New Vox AC30s?

benbenben

benbenben

New member
hey guys,
been really getting interested in these new Chinese Vox AC30s. My friend just recently got a made in UK AC15, twin 10" vox speakers. We were totally in love with it when he bought it. Now I'm jealous. I've got a Marshall JTM30. The AC30 would be a good amp to complement the JTM30 right? I mean i wouldnt really run the amps in stereo, but every now and then it might be fun. I reckon they'd be totally different sounding and that'd be great.

I just wanna ask about how these chinese AC30s are. Been reading on the forum, and they say they have build defects or something? I'm really into the Vox cleans. How are the Chinese Vox AC30 cleans? I've heard a lot about how the Vox breaks up really nicely to give a nice natural overdrive, but I really wanna rely on my pedals for any overdrive. I just need an amazing clean to work with.

Also, there are two types, one with the Blue Celestions, but it's considerably more expensive. Is it worth it, or would spending the money on other speakers and new tubes be more worth it?

Over in Aus, the blue celestion version is over 1,200USD more than the non-blue speaker version. 1200 seems like ALOT for speakers, with that, i could get really good tubes, and pretty good speakers right? I dunno anything about tubes or speakers for the AC30, so any help would be good.

Thanks guys.
 
Re: New Vox AC30s?

In the US, a single Celestion Alnico Blue usually costs between $250 and $300. The Eminence Red Fangs are usually half that price.
 
Re: New Vox AC30s?

i was reading lots of discussions before about the china made ac30s, and how if you find a good one, it'll be the perfect amp and such.
How do you know it's built well, i mean you can't just tell from looking at it and playing it right? cause you won't know whether it'll die within 4 weeks from playing it... can you?
 
Re: New Vox AC30s?

Would it be a good idea to stick in say a blue celestion and a red fang into it, as opposed to two blues? Are these speakers "voiced" (dunno if that applies to speakers) the same? Or are they different, but good in their own rights.
 
Re: New Vox AC30s?

I don't know how much I can help, since I have the AC30/TBX reissue. It's got the blue alnico speakers, and I love 'em, but I never compared them to the greenbacks.

- Keith
 
Re: New Vox AC30s?

A lot of the Harmony Central reviews have really had problems with quality and stuff. I'm scared, cause it's something you can see from just playing it right?
 
Re: New Vox AC30s?

I'm always amazed at the odd nature of harmony-central reviews. But yes, there were a number of problems (mostly tubes) in the early production runs. Since then it's been solved. Mostly i think folks are upset that a classic british amp is made in china. Have a look at the vintageamps.com board, it irons this out. I have an AC15cc1X (blue) and it's had no problems at all. (besides a rattle, which i induced)

Being in oz you will pay much less than the USA guys.
 
Re: New Vox AC30s?

If you're planning on buying an AC30 new, you don't have to worry if the thing dies on you. It's under warranty, so you can have it fixed or replaced.

- Keith
 
Re: New Vox AC30s?

the g12m greenback is a cool speaker but sounds nothing like the alnico blue which is damn near the best, if not the best guitar speaker ever made. i was just playing with a guy who has a blue in his deluxe reverb and it was sooo nice.

i have a red fang and i think its a great speaker but in all honesty its not as nice as the blue, does the price justify the tonal difference? probably not
 
Re: New Vox AC30s?

you have to realize that alot of negative reviews on the internet exist because people are angry about something unfortunate that happened to them and feel better when they post or write about it. In reality, probably a heck of alot more people (read: majority) of owners of a piece of gear never have a problem with it. Though i admit, i have seen a fair share of quality issues in reference to these amps, but perhaps the early runs had some issues that were fixed?
 
Re: New Vox AC30s?

true, but when was the last time you got a piece due to the fact that you had a blue colored english speaker instead of a red colored american made speaker?
most people wouldnt be able to tell the difference in a mix, least of all some hot bodied band rag
 
Re: New Vox AC30s?

jeremy said:
true, but when was the last time you got a piece due to the fact that you had a blue colored english speaker instead of a red colored american made speaker?
most people wouldnt be able to tell the difference in a mix, least of all some hot bodied band rag
Click to expand...

I can't remember the exact date, but I think it was the Tuesday just before never. :)
 
Re: New Vox AC30s?

They've always intrigued me...and with God as my witness I'm asking this question honestly...

What would you consider a good representation of the AC30 sound?

I've torked with the model on the PodXT and just never got anywhere with it. I know they're legendary amps...I just can't figure out exactly what their sound is.
 
Re: New Vox AC30s?

Skarekrough said:
They've always intrigued me...and with God as my witness I'm asking this question honestly...

What would you consider a good representation of the AC30 sound?

I've torked with the model on the PodXT and just never got anywhere with it. I know they're legendary amps...I just can't figure out exactly what their sound is.
Click to expand...

As far as their clean tones my refrence point is The Edge's clean tone. Not sure about a dirty tone. Someone else may have a different opinion.

I've been looking for one of these recently myself.
 
Re: New Vox AC30s?

Yup, I'd say The Edge or The Beatles for cleans. For overdrive, I've never been able to achieve that Brian May tone, even using a Rangemaster clone, but I don't have a Red Special. I can, however, get a pretty decent Tony Iommi tone using Les Paul > Rangemaster clone > AC30.

- Keith
 
Re: New Vox AC30s?

I heard of someone called "Tone-Man" who does modifications for China-made Vox AC amps and refixes them to old school specs. Would such mods also fix any possible quality issues?
 
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