Members riklite Posted February 9, 2010 Members Share Posted February 9, 2010 I'm shopping for a tube amp and am leaning towards a Marshall JCM 800 because I usually play heavier stuff. That said, I love the chimey tone of the AC30. Has anyone had any success getting a fat heavy tone from one? I play a lot of down-tuned stuff but like to play other stuff as well. Thanks in advance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members CrazyandStupid Posted February 10, 2010 Members Share Posted February 10, 2010 I don't know if its your thing, But I recall Thrice using an AC30 for Illusion of Safety. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ThisIsExile Posted February 10, 2010 Members Share Posted February 10, 2010 An MT-2 will make anything sound brutal and awesome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members flump Posted February 10, 2010 Members Share Posted February 10, 2010 Back when I had my AC30 I tried out 3 distortion pedals that were all "hot-rodded marshalls in a box". The best one i tried was the MI Audio Crunchbox. I basically had AC30 cleans/grit with some JCM800 roar. I had one with an internal trimmer that tames the bass a ton. You almost needed it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JMR Posted February 10, 2010 Members Share Posted February 10, 2010 With pedals, yes. The Ac30 is a very versatile amp. I'm an AC30 fanboy by the way. ( IMHO, a lot of the brutal metal tone {censored} comes from the cabs and speakers.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members the_bleeding Posted February 10, 2010 Members Share Posted February 10, 2010 CALLING EXOCASTER Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ThisIsExile Posted February 10, 2010 Members Share Posted February 10, 2010 CALLING EXOCASTER Fo sho. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members chrispsullivan Posted February 10, 2010 Members Share Posted February 10, 2010 lisen to resfused: the shape of punk to comethats about as heavy as the ac 30 gets imo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members /pepi\ Posted February 10, 2010 Members Share Posted February 10, 2010 I love the VOX but for some reason I think you would be more happy with the Marshall Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Cibyl Posted February 10, 2010 Members Share Posted February 10, 2010 lisen to resfused: the shape of punk to comethats about as heavy as the ac 30 gets imo This^^^ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members grayeyes777 Posted February 10, 2010 Members Share Posted February 10, 2010 I love the VOX but for some reason I think you would be more happy with the Marshall this. an 800 is pretty chimey itself on the low gain input with the presence up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Exocaster Posted February 10, 2010 Members Share Posted February 10, 2010 Fo sho. Hi guys. Yes, with the caveat of "what kind of heavy, specifically"? They have more bottom end than you'd expect, even with the open-back cab, and are loud. It's certainly not a thin sounding amp; dialed in right the gain tones are pretty thick, though the low end is on the loose side. I wouldn't use it for something very modern like, say, Decapitated or mid-scooped old thrash tones, but feed it the right pedals and I'd use it for anything I'd use a stock 800 or master-volume JMP for. If by downtuned you mean sludgy stonery stuff or heavy rock, I'd say go for it. If by downtuned you mean Meshuggah, I'd say look elsewhere. Application dependent, but a tentative "yes" with the proper pedal or pedals. When I had the Sparkle Drive on my board, I actually boosted the OCD with it on occasion and that got pretty fierce and very gainy. (And a kickass tone in its own right) Not something I have a use for in my band, but I digress. A viable candidate if you're looking at an old Marshall, again, depending on what you're going for tone-wise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members spoonie g Posted February 10, 2010 Members Share Posted February 10, 2010 Ive used an ac-30 in conjunction with many different guitar amps (I usually use a two-amp setup) for quite a few years and I doubt many metalheads would care for the "metal" sound of an ac-30, pedal or otherwise. It has a very different sound from your typical fender/marshall based amp. It has a lot more midrange unless you max out the treble and bass, but then it's pretty thin sounding. An ac-30 has more of a "hi-fi" sound. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members joemudge4 Posted February 10, 2010 Members Share Posted February 10, 2010 It can sound great for heavy stuff, but not so much doing fast palm mutted chugga chugga {censored}. So, heavy stoner spacerock... yes. Metal... not really. You may get some passable sounding tones at lower volumes, but it wouldn't be my pick for metal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ThisIsExile Posted February 10, 2010 Members Share Posted February 10, 2010 Hi guys. Yes, with the caveat of "what kind of heavy, specifically"? They have more bottom end than you'd expect, even with the open-back cab, and are loud. It's certainly not a thin sounding amp; dialed in right the gain tones are pretty thick, though the low end is on the loose side. I wouldn't use it for something very modern like, say, Decapitated or mid-scooped old thrash tones, but feed it the right pedals and I'd use it for anything I'd use a stock 800 or master-volume JMP for. If by downtuned you mean sludgy stonery stuff or heavy rock, I'd say go for it. If by downtuned you mean Meshuggah, I'd say look elsewhere. Application dependent, but a tentative "yes" with the proper pedal or pedals. When I had the Sparkle Drive on my board, I actually boosted the OCD with it on occasion and that got pretty fierce and very gainy. (And a kickass tone in its own right) Not something I have a use for in my band, but I digress. A viable candidate if you're looking at an old Marshall, again, depending on what you're going for tone-wise. Look at his quality muthafuckin' review. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jimSG Posted February 10, 2010 Members Share Posted February 10, 2010 My first response is a question: are you you in a situation where you can crank these amps? Both are at their best at volume. My second thought is that for some reason I think that you may be looking for a different amp -- something with a good master volume. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Exocaster Posted February 10, 2010 Members Share Posted February 10, 2010 As the current owner of a non-master volume AC30 and the former owner of a JMP 2204- essentially the same as an 800, if you need gain tones at low volumes, I'd say look elsewhere unless you find you like the AC30 + pedals route, and even then it really does sound best run at band levels (or higher). The edge-of-breakup tone from an AC30 with Blues- the Blues really do impart something special to the character of that amp- is one of my favorite tones on the planet. (If not my favorite!) Both sound excellent turned up, but both are drown-out-the-drummer loud, and the old Marshalls don't exactly have the greatest master volume on the planet. An AC30 at lower levels- which can mean a pretty loud band, quite frankly!- does sound nice... as a clean amp. I haven't used a master volume AC30 in a band setting, so I can't comment as to how effective the master was implemented. I prefer my non-master tone-wise to the CC series. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members blargh Posted February 10, 2010 Members Share Posted February 10, 2010 Give it a go, see what happens. Don't know why so many players use the same {censored}ing tones metal guitarists have been using for 20 years now, maybe metal wouldn't be so {censored}ing stagnant if people tried playing it on AC30s. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members riklite Posted February 10, 2010 Author Members Share Posted February 10, 2010 Tone wise, I'm looking for something that can get me a good punchy tone when i tune to c standard or drop the c like drop d tuning. Band influences are Mastodon, Deftones, Stone Temple Pilots, Incubus, and Soundgarden. I know they don't all use the same amp but I'm looking for what would give me a ballpark sound for all. I was considering the AC30 because I know Dean from STP uses them and he's got a really good tone. I just don't know if it would work for some of the heavier stuff though. I'm also looking at a Mesa Tremoverb. I don't want "drown out the drummer" loud but if that's what I have to do to get good tone, so be it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Curtis.Fagan Posted February 10, 2010 Members Share Posted February 10, 2010 Tone wise, I'm looking for something that can get me a good punchy tone when i tune to c standard or drop the c like drop d tuning. Band influences are Mastodon, Deftones, Stone Temple Pilots, Incubus, and Soundgarden. I know they don't all use the same amp but I'm looking for what would give me a ballpark sound for all. I was considering the AC30 because I know Dean from STP uses them and he's got a really good tone. I just don't know if it would work for some of the heavier stuff though. I'm also looking at a Mesa Tremoverb. I don't want "drown out the drummer" loud but if that's what I have to do to get good tone, so be it. Maybe a JCM800 styled amp like an AOR30-100 or something like a Carvin Legacy or X100B might be more your bag. I would also say the Peavey VTM series or Rockmaster amp's are a great place to start.... -Curtis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members petejt Posted February 10, 2010 Members Share Posted February 10, 2010 Maybe try the AC50H? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members spoonie g Posted February 10, 2010 Members Share Posted February 10, 2010 Tone wise, I'm looking for something that can get me a good punchy tone when i tune to c standard or drop the c like drop d tuning. Band influences are Mastodon, Deftones, Stone Temple Pilots, Incubus, and Soundgarden. I know they don't all use the same amp but I'm looking for what would give me a ballpark sound for all. I was considering the AC30 because I know Dean from STP uses them and he's got a really good tone. I just don't know if it would work for some of the heavier stuff though. I'm also looking at a Mesa Tremoverb. I don't want "drown out the drummer" loud but if that's what I have to do to get good tone, so be it. The ac-30 will get pretty loose on the low-end, especially downtuned. I don't think you're going to be happy with the ac-30 for what you're looking for. It's definitely not the swiss army knife of amps these guys are trying to say it is. Also, dean does use ac-30's, but uses demeters for his heavier tones. The tremoverb is a fantastic amp itself and more attuned to what you're looking for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members riklite Posted February 10, 2010 Author Members Share Posted February 10, 2010 Thanks for the input guys. I think I'll go with the Mesa. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members flump Posted February 10, 2010 Members Share Posted February 10, 2010 I didn't realize you hadn't bought an amp yet, but I would suggest a Laney. They have a great British voicing, and are kind of in between Marshall and Vox. They are AWESOME amps. Used to own one (VC30) before my Egnater Mod 50. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members duncan Posted February 10, 2010 Members Share Posted February 10, 2010 I don't know if its your thing, But I recall Thrice using an AC30 for Illusion of Safety. Nope. Vheissu and Alchemy Index (fire) were. Illusion of Safety was JCM800's, 5150's and Dual RecsArtist in the Ambulance was Bogner Uberschall, Dual Rec, JCM800 Vheissu was AC30's and JCM800's Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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