Here's my new Vox build!!

I didn't know DHL delivered on Saturdays! Got my 2x12"...

Meet my new Vox AC30/AC15 build!



http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q162/AshCaster/Amps/Vox/VoxandEsquire.jpg



I rebuilt this amp as a Vox AC30 (with my half power switch in the back it is also an AC15). TopBoost and Normal channel (with added Tone control) with no tremolo and an added Master Volume control. Ceriatone 36w chassis, Heyboer transformers, Mojo smallbox head cab.

The cab is an Avatar 2x12" in matching red with two Celestion AlNiCo Blues.

The guitar is one of my reverse headstock Esquire partscaster homebuilds with a GFS Hot '60s AlNiCo pickup, nitro finished neck with small vintage frets, Bakelite pickgaurd, Earvana compensated nut, RS Guitarworks bevelled comp saddles in steel, and Schaller straplocks. No-Load Tone control and custom control plate (I cut it from aluminum HAHA).

Even without the Blues being broken in, this thing sounds incredible. My first Vox build!

THAT THING IS GORGEOUS! :shock::grin:

Can't wait to hear clips - can we see inside, please? :grin:

Scott

Very nice!

THAT THING IS GORGEOUS! :shock::grin:

Can't wait to hear clips - can we see inside, please? :grin:

Scott



Crap, forgot gut shots!

I will take some photos of the insides. I have to open her up anyway when I have time on Monday - be warned, this one is not as neat as some of my other builds. Gutting and then rebuilding an old build, plain wore me out!! The PT side's wires are a little messy, but the board side is much neater still.

I will make sound clips of my 5E3 Deluxe + C12N build and my Gibson GA5 + P10R build. Once I'm finished with the cab I will also post a clip of a Kalamazoo Model-1 + C10R build I did...

After what Wayne said about Celestion Blues, IDK if I should wait to break in the speakers before making a clip of the Vox... hell, I might as well since I'll be toting a mic around my amp room anyway :)

On top of that, I will be plugging my 5E3 into the 2x12" Blues to see how that sounds :)

Oh yeah, I also forgot - I just plugged in my Esquire as well as my Les Paul Junior Lite.

I really love the TopBoost channel for all kinds of clean and it's great for dirt (only when it's loud, otherwise the MV makes it a bit thin and fizzy at low-medium levels).

The Normal channel is awesome for dirt. It is very basic and even though it's not super gainy like a tweed or even the TB channel. The larger bypass cap in that channel and the lack of a bright cap and tonestack help thicken it up at all levels - even with the Phase Inverters 1.2k cathodes at low levels.

I can't believe how great this amp sounds! Usually I riff out some ACDC with my new builds, but this one had me playing Kinks and Who, and then some John Fogerty.

That's a thing of beauty, Johnny! Love the Esquire, too.

I did something similar once, rebuilt a beat-up Traynor chassis to AC-30 TB specs but w/ only 2 EL-84s. That amp was a fantastic machine for rock guitar. And it was bullet-proof. I rehearsed weekly and gigged it several times per month for 5 years and never even changed a tube!

Yours is a beauty (mine wasn't, but it only cost about 40 bucks to build, cabinet included! I believe you might have called it a "ghetto amp"). Which MV and single-knob tone circuits did you end up using?

I really love the TopBoost channel for all kinds of clean and it's great for dirt (only when it's loud, otherwise the MV makes it a bit thin and fizzy at low-medium levels).

The Normal channel is awesome for dirt. It is very basic and even though it's not super gainy like a tweed or even the TB channel.

That sounds very similar to how I view and hear my AC30cc. Your Vox type looks great and it sounds like it is a proper Vox.

Can you blend both channels?
Any tube recommendations?

Thanks for sharing.

Now that I have 2x12" Celestion AlNiCo Blues I feel it is a "proper Vox." hehehe

Tubes? Right now I have Electro-Harmonix 12AX7's in the preamp/PI and JJ/Tesla in the power section. The rectifier is a Sovtek.

Blending channels? I haven't tried that yet. I am very glad I built this thing - I always wanted a Vox.

Blending channels? I haven't tried that yet.

You can jumper the channels with a patch lead. This was done a lot of the time on the old AC30s. The new CCs actually have a standard switch to blend both channels. Try it, you might actually like it more than two separate channels.

I understand how blending works. I often do that with my other builds, especially my 5E3 Deluxe, which sounds great in parallel mode (jumpering both channels).

It will be interesting to see how the fatter Normal channel blends with the brighter TopBoost channel.

I still haven't really messed with my half-power switch a whole lot. It compresses so nicely in 30w mode that 15w mode seems almost pointless. Almost. hehehe

Nice amp, and nice guitar too Johnny! There's gotta be a strong desire to build your own when it comes to Vox, as the vintage ones seem to go for major $$$. If you can find them that is ...

Congrats! (& +1 on the innard pics request :wink: )

Yes, blending the two channels is highly recommended. If you followed the classic circuit, the treble and bass controls only work on the top boost channel, the normal channel has no tone control other than the cut control, but it's voiced darker and cleaner than the top boost, it can be used to adjust the tone quite a bit when blended. You know this, but if you're going to use a treble booster like a Rangemaster to cop Queen tones, use only the normal channel. The top boost channel will take your head off with a treble booster.

I will be blending the channels and playing with it further...

I am also interested in getting a Rangemaster - Brian May's sound is not my personal ideal tone (I'm more of an Angus and Malcolm Young sound kind of guy), but it had a very cool quality I can use for all kinds of projects.

Awesome!

I blended the channels. Wow, very thick.

I also fixed the squealing at max volume with higher Treble settings on the TopBoost channel.

Here's some more amp pr0n:



http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q162/AshCaster/Amps/Vox/voxback.jpg



http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q162/AshCaster/Amps/Vox/voxgutsmess.jpg



As you can see, the guts are MESSY as hell! Part of why there was squeal, my lead dress was a mess. Gutting an amp in the heat, then rebuilding it with your back all in pain from slumping over a build wears at you :)

I've since rewired the entire TopBoost preamp and tonestack using shielded wire... the guts weren't any less messy, so I didn't bother to take a new photo :)

I'm sure the sight of those Blues will make up for the messy guts.

Another update:
I plugged in my TS808 clone I built and turned the Gain/Overdrive down and the Tone and Level up (to simulate a clean boost with a Treble kick ala a Rangemaster)...

While it's not the Brian May setup without the Rangemaster (and the Blues haven't broken in yet), it does get some very Queen-ish (Queen I, Queen II, and Night at the Opera) sounds. I started copping the solo riffs to We Will Rock You and it was very fun.

Nice..really nice build Crash. Get that camera right down in the chassis and take a few close ups. You got a layout kicking around?

Great job Johnny, I bet that sounds fantsic through that cabinet. When are the clips coming?

you should donate those both to me man, you know you want to

Nice..really nice build Crash. Get that camera right down in the chassis and take a few close ups. You got a layout kicking around?



I used Hoffman's simplified layout (no Trem channel, just TopBoost and Normal). His layouts are a little different than most, but they're still easier for beginners to read than a schematic would be for newbies.

Here is a link:
http://www.el34world.com/Hoffman/images/AC30.gif

I added a 1meg Master Volume control next to the Cut control. Similar to the Cut control after the PI at the grid feeds (without the treble cap).



Great job Johnny, I bet that sounds fantsic through that cabinet. When are the clips coming?



I've been playing with it all day today.

I've been experimenting with my homemade attenuator, Master Volume control, and TS808 clone build. The Normal channel is great with the MV, the TopBoost is fine with the MV as long as it is still played sorta loud - works best with an attenuator, and the TS808 in the Normal channel can get very Brian May when dialed in right (pushed Level, less Gain, and more Tone on the TS808).

I still can't believe how it sounded, but once I got my Celestion Blues, I was literally stunned by the sound. My old Marshal + V30 combo plate will never be less than my #1 for my rock band stuff, but this Vox + Blue will have plenty of track time for many future projects!

The only other speaker that I personally enjoy hearing as much is my Jensen RI P15N AlNiCo 1x15" cab... I can't wait for the Blues to break in.



you should donate those both to me man, you know you want to



HAHAHA!!!

What was it that Charlton Heston used to say? Something about prying, cold, and dead hands...

Man, this is one of the few builds I could never part with. I'd be homeless and still have this sitting next to me in my cardboard shelter.

I can walk you through a build if you'd like. Order the parts and PM/eMail me all you like. This circuit with these speakers everyone should try at least once... it is simply addictive to play through.

Oh yeah, I know I've been promising clips of three or four of my last builds... this Vox rebuild has taken some time and energy away from that.

Clips will be posted soon... within a week I'd guess - I promise :)

SWEEEET!!

...but once I got my Celestion Blues, I was literally stunned by the sound.

Look out now. Johnny's become a "cork sniffer!" :wink:

Look out now. Johnny's become a "cork sniffer!" :wink:



HAHAHA!!!

No, like I said, the Vox/Blue combo will never be my #1 (I play punk, hard rock, and rockabilly mostly), but it is still a treat to hear.

I even enjoy plugging into my $99 Crate Powerblock.

Give me my filet mignon, but don't keep me from my Big Macs either :)

HAHAHA!!!

No, like I said, the Vox/Blue combo will never be my #1 (I play punk, hard rock, and rockabilly mostly), but it is still a treat to hear.

I even enjoy plugging into my $99 Crate Powerblock.

Give me my filet mignon, but don't keep me from my Big Macs either :)

I understand. ;-)

Sometimes, the best part for the job happens to cost more, sometimes not.