Laney VC30

Hootsmon

Any love for this amp on TFB.....what's your story?

LOUD and clean enough and good for pedals? ( it's basically the clean channel i am interested in)

Thanks guys 

vasselmeyer

They're great amps. The clean is stellar and loud as fuck. They're great with pedals although the effects loop has some slightly odd behaviour. I used clean for everything and then switched to the dirt channel for a solo lift.

I used mine for about 5 years and got rid because I was bored of not flipping gear, not because i didn't like it. I'd have another one any time.

Hootsmon

vasselmeyer said:

They're great amps. The clean is stellar and loud as fuck. They're great with pedals although the effects loop has some slightly odd behaviour. I used clean for everything and then switched to the dirt channel for a solo lift.

I used mine for about 5 years and got rid because I was bored of not flipping gear, not because i didn't like it. I'd have another one any time.

heh he.... I can see the Laney ad..........LOUD as fuck

Thanks Vass 

ICBM

It's exactly like your VC15 - only bigger, heavier and louder...

Hootsmon

Hootsmon

What would be your choice folks... 1 x or 2 x 12

vasselmeyer

The 2x12 is really heavy. Unless you need the spread, the 1x12 is loud enough for most pubs and small clubs.

vasselmeyer

The 2x12 is really heavy. Unless you need the spread, the 1x12 is loud enough for most pubs and small clubs.

Also, it's only got a top handle, no side handles, so the weight is all on one hand.

blobb

Really enjoyed mine (which is now on sale in Mid Wales Music if you want it). I changed the 70/80 for a g12h 55, which only just fits but fit it does. Never had any problems with it. Was sad to see it go (even if it's not completely gone yet).

hhawkins

I had an LC30 once. Wasn’t overly fussed on it to be honest. I’ve never played the VC30 though. It sounds awesome I’m this clip: 

https://youtu.be/5HyejitPpzw

jonnyburgo

I regret selling mine a while back, beautiful clean channel and they can be picked up for under £200 all day

JayGee

hootsmon said:

What would be your choice folks... 1 x or 2 x 12

I’m going to be an awkward bugger and say 2x10 - usefully smaller and lighter than the 2x12 and usefully bigger sounding than the 1x12...

StefB

JayGee said:

hootsmon said:

What would be your choice folks... 1 x or 2 x 12

I’m going to be an awkward bugger and say 2x10 - usefully smaller and lighter than the 2x12 and usefully bigger sounding than the 1x12...

Interestingly I've just this week sold my 2x10.  I've had the 1x12 & 2x12 (swapped the 70/80s for Greenbacks) and wanted the 2x10 to be the pick of the bunch in terms of portability and focussed sound, but found it boxy, bland and uninspiring.  The drive channel was so farty and horrible it was unusable.

2x12 was the pick of the bunch for me, and nowhere near as weighty as I expected (having gigged an AC30 & JVM410 combo previously).

Quoting the obvious comparison for VC30s, I've recently picked up a (current model) AC30 head and matching V212C Greenback cabinet and it is light years ahead of the VC30s in every single respect, and this is coming from a massive Laney fan and long time user.

timmysoft

I toured with the VC30 212, the version 2. Changed the speakers to Greenbacks and it was incredibly good. The cleans on the VC are nothing short of superb, they're very bold and quite stiff but ultimately very rewarding when played with good drive pedals. My choices were the Rat2 and The Mesa Throttlebox, the latter was easily amongst my top 5 best tones.  

 Don't mistake the VC30 for being a poor AC30 clone, they sound nothing like an AC30, they're more in the Marshall JTM camp, although they're louder than any JTM45 i've ever heard. They don't chime like a Vox but they do accept dirt a whole lot better.

midlifecrisis

i had the 212 for a few years. really nice amp but i found 212 too big and heavy for me. The 210 is really nice and im tempted to get one if i see one going cheap. the clean channel is great , i found the drive channel  a bit fizzy.

Voxman

midlifecrisis said:

i had the 212 for a few years. really nice amp but i found 212 too big and heavy for me. The 210 is really nice and im tempted to get one if i see one going cheap. the clean channel is great , i found the drive channel  a bit fizzy.

The 2 x10 is the best kept secret of the range. I have a VC30 210 with Jensen C10Q16 speakers that are excellent, and it's a cracking amp. Smaller and lighter than the 2x12 it has a glorious clean with a wonderful top end sparkly chime that has a more vintage warmer quality than the darker sounding 2x12. The reverb is a proper spring Acutronics unit although later versions have digital reverb. And this puppy cuts through any mix better than the darker 2x12. 

I put a russian electroharmonix 12AX7 in V2 replacing the stock TAD tube and it really ups the game of the drive channel making it much more Marshally.

The bright switch works really well and the footswitch controls both channel switching and reverb.

The 4/8 ohm impedence selector combined with the external speaker jack give you pretty much any option you might need. I have the matching GS12VE 1x12 cab that has a Celestion seventy eighty. I also have a 2x12 Vox AD212 extn cab. I can use the VC30 with either cab with or without the internal speakers engaged.  I typically use it with the 1x12 added which gives a bigger sound adding just a bit more bottom end but without losing the lovely spank of the 2 x 10 Jensens.

And @timmysoft ...the 210 is brighter, sparkler and more vintage sounding than the 212 and it does chime like a VC30! 

However Laney don't make the 210 anymore so you'll need to find a used one.

Oh, ....and it's loud as fuck!

maw4neu

I had a VC30 2x10 . . . Very loud, ran very hot, sounded very good, slightly harsh if I remember & great with pedals. . .Sounded VERY AC 30 ish but then again it would do . . . just didnt like amps with printed circuit boards at the time so I sold it and moved on . . . . back in the day they were UK made  . . not sure about the current range but Laney made good amps . . .

Voxman

OMG! Just looked on the Laney site....& they don't make the VC30 anymore.  Was one of the best amps they made.  I suspect that because they were more competitively priced than the Lionhearts they were competing with themselves and removed the VC line - shame, but still great value second-hand. 

StefB

Voxman said:

OMG! Just looked on the Laney site....& they don't make the VC30 anymore.  Was one of the best amps they made.  I suspect that because they were more competitively priced than the Lionhearts they were competing with themselves and removed the VC line - shame, but still great value second-hand. 

I launched a thread about this very topic a few months back, questioning the wisdom of discontinuing what was their most successful range by a country mile - http://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/115688/laney-vc-range-discontinued#latest

dogload

Always fancied one. I foolishly passed over a very cheap used 2x10 some years ago as I wasn't sure how they'd compare to a 2x12. D'oh! 

They are lovely-sounding amps.

However I am always put off by the weight. Someone local was selling a VC50 a couple of years back (another bargain) that I considered, but I shudder to think of how my back would have thanked me for that!

StefB

dogload said:

Always fancied one. I foolishly passed over a very cheap used 2x10 some years ago as I wasn't sure how they'd compare to a 2x12. D'oh! 

They are lovely-sounding amps.

However I am always put off by the weight. Someone local was selling a VC50 a couple of years back (another bargain) that I considered, but I shudder to think of how my back would have thanked me for that!

The 2x10 isn't too heavy, but has a reassuring solidity to it.