A Beast Of An Amp!

This was my main amp for close to 15 years, it was reliable and sounded absolutely killer when cranked up. For my blues/rock/country type set up I’d mostly run it clean with the master volume on full, running both channels and drive it with some sort Klone type OD, some compression and a bit of slap back delay. Plug a telecaster into that and it sounds glorious!

This amp did several gigs a week for well over a decade and apart from the odd blown rectifier valve (3 in 15 years), this amp powered up and rocked the gig without issue just about every time.

I finally had to retire this fantastic amp 2 years ago due to a tragically stupid injury. I had just finished packing up after a rowdy gig. My amp was sitting on a trolley at the front of the stage, when some drunken guy came up to me to say what a great show we’d just done. This bloody idiot tripped over and knocked my amp and trolley off the stage!

The amp still works but there is a distracting rattle sound that several amp techs have not been able to properly fix. You don’t notice it at loud volumes but at quieter volumes it’s too much rattle to play enjoyably.

Great amp for the price

Lacks a bit of bottom end, for the Wharfedale speakers. Some models have a problem in the FX loop, where the amp loses all the bottom end becaused of a wrong capacitor in the loop, but it's a pretty easy fix. It doesn't have tons of gain, but it captures the VOX bite perfectly. It's a really angry amp that always ask for more gain. It's also LOUD. Very loud.

Amazing and Versatile

I bought this amp used from my local guitar shop. At first I was very hesitant because I had read about several reliability issues online before buying. however I have to say that this is one of my favorite amps I have played (second only to a Matchless DC30 but the DC30 is still outdone by this amp in some cases). This amp really brings out the character of my guitar (which is telecaster). I can get amazing sparkling cleans or rich overdrive, often just by changing my picking dynamics. This amp sounds incredible at apartment suitable volumes. thats right, I play this in my apartment, the master volume works that well. But I have also cranked it up when jamming with other people and it more than holds its own. The reverb is very usable and the tremolo is a nice feature. The real cool thing about this amp is how tweakable it is. I can combine normal and top boost channels, change the normal channel to be brighter, and on the back of the amp there are even more options to tweak, so you can get the sound you are looking for. would highly recomend, just don't use the standby. That is the number one issue about this amp, but my amp tech told me to never use the standby switch and following his advice I have not encountered any issues.

Love the Clean channel

If I had to use one adjective to describe this amp, it would be 'sparkly'. The way it projects the high frequencies is not harsh by any means (in regards to the clean channel, I mean). I mainly keep it on the clean channel since I have a pedal board, but of course, it has that nice-thick-vox fuzz if you want it. Since it's a British amp, you have to alternate the level of the channel knobs in order to attain the clean/fuzz sound you want. For example, the channel knob needs to be higher than the master knob in order to get any fuzz but vice versa if you just want to keep it clean and still use the simple eq. I love the 'brilliance' switch, and I usually flip it with electrics that have humbuckers. As for my tele, I stay on the warmer side of things with this amp. My only qualm with it is how heavy it is. This amp is inconveniently heavy and the handles are awkwardly placed. I would and still am considering casters for it when I start gigging for my solo project.

Perfect cleans, but heavy to handle

I use this mostly for cleans. The clean, I feel, is perfect. The only problem with this amp is the weight. Everything else works wonders.

The clean on this is perfect

For perfect clean, you won't do much better than this amp. It is not without it's faults: it's bloody heavy, no footswitchable drive, and mine didn't come with a proper footswitch for the tremolo (which is lovely) - but the clean channel on this is so good you'll get over all that. In hindsight, would possibly go for the AC15 option instead, it really is a bitch lugging this fatty around ;)

A great AC30, though could be better.

I recently got this, and it's my first ac30. Overall, I really like it. However, there are some cap changes you can do that really help tame of its weirdness. Also not a fan of the wharfdale speakers.

Best Amp I Have Ever Owned

The best vintage tone I have ever heard out of an amplifier. Amazingly clean and responsive. My only qualm is to beware of blown fuses.

A la hauteur de sa réputation

On ne présente plus ce dinosaure à la dynamique impressionnante. En terme de son je ne demande rien de plus ? Est-ce qu'on le pourrait ?

Par contre la rançon du succès réside dans ses 32kg et sa fragilité.

Fucking amazing amp

This amp is a classic. It is nothing short of amazing. Buy one.