a nice ES or tele into a booster into an AC30.

[James Lugo]

I just read the PSW article. That's nuts. The one I played today seemed to sound great. I was in a quiet room and cranked it for 15 minutes. We'll see.

[sysexguy]

a gearslutz' dream/nightmare :
http://plexipalace.com/plexiboard/vi...1d90bdc2d1ae87

have fun, lots of topics on sinoAc30's

Andy