Played an Vox AC30HW2 today

[Wired]

now theres an idea... a DT combo with a pair of Vintage 30's or Greenbacks, or better yet, one of each! (I love that combo). Add tube driven trem and reverb. Mark it at $1800. Then sell me one.

[hellagnar Brosevelt]

dont need the trem or verb. But a 2x12 with a v30 h30 combo would be sweet!

[a.hun]

I pulled the trigger and... BOUGHT ONE!

Congrats. Good price too!

i have to say, it's as good as a matamp when it comes to "boutique" tone quality.
i mean the dynamics, the tone quality and so on.
that surprised me the most.

Said it before, Vox amps are among the few with as much sonic character as Oranges (/Matamps if you must).

What you are loving in the tone and dynamics is what has sold them for so long and spawned all the boutique makes based on them like Matchless, Bad Cat, many others. These hot running cathode biased amps do have their own unique sound and dynamics and there is nothing quite like them. I've been playing a lot with mine the last few days and though it is a bit noisy (some hum and hiss, slight warm up crackles) that is just part of the package with an old Vox and doesn't spoil the sheer richness of tone any at all.

You are going to have fun. Just don't fall into the trap of thinking you need expensive NOS power valves for them. They won't sound dramatically better or last dramatically longer than modern ones and are basically wasted in these hot running amps. Honestly it is the amps circuit design and not the valves which makes them sound and feel so special so good modern EL84s are fine. (See my LONG POST for exactly why.)

FWIW I've got Watford Valve 'Harmas' in mine but you'll soon enough find what you like yourself.


Andy.

[TESLA_EL34]

the nos tubes in the matamp are worth it, but i really don't plan to buy NOS EL84's for the vox !
i think it has good chinese tubes and i know they are a perfect place to start

[Wired]

Grrrrrr...... I'm gonna have to go trade the head for the combo in a couple of weeks. I hate this forum.

[TESLA_EL34]

ITS COMING TOMORROW I CANT WAIT AHHH SO HAPPY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[a.hun]

Grrrrrr...... I'm gonna have to go trade the head for the combo in a couple of weeks. I hate this forum.

Well mine is one head which is staying put.

Actually, I love the flexibility of being able to use it with various different speakers. I know many say that the alnico speakers are crucial to an AC30s sound. They are great right enough but I don't actually buy that they are the only way to go. And while it probably just me frankly I'd hate to have to shift an AC30 combo about too much. My head alone is almost exactly the same weight as my Hiwatt 100, and only a couple of kilos lighter than my OR120 head. Even my R.30 combo is only about 4 1/2 kilos heavier for that matter so for a 30 watt head it is heavy. Of course the modern heads are a bit more compact - mine is full combo width.

Now if only I could find a nice old matching Vox cab, with the side latches to clamp my head to still attached, well then I'd probably manage to live with the alnicos in it!


Andy.

[tikiman]

Can anyone relate the tonal differences between the new AC30HW2X & the AC15HW1X? I know the AC30 will be louder, but besides that. I will be buying one or the other soon.
Thanks

[TESLA_EL34]

It came today...
We played it 8 hours! We turned it up loud...
The first hours it smelled like... plastic?!
Well i think that's the same with the C2, although the HW isn't made of MDF.

It's a very nice amp... But i haven't had a chance to hear it a band context.
The boost switch in the top boost channel for the "hot" mode sounds like some kind of
hotrodded marshall to me. You wouldn't expect that from a vox!
I still have a lot to learn. I think both channels are very cool and i love the fact that
it sounds so killer when you bypass the master volume!

I still thought that after some hours the greenbacks got a bit sweeter.
I'm not a big fan of those chinese G12M's. Maybe they get better over the time.
Otherwise i'll pump in some GB12's

[hellagnar Brosevelt]

I am so close to pulling the trigger on this so please keep the reviews coming.

I have a pair of 80s greenbacks in storage. So I think I am going to go the blue route and then swap one greenie in there for a nice mix.

I really want this though.

http://www.guitarcenter.com/Vox-Heritag ... 1606780.gc" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

No master volume!!

Just cant find it anywhere other than Guitar Center

[Wired]

I've run both my vintage and my Heritage with a Greenback/Vintage Century combination. Much perfered over the blues.

[TESLA_EL34]

Okay we gigged the amp on sunday, it sounded cool.
I really like that "hot" switch. I'm also stunned how huge those AC30's are.
I currently run it in stereo with my Mat and it sounds so great.
I also use an A/B Pedal with both channels and i'm experimenting all the time.
All i can say is, buy them these are great amps.