#Vox ac30cc2 bias switch how to
#Vox ac30cc2 bias switch series

So all the earliest runs of Custom Classics have. 22uf where they meant to put 2.2uf, and the factory followed suit. ItвЂ™s actually a fantastic effects loop once one capacitor is changed. Many people think вЂњthe loop sucksвЂќ as a result. In many Custom Classics there is a drastic loss of low end when the effects loop is on. This will allow the Normal channel to have more gain and go from a warmer but not too dark sound to a brighter but not too bright sound.ДҐ вЂ“ Vox effed up the effects loop due to a typo. Jumper the 330K resistor ahead of the Normal volume pot (R49), change the 220pf bright cap (C12) to a 100pf cap, and then put a 68pf cap across lugs 1 and 2 of the Normal volume pot. Changing this to the вЂњvintageвЂќ 47pf value very slightly reduces the treble.Д¤ вЂ“ they have made the Normal channel fairly useless in tone (way too dark or way too bright) and limited its max gain. The вЂњvintageвЂќ spec for this cap was 100pf, but to sound more like a 40 year old AC30 with 40 year old speakers I find that 68pf is a more pleasing value.ДЈ вЂ“ Vox went with a 56pf treble cap in the tone stack (C16). Change these to 220K resistors.Дў вЂ“ there is a 120pf bright cap (C13) across the Top Boost volume knob. In the Custom Classic they are 100K resistors.

#Vox ac30cc2 bias switch how to

Here is how to make the amp sound/behave like a вЂњproperвЂќ AC30.ДЎ вЂ“ R6 and R7 are the plate resistors for V1 (Top Boost and Normal channels). This especially makes the stock amp not take drive pedals too well as the overdrive sounds fizzy into such a clean bright preamp. Not too dissimilar from the cleans coming from a Plexi, if the Plexi was being run into an open-backed 2Г—12.ДЄnyway, Vox voiced the Custom Classic to have a lot of clean headroom (too much IMO) and to be bright (too bright IMO). DonвЂ™t think Beatles/Byrds вЂ“ think REM, U2, Yardbirds, Zeppelin.

In their natural state they are a wonderful amp when clean but they have low clean headroom and the real magic is when they are at the edge of clean and overdrive, where they break up and clean up responding to playing dynamics. The AC30 has never been a вЂњclean janglyвЂќ amp. The Byrds used a combination of DI and Twin Reverbs for their вЂњjangleвЂќ. The вЂњjanglyвЂќ Beatles sound was AC50s, AC100, various solid state Voxes, and Fender amps. History вЂ“ the Beatles didnвЂ™t use AC30s after the first record.

#Vox ac30cc2 bias switch series

In many respects it is a much better amp than the previous made in UK TBX series (IвЂ™ll get into that later).ДЇirst, there was so much chattering on the net about вЂњjangleвЂќ and вЂњsparkleвЂќ and вЂњBeatlesвЂќ that Vox voiced this amp differently from other AC30s, to appeal to those who thought the amp should sound a certain way (even though AC30s donвЂ™t sound that way at all). ItвЂ™s extremely well made and designed and can sound fantastic. IвЂ™ll start off with the Custom Classic series.ДЇirst, IвЂ™m not slagging this amp in the slightest. I work on a lot of Vox AC30s, from the вЂ™60s to now.

Thanks a lot to Lyle Caldwell for sharing hix experiences on modding AC30s to vintage specs.