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I found a couple of amps on CL and wanted to get some feedback on if you think either of these are good deals

1970 Fender Twin Reverb Silverface AB763 - $750

This Twin does not have the master volume. Is that good or bad? $750 seems to be a good price.



White Vox AC-30 - $700



If you have owned one of these amps please chime in.

Thanks.

Never owned and I'm not sure if I ever will, but that white AC30 looks like my dream amp.

Yeah, who gives a shit what it sounds like that vox looks tits mcgee.

Both are lovely amps, I really like the look of that AC30 but for me I'd be all over the twin.

I paid $500 for my Twin of the same year. It was a previous rental from a shop that was closing down soon. I've easily put $200+ into it with new tubes and repairs in the near 10 years I've owned it now. I think $750 is kind of a good deal for a vintage Fender amp, but not the steal of the century (FWIW, my local shop has offered to take mine for $550 in trade, so they'd likely be reselling it for $800ish.)

That white Vox looks awesome. I've heard things about new AC-30s breaking down constantly but not sure how founded those rumors are and which years/models they affect if any. I think $700 for that Vox is a pretty good deal; if it were a standard black one I'd say it was about right, for a limited color that usually means it'll hold it's value better.

I haven't owned the Ac-30 but I've played several of them. The cleans are outstanding but with distortion it's kinda meh which you'd expect from a vox. The distortion is by no means bad, it's just nothing special.

Both master and non-master volume Twins have their charms... so long as you don't intend to benefit from having a master volume, that is...

I have some experience with the Red Knob and the Super Twin (both master volume variants) and found that the only way to get them to sound good was with the master almost all the way open and the preamp volume down, which completely defeats the point of having a master volume.

Trying to get low volume cleans made the amps sound flat and farty and as you open up the preamp, the amps get progressively shriller and eventually break up in a kind of gravelly hard clipping distortion. Not very pleasant.

I currently have 2 electric guitar amps. I tend to favor Fender amps but I know lots of people love Vox and my experience with them is very limited.

I have a 73 Fender VibroChamp. I love the tremolo and it's compact size. No reverb though. I really like the look of the old Silverface Fender amps.
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I also have a Marshall JTM30 with 12" speaker. It's a one channel amp with a gain stage that I never used. It's very Fendery sounding for a Marshall. The reverb stinks. It's cranked up to full power and you almost miss it. My old Blues Junior set to 2 on reverb has more than this amp. It has a XLR output that is great for recording demos and stuff. I have always liked this amp but I would like something with reverb and more options.

the 60w, 4x10 version of that marshall is fucking amazing. got two fx loops too! (one series, one parallel)

spirograph wrote:the 60w, 4x10 version of that marshall is fucking amazing. got two fx loops too! (one series, one parallel)

I have the 60W 1x12 version which I got for free with melted valve bases and dodgy effects loop sockets. After radical surgery and an effects loop jumper cable it's my prime gigging amp.

Shipping and import charges in, I paid $750 for my 1972 Twin Reverb... it was a good price.
Mine has a Master, and I find that useful, but, really, even with the channel cranked and the master adjusting volume, these are clean amps. They're not intended to dirt up, and they really don't.

laterallateral wrote:I have some experience with the Red Knob and the Super Twin (both master volume variants) and found that the only way to get them to sound good was with the master almost all the way open and the preamp volume down, which completely defeats the point of having a master volume.

Trying to get low volume cleans made the amps sound flat and farty and as you open up the preamp, the amps get progressively shriller and eventually break up in a kind of gravelly hard clipping distortion. Not very pleasant.

These are somewhat different amps than the standard Twin Reverbs... they're higher wattage with rather different circuits. The Twins like mine, this and the black faces are clean, not intended to dirt up, whereas the red knob and super Twin are more aggressive amps... though the implementation was kinda off



$750 for an AC30 is a pretty solid price. I haven't seen them for better than that very often.
I've been in the market for an AC30 for a bit over a year, and haven't really hit a price like that in the (occasional) search. IIRC, the white versions may not have the tremolo circuit... something to look into if you care.

Those are both good deals. Twins with master volumes are pointless since you really can't get any good sounding distortion out of them, it just sounds like ass when you use them that way. This Twin is basically the better sounding "blackface" circuit. That AC30 looks sweet as well.

I played a Gretsch Chet Atkins through a Vox AC30 the other day at a store.

I couldn't help but play Fazer Eyes on it because the tone was so god damn the saem.

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Before I laid eyes on my Twin and Epiphone, an AC30 was what I was always after. I don't think they get clean enough for me to want to gig with exclusively, and if anything they feel heavier than my twin even, but I would still love one someday just to play when I want THAT SOUND.

I have a JTM 60, a Musicmaster bass amp and a Silverface twin, so we obviously share taste in amps. Mine is an early master volume twin, but I tend to run it with the master wide open, as if it didn't have one. I love the sound - best cleans you can get IMO.

I have a Ultralinear Twin with a master volume. Very cool amp. If you use pedal for overdrive and distortion, they are awesome. Twins are pretty much meant to be loud and clean. I think most people's heads would explode at the point most Twins would have any breakup. I also have a Blackface Showman. Similar deal. Made to go loud and clean.

NickD wrote:I have a JTM 60, a Musicmaster bass amp and a Silverface twin, so we obviously share taste in amps. Mine is an early master volume twin, but I tend to run it with the master wide open, as if it didn't have one. I love the sound - best cleans you can get IMO.

I once owned a Musicmaster bass amp as well. Only amp I still wish I had.

I wish I had the matching extension cabinet the made for the JTM30. It's the most Fendery sounding Marshall amp I have ever heard. The other guitar player in Aerosmith used to own one.

I might make an offer on the Twin. It's pretty close by so why not.

How does the non tremolo channel sound? Is it more Bassman-esque?

taylornutt wrote:

NickD wrote:I have a JTM 60, a Musicmaster bass amp and a Silverface twin, so we obviously share taste in amps. Mine is an early master volume twin, but I tend to run it with the master wide open, as if it didn't have one. I love the sound - best cleans you can get IMO.

I once owned a Musicmaster bass amp as well. Only amp I still wish I had.

I wish I had the matching extension cabinet the made for the JTM30. It's the most Fendery sounding Marshall amp I have ever heard. The other guitar player in Aerosmith used to own one.

Mine is a 1x15, so an unusual speaker configuration for a guitar amp.

I've found the channels on my twin pretty similar to be honest, I tend to use the normal channel.

taylornutt wrote:I might make an offer on the Twin. It's pretty close by so why not.

How does the non tremolo channel sound? Is it more Bassman-esque?

The non tremolo channel doesn't sound like a Bassman, its just clean most of the way up the dial. You won't get any hint breakup until around 7-9 and thats ungodly loud. It sounds good and clean, but I always use the tremolo side as I think it sounds warmer. This is a 1970 so it won't have the annoying floating baffle like other silverfaces, this should be fixed. I think its a great deal at his asking price.

i've played a good bit of twins, silverface and reissues, and it's lot of volume, and they're fucking backbreakers. are you playing in a situation where you need that much clean volume? or do you want breakup at a decent volume?

i know i've been bringing this up on tons of threads, but i'd seriously consider trying out an old silvertone. i paid 400 for mine and it's insane. has awesome breakup and there's a good bit of models to fuck around with depending on how much volume you want. the reverb's nothing great but i think i've seen your board and think you have a reverb pedal so that won't matter too much. honestly would recommend it though.

or look around for like a princeton or a DRRI. twins are too loud/too heavy unless you're playing some decent sized venues.

edit: and especially with alot of venues mic'ing amps up these days, size/volume isn't much of an issue anymore, i've seen bands touring with champs and sounded awesome.