The AC30 has been perhaps the most popular amp of all time. From the Beatles & U2 to just about every worship band out there, this amp has graced the stage of not only mainstream artists but the worship guitar industry as well. Similar to it’s younger brother the AC15 that we reviewed earlier. Known for it’s chime and cleans this amp can get worked up and pretty raunchy when pushed. AC30 tones can be heard on many of the early Hillsong Albums including United We Stand, David Crowder Band, Chris Tomlin and many more.
There are a few different version’s of AC30’s currently on the market. Ignoring the hand wired series for this article we look at the AC30C2X with Celestion Alnico Blues and it’s Celestion Greenback equipped counterpart. The Alnico Blue equipped version has more chime and sounds better with transparent overdrive pedals. It also achieves The Edge U2 washed out delay tone perfectly. The price is a bit more than $1000 at $1249.The Greenback equipped are great as well. The Greenbacks play well with brighter delays and standard overdrives such as Tube Screamers. If you prefer a darker amp these are the speakers you want to go with. At $999 compared to $1249 for the Alnico Blues version makes this an obvious choice for the budget minded guitarist.
The AC30 is a favorite with worship guitarists and with good reason – the tone is incredible. However there are a few of cons that come with owning one of these tone monsters.
Pros
- Price: When you compare the Vox AC30C2 at $999 to a Matchless DC-30 (based on the AC-30) at $3795 you can save a ton of money and for some of us our marriage.
– New w/ Celestion Greenbacks ($999)
– Used w/ Celestion Greenbacks ($750)
– New w/ Celestion Alnico Blues ($1249)
– Used w/ Celestion Alnico Blues ($1000) - Tone: Rich, Glassy, Chimey, Gorgeous
- Looks: Let’s face it looks matter when it comes to guitar gear. The Vox AC30 is classic.
Cons
- Durability: These things are a pain in the neck to keep running. If you play a lot and run your master volume high you can count on replacing tubes at least twice a year. They are also very finicky when knocked around.
- Weight: At nearly 80 lbs you will need two people to carry this thing any lengthy distance.
- No mid-range control: Similar to the AC15 this can be a pain when trying to dial in that perfect setting.
Should You Get One?
If you are looking for a great sounding amp that has great headroom and classic chime and your amp is going to live in an iso booth then this is the amp for you. If you tour a lot, hate amp repairs or like darker amps then we recommend checking out the HotRod Deluxe or saving up for that boutique version of the AC30.
If you play an AC30 let us know your favorite settings as well as what pedals and guitars you use in the comments section below.
3 Comments
I use an AC30C2 for gigs with my band. For church, I have an AC15C1 with a Weber Blue Dog.
My AC30 has JJ’s from Eurotubes (solid dudes), and I run it like so:
* Plug into Normal Channel High, jumper the low into Top Boost High input
* Master wide open
* Normal Channel Volume at 10 o’clock
* Top Boost Volume at 10 o’clock
* Overdrives are a Timmy and a TS Clone, gain set low and volume higher
I play a reverse plate Fender FSR Telecaster with Fender OV pickups and a G&L Tribute Bluesboy with a GFS Dream 90 in the neck.
So far, I’ve never had reliability issues…
Danny, Awesome rig man! As for the AC30 how often do you have to swap tubes. I had an AC30CC2X that I changed tubes in every 3 months or so. We ran similar settings at church too. I have heard that the issues with frying tubes comes from the crazy heat and poor ventilation on the AC30. I have had no issues with the AC15’s as their tubes come out the bottom of the chassis instead of being locked in the tube sauna AC30 chassis.
To be honest, I haven’t retubed in well over a year. I just started playing out again, so the 30 hasn’t seen a lot of action in that time. We’ll see how it holds up!
Those JJs are hanging in there, and the amp sounds great with low noise, though I can see a tube change in the near future.
I recently got a set of tubes for my other big amp, a Mesa Express 5:50 2×12 (non-plus version), which will be my primary gigging amp going forward… I think. Or maybe a rotation of amps? That’s what I usually do with church services, so it gives the tubes a little bit longer life. I get all my tubes from Eurotubes in Portland, OR… literally. I go and pick them up from their shop. Great guys, and I could not recommend them enough.
I had the AC30 at rehearsal levels this past weekend, and our other guitarist plays an Orange Thunderverb 50, and it was truly a great mix. You can hear what we do here: http://www.soundcloud.com/momentsnw