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The
Story behind the AC30 “CLASSIC” and "CUSTOM CLASSIC"
SOME HISTORICAL
CONTEXT
The VOX
AC30 is one of the most quintessential guitar amplifiers of all time. The
legendary combo amp made its debut in 1959, and its unique tone has helped
define the sound of modern guitar for more than 40 years. Although the VOX
brand has been owned by numerous companies, and even though each of them has
made some changes to the AC30, the amp itself has remained basically unchanged
since 1965. This in itself is a glowing tribute to the original product
designed by Dick Denny when VOX was part of Jennings Musical Industries.
There are
very few guitar amplifiers still selling today that have not undergone massive
changes in their basic design format. In fact, most vintage style amplifiers
available today disappeared from sale for many years and have only just been
re-released in a re-issue format; the basic AC30 has always been available.
As stated,
every new owner of the brand made minor changes to the construction or electronic
design. While some were arguable good changes, some were not so good, but the
basic format of the amp remained the same.
What makes
the AC30 so revered? Its unique and warm tone, its player
friendly “feel” and very simplistic circuit design. Even with the simple
“what you see is what you get” control format, the AC30 has found favor with
artists since its inception. VOX dominated the “British invasion” of the 1960s,
and the AC30 continues to be used by many artists spanning a wide range of
musical styles.
The one
drawback to this wonderful amp is that, though it has features and facilities
that were well-founded and useful for bands in the late ‘50s, in this day and
age these same features are regarded as “quirky,” at best! For instance: there
are 3 channels with two inputs each. Namely TOP BOOST,
When the
AC30 was originally designed, the above features were of great benefit for that
time. – It fitted in with the music styles of the day, and, probably more
importantly, only one amplifier was needed for guitar, bass and vocals; they could
all be plugged into a single AC30. In those days, money for equipment was very
scarce, particularly in the
Another
drawback, although by happenstance a very nice drawback, is the use in the AC30
of two Celestion Alnico loudspeakers. They are some of
the nicest sounding speakers that have ever been made, even though they date
back to the early ‘60s. These speakers are also, without a doubt, some of the
loudest and most efficient ever made. This, coupled with the unique VOX
circuit, makes the AC30 a very, very loud amplifier, especially when “cranked”
to produce the overdrive levels used today. When fully cranked, the AC30’s
“loudness” makes this non-master-volume amp simply too much for many guitar
players to use practically.
THE MODERN
AGE OF AC30
In 1992, Korg Inc. acquired the rights to the VOX brand name. The
AC30 Top Boost (1963 version) re-issue was commissioned to be built by an OEM
supplier. This was to be as close sonically as the original, but built to more
modern day standards. In 2004, the original OEM contract came to an end, the
existing supplier did not have the capacity to continue manufacturing on an OEM
basis, and we at VOX were forced to search for a new supplier. We decided that
the best way to take VOX forward in the 21st century was to make the AC30 more
suitable for both present day and future amplifier purchasers––not an easy job
considering its long-standing history!
Over the
last few years, market research by many guitar amp companies has always come
back with the market requirements of “Vintage Tone and Modern Features”. We
certainly had the vintage tone, but definitely not the modern features.
What modern
features could be added to the AC30 without any sacrifice to the vintage tone?
The basic list came down to Reverb, FX looping and a suitable way of adding
output volume control that worked well with the tone of the amp, namely, a
Master Volume. The last bit was easy; we had already done it on the AC15TB amp
from the mid ‘90s. The rest was a bit harder. Anything that was added had to
provide great benefit to the amp, but NOT take anything away from it or affect
the AC30’s signature sound and feel.
The broad
acceptance of reverb, global tremolo and master volume in the AC15TB led to the
very limited edition AC30HW (available in 2002). Plus, the overwhelming success
of the AC30HW indicated that we were on the right track for the re-design of
regular production AC30 amps.
VOX R&D
UK's design of the new AC30 amplifier included not only the required Top Boost
channel with reverb, fx
loop, global tremolo and master volume, but a whole host of “boutique” features
as well.
When the
first prototype was presented to a panel of guitar players and market
specialists, it was acclaimed as possibly being the most perfect AC30 ever. Our
new AC30 has the tone and feel of a vintage AC30 with a host of features that
make it more practical for today’s guitarists, plus a number of subtle, new
boutique features that have never been incorporated into a production
amplifier! Thusly, we have named this series AC30 Custom Classic.
When deciding
how and where to produce the Custom Classic, a primary concern was attaining
an extremely high build quality while achieving a realistic price so that
a large number of players can enjoy this new AC30. We conducted an exhaustive
global search to identify a factory that could meet our strict criteria, and
found a state-of-the-art, vertically-integrated manufacturing facility. As
a result, we have total control over the design, quality and sound of these
new amplifiers. The factory is capable of many processes not usually found
in guitar amplifier factories––they design and manufacture their own transformers,
speakers (except for the venerable Vox “Blue” which
is manufactured by Celestion), cabinets and electronics.
All components have been designed, manufactured or selected so that the performance
and sound of the new AC30 Custom Classic is second to none.