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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
(or two), bass and vocals; they could all be plugged into a single AC30. In those days money for equipment
was very scarce, particularly in the UK, and high volume levels certainly weren’t allowed in the popular
venues.
Basically the VOX amps, and most others, were intended as general-purpose amps. Ironically they also
sounded fantastic when used purely as guitar amps, which is why they have endured to this day.
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.
In 1992, a new version of the AC30 Top Boost was born. This was to be as close sonically as the original,
but for many good reasons built to more modern day standards. This amplifier has been more than suc-
cessful in re-establishing VOX as a premier amplifier manufacturer again. In 2004, because of a number of
factors, we decided that the best way of taking VOX forward into the 21
st
century was to look at how we
could 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 & Modern Features.” Well, we certainly had the Vintage Tone, but
not the Modern Features!
So, what Modern Features could be added to the AC30 without any sacrifice to the vintage tone? The basic
list came down to reverb, FX loop and a suitable way of adding an 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 that came out in the mid ‘90s. The rest was a bit harder. Anything that was added had to
definitely add great benefit to the amp, BUT not take anything away from it or affect the AC30’s signature
sound and feel.
By chance we had already tested the water for new features when we introduced the above mentioned
AC15TB equipped with reverb, global tremolo and master volume. The broad acceptance of those addi-
tional features in the AC15TB led to the limited-edition AC30HW. The overwhelming success of the AC30HW
(even with die hard vintage AC30 users) gave us the indication that we were on the right track for the re-
design of regular production AC30 amps.
After much head scratching, VOX R&D UK came up with the design of the new amplifier which you have in
front of you. This not only included 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, the prototype
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 as AC30 Custom Classic.
