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Comments
I'm not sure I'd choose to own both at the same time, they cover a lot of similar ground.
The DC30 sounds like a stiffer, harder version of an AC30 - similar sounding, but it's different. Part of the AC30's charm is that it sounds like it's working really hard to give up the tone. Matchless is more effortless, more muscular. Both amps sound incredible. As posted above, the alnico blues are a big part of the AC30 tone but Matchless also have the mismatched speaker load, the mismatched speaker types and the massive filtering - all of which push the amp tone away from 'classic' AC30.
I went around the houses when looking for the top-boost tone, I started with AC30's, lusted after and eventually bought a DC30 thinking it was a 'better' Vox, decided it was too loud and heavy and ended up with a smaller Lightning 15 after a long love affair with Cornell amps, played an AC30 again and bought one (Korg UK reissue) and I've ended up with a couple of 60's AC30's. Full circle, lots of money spent getting back to where I started!
FWIW - I don't like EF86's in AC30's or DC30's.
I will echo that it doesn’t really sound like an AC30
it has its own thing
Ive played a C30 at World Guitars a few times, and the clean channel alone (even at the less desirable lower volumes) sounded epic.
I miss my old Lightning too; would buy a head in a flash !
A small defence of the EF86? The valve is in the first place not really suited as a high gain front end for a guitar amp. Pentodes are inherently noisier than triodes (the 86 actually makes a pretty good triode) and you don't really want ALL that gain in one stage.
Unless proper attempts to stop it are made, RF will break through. 'Back in the Day' there was not so much RF kit about.
Microphony. Old hi-fi designs used 'shock mount' construction for valveholders for high gain stages. Does the AC X? And again, triodes are more suited as front ends! In any case, putting a speaker capable of 120dBSPL+ with stacks of gain behind it inches from a valve (any valve!) is bloody silly! But peeps WANT combos!
Reliability: The Artisans, 15 &30 W uses an 86 but at very low gain just to get 'pentode sound' . I think I had ONE die in 3 years?
Dave.
I also dislike EF86s in this type of amp.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
Ooo! I remember those Selmers! Always thought it was the very best way to make a valve combo. Put the heavy PA traff stuff at the bottom of the cab and have an umbilical up to the lightweight pre amp.
Sadly, costafortune to do now. In fact I have a valve pre amp so made and was going to power it with 20V DC and use a chip/MOSFET 300V converter. One of 100 things I shall never do now!
Dave.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
Oh! Tw*ts. I still have a couple of pristine octal line sockets with covers if anyone has the need?
Dave.