I've played a JMI AC30 repro. It was fine, good, but IMO not worth the million dollar price tag.

There is a handwired point-to-point AC15 just out for a reasonable price, and the price is reasonable beacuse...it's made in China. Excellent as well by all accounts. I'm thinking of getting one.

The Shadows played Strats (and sometimes Burns) into AC30s. If you don't know the Shadows they're an influential instrumental band from the UK. Hank Marvin got a really nice tone out of his.

Also, John Parish, solo artist and guitarist / producer for PJ Harvey, Giant Sand, Eels and many more uses a Jazzmaster into AC30 and often goes for pretty surfy sounds.

There's also a head / cab option for the new ones.

I'm really trying to find my surf amp...Fender amps are great but I'm not completely sold on them. I've always loved the AC30 and I'm not worried about the 'verb because I have a '63 that I plan on using anyways. I just worry about having enough clean volume for unmic'd situations. I have another 2 months or so 'til I'll have the money ready anyways....so you'll probably be seeing lots of annoying posts from me about potential amps
....what about a Hiwatt for surf?

Occam, as I said before you can maybe use your Matamp for surf. I think they build the modern Hiwatt Customs anyway. I also was looking for a surf amp but not necessarily going down the trad Fender route - I wanted a surfy sound but an original one, not a historical replica.

I have a Matamp model which I fitted with 6L6s and use an outboard reverb and it works well IMO.

But yes, you could probably use a Hiwatt for surf also. Some Matamps & Hiwatts bark a little, but I sorted that out with the 6L6s and the right speaker and now it's thumpy and great. I also have gain control mine because, sacrilege, I don't play totally clean.

All I can say is that I've parted with 2 for that very reason. Nowadays I play with the same drummer and a 30 watt tube amp - He's not as manic as he used to be. However, if I play with another local, young drummer, then I need to take two amps and it's certainly not too much, even in a local pub.

Also, big venues can be easier to fill with sound as some thought was possibly given to acoustic projection. A small venue with lots of soft stuff can eat your sound up more.

http://www.myspace.com/thepashuns

Youth and enthusiasm are no match for age and treachery.

The sound guy can obviously give you some back through the monitors in that situation if neccessary. But also a big stage means you are stood in front of your own amp a long was from the others - especially the drummer - whose sound will dissipate without walls nearby anyway. At a lot of the gigs I do, I'm on a small stage with his cymbals about a foot from my left ear.

Everything in England is closer together - there's not much room here..
(There's actually some truth in that - everything seems on a different scale in the US to us...)

http://www.myspace.com/thepashuns

Youth and enthusiasm are no match for age and treachery.

Haha ... I just get used to most people here being from the USA

http://www.myspace.com/thepashuns

Youth and enthusiasm are no match for age and treachery.

Off the topic slightly - but I have 2 Delta Blues combos. You get a whole lot more volume if you use an extension cab with them - especially with a nice efficient speaker like a Celestion G12H in it. Works wonders - they sound great then - for blues or rock gigs. But I'd still say that any 30 watt amp is light on headroom to be sure of sufficient clean power for a good surf sound in every venue though.

http://www.myspace.com/thepashuns

Youth and enthusiasm are no match for age and treachery.

RickVolcano_
I've got a growing itch to pick up a Vox amp. Thanks for all the info here.

IvanP
I believe that the ONLY speaker for an AC30 is the alnico Celestion Blue. The original and still the best. However, they're expensive as hell!

Any opinions on how the Weber alnico blues compare to the Celestion alnico blues in a Vox application?

Hi Rick:
Very well, I think. In the Space Cossacks I used a '92 AC30 (Rose-Morris, pre-Korg) that came stock with Celestion Greenbacks. Those speakers did NOT sound good in that amp (well, the whole amp didn't sound that great, I think, but I had some mods done on it around '00 that helped). I eventually replaced the Greenbacks with Weber alnico 15W Blue Dogs - their version of Celestion Blue speakers, though a fair amount cheaper. The sound improved markedly. While I didn't swap out the Celestion Blue speakers in my 2001 AC30 with the Webers and do an A-B comparison, I thought that the Webers sounded very good. In fact, with those Webers we've been using that AC30 all the time - either as my dad's amp in the Troubadours, and or as Patrick's practice amp in Indy (now that he's in CA). And I've liked its tone since then in either application. So, that's definitely a good option, I would say.

BTW, as far as headroom goes, it's definitely a limitation of an AC30. I started out playing an AC30 as my primary amp in both the Space Cossacks and the Madeira. But as our energy - and volume - level rose, I found the amp unable to keep up with the drums, and my lead guitar would start disappearing from the live mix. You can play it at around 6 and it'll just have a bit of nice edgy break-up, perfect for DD/Atlantics/Fender-IV-like surf. But after 6 on the volume control, the sound starts getting too dirty. And at 6, the volume was just barely high enough to be heard over the drums, playing with Dane and Doug. In both bands I eventually went for a 85/100W Fender in order to be able to be heard a bit better over the drums and other instruments. But then, in both bands we play/ed pretty hyperactive kind of surf, and we are/were too loud for many people's tastes. For a more normal surf band, I think the volume of an AC30 would be fine.

Ivan

Ivan
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Hi Ivan,
Thanks for the info! I know we talked about this before.
I'm curious how the Webers and Celestions compare because of the price difference. I've seen some good reviews of Webers. But if the Celestions sound better I would spring for 'em.
I'm a little suprised at the volume/headroom point you brought up. I was concerned an AC30 might be TOO loud.

The Volcanos

Oooooo... I LOVE Polytones. I played through them almost exclusively when I was playing in my college big bands and jazz combos - they are so much jazzier than the Rolands, which would still be my immediate #2 choice.

I never thought of one for surf because they are almost too clean and warm.

~B~