poor man's ac30

drew_half_empty

drew_half_empty

Looking for Real Life
is there any way of making one, or one on the market? not exact but really close to that tone?

people say the laney vc30 is like that, but its class a, and if i remember right that means it overdrives faster, which i don't want.
 
Re: poor man's ac30

The laney LC30 might be more your ticket, or get the loudest version of the VC30, I think it's a 2x12. Opeth uses them for cleans only on tour, and gets orgasmic sounds, not distorted at all.
 
Re: poor man's ac30

drew_half_empty said:
people say the laney vc30 is like that, but its class a, and if i remember right that means it overdrives faster, which i don't want.
Click to expand...

So, you want a cheap version of a class A amp (which the AC-30 is), but you don't want it to be class A?
 
Re: poor man's ac30

haha i was not aware the AC30 was class a, my bad for being ignorant >.<

how are the lc & vc different?

also, if i was gonna swap out the speakers to be more ac30 ish, would i go for greenbacks, alnico blues (which is obviously not my first choice) or eminence red fangs? I want it to sound big for a 30 watt, but still have good ac30 tone

oh, and DO ac30's overdrive fast? as in do class a's overdrive faster?

I've only played an ac30 at pretty low volumes
 
Re: poor man's ac30

The LC is less 'vintage' sounding, and I believe is class A/B. Still EL84 powered.
 
Re: poor man's ac30

Peavey Classic 30, (with the right tubes) you can even afford to mod it afterwards.
 
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Re: poor man's ac30

Buying an AC-30 is the cheep way to get that sound...it only get more expensive from there! And just because an amp has El-84's doen NOT mean it will sound like an AC-30
 
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Re: poor man's ac30

FYI, the VOX AC-30 isnt a true class A amp.
It has the current characteristics of a class A, but not the design (high screen and plate dissipations). Its more a hot biased class a/b amp.

Moreover, a few years ago in Guitar World Mag Steve Grinrod (Chief Amp designer for Marshall and Vox Amps) clearly stated that the Vox AC30 is not a Class A amp.

http://www.aikenamps.com/VoxAC30classA_2.html

But to answer the real question, the VC30 will fit the bill for a Vox style amp. Swap the tubes and speaker.
 
Re: poor man's ac30

Thames said:
FYI, the VOX AC-30 isnt a true class A amp.
It has the current characteristics of a class A, but not the design (high screen and plate dissipations). Its more a hot biased class a/b amp.

Moreover, a few years ago in Guitar World Mag Steve Grinrod (Chief Amp designer for Marshall and Vox Amps) clearly stated that the Vox AC30 is not a Class A amp.

http://www.aikenamps.com/VoxAC30classA_2.html

But to answer the real question, the VC30 will fit the bill for a Vox style amp. Swap the tubes and speaker.
Click to expand...

I'm certainly not trying to argue with Aiken, but, IIRC, I believe the AC-30 "acts" like a Class A amp up to a certain volume point, then transitions to class A/B behavior.
 
Re: poor man's ac30

drew_half_empty said:
swap them with what
Click to expand...

If the stock setup sounds good to your ears, you can stick with that.

For a tight budget, I'd put some Ei 12AX7 and Ei EL84.
Speaker ? Again on a tight budget, the Eminence GB12 would be a fine choice.

Med budget ?
Ei 12AX7 and NOS Tesla (not JJ) EL84 (~50$ pair)
Weber Ceramic Blue Dog for the speaker

Mo'money? Weber Alnico Blue Dog (30w at least, or 50w model)
NOS Tesla EL84 again, NOS 12AX7.
 
Re: poor man's ac30

Well its about time Vox put out an affordable tube amp!! The Valvetronix series are good amps, but I always thought if Vox could release a good tube amp for under a grand then they would clean up...........

But saying that lets wait and see how the quality is!
 
Re: poor man's ac30

bearballz said:
But saying that lets wait and see how the quality is!
Click to expand...

That will be a question mark for Vox. But I think the quality will be OK. They seem to be really making an effort these days. I just wouln't buy the first one off the factory floor :smoker:
 
Re: poor man's ac30

ahh, its even gonna have the brilliance option

well, i'll see how good they are when they come out, a local dealer only carries british instruments (and then gretsch) so it'll be an interesting amp to playtest
 
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