A great trick with the EF86 fx loop is to put the amp on a loadbox and run the EF86 power amp out into a DI to add lush pentode harmonics to anything you would record direct. And any HI-Z stomps you put in the Matchless type loops need to have super short cable runs or you risk losing top end.
its a beast (as is every badcat I have ever used, especially the Wild Cat 40 with E元4s in cathode bias, yum) BUT if you seek a useable FX loop the matchless format is a HI-Z, unbuffered preamp out and power amp in on each channel, to you use LO-Z effects liker ack gear you need an external matching device like a DI and reamp package or a Dumblator/Kleinulator to get it to sound right. they are like the Matchless of Valco small pentode designs. great amps, just not that voxy in person. I am not a huge fan of the goodsells, they sound more American. Think plexi or JMP at 1:00 on the preamp dial. Engaging the master tends to add a little marshalliness as youa re not working the power section as hard. Also, all modern ac30s have a very good blobal master volume that produces great tone from about noon on up. You will want to work your volume knob to back off the dirt. If you go custom classic try doing the normal channel at 10 with a treble boost or a good, tweakable EQ type boost out front like an EQD tonejob or the classic colorsound overdriver. I like it, but its not great with humbuckers unless you crank it or engage the bright caps (the modern ones have a bright switch, vintage ones don't), and once the bright caps are engaged you will experience some of the dirtbox pickiness of the top boost inputs. Having global treble and bass controls means you can dial the normal channel in a lot better than a vox that is a 'like it or lump it' affair.
#Vox ac30cc2 switch replacement pro
My Pro has never met a dirtbox it doesn't like. The Pro/Super/Bandmaster circuit has some of the upper mid magic of a vox but is a little firmer and broadband. The ac30 likes delay and some modulation just fine though.Īnother good option is mid-sized tweed fender type amps. Voxes do not play well with everything out there (especially tubescreamers) and even with the pedals they do like (such as the rat, sd1 and hotcake) you have to dial the amp and stomps in very carefully in my experience. voxier voiced amps sound better on their own, dry or with just a little echo and maybe some colored boost ala brian may, but the orange is less picky about dirt boxes. You may like the el84 based oranges, very pedal friendly and based on the ac15 and ac30 pretty heavily with a more neutral voicing (jimmy page mainly used the single channel AD30 head for the O2 reunion show and he sounded great even with an injured finger - and if you recall the Page/Plant reunion of the 90s jimmy was using 90s Korg/Marshall made ac30 RIs and vintage examples, so clearly Page feels the oranges are more versatile because he owns a fleet of voxes, more than me I am sure). Try a hiwatt for the big chime, voxy note bloom and a voicing that inhales effects :-) the ac30 is generally a mediocre pedal platform, just so you know I will use one of these as backline if its provided for a fly gig but I personally wouldn't buy one. they represent a real value assuming you have a backup amp you like because reliability is notoriously spotty (probably due to the flimsy PCB's used and the board-mounted tube sockets) Although other versions range from 'this amp wrks better than my central ehating to keep me warm in the winter' levels of heart all the way up to 'I think I'll fry a few eggs on the top of this amp' in the case of most examples made before '64.Īll this said, I have heard these amps sound quite good in the right hands with the right tubes and speakers. AC30s are cathode biased but there's a part called a cathode resistor that sets the basic operating range for the output tubes and these ac30s are the coldest and therefore most brittle sounding versions of the ac30. Seriously an ac30 shouldn't have on-board reverb anyway and the tem they added sounds wrong for a vox though tis not entirely unusable.
#Vox ac30cc2 switch replacement series
I think the current custom series has a tube rectifier while the older ones don't (not 100% sure though) and both versions have shitty solid state driven trem and reverb instead of lush, tube driven trem/vibrato. I have read that the new ones are voiced closer to vintage, but now the cabs aren't built as well. It is voiced more like an original ac50, being extra bright and clean on the top boost side and the switchable bright caps on the normal side are more likea pre-top-boost AC30 treble model.
1st, this version of the ac30 is the worst pedal platform bar none, so if you are a pedal guy, stop reading