Add in soft touch switching and top mounted jacks and youve got a fully modern, absurdly highquality boost. It has a compact diecast aluminum housing and can provide a powerful gain, even at low settings. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but we all missed out on a phenomenal bargain. Man, youve got to jump on those ebay bargains as soon as theyre posted. Sounds great and i did not need a real vox to comp beatles, hank. As can distortion pedals like the rat and similar, like the buffalo evolution, toptone g2. So, plugging a guitar into the handwired ac30h2 heritage combo, made to celebrate voxs fiftieth anniversary, expectations are going to be well, high. It is less of an od then an analog amp simulator often referred to as modeled sound. From this plexidrive pedal, you will hear the authentic marshall sound in a small, updated package. Hello, im interested in purchasing a pedal that has a good vox ac30 sound.
The ac30 onetwelve ac30s1 delivers the fullfledged experience of the classic ac30, but in a more stripped down and straightforward way. The renowned pedal maker has always been known for a little bit different approach in designing pedal effects, but now takes everything to a completely new level. My amp is voiced like a hot rodded plexi, and instead of having someone build me a new circuit it would be cheaper to find a pedal. People began to refer to these amplifiers as ac30tbs.
I know there a good amount but i would appreciate opinions from anyone with experience with some. From its convenient size to its top tier components, the mini faux spring reverb pedal is every bit a wampler. Includes 247 tech support setup, connectivity issues, troubleshooting and much more. The eq features a top cut not an inverted treble boost, that reacts and removes the same.
My ac30 is a jmi 64 and had a hard life before i had it but the fact that it still works and sounds amazing after 47. I know vox sells a tube pedal voiced like the top boost. Im a huge fan of radioheads guitar tones, particularly in rainbows in which. Brad paisley is a grammy awardwinning american country music singersongwriter and guitarist. Other breakdowns covered after the manufacturers warranty expires. After tweaking this circuit for just over 3 years, brian was beyond happy to have finally nailed that classic. Why hasnt any one mention top jimis ac30, its kick ass. Incorporates separated bass boost for new wonderful split sound and pseudo stereo effects. Brad has a very cool guitar rig that has many boutique equipment and gear in it. The menatone top boost in a can used to be a favorite, but im not sure theyre even being made anymore.
The pair of brass mounting screws that secured the upper back of the cabinet against the control panel also needed to be relocated on the ac306 top. Sold wampler thirty something vox ac30 in a pedal this pedal creates the tones made famous by vox amplifiers from beatles to brian may. I run it through my ac30 and it has replaced all other overdrive pedals for me. Wampler thirty something guitar effects pedal musicians. The wampler take of the classic bb circuit the wampler pantheon overdrive pedal was inspired by the longdiscontinued, longsoughtafter marshall bluesbreaker stompbox. This wampler ace thirty pedal is in excellent condition. The iridium is one of the latest products that come from strymon. After over 3 years in the design stage, the thirty something is the perfect way to bring that famous british chime to your rig. Taf had another crack at the vox in taf10 btw using new mic techniques. The individual note clarity when playing chords is scary good, chimney and musical, especially with the gain settings at noon or less. I have it going through a vox ac10 and it brings the amp to a different level. As you would expect from wampler pedals, great care has been taken to ensure authenticity of tone.
Treble boosters through the top boost channel is pure magic but only if you have the amp screaming to begin with. The euphoria has been widely regarded as one of the best overdrives ever released versatility, control, organic sounding overdrive and being able to go from gently clipping to full on aggressive crunch has made it the kind of pedal you need on your board no matter what genre you play. The surprise is the pedal chimes better then the last top boost englishbuilt ac30 i owned too 1991. Created by a crack team of modelling boffins including way huge mainman jeorge tripps the. Brian has built a top boost style treble booster in it and more gain then the amp for better lead work. But with wampler pedals, i can say that provided you are happy with the sound of the pedal, you can feel comfortable that the premium cost does translate to top notch durability and reliability. A lot of the time, i use a wampler tumnus with the gain around 9. Although plastic is durable and longlasting, it is possible to crack the stall.
The unit became so popular that its features were soon incorporated in newer ac306 models, and the controls moved from the rear panel to the control panel. However, as an alternative to replacing a shower stall, you can purchase a fiberglass patch kit and patch the crack. Connecting this pedal to my blackface fender princeton reverb i can get vox ac30 tones. Vox ac 30 top boost vox engineer dick denney created the ac30 when hank marvin, guitarist for britains the shadows, complained that his 15watt vox ac15 couldnt be heard over the screams of fans when they backed pop sensation cliff richard. If you decide to replace your shower stall, expect to spend a good amount of money doing so. Vox described the ac30 top boost kit in a 1965 catalog where it stated, a conversion unit to give you the ultimate top boost over 30db at 10 kilocycles. This pedal is modelled after the vox ac30, and does a commendable job at capturing the core classic tones nice and bright and sparkly, although not quite the full saturated distortion of brian may at the gainier end. Shnobel shows the vox ac30 6 tb mullard tubes mercury. Each pedal has either defined a certain tone, pushed the sonic envelope of its time, been adopted by legendary players, andor graced essential songs and albums.
I also ran it through an ac30 and fender blues jr with the same results. The hilo switch adds to the tweakability with the lo setting upping the grunt factor for rhythm and hi boosting the top end and sustain for lead breaks. There is something of an urban dictionary of terms that exists among gear heads. Others such as menatones top boost in a can and wampler s thirty something may be more difficult to find but ultimately worth the search. A second version of the birchstolec ac30 eliminated the gz34 tube in favor of a diode rectified power supply.
The pickiest players will notice just a touch more top end when turned on, but for the most part, this is extremely transparent. It offers the same range as the wampler plexidrive standard but adds a few key features, including a pregain boost for midrange overdrives, a bass switch to darken tones and a bright boost to add a higher frequency into your music. A good guitar and an ac30 can be the quickest trip to tone heaven you can take. These russian pedals are not so much in circulation in the uk, although they are easily available from thomann most of the time. Its chimey high end was a signature of the beatles early recordings and was later favored by guitarists like brian may, tom petty, peter buck and the edge, whose 1964 ac306 has been featured on every u2 album. Vox ac306 amplifiers from around 1963 had already implemented the top boost, and therefore had three tone controls. Now this list is by no means a comprehensive one, and i personally cant vouch for the accuracy of their tone, but it should be interesting to see just. Yep, its the stripped down version of the original ac30 model. If you put a butler tube driver into a wampler plexi will that work to do an eric johnson violin sound lead tone. It is one of the classic most recognisable british amps to this day. This is one of the best sounding amps ive ever heard, at least on youtube, so far the tone quality is assesable on this streaming technology.
A wide range of variation is available, as the lineup consists of four models. Best on the market as far as im cocerned, you can get a tube screamer sound out of it if you want. The top boost feature proved popular enough that it became standard on the ac306 so named for its six inputs. Brian wampler at wampler pedals has come up with a great allanalog pedal for emulating the chiming to blizzard of nails tones and compressed feel of classic vox ac30 and ac15 amps, which hed named the ace thirty. The top 50 stompboxes of all time50 years of footstompin.
The thirty something truly is a master class in tone. Vox amplug 2 ac30 guitar headphone amp guitar center. Other amplifiers, like the roland jazz chorus or the fender twin reverb, may have built in vibrato, chorus, or tremolo functions that some players prefer to the pedalgenerated version. The knobs have a firm resistance that prevents from bumping it from your foot. Some amps, like the vox ac30 or the mesaboogie mark v, produce enough natural overdrive that distortion, overdrive, or fuzz pedals arent needed. We also love the treble control, which has bags of variation. But which one does the best ac30 top boost impersonation. The vox showroom vox ac30 top boost and ac30 top boost. Wampler paisley drive v2 brad paisley signature overdrive. Wampler paisley drive v2 brad paisley signature overdrive guitar effects pedal. Guitar pedal x gpx blog 12 of the best vox style pedals. If thats the case, consider this useful boost from wampler. They allow you to keep your sound right on the edgeofbreakup, all the way to launching your already high gain signal into the stratosphere. Some big muffs, like the sovtek models and clones, are often best alone.
It does help that i have it playing through a celestion blue loaded cab. I am facing off the normal vs the top boost channel in todays video. The inside of the new ac306 top boost chassis would be stamped with the words top boost in red paint see second photo from the top of the page. Both the original plexitone and the actone 3 button pedals will definitely be revamped with some mods including losing the ac power cord in favor of standard 9v. Is it worth tracking one down used or is there anything comparable being made these days. The best transparent overdrive pedals share a lot of the same characteristics. We countdown the greatest fx units to have ever existed. Ac30 provides the ac30 topboost sound, classic rock gives you the classic.
Drops, spills and cracked screens covered from day one. You can view chassis photos showing the tube layout on the birchstolec ac30 under the hood web page. Ive been following the plexitone threads on multiple boards like a bloodhound. But theres nothing approaching the deep editing of, say, a topshelf device from fractal, line. The best guitar pedals for electric guitar effects 2020. Ive used an ac30 for about 8 years and ive tried so many things for heavy od but i always come back to rat variants. How to repair a crack in a plastic shower stall hunker. Vox threatens wampler over pedal name ace thirty music. If i cant find a suitable pedal, i may have to buy an ac15 or.
The vox ac30 is one of the few amps that has both stellar clean and distortion tones best described as sparkling both being unique and distinct and brilliantly utilised by the beatles, u2s the edge, and above all brian may of queen. Im a huge fan of radioheads guitar tones, particularly in rainbows in which thom used a 1962 vox fawn ac30 with blues a lot. Wamplers black 65 aims to recreate the tone and dynamics of a blackface amp at full volume, as does bosss walletfriendly fdr1 reverb, which adds reverb to the mix, too. Catalinbread galileo for pairing a vox ac30 and dallas rangemaster into a single pedal. From its convenient topmounted jacks to its amazingly flexible switching, the tumnus deluxe overdrive. Many users will master iridium in minutes without cracking the manual.
It sounds absolutely gorgeous and i bitterly regret over and over again selling my 1960s one. The birchstolec ac30 top boost shown on this web page included five ecc83, one ecc82, four el84 tubes and a gz34 tube rectifier. Vox in a box and it got me thinking, just how many vox sounding pedals are out there so i thought i might have a bit of fun and list as many vox in a box pedals as i can find. For those looking for flexible allinone drive units, here are the top ten best boostoverdrive combo pedals. The boss fdr1 for its touchsensitive, snappy tone that pairs nicely with the added reverbtremolo functionality. Jmi vox ac30 with top boost in panel the vox showroom. Vox in a box pedals what is your favorite vox in a box. I personally wanted a combo amp because im tired of carrying around a half stack. What are your absolute favourite vox ac30ac15 profile third. The gp staff decided to pay homage to these bottomfeeding beasts by detailing 50 revolutionary models.
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