Vox AC30CC2X Custom Classic 2 x 12 combo

110 MAY 2005
or its legions of devoted fans, the
Vox AC30 will always be the
defi nitive British guitar amplifi er.
Its sound comes from a mixture of
many things: the EL84 cathode-biased
power stage, oddball EQ circuit,
transformers and loudspeakers all play
a part in creating that unique Vox tone
which has been a part of so many
memorable signature sounds over the
years. From George Harrison and Hank
Marvin to Status Quo and Brian May,
it’s all there.
However, in the modern world the
AC30’s quirky features are something
of an anachronism, frequently at odds
with the needs of many players. How,
then, do you update one of the world’s
most iconic guitar amps without losing
its traditional appeal?
A couple of years back, we saw a sign
of things to come in the shape of the
AC30HW: a limited production hand-
wired amp with a traditional
appearance but featuring a totally new
circuit design that blends vintage and
modern sounds and features to
devastating effect. With a lot of positive
feedback from this toe-in-the-water,
Vox has released the Custom Classic
range – designed in England but made
in China. The AC30CC is Vox’s new
vision of what a modern production
AC30 should really be like, combining
vintage looks with modern features and
a much wider range of sounds.
The AC30CC’s cabinet design hasn’t
strayed from the original. Those who
like the ‘big suitcase’ styling of this amp
won’t be disappointed and the
materials are decent quality too.
Cabinet construction is up to a good
standard and the traditional basket-
weave vinyl is fairly well applied, with
neat fi nishing around the tricky control
panel area.
The chassis follows the original AC30
L-shape layout, with preamp valves
mounted horizontally and power valves
(including a GZ34 rectifi er) mounted
vertically. The electronics (including
all the controls) are PCB mounted on
a mixture of double and single-sided
boards connected by neat wiring.
Preamp valve bases are soldered into
the main vertical PCB, while the power
valves are hand-wired. Just like an
original AC30, to replace any valve
means taking the chassis out and you
may also need a soldering iron to
disconnect the speaker leads.
The Custom Classic’s controls are an
interesting mix of old and new with a
number of cool ‘boutique’ features.
There are two input jacks – one for the
normal channel and one for the Top
Boost channel. Next to these is a small
toggle switch that allows you to
‘jumper’ both channels together,
replacing the patch lead many players
use on standard AC30s, to thicken up
the sound and widen the amps tonal
range. The normal channel has a single
volume control with a toggle switch
marked ‘brilliance’ that adds extra
F
Vox AC30CC2X Custom
Classic 2 x 12 combo £1,049
An AC30 for the new millennium! The Chinese-made Custom Classic
mixes traditional appeal with cool boutique features and we think the
result is a winner
by Nick Guppy
PHOTOGRAPHY LOUISE BROOM
GIT263.rev_voxac30 110GIT263.rev_voxac30 110 1/4/05 1:28:17 pm1/4/05 1:28:17 pm