The mainstay of his tone is the ac30s normal channel combined with a small treblemid boost pedal, with both usually turned all the way up. The most authentic brian may tone yet, but be warned, its very loud. Page 3 although the vox brand has been owned by numerous companies, and even though each of them has made some changes to the ac30, the amp itself has remained basically unchanged since 1965. You can still buy a new vox ac30 today so the same amp has been in production for 55 years. Employing a quartet of el84 power tubes, the ac30 custom pumps 30 watts of remarkable tone through a. Shop for the vox amplug 2 ac30 guitar headphone amp and receive free shipping on your order and the guaranteed lowest price. How to get classic vox ac30 tones using guitar modelling. Before buying, consider whether you need the extra volume and channel switching. The voltages in a vox ac30 can kill even after the power has been switched off. Vox ac30c2 guitar combo amplifier for those who crave more power, the ac30 expands on the captivating sound of its little brother by doubling the wattage. Designed in conjunction with brian may, the vox brian may custom limited edition ac30 was a limited edition with production limited to 500 amps. Dim reproduces the behavior of every component in the circuit all the way. Despite the large number of vox ac30s then in use my system successfully eliminated all.
The vox ac30 is one of the most successful british amplifiers ever made. Vox ac30 vs vox mv50ac in brian may mode part 1 duration. Mar 08, 2012 jmi era vox ac306 normal rev7 jmi era vox ac306 bass rev7. Vox brian may ac30 2006 conversion procedure to the. Ive read conflicting accounts of what speakers hes used. He used 2 non top boost fawn ac30 s running them through their normal channels cranked. Whats left is the brian may model normal channel straight to the phase splitter. Employing a quartet of el84 power tubes, the ac30 custom pumps 30 watts of remarkable tone through a pair of 12inch celestion greenback speakers. A guide to the vox ac30 valve amplifier, originally intended for service engineers but also popuplar with vox enthusiasts, the guide contains a wealth of technical information, schematics,new component layouts, photographs and historical information. The brian may guitar amp is certainly something to behold.
The result is a faithful reproduction in sound and style of those pioneering vox amps of the early 60s. The vox ac30ch delivers the classic chime and complex grind that has made the brand famous. Despite the large number of vox ac30s then in use my system successfully eliminated all ground loop hum and noise. The vox ac30 brian may is a limited edition version of the classic ac30 electric guitar amplifier. As you know, throughout his lengthy and highly successful career brian has always been associated with vox amps and his celebrated wall of nine ac30 combos is a brian may trademark that is instantly recognized in all four corners of the globe. A diehard vox fan since the late 1960s, brian may has relied on ac30s to provide his signature sound throughout.
Hes got something going on with vox, as they also released a brian may ac30 a few years back, although i do not know his level of involvement here. If only a 2x12 vox will do and you cant swing an ac30 custom, you could own one of these without feeling second best. Vox ac30 brian may custom limited edition vintage guitar. The brian may ac30 limited edition the vox showroom. Hes got something going on with vox, as they also released a brian may ac30 a few years back, although i. Welcome to vox many thanks for adding the vox ac30vrac15vr amplifier to your sonic arsenal. I know youve already stated your goals for these mods, but as people use ac30s for quite a wide spectrum of distinctly different tones from complex singlecoil chime and jangle to roaring brian may humbucker saturation what are you dialing in with yours. For those who dont know, brian may is the lead guitarist of queen. Tc thirty, is a software emulation of voxs timehonoured ac30 amplifier, and was. Amplitube brian may features precise software models of the exact live and studio. The mainstay of his tone is the ac30 s normal channel combined with a small treblemid boost pedal, with both usually turned all the way up. Jmi era vox ac306 normal rev7 jmi era vox ac306 bass rev7. Vox, in collaboration with brian may, recreated a 10 watt, 1 x 6. Check out the vox showroom for more historic information on the vox amps.
Nov 15, 2007 the iconic top boost ac30 and most other standard ac30s offered either two or three independent channels. From brians treble booster to his threeamp vox ac30 setup to his. The ac30bm was primarily hand wired, except for the rear panel mounted treble booster, which was on a printed circuit. May functions within amplitube custom shop a free software package for. Like the original, this amp delivers 30 watts of power and has standard.
Line driver system that was attached to his guitar strap and powered from the. Brian may discusses vox ac30s and shows the effect of various red special pickup settings on them. Vox custom classic ac30bm brian may signature 30w 2x12. If you dont, you could save a little more with voxs night train. The vox ac30 has a tone that resonates with people, from the jangly tones of early beatles recordings to brian mays epic wallofvox lead and riff work to the vocal, funky jazz fusion of john scofield. Treble version, redrawed schematic and more text to be fallow. The vox tradition of innovation carries on today in our. Emulating brian mays guitar amp sound sound on sound.
Brian mays lead sound on we will rock you is about as extreme as you can get from an ac30. The real secret to the vox ac30 tone is concealed in the phase inverter. Vox diagrams, schematics and service manuals download for free. Quite a diverse set of music styles which reinforces this amps versatility and enduring qualities. It was an interesting amp as it combined both a treble booster circuit. Jul 28, 2010 before buying, consider whether you need the extra volume and channel switching. Below are my schematics of the peter michalowski version of the ac30 bm amp mod. If you study the schematic closely, you may note the following. Most brian may fans will know that brians sound relies heavily on his homemade guitar and custombuilt treble booster. But do not start with an ac30 from scratch as your first project.
Bm 30 based on the classic triple vox ac30 setup, this model offers 3 amps. Service manual vox vt50 schematic heaven, tube books. Stone cold crazy tone from a strippeddown, may customized ac30. This 30watt design was one of the first to define the british sound and continues to be used on stages and in studios around the world. After first hearing via the excellent brian may news web site that a production version of brians old deacy amp would be available, i immediately decided without even seeing one that it had to be part of my collection. They appear to have also removed the cut control, dunno if its removed from the circuit or just internally hardwired to a fixed setting. Below are some of my vox ac30s used for my gigging rig and in the studio. The modifications will allow the amp to be very similar in sound and circuit to the. This in itself is a glowing tribute to the original product designed by dick denny when vox was part of jennings musical industries. Ola lehnert is a well respected amp builder and repairer in sweden. The vox ac30 users include, the shadows, the beatles, rory gallagher, brian may queen. If you want to know what vox is up to nowadays, check out the vox amps site.
Regarding the amp, brian may said, you, like me, are unimpressed by dozens of controls on a guitar amplifier. Brian may of queen is also a well known heavy user. Part of stefans test rig, featuring a vintage vox ac30 amp with his analogue. While the partial schematic above only hinted at it, i purposely kept it out of full view until now. In contrast with tubifex, this model is very specific in modelling the sound of the vox ac30 as used by brian may and includes a trebleboost emulation based on brian may s own setup.
Hi mitch, thanks for reading, and glad youre getting some useful information from the column. Amplitube brian may 2 amp 3 cab 5 stomp for amplitube created to mirror the. The other ampmodelling plugin, tc thirty, is a software emulation of vox s timehonoured ac30 amplifier, and was developed in conjunction with stefan moeller. All preamp valves except the two 12ax7ecc83 stress that the normal channel use are taken out. Vox ac30s have been a part of my life and work for 40 years now, and they always give me exactly what i need in terms of sound. Brian may guitar tone vox ac30 and vox ac15 youtube.
Based on the classic triple vox ac30 setup, this model offers 3 amps with the effects chain in a wetdrywet configuration to match brian may s iconic setup. As soon as said wall is spotted on a stage, the audience immediately knows who is. Vox brian may ac30 2006 conversion procedure to the dave. Ik multimedias brian may collection for amplitube tested by. Hes boosted his signal with a cornish tb83 extra, g2 or a tube screamer, boss ce2 for chorus. Valve reactor technology hasnt slain the allvalve amp, but we are impressed. My duties included the maintenance and repair of amplifiers and guitars and also. Oct 21, 2016 hi mitch, thanks for reading, and glad youre getting some useful information from the column.
It was designed by our uk based vox engineering team and built by our state of the art, vertically integrated manufacturing fac ility and were sure itll give you countless hours of great guitar tones that will feel as good as they sound. Vox amplug 2 ac30 guitar headphone amp guitar center. Vox ac30c2 custom 2channel 30watt 2x12 guitar combo reverb. Stone cold crazy tone from a strippeddown, maycustomized ac30. If you know how an ac30 works, then take that and remove the brilliant and vibrato channels. The vox brian may special vbm1 is a small guitar combo amp for the early 2000s. He is currently touring with his old ac30s and a marshall head with a 4x12. Aside from the treble boost the ac30bm is hand wired, albiet in china, probably by 4 year olds jk. The real ac30 is one of the most sought after amps in the world. By january 1976 brian may was using 9 x ac30 amps on stage and the. There have been so many iterations and reissues of the vox ac30 over the years, so thanks for being very specific as to which model you have and even supplying the schematic. Both mike and peter are very experienced with the brian may guitars pedals and. The vox tradition of innovation carries on today with products designed to achieve unprecedented tonal flexibility. But the thing sounds amazing, better than any of the boutique stuff in that price range.
Conversion procedure for vox brian may ac30 2006 to dave peterson ac30. Jan 11, 2012 brian may discusses vox ac30s and shows the effect of various red special pickup settings on them. Weber sells an ac30 like kit called the 6v30 which is moderately close to a 60s 3channel ac30, but you get only parts and a layout and schematic, and youd want to upgrade some of. Vox ac30 amplifier the specifications of the vox ac306 tb are the result of painstaking research by our guitarists and engineers, who were not happy until they re created the amp that started it all. Bm 30 based on the classic triple vox ac30 setup, this model offers 3 amps with the effects chain in a wetdrywet configuration to match brian may s classic setup bm dk originally fashioned by queen bassist, john deacon, after modifying an old radio, the diminutive deacy amp is the trademark sound behind many of brian may s classic recordings. He used 2 non top boost fawn ac30s running them through their normal channels cranked. The vox ac30 was originally introduced in 1959 at hank marvins request as the big brother of the fifteen watt 15 w ac15 model, vox s original flagship amplifier, because the ac15 was not loud enough with the screaming fans at cliff richards concerts. I spoke to stefan moeller about his fascination with the brian may guitar sound. The circuits are not the same at all, even though it may appear so on the schematics. Vox brian may special vbm1 owners manual pdf download.
And so is the edge of u2 who got famous for using his korg sdd3000 delay in combination with vox ac30 amps for getting that wide and spacious sound. I would like to bring to your kind attention that the ac30 chassis and faceplates are available at uk uk based retailer. Vox ac30c2 custom 2channel 30watt 2x12 guitar combo. The last vox i drew a schematic to had an extra gain stage and circuitry that wasnt on the schematics. Below is just the phase inverter tube, and the associated circuitry. I know youve already stated your goals for these mods, but as people use ac30s for quite a wide spectrum of distinctly different tones from complex singlecoil chime and jangle to roaring brian mayhumbucker saturation what are you dialing in with yours. Vox brian may ac30 2006 conversion procedure to the dave peterson ac30 specification danger this document is for use by qualified and experienced amplifier technicians. Save for its singular singleknob control panel in bright red finish, a quick glance at the new vox ac30 brian may custom limited edition amplifier reveals little if anything that separates it. Im not sure why voxkorg doesnt just get the schematic from him for whatever that little box he made was, and make that. The vox ac30 was originally introduced in 1959 at hank marvins request as the big brother of the fifteen watt 15 w ac15 model, voxs original flagship amplifier, because the ac15 was not loud enough with the screaming fans at cliff richards concerts. Save for its singular singleknob control panel in bright red finish, a quick glance at the new vox ac30 brian may custom limited edition amplifier reveals little if anything that separates it from the typical ac30.
The ac30 brian may amplifier 2006 model the vox showroom. The iconic top boost ac30 and most other standard ac30s offered either two or three independent channels. Getting that vox sound with softube amp melodiefabriek. If you dont, you could save a little more with vox s night train. Vox released a limited edition brian may ac30 back in 2006 called the. Bm dk originally created by john deacon, after modifying an old radio. Primarily i use a cbs arbiter centredry, a greg fryer modified tbx for left wet and a dave peteresen modifed tbx for the right wet this is the same configuration brian used on the al murray show performance in 2008. The official home of brian may guitars an exciting range of fretted instruments. Like the original, this amp delivers 30 watts of power and has standard 14 inch connections for plugging your instrument in. He is currently touring with his old ac30 s and a marshall head with a 4x12. As long as brian has been playing guitar there has been a wall of ac30s standing behind him. The amplitube custom shop is a free software package for your mac or pc that. However, this ac30 mimics customisations may has carried out on his own amps for years.
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