British amp with an American soul

[silvertonebetty]

I’m looking at getting an amp built for me in March .its from a company in Halifax Nova Scotia . I love the look of the old British amps but honestly I’ve played a few vox and marshal amps but none really impressed me . I found my vox ac30vr 2x12 really thin sounding and well marshal that’s just I haven’t played enough to make a opinion of them. I’ve played many fenders that most I really dig the cleans . My Mesa is the bomb but it is so big . So I’m told to call the owner of dr.dan amp repairs tonight to talk about what I want .
I’m looking for an marshal blues beaker ? Style combo but 2x12 with a pair of ether celestion vintage 30s or electrovoice black shadow . Some thing like a fender pro reverb but 30-40 watts . Here’s marshal style combo I’d like him to use but in a 2x12
Reds my favourite colour so yeah


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[silvertonebetty]

Here’s some other stuff he does
And here is my 2979 Mesa Boogie Mark IIA. Look at this amp porn lol


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[pompeiisneaks]

Isn't the AC30vr a mostly solid state amp? I believe it just uses a single preamp tube for some tone shaping and then solid state for the power stage. I'd not qualify that as the same thing as a true AC30 at all. Just my 2c. I don't know of that company of which you speak, so I can't speak to that question really. If you want to hear a real AC30 I'd recommend at least using one of the C2 or CC2 models so you get the full el84 output stage.

~Phil

[silvertonebetty]

Isn't the AC30vr a mostly solid state amp? I believe it just uses a single preamp tube for some tone shaping and then solid state for the power stage. I'd not qualify that as the same thing as a true AC30 at all. Just my 2c. I don't know of that company of which you speak, so I can't speak to that question really. If you want to hear a real AC30 I'd recommend at least using one of the C2 or CC2 models so you get the full el84 output stage.

~Phil

I haven’t played a cc2 in ages . It wasn’t bad world ahead of the vr


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[pompeiisneaks]

I guess the bigger point I was trying to make is the AC30vr isn't a real AC30, it's an attempt to make one as close as possible for a lot cheaper. The current C2 and CC2 aren't that close either, since Korg bought out Vox anyway, the originals are where it's at imo. But either way, If you want that kind of build I'd say go for it, finding the right tone is a long uphill struggle. There are a lot of options in amps if you want one custom built. I'd say you should be 100% sure that's the tone you want before you have them build it, but that's just personal preference, so it can be hard to 'define'.

~Phil

[silvertonebetty]

I guess the bigger point I was trying to make is the AC30vr isn't a real AC30, it's an attempt to make one as close as possible for a lot cheaper. The current C2 and CC2 aren't that close either, since Korg bought out Vox anyway, the originals are where it's at imo. But either way, If you want that kind of build I'd say go for it, finding the right tone is a long uphill struggle. There are a lot of options in amps if you want one custom built. I'd say you should be 100% sure that's the tone you want before you have them build it, but that's just personal preference, so it can be hard to 'define'. For the price he quoted and the fact he won’t do tremolo I think il just find a used ac30 cc2

~Phil

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[pompeiisneaks]

Seems you missed replying? you just quoted me and no further response?

~Phil

[silvertonebetty]

Seems you missed replying? you just quoted me and no further response?

~Phil

Woops . He quoted $1800 cad for an 18 watt amp with no reverb or tremolo . He won’t nether . I can find a used vox ac30 cc2 for $600-$700 cad and get a nice guitar for the price of the single 12 blues beaker clone


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[sonicmojo]

He quoted $1800 cad for an 18 watt amp with no reverb or tremolo .

That sounds about right to me for a hand wired amp from a boutique builder. I don't know anything about Dr. Dan amps but I took a look at some inside pictures and they look very nice, kind of what most of the builders who frequent this site tend to do in the Marshall realm. Turret board, quality components, etc. It costs plenty of money just for the good parts and forget about the time spent building them.....

You're comparing apples to oranges I think.

[pompeiisneaks]

Yeah sonicmojo is right, if you want a marshall custom amp, that's in the price range, you were talking about other types of amps. An 18 watt plexi type is going to sound marshally, very british sound, no american soul. I think if you know the exact amp(s) you want, it would be best to find someone that can build that amp for you, maybe do some tweaks you would like as well, but still you're in the 1800 to 2500 minimum and if you add complexity you get much higher. The vox ac30cc2/c2 are a circuit board based amp that's mass produced where Korg can buy the components in the hundreds of thousands for major price breaks. Their PCB design isn't great either, it's done to a price. They work. The hand builders have to pay only slightly less than retail for their components at low unit quantities, and therefore that alone raises the price. The fact that they also put 3 to 4 times the hours into building one that a mass manufacturer does, makes that price go up a lot more. This kind of custom work is in the 50-100$ an hour range, depending on where you live for any profession that requires that complicated of electrical knowledge.

~Phil

[pompeiisneaks]

Oh and I should also qualify that the blues breaker is just a bassman as far as I recall. Getting someone to clone you a Fender 5F6A bassman would get you what you want. Also, I'd suggest having it done as a head, so you can pick your own speaker cabinet or have them build you one with the speakers you want. That gives you a lot of adaptability and makes it a lot easier to lug around

~Phil

[Rockwell666]

Dr.Dan does great Reproductions and is in Canada .....but it sounds like you are looking for something custom. Best bet is to go to your local music store and test all the tube amps out. it will blow you away the options available. From there you can relay exactly what you want to a custom builder.

[sonicmojo]

This thread reminds me of a time when I was in college (late 80s) with my spanking brand new big ass Fender Stage II twin amp. I was not a good guitarist and had little to no knowledge of tone at the time and got dragged to an open mic with a buddy who had a tiny little Fender amp (probably a blackface Deluxe Reverb). At the time I could not figure out why his "old" looking beat up amp just killed mine on tone and sound projection. I was clueless, utterly clueless about this stuff at the time and never even asked why his amp sounded so good. I was just bummed that mine seemed so lifeless and anemic. But this memory stuck with me and now I know......

To OP, I suggest you should check out some Vintage Fender Silverfaces that come fairly reasonable still if you look enough. You could then have someone tweak it a bit with british style speakers and maybe some minor mods to get them more toward the sound you want, especially if you want reverb and tremolo. Then you have a custom amp that will totally confuse people who expect it to be a plain old clean Fender amp.

I picked up a '74 Vibrosonic Reverb last year for $500 and did the Hotel Hog Dumble mod which has a lot of Marshall component values in it. It is still clean enough to add pedals for other sounds..... It is a keeper for me.

[shupe13]

Nothing thin about this AC30CC2! I absolutely love this amp.


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[fred.violleau]

@silvertoneBetty, finding the right tone is a quest for life.
I have played Marshalls, Fenders, Mesa Boogies, and once an old Vox AC30. And I am building my first tube amp.

From what I understand you enjoy your mesa boogie .. on the clean side? Break up side ? Distortion side?

Fender is usually more scooped sounding

A few points :
- black shadow speakers are very precise almost hifi (in the guitar world), compared to celestion V30

- a bluesbraker type amp with two 12' is going to be quite heavy to haul, almost as much as your Mesa.

- mesa boogie offers a very punchy sound and quite modern which is very different from an old Vox or a Fender.

I would sit in a shop that has new stuff (jackson amps seems to be very interesting these days, covering lots of different sounds, two rocks could be a good fit two...) and old stuff (fender blackface, old plexi, old bluesbraker) and try them out to get these sounds in your hear.

Nothing sounds like an old amp, but some new brand offer good products too.
It usually is expensive to get the right amp, specially a tube amp... quality of the components etc... And your playing evolves over time so your taste will also change.

I would advise me too 2 separate speakers for your custom build (1 1x12' combo + 1x12 extension). That will be much easier to carry around.

You will also be able to put the speakers further away from one another, augmenting the space of your guitar sound .

Patience, time, and experience are key to build Perfect your tone . And you know what? After more than 20 years of playing and looking for the ultimate tone, the quest is still worth it and I still enjoy every minute of it!

Have fun!


Fred, learning everyday!