WANTED - My old VOX AC30 1960s copper panel , non top-boost , beige valve amplifier

striped tolex vinyl ac30I have set about searching for my old Vox Ac30 which was owned by me from 1979 to 1993 - recovered in stripey yellow and brown vinyl tolex (as used on peavey amps, similar to original striped fender tweed cloth) and sold to a buyer from North Wales in 1993 .. (full description)

Yes I can hear you - "no chance", "why did you sell it" , "join the queue" ..

Or you may simply ask - why? Well here is my story .. get some tissues ready

A black mess

Some time in 1979, aged 16, I was playing my guitar through an old hifi system I think. After hooking up with some buddies to start a band I persuaded my father to take me to see an amp that was advertised in the local paper. It was a 1960s VOX AC30 for £50. That did not seem especially cheap back then - and if they were already collectable then I was not aware of this. So I am not sure why I picked it out as I cannot remember any of my heroes of the time using vox amps - maybe just cause it was a 'real' amp (I was joining a band) and reasonably cheap (all my mates were jibbering on about 'Marshall' I seem to recall).

What a mess - ripped, smashed, no grille cloth, painted gloss black with sprayed graffiti. But it sounded ace and somehow I managed to persuade my Dad into parting with 50 quid - god knows how.

Surgery

It really was too ugly to even look at never mind gig with. Inside I found evidence of strange beige tolex and after trying to track down parts from VOX UK in vain, off I went to Guitar Player in Rochdale and ordered some 'bits' - beige vinyl tolex, grille cloth, badge, piping, handles - with my own hard earned Tesco shelf-stacking cash. Luckily I was pretty handy and my Dad is king DIY so we had it recovered and fettled in no time (still hate contact adhesive -scary). The 'bits' were not quite right - the tolex was stripey yellow/brown - I presume Fender tolex. The grille cloth was a plain rust brown - no diamonds. The piping, badge and gold stripe were spot on I think. I added some handles and castors (I could not lift it) and away we went .. freebird, smoke on the water, erm .. that was about it I think. We had 2 guitars and a bass going through it - and vocals sometimes. It never complained. I even fixed the tremelo after studying the circuit diagram for days it turned out to be a dirty selector switch .. We did a couple of gigs in Manchester - we were OK - at least we were writing our own stuff. I never did enjoy doing covers. Maybe that's why I am still a c**p guitarist.

Years go by

The band folded I went to Uni, my baby came with me. It had a life of its own. One day it went to play with another band across campus - first I knew was when I saw it being 'wheeled' (aaagh) across campus by a some engineering students. They had blagged the porter to open my room claiming I had promised to let them borrow it. Cheeky b***rds - I had never seen them before. Still she came home.

Then off we went to live in London - at this time I was playing a Fender Bullet (the one with the tele neck) - very nice. No heating meant sitting on the Vox to stay warm. I am sure the noise finished off the old fella downstairs. Then in 1988 I heard that my buddy from home, and the band, Lawrence, had commited suicide after a long struggle with mental problems. I still think about that guy almost everyday - he was a genius guitarist and painter. And a beautiful person. I don't believe in God as such - but I really hope I may see him again somewhere, where we can jam and drink cups of tea forever. At our first studio demo he came up with a stunning solo for one of the songs off the top of his head which I had never heard him play at all before. One take. I still listen to it now - perfect timing, harmonies, incidentals .. genius.

See the world

Meanwhile, knowing I was never going to be a rock god, I was trying to sort my life and career out. Photography was the current occupation and I headed back up to Manchester to work for my brother's agency. Photographing cheap gold jewellery for Littlewoods catalogues. Not so exciting. So I sold up and off I went with younger bruv to Oz in 1992 for a year -didn't sell the Vox though. Now that is a great country - such optimism. Met a girl towards the end of the trip and we ended up in Pakistan teaching English. Fled after 6 weeks of exploitation and no pay - narrowly taking our lives with us..

Back in the UK we had amassed some serious credit card debt after our adventure and unfortunately I only possessed one thing of value. My baby. She was sold through Loot for around £400 to a bloke from North Wales. I had not played much for a couple of years but there were tears.

Fast forward

So then I started working for real. Computers, Internet, web sites, programming - 60 hour weeks - long nights. But it has paid off and I have come out alive and finally have time to become a rock goddad.

Now where's that amp?

Yep I want it back - at any price. It was not special as such - I am sure I could get one in a more authentic state, same model and era - I know they aren't cheap. But I want mine back - I owned it for 14 years from 1979 to 1993.

Description

I will hold back on a few details to help me check the authenticity of any leads I may get (wishing). I am trying to find some old photos to post up.

So the main hope I am pinning the tail on is the stripey tolex covering - can't be many other AC30s which have suffered the indignity (?) of becoming a fender ..

And if she has been re-recovered then I am probably never going to see her again - unless you know someone in North Wales who bought an AC30 from a bloke in Bury around May 1993.

I will pay a premium for this amp - I know they sell for a lot these days - or a finder's fee (10%?) if you help me get it back.

Thanks for listening.

Paul (email: pw [at] zus.com)

Useful links:

www.vintageguitar.com/features/brands/details.asp?AID=3084 (history of VOX)
www.ampaholics.co.uk (VOX amps)