June Birthdays 
A few weeks ago I bought a Vox AC30 Custom Clasic head. I've been using a Peavey Delta Blues for my rock/function gigs for six years or so now and when it developed a dry-joint type sound I had to do something quickly for a lunchtime gig the following day and bought a AC30 CC head from a local shop. I used it with an Alnico gold (50w version of the famous blue-back) in a cabinet I already had.
Although I have other amps I could have used, I find it very hard to keep a 100w amp tamed for this type of gig and I wanted a 30 watter. I recently bought a Handwired AC15 for studio use that I really like so I was fairly confident in buying the AC30.
Well, I struggled through a few gigs with it before getting the shop to take it back and order me a Peavey classic 30 head. It sounded good in a room, but in a gig context I found it very hard and toppy sounding. It was never really clean and never really dirty and actually sounded quite like a solid-state amp until you got it to full (and I do mean full) volume where it sounded by far the best. We do a few Surf numbers in this kind of set but I dropped them because the amp sounded terrible for them and the reverb was a non starter- and I don't take a tank for this kind of gig - I just use the amp reverb. By contrast I find the Peaveys are far more warm and musical - and have a much better Surf sound to boot. They don't sound particularly 'impressive' when you play them at home at low volumes, but their voicing really works in a gig context.
I'd had a couple of AC30s back in the 70s and 80s and not kept them long either, although the only reason I could remember for that was that they weren't loud enough - and I'm not quite so noisy now!
Earlier in the week a friend had bought his 1962 AC30 round to compare with mine and they were much in the same ballpark tonewise so I dont think this amp was a 'bad example'. Although he gets a good sound live with his, he plays in a blues band using a much different sound to me. And, I did like the sound of my AC30 on a couple of Standells or Sonics garage band classics we play - but that's because it's rather hard sound had quite a '60s quality to it (rather obviously for an AC30 I guess!) but it wasn't a sound I'd want all night.
It's interesting to note that if you just made a decision on what to buy by hanging round forums like Plexi Palace then you could easisly formulate an idea that was the complete opposite of what I find to be the truth (for me) in a practical situation. I can only assume that a lot of those guys either never play in a gig situation or they listen by looking at the badge on the front.
I Just thought I'd share that experience. I use a 100w amp for proper surf gigs because I like that huge clean sound - but if I was to use a 30 - I know I'd get a much better Surf experience from the Peavey than the Vox.
By the way, I'll repeat that it's the head version I'm talking about here, and when I use my Delta Blues combo (which is the same amp section but with tremolo) I use it with a 2x Celestion G12H cabinet. I'm not mad keen on the Blue Marvel speakers that come fitted as standard to the Peavey Classic range.
—http://www.myspace.com/thepashuns
Youth and enthusiasm are no match for age and treachery.
