Vox AC30CC Head

The features for this amp are really good, such as all its power usage switches on the rear and its effects. If you want the finer details for this then the Vox website has all you need.
The only things extra I would have liked would be channel switching included on the footswitch and maybe a line out but you can get by without.

The clean sound for this amp really is beautiful. Especially through the Top Boost channel. The Normal channel is still nice but compared to the Top Boost can feel a little dull. (However the Tone Cut control by the Master Volume can easily brighten up the Normal Channel) The amp delivers a very full sound and the Treble and Bass controls are comprehensive enough so that you get the level of clarity you want easily. Both channels will stay clean until roughly 12 'o' clock on the dials.
The clean headroom was something I was a little concerned about before buying but it really is fine. I'm using it for recording and live and I haven't needed to have the clean sound compromised for it to come through. Its sound cuts through a mix very well.
The distorted sounds this amp can produce are very classic sounding. It does produce a fairly wide range of tones from just breaking up to nearly 70's type Marshall distortion, however it doesn't provide the modern smooth overdriven sound that a lot of players do look for, but it sounds so great playing thin lead lines and open chords I don't mind.
Reviews I read did claim that this amp's ditortion was suitable for everything except metal but I did find that playing fuller chords, the amp could sound fairly muddy and unclear. The distortion would be nicer if it could a little more versatile.
The next thing to mention is the amp's effects. The Reverb on this amp is stunning. It can easily be subtle but can also really distance your sound. However, even on its highest settings, it never seems overbearing and never destroys what you attempt. I love it so much that I find myself rarely using my delay pedal to thicken up textures.
The other effect this amp has is Tremolo. I'm not very experienced with tremolo and I don't use it very much, but it does seem very smooth here and the Speed and Depth controls seem all that most players would need from it.
Another thing I want to point out is that amp is great with pedals. It makes my Marshall Jackhammer Distortion/Overdrive sound absolutely huge. It's amazing.
I love the way the Vox sounds, if it wasn't for the slightly messy distortion I'd give it a 10 here.

I was worried beforehand as I'd never owned any kind of valve/tube amp so I thought it might be very fragile but it's built like a rock. It feels solid down to the dials, switches and even the grill cloth.
I'm still very careful with it but the day I got it I needed it straight away for a fairly rough gig where it needed to be driven pretty hard all night and it did fine. It'd be nice to be able to afford a back-up but I really don't feel like I need one

I don't know sorry, but they seem like a good company.

I've been playing around 5 years. I use the amp with an Epiphone Les Paul and a Peavey Valve-King 4x12 cabinet. If something happened to this I would definately want another one.
The price of this amp is incredible considering it's what other similar products sell for
Also, one final point, I was worried about the mere 30 watts of this amp, but once you are using all valves/tubes, wattage is nothing. This amp will easily compete with a loud drum kit, robably around a 150 watt solid state amp and is definately useable live.
I am very tempted to give this amp 10 out of 10 but it's not perfect. It's close though...

My CCH is one of the earlier ones, serial # in the 100-200 range.

Tones of features, but I was able to dial in a great tone in less than 10 minutes.

The amp has 2 channels, Normal and Top-Boost. They can be linked via a mini toggle by the input jacks. While the channels are not switchable, a lot of players are using an A/B/Y box to switch between or combine channels--you'll than have a channel switching amp.

I play original rock most of the time, but also play contemporary Christian music at my church--we cover everything from Country music to heavy Rock styles--this amp will do it all.

It also likes pedals--a bonus.

Great tones--everything from glassy cleans to heavy break-up for blues or rock. Can you say The Who?

It's not an Ultra-gain amp, but with some decent OD pedals you can get to classic 80's/90's rock.

So far mine has been highly dependable. I always have a spare amp (Crate Power Block) no matter what I gig with.

I've heard other players reporting rectifier tube issues (cheap tubes failing) or internal fuses blowing, which requires you to go into the amp for replacement--I haven't had these issues as of yet.

N/A Haven't needed any customer support.

I've played for over 30 years, and have found an amp that covers it all.

I have already purchased an AC30 CC2X, and have had great results with it as well.

I love the ease of setup, and the rich tones it provides.

I do not like the difficulty of servicing. To replace tubes you have to basically dissasemble the amp. To get to internal fuses you have to pull out the chassis and remove the slider board--forget a quick fix at a gig if this happens.

Two very different sounding channels, trem, verb, lots of room to tweak tone, some switches on the back to go from modern to vintage voicing, it's all good.

Channels aren't footswitchable.

Sounds absolutely glorious. Clean to squishy golden overdrive and distortion, all sounds great. I wouldn't use it for metal though, there's there beautiful warm compression-y chime thing happening in there that might make everything sound too pretty.

Trem is a tad noisy but not too bad. Better than most pedals.

Reverb can go nice and dark.

I've had it a week and it hasn't caught fire yet, so it's doing better than the vintage Vox I borrowed for the studio that time.

Feels nice and solid, but I'm on the lookout for a cover for it.

Hopefully I won't need to find out.

It loves my guitars, and it likes to go loud. Have tested it with Gibson L6-S, a very old no-name strat clone, and a twangy 60's home made oddity. It especially likes the Gibson.

Works well with a Crowther Hotcake pedal; not so good with my NYC Labs XXL. Again, it's not an amp for shredding on.

This amp has made me excited about playing guitar again. Can't wait to get it out on a stage.

Brand new VOX AC30HH Head-33 watts, etc.
2(?) channels-"blendable", great construction, effects loop---etc., etc., etc.

Check out the VOX website for all the other specs, please.

Used the head right out of the box, played a Gretsch 6120 and a Jay Turser 335 copy. Execellent with both guitars. Fantasic tone-after all this time, VOX is STILL what's happening! I am so impressed with the quality-both construction and sound. I have owned several AC30 combos-from the early to later 60's, and one of the "Laney-Made" pieces of crap from the 80's. This one, without a doubt, is the best sounding of all of them. And with the added features, I am able to dial-it-in to whatever I want. I am convinced that if you cannot get a decent sound out of this amp-you should take it back and buy a Peavey...or Line 6....or whatever....

Just received it 3 days ago, and used it for 10 hours playing live, plus another 4 hours just playing at home. I have read the mixed reviews on the site, and I was a bit "scared"-however, after a thorough inspection, all the problems that have seemed to plague these heads with other players are not the case with mine!

And the tubes in this one are perfectly fine-thank you....

No need right now-but everytime I have contacted VOX (KORG) in the past-they have been very responsive.

I have been playing for 35 years, 27 of which on a semi-professional/professional level. I have owned a least one of every major guitar amplifier manufacturer out there....and it ALWAYS has come back to VOX.

If you need channel switching on your amplifier for "dirt"-invest in a stomp box or something. Or learn to use the volume control on your guitar.

When I play through this new head, it really is responsive to where I have the volume/tone controls set on the guitar.

Made in 2006...got it brand new. You guys have already heard more then enough on the specs... 2 inputs, effects loop, etc... I play everyhting on this amp...rock, experimental, jazz, blues, you name it. This amp lets me accurately cover cover almost everything: from David Bowie to the Beatles, the Stones, Zep, Floyd, the Band...even alot of newer stuff like Groovy Aardvark! This amp is so versatile, the onyl stuff I can't do is metal...I need a big Mesa or Marshall for that...but hey, luckily I dont play metal.

I use this amp in my studio at home, and i bring it with me when we record professionaly. It doesn everything for me. Basic 30 watts, so more than enough for the studio...and since its tube, itll get me through small shows without the need for miking it.

I run a Gibson ES-335 Custom through it with Classic '57 pickups, as well as a Customized Fender American Strat that a buddy lends me sometimes. Works well with both no problem. It runs the Strat like it was built for it, but I personally like the ES through it a bit more.

Clean is shimmery and perfect, overdrive is awesome. No complaints...the clean stays relatively clean when cranked, which is pretty impressive. Distortion is very bluesy/classic, so I wouldnt call it brutal.

Overall here: Amazing!

I depend on this thing with my life, but thats not to say I dont bring a backup. I haven't had a problem with it yet. I still run it with the original tubes...so they may need a swappin' soon...

I got it with a three-year warranty from the store I bought it from. I havent had to deal with it yet...

I've been playing guitar for 3 years, im mainly a drummer, but its tough to record solo albums with just drums and keep it interesting...haha. I own other cheap guitars...Vantages (6 and 12 strings)and acoustic guitars. Ive got a Fender Pro 185 Red Knob, great amp, plus some smaller practise amps. I use everything in my home studio.

If it were lost (it wont ever happen) or stolen (I'll find him) I would totally get another! These things are incredibly affordable for the quality...I'll compare this to $5000 + amps that my friends have got any day.

this amp has deceptively few knobs to tweak, but it is definitely a tweaker's amp- especially when using the top boost input with its interactive treble and bass controls.

the reverb is very cool. it sounds more like reverberation in a large hall than a fender spring reverb. i use just a touch of this to add a bit of space to my sound.

the tremolo also sounds nice, although i have no use for it in my music.

one of my main concerns before buying an ac30 was the lack of ventilation for the tubes. but it turns out that the head has much better ventilation than the combo versions. i was pleased to discover that the head is open in the front behind the grill cloth in addition to the usual top vents.

i use a strat. i have a couple different distortion pedals in front of the amp. the head goes into an Avatar G212H cab with Vintage30 / G12H30 speakers, which i like very much.

i bought this amp because it has the most beautiful clean sound i have ever heard on any amp. it is warm and fat with just the right amount of sparkle. when you kick in a distortion pedal, it is harmonically rich.

i run it on the "hot" bias setting which makes it about 33 watts (according to the manual). i run the master volume all the way up and use the top boost channel at about 9 o'clock (if looking at the controls right side up). at this setting it is very clean. if i play really hard, it will just begin to break up. if i put it up higher, it eats into the headroom and my pedals don't sound right in front of it. i wouldn't mind if it had a bit more headroom, but it's still good enough.

i have tried cranking it as well, with no help from pedals and it is a pretty awesome sound, with lots of feedback and sustain. it gets a brutal sounding distortion that could probably even work well with metal. and it can also be much too loud this way. using a master volume is not really the solution because it tames the sound too much. it would probably be better to get a power brake or a hot plate.

there is some hiss when it idles, and it's not 60 cycle hum. strangely, when i turn on my boss digital delay pedal, this hissing gets amplified- even when everything in front of the delay is muted! it's a mystery to me. for whatever reason this amp seems to like taking an analog delay much better.

i'm not sure about the reliability because this is a new amp. i've been playing it every day for a month and have had no problems so far.

one issue that came up was the bleed between channels. even with the input link switch turned off, there is still an amount of bleed between the normal and top boost channels. i talked to my dealer at northcoastmusic.com about it. this appears to be common among the custom classic ac30s, but it's no big deal. just roll down the volume of the channel you don't want to hear.

i haven't dealt with vox directly, but northcoastmusic.com was very responsive and helpful.

i really love this amp. if it was stolen, i'd get it again.

if i could make a custom version of this amp, i'd want the tubes to be accessible without having to take apart the chassis. i'd propose just being able to remove the front, or a more radical rearrangement of the components. i just really think it's a pain to change the tubes the way it is, but i'll put up with it only because i love the tone so much.

also, as i mentioned before, i'd want more clean headroom, so a higher power version, 50 watts perhaps, would be welcome.

2006 AC30 CC Head follow up review. Giving 9 here, in order for Vox to receive a 10 they need to add channel switching so you can go clean to dirty in a click and add a tube compliment diagram in the manual.

Ok I am now labeling the Amp the official "Chinese Plexi" with Vox tones on tap. See the Rob Math demo video on the CD from the December issue of Guitar World year-end review guide with the babes on the cover or maybe it's out on the internet. One of the best live demo's I have seen from any amp manufacturer. I am getting anything from country picking twang to sizziling ZZ top blues to harder edge styles out of the amp. I now blend the two channels and roll the bright cut back for a warmer yet dark midrange with a sweeter bright plexi tone. This amp absolutely loves pedals on the front end mainly due to the excellent(no tube info in manual)12ax7 Tung-sol's in the preamp, lots of quality front end headroom. I haven't changed the power tubes to JJ's yet but that probably would be an upgrade over the stock El84. Not sure about improving the rectifier tube which I think is the GZ.

So far so Good, very solid build. Buy the head not the combo. You will have reliability but will need to spend more for speaker/cab options.

Ok the plastic gold VOX emblem screams cheap, the brown cloth is cheezy. I may paint mine black and get a diecast emblem. However, it excell's at price, tone and bells & whistles. There is now an amp that exists for the working musician that owners will brag blows the high price stuff away. Conversely, cork sniffers will complain about this amp. A/B'd some of the gear I don't use now like a Crate VC30 sounds flat PCB processed compared to the new VOX. I'd say the VOX is the much improved next generation VC30 for those of you that know that tone. To my ears the VOX does do a very close Marshall plexi tone but I have never owned a plexi so take it with a grain of salt. Marshall & Vox factory engineers a Korg probably all worked on designing this amp or at least it sounds like it.

2005 VOX AC30 CUSTOM CLASSIC HEAD (made in China) see other reviews for specs....mine is the same.

I compared my Vox against my buddies 1971 AC30 with BullDog speakers and I was able to emulate his tone. I have to say, I prefer a combination of both channels on my AC30. Like other reviewers, I would rather be able to channel switch than turn my reverb on and off by foot.

I also tried a Vox cab with 30 watt Celestion p, I have owned a few amps. Fender tube types mostly, Marshall 800 and 900s, Peavey Classics, Crate, Sunn, Rack Amps......and the list goes on. I never did however, own a boutique amp, but I feel like I got one now.

Ladies and gentleman, I am being straight up on this because I believe when a player drops a pile of cash for an amp they are going to gig with, it is important to ask others who have owned the same. I am a intelligent man, maintain my own gear and I spent a bit of time making up my mind as to what I would buy before I bought the Vox.

Also, I read all the reviews at Harmony Central and really had mixed feelings before I spent the money. Not everyone likes the Chinese Amps. Therfore, I want to share what I have found.

First let me say, I bought the AC30 combo before I got the head. The combo was fine but it was too heavy for me. Man, the weight is like a Fender Twin. With the head, I can comfortably move my amp cab and head to and from gigs.

I have noticed that head seems to be quiter compared to the combo in terms of line noise when not playing. It also seems that the head reverb is better sounding. Perhaps this is due to isolating the reverb spring tank from the speaker cab.

Tone is subjective, but I don't need a stomp box to get the sound I want. A little boost in EQ for solos and some analog delay comes in handy although, and I have a couple of pedals to get that. I love the sound of a first position "G" chord through my AC30.......It is big and filled with character. Various websites offer soundclip samples and I found them to be right on.

Even the vibrato circuit (although not as creamy as my Custom Vibrolux) is very usable.

I am impressed.

As much as any musician can depend on an amp, I can with my AC30. I have had all kinds of amps fail at one time or another. Backups are always a great idea.

I bought a matched quad of Teslas (JJ) power tubes and some EH 12AX7s and tube rectifer from the Tube Store. AC 30s are known to run hot and after reading all of the info at the Tube stores website....I figured the new tubes would be an upgrade to an allready great amp. Haven't installed them yet.

I would venture to say that the AC30 head runs cooler than the combo. The entire front face of the head is grill cloth anf the tubes are subject to more ambient air than in the combo variety, I think.

I have head my Amp for two months and so far so good. The Chinese thing really ate at me but, I would not own an AC30 now at the old prices either. So I guess I am feeling better. Ultimately it is all about rocking. If you have gear that will last and sounds the way you want it to sound than...Life Is good!

A cover sure would be a nice upgrade from Vox. I would have gladly spent another 30 bucks for a thick Vinyl cover.

I only did one email and got a prompt response to my question.

I would be bummed and I would get another if my Vox were lost or stolen. Also, I wouldn't trade it for a vintage model.....If you know what I mean. I really got more than I hoped for and that doesn't happen enough when it comes to gear......

I chose this amp over everything else I looked at. The new 20 watt marshall tube head (also very nice but pricey).....and various vintage Fender Supers.

I wish Vox would extend the warranty for the Chinese stuff until it is proven in the trenches (clubs). I also wish the toggle switches were more substantial. Oh yeah......The rubber feet on the head don't quite match the speaker cab (Vox) handle placement.....It sits even and secure but really does a number to the cab handles.

2006 VOX CC Head. Versatile enough with two channels and link function, reverb & tremelo, 8 % 16 ohm speaker switch. Features mentioned ad nauseum.

Guitars: Mexican strat w/ HS-3 & hot rails, Yamaha SBG 500 w/ pearly gates & stock neck. Schecter elite with duncan invader & stock neck.
Style: Blues & Rock, Hard Rock.
Sounds: Front end using Timmy pedal, Barber LTD, Barber DirectDrive & DOD YJM 250 Clone. Cabinets 4x12 Mesa Recto w/ V30 & Marshall 1960 w/ greenbacks (chinese). Hate to give it the honeymoon "10" but OMG this thing really destroys probably 90% or more of the boutique amp market. Suprisingly, the YJM overdrive sounded the best. The Vintage 30's (didn't like until now so I'll eat my shoe) sounded better than the Greenbacks. The end of the day jaw dropping tone was the Strat into the YJM into the head with the "tag" clean setting into the normal channel then into the Recto cabinet. Cheap amp head, cheap OD pedal, & cheap overseas guitar with name brand pickups = boutique tone & fat bank account.

Chimes with that bell tone any vintage gear head will love. The high gain tones were not quite Marshall EL34 tone but with the Yamaha SG knock off and pearly gates it was very sweet in it's own way. I also chose the modern voicing for the Marshall sound. I also am using the 22 watt mode vs the 30 watt mode which was so loud on the Mesa cabinet you could hear it from the basement outside about 3 houses down the block.

Where was this head 20 years ago?

Clean, clear and LOUD right out of the box. Idle, there are slight hum variations based on the back panel settings but almost all Class A vox type circuits are noisy. Mainly it so far is perfect. I am barely concerned about the hum and it is too new to judge so no opinion.

N/A

Would buy another if lost or stolen. Love the price, I will not complain about chinese labor taking us jobs for the remainder of the year. Not to offend but there were two VOX AC-30 handwired reissues that were uselessly silent with blown fuses at that big guitar chain so I didn't bother to save up for a point to point just because of some tube noise. This VOX and a used JTM-45 bluesbreaker reissue were the two best sounding amps in the store which says alot when people actually mention 2 & $3000 amps in a review of one costing less than a grand.

Features covered in previous reviews. I play a mix of classic rock, blues, R&B, with some newer stuff thrown in. The amp has enough different tones to hang in there on just about anything. The amp is quite loud for 30 watts. I have not had a chance to really open it up yet, and if I did, my neighbors would call the cops. Can't wait to try it at a gig. The channel blend feature is very useful and helps to add girth to a particular tone when enabled. The only feature that I wish for is channel switching. Subtract one point for that. I guess I will need to buy an A/B/Y box for that.

Use the amp with Fender American Standard Strat w/Hardtail bridge & Kinman AVn Blues, Yamaha AES 620, Reverend Slingshot Custom, and a few others. I have to say that the tones that are attainable on this amp are excellent. The overall complexity and chime that this amp creates is astonishing, whether clean or dirty. I agree with the other reviewers who talk about the amp sounding Marshall-esque when using higher-gain settings. I have been able to dial in some excellent clean tones that sparkle as well. It definitely sounds like AC-30's that I have heard on recordings. The amp works well with all the guitars that I own and sounds especially great with single coils. Using the head with a Reverend 410c cabinet loaded with 4x10" Reverend All-Tone speakers. I may spring for the Vox cabinet loaded with Celestion Alnico Blues at a later time. The reverb and tremolo are both usable, although when the amp is idling with the tremolo turned on, you can hear a strange warble. Not sure if this is common with amps that have tremolo built in. I will deduct a point for that. Haven't tried the amp with my pedals yet (Reverend Drivetrain II overdrive, Boss DD-6 delay, Dunlop Cry-Baby, Ibanez stereo chorus) as I have been so satisfied with the stock tones. Overall, an excellent sounding, versatile amp!

N/A Will hold off on this until it is used at a few gigs. I have encountered no problems so far after about 10 hours of use at home. The construction does appear to be of good quality. The amp does get very hot, although based on what I have read, that is common for AC-30's.

N/A Was able to register the product on-line which is a plus. Haven't needed support yet so I will pass on this section.

Been playing as a hobbyist for about 30 years. Just started playing at local bars a couple of years ago. Also own a Reverend Hellhound 40/60 Amp combo, Ampeg Reverberocket 212R amp, old Silvertone tube amp, Line 6 PODxt, and a few other goodies. Have always wanted a Vox amp but never wanted to spend the $$$. This amp provides great tone for the money. I would purchase again and if something happens to this one, I will. This amp comes as close to a 10 (nothing is perfect) as any amp that I have played through.