AC30cc head... sound and reliability?

[jonlarsen002]

I am seeing a few of these pop up for sale on Craigslist for about $550. What are the downsides, if any, of this amp? Anyone had any experience? Any recommendations?

[cyguitar]

I've had 2 of the combos. No problems with either. Sound is great especially when paired with 2 Celestion Blues, in a partially open back cab.

[Serious Poo]

Awesome bang for buck amplifier. change the tubes and you're good to go.

[zoooombiex]

I think they are excellent amps for the money. Two blendable channels, verb & trem, master. Does a convincing vox sound. looks nice.

I had one upgraded by Don Butler (Toneman) and thought it made it even better. A bit creamier and softer high end.

I can't say anything in terms of comparing to a vintage Vox, since I haven't tried one. But it does compare favorably (as upgraded) with a Bruno UG30.

Drawbacks: big & heavy, reverb doesn't seem to be everyone's cup of tea - very looooong delay time, normal channel uses a 12ax7 and some prefer the heritage series with an ef86, some of the earlier ones produced had some QC issues (bad stock tubes which led to blowing fuses).

[ahellam]

Awesome amp

[jacobhf]

I love the amp, I just sold mine, but I think theyr're great. I never had an issue with the amp also.

[jonlarsen002]

Is $550 a good deal on a 3 year old AC30cc head?

[Mudder]

I think that's a good deal. I play mine with stock tubes through Private Jacks and it does pretty much everything I expected it to do. There are some neat switches on the back to change from 30w to 22w for a more vintage vibe. I can't say how close this comes to an original, but I can say the cleans are great, the gain is nice for pop rock, and it takes pedals like a champ.

[omarxx]

I like mine mucho and haven't done a thing to it other than play. Sounded good right out of the box. $550 seems pretty reasonable to me.

[m@2]

i've been using my AC30 head through my marshall cab, and absolutely LOVE it. very different from my reinhardt/marshall and fenders, and thats what i was looking for. I don't use the reverb much, and basically just set it for a good tone on the edge of clean/dirt, and use pedals for flavor. I also like the wattage, loud but not overwhelming for rehearsals/gigs. Also works equally well with LP/humbuckers and Strats/Teles

$550 is a fair (but not GREAT) price. if it's in great shape and sounds good, it's worth it