AC30 tb6 advice

Robert222

would like to ask you good folk for some advice.

I have an old but good condition and fully working VOX JMI AC30 tb6 6 that I have had since the early eighties.

I believe it I’d 1965 model with silver bulldog speakers, all good with no damage or rips. transformers are original and although a few capacitors have been changed over the years that I have kept the rest of the amp is original and working as it should.

I have thought of selling it many times but always resisted but now believe the time is right to move along and use the money towards something I would use as the AC30 does not get used. Just to loud for home playing.

I will post some pictures if it would help.

Onto my question

How much is the amp worth, what would be reasonable to ask for it. Obviously I would like to do the best I can and see some of thease for sale at what I would think are unrealistic prices hence thought it best to take a steer from those in the know.

When it goes for sale I far prefer it to go to someone who would use it as opposed to a dealer for resale.

Hush

I had one and sold it to a dealer for  £1k about 5 years ago no regrets way to loud, 

impmann

That looks ace - and no ghastly Top Boost either, so total win IMHO.

You'll see some frankly stoopid prices on Reverb and eBay - but I'd guess you'd realistically get between £1250-1600 as its a touch tatty (looks great for it). If I had some funds, I'd make you an offer...

Robert222

Hi

Thanks both, mine is the T/B model and is very loud, too loud to play at home realistically as it does beg to be driven.

Link to pics below. I believe it's a 65 but any info would be welcome.


https://1drv.ms/f/s!AkBF9v6Rlub0h6ZQT5t8ynP1AVaxDQ

Hush

I have no regrets about selling mine, It was also a 1965 I recovered the speaker cloth, but realistically, I to couldn't play it at home, the tapers on the volume controls were not very sensitive, so the amp didn't do quiet, and even when i took the amp to a band rehearsal, it was to loud for the band, as it warmed up. So that and the fact it was old and had the potential to breakdown if used in a gigging band, it was not going to have much practical use. The only use, I could see  it having if you are not a collector type, is recording studio in the middle of nowhere. Where it can be cranked.

Robert222

Only reason I have hung onto it is sentiment, I stopped playing a long time ago and only started again the past twelve months or so, it is lovely sounding but not practical for me. Hence potentially looking to move it on and look for something more practical for my use.

Always thought the top boost option was a positive but have no experience with non top boost to be able to judge. I think it was the first version to have this built in as standard as opposed to a bolt on option.

will likely advertise on here and see if there is any interest, just did not want to embarrass myself with an unrealistic asking price.

Dodge

Robert222 said:

Always thought the top boost option was a positive but have no experience with non top boost to be able to judge.

It is. The top boosts are much more desirable and command a higher fee.

The exception is the rarer EF86 equiped AC30/4 which the Hank Marvin players lust after.

All the signature AC30 tones other than that are the Top Boost model.

merlin

@Robert222 , did you buy yours from Keyo Langford in Cardiff? I think it may have been mine once! 
Have a free bump! 

Robert222

Hi Merlin
No, I bought is locally in about 1983

merlin

Shame, you'd have grabbed yourself some serious provenance! 
I sold mine to Keyo in 1980...or thereabouts, so it could have travelled from Cardiff to Swansea in that time....I'm dredging my memory but I have half a mind that the serial number is the same.

Robert222

That would be fantastic to make a link like that.

The amp is great but not getting used as it should, spent a bit on it having it checked and serviced early last year as I was nervous to turn it on with it being idle for a good few years.

Just got to convince myself that selling is the right thing to do.

Dodge

Robert222 said:

Just got to convince myself that selling is the right thing to do.

It isn't. ;-)

Seriously, buy a Jettenuator and enjoy the greatest amp of all time.

If you are serious about selling, I'd be inclined to add a Vox logo (on eBay now, from Korg) and source a vent. They're not expensive and will make the amp more attractive to a buyer IMHO.  Shame about the castors, but I know why they're on there!

eBay pricing is bonkers to say the least, and it's a minefield if you don't know what you're looking for. Witness the sale of the 'original condition 1967 JMI' which is clearly in a Rose Morris cab....

Hush

Yes I put an new logo on mine before i sold it to a dealer, I bought it 2nd hand in the late 70's and gigged it up into the 1990's fond memories of the my flares flapping, I was just a kid when I got it, amazingly nobody wanted them, when I got mine it was all Roland Jazz chorus's and tranny amps then, oh how they were wrong ha!!

Robert222

Good advise I think on the logo, there was once a smaller on the bottom right as well.

I did look at some sort of attenuator but not being technical and reading so many conflicting reports that they can damage the amp, sort of planted the seed of fear.

Has anyone any experience with them and the AC30

I would not want to do it harm.

Dodge

I have a 64 and 65 AC30 top boosts and use a Jerttenuator on both with good results.  Just be aware, attenuator or not, turning up your amp fully will cause valves to wear out faster and your amp to work harder. 

impmann

Dodge said:

Robert222 said:

Always thought the top boost option was a positive but have no experience with non top boost to be able to judge.

It is. The top boosts are much more desirable and command a higher fee.

The exception is the rarer EF86 equiped AC30/4 which the Hank Marvin players lust after.

All the signature AC30 tones other than that are the Top Boost model.

Utter bollocks - not "all", at all!

The "signature" Ac30 sound? Which one? If you mean that god-awful clanky noise that modellers try to fob off as an AC30 then yes, you may be right... but a good for instance is Dr May uses the Normal channel and prefers non-TB amps.

Not everyone uses an AC30 the same way and they can sound very different to the common 'perception' of what they sound like - hence why they are so superb. FWIW, when I was gigging 1960s AC30s back in the 90s, I searched out non TB versions and found that these were rarer so commanded a premium. I've never understood the fascination with it. Each to their own.

Dodge

impmann said:

Dodge said:

Robert222 said:

Always thought the top boost option was a positive but have no experience with non top boost to be able to judge.

It is. The top boosts are much more desirable and command a higher fee.

The exception is the rarer EF86 equiped AC30/4 which the Hank Marvin players lust after.

All the signature AC30 tones other than that are the Top Boost model.

Utter bollocks - not "all", at all!

The "signature" Ac30 sound? Which one? If you mean that god-awful clanky noise that modellers try to fob off as an AC30 then yes, you may be right... but a good for instance is Dr May uses the Normal channel and prefers non-TB amps.

Not everyone uses an AC30 the same way and they can sound very different to the common 'perception' of what they sound like - hence why they are so superb. FWIW, when I was gigging 1960s AC30s back in the 90s, I searched out non TB versions and found that these were rarer so commanded a premium. I've never understood the fascination with it. Each to their own.

Hardly utter bollocks but yes I take it back, not 'all' but certainly 'most'.  Beatles, Stones, Quo, REM, Tom Petty, Brian Adams, Edge, Weller.....

I can think of two famous Vox users who use the Normal channel (and that's the normal channel - not the normal, bass or treble AC30/6) - they are Brian May and Rory Gallagher.  That normal channel is available on top boost amps as you know.

What may have been value-wise in the 90's (although I certainly don't remember that being the case) isn't now.  The normal, treble and bass AC30's don't command the same sale price and thus are not as desirable.  The Top Boost module was made to fix the shortcomings of those amps.  Whether they're rarer or not (and I don't know whether that's true), doesn't make them more desirable to the majority of users.

There's a reason Matchless, Bad Cat, Top Hat, Morgan etc. not to mention Vox themselves Top Boost amps.

impmann

Sorry - I re-read that back... it sounded a little aggressive... not intentional, chap! :-)

I'm sure I read that Edge uses the Normal channel too - as the extra headroom is needed for the delays etc. But I'm not a big fan so can't say for sure.
I also know that Neil Finn uses the Normal channel - and he's the reason the Crowther Hot Cake exists... as he was complaining that a lot of distortion boxes sounded rough through his AC30 whilst playing in Split Enz. Paul took up the challenge and the rest is history.

Yes, I know that the Normal channel exists on non-TB models. However, you also get the option of the Brilliant channel too - which isn't screechy or overcompressed on the non-TB models (I find TB can be).
It also wasn't a "shortcoming" and in fact, if you read what has been said by Hank (for whom it was designed after he complained about a lack of sparkle) and George Harrison (ditto) concerning its introduction you'll find they weren't that keen on it. The design guys at Vox messed up and created a tone matrix that didn't quite give the musicians what they wanted but created something entirely different. Yes, the Beatles used Vox amps and yes they used the Brilliant channel live - but that was because the extra treble got them heard above the din from the screaming girls...
I'd suggest that most of the AC30's poor rep for not working with certain overdrive pedals stems from the use of TB... thats not a one off view either, for example watch Dan on TPD say something very similar...

I'm sure it is different now - there are a lot more "original" AC30s available in superb condition than were available then. ;-) A lot of them "factory retro-fitted" with the top boost unit.  More's the pity IMHO.

But anyway, we are derailing the OP's thread... good luck with the sale. AC30s are epic amps.

Dodge

impmann said:

Sorry - I re-read that back... it sounded a little aggressive... not intentional, chap! :-)

I'm sure I read that Edge uses the Normal channel too - as the extra headroom is needed for the delays etc. But I'm not a big fan so can't say for sure.
I also know that Neil Finn uses the Normal channel - and he's the reason the Crowther Hot Cake exists... as he was complaining that a lot of distortion boxes sounded rough through his AC30 whilst playing in Split Enz. Paul took up the challenge and the rest is history.

Yes, I know that the Normal channel exists on non-TB models. However, you also get the option of the Brilliant channel too - which isn't screechy or overcompressed on the non-TB models (I find TB can be).
It also wasn't a "shortcoming" and in fact, if you read what has been said by Hank (for whom it was designed after he complained about a lack of sparkle) and George Harrison (ditto) concerning its introduction you'll find they weren't that keen on it. The design guys at Vox messed up and created a tone matrix that didn't quite give the musicians what they wanted but created something entirely different. Yes, the Beatles used Vox amps and yes they used the Brilliant channel live - but that was because the extra treble got them heard above the din from the screaming girls...
I'd suggest that most of the AC30's poor rep for not working with certain overdrive pedals stems from the use of TB... thats not a one off view either, for example watch Dan on TPD say something very similar...

I'm sure it is different now - there are a lot more "original" AC30s available in superb condition than were available then. ;-) A lot of them "factory retro-fitted" with the top boost unit.  More's the pity IMHO.

But anyway, we are derailing the OP's thread... good luck with the sale. AC30s are epic amps.

Not a problem.  :-)  

There are a load of internet 'facts' about who used what with regard to AC30's.  For example, I read Hank didn't like the normal, bass and treble versions when they moved off the EF86 and that the top boost was the result of that (hence my choice of the word 'shortcoming').  I'm sure that 'fact' is also in the Vox Story by Dave Petersen....

FWIW I think Edge uses the top boost channel and I was under the impression Neil Finn uses it too (although I can't find anything to confirm either way) and that the Hotcake was designed for the Top Boost channel to cater for it being a bit picky about gain pedals.  Hotcakes do sound fabulous through the AC30 top boost channel, I've got two JMI AC30 top boosts and they have a Hotcake each.  :-)

Either way - one thing we do agree on is that AC30's are fab.

Robert222

Wow Gents

I did not intend to start a heated debate although I have enjoyed reading the posts.

When the amp was serviced the tech said that he had adjusted something on the amp that would extend the life of the valves when driven, does seem not to get as hot as it once did, still makes for a nice room heater though.

Dodge
I will look again at an attenuator as recommended there seem to be a number to choose from, did you try any others before settling on the Jettenuator.

Dodge

Robert222 said:

Wow Gents

I did not intend to start a heated debate although I have enjoyed reading the posts.

When the amp was serviced the tech said that he had adjusted something on the amp that would extend the life of the valves when driven, does seem not to get as hot as it once did, still makes for a nice room heater though.

Dodge
I will look again at an attenuator as recommended there seem to be a number to choose from, did you try any others before settling on the Jettenuator.

I did try several before setting on the Jettenuator, but I just wanted to knock a few dB off the level and they do it well. Don't expect any attenuator to drop it to conversation levels without negatively affecting tone.

The Harley Benton one is electronically identicsl and a bit cheaper than the Jet City.