RickVolcano_
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.

Rick, Guitar Player magazine ran a shootout of various speakers some years back. They looked at a bunch of Webers (though not the Blue Dog, but something similar) and tons of other stuff, and the Celestion Blue came on top. They just couldn't praise it enough. However, I suspect that mortals like us would not really be able to tell much difference between those two speakers. Weber Blue Dogs may shave a hundred or two off the price, and I'm sure they'll sound great.

Having said that, I bought my 2001 with Celestion Blue speakers used on eBay, and I paid something like $1200, which I think is a great deal - and I suspect you're not gonna save much money by, say, buying an AC30 with Greenbacks, and then replacing them with Webers.

I'm a little suprised at the volume/headroom point you brought up. I was concerned an AC30 might be TOO loud.

It depends how much overdrive you want in your sound. Since you've been playing a Twin Reverb for years, I think you'll find that the AC30 will NOT do the same kind of a clean at the Twin volume. But, if you don't mind a bit of grit for the Meltdowns, it'll be plenty loud. Also, keep in mind how loud I play when you're contemplating my advice! It's not completely normal... But I don't think you'll find it too loud under most circumstances.

Good luck and let us know what you decide.

Ivan

Ivan
Lords of Atlantis on Facebook
The Madeira Official Website
The Madeira on Facebook
The Blair-Pongracic Band on Facebook
The Space Cossacks on Facebook
The Madeira Channel on YouTube

I've the offer to trade in my late 70s Fender Quad Reverb (needs service and new speakers, has master push/pull volume and comes in a 2x12" twin cab) for a VOX AC30C (1 year old). I am absolutely undecided. I don't play the Quad Reverb anymore, but hey, it's a p2p Fender amp. And I don't know anything about the AC30C, except that it comes with greenback speakers (so I would have to switch them to Bulldog or Webers) and it seems to be the cheapest of the AC30 models. What do you guys think? Any opinion/advice is appreciated! Thanks.

The Hicadoolas

Last edited: Mar 16, 2015 01:13:20

I'm afraid to burn cash here. Those VOX amps seem to differ in quality - a lot. You are right, I do not need it, but 'My name is Kilian and I am a gearoholic'. And I really like the Huntington Cads and The Shadows sound, so I'd like to have that option on hand. Looks like this AC30Cs need a lot of tweaking before they sound like a real AC30?

The Hicadoolas

The Chinese Vox's are reputed to be more reliable than the British ones.

My mate scrapped his Marshalls in favour of Voxs and he's pleased with the AC30 1 x12 he has. Says it has a lot more versatile sound, I guess he must be getting old!

I'll tell you something though - it's not an amp to be confronted with for the first time at a gig. Trying to work out how to dial in a tone when you're due on in 5 minutes is not something I'd wish to do again! There were switches and knobs all over the place labelled in text I couldn't even see. Did I imagine it, or do all the tone controls go backwards?!

There is a film on YouTube about Vox and their creator. It was basically 2 AC15s in one box, which may explain why it was so heavy. They also had a lot of complaints about reliability, so they beefed up parts of it and threw them down the stairs to test them.

Most UK 60s bands used Vox - they were the only amp available that was loud enough until Marshall copied the Bassman. Fender amps were very expensive here due to import duties on foreign goods. The bands sounds were defined by what they could buy, rather than the sound they wanted.

http://thewaterboarders.bandcamp.com/

hi kilian!
there is both as far as i can recall - the C2 has two, but i think there is a version with only one speaker. you wrote that it is a AC 30 C...
yours
wolfi

http://www.surfgrammeln-san.org
https://www.facebook.com/BaluUndSurfgrammeln
http://greencookierecords.bandcamp.com/album/coming-out-soon-los-chicharrones-del-surf-10

I do most of my MP3 comp entries on a Vox AC30 - Vox originally built the AC15s and AC30s for the Shadows, not the Beatles. Hank Marvin literally influenced the creation of the AC30 because his AC15s weren't loud enough - and we all know the influence that the Shadows have on surf/instro guitar music. In Australia, Vox styled amps were more accessible generally than Fenders (and cheaper!) and local manufacturers often blended elements of Vox and Fender designs; so if you listen to the Atlantics recordings, you're likely to be hearing Vox, Fender and locally made Aussie amps. A Vox AC15 or an AC30 will give you "Apache", "Bombora" and awesome darker tones. I experimented with a drippy reissue Fender 63 reverb tank into my AC30 - OMG...but thats a whole other story!

I owned an AC30 for several years, although for various reasons didn't quite appreciate it. Worth pointing out the amp is not only for heavy clean tones - the amp is the backbone of the Stooges' Raw Power.

I agree with the consensus that the Celestion Blue is an integral part of the sound, and a design staple. But don't pay a premium for the ones branded as "vox" rather than Celestion, they're made not in East Norfolk but in Southern China.