VOX AC30CC2 TOP BOOST TUBE SOCKET MANUAL

We recommend to change them at least every 3 years. Depending on how often you play and how hard you push the tubes you need new ones after 3 months to 3 years. They slightly lose their brilliance and the amp sounds muddy or they fail completly. Power tubes need to be changed from time to time. This can be because the tubes are not getting enough voltage from the rectifier when stressed. The volume may lowers when playing hard chords. The rectifier tube only needs to be changed if you feel the amp is not keeping its tone when playing hard chords.

If you like the sound and nothing is getting microfonic oder noisy, there is no need to change the preamp tubes. вЂ“ low microphonic tubes are suggested because noise always becomes more after the sound passes another tube.Д«asically, tubes not last forever but we must differ between preamp, power and rectifier tubes. вЂ“ high gain tube means in general more distorted sound and lower gain tubes result in a cleaner sound. Write down the combinations that improve your sound and then take these combinations and check again to find out which one is best. Let them cool down a bit, they can get very hot. But be careful while changing tubes and switch off the amp each time you chance them and only catch the tube and no other components inside the amp. Set each tube to a different position, one after another and you will hear while playing if it is better or worse. Try to get selected low noise tubes, itВґs always worth the money.ДЄfter you got some tubes, take your time to experiment. Good ones we can suggest are TAD Premium, Tung Sol, Valvo (NOS), Telefunken (NOS), Genalex Lion, Mullard, Silvania. Than you need at least 5 different tubes as basic for experimenting. LetВґs say we got 3 tubes for the channels including the phase inverter tube.

VOX AC30CC2 TOP BOOST TUBE SOCKET MANUAL

If youВґre not shure have a look in the manual or at our Info Page. Top Boost and Normal Channel mostly use ECC83/12AX7 tubes. The number of preamp tubes in the AC30 varies between the models. If you want to use other types of tubes be sure they match the specifications and the socket-layout. To really improve your sound, it is necessary to buy different factory tubes, more than you will need in the end. Good news, preamp tubes (exept NOS (New Old Stock) tubes) are in general cheaper and have more impact to the sound. Those tubes mentioned above, especially matched quartetts of EL84, tend to be expensive so you maybe donВґt want to buy more sets than needed. In our experience, the difference can be more than 50V between different factories. The main way they affect the sound is by the different output voltage they deliver to the amp. The rectifier, the GZ34 in AC30s delivers the DC the power tubes use. ThatВґs the main difference when we tried different factories (those were TAD, Mullard (new), JJ and EH). Different power tubes, the EL84 in the AC30s, can make the sound thinner or more full. But also the power tubes and rectifier tube (if you have one) have an influence. Usually, the most significant improvements in tone can be achieved by changing the preamp tubes. You may follow other peoples experiences and best practices, but if you want to find the right tubes for your taste, you should consider a decent amount of time to try and experience for yourself.Дifferent tubes may not only change the tone, but also the amount of gain/distortion respecitvely the amount of headroom.

Moreover, there are a lot of tubes available and the possible combinations are barely limited. Even different AC30 models may react differently to different tubes. However, it might not be an easy task to find the right tubes for your amp and your personal needs. In many cases, factory tubes are not the best sounding ones available and the tone can be significantly improved by upgrading to better tubes. Most amps can be improved by changing tubes.

Depending on the actual model, accessing the tubes may or may not require removing the amp chassis.

You should always get a matched set of power tubes.

This means, you do not have to rebias your amp after youвЂ™ve exchanged tubes вЂ“ just exchange them and youвЂ™re done.

The AC30 is a cathode based amp with auto-bias.

This article provides some information about tubes in conjunction with the AC30 amplifier.

Vox ac30cc2 top boost tube socket