Vox AC30CC 112 Combo

I have got ny AC30CC1 for a few years now. Bought it immediately after they came out. I think this was in 2005.

The features are: two independent channels with independent inputs and a switch to link both channels together. Bright switch and volume control for the "normal" channel, treble, bass and volume control for the "top boost" channel as well as a switch to choose between "standard" and "modern" EQ, tremolo speed and depth, reverb amount and tone as well as a "dwell" switch, master volume and master tone cut. You can choose to connect external speakers either muting the internal speaker or not, you can switch between 30 watts and 22 watts operation and choose between two different biases. There is an effects send/return with a true bypass. Reverb and tremolo can be switched on and off with a footswitch.

Not enough features? Too many features for me. It took me a while to find the best settings for all these switches.

Nevertheless the amp is not as versatile as a dual or triple channel modern amp, of course, for distortion you need a booster or overdrive/distrotion pedal. That??s why I give the amp only an 8 for this category.

It??s an AC30!!! Either you love this sound or you don??t. If you love this sound you won??t give your AC30 away for the most expensive boutique amp on the market. The AC30 simply has its own unique tone and a directness you won??t find anywhere else. Fenders might offer nice clean tones, Marshalls and Laneys might be great for distorted sounds, but no other amp can produce the "sparkling", bright, crunchy sounds of the AC30. Just remember: The Beatles, Hank Marvin, Rory Gallagher, Brian May - very different playing styles - always the same amp.

Before choosing the CC1 I compared all options and came to the conclusion that while the CC2X might be more true to the vintage original, the CC1 has the most focused and most beautiful tone of the three available options (CC1, CC2, CC2X). What is more I prefer amps with a single amplifier for recording.

It??s a tube amp. And it??s a noisy tube amp. And it??s a tube amp that needs care and service. Right now mine is humming awfully. Replacing the valves did not change this very much. I will have to consult a technician. This is vertainly no fault of the production in China, it is simply a result of this very delicate construction.

I am playing for 27 years now and work as a professional music teacher. I play an American Vintage ??57 Stratocaster (Reissue), a Burns Marvin and some Rickenbacker guitars. There is no better combination than a RIC and a VOX. If this amp was stolen or lost I would replace it immediately. There is no alternative.

Always wanted a Vox and got a good deal on this model when they were blowing them out. Two channels, but no switching. All tube, fairly versatile sound. I play guitar, organ and clavinet throught this amp. Sounds great on Clav.

Good sound, very clean, responds well to pedals, distortion bluesy to harder sounding. Reverb is terrible.

Had a bad speaker when I first got it. Now after about a year and a half it started blowing main fuses. Don't know why, but I've seen that same comment about this amp several times now!

Don't know.

I would get a Fender instead.

One 12 inch speaker, 4 EL84 tubes, 3 12ax7's, a rectifier tube. Master volume, top boost channel and a normal channel. Reverb and tremelo to round out the knobs. A few other features... but mostly tone. I think the amp is the most versatile - in that what you put in front of it is what you get out of it. The amp may not have all the bells and whistles that the space shuttle has, but it takes a guitar signal and amplifies it in a very musical way. Dynamics can be be played and heard. Pedals change the sound in the way that they were intended. Plug a Les Paul in and you hear an unmistakeable Les Paul sound. The same happens for Rickenbackers, Stratocasters, Telecasters, and whatever other instruments you might plug in.

I play in a cover band and I am very pleased with how consistently good this amp sounds. No matter what venue/club/hole-in-the-wall we are in, I can generally get the tone I got before with out touching a dial or switch. This saves me a lot of time and hassle when setting up. So whatever this amp lacks in dials, switches, speakers, flashing lights, etc. it gets extra points for consistency. The tone is not the best Vox AC30 sounds ever - but they are pretty convincing for a modern day amplifier - not made in England.

The name is why I bought the amp (honestly). But the tone is why I have kept it. I have bought and sold a lot of Fenders and Marshalls since, but the Vox always stays. For me it is the most musical guitar amp. The highs sparkle, the mids growl, and the lows have a focused punch. Very British sounding in away that only EL84's can be. I play a lot of covers ranging from Beatles to Greenday, The Who to Wilco, the Police to the Shins, some Monkeys, and some Rush. A little jazz a-la Thelonius Monk and even some attemps at Fernando Sor with an acoustic-electric Classical. No matter what - the sound comes out in a sonically pleasant way. Sound descriptions are pretty subjective... as beauty is in the eye of the beholder - so I will stop here in an attempt to not pontificate on a subject I don't fully understand. Best advice.. try one out if you can, only you will be able to tell if it is right for you. I am only giving this a 9 after I changed the tubes to JJ's (stock tubes were just awful). I still think an AlNiCo speaker would sound better, but the stock NeoDyn does pretty good.

I was very pessimistic about reliablity on this amp.. it has tubes and was made in China.... However, it has been surprisingly reliable. I have burned out the power tubes about once a year, but the rest of the amp has been flawless. So for this Vox gets a gold star from me. On the down side, changing the tubes is no small task. Wish the could have been more accessable. So again, 9 points - 10 if they could have made changing tubes easier.

Fortunately, have not had to deal with support. I have only had to replace well used tubes.

I have been playing for about 20 years. I play a Les Paul most of the time, along with a Rickenbacker 360 and a Fender Stratocaster. Mostly pop/alternative. I love how easy it is to get delicious usable sounds out of this amp. I hate that the switches and knobs are not made of better quality - and a 30+ watt Alnico speaker would have been nice. I chose this amp over the Fender Custom Vibrolux, Marshall DSL 401, Marshall JTM 30, and Fender Blues Jr. None of them had the tone for which I was looking. It's too bad Vox does not make this model anymore. It's the closest thing to a lite weight AC-30. Hopefully, they will introduce similar models in the future. Until then, this amp does not leave my possession. I have already sold a couple other Vox jems that I wish that I had not parted with. I give this an overall rating of 9. Plenty of tone, plenty of mojo. Who knows.. it could be a future vintage must-have amp someday.

manufactured early 2007, bought it in April '07 newer model with detachable speaker cable/reverb tank leads. Extremely versatile for low to medium gain styles, 60's, rockabilly, jazz, classic rock etc. Effects loops very uselful, low noise. Mostly home use, can be very loud, suitable for pub/small club use.

Absolutley gorgeous sounding, sounds 'alive', at high gain sounds remarkably like a vintage Marshall, much nicer at gain levels less than 12 o'clock, sweet, juicy with sparkling chiming highs, and surprising bass fo a 1x12. Sounds incredible with gretsch, rickenbacker, strat, casino, tele, 335. SG and Les Paul sound better through higher gain amps IMO, but still acceptable. Normal channel beautifully rounded, fun with treble booster and high gain - thanks brian! I probably use top boost channel more though, that 60's garage/freakbeat/psychedelic vibe is just fantastic. The channel link option i rarely use, good for higher gain styles, must try the SG again...

Extremely well built for a PCB amp. Much better than my Marshall. QC issues scared me greatly when buying this amp, but apparently even in the 60's guitarists joked that you need to bring a fire extinguisher when using an AC30. They run hot, fortunately I like the vintage 'warm' setting more than the hot, nice to have the option of upping from 22 to 33 watts on the necessary occasions. I think the biggest issues I seem to have read about are the reverb tank (i really like the reverb, it is OTT if necessary but it sounds good to me) and blowing the rectifier (rectum fryer) valve resulting in mains fuse repeatedly blowing, and premature valve failure, and poor quality preamp valves on the early ones. I fully expected something to go wrong, and sure enough after about 3 months regular use the rectum fryer blew it's gasket. The pre and power amp valves seem pretty OK as stock, i think they were teslas if i remember correctly, but the rectum fryer was a crappy sovtek. There are quite a few screws to take out to slide the amp tray out, but it's a really simple job to replace blown valves, the speaker/verb tank lead attachments make this a breeze. Remember that this voids your warranty, but you have to learn to do it if you want to spend some time with these beauties. I have rudimentary experience with electronics, but have learned a lot from useful websites like plexipalace, and have a lot more confidence in opening the backs of these things, using full safety precautions. I have some back up valves, infant mortality valve failure seems to be a feature of crappy chinese valves (although I beleive unsurprisingly that the chinese are getting much better at making them), and highly recommend Watford valves if you live in UK/Ireland. I put in cryogenically treated valves about a year ago, use this amp perhaps 2-5 hours a day and have had absolutely zero problems.
I fear the chinese AC30s are getting most of their bad reputation for reliability from these ****** valves, not for the quality of construction, which is as I say much superior to bletchley's finest hunks of junk.
Bottom line is if you love the sound of these amps, buy one, expect valve failure and learn to fix it.
Have to mark this down because the stock valves aren't great.

Never contacted vox/korg. Bought online from the UK, so didnt want to risk shipping back for repair, knew there would be potential problems so learn to fix it!

Been playing nearly 20 years. Also own orange tiny terror (good quality stock valves, short signal path and balls to the wall fruity/crunchy sound) but this is better. Also Marshall TSL 100 watt 4x12, good amp for higher gain, more controlled than the vox at these levels (is this always a good thing?) but 2 dimensional compared to the vox's 3.
Love the sound completely, but wish it had better valves as stock (worth another 50 to 100 quid for lessening the hastle) but otherwise fantastic value quality amp. Only marked down to 9 because of the valves.

I purchased this amp in april 08 and its had about 30-40 hours use at home only, it now keeps blowing the vox mains fuse, has any one any ideas..?

vox ac-30cc1 one 12" speaker..chinese....i love the size...its not too heavy...i have gigged and recorded with it several times..standard features of this model...

ok....i have 2 opinions.....i got my amp with the stock 12 " neo dog speaker....this is hands down, the worst sounding speaker ever made...this amp sounded dead and like cardboard....,i hated it...i was very sad.....i pulled the speaker....trashed it....put in a high dollar celestion gold 50 watt alnico...the new one.....amp suddenly sounded like heaven on earth...the difference was unreal...what great tone!!!!...and good volume too..the amp is very quiet....i took it in the studio...it amazed everyone...me too.,.,..i have since put some nos westinghouse el-84 tubes in it...and some good preamp tubes.....it just sounds gorgeous...i must warn you, the amp is not easy to get in to, to change the tubes.....you have to get in there with a screw driver and take out several screws.....but once you get it apart, you will see that it is really a clever design, but it would be very hard to do any changing tubes on stage...you can forget that...but i am sure the next time i go inside it, i can do it much quicker, now that i see how they built it...it seems a very solid design...and the preamp tubes sit down in snug little holes and the face sideways, so not much chance of them coming loose...i hated the idea of a chinese amp, but the design is by vox...and i think the amp is aok...

i gig without a backup....but who knows?..its too new an amp to tell yet....but so far so good...

i bought it used...for very cheap.....if it breaks, i dont know where to take it...

i wanted an ac-30 for long long time....i couldnt lift one...so i never bought one.....this one, while not a feather weight , is manageable...by my feeble self.....and with the speaker change, i have to say this is one of the best sounding amps i ever heard...the tremolo and reverb and great....the clean sound is just super...and the overdrive is great when you set it that way...this amp delivers all the classic beatles tones and then some,,..hats off to vox....i got mine for cheaper than a lot of little small practice amps....so i am very happy..although i must warn you, the grill cloth will try to fall off..i had to staple mine to the baffle to keep it from drooping any farther....but not a big deal to me...i go for the sound

I bought this amp new from a retailer on ebay about a year ago. You can read earlier threads for the breakdown of features. I play mostly in a pretty edgy church and pair the AC30 with a Mesa F50, both 1x12 open backs. I find it has plenty of power - if you're mic'ing into a PA you really only need enough volume to monitor which this has plenty of. I'm giving it 9 here because it has what I need, although to be classified as "extremely versatile" it would need an arsenal of features.

Here's where I'm totally diggin' this thing. The tone is freaking awesome - round and warm, but sparkley and mojoie (is that a word). I go back and forth between the top boost and normal channels - I haven't landed on a final preference yet...they are both very nice at what they do. I opted for the AC30CC1 which has only (1) 12" speaker as opposed to the more common (2) speaker design. The CC1 is lighter, breaks up a bit earlier than the CC2, and was quite a bit cheaper - I love it.
My main guitar is a Gretsch Duo Jet 6128T - great fit with this amp. Surprisingly, I haven't had any significant issues with noise - EXCEPT when I use certain pedals in a certain order (not uncommon with pedals). This amp just seems to be a little more finicky about pedal placement than some others I've had.

Ok, here's where reality sets in. Within 6 months the reverb tank broke - I took it apart and found the spring busted on one end with no hope of repair - replacement tanks run about $40.
Also, 2 days ago it started blowing the mains fuse - no idea why - I run a surge suppressor on it. I'm afraid this one might cost me a bit.

I've only sent emails and have received vague responses several days later...but at least they responded each time.

I've been playing about 6 years. I get paid to play now, but still feel like a rookie sometimes. I would buy it again in a heartbeat except they are now out of production which I hope will keep the resale value up in the future.

I figure that mine was made sometime in December of 2004.
This amp is plenty versatile... you just might find yourself walking over to it, to change settings after every song.
Could use a foot switch to change channels... but this is easily remedied by an AB box. The normal channel could use some eq... I've never needed it.. but i'll bet some people have... guess you could use an AB and then an EQ pedal through the fx loop. Then again, this is a VOX AC30... and they've pretty much always been the same way, and I'm not asking them to change anything.
This amp DEFINITELY has enough power for me or anyone else!

AWESOME. this amp is the best sounding one there is.
I find that it can get you in a perfect overdrive zone without sounding bloated or fizzy. It really shows the character of the guitar you're playing with... which is great for my chambered Les Paul... but can be a drawback for some cheaper guitars... like my '75 Marauder... you can hear how thin the alder is... you can hear the bolt-on neck... heh.

The sound is very rock n' roll with good humbuckers or p90s... but my girlfriend's dad's 80's japanese strat made this thing sound like a blues machine!

I'm going to have to deduct points from this because due to the fact that some flaws in the construction of the cabinet have been making the whole box rumble. (a nail missing it's target... chassis on a little loose... plywood split where the reverb tank is screwed down)

I can't afford a backup... so yeah... i play without one. The tubes haven't ever been replaced.. and I'm planning on doing that this week... not because of any sound issues.. just because I think it needs to be done...

never had to deal with them.

I've been playing for 15 years and have owned a Marshall JCM 900 (with the 5881s... great sound... deserves more credit than people have been giving it lately) a Fender Blues Jr. (decent for a warm bluesy fender tone, but not much else) and some peaveys... but THIS is THE amp for me! (at least it's basic design)

If it were lost or stolen I'd replace it with another AC30 style amp... any of the CCs... maybe a Valvetech Hayseed... or possibly a new JMI model (if i was rich)... but as it stands, I love this little guy.

I love the sound. It's what I've always wanted. I'm not keen on the construction... although it looks slick.. there are some flaws under the hood.
I believe that that is the difference between an AC30 made in Jolly Old England by guys making a decent wage... and those poor lads over in China.. who make $40 a year.
That's kind of the struggle with every bit of gear we buy these days though isn't it? Making our paychecks stretch out a bit by buying products from the mass quantity production lines of the far east at the expense of our skilled neighbours being kept out of the job...
but I digress... the AC30cc1 sounds awesome.

Despite having lots of little knobs and switches to tweak, this amp is extremely easy to use. Try as I might I couldn't find a setting I DIDN'T like. The Normal Channel is nice and warm, not TOO clean, like a church-going girl with some naughty secrets. The top boost channel has that Brit invasion sound DOWN. If you like the over-driven tones of The Beatles, Clapton (Bluesbreakers era) the Yardbirds etc, this amp will deliver all that. The best thing though is being able to blend the Normal and the Top Boost channels. You can get all the note-articulation of the cleans, with all the shaggy haired attitude of the distortion at the SAME TIME.

What sold me was the clean sound, it sparkles. I was just fooling around in the store, lookin' at a few amps. I started with a Fender '59 Bassman Reissue, went on to a Kustom '32 and finally the Vox. The clean tone straight from guitar to amp was just what I've always been looking for. It sounds like the tone I've heard in my head since I started playing 15 years ago. I switched on the top boost channel, rolled the gain up and the master down (store-friendly volume) and did a quick run-through of Cream's "Badge" and I HAD to have this amp. I play funk/blues/psychedelic rock in my band, so I'm usually using a lot of effects. I haven't plugged my pedal-board in since I got this thing.

Okay on to the negatives- it's REALLY heavy for a 30-watt 1x12 amp, so unless you have a roady, consider that. The channels aren't footswitchable. I didn't have much of a problem though, cause I blended the two channels, and turned the volume down on the guitar; when it came time to solo I switched to my Strats hotter bridge pickup, cranked the guitar volume and wailed. Cleaned right up when I turned it back down. I now have a line selector switch hooked up, and one cable going to each input, problem solved. This baby sustains like I used to need effects pedals to get. The reverb is nice and lush, and very adjustable too.

This amp won't give you a "metal" distortion so it's not for the shredders out there, Zakk Wylde fans will be let down. But I'd say it does a fine job picking out the nuances of different guitars. I have a Strat with single coils, a Les Paul with humbuckers, and a Melody Maker with a P90, and this amp suits them all, unlike some Fender amps which get kinda flabby in the lows with higher output humbuckers.

I've had it about two weeks, no complaints yet, seems rock solid, and well held together. Beats my USA-made Peavey Classic 30 by a landslide, in terms of build quality.

Haven't needed them yet.

Personally, not only is this the tone I've been waiting my whole guitar-playing life for, it was at a price that won't wipe you out either. To find a Fender or Marshall of comparable quality tone you have to spend a LOT more. But this is NOT a "budget" amp, it's a first class piece of gear.

It WOULD be nice if it had footswitchable clean and drive channels, but the ability to blend the two channels MORE than makes up for that. I wouldn't mind side handles on top like the larger 2x12 version has, cause this thing is pretty heavy. I always prefer my amps' control panels to be out front so I can see each knob clearly. Also this one has no numbers around the knobs, which throws a little bit of guess-work into dialing in settings you've used previously. But all these are MINOR blemishes on an otherwise GORGEOUS amp.

Vox AC 30 112, neodog celestion! It has got what you see, two chanels, tremolo, reverb... just take a look at it in VOX webpage.

THE ONLY THING that is missing is a channel switching but cu can buy a channel switch box and its done!!!

The best you get, for me... I dont have words to describe it, just go and give it a try. The NeoDog celestion speaker is awsome!!! just go and try it to feel the perfection 1st hand!!

I havent got any problem yet!

I havent got any problem yet!

Man... this is THE AMP!!! This is one of the BEST amps you'll get. I play for 10 years, am a audio engeneer and producer for 5 years! I have played with ENGL, Marshall, H&K... althoug the others are good but this blows the others to a side!!! You can play whatever you want with this putting in front some pedals to modulate the sound when needed or depending on the sound that you want and this MONSTER will do his job.

Just give it a try... you'll be addicted to it!