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Laney VC30-112 Class A Vintage Combo |
Laney VC30-112 Class A Vintage Combo
To mark the tenth anniversary of the Laney VC 30 Combo series I am looking at a VC30 -112 this month. Originally modelled as a vintage style British valve amp, after ten years of steady sales the VC is already a classic of its own era and set to become a vintage that I believe will still be a market leader in its class in years to come.
The VC30 112 is a 30-watt Class A tube combo amp which is also available in; 2x10, and 2x12 configurations. This model I am reviewing is loaded with a Celestion V12 60 silver series speaker. Many will know that the earlier models in this amp series were loaded with HH Invader 35 watt speakers and by all reports these speakers were terrific but as I have only played through the current model I can make no comparison here. The preamp tubes are ECC83’s/7025 and power amp output tubes are a matched quartet of EL84’s.
There is also a range of dedicated extension cabinets to provide the player the opportunity to mix and match speaker compliment to get their chosen classic tones.
The VC30 features two channels; clean and drive, three band EQ and a bright switch. Spring reverb, hi and lo input jacks, a footswitch jack for drive and reverb control, an effects loop with top panel level control and an extension speaker jack and a switch to change ohms.
Laney always provide a straightforward no nonsense look to their amps; (although having said that, I do believe a red fur covered stack has been sighted on various stages around the world, you would need to go to Laneys website to authenticate that piece of gossip) The VC series has black tolex covering with black and white grillecloth set off by white piping. The front is further decorated with a rather large Laney Logo in white plastic which to my mind is quite incongruous with a vintage style amp. The amp’s top mounted chrome control panel has vintage-style pointer knobs recessed at the rear of a thick leather handle and chrome vents. The speakers are mounted in an open-back cabinet fitted with a protective metal grille.
An important detail that shows some lateral thinking from the Laney design department is the logical location of controls which face the player standing in front of his amp. Many vintage amps with top-mounted controls require frustrating upside down reading skills.
After a quick "dry" run at home at low volumes and not expecting too much kick from 30 watts I gave the amp a live run at a duo gig using an Eric Clapton signature series Strat. From the punters point of view it must have looked like I was involved in a private joke, as halfway through the first song one eyebrow must have been raised in surprise….. "this is no ordinary 30 watt amp!" The VC30 has serious gain and tone control that seems inordinately out of place with the size and basic equalization of the rig.
In the studio I ran many types of guitars and effects through the amp. Each retained its inherent tonal qualities and at no point in volume did I find any compromise or sacrifice of tone as can sometimes be experienced with larger rigs. This is an important factor which also makes the VC 30 a great choice for studio work. There was little or no crossover distortion and here lies the obvious advantage of true British Class A tube amplification.
The clean channel has a nice array of tones and when playing as advised in the manual with all tone controls at 7 an authentic vintage tone is easily achieved.
The drive channel delivers a large spectrum of sounds from classic British rock, through heavy rock and grunge to fat blues tones. For players needing extra distortion levels a tube screamer or other setup of choice can be added via the effects loop.
Both channels are rich in tonal quality and are very responsive and allow for dynamic playing The bright switch adds a nice sparkle to the top end and the the spring reverb provides warm, complex tones that were neither too subtle or too enhanced. This reverb is an artful effect that blends smoothly with the original signal.
I know it would be hard to shift the preconceptions of a lot of "power" guitarists out there but this is not a domestic model, the VC30 combo series has serious street cred!
Overall after spending quite some time with it, there really isn’t any significant issue that I can fault with the VC 30. I also believe it will cope well with any playing style. Ordinarily this amp retails for $1499 but with the anniversary special of $1099 and the optional footswitch thrown in,
I think that anyone in the market for a new amp should give the Laney VC30 some wise consideration. After all this is an established model that is still entirely relevant after 10 years of production and as such should not reveal any unexpected flaws.