1979 Vox AC30

billando

My obsession with buying old amps continues as i have bought a 1979 Vox AC30. I am sure lots of people on here have owned these older non-master volume AC30s so if anyone wants to their thoughts on them that would be great. It is arriving on Tuesday so obviously can play around with it then to find out for myself. How loud are we speaking before it begins to break up? I take it it will still be clean at the levels we play at? (Pub gigs but with loud drummer) or will it be breaking up at that point? I know it should have great cleans so is it a good pedal platform and is the normal channel best for this?....any advice appreciated.

Thanks.

ecc83

'KING LOUD! Would be my estimation based on a similar 4X EL84  combo with 2 V30s in it. The amp I am thinking of has a 15W option which is still loud enough for most gigs.

Looking forward to an ICBM dissertation.

Dave.

billando

We play unmiced, at some gigs my ac15 doesnt have enough punch to compete. I am exploring the AC30 with good pedal route

snowblind

AC30s tend to need to be into ears-bleeding territory in order to get the best tones out of them. At low levels they can be a bit thin and screechy. All depends on what you like of course. Their preponderance of mids and high end make them great in a mix, especially in a loud band. Maybe not so great for home use. It should be more than enough to tame your drummer though.

ElectricXII

I doubt it will be breaking up much at pub gig levels, unless you guys are insanely loud.

billando

Do these get real loud real quick like old non master Marshalls? The one i bought has Fane speakers. Looks in great condition.

guitars4you

billando said:

Do these get real loud real quick like old non master Marshalls? The one i bought has Fane speakers. Looks in great condition.

If I remember rightly those AC30's were built in Yorkshire at the old FAL factory (Audio factors) or by Dallas in Essex - Need to brush up on my history to recall which are which - As it has Fane speakers I'm edging my bets towards the FAL factory 

ecc83

I stand to be corrected but swapping the speakers for Greenbacks could reign in the window busting capability a bit. Of course, speakers are very subjective.

Dave.

ICBM

I think if it's a '79 it will have blue-frame Fanes - which are *not* "Blues" (and not alnico), and not quite as sensitive.

Even ignoring that, I would say...

F'ing loud
Probably clean
Yes, they're excellent pedal platforms
You can use either channel, or jumper them (or all three) and blend