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11/21/2005
Hello again, Gary,
Just wanted to let you know that the AC30CC2X is just super in every respect. I have a 92' 360V64 that just sounds so good in this amp. I can get everything I want out of one amp - Finally. You certainly made the purchase very gratifying with no problems. Man, I love this amp!
I couldn't be happier. I've been using Fender amps exclusively for over 30+ years - I really should have tried a Vox years ago.
I can't thank you enough for completing my tone.
Kevin Jones
Maryland
2/5/2006
Just wanted to take a moment to thank you for your great service. I recently bought a Vox AC30, the really cool one with the upgraded black grill cloth. What a beautiful piece of equipment! And the sound...well let's just say it's exactly what I wanted, and I have never been able to find just that sound, it's amazing. I play a Ric 360 and to me it seems like these two were made for each other.
All the best,
Dave Ainsworth
5/9/2005
I bought mine from Gary at North Coast Music, free shipping from him, sent via DHL, he sent it out at 2:30pm central time tues. from Milwaukee, I got it today thurs. at 11:15 am pacific time, wow !
It came double boxed with styrofoam large corners hugging the amp, very little visual dents on the outer box from DHL, they flew it here to the Burbank airport which is small and very easy to deal with for them, and it's only 4 miles from me here too. The AC arrived in perfect condition, Gary went through it, checking tubes etc. and burned it in for quite awhile, he really checks his merch he sends you, I can't recommend him more highly ! Besides he's very nice.
The amp is cosmetically very beautiful, perfect tolex job, all parts are really great on the cabinet, grillcloth is just right, so is all the piping, logo, control panel, Dick Denny would be thrilled ! The Blues are perfect too, so spankin new, it's kind of funny this 'new car vibe' this amp has...even the smell !
The painted birch wood inside is really nicely done, like it's built with furniture care, everything with the cab is tightly designed and fitted, very nice how the slide out chassis is screwed down from under the wood slider board, and held with T-nuts. Everything on the back control panel is nicely laid out as you can see from the pics at Vox and Gary's site.
Looks like 16 gauge wire goes to the speakers- really nice, but the only negative thing I have to say about this amp, and it's just a small thing, is that you must unsolder the speakers at their terminals to completely slide out the chassis in order to change the output and rectifier tube, if only a fancy industrial plug was inside where the speaker wires go to the chassis. I bet this was designed this way for safety reasons, great soldering all around though, that I can see ! Nice heavy wires where needed.
Control panel knobs and layout are great, every switch is very useful, nothing with the switch's seems to suck tone, everything is very pure to the original 1959-1964 ideal for this amps design !!! Also the circuit board does not seem to destroy any of the amps pure tone, very impressed with this ! Standby switch is great to have to take it easy on those power tubes, the two inputs for the normal and top boost channel are sooo great.
The tubes delivered with the amp work fine, and don't sound bad at all, very useful, clear smooth tone, Electro Harmonix in output, could be in preamps too, I did not pull those out yet.
I have the amps settings at vintage 22 uf for less filtering like the original JMI's, and also at the 50 ohm setting for the cathode resistor for the June of '62 and before, the original JMI setup, the AC runs really hot this way and begs you to slam the power out of it, think Brian May as far as punch and fullness goes !
The tremolo I won't use, but I tried it, it kind of sounds closer to the vibrato on the JMI's in a sense without the pitch bend they had, the tremolos on those old amps where more chorus like to me. The reverb is very nice and actually useful for the studio or rockabilly Setzer tones and style, I would only use it in the studio, very flexible too, sweet tone - nice job !
The effects loop I won't use, but it's great that it has an actual on/off switch to keep the signal pure, love it.
Now the sound, the speakers and electronic parts will take at least 20 hours to start to really break in, I'm judging this amp against my old '62 non-top boost normal channel that I use to have, as well as every other great JMI I have heard including the AC50.
I've played the beast for 4 hours now, it really runs like a raped ape ! Smooth warm, near perfect guitar tone and sound. This AC30 is quite ballsey and very sweet.
This new amp really beats the pants off of Mesa's best amps over the last 25 years, like the Heartbreaker, The Maverick, The Lonestar, and the Mark II, III, and IV's. Specifically when useing the top-boost channel with the custom Bruno switch on, this is the tone and feel Mesa seems they always want to achieve with their amps designs ! Vox beats them with this setting, also found on the ACHW's originally, Bruno's design.
The brilliance switch for the normal channel changes this amp to a treble model and just puts the normal channel into another great feel and setting, really useful too. The top boost channel sounds just right, the custom or Bruno switch is just wonderful to use too, and the two channels linked are outrageous, a very big and hot sound. I love that input link switch, all these choices are so refreshing and useable, great simple but effective design !
The post phase inverter master volume works perfectly, it doesn't get any better then this, no need for an attenuator here, the 36 watts of power is just right for useing this control, all the original JMI's should have this same ohm value and setup of this control pot installed in them, WOW !
I would say this new AC30 sounds stock about 98% like the best vintage JMI I ever heard, it is really an amazing success, Steve Grindrod should be very proud and all at Vox, the work in China is really top notch ! I compare this amp to the best and most useable boutique amp I have ever heard, which is the Bad Cat Hot 30, that amp has met it's equal, but for $1200 less, wow, Vox is really back and more affordable then ever ! This amp could be used for almost anything musically, and just sounds great, what a huge surprise, I LOVE IT !
This is the best currently available guitar amp anywhere, and for well under $2000, it's just amazing, to think that you can get this without the blues for $1000 street price, WOW.
Bob Marse
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| 6/28/2005
Dear Gary,
Well, whatdya know? I finally got my AC30CC1 today (a day early, to boot!) and, all I can say is: Sometimes good things are worth waiting for!
Just as you promised, the amplifier arrived in perfect condition (damn good thing it was double-boxed too, 'cause the outer box looked a bit the worse for wear, and it would not have been a happy-ending for me if I had purchased from one of the other guys!) and I got right about the business of checking it out.
Now, I have a lot of experience with AC-30s of different walks of life, because I now own three: One from the mid 60s; one from the Rose-Morris era of the early 90s; and now this fine instrument. After playing with this thing for more than 2 ½ hours, (it started out to be 10 minutes, ya know?), I can honestly say it's more usable, more versatile and, lord is this thing ever QUIET for an AC-30!!!
They really did a nice job with the engineering on this; very well thought out! This unit is extremely modern and entirely vintage at the same time (no small feat!). Great fit & finish, and the new NeoDog speaker sounds very much like a "Blue" with a bit more detail (I A/B'd them).
Really, I could easily go on and on gassing off about this fine amp and all the incredible tones I keep discovering on it, but I'm certain you know all about this (because you've made it your business to know!). I just wanted to say thanks again and please let me know if and when they (or you) make a cover and/or stand available and count me in (again!).
Let me say it again: In a world where being regularly disappointed is business-as-usual, this is much, much better than I had really hoped for.
Regards,
Rich Cianflone
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