Vox AC30 Collector Edition 1991

This amp was produced in the early 90's and didn't find it's way onto many stages for one reason....the cabinet was an untolexed masterpiece. The bare wood grain was visible and showing which was absolutely exquisite to look at. You got the same great tone and features of the standard Vox Ac30's but just in a an excellent custom piece.

This amp is just tone for days. I cannot think of of a better amp that Vox could have made when this thing was released. This amp was everything you loved and wanted out of the old JMI amps from the early 60's These I believe are the last of a great tradition in quality and in tone.

The great thing about this amp is that it has a familiar British flavor but vastly different from the British sounds of a Marshall or a Hiwatt. The grind from this amp is very unique and voiced much like a Fender Twin, but deeper tonally and much darker than a Fender Twin.

UTILIZATION

The operation is unique to this amp as well. It doesn't look anything like a Marshall or a Hiwatt front panels. The gain control knob is the Cut knob. This is where you get the gain from the amp but you have to get the power section working hard to get any kind of distortion from the amp. This means you have to blast the hell out of this amp to get it to sustain. Which won't sounds very pleasing to any neighbors you may have living next door to you. If you want to get that Brian May tone then I would recommend getting an attenuator so you can crank that volume up to get a power tube distortion. There really isn't much if any preamp distortion at all with the amp.

SOUNDS

If this is the sound that you are going for then there really is not anything better out there. There haven't been too many clone amps of the Vox Ac30 so you are quite limited in trying to obtain that vintage sound from the 60's. This amp is as coase to the original I believe that Vox has done in the last 20 years.

I used this with a Fender Strat and a Les Paul. Each one of those guitars gave a very usable and tasty flavor. For the clean stuff the Strat was optimum and for throwing an overdrive pedal in front the Les Paul gave a solid warm and rich vintage tone. However, the best operation I found was my personal favorite: a Electro Harmonics Big Muff in front with a Fender Strat. This combination gave me a great 60's tone that was so enjoyable to play.

OVERALL OPINION

These amps are harder to come by nowadays since many people want to hold onto them as collectors items. Plus there were only a certain number of them even made. So scoring one will be a task for anyone. I have seen them around over the years in classifieds sections of different forums or evilbay and I want to say they were around $2500+. Most of them I remember people asking around $3000+ for one. That is a lot of money for an amp but this will most likely be a lifer amp or a deserted island mp for must Vox enthusiasts.

If you are a Vox enthusiasts then this amp will definitely be one to have in your collection. Even if you just like the Vox tone it will be a nice amp to go to if you need that Queen Brian May tone, Tom Petty tone, Beatles ton, or the Edge tone. Many users have handled business with the Vox Ac30 and added wood cabinet is a plus.