Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

OK people, Anyone picked up one of these babies yet ? I played with one (In San Jose PW)a couple of weeks ago and thought it kinda nailed the TBs
of the mid 60's...........Any opinions before I put my Rupies down ???

People have been going back and forth on the AC30CC amps. The ones I've personally heard sounded great. I have yet to buy one, but I'm planning on it when I am once again able to afford gear.

The majority of people I've heard from really like the AC30CCs. Some outright hate theirs. I know that of the four UK-made Korg AC30s I owned, one was pretty much a dud -- very lifeless and brittle sounding. I think the fact that there are rather large tolerances in many signal path components (resistors, caps) can lead to a situation where, statistically, you get a bad sounding one every once in a while. I'm sure it happens to all amp manufacturers.

I certainly have no worries. Like I said, I'm planning on buying one as soon as I can afford to do so.

FWIW, I've been told that while it may seem contrary to expectations, the AC30CC1 with the single Celestion NeoDog speaker pumps out way more low end than the two 2x12 combos. This is due to the speaker itself. I don't know if that's something you care about, but it may be something worth considering.

Kevin,
Speak of the devil, my dealer called this afternoon to let me know he had received several CC1s today........... I've heard only good on the CC1 but have yet to ring one out.. I am up in Stockton and deal in the San Jose area so it may be this weekend the 1 or 2 takes a ride back to the Central Alley............

Kevin, that's great news. I was curious about how the 1x12 would stack up, i'd be looking for a jazzier tone rather then a jangly tone anyway. Plus, if i'm gigging, I assume the 1x12 would be lighter/smaller.

The 1x12 is the one I want.

Kenny, I'm going to check one out Sat........Everyone says the bottom end is really fantastic.....................

Again, one of em' is going home with me...........

Just for the sake of accuracy, I've been told that my understanding of the bass response from the CC1 is mistaken. Mitch Colby (VP at Korg/Vox) posted the following on another forum: "While the Neo has more bass response than most speakers, you will still have more bottom end on the 2x12 version."

Sorry if I misled anyone.

The CC2 IS IT !!!!! ALong with the "modern upgrades" available thru the backside controls, yea baby, this IS IT !!!! For KH, tell us why you preferred the CC1, (please)

Is the CC2 the one which is most like the old AC30's with the Celestion Blues? If so, the use of those speakers explains why you like that one the best. Those are some of the best speakers ever made.

In order to make sure everyone is on the same page in regards to nomenclature, here's the rundown of model names:

AC30CCH - Head
AC30CC1 - 1x12 combo with NeoDog speaker
AC30CC2 - 2x12 combo with Wharfedale speakers
AC30CC2X - 2x12 combo with Celestion blue speakers

Note that the Wharfedales are made at the new Wharfedale factory in China which, not coincidentally, happens to be in the same building as the new Vox factory. This is one of the reasons a combo with two twelve inch speakers (not to mention a bit of extra wood and tolex) costs the same as a one twelve: Steve Grindrod of Vox R&D told me that the NeoDog is imported to China from the UK (as is the Blue, for that matter). So not only is the NeoDog more expensive to make, there are shipping and importing costs associated with it.

I need advice.
Should I choose the Vox AC15cc or the AC30CC?
I know the 30-watter is more amp, but more money too. I am not a professional player and feel the big one is just too much power for me. I checked out both today with my Ric and I prefer the sound of the AC30cc with the 2 warfdale speakers. Here's my question: Do you think a Blue speaker would make the AC15cc sound closer to the big guy?
Please advise.

If the AC15CC is using a 12 inch speaker rather than a 10, and you put in the Celestion Blue speaker, then it will sound a lot more like the AC30 than if you didn't use that speaker. As I said earlier, it is one of the best speakers for a guitar amp of all time. If you're just playing around the house and at local gigs every once in awhile then the AC15CC is probably fine for you.

Thanks for the insight, Greg.
I can save over $100 by buying the AC15CC1 with the stock Warfedale speaker, then order the "real deal" Celestion Blue and install it myself.
Then, I'll have a half-way decent speaker to do something with. The tech info. on the AC15CC states the Warfedale speaker is 16 ohm. Guess I'd better replace it w/ same ohm rating or I'll be asking for trouble. No problem. Just to satisfy my curiousity, wonder how the WEBER Blue Dog Alnico would sound (at half the price of Celestion Blue). hmmmm

If it was me I would probably get the Weber. The price is much better for sure and it gets you 9/10 of the way to the Celstion Blue sound. I have the Celestion Blues in my AC30 and its the only way to go there, but if I had started with something else, I'd be tempted to go with the Webers for the price difference. You can get a higher wattage versin from Ted Weber too so that there is no risk of blowing the speaker, and it woudl still sound quite good. I'd sugget to have him lightly dope the speaker though so you won't get ghost notes. You can use the Wharfedale for another project or sell it on ebay. And yes, make sure to get the same impedance so the amp will work correctly.