MusicRadar

Two beautiful looking and great sounding combos from Vox.

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• Review

Most players would agree the Blues are superior in terms of their clarity, harmonic richness and overall feel - they're just 'right' for Vox amps in our opinion - but there are people who prefer the more crunchy overdrive characteristics of Greenbacks. Try both if you can.

Sounds

Loud, sparkling and with a sweet 'n' sharp edge to driving trebles, experiencing this on the end of a classic guitar is a rite of passage for every electric player.

There's some noticeable background hum, not least in the AC30, which is a non-issue for live use, but more uptight engineers might moan at you if you record with it.

"You know this sound more than you think, but it's the feel of the amplifier that will excite more."

The Normal channel could be a little dark sounding in AC30s of yore, so the addition of the bright switch here is a boon. It shifts the high-end response up much as it does on certain 'Blackface' Fenders, albeit with a hotter sense of purpose and response. Your first position chords can go from sparkling, almost 3D beauty, to a punkier, spiky edge.

Engaging the MV bypass lets you experiment with the available overdrive - the Normal channel goes through on-the-edge fur, up to enough crunch for driving rock rhythms and lighter leads; with a Les Paul's humbuckers it's a thick distortion, albeit with significant sibilant edge that evens out with lower-end colour and thump as you wind the master.

There's much more gain in the Top Boost channel. With the master volume engaged, 'hot' mode, and plenty of tone cut to roll off the edges, you can - don't laugh - approach a kind of modded Marshall-style drive with humbuckers, should you so desire, particularly with the channels linked and maxed. Brian May and then some, you might say.

That's not how most people think of Vox AC amps, of course, so going back to non-master volume and 'cool' modes lightens things to more classic Vox territory.

And what a fabulous noise it is: edge, warmth, presence and the most natural drive - it's a sound you'll associate with early Hank Marvin, rather than the plinky über cleans of his later work. Status Quo heavy'd it for the seventies, before Johnny Marr jangled through the eighties and the whole of Britpop rocked it back up for nineties. Indeed, you know this sound more than you think, but it's the feel that will excite more.

The dynamic range and frequency response of this combination of features - hand-wiring, cathode biasing, no negative feedback, Blue speakers in the 30 - is instantly remarkable to anyone who plugs in.

Which one you go for depends largely on how loud you play - the 30 has significantly more depth, headroom and clout, and you can switch it down to 15 watts, of course. On the flipside, the 15 may be everything you need.

Chances are that if you're into classic-voiced amps and tones, you're looking for a strong core clean-based sound that pushes into overdrive 'naturally' and 'musically'. Those terms are where the problems arise, as we all go about it in different ways: different pickups, strings, a pedal or three, how hard you play…

What Vox has delivered in this genesis of the AC15 and AC30 is enough flexibility to cope with all of the above and give you the response you want. The standard-issue Custom range also does that - and has reverb and tremolo - but there's no doubt these Hand Wireds are a significant sonic step up.

The £1,800-plus price for the AC30HW2X stings a bit, but just try to find another turretboard, hand-wired, 2 x 12 valve combo with Celestion Blues for less. All in, simply lovely.