Experience Guitar Paradise with the Vox AC30 50th Anniversary Amp

In today's video Paul Drew and James Ivey look at the VOX AC30 50th Anniversary guitar amplifier.

AC30: Earned it's place in history as the amplifier that powered the British Invasion.
For those who crave more power, the AC30 expands on the captivating sound of its little brother by doubling the wattage. Employing a quartet of EL84 power tubes, the AC30 Custom pumps 30 watts of remarkable tone. Capable of both enchanting clean and raucous overdriven sounds, the signature chime of the AC30 Custom pairs seamlessly the intricacies of your playing style, resulting in a sound that is truly your own.

Included in the AC30 Custom Head is Vox’s new Reactive Attenuator. This newly designed attenuator that uses Vox’s Reactor Technology optimises the interaction of the speaker and amp at any volume. This allows the speaker and amp to behave in the same way at stage or bedroom levels, delivering a sense of power and tone that cannot be obtained from conventional attenuators.

The below information is taken from Voxshowroom.com

The limited edition "Heritage Series" AC30H2,
AC30H2L and AC30HH were manufactured in 2007 and 2008 under contract to Vox by the International Audio Group of Shenzen China.

EF86 Preamp Tube
By 1960, most guitar amplifier manufacturers were incorporating dual triode tubes such as the 12AX7, 12AT7 or 12AU7 in their preamp circuits. JMI lead engineer Dick Denney chose a different path. Denney included an EF86 pentode tube in the preamp circuits of the JMI Vox AC-2, AC-4, AC-6, AC-10, AC-15 and AC-30/4 amplifiers. Denney preferred the additional gain and rich harmonics offered by the EF86.

Shortly after the EF86 equipped AC30/4 combo amp was introduced in 1960, an unforeseen engineering problem arose. The EF86 tube proved to be susceptible to damage from excessive vibration. At the lower sound levels of an AC-4, AC-10 or AC-15 amplifier, this was not a large issue. In the AC-30/4, the increased sound levels produced by a 30 watt power amp powering two 12" speakers was often more than the EF86 could tolerate. As the EF86 started to break down, it often would became microphonic, creating acoustic feedback between the tube and speakers. The squeal of a failing EF86 tube would often accompany the sound of the guitar playing through an AC-30/4 amp. As a result, Vox replaced the AC30/4 combo amp with the AC-30/6 in late 1960. The circuitry of the AC-30/6 replaced the troublesome EF86 with a more conventional ECC83 (12AX7) tube.

When Vox made the decision to include the EF86 tube in their limited edition 50th Anniversary AC30H2 and AC30HH, they faced the same issue with microphonics that JMI attempted to address nearly fifty years earlier. The AC30H2 included three design innovations to minimize the issues caused by a microphonic EF86 preamp tube.

The Studio Rats are core band members Paul Drew on guitar/production/mixing, drummer James Ivey and Dan Hawkins on bass. They collaborate with singers and musicians to produce radio-ready songs.