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This may seem like a stupid question to you Vox experts but are there good or bad years for any of the 60's AC-30's?I am currenlty looking to buy one of these and was just curios.
The JMI era AC30s from the late 50s to mid sixties are the most collectible sought after AC30s. After '67(?) Jennings sold the company to Thomas Organ in the U.S.
I'm no amp expert (my user name refers to singing\voice) but once had a rare Fawn color AC30 ca. 1964. All the JMI (Jennings Musical Instruments) era AC30's are good to killer and there a no bad years. A collector will want a certain panel and cab color, but the sound is independant of that. The rarest one of the lot might be the 4input (ie AC30\4) which is supposed to sound better partly due to an EF86 preamp. But them are almost unobtainium. Shock!some Korg reissues can sound as good or even better than the old amps - as long as they are expertly serviced and fitted with 15watt Celestions. The best advise I can offer, and if you have to ask outside of this forum, is to ask Don Butler at toneman.com - a recognized ac30 expert tech. Also Nickcha over at the vintageamps.com bbs. Or even a search over there will net many hours of answers.
t cheers
P.S. if you get an AC30 be sure to try an Hotcake boost\OD pedal with it. It's a pedal designed for it
Gazza, theres lots of solid vox amp info at the plexi palace's vox discussion board, and at www.voxtalks.com.
The reissues are indeed good, and probably the most accurate sounding reissue amp out there. If you go the reissue route, you'll want one made AFTER '93 and preferably with the Celestion Blue speakers.
As for "originals", 1967/68 seems to be the cut off year, but be aware that Jennings continued to make ac30s under his own name for a period after that and those are supposed to sound as good as the pre-68's. Generally the initials JMI (Jennings Music Industries) carry the same cachet with Vox fans that the term "pre-CBS" carries with Fender lovers.
Original non-top boosted ac30s are cheaper than the top boosts, and can be modded to top boost specs, OR, as an interesting alternative, to the ef-86 preamp 4 input models. The hard part will be finding n.o.s. ef-86's that don't go microphonic. I've never read a good thing about the Svetlana ef-86's in Vox circuits. People seem to avoid them.
Good luck in your search! JMI/Vox ac30's are an amp worthy of "the hunt".
Regarding the 4input Ef86. I would forget about this model alltogether unless your a collector and want to look for many years and spend $7000+. They're pretty unobtainable. But there's always hope if you're in it for the long haul. In that case you might look into an early 60's AC15as well!
Also, there are hotrodders out there who have taken the ac30 and striped it down to one channel if you're interested.
I would just go get a reissue and play it. If you want a long term relationship with the AC30 (who doesn't) then look for your keeper.
Sorry for the rambling - I'm thinking out loud because I'm about to jump back into an AC30 whether it be a reissue combo or JMI head\cab half stack.
I can't say enough good things about the old AC30s and a Hotcake.
Try to find a '63-64 with the red/brown grill cloth, red control panel, and original blue speakers. That is THE amp to get. A top boost in the controls will set you back too much money if you can find one, but alot have them added into the back. If not it is $150 mod.
They can be had fairly easily for around $2500-3k
I have some old JMI Voxes and consider myself one of their biggest fans. I have a gig tonight and I am going to use a gray panel JMI AC15 Twin that has been top boosted. It is a smokin amp! :60burst
An original fawn AC30 is not a '64, but more like a '61.
The ultra rare AC30/4 w/EF86 is indeed an amazing amp. I have one, and it's coming to the grave with me.
When equipped with the right tubes (especially with Ei in the preamp) and the alnico blue speakers, the current RI AC30s sound close to an original AC30. This is partly due to the very crisp sound of the RI alnico blue speakers. The old speakers sound just a bit softer and warmer.
JMI never sold out to Thomas Organ. In '67, JMI was sold and became VSL (Vox Sound Limited). The early VSL AC30s are fine. In '69, the GZ34 rectifier tube was dropped, which makes these and later models less desirable.
You guys talk about the "Colored Panles" on the Vox's, that is purley cosmetic right?Or does that have any other signifigance I should watch for when shopping for one of these.
The copper colored panels were used through '64. The vast majority of these amps either had a top boost unit mounted to the rear panel, or had no top boost at all.
The gray panel amps started in '64, and were used onward. The vast majority of these amps have top boost built in from the factory.
The black panel amps are few and far between, and these came directly from the Vox shop, while the red and gray panel amps were built under contract.
Any AC30 that has "Jennings Musical Industries" inscribed on the control panel is very desirable. If the amp has the correct speakers, transformers, and is in good electronic shape, it is a keeper. If it is an earlier model that does not have top boost, it is by far well worth the $150-200 required to get it.
I like the non top boost AC30. Also, beware of a certain dealer in the UK if you're eyeing one overseas. TedB it would be cool to hear a clip of your AC30\4, I'm having one cloned, should be here in a few month's.
My AC30/4 seems to stay in the studio constantly, so even I would like to hear a clip from it from time to time. To really appreciate this amp, one really needs to play it side by side with a top-boost model from the same period.
The thin fawn and smooth black coverings were discontinued very early. Describe the vents on your amp.
Why did you not like the top boost? What configuration was the amp you didn't like (B, N, or T)? I ask this because a top boost amp does *everything* it did before, but has added tonal flexibility.
TedB I edited my earlier post since you read it. Sorry. The vents were brass.
The only reason I like the non top boost is because I found I like a Hotcake, when needed, infront of the normal channel. True, I never installed a top-boost in this particular amp but we had a very good JMI top-boost next to it, and the non boost had a more defined fundamental note. And then with the Hotcake in, the note remained clearer. Some of this was due to the speakers. Gaaaawwd I love original Blues\Silvers. Anyway, most people do prefer the top-boost, I'm just on the fringe of some of this stuff.
The brass vents ceased to be used in '62, and cessation of the smooth black and fawn coverings preceded this. So, it seems that your amp is indeed a circa '61. ;-)
Ian, if I had a choice from a sheer tonal standpoint, I would opt for the EF86 conversion. The EF86 is a high-gain pentode delivers more gain and better harmonics than any ECC83 equipped AC30, and the difference is audible. The late '59-'60 Shadows recordings are AC30/4.
I have a '65 grey panel taht started life as a head. It was dropped into an Armadillo repro combo cab with the Don Butler top boost module on the back panel. It has Mercury magnetics replacement iron and runs at 8 ohms parallel into a pair of Weber speakers (a P12B and a P12S). This is without a doubt the finest combo amp I've ever had the pleasure to play. It was rebuilt by my friend, Topm Grossheider, and he did a GREAT job with it. I gleefully tote it to any room that will let me crank her, and reluctantly tote her to rooms that won't (in which case, I use a Hotcake to slam he and thet deharshes my mellow a bit).
Great with my Lester Polfus standard with low output Holmes pups. Even better with my korina tele with Harmonic Designs pups.
And the smell of tube incense burning once she warms up...AHHHHHHHH. Flipped a Matchless DC30 (one that made hundreds of shows with me) for it and never looked back.
I know this really doesn't answer your question, but I saw a vintage '63 AC-30 with original blues and a '99 reissue with greenbacks at Action Music in Arlington, Va today. Both of them were in fairly decent shape. Man, those original Voxes are just too sweet! All I wanted was some polish and strings. I've got to learn not to go to places like that when I don't want to see things that I really shouldn't buy.