New trip to GC... Vox AC-30 CC, Taylor + more

[That90'sGuy]

I decided to check out the Manchester Guitar Center today to mess around for a little bit. I finally got to play a Taylor T-5 and I found I really loved a p90 and bigsby equipped Gibson ES-135 (used nonetheless... I loved it). I think I'm just all around a sucker for p90 guitars and a hollowbody w/ p90s might not be too shabby of a guitar to look into in the future

The Taylor I liked, but surprisingly didn't love it. The neck was too thin for my taste. The electric pickups were pretty decent, but not near as good as the stuff I have in my electrics and the piezo tone was just good, not as amazing as I was planning it to be.

I plugged these guitars into a few amps. I plugged into a sweet '65 Blackface Super Reverb (great clean tone!), a Mesa F50 and the new Vox AC-30 CC.

Surprisingly, I liked the new Vox AC-30 CC the best! The tone through the top boost channel was so nice and chimey and bright. The chords came out perfectly jangly and it resonated so beautifully. It was also extremely quiet. This thing is going to be a hit, it nails the vintage JMI-era stuff that many pros talk about. I can't believe how fraggin' good it is, it's scary. It's the best standard production amp I've played so far (and that really says a lot). Only problem was that I wasn't able to crank the amp in GC, but with a standard base tone that rich, I can only imagine what it sounds like with a tube screamer through it! If I wasn't completely dedicated to my Fargen (which does the Vox thing and more), I think I would look into one myself.

The Mesa was a nice all around performer. The overdrive I felt was much better than the recto series, but it still covered up the nuances of different guitars. If you want a smooth and singing overdrive, this could do it! The price was very fair for the quality too.

The Super Reverb is just that, holy grail Fender blackface tone. It looks so weird having a vintage piece like this laying amongst Line 6, B-52 and Crate amps, but it was definitely taken care of. I can see why so many people use these amps for clean and throw various pedals through it to cover other tonal spectrums. Absolutely phenomenal tone, but I've come to the conclusion I just prefer Vox chime to blackface (although I think they're both fantastic).

[Hot _Grits]

Re: New trip to GC... Vox AC-30 CC, Taylor + more

I was pretty blown away by the AC30 CC as well. definitely getting the head at some point...

[Al.C]

Re: New trip to GC... Vox AC-30 CC, Taylor + more

I haven't checked out the new vox personally,but my brother (a professional amp tech) looked one over and passed the following heads up to me. Again I have not seen it myself it appears he was checking out the combo. I would check this out yourself to verify his observations (they may not be significant to you) but he generally knows what he talks about

"The only good thing is the cabinet, It's actually made of Baltic Birch
plywood, Just like Boogies, But it's covered with the thinnest, cheapest,
black tolex that I have ever seen. Not very durable at all!
The amp is not service friendly, or user friendly! It is impossible to see,
check, or change any tubes without disassembling the entire chassis! To
access the tubes you have to first remove 7 screws from the back panel, then remove the back panel. The chassis is mounted on a piece of plywood that slides into the cabinet. you must remove 4 more screws to get this plywood to slide out, BUT, you can't slide it out yet because both speakers are hard wired from the chassis with short wires, therefore you MUST UNSOLDER all 4 speaker wires from the speakers first. Now you can slide the plywood and the chassis out, BUT, you can't remove it all the way because the reverb tank is also hard wired to the chassis and is in a vinyl bag that is screwed to the bottom of the cabinet. Luckily the reverb wires are just long enough to set the chassis on the ground just behind the cabinet. NOW you can replace the tubes! If I need to check inside the chassis I now have to remove 6 more screws to remove the plywood bottom. I guess they figure that tubes last forever in an AC30.???
The amp has several circuit boards but the main problem is the top board
with all the pots, switches and jacks on. The pots and switches are special
size, small and thin, mounted flat on the circuit board and inserted through
the top of the amp, just like a mixing board. They are all special OEM
parts and can only be replaced with the exact part from the manufacturer.
These switches and pots will break, and there will be long waits to get
replacement parts.
The three top vents above the tubes are plastic snap-in. No screws! These
will vibrate, rattle, and break!
There is a large aluminium plate above the tubes, between the tubes and the
vents. The air does not go right up through the vents, it is trapped under
this plate and slowly rises out around the perimeter of the plate, then out
the vents. I guess they wanted to keep the dirt and dust that comes in
through the vents off or the power tubes.?? EL84's do not have a bottom
ring on them, when you put them in open sockets, as they do, the dust and
dirt build up around the pins and can cause shorts when moisture builds up."

[Pink Unicorn Horsey]

Re: New trip to GC... Vox AC-30 CC, Taylor + more

Surprisingly, I liked the new Vox AC-30 CC the best! The tone through the top boost channel was so nice and chimey and bright. The chords came out perfectly jangly and it resonated so beautifully.

The Super Reverb is just that, holy grail Fender blackface tone...I can see why so many people use these amps for clean and throw various pedals through it to cover other tonal spectrums. Absolutely phenomenal tone, but I've come to the conclusion I just prefer Vox chime to blackface (although I think they're both fantastic).

I agree with you, which is why a year after I bought my AC30 I picked up a Super Reverb.

- Keith

[joelap]

Re: New trip to GC... Vox AC-30 CC, Taylor + more

Chris: do you mean Manchester CT? I was there a week or two ago and didnt see the AC30 CC there

[B Bent]

Re: New trip to GC... Vox AC-30 CC, Taylor + more

I keep hearing stories about these amps being DOA and working only for a short while after unboxing new from the factory. Matter of fact one of the GCs here in Atlanta was supposed to get one in and before I could get there to check it out they sent it back because it died after being played once in the store by one of the managers. I too want a Vox or other similar amp, but I worry about the Vox.

[That90'sGuy]

Re: New trip to GC... Vox AC-30 CC, Taylor + more

Chris: do you mean Manchester CT? I was there a week or two ago and didnt see the AC30 CC there

Yep! They have a whole new setup in that place, it actually looks really nice! You should definitely check out the Vox AC-30 CC there the next time you stop by and check out the used Gibson ES-135 (if you're into hollowbody guitars at all).

I wish I had liked the Taylor T-5 more, but to be honest, I didn't spend a large amount of time tweaking with it so it's possible there's a lot more to be found.

[flank]

Re: New trip to GC... Vox AC-30 CC, Taylor + more

i'd love to nab one of those new Ac30s, but i've been reading alot of problems that occur with them.....when i tried one out, the reverb didnt work, and i got cuts in volume as if something was going wrong

too bad theres not great reliability with these, i'd love to have one

[Gearjoneser]

Re: New trip to GC... Vox AC-30 CC, Taylor + more

I agree about the Taylor T5. I've played a flamed maple one and solid black one, and thought the same thing as you. I'm sure I'd have fun with one, plugged into the right amp, but it's not worth the money to me. I wasn't sold on the tone, or anything really.

I wonder if the stories about the Vox reliability are all accurate? I'd love to have one, but not if they carry that reputation. I wish I could find a LTD handwired AC-30 on the cheap! I'd get rid of my Bassman for one of those.

[That90'sGuy]

Re: New trip to GC... Vox AC-30 CC, Taylor + more

I agree about the Taylor T5. I've played a flamed maple one and solid black one, and thought the same thing as you. I'm sure I'd have fun with one, plugged into the right amp, but it's not worth the money to me. I wasn't sold on the tone, or anything really.

I wonder if the stories about the Vox reliability are all accurate? I'd love to have one, but not if they carry that reputation. I wish I could find a LTD handwired AC-30 on the cheap! I'd get rid of my Bassman for one of those.

I'm glad I'm not considered "crazy" for disliking the T-5. I think it'll be good for players that need versatility, but can settle with very average approximations of both electric and acoustic

The problem I've heard of with the HW series is the tone inconsistencies. Some are phenomenal... as good as any JMI-era one, and some are just terrible. I'm sure a good one is worth the coin, but the chance of being able to try out many of them is very small. A lot of people from what I've gathered just love the tone on the new CC series. I've been hearing about the tone being a lot better than most of the HW series (at a fraction of the cost).

I really hope Vox gets its act together and starts making this new series a lot more reliable, because the amp itself, with inferior components or not, sounds unbelievable! There's no way around it, I'm a Vox guy and this has that classic tone in spades. P90s and single coils through a pushed Vox is just plain heaven

[Uncle Unborn]

Re: New trip to GC... Vox AC-30 CC, Taylor + more

Surprisingly, I liked the new Vox AC-30 CC the best! The tone through the top boost channel was so nice and chimey and bright. The chords came out perfectly jangly and it resonated so beautifully. It was also extremely quiet. This thing is going to be a hit, it nails the vintage JMI-era stuff that many pros talk about. I can't believe how fraggin' good it is, it's scary. It's the best standard production amp I've played so far (and that really says a lot). Only problem was that I wasn't able to crank the amp in GC, but with a standard base tone that rich, I can only imagine what it sounds like with a tube screamer through it! If I wasn't completely dedicated to my Fargen (which does the Vox thing and more), I think I would look into one myself.

Who cares about the CC-series? I received an old AC-30 Top Boost in the mail a week ago

And yes, it sounds HEAVENLY!

[Scott_F]

Re: New trip to GC... Vox AC-30 CC, Taylor + more

I haven't checked out the new vox personally,but my brother (a professional amp tech) looked one over and passed the following heads up to me. Again I have not seen it myself it appears he was checking out the combo. I would check this out yourself to verify his observations (they may not be significant to you) but he generally knows what he talks about

"The only good thing is the cabinet, It's actually made of Baltic Birch
plywood, Just like Boogies, But it's covered with the thinnest, cheapest,
black tolex that I have ever seen. Not very durable at all!
The amp is not service friendly, or user friendly! It is impossible to see,
check, or change any tubes without disassembling the entire chassis! To
access the tubes you have to first remove 7 screws from the back panel, then remove the back panel. The chassis is mounted on a piece of plywood that slides into the cabinet. you must remove 4 more screws to get this plywood to slide out, BUT, you can't slide it out yet because both speakers are hard wired from the chassis with short wires, therefore you MUST UNSOLDER all 4 speaker wires from the speakers first. Now you can slide the plywood and the chassis out, BUT, you can't remove it all the way because the reverb tank is also hard wired to the chassis and is in a vinyl bag that is screwed to the bottom of the cabinet. Luckily the reverb wires are just long enough to set the chassis on the ground just behind the cabinet. NOW you can replace the tubes! If I need to check inside the chassis I now have to remove 6 more screws to remove the plywood bottom. I guess they figure that tubes last forever in an AC30.???
The amp has several circuit boards but the main problem is the top board
with all the pots, switches and jacks on. The pots and switches are special
size, small and thin, mounted flat on the circuit board and inserted through
the top of the amp, just like a mixing board. They are all special OEM
parts and can only be replaced with the exact part from the manufacturer.
These switches and pots will break, and there will be long waits to get
replacement parts.
The three top vents above the tubes are plastic snap-in. No screws! These
will vibrate, rattle, and break!
There is a large aluminium plate above the tubes, between the tubes and the
vents. The air does not go right up through the vents, it is trapped under
this plate and slowly rises out around the perimeter of the plate, then out
the vents. I guess they wanted to keep the dirt and dust that comes in
through the vents off or the power tubes.?? EL84's do not have a bottom
ring on them, when you put them in open sockets, as they do, the dust and
dirt build up around the pins and can cause shorts when moisture builds up."

I had one for a week and concur with the above statement. Sent it back to china.