Vox AC30CC 112 Combo

All of the features of this amp have been covered in previous posts so I won't eleborate any further on them.

This amp captures the tone it was designed for...classic AC30.
While it is not a super clean amp ( the clean tones have a bit of "hair" on them) it is a perfect match with teles, strats, rics and gretches. It also mates well with classic humbucker guitars Gibsons, Hamers etc..
I'm mostly use it with teles playing new country, classic Rock and blues. The ideal amp for what I'm doing.
It takes pedals extremely well.

This replaced a Dr. Z Maz 18 Jr. I had. I prefer the tone of this onver the Dr. Z

Time will tell and I always take backup tubes to a gig. I've always done that with whatever amp I've owned over the years.
Even though it was made in China, contruction is on par with USA production amps I've seen.

Never had to deal with them

I love the tone of this amp! I bought it when the Vox dealers were blowing them out for $699. At that price and for this tone its a no brainer! I'm thinking of getting a second one I like it so much!

Features are listed below - won't go into details

It's a Vox - say no more!! It's a match made in heaven with my Rickenbacker 360 and BHM Red Special. I use an Electrolead Treble Booster with my Red Special to get 'That Tone!' and I get the classic Ricky/Vox 'jangle' when playing clean - PERFECT!! I changed the excellent Neodog speaker for the new Celestion 50w 'Gold' the other day there and this further enhances the perfect sounds from my guitar/amp combinations.

No problems so far - built and weighs like a tank, but with all tube amps problems can arise.

Have not dealt with the company

I've been playing now for 10 years and this is the amp of my dreams. The enhanced features and versatility are a great bonus over the standard AC30's. Price wise it is fantastic! - the 'Vox sound'
that is piece of musical history, for less than ??600!!The only downside to this amp is the weight of it!- it will keep you fit moving it around though! My previous amps included a Marshall Valvestate and a Vox 30w Cambridge - In the age of digital amp modelling nothing comes near to the sound of a tube amp in action - ROCK ON!!

Chinese AC30CC1 with 1x12 NeoDog Speaker
Twin blendable channels
Effects loop
Hot/warm valve selector
Classic/modern smoothing
Valves

I originally bought an AC15CC and was fairly happy with it until it kept blowing a fuse. I took it back to the shop and the nice man lent me this AC30 Custom Classic while mine was sent off to be repaired. After playing through it for about 30mins I went back to the shop and bought it. Wow. This thing sounds amazing, it howls like a beast. Perfect for classic rock ACDC Led Zep Black Sabbath etc. Sounds more marshally than I expected at high gain. Cleans are lovely with that classic Vox chime. Blend the 2 channels and it sounds great. Play around with the smoothing and valve temp switches at the back and you can get a range of sounds.

No problems so far. Hard to play in the summer as it acts like an oven if you're in a small room.

Have only good things to say about VOX dealer. But then again, he's a friend of mine which is why I got this amp in the first place.

I've been playing for 20 years and it's my first valve amp. I have an epiphone les paul with Gibson 498T & 496R pickups and generally use no other effects. If it was stolen I would probably get another one, but maybe upgrade to the twin alnico blue speaker variety.

This amp has basically all the features I need,a master volume,tremelo and reverb.Since I love the AC30 tone AND that this amp has these additional features it seemed like the right amp for me.I had some reservations about feeding the demise of the west by purchasing another globalist corporation product but it seems that more and more it's becoming difficult if not impossible to avoid this trend unfortunately.I bought a somewhat older production model though.

Ok,here's where I have a problem,although much of the blame rests on my own shoulders.I purchased the amp used on ebay because $780 used was a stretch on my budget but more affordable than $1000 new,hence the reason I purchased it used online.This was a mistake because I bought a sick amp.The pre-amp OD is somewhat weak,fizzy and muddy compared to other stock models I've tried.I figured I had bad pre-amp tubes which wasn't a big deal because I intended to replace the cheap chinese tubes anyway.The russian power tubes hummed alot but that wasn't a big issue as i intended to replace them too.Well after spending $70 on 2 new tung sol 12ax7's and a matched quad of jj el84's I got more pre-amp crunch and gain and the hum disapeared.Unfortunately the fizzy,muddy distortion remained.By this time I was stuck with the amp.I went over the schematics and found what appeared to be some incorrect resistor values.I also found the amp to be missing a resistor and cap on the board to chassis ground.NICE!!!I contacted korg and initially they stated that there were no circuit changes outside of the trem circuit(which I myself had to mod just to get adequate speed from it) so I proceeded to install the resistors I supplied myself to bring it to spec hoping,that since it was in the signal chain,that it may solve the problem.Nope,same sound.I received another email a week later and they stated that there had been a few other changes and that my amp had the correct values.I was bummed because this circuit is pretty complex and i don't think I'll be able to track down the root cause of the sound issue.It's unfortunate that korg could not have been more helpfull because the chassis was virgin/IE unopened when I had purchased it so the issue is a defective part,improper assembly or qc issue.Almost forgot,one of the 3 reverb springs was was broken and this too was the first time it had been opened.NICE!!!It works but I have to crank it to get a decent level of reverb and the quality probably suffers too.

Decent clean sound,barely decent overdrive but on the whole more flat sounding than other AC300cc's.I tried all sorts of speakers,tubes,guitars,etc...I just have a lame amp.

I purchased it withhout warranty but *clearly* the amp should not have left the factory like this concidering all of it's obvious problems.They should have offed to take it back if for no other reason than to investigate the construction issues and lack of QC oversight.They should have compensated me in at least *some* way but that wasn't to be.Outside of 3 replies they were useless.

I owned a Tophat vibratrem when i purchased this amp and I also purchased a JB Lectrolab R600C reissue amp online with the intent of cherrypicking between the three and selling the other two.JB amps basically ripped me off entirely by sending no amp whatsoever.After spending almost $1400 on these two amps I'll be lucky to get $600 for the AC30CC1 which puts me back where I started but with an $800 debt.

Now for todays lesson...DON'T PURCHASE WITHOUT ACTUALLY PLAYING FIRST.

I believe this is a 2005 model.. This is the 1x12 combo version. I got the amp after a long process of trying to find the perfect "clean" amp that had "that" tone that I was wanting for country music - Think Brad Paisley, Keith Urban, Gary Allen, ect... My 1970 Fender Deluxe was almost too clean for what I wanted, I wanted a "rawer" on the verge type of tone (that also worked well with pedals) and I found it in the AC30cc1. The FX loop was another good strong selling point. I've read several complaints about the reverb and tremolo not working too well at loud volumes, but I've had no problems with it and I think they both work fine for what I do/need.

This is a 2 channel amp, but only one channel is accessable at a time unless you manually walk up to the amp and flip a switch or swap the cable in to the other jack (not footswitchable).

I wish this amp had an FX loop bypass/activate option via a footswitch.

Some of the features are: Normal and Top Boost channels, Custom or classic EQ, Reverb tone, dwell and a hi/low gain switch on the reverb, tremolo speed and depth, channel volumes and a master volume, a bright switch on the normal channel, and a cut knob that takes the highs out the more you turn it up. On the back there is a hot/cool bias switch, classic/modern switch, FX loop with a buffer switch, footswitch (trem and verb) jack, and speaker outs for an external cab.

The tone of the amp is very "Voxy" for lack of better words. It can go from a clean chimey & warm tone to a clean warm - dark tone and then if you crank the channel volume it can get raunchy with that 70s rock breakup without the excessive volume thanks to a master volume.

I run it with a blend of both channels (top boost and normal) with the normal cranked up a bit higher so I can get a bit of grit when I dig in to the strings but it still sounds very chimey and clean in the middle position on a tele, but not brittle. There's times it can almost sound very acoustic sounding.

I have a Mesa Boogie Road King (4 channel amp) and I thought my cleans were great and could do everything I wanted them to, until I ran a 2 amp set up a few weeks ago and used the AC30 for my clean and country stuff and I then realized why the AC30 is such a popular amp. The cleans on this amp are almost 3-D when compared to the Road King and even my old Fender Deluxe.

I A/B this with my Road King and they share the same pedal board which consist of 2 Tubescreamers, a Seymour Duncan pickup booster and a tuner and the AC30 sounds great being pushed by a tubescreamer. I also got a Line 6 DM-4 (distortion modeler) to use when I ONLY use the AC30 and need to have a bit more distortion for the heavier stuff...... and the AC30 can handle it pretty good too!!!

FYI: I got it used and the original owner had already swapped out the stock speaker for a Weber Alnico Blue speaker and JJ preamp tubes, so I can't compare it to a stock AC30cc1.

I've heard and read all the horror stories, lets just say I'm keeping my fingers crossed pretty hard!!

I did open it up when I first got it to install the tubes...... This is the most difficult amp to re-tube out of ANY of the 24+ I've owned over the years!! I'd hate to try and trouble shoot a tube issue while at a gig. The screw heads did want to strip out pretty easy when I was putting it back together, so those need to be replaced next time I open it up.

Basically I have no opinion on this topic, but no problems in almost a months and the original owner said he played it every weekend for almost a year and had no problems.

I plan on changing the handle too... that thing hurts when carrying the amp. My 125 pound Road King is easier on the hand than this 55 pound amp, all because of the design of the handle.

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All the amps I avoided because I only thought they were for "old foggies" or "gear heads" are now becoming my favorite amps. This AC30cc1 has changed my mind about the British sound and I now see why it has been one of the most popular amps for over 40 years and everyone from the Beatles, U2, Brad Paisley, Keith Urban, Elton Johns guitarist all the way over to the "All American Rejects" use this amp. It can be as clean as you want it or as gritty as you want it, and if cranked up enough it can even do classic rock and maybe even old AC/DC-ish type of crunch tones.

Over all one of the sweetest sounding amps I've ever owned, and my Dad is jealous - He's talked about AC30s since I was a little kid (I'm now 34, he's 60). Not as many features as I'd like, which makes it harder to use live but the tone makes it worth it... (still got my fingers crossed).

Features are listed a few hundred times on this site and available online. You know the drill...
But I believe my amp is a 2005 - I play a variety of musical styles - big fan of the U2/Edge tone, Love blues grind a la Stevie Ray and Robert Cray, and I crave the Dave Gilmour tone that he's oh so famous for. In a nutshell, I can NAIL each of these tones hard with this gorgeous little amplifier.

Fender MIA Lonestrat Strat, Epiphone Les Paul Custom, Gibson SG...
Strat for the Edge/u2 and Gilmour tones perfectly, Les Paul for nice rock/hard rock chunk and the SG for general rockin and rollin. This amp is amazingly quiet with all of the guitars mentioned above. Like many others posting on this site, I use a combination of the normal channel and the top boost channel. Takes a while to find the individual tones and blend them in. If your looking for even more variety, invest in an A/B box so you can use the normal and top boost channels as two seperate ones. Gives you more options... I keep my BIAS switch at the HOT setting and I get more clean headroom. But if I want more grind, I turn up the top boost volume and let it sing. At this point, i would just use the guitar volume knob rolled back for general clean tones. I also use a Vintage TS-9, Boss SD-1, EH Big Muff into this beast, with a Boss DD-20 programable delay in the effects loop. I can grind hard with the gritty/dirty TS-9 and I can nail early U2 ones with the SD-1. Try a variety of dirt pedals with this amp as it has a BEAUTIFUL clean channel to build a solid foundation for pedals.

Brand new, Did not get a chance to gig with it yet. Only time will tell how sturdy and well built this amp truly is.

Have never dealt with vox, and I hope I never have to really.

AMAZING AMP!!! WELL WORTH THE CASH AND THE TONE IS ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS

This is my second review of the amp after having used it in the band live.

I use this with a strat and tele. It is VERY quiet. The amp has a very warm, papery and crunchy sound. Almost like the CTS or alnico speakers in a Fender amp but glassy fat and punchy like a Vox. The reverb is a little cheesey. Not like a Fender tank but it works. The distortion sounds warm and midrangey like a class A 1958 Deluxe but not like a Marshall with scooped mids. It works for any style of music and I mean ANY style. I have played guitar since 1963 and I simply have never heard an amp that sounded this good AND was this versatile. I play it on the low watt setting in a blues rock and acid rock band. I use an OD-1 for leads and a jackhammer pedal for rhythm. The jackhammer makes it crunch like a Marshall. The clean sounds are fat and full. Can you believe one of these sat on ebay for 3 weeks and finally sold for 700. I think people are blowing it off because it has 1-12" speaker and they think that is weird for an AC-30. You simply must hear this amp! In my last review I gave it a 9. I simply must give it a 10 having used all it's features in a live setting.

Don't know

Don't expect any service. Service is extinct.

Although it still is a little heavy to carry it is nothing compared to other amps that will get this loud. It will even sit on a small ultimate stand. I just don't know how Korg gets this sound with Chinese tubes! I think people are closed minded and blowing it off because it has 1-12" speaker. Typically 1-12" doesn't work as well as other speaker sizes and configurations. This amp however defies that myth. The bottom end is almost as fat and round as the 2-12 AC-30TBX celestion reissue I sold. But I like the bottom of the CC1-12 better as the 2-12 was a bit overbearing when playing live. To be really picky though I wish it had a channel switching pedal and a more tube-like Fender reverb but that is really not that important when you use pedals. And as I said the reverb will get you by.

2005 model s/n 522. This amp has a great sound for most any type of rock - Beatles through earlier Metallica. It has 2 channels Top Boost and Normal that can also be linked via a switch (same as a Plexi but no cable needed). There is no channel switching but you can use an aby box. I guess it would be nice to have a Master Volume for each channel if you wanted to switch from dirty to clean and actually be able to match the volumes, but for me I really don't need it. The reverb unit sucks on this amp - it is cheap, cheap, cheap, so it is now in the garbage. I had a lot of trouble with vibration noises coming from the cabinet and they were all related to the reverb unit. They should have used an Accutronics unit instead of the Belton (Korean made). With that said this amp really does not need reverb unless you want it when playing clean. This amp is plenty LOUD!! I read one review where someone said it was great but it got buzzy when turned all the way up so they got rid of it (an Idiot). In this day & age of PA & Monitor systems I can't imagine anyone needing to turn this up past 12:00 and it sounds great even at the lowest volumes. It has some nice features including hot or warm bias, Vintage (loose) or Modern (tighter),true bypass Effects Loop. These work well and are subtle so don't expect a radical difference.

I play a Gibson Les Paul Std (stock), Fender Tele & Strats (Hot Rails in the bridges). I play Rock from the 70's to current and this amp is Exceptionally Good at it. That is saying a lot considering it's playmates are Marshall(w/ 4x12 Cabs) 2550 Silver Jubilee , JCM 900, 1987x Plexi reissue, and a Mesa f-50 combo.

The amp is about the same noise level as the Plexi, which means it is a noisier than average but it is not a problem. The Top Boost is by far the better channel as I find the Normal channel on the blah side. My favorite setting though is linking the channels with the brilliance switch on. Like with any good tube amp you get most of your variety by using the volume on your guitar and a boss sd-1 or ts-9, etc. You can get great clean sounds with this amp if that is what you are looking for. For that matter you can get pretty much anything you want except for metal.

This is a flat out great sounding amp. I have not played any Boutique amps so I have to give this a 9 for now, it still might be a 10.

I have read about all the horror stories and there is truth to the cheap screws, cheap reverb unit,and short speaker wire. The screws are not a problem if you use a good screwdriver (hand), but they should have used much better. Throw the reverb unit away and replace it if you want reverb. I soldered additional wire to the existing speaker wire and installed slide on clips. The cabinet & covering are decent but are not in Mesa's league and probably not Marshall's either. I have the stock tubes in there still and they are fine. Don't shy away because of the horror stories of motorboating sounds and whatever. Most of these are just bad or loose preamp tubes and it is not a big deal to replace them.

I would have to have a backup to gig with this amp only because it takes about a 1/2 hour to change the tubes. On my other amps I just carry backup tubes. I have had the amp for 5 months and it gets played at least 5 hrs a week and have had no problems yet. I have not played clubs with it yet.

Don't know

I gave it a 10 because it is a fantastic value, no question! Of my amps it is between this and my Plexi if I had to pick the single best crunch tone. It would be the f-50 for versatility - awesome amp for playing clubs. I am not aware of an amp with as good a tone as the ac
30cc for anywhere near the price.

2005 version made in china, solid and superbly put together. 2 channels - normal and top boost with 1 -12" Neodog speaker, reverb and temolo.

I was looking for an amp with one great sound and sufficient headroom for competing with a drumkit. This fit the bill perfectly.

My main guitar is a PRS custom 24 with Seymour Duncan Phat Cat pu'ps. This runs through a Keeley modified Tubescreamer, Radial Tonebone classic, Keeley compressor and Electro Harmonix Small Clone chorus.

The AC 30 has great clean tones but also develops a nice grind as you turn up the volume knob (preamp). I did find that at 11 o'clock on the volume knob the amp developed a bit of an unpleasant undertone that disappeared around 1 o'clock. I switched the first 12AX7 tube on the left side (looking from the back of the amp) for a 12AT7 and now the gain is reduced somewhat but the undertone is gone and the volume knob now offers a broader sweep through the 'just breaking up' tones. With the stock tubes the amp will generate some tasty high gain tones a'la Marshall, but don't think that this 1-12 combo will ever replace a 4x12 cab for metal.

The tubes that come with the amp seem to work very well. I did swap them for some NOS 12AX7 tubes and a set of JJ EL84's. There was a small improvement in the tone but not as much as I had noticed doing the same swap in other brands ie: Fender and Traynor.

The Neodog is a very good speaker. Crisp and punchy with only a trace of the harshness that can plague speakers with ceramic magnets. I highly recommend it. I did have a chance to compare it to a new AC 30 with the 2 Alnico Blues and there is a noticeable difference between the two. The Alnico Blues don't have quite as much top end but in trade they are syrupy sweet and smooth at all times. The AC 30 with the Alnico Blues is one amp you can plug straight into with no pedals and it will sound gorgeous. The Neodog needs just a bit of tonal tweaking from a pedal to work for me. No big deal when you consider the difference in price.

I would rate the amp with the Neodog speaker a 9 - great sparkle and sweet bluesy tones are a snap. With the Alnico Blues the amp just sings - a 10 for sure.

Built like a tank. I have dropped it with no ill effects other than a dent and some missing vinyl.

Have had it 4 months so far with no problems, not a lot of time but I will guess that it will last.

Have not dealt with the company so no idea.

I have been playing classic rock and blues for over 30 years through a long list of equipment I wish I still had. This is one of the finest sounding amps I have ever used. The only improvement you might consider is breaking the bank for the Alnico Blue speakers - they are sweet.

I have never played the original AC 30 so I have no idea how it stacks up there, however I have compared it to some vintage Fenders and more recent amps and this AC 30 is hard to beat. All the shimmer of a Blackface Fender and the high gain grind of a vintage Marshall.

The various switches for combining the 2 channels or changing the tone EQ do make small differences but not enough to really change the basic sound.

If you're looking for an amp with a great tone, at a very reasonable price, this is a perfect place to start. I love this amp.

Brand new. Can probably suit almost any style of music.

This amp is the best kept little secret in the music world. It is nasty good sounding and a little lighter than the solid wood 2-12 models and predecessors. When I bought this amp I was looking for something bigger and louder than my Fender blues junior but that wasnt as heavy and loud as my 2-12 AC-30 TB/X. When I heard the cc1 I sold my 1400. 2-12 AC-30 TB/X mint Korg reissue 2 days later on ebay. Seriously. With all the features on the cc1 It would have been stupid to keep the old fashioned 2-12 model. When is the last time you used more than one input on your amp at the same time? Although the 2003 reissue TB/X was a bit fatter and rounder in the bottom end it just wasn't worth the 72.5 pounds and it was way too loud to gig anywhere! I now put the cc-1 in 22 watt mode (instead of 33) and it is a nasty blues machine. On the 33 watt setting it is clean or bluesy and the sound wants to jump out of the box it is so aggressive and spanky. The sound cracks out of this thing yet is very loose, expressive and responsive to the player. One of the previous reviewers said you set it so that the volume knob on your guitar controls the clean/distortion edge. It does this beautifully like a tube amp should. Watch out boutiques!! The only reason Im not rating it as a solid 10 is it has a little bit of a 5K hz bite that is slightly edgy. i.e. a little too brilliant and there doesn't seem to be much compromise in the eQ but Im still fooling with mixing between the normal and brilliant channels which can be combined. You can get any sound you want from this amp. It is also a well kept secret--that this amp is made by KORG!

Too new to tell, I just hope it lasts.

No company offers good service anymore. And the reason is because we don't demand it. I'm expecting nothing.

If it were stolen or lost, I would commit suicide. I have owned the best amps ever made. I have even owned multiples of the good ones. Im talking 64 twin's 58 Deluxes, Marshall's 64 super reverbs, Hiwatts. I haven't played it with my acid rock/blues band yet but I think it may actually be the first amp that can truly be used at a small practice or any size gig. I would give up a good woman for this amp.