What does an AC 30 sound like?

[Jeff]

I have no access to an AC 30 around here, so does anyone know any songs or sound clips on the internet that I can listen to that feature this amp?

[timi_h]

brian may has only and will only ever use AC30s
check the endorsee list and you will find loads of people to listen to who swear by it

[apmaman]

They dont sound like brian may... he's too cool.

There very clear and transparent i think. Chimes like a bell

[jimmyfingersminion]

I love the ac 30. Clean tones with loads of head room and a warm mid tone. They're loud as well. Really cool amps, I've only ever played old ones though, not one of the re-issues. . .

[sick-boy]

I thought they sounded quite lovely. Then again, I prefer classic rock sounds to shred, so I'm a bit bias.

[Cymbaline]

The Beatles used them a lot.

[Jeff]

I've read tons of worded descriptions, all of them along the lines of "it's fantastic." Some standalone clips would definitely be preferable, as there is a huge difference between the Beatles guitar tone and the Brian May guitar tone.

[sick-boy]

Why don't you try www.voxamps.co.uk
The site takes forever to load, at least for me

[Racerx2k]

The Knack used them, at one point or another.

[ChopTart]

This may come off funny, but exactly how you'd think they'd sound. Great vintage tones because every channel is warm. Very bubbly and glassy, and good clarity. Gets better cranked.

If you're thinking of Brian May, just remember that he used a treble booster a lot, so his solos generally aren't straight AC30.

[David McCarroll]

Someone once described a Rickenbacker 12string through an AC30 as sounding like "A blizzard of nails" - pretty cool huh?

Almost anything by The Edge from U2, lots and lots of Tom Petty, the aforementioned Brian May - they are a Class A amp, which generally means a very sweet sound (as Class A emphasises even order harmonics which tend to sound more toneful) and huge definition even when cranked. The newest model is called an AC30 Custom Classic (I think) - they are made in China I suspect, however at least at this point the verdict in our local shops (including from a guy who has been playing through a vintage AC30 forever) is that they seem to sound very good - all the components are high quality, Vox keeps the price under control by assembling them OS.

A very cool amp indeed, but as someone pointed out before, definitely not a metal amp!