Best Modern Vox AC30 or AC30 Copy

  • Thread starter Thread starter bvoshus
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braintheory said:
I guess we have no business owning those amps because we just aren’t worthy as per Fred (or whatever his name was)
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If an amp builder said something like that to me, I would probably send him pictures of some of the larger festivals I've done, and tell him that's ____ thousand people that will never see his shitty amps on stage.
 
DanTravis62 said:
If an amp builder said something like that to me, I would probably send him pictures of some of the larger festivals I've done, and tell him that's ____ thousand people that will never see his shitty amps on stage.
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It honestly shouldnt matter though, even if you only play in your bedroom for fun.

What a prick.
 
DanTravis62 said:
It honestly shouldnt matter though, even if you only play in your bedroom for fun.

What a prick.
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I’ve heard my share of defensive things from when I didn’t like a maker’s amps or guitars, but never anything on that level lol
 
braintheory said:
I’ve heard my share of defensive things from when I didn’t like a maker’s amps or guitars, but never anything on that level lol
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That's actually not even the 10the time i've heard a story like that about the d\13 dude. I've seriously heard of stuff like that from a bunch of people that have owned them.

Apparently hes famous for it.
 
DanTravis62 said:
That's actually not even the 10the time i've heard a story like that about the d\13 dude. I've seriously heard of stuff like that from a bunch of people that have owned them.

Apparently hes famous for it.
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No soup for You! I have punk rock pedigree ! 😂
 
* velcro-fly * said:
No soup for You! I have punk rock pedigree ! 😂
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Oh right, he was in D.I. or whatever the fuck acronym punk band

well I played Warped Tour a bunch of years Fred, whoopty damn doo

my punk rock credentials just exceeded yours mister D/13, guess he isnt punk rock enough for his own amps now.
 
If you're going VOX, the AC30HH and AC15HTV Anniversary models are fabulous amplifies. I love them as-is, but Graydon at Guytron says that they sound even better when rewired. The cool thing about these, is that they sport the EF86 and Top Boost channels. You can stack the channels via ABY if you want. You may want to clip the additional bright cap from the TB side of the amp.

Bad Cat amps are more forgiving than Matchless, for sure. The ones that I've played were anyway. The Guytron stuff is good too, especially the early GT100 model. Guy used a stainless steel chassis for those, so heat retention is brutal. Its VOX AC15 amp section eats EL84's like mad as well. The excess compression (when the AC15 section is pushed) sounds great, but can make it a bear to get notes to pop.

If you're looking for a great VOX/Bad Cat sound, check this out...

 
DanTravis62 said:
That's actually not even the 10the time i've heard a story like that about the d\13 dude. I've seriously heard of stuff like that from a bunch of people that have owned them.
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For context, this is what I had at the time for comparison sake....Selling that Aiken Intruder was one of the dumbest things I've ever done.

EARCANDY.jpg
 
bvoshus said:
Owned a modern HW a few years ago, ended up moving it along. But my interest has been piqued again, was thinking about going the matchless route but thought it might be nice to find something under $2k used. Is the current HW series from Vox the best offering aside from Matchless, and is a Matchless HC30 head and ESD Cab worth paying $3200+ for?
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Hey OP - sorry to derail your thread with a bunch of shit talking about D/13. Other than that there's some good info nuggets in here for you :rock:
 
* velcro-fly * said:
For context, this is what I had at the time for comparison sake....Selling that Aiken Intruder was one of the dumbest things I've ever done.

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Komets are killer sounding amps! I can’t see a D/13 lasting more than a few minutes next to that. Which model Komet? That’s one the OP should try (EL84 version) if doable. I remember particularly liking the Concorde model
 
DanTravis62 said:
Im on the opposite side as gibsonchild, I think the matchless stuff is way better than the bad cat, but that's because I prefer the vintagey stuff to more modern stuff.

The early 90s matchless stuff is where its at.

The newer matchless stuff is as good at clean stuff but doesnt drive as well. (edit: this goes for matchless, star, and bad cat)

The badcat stuff has more versatility but isnt as good at specific sounds.

Dr Z varies wildly depending on the amp. Some of it is bland, some of it is kickass.

tophat stuff is cool but not doing a 1:1 vox sound - all models are more of a blender of ac30, fender, and plexi circuits

Avoid morgan, 65, and d/13 - theyre all super overrated.
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Divided by 13 has quite a few models. I have heard some great tones on YouTube. Also noticed some of the bigger session guys including Tim Pierce and Shawn Tubbs getting some great tone out of divided by 13.

But, I have never owned one myself.

Which models did you play/own?
 
I’d love to try a victory copper head sometime. Seems like a great take on the ac30 but with more gain and whatnot
 
mooncobra said:
Divided by 13 has quite a few models. I have heard some great tones on YouTube. Also noticed some of the bigger session guys including Tim Pierce and Shawn Tubbs getting some great tone out of divided by 13.

But, I have never owned one myself.

Which models did you play/own?
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I've played the RSA, ldw, fjr, and a couple others who's name I can't remember.

It's just one of those thing that isn't for me. Don't like the ghosting, and there's something fatiguing in the high end no matter the speaker, which is a bit of a death knell for something on the chimey side

I'm sure the big YouTubers get great tones out of it just like they get great tones out of everything, because it's YouTube 🤣
 
Friedman has said it’s in his future to come out with his take on an AC30
 
DanTravis62 said:
I've played the RSA, ldw, fjr, and a couple others who's name I can't remember.

It's just one of those thing that isn't for me. Don't like the ghosting, and there's something fatiguing in the high end no matter the speaker, which is a bit of a death knell for something on the chimey side

I'm sure the big YouTubers get great tones out of it just like they get great tones out of everything, because it's YouTube 🤣
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As you probably know better than me, a lot of YouTubers seem to add some post reverb and things of that nature, smoothing out those little unpleasant details that are more apparent in person. Some guys do it more obvious than others, but I always hated it and of course many just use pedals, so I can be reminded of my favorite Brooklyn indie guys. Many of those guys love using current AC30’s
 
braintheory said:
Komets are killer sounding amps! I can’t see a D/13 lasting more than a few minutes next to that. Which model Komet? That’s one the OP should try (EL84 version) if doable. I remember particularly liking the Concorde model
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That is / was a Concorde. Really fantastic amp, another shoulda kept it but I ended up getting a clone from Alan Meyer's that was cool, eventually sold that as well to continue chasing I don't know what :p Other than looking for something completely different in terms of sound I can safely say the Wizard MC25 ended my rock amp merry go-round 4 plus years ago. I do love the low powered Fender stuff and slight dirty edge of breakup sounds; to that end I recently picked up a Matchless Laurel Canyon which excels at that, but I gotta believe there's more affordable alternatives to that, like a good ol' used $800 Princeton Reverb. Like everything though, I'm pretty sure if I had both the Princeton and the Laurel Canyon in the same room the sonic differences would be obvious, the Laurel Canyon is pretty badass. Would it be 3x as good relative to price ???
 
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