VOX AC30
Bearfoot Emerald Green Distortion Machine
+ TC Electronic Spark Booster
It’s hard to believe that the Vox AC30 is over 50
years old, or that it was developed at the request
of musicians who couldn’t hear their guitar tones
over throngs of screaming fans. Though there were
many British amp builders back then, none of them
were nearly well received as Marshalls or Voxes. In
fact, Vox amps may have the advantage in notoriety
because some band called The Beatles used them.
When the AC30 originally arrived on the scene,
the “Top Boost” everyone knows and loves
actually wasn’t a standard feature. Eventually,
the amp gained its signature argyle grillcloth.
Right around this time, Vox began implementing
its Brilliance feature into many of its models.
Eventually, this came to be known as the Top
Boost channel, which was basically an extra
gain stage with treble and bass controls.
It’s hard to find a better “cranked AC30” tone
than that of the Emerald Green Distortion Machine
by Bearfoot. There are four knobs: Volume, Voice,
Bass and Treble. The Voice control is basically the
“Vox knob” as turning it allows players to dial
in Voxiness with ease. The TC Electronic Spark
Booster is much like the Top Boost or Brilliance
of a Vox AC30, as it is one of the only extra gain
stages one can add to an amp with individual
Treble and Bass controls. Also, there is a Mid
setting on the Spark, so players can sort of
“reverse” the Vox sound by adding the mids
in after the gain, for some interesting sounds.
ToneReport.com
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