Laney LC30 vs VC30

[Yngwiestein]

This question comes up a lot so I did a side by side comparison of the two. Starting with clean channel then to mild breakup then to overdriven and then distorted. Next test was with a Fulldrive Fulltone II mosfet.

Amps w Flat EQ, reverb 9:00, vol 10:00. Fulldrive set overdrive w out boost 12:00, tone 12:00, mosfet, flat mids.

Guitar was PRS McCarty w stock pickup. Tested bridge, neck & split single.

VC30

Good sparkly cleans. Warm vibrant character. Reverb is little weak compared w other amps even maxed out. On a scale from 1-10, touch sensitivity is about 7-8 where bright setting adds some dynamics. This amp is comparable to Vox. This amp is not good for home use. It has to be LOUD to get nice speaker breakup. At least 11-12:00 but is still very mild. Nice vintage tone and pristine. A times it felt a little sterile w single coil sounds.

Gain channel is LOUD when volume is at 0 and gain is at 12:00. Louder than TV volume. To get full distortion you have to max the gain and even w vol at 0 it's very loud. This is my only complaint about the amp!

The gain is VERY vintage sounding. Very Voxish overdrive. I did not like the overdrive past 2:00. Got spongy and mushy like a Vox CP2 but not as bad. Still good for some rock chords.

Clean w pedal the amp excelled. Not very compressed and kind of open sounding. Good dynamics. Very very nice tone! Had to kick the treble up a little and back off the mids to get vintage sparkle.

Amp is a joy to play but a little hard to dial in. Great for jazz, blues and classic rock. If you don't want pristine clean then the gain channel is a lot of fun!

 

[Yngwiestein]

Re: Laney LC30 vs VC30

LC30

Cleans were noticeablely thicker but did not lack sparkle or chime. Absolutely amazed with cleans of the amp! Touch sensitivity was probably about 8. Bright switch is amazing! You could have a complete amp with the clean channel alone because the cleans are that good! Very nice but mild breakup around 11:00. This amp gets LOUD!

Drive channel has more modern British voicing than VC30. Something reminiscent of a 70's Marshall but with gain on tap. Not the most articulate amp at high gain but not muddy either. Very good dynamic sounding drive channel. Love everything about it. At lower gain it sounds very 808'ish! Smooth and jazzy. Superb midrange! The cabinet is very thick and I don't know this as fact but might attribute to the decent bass reponse.

There was no need for the 808 but tested just to be thorough. Good thick tone. Adjusted tone knob of 808 to about 2:00 to increase presence. Struck gold! Even w this great sound I still longed for the drive channel.

Reverb is lush not too crisp as some spring reverbs. Reverb is deep. Past 1:00 reverb is not much use.

Every pickup position sounded great. Neck pickup sounded very articulate and full. Single coil was fabulous!

Overall this amp is a 9 out of 10! Laneys best kept secret!

 

[Yngwiestein]

Re: Laney LC30 vs VC30

Overall assessment: The LC30 is my favorite of the two. I prefer the clean and OD channels over the VC30. Better bass response. Plenty of gain on tap. Tone of the amp is one of the best. I've heard recordings but I have yet to find one that does this amp justice. Absolutely amazing!

Considering price, the LC30 is the absolute best amp in that price range. I personally think it blows away all the Traynors, Peaveys, etc. In fact this amp is so good I would put it up against 30w amps in top tier prices!

The VC30 might be just as good depending on who is using it. For a vintage guy who plays clean or a little dirty they might prefer it. For someone who wants british distortion and Vox cleans the LC30 might be better choice.

No complaints about the LC30. As good an amp as you can get. The VC30 has two notable problems that bugs me. One is the volume of the OD channel. You are limited to very low gain on OD because the volume is so loud for home practice. Might as well use the clean channel and an OD pedal. The VC30 takes pedals very well but does not have a lot of bottom. Not good for any kind of metal music or hard rock which requires decent bass response.

The other issue is the reverb. It's kind of weak. It's still effective enough and probably very appropriate for vintage players who prefer little or no reverb.

So overall both extremely good amplifiers. Very different. The LC30 is much more rounded and suited to many different players. The VC30 has a very vintage appeal.

 

[suislidE03]

Re: Laney LC30 vs VC30

Cool, Ive always been a Laney fan. I want to try a VC30 so much. I love a great clean tone, and Laneys are one of the few amps that sound like I want them to sound. Some guys just flat out dont like them, but I cant get enough. I knew of the LC30, but I didnt think it was as good as you reviewed. Surprised you liked it over the VC.

One thing that normally turns people off or think its not articulate with high gain is the fuzzy flavor of Laney gain. All the clips and both amps I have tried personally have a fuzzy character to the gain (well, maybe excluding the lion heart series. See if you can get your hands on one and review it!!). It is definitely part of their design, not a flaw. Pickups have a big influence on it however, as I noticed when I replaced the A5 magnet in my full shred with the A8. The gain is now much clearer in the highs.

 

[Yngwiestein]

Re: Laney LC30 vs VC30

Cool, Ive always been a Laney fan. I want to try a VC30 so much. I love a great clean tone, and Laneys are one of the few amps that sound like I want them to sound. Some guys just flat out dont like them, but I cant get enough. I knew of the LC30, but I didnt think it was as good as you reviewed. Surprised you liked it over the VC.

One thing that normally turns people off or think its not articulate with high gain is the fuzzy flavor of Laney gain. All the clips and both amps I have tried personally have a fuzzy character to the gain (well, maybe excluding the lion heart series. See if you can get your hands on one and review it!!). It is definitely part of their design, not a flaw. Pickups have a big influence on it however, as I noticed when I replaced the A5 magnet in my full shred with the A8. The gain is now much clearer in the highs.

I have several Lionhearts in stock. I prefer the LT410 or Head w cab. I can write a rev of those too.

Thing is u see, Laneys are like Marshalls. You have to play em loud to get that good sound. Low volumes is fizzy. More so is that people like to play them with lot of gain but they sound exquisite with overdriven sounds too.

Yes indeed! The LC30 is Laney's best kept secret. As good as any other they make. Laney says it's actually the "little brother" of a VH100.

 

[Ringlund]

Re: Laney LC30 vs VC30

Very interesting comparison. I havent played any of them, but heard that the VC30 has more vox type cleans then the LC30 unlike your impression. What speaker combinations did the amps you tried out have? And how much differance does it?

And please review the lionheart if you have the opportunity..

I've heard recordings but I have yet to find one that does this amp justice.

.

Are you able record them with justice??

 

[Yngwiestein]

Re: Laney LC30 vs VC30

Very interesting comparison. I havent played any of them, but heard that the VC30 has more vox type cleans then the LC30 unlike your impression. What speaker combinations did the amps you tried out have? And how much differance does it?

And please review the lionheart if you have the opportunity..

Are you able record them with justice??

So the people who told u this did a side by side comparison?

No I didn't try different speakers. This was a comparison between the two 2x12 combos as they come stock. This something I was already working on for my business so I posted here for the forum.

I will review the Lionhart for u soon.

To record with justice I don't have the recording capability to do a professional recording. I suck at playing but I'll do what I can

 

[telecaster887]

Re: Laney LC30 vs VC30

Have you tested the LC15 to the LC30? I know theyre different by having 2 channels and independent EQs but if so, was the over tone/voicing similar?

 

[Yngwiestein]

Re: Laney LC30 vs VC30

Have you tested the LC15 to the LC30? I know theyre different by having 2 channels and independent EQs but if so, was the over tone/voicing similar?

Well I don't stock the LC15 so my experience is limited. I tested them out and decided not to carry them. Not because they arent great amps but because everyone else carries them and I try to cater to serious players who spend money! The LC30 is the cheapest amp I stock!

The 15 & 30 are similar of course. The 30 as u would expect has a little more headroom & sounds bigger. Twice as loud, and the 15 is very loud! Both have hi/low jacks and both sound fantastic right out of the box.

The stock Celestion 10" is ok. I think a speaker upgrade is the only think keeping you back from the kind of tone you always wanted from a British voiced 15w amp. Let me also add that the stock 70/80 of LC30 is splendid. No need to change!

Tubes I think are good. Never had a problem with stock tubes at all! If anything a tube upgrade will be minimal impact on sound. JJs if anything might improve in the preamp section. Please keep in mind that I don't have a lot of experience changing out speakers and tubes. Can say with certain degree of confidence that a speaker upgrade will help.

Probably try a Copperhead or Rajun Cajun for good results.

 

[viewaskew2k5]

Re: Laney LC30 vs VC30

I actually think my old VC 30 was closer to a Vox then an LC...mind you a put a celestion gold in it as well as some vintage Ei tubes