Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Hi, all:
I am not that familiar with the Vox AC 30. I do know that it was the famous amp for the 1960s British Invasion.
BUT--- Is this amp still highly recommended for our 12-string Rickenbackers??? Does the "30" correspond to the amounts of watts, etc.???
Can someone help???

The AC30 has been used by TONS of bands. The Beatles early stuff (Taxman is a great example of dirty sounds with amp cranked; first and second albums were AC30's, hard day's night was AC50's or AC100's, but AC30 can do those sounds too). Others using AC30's are early Stones, Who, and most other British Invasion bands, Tom Petty, U2, Johhny Marr, Spacehog, REM, etc. I've had one for years and it is my favorite amp. Very touch responsive and chimey, yet if you crank it, it can give up the goods too. It would be the first amp I'd recommend for any Rickenbacker guitar.

The 30 is the watts. Technically, it is 33 watts RMS, but it is a very loud 30 watts because of the very efficient speakers. If you get one or play one, you only want to play one with the Celestion Blue alnico speakers. Some of the Korg reissue AC30's come with Greenback Celestion speakers and they don't do the amp justice. Its original and well respected tone is with the Celestion Blues. It costs more this way, but it is well worth it. You may think that 30 watts isn't enough, but trust me, it is. An AC30 with Celestion Blues will be almost as loud as a 50W Marshall Plexi.

That's all I play through also. What a great amp. I also use an attenuator (THD Hotplate) with mine as to be able to play at lesser volumes while still getting that creamy overdriven sound when I need it. An AC30 on 3-4 will blow you and your family away!
I agree with Greg. An AC30 with a Rickenbacker is a true match. Great chime. The Greenbacks sound more like a Marshall to me. The Blues are the ones you want.

I am going to differ here and steer you away from the AC 30 if you have a 370/12RM.

I had 2 Vox AC 30s between 1995 and 1998, both JMI non-top-boost models with blue speakers from 1963 and 1965, but I have to say (and we are posting under a Byrds banner) that I could not get on with the AC 30 at all, when combined specifically with the built-in compressor of a 370/12RM.

Compared to the Fender Dual Showman sound, with JBL D130F speakers, where every note in a barre chord is very clearly defined and flicking your pickup toggle switch almost gives you three different amps, my AC 30s both sounded as if the compressed 370/12RM was stuck inside a tunnel, while I was on the outside straining to distinguish the notes that made up the same chord.

Everyone will have a different opinion or experience, of course, and I am only talking about one Rickenbacker model in particular. However, I will offer the opinion once again that striving for maximum compression does not make for a truly realistic Byrds sound.

Mark: I agree with you. There are many factors to be considered, however, I find the best Byrds' sound with my Rickenbacker 12 is had with a Janglebox pedal and my Twin Reverb and it is ahead of my Vox AC-30.

Mark, you said you had non top boost models, which are known as being quite a bit darker sounding than the top boost ones. If he is aiming for a Byrds 12 string sound, then maybe a Fender with the JBL D130's is a good way to go, as I would guess that McGuinn probably wasn't using Vox amps. I do notice that the Byrds 12 string sound is quite a bit different than that of George Harrison. If he wants more of a George Harrison sound, then going for a Vox would be a good choice, but if he wanted an AC30, then definitly a top boost one should be the one to go for and not a non top boost.

If I had a RIC 12 string, I'd use it in any and all amps I could come across personally. I wish I had the money for one!

Good points Simon. Without question the AC-30 is the Harrison sound while the Twin Reverb is more in keeping with the McGuinn sound. Both nice amplifiers.

That's a fair summary, Greg and Peter, and thank you for tolerating my opinion. Another way of looking at it is that the AC 30 is great at blending notes in a chord together and making the result really sing.

I listened to "Popcorn, Double Feature" again on The Searchers' BBC Sessions 2-CD set and the combination of the Rose, Morris Model 1993 and the AC 30 is just perfect, particularly on the the solo. Maybe I've been away from AC 30s for too long?

Mark: There are many variables that go into the "classic" AC-30 sound, whatever that may be. Not all AC-30s in recent years sound the same as there have been many changes, some subtle and some not. In the case of PDF, above, we can't rule out the magic of the sound engineer either.

Regarding the 'Byrds sound' through the different amps, i read somewhere (possibly here) that Mcguinn's recorded Byrds track were achieved by going direct through the console, with compression and reverb. ????

I have a new AC30CC2 coming(!!), and I'll be using a 620-6 and a 360-12 with it. I'll post how the new one sounds after I've played a bit. The reviews are already suggesting it may be the "best" AC30 ever.

I myself think Fenders were made for the jangle sound, especially Bandmasters. Nothing has a sparkly top end like a 60's or even 70's Fender tube amp. I saw Queen in 1976 and Brian May had nine of them on stage,in a 3 X 3 configuration, 8 dark ones with a white one in the middle. Supposedly he got his remarkably controlled sustain partially from the class A AC-30's.

The AC30 isn't really Class A. The main components to their sound are A) No negative feedback loop, B)Tone shaping that limits the bass, C)The use of EL84's, D)The use of the Celestion Blue speaker, E)Good gain scheduling so that the power amp stage distorts before anyother stages, resulting in a very touch sensitive amp.

Brian May ran his AC30's all the way up, and used the normal channel with a treble booster and a little amp called the Deacy that the bass player built him which he feeds into the AC30 inputs, overloading the preamp. This is what gives him all that sustain.

I think a Blackface Fender can do jangle pretty well, but nothing jangles like a Vox at low volumes.
Check out these two sites for info on Brian May's setup and for info about why the AC30 is not Class A. Go to the advanced section on the Aiken site and there is an article there about the AC30 and Class A.

http://www.brianmaycentral.com/
http://www.aikenamps.com/TechInfo.htm

Greg: You are right about the Vox AC-30 not being a class A. I like your analysis on the main components of the AC-30 sound. What is the role of the Top Boost in producing this unique sound?