Your thoughts on Axe-Fx II Vox AC30 clips and tube names? Help me <3

Cobrango

Power User
Hi, I'm really getting into the whole Vox ac30 thing, and I'm looking to buy the ac30 cc2 or cch, maybe do the Lyle Caldwell mods and I would really love to hear what the axe-fx II can do. I've not heard that much Vox stuff from the axe-fx II so hit me up with what you've got or have heard elsewhere.

Here are some examples of what I'm looking for, not that I'm going for the exact Brian May sound in the second clip, but I love the harmonic complexity - have you heard something like this from your very own Axe-fx II? Does it only come down to volume?

It's sad to say but most of my playing on the axe-fx II has been through headset, and I know I can't get this kind of response without the natural feedback loop going on beetween the guitar and speakers, but what are your thoughts on these sounds from the clips below? Luckily my situation is about to change as my girlfriend bought me a pair of JBL LSR 308 MK II's for my 30th birthday - holy shit I know right?? - so I guess I won't be playing through headset much more :cool:

Also, is there a list somewhere on what exact tubes are used *ahem* modeled, in the axe-fx II? I read somewhere about the ecc83 being Mullard and different from the 12ax7 or something, I'd love to have pictures or something of the tubes modeled with brand names etc. Like we already have in the axe-fx II community made guides regarding pedals, amps, cabs etc.

The tone in the first clip when he turns it up at 0:13 is f****** sick! :O



 
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The Axe Fx 2 AC30 is still an approximation, I feel there are some mid gain amps on this generation of hardware that are not right.

The AC30 is one.

The Axe 2 version is outrageously shrill, lacking in warmth and lacking in mid frequency punch.

It sounds like I'm playing a DI guitar sometimes through that model.

High gain, the Axe 2 has nailed, mid/low gain.... Not so much.
 

Ah come on yek, at least give a man some tube names, lol.

I get that the whole (not U2 in my case) ac30 thing probably is discussed to death before from cork sniffers, but I just want some objective tips from the tones in these two clips.

be it from a Vox, a french bulldog, or a banana - I'm just curious about tone tips for these exact tones, maybe a little dab of no negative feedback, sprinkle on some this and that drive and such and such master volume settings etc.

The harmonics and puuurring low mids just makes my arm hairs raise. Just give me something, this sounds unique to me and I just want some insight as to why.

The axe-fx II is not dead! long live the axe-fx II :D
 
I’m not an AC30 guy, I’ve actually never even fired up any of them. I’m just here to adamantly say that the Fractal can do mid/low/edge of breakup absolutely stunningly. So much so that I will go as far as saying it can, or should I say has the ability to do it better than its real life counterpart. It can do this because you can tweak settings in the virtual world that you just couldn’t do in the real world.
Fractal is a blessing for mid/low & edge of breakup tone & feel once you understand how to set everything up.

Here is a patch I made tryin to get close to that tone in the first clip @ 0:13, Its not that long so noy a lot to go on..
https://www.dropbox.com/s/rgc2i4hzhw7x2i6/AC30TB 10.01.syx?dl=0
 
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Any time I thought about getting an AC-30 (huge U2 geek here) that dream quickly died after contact with a real AC-30. As in trying to pick one up. Man, that thing is a back breaker! So 90 to 95% of the sound coupled with 100% less back breaking with the Axe-FX? Sign me up for that shit! :D
 
I never really paid much attention to the Vox amps.. dunno why, just never did. I will say I’m surprised at how much OD came out of it, especially after adding a pedal in front of it. That patch I was just messing with was rippin. Maybe a little too much, I dunno, I have zero experience with the real deal.
 
I have a Psionic Audio (Lyle Caldwell) modded AC30CC2. It has a Weber Blue Dog and Weber Silver Bell speakers in it. It also has power scaling, so the Master Volume is cranked to 10 and the windows are still intact. I can use it very low volumes and it still sounds like a cranked AC30, on the verge of breakup. The tubes in it are JJ’s and the preamp tubes are a matched set, with medium distortion.

I also own an Axe-Fx II MK-I and soon an AX8. I absolutely love the Axe-Fx on it’s own, with headphones with amp. sims. and in front of my AC30. I have it setup so that what I hear in my headphones is basically identical to what I hear when I remove my headphones and hear what’s coming out of the AC30, via the FX-Loop and both are at the same volume.

Here’s a sample of some clips I recorded, some with Axe-Fx amp. sims. only and some of the AC30, with the Axe-Fx in front of the AC30 for effects, recorded with a Beta 58. Sorry for the lack of band variety. :)

https://soundcloud.com/user-572619291
 
The Axe Fx 2 AC30 is still an approximation, I feel there are some mid gain amps on this generation of hardware that are not right.

The AC30 is one.

The Axe 2 version is outrageously shrill, lacking in warmth and lacking in mid frequency punch.

It sounds like I'm playing a DI guitar sometimes through that model.

High gain, the Axe 2 has nailed, mid/low gain.... Not so much.
that's crazy talk, the AxeFx kills those tones.
 
The Axe Fx 2 AC30 is still an approximation, I feel there are some mid gain amps on this generation of hardware that are not right.

The AC30 is one.

The Axe 2 version is outrageously shrill, lacking in warmth and lacking in mid frequency punch.

It sounds like I'm playing a DI guitar sometimes through that model.

High gain, the Axe 2 has nailed, mid/low gain.... Not so much.

It was not popular with the usual suspects here when I posted it a while back but after taking my Axe and a FRFR speaker to a band rehearsal and a guy showed up with a real amp a great guitar I just went and bought a Vox (15 not 30). $500 got me what about $2,500+ could not. I could probably also get close to what I paid for it if I sold it which is not something I can say about the Axe either.

The Axe does have a convenience factor as it is easier to cart around and the effects are good enough for me (the Edo U2 presets are great actually). Hooking up to a PA and stage sound are also easier to control with the Axe. The solutions suggested were to spend even more money to make it sound like the less expensive amp by buying cabs and the like.
 
I bought a Vox ac15 and compared it to my axe ii. Sent the ac15 back because the axe fx absolutely nailed the tone. No special tweaks needed that I remember. This was several years ago; the axe has only improved since that time.
 
The Axe Fx 2 AC30 is still an approximation, I feel there are some mid gain amps on this generation of hardware that are not right.

The AC30 is one.

The Axe 2 version is outrageously shrill, lacking in warmth and lacking in mid frequency punch.

It sounds like I'm playing a DI guitar sometimes through that model.

High gain, the Axe 2 has nailed, mid/low gain.... Not so much.

I use the VOX models for most of my patches and largely for the mid/low gain tones; because they are almost identical to the original JMI model I used to have.

I suspect you probably paired up with the wrong cab combination if you had such a bad impression of the AC30.
 
Love the AC-30. One of my go-to amps in both my Axe fx and AX8. I probably use the AC 30 more than any other model. To each their own. To say that it's shrill and lacks warmth tells me that you don't have it dialed in well. I encourage you to give it another try.
 
I have a Psionic Audio (Lyle Caldwell) modded AC30CC2. It has a Weber Blue Dog and Weber Silver Bell speakers in it. It also has power scaling, so the Master Volume is cranked to 10 and the windows are still intact. I can use it very low volumes and it still sounds like a cranked AC30, on the verge of breakup. The tubes in it are JJ’s and the preamp tubes are a matched set, with medium distortion.

I also own an Axe-Fx II MK-I and soon an AX8. I absolutely love the Axe-Fx on it’s own, with headphones with amp. sims. and in front of my AC30. I have it setup so that what I hear in my headphones is basically identical to what I hear when I remove my headphones and hear what’s coming out of the AC30, via the FX-Loop and both are at the same volume.

Here’s a sample of some clips I recorded, some with Axe-Fx amp. sims. only and some of the AC30, with the Axe-Fx in front of the AC30 for effects, recorded with a Beta 58. Sorry for the lack of band variety. :)

https://soundcloud.com/user-572619291

Thanks for all the replies guys! I thought it would be very quiet in here, but give the thread a few days and here you all are, great! :)

I have played live and such but I have not tested my axe-fx II that much with FRFR at volume, I guess I have some more testing to do but Toopy14 - your amp is my goal at the moment!

I'm looking to buy a Vox ac30 cc2 mk2 to do the Lyle Caldwell mods and also install the power scaling! This is sick, you're kind of the man I'm looking for! We need to talk! hehe. Not because I want your amp, I'll find another one :p

Thinking about throwing in a couple of vintage 30's in it when I get to buy one. I have a ac30 cc2 mk1 which I'm wondering about buying, but I know it's just going to be a placeholder until I get a good looking cc2 mk2.

Even though I'm not experienced with ac30 amps, I've geeked up online and read tons of forum posts and stuff on vox pages - the ac30 cc2 mk2 is the one I'm looking for, no doubt. At least for my first ac30. Maybe in the future

I'll get hold of a reissue ac30/6 with the ef86 or something, but anyway, awesome to hear you've got the exact amp I'm looking for Toopy14! I'm so excited now!!

Also I'll look into how to get these sounds from the axe-fx II. It may be much to ask for, but I'm kind of hoping the guys who have done the amp guides could do the same thing for the tube models, like just with some pictures and info about the exact tubes used in the axe-fx. I know I can just use my ears to hear if the Mullard is fantastic or not, but since we don't have the hardware it kind of gives some of that excitement to read about what's actually going on in there, only modeled :p

I can't watch the tubes glow and I need something else to hold on to, lol

Again thanks for all the kind replies and keep em' coming! <3
 
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