Stone cold crazy tone from a stripped-down, May-customized AC30.
The AC30BM is Vox's tribute to Brian May. As long as Brian has been playing guitar there has been a wall of AC30s standing behind him. The mainstay of his tone is the AC30's Normal Channel combined with a small treble/mid boost pedal, with both usually turned all the way up. With Brian's help Vox has created the AC30BM: a re-creation of Brian's stage guitar amp and boost pedal setup. Just like Brian's customized setup, it gives you everything you need and nothing you don't.
The top panel has Power and Standby switches and a single chicken-head Volume knob. The treble booster has been integrated into the amplifier and is footswitchable. Vox also incorporated a unique 15W switch on the back panel that works unlike any other half-power switch. It changes the number of output valves, the value of the output valve bias cathode resistor that biases the valves, and changes the impedance of the output transformer, resulting in a true 15W Class A circuit. The amp construction is predominantly hand wired with a few pieces of printed board circuitry used where hand-wired components on turret tags is unsuitable.
All this premium tone and serious sonic power is translated through two Celestion/Vox Blue Alnico 12" speakers. This limited edition run of only 500 combos worldwide will never be repeated.
"You, like me, are unimpressed by dozens of controls on a guitar amplifier. You want one knob, and it sounds perfect - right? Well, this is it.
To the best of our capability and belief, here is an amp you will never have to mess with. If it sounds great for you today, it will always sound great. Power up, plug in, turn up the ONE volume knob, and play. We hope you love it - the concept and the amp.
This is a very special edition of the classic Vox AC30—and we do mean classic. This amp faithfully and gloriously recreates every nuance of the legendary '50s Class A Vox AC30. Only the frills have been taken away to maximize power, clarity, and efficiency. And a couple of very important options have been added: a built-in switchable treble booster, exactly on the lines of my own units, switchable adaptability to the room size, and a standby switch. Simple. Sweet. It will sing for you."
- Brian May
