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I've read many times about the origin of the AC30 and that the very first model had a cabinet fitted with just one 12 inch speaker. The actual circuitry was quite different as well in as far as the output stage used two EL34 valves rather than the later arrangement of four EL84 valves.

I don't ever remember seeing a picture of that model and would not have thought that it was marketed. However, just a few days ago a friend of mine sent me a copy of some Vox leaflets in order to show me the early AC10 model and to my surprise the picture to the left of it showed the first AC30!

I've posted it here out of interest.

Nice one Roger . I had read about the early versions not too many of them knocking around eh !

What would you reckon the year ?

There are no dates on the copies that I have but my guess would be ''59/'60.

rogera wrote:I've read many times about the origin of the AC30 and that the very first model had a cabinet fitted with just one 12 inch speaker. The actual circuitry was quite different as well in as far as the output stage used two EL34 valves rather than the later arrangement of four EL84 valves.

I don't ever remember seeing a picture of that model and would not have thought that it was marketed. However, just a few days ago a friend of mine sent me a copy of some Vox leaflets in order to show me the early AC10 model and to my surprise the picture to the left of it showed the first AC30!

In 1959, the first AC30 was indeed a single 12" speaker model, powered by two EL34. It's mentionned on Jim Elya's book (page 61), and I rememer reading a detailed article about it on the Vintage Guitar site but it's not online anymore.
Only a very few were made. I doubt that the single 12" Rola speaker could have long handled the output of two EL34 !

Didier

Hi Didier,
In the same book it states that they were replaced by the EL84 AC30 twin in April / May 1960.

In fact the early AC30 singles with EL34's were grid biased rather than Cathode Biased,
so would they have sounded more like early Marshalls?

It was reckoned that Dick Denney preferred the sound of 4 El84's to 2 El34's..

Amanda

Amanda wrote:Hi Didier,
In the same book it states that they were replaced by the EL84 AC30 twin in April / May 1960.

4 EL84 means less power than 2 EL34, and two speakers instead of one means that the speakers were not overpowered, as it was obviously the case with the first AC30 !

It was reckoned that Dick Denney preferred the sound of 4 El84's to 2 El34's..

No doubt that the sound was better in this case !

Didier