school me about laney VC30 or LC30 amps please

nickp

I'd like an AC30 but can't afford it!  

Are they in the same ballpark as the AC30?  Do we like them?  Do they take pedals well?  Which is better the VC or LC (subjective I know)?

 

I use an Engl 50w screamer for the band.  I'm not a metal head, but a rock, blues and indie type player and wannabe monquiote (funkster).  I don't run the Engl drive very high (about 10 o clock) and would like to buy a good backup amp that could cover all my needs (maybe with a kick from a pedal for high gain lead tones) but which will also give me a warmer set of sounds than the Engl for blues and funk type gigs etc.

So to summarise that old diatribe - to stand in for the Engl if it dies, but also give me tonal options for blues n stuff but cover the Hard Rock stuff with a good kick from a pedal.  not that I have any spare cash at the moment

thanks guys

Nick

vasselmeyer

VC30 is a top amp. I miss mine, especially the clean channel. They are insanely loud and for a pub gig it would be a rare place that allows you get the clean channel up to breakup volume because you'd kill the punters. I would say it's reasonably close to an AC30 but the EQ is more flexible and it can do anything from funk through jangle. The crunch channel isn't AC30-like. I would say it's British but isn't necessarily modelled on any other amp. It doesn't veer into metal territory in terms of amount of gain on offer. Classic rock and blues are where it's at.

Things to watch out for are:

the effects loop which is parallel and can behave oddly with some pedals

Shared EQ across channels. It never bothered me but I've heard some complaints about it

The 2x10 where you should try and get one with the Jensen speakers

...and perhaps you should move this to amps rather than FX?

meltedbuzzbox

I would say they are not in the ball park of an AC30 personally. 

From my experience of playing an engl screamer I would say it is a cleaner sounding amp than the Laney VC30. 

I would even say its a nicer amp all round. 

The laney VC30 is panzer tank robust and its alright, I thought it sounded more like a marshall. 

I had a Laney LH50 -II (I think thats what it was called) I would always go for one of those over a VC30.

It had a nicer clean sound

lustycourtier

dont discount the Lionheart....

stickyfiddle

I've had a VC15, VC30 (briefly!) and now an L5T Lionheart - all are similar takes on the same theme. With the tone control at each extreme, you can go fairly well between Fendery and Voxy cleans, and Voxy and Marshall 18W/Plexi-ish dirt. 

None have *quite* the chime of a great AC30 wound up, but they have a better EQ, master volume and don't weigh as much as a small car (except the 2x12 VC30, which is precisely as heavy as an AC30).

I sold my VC15 (after vowing not to...) and went the houses with Rivera and Mesa, but the moment I came back to Laney with the Lionheart I felt at home again.

markslade07

lustycourtier said:

dont discount the Lionheart....

Wisdom awarded

midlifecrisis

except the 2x12 VC30, which is precisely as heavy as an AC30).

AC30 is about 33kg   laney vc30 212 is 28kg. not unmanageable for a weekling like me.

I have the 212 but id gladly change it for a 210 though, plenty loud enough.

blobb

VC30 is great, honestly. Put it like this, I've had one for a few years and the next amp "up" I bought was a MATAMP. I think I paid about £200 for the VC30 112 which is a crazy price for what you get. Just avoid the HH speakers, they are mounted too close to the tubes and the magnets interfere. The later 70/80 doesn't do this but lots of people change the speaker out for a V30 or G12 but I haven't found the need. It can be loud but for me it's also controllable, I have a HT Boost up front sometimes.

stickyfiddle

midlifecrisis said:

except the 2x12 VC30, which is precisely as heavy as an AC30).

AC30 is about 33kg   laney vc30 212 is 28kg. not unmanageable for a weekling like me.

I have the 212 but id gladly change it for a 210 though, plenty loud enough.

My point is they both weigh precisely 1 THFM* 

*Too Heavy For Mike!!

djspecialist

stickyfiddle said:

I've had a VC15, VC30 (briefly!) and now an L5T Lionheart - all are similar takes on the same theme. With the tone control at each extreme, you can go fairly well between Fendery and Voxy cleans, and Voxy and Marshall 18W/Plexi-ish dirt. 

None have *quite* the chime of a great AC30 wound up, but they have a better EQ, master volume and don't weigh as much as a small car (except the 2x12 VC30, which is precisely as heavy as an AC30).

I sold my VC15 (after vowing not to...) and went the houses with Rivera and Mesa, but the moment I came back to Laney with the Lionheart I felt at home again.

Out of interest @stickyfiddle, in what situations do you use your L5T?  Recording, rehearsal, gigging (with / without being mic'ed up)?  How much clean headroom does that 5w give you?

stickyfiddle

djspecialist said:

stickyfiddle said:

I've had a VC15, VC30 (briefly!) and now an L5T Lionheart - all are similar takes on the same theme. With the tone control at each extreme, you can go fairly well between Fendery and Voxy cleans, and Voxy and Marshall 18W/Plexi-ish dirt. 

None have *quite* the chime of a great AC30 wound up, but they have a better EQ, master volume and don't weigh as much as a small car (except the 2x12 VC30, which is precisely as heavy as an AC30).

I sold my VC15 (after vowing not to...) and went the houses with Rivera and Mesa, but the moment I came back to Laney with the Lionheart I felt at home again.

Out of interest @stickyfiddle, in what situations do you use your L5T?  Recording, rehearsal, gigging (with / without being mic'ed up)?  How much clean headroom does that 5w give you?

Home only at the moment. It's bloody loud though tbh - I'd very happily record with it, or gig anywhere where I could mic it and get some fed back to me in monitors. I really liked that about my VC15 - I could get it sounding perfect onstage at a sensible volume, not deafen my bandmates, and let the PA take the strain.

Beexter

Never played one but have been intrigued. They seem to get a lot of praise for the tone. The only issue I'm aware of is one of the models can have issues with the tubes being very close to the speakers  - can apparently cause some problems but can't recall if it's the 1x12 or 2x12 version. Probable worth a Google....

vasselmeyer

It was the early 1x12 models with the HH Invader speaker that had that problem. The speaker was changed on later models for the Celestion "Seventy 80" model which are shallower than the HH speakers. See the pictures below for comparison:

http://www.chambonino.com/work/miscguitar/misc6j.jpg

http://www.chambonino.com/work/miscguitar/misc6k.jpg

(sourced from http://www.chambonino.com/work/miscguitar/misc6.html)

Dave_Mc

meltedbuzzbox said:

From my experience of playing an engl screamer I would say it is a cleaner sounding amp than the Laney VC30. 

I would even say its a nicer amp all round.

Good while since I tried them but I'd say the screamer is both cleaner and dirtier as well.

I know a lot of people say the vc30 is kind of like the poor man's ac30, but to me at most I'd say "ish". It's not a clone or all that close really. The lc30 is probably closer to the screamer (i.e. more fendery on the clean channel and gets more modern-sounding as well).

EDIT: as I said, though, it's been a good while since I tried them, so take all of that with a pinch of salt.

Voxman

stickyfiddle said:

midlifecrisis said:

except the 2x12 VC30, which is precisely as heavy as an AC30).

AC30 is about 33kg   laney vc30 212 is 28kg. not unmanageable for a weekling like me.

I have the 212 but id gladly change it for a 210 though, plenty loud enough.

My point is they both weigh precisely 1 THFM* 

*Too Heavy For Mike!!

A VC30-212 unpacked weight is 24.3kg or 53,46lbs

A VC30-210 is 22Kg (48.4lbs)

A Vox AC30 Custom is 71bs (greenbacks) or 73.6lbs (alnico blues)

So, much lighter than an AC30

I have the VC30-210 with the (excellent) Jensen C10Q16 speakers & spring reverb.  Superb amp, crazy loud (especially when I pair it with my matching Laney GS112-VE 1x12 extn cab), takes pedals very well, and a much smaller footprint than the 2x12.  I went for the 210 because it's lighter, smaller, and has a superb more 'vintagy' tone (the 2x12 is quite bassy, the 2x10 is just a tad toppier) that cuts through the mix better.  

Superbly flexible, there's a 4 Ohm extn cab switch, so you can play around with combinations with either the internal speakers on or off.  I have a 2x12 cab too, so I can have:

2x10

2x10 plus 1x12 cab - or 1x12 cab on its own

2x10 plus 2x12 cab - or 2x12 cab on its own

3 x 12AX7 and 4 x EL84 tubes

The 2x10 gives glorious glassy cleans - I put a Russian Electroharmonix in V2 for a bit more of a Marshally type crunch.  

Great value amps.  I owned a 1974 VC30 yonks ago.  Cleans are quite AC30 like - both amps are (incorrectly) described as Class A amps.  Difficult to really compare the AC30 driven tone vs VC30 gain channel - there are some similarities but they do sound a little different.  I was never a great fan of the AC30 'driven' tone which has a very 'distinctive/compressed' quality (superb if you're into Bryan May of course) that you either really like or you find 'blah' - so for me it's the latter & the VC30 is a much more versatile amp for the classic rock and blues that I play.  Best way I can try to describe the distortion is that it's kind of like a half way house between a Vox and a Marshall.  

An AC30 with Alnico's is noticeably louder than an AC30 with greenbacks - the latter being similar in volume to the VC30-212. 

I think Laney's are very under-rated amps.  The VC30 is more classic British tone, the LC30 is a more 'modern' sounding amp with a bit more distortion on the gin channel, but without quite the same 'sweetness' of the VC30.  Both very good amps, just down to personal taste.  They don't make the LC30 any longer, but IIRC it only came in a 1x12 package.

nickp

@Voxman - great thanks!

I'm after an amp which which will do organic bluesy tones better than the Engl which is a bit bright (and can sound harsh).  

But I plan on using pedals to kick it into ac/dc, bryan may, etc etc territory when I fancy.  

timmysoft

I toured a vc30 212 for a couple of years. I had the White one and had greenbacks fitted. Storming amp, very loud and very tough. Takes pedals better than any other amp I've ever owned. I didn't think it had the tubby low end of an ac30, it's more modern sounding with more relaxed mids. They're great amps and they can sound massive when boosted, but coming from an engl you might miss the focus and togetherness that you get.

dilbert

I have an LC30II and like it a lot and plugged into my Laney 1x12 it really comes alive. In fact the cab really brought out just how average the speaker in the LC is, so I swapped it out for a Guitar Warehouse Retro, which has really brought out the upper mids and highs.

The build quality is quite frankly, bloody awful so last year I took the opportunity while I was doing the speaker change to overhaul it and was amazed at the workmanship. 'Adequate' is being kind. One other thing I should point out; the fx loop is parallel and even with the level knob full on, the most you get is 50% wet. With the advice of @ICBM and a Cct diagram I found on the web I managed to convert it to parallel/series switchable which has made a world of difference.

 Would I buy another one ?. Probably not, but I got the LC30II and the cab for sub £300 and the tone is now where I want it so despite it's misgivings, it isn't going anywhere for a while.

hugbot

I owned a VC30, it doesent really sound like an ac30 to me. The ac30 to me is about the way it smoothly transitions into chimey dirt as you turn it up. The vc30 is discrete clean and (bad) gain channel.

Voxman

hugbot said:

I owned a VC30, it doesent really sound like an ac30 to me. The ac30 to me is about the way it smoothly transitions into chimey dirt as you turn it up. The vc30 is discrete clean and (bad) gain channel.

Bad gain? Not on mine!  I can only think that perhaps your tubes needed changing.  I put a Russian Electroharmonix in V2 on my VC30-212 and it's got a very nice crunch that's more towards the Marshally range.  And whilst AC30 cleans are chimey (most noticebly with Blue Alnico's, but less so with Greenbacks), I would describe its distortion as compressed but not chimey.  

Whilst I like the AC30 cleans and jangly milder crunch tones, I'm not actually a great fan of its distortion tone - I think it's either a type of distortion you like or you don't - as I said, it has a lot of compression.  I've always much preferred a Marshall type crunch rich in harmonic overtones, which is why I sold my (back in the day) 1974 AC30.  I suppose a lot also depends on guitars you use and the type of music you play.  

hugbot

When did you get yours? The one I had was around 8 years ago.