Vox AC30CH Custom Series 30W Classic Head

The Vox AC30 is an incredible amplifier that has been one of the shining points of British Rock and Pop tone for years. The only issue is that they normally only come in combo formats which don’t suit everyone. Now as you can see the AC30 is available as an all valve amp head using the same circuitry as the combo for the same stunning clean and crunch tones.

Iconic British Rock

Vox have been one of the largest amp companies in the world for a long time. Their amps can be heard on countless albums by artists like Queen, Led Zeppelin, Status Quo, The Beatles, The Clash, Muse, R.E.M and Radiohead! They are known for their bright and midrange heavy sound that came from the EL84 tubes in the power amp section.

Head Design

Rated at 30w the head version of this amplifier has the same internal design as the combo version, minus the speaker of course. This means that when hooked up to the matching 2x 12″ speaker cabinet you are getting the same powerful tone that has been used by pros for years.

But why a head? you may ask. A lot of the benefits come from making the amp easier to transport as it is split in to two parts rather than just one. Also if you are playing somewhere that has a cabinet you can just rock up with your head and get playing.

Reactive Attenuator

This is not an attenuator like you would have seen before. Normally they work using a seperate volume control but the AC30CH actually has it built in to the amplifier so the master volume control works like a normal and attenuator in one. The main benefits of doing this is that you get the same amazing sound no matter the volume level.

Here’s what Vox say about the AC15CH

Based on the design of the classic AC30, the new VOX AC30CH and AC15CH are now available as a set of amp head and cabinet. Featuring a new reactive attenuator, these AC custom series units provide even more flexibility for live performance or playing at home.

Amp heads and speaker cabinet that inherit the classic VOX look and sound
Just like the other amps in Custom Series, the AC30CH and AC15CH heads utilize 12AX7 tubes in the preamp and EL84 tubes in the power amp. The V212C speaker cabinet completes the package and features two 12-inch Celestion G12M Greenback speakers for that classic British tone. The Normal and Top Boost channels each have a dedicated volume control, and the Top Boost channel also provides Treble and Bass tone controls. In the Master section, there’s the distinctive VOX Tone Cut and Master Volume that allow you to obtain a variety of sounds ranging from the extraordinarily sparkling VOX clean tone to a powerful, raw overdrive.

The familiar VOX Tremolo and Spring Reverb from the Custom Series are also found in the new AC30CH and AC15CH. These effects can be switched on/off using the optional VOX VFS2A foot switch.

What is a reactive attenuator
This is a newly designed attenuator that uses VOX’s Reactor Technology to send speaker drive information to the attenuator, optimising the interaction of the speaker and amp at any volume. This allows the speaker and amp to behave in the same way at stage or bedroom levels, delivering a sense of power and tone that cannot be obtained from conventional attenuators.