'It will never let you forget it has transistors.' Think of any guitar solo from the album, and you know what this amp can do.' He also goes on to unflinchingly state that the 730 isn’t exactly warm–sounding. Here’s how Elyea describes the Vox UL730: 'The 730 is the Sgt. Think of any guitar solo from the album, and you know what this amp can do.' - Jim Elyea Used copies of the book commonly sell for more than $100, and its 682 pages will take some weight training to hoist onto your coffee table. Pepper amp” and describes it in exacting detail in his definitive 2012 tome Vox Amplifiers: The JMI Years. We know this through photos and the authoritative word of Jim Elyea, who at one point owned the largest collection of pre–1970 Vox amps in the world.Įlyea has dubbed the 730 “the Sgt. The Vox UL730 was designed as a hybrid of tube and solid–state technology, and somehow it ended up present in the studio for all of the Sgt. Is it a trumpet? A tape loop? A swardmandal? No, it’s a funky Vox amplifier with only about 100 units produced and most of them promptly destroyed: the UL730. Pepper’s sound and just about totally unknown. It’s no exaggeration to say that it’s both at the heart of the Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Heart’s Club Band upon us, it’s time to look at one piece of Beatles equipment that gearheads and non–gearheads alike should know and revere but don’t. Even Fab Four lovers who normally couldn’t care less about equipment know about the Rickenbacker 12–string guitar, the Hofner violin bass, and the Vox AC30 amplifiers.īut with the 50th anniversary of Sgt. Additionally, a 2nd output jack – the extension speaker jack – allows you to run an extra 16 ohm cabinet along with the internal speakers for a fuller sound.So much has been made of The Beatles’ musical gear over the years, thanks in large part to their television and movie appearances. All models in the Custom Series offer a switchable 8/16 ohm jack for powering an external speaker cabinet when you need to speak with a little more authority using this jack will mute the internal speakers. You can choose either the AC30C2 with a G12M Greenback speakers or the AC30C2X that uses the Alnico Blue Speakers. A quartet of EL84 valves in the power stage drives 30 watts of power through a two 12” Celestion Speaker. The AC30 Custom Series makes use of 3 x 12AX7 preamp valves. True “Bypass” switching takes the entire effect loop out of the circuit. The AC30C2 and AC30C2X also provide an effects loop for incorporating your favourite effects into your sound. All AC30 Custom amps can use the VOX VFS2A footswitch, allowing you to turn the Reverb and Tremolo effects on and off as you continue to play. The AC30C2 and AC30C2X also include an additional tone control in the Reverb section. A warm Spring Reverb is also included, adding spaciousness to the sound. Both the speed and the depth are adjustable, allowing you to generate just the sound you want. You can sweeten the sound of the AC30 Custom Series using the VOX Classic Tremolo effect. By balancing the individual and Master volumes, the Custom Series can deliver everything from a clean VOX “chimey” sound to a powerful overdriven tone. The Master Volume control works in conjunction with the individual volumes of each channel to create just the right degree of gain-staging. The Tone Cut control operates in the power stage rather than the preamp stage, allowing an additional degree of tone-shaping. This powerful channel pairing provides an abundance of tone-crafting control, letting you dial in a classic sound that is all your own.īoth channels rely on the Tone Cut and Volume controls in the Master section. Each channel is equipped with its own Volume control, and the Top Boost channel offers highly interactive Treble and Bass tone controls. The VOX AC30 Custom Series amp offer two channels: Normal and Top-Boost. Two Celestion speaker options G12M “Greenbacks” or Alnico Blues.External and extension speaker output jacks.Gain and Master Volume allow for warm overdrive at any level.Twin channel design provides Normal and Top Boost tone.The VOX AC30 combo amp has been an icon for decades, known as the sound that powered the 1960s’ “British Invasion.” Based on the classic AC30 design, the Custom Series AC30C2 and AC30C2X offer numerous up-to-date enhancements, delivering the most versatile AC30 design in VOX history. AC30C2: T he most versatile AC30 design in VOX history

History of vox amps