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(Now New Amp Day) Amp suggestions to compliment a JTM-45. Thinking Bassman or AC30?

Icandrive55

Active member
Joined
Oct 26, 2019
Messages
166
Amp arrived today! It's a 1964 grey panel. It's been a slightly mixed bag of results. The amp has no footswitch input so I can't tell if the vibrato or tremolo works. I am pretty annoyed because I had asked the seller to check for that before accepting my offer. Besides that, some usual vintage issues like finicky inputs. But the amp is surprisingly quiet. There's no crackling or bad noises. So I think the repairs aren't going to be that difficult.

Now on to the good news... it might be the best amp I've ever heard. It's a hard thing to describe. I don't need to explain all the characteristics as you've all heard these. I'm just blown away by it. And it will for sure compliment the JTM45. It really deserves to be fully operational though so I'll be getting it serviced soon.

IMG_9652.jpg
 

fernieite

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 3, 2010
Messages
609
Great new amp day! Congrats. :)
How much does the head weigh?

Btw, have you got an Echoplex hiding behind the Vox?
 

Icandrive55

Active member
Joined
Oct 26, 2019
Messages
166
Great new amp day! Congrats. :)
How much does the head weigh?

Btw, have you got an Echoplex hiding behind the Vox?
Thank you! I would say around 40 or less? It's not that heavy. I'm glad I went that route. It just makes recording and moving around a lot easier. But the combos do look super cool.

And yes, that's an EP-2 so it has the tube preamp. I freaking love that thing.
 

Wally

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 27, 2003
Messages
3,535
Oddly enough, all three of your options…5F6A Bassman, JTM 45, and an AC30Top Boost channel….
Have similar preamp topography. The cathode Biasing in the AC30TB is a big factor.
When Vox realized the original AC30 did not have enough preamp gain to compete, they added another gain stage
Followed by a cathode follower driv8ng the tone stack…..as in the 5F6A as well as Marshall’s first amp, which was a ‘reissue’ of that Fender amp.
Nice looking amp…congrats!
 

Icandrive55

Active member
Joined
Oct 26, 2019
Messages
166
Oddly enough, all three of your options…5F6A Bassman, JTM 45, and an AC30Top Boost channel….
Have similar preamp topography. The cathode Biasing in the AC30TB is a big factor.
When Vox realized the original AC30 did not have enough preamp gain to compete, they added another gain stage
Followed by a cathode follower driv8ng the tone stack…..as in the 5F6A as well as Marshall’s first amp, which was a ‘reissue’ of that Fender amp.
Nice looking amp…congrats!
That's interesting. Makes sense! The AC30 is able to sound really similar to the JTM 45. But it can also sound quite a bit different. I think some of the glassier sounding Fender's would have sounded too different panned hard L & R with my Marshall. These are just enough different that they'll be distinguished from each other but have a similar character.

On a separate note, the Tonebender through the AC30 sounds absolutely bananas. It's crazy to me they were making stuff that aggressive in the 60s. It's a far more extreme sound than my Mesa Boogie.

This officially knocked off my desire to get a 60s JTM 45. That's always been the dream amp. But this absolutely has that quality I was missing from my JTM 45 handwired reissue. It's a great sounding amp but a little too safe. It doesn't have those harmonics and overtones I hear with the originals. The Vox definitely does.

And thank you!
 

Graffy

New member
Joined
Feb 16, 2023
Messages
8
In all beautiful head!!
much more modest and can be used in an apartment what do you think of the AC10 and what model ?
 

Gridlock

Well-known member
Joined
May 16, 2019
Messages
287
I'm in the same boat. I have little to no experience with Vox's. They just seem to be the most sonically different out of the classic amps. I'm seeing a lot of suggestions for a SF or BF combo. I was always intimidated but the number of variations. I have no idea how anyone picks a favorite out of all of those. When you're looking for something like an AC30 or JTM45, it's much easier to narrow down the options. I think I'd just have to try some locally until I found one I liked and not worry about hunting down a specific model.
Try a BF or SF Deluxe Reverb or a Vibrolux Reverb. Can’t go wrong.
 

Gridlock

Well-known member
Joined
May 16, 2019
Messages
287
Amp arrived today! It's a 1964 grey panel. It's been a slightly mixed bag of results. The amp has no footswitch input so I can't tell if the vibrato or tremolo works. I am pretty annoyed because I had asked the seller to check for that before accepting my offer. Besides that, some usual vintage issues like finicky inputs. But the amp is surprisingly quiet. There's no crackling or bad noises. So I think the repairs aren't going to be that difficult.

Now on to the good news... it might be the best amp I've ever heard. It's a hard thing to describe. I don't need to explain all the characteristics as you've all heard these. I'm just blown away by it. And it will for sure compliment the JTM45. It really deserves to be fully operational though so I'll be getting it serviced soon.

View attachment 21221
Congratulations that is a beauty. I’d have a tech check it out before spending too much time with it.

Enjoy.
 

Icandrive55

Active member
Joined
Oct 26, 2019
Messages
166
Try a BF or SF Deluxe Reverb or a Vibrolux Reverb. Can’t go wrong.
Something in that category will definitely be my next amp. But between the different faces and models, there's an obscene amount of options. I'd have to go somewhere where I can actually play them side by side to pick one. It would be too much guess work to pick one based on reviews and find one online.

I'll eventually get it to a tech. I have a recording coming up soon and wouldn't get it back in time. I need to have a footswitch input installed because these ones were hardwired directly to the board. But otherwise, it's running remarkably well - even cranked it's not noisy. The only thing that sounds off are the pots in the EQ section. They kind of go from on to off without much of a sweep. So those need to be replaced as well as the input jacks.
 
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Icandrive55

Active member
Joined
Oct 26, 2019
Messages
166
In all beautiful head!!
much more modest and can be used in an apartment what do you think of the AC10 and what model ?
It depends on your budget. Others here can probably better recommend a different model. If you can afford an attenuator, I would always recommend getting the exact head you want and a cabinet. Then you can play in an apartment and if you ever need more power for a gig, you have it. Lots of venues have cabinets so you only have to bring a head, which is a big plus.
 
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