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Best AC30 in an AC30


GuyaGuy

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so i just got my AC30CC1 last week and boy are my arms tired!

 

i think i'm gonna really like this playing in a band situation--it has that girth in the mids that i miss in playing Fender-type amps.

 

the clean tones are all like :love:

i love the brilliant switch on for the clean channel! super chimey but not piercing or harsh.

 

so far i haven't been able to REALLY crank it. (i live in a semi-split-level house.) but so far i'm finding the overdrive tones from the Top boost preamp pretty damn good--all growly and {censored}. GRRR!!!

 

 

so my Q 2 U:

what do you do for dirt on your AC30?

 

 

 

 

 

:wave:

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Originally posted by openE

TBIAC. Is that ironic?

Originally posted by gil1

Veridrive.


TrebleBooster.


so many pedals.
:(


Originally posted by DelDavis56

I'd personally sell it and buy a Mesa/Boogie plenty of dirt available in a Mesa
:D:thu:

- On a serious note I'd say go with the top boost since you don't seem to be interested in an OD pedal.


:cry:

actually my last amp was a mesa clone--acoustic control corp g60t. but it was a mark clone. prob'ly not the kind of dirt you're talking about.
;)




here's the weird thing...
most guys 'round here love od pedals single channel amps...until it comes to the AC30 Top boost, which is universally accepted as "good stuff."

what makes the AC30 so special?

:confused:

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Funny you should mention. . .

We practiced at my bassist's ginormous warehousish loft place today instead of the studio, so I had to bring an amp. I brought my recently-arrived AC30CC1.

It sounded fantastic. I'm still on honeymoon with the amp overall, but I could not be happier with my sound tonight.

Since the space we were playing in was so big, we set the amps a good distance from the band so that we could turn them up a little more and not have them blasting our ankles. The Vox just sounded great with my Jazzmaster & pedals. From a gorgeous, slightly-gritty chime to a heavy grind when hit with le boost and/or overdrive to feedbacking awesomeness with fuzz. Terrific low-end response for a 1x12, too. I don't need Bro-tal lows with this band, so the amp has mpre than enough junk in ze trunk.

I'm very happy with this amp overall. This being a Vox, of course, I'm fully aware that there is a good chance that the tubes will all melt tomorrow as the transformers blow and the speaker vaporizes into thin air. But I can't say I didn't tell myself.

Dirt pedals I use with it: Skreddy Screwdriver (set for fairly heavy fuzz), homemade mosfet boost, MI Audio Blues Pro, BYOC Tri-Boost set to "Clean."

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Originally posted by GuyaGuy


here's the weird thing...

most guys 'round here love od pedals single channel amps...until it comes to the AC30 Top boost, which is universally accepted as "good stuff."


what makes the AC30 so special?


:confused:



I don't understand the question. Clarify, please?

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Originally posted by themeanreds

Funny you should mention. . .


We practiced at my bassist's ginormous warehousish loft place today instead of the studio, so I had to bring an amp. I brought my recently-arrived AC30CC1.


It sounded fantastic. I'm still on honeymoon with the amp overall, but I could not be happier with my sound tonight.


Since the space we were playing in was so big, we set the amps a good distance from the band so that we could turn them up a little more and not have them blasting our ankles. The Vox just sounded great with my Jazzmaster & pedals. From a gorgeous, slightly-gritty chime to a heavy grind when hit with le boost and/or overdrive to feedbacking awesomeness with fuzz. Terrific low-end response for a 1x12, too. I don't need Bro-tal lows with this band, so the amp has mpre than enough junk in ze trunk.


I'm very happy with this amp overall. This being a Vox, of course, I'm fully aware that there is a good chance that the tubes will all melt tomorrow as the transformers blow and the speaker vaporizes into thin air. But I can't say I didn't tell myself.


Dirt pedals I use with it: Skreddy Screwdriver (set for fairly heavy fuzz), homemade mosfet boost, MI Audio Blues Pro, BYOC Tri-Boost set to "Clean."



cool.
:thu:

yeah, i'm really digging the low end on the vox too. i was concerned it might be too snappy or just lacking but definitely got some junk. ;)

Originally posted by themeanreds

I don't understand the question. Clarify, please?



many people dis' the preamp distortion of most other amps.
(as opposed to using a pedal or getting a non-master amp to break up naturally.)
i'm talking mostly vintage-stlye units. this is especially true of Fenders.

yet most everyone agrees that the Top Boost on AC30s is more than just ok for dirt. what makes it different?

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Originally posted by themeanreds

Funny you should mention. . .


We practiced at my bassist's ginormous warehousish loft place today instead of the studio, so I had to bring an amp. I brought my recently-arrived AC30CC1.


It sounded fantastic. I'm still on honeymoon with the amp overall, but I could not be happier with my sound tonight.


Since the space we were playing in was so big, we set the amps a good distance from the band so that we could turn them up a little more and not have them blasting our ankles. The Vox just sounded great with my Jazzmaster & pedals. From a gorgeous, slightly-gritty chime to a heavy grind when hit with le boost and/or overdrive to feedbacking awesomeness with fuzz. Terrific low-end response for a 1x12, too. I don't need Bro-tal lows with this band, so the amp has mpre than enough junk in ze trunk.


I'm very happy with this amp overall. This being a Vox, of course, I'm fully aware that there is a good chance that the tubes will all melt tomorrow as the transformers blow and the speaker vaporizes into thin air. But I can't say I didn't tell myself.


Dirt pedals I use with it: Skreddy Screwdriver (set for fairly heavy fuzz), homemade mosfet boost, MI Audio Blues Pro, BYOC Tri-Boost set to "Clean."

 

I heard the chinese ones fixed this problem.

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Originally posted by GuyaGuy



many people dis' the preamp distortion of most other amps.

(as opposed to using a pedal or getting a non-master amp to break up naturally.)

i'm talking mostly vintage-stlye units. this is especially true of Fenders.


yet most everyone agrees that the Top Boost on AC30s is more than just ok for dirt. what makes it different?

 

 

Ah; I see.

 

It's just a different design. Just like many prefer the sound of a Marshall preamp overdriving (be it a master-volume amp, such as a JCM-800, or a non-MV amp like a Plexi, which many people either mod to have a MV or hit with a boost pedal to drive the preamp) to most Fenders, same goes with the Vox AC amps.

 

Many of the mid-60s-and-later Fenders are designed for maximum clean headroom, however, and when you do get the preamp to grind, it's a rather harsh overdrive rather than the relatively smoother, more compressed sound of the British amps. Personally, I love the sound of a number of such Fenders when their preamps are overdriving, but in general they are plugged into by people looking for a very clean sound.

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Also: If you have not replaced the stock Chinese 12AX7s, I highly recommend doing so. My amp was pretty damn noisy when it arrived, both in terms of hiss and some gurgling, staticy sounds. Replacing the preamp tubes (I used 2 Electro-Harmonix and a JJ) completely eliminated the problem, and the amp sounds better overall.

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Originally posted by MattCrane

I heard the chinese ones fixed this problem.



quality issues you mean?
:confused:

Originally posted by themeanreds

Also: If you have not replaced the stock Chinese 12AX7s, I highly recommend doing so. My amp was pretty damn noisy when it arrived, both in terms of hiss and some gurgling, staticy sounds. Replacing the preamp tubes (I used 2 Electro-Harmonix and a JJ) completely eliminated the problem, and the amp sounds better overall.



i was wondering about that...
i did not notice the gurgling, staticy sounds on mine but it is hissy.
i didn't know if it was the nature of the AC30 or what...

a forumite does a rundown on speaker replacements at the end of the AC30 reissue thread if you're interested.

Originally posted by themeanreds

Ah; I see.


It's just a different design. Just like many prefer the sound of a Marshall preamp overdriving (be it a master-volume amp, such as a JCM-800, or a non-MV amp like a Plexi, which many people either mod to have a MV or hit with a boost pedal to drive the preamp) to most Fenders, same goes with the Vox AC amps.


Many of the mid-60s-and-later Fenders are designed for maximum clean headroom, however, and when you do get the preamp to grind, it's a rather harsh overdrive rather than the relatively smoother, more compressed sound of the British amps. Personally, I love the sound of a number of such Fenders when their preamps are overdriving, but in general they are plugged into by people looking for a very clean sound.



hmm...i wonder if a major part of that is simply voicing. since the Vox has more midrange it has fuller, denser feel compared to the harsh preamp dirt of a typical Fender. OTOH tweeds have more of a midrange to them and a less harsh dirt sound. no?

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Originally posted by Tone Doctor

I have a Top Hat King Royale, which is essentially a boutique AC30 Top Boost. It sounds like a 10 ton harp. I got a Celestion "heritage" G12H and a Vintage 30 with a hemp cone in there.


I use this with it and no one can touch my $hit.


Disnortion.jpg

www.pigtronix.com



I'm gonna do a search on his posts and see just how many times he gives this for an answer - anybody want over/under on 50..?

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i can't believe 45.5% of you use a pedal with an AC30.
i hope those are non-top boosts. :(



so for you top-boosters...
which preamp tubes?
themeanreds recommends swapping them to cut down on noise. what do i want for a nice growly overdrive--maybe something that breaks up easily...

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