Vox AC30 Fawn & Essex
Premium Helix Amp Tone
Click here for the Preset Walkthrough video
This is my take on the Vox AC30 design. It's one of my favorite amps for how it interacts with overdrive pedals and so I've included four total presets - two for the modern players who like to use the Vox as an edge-of -breakup-machine with pedals for gain staging and two for the vintage players - a nod in the direction of the way Brian May likes to use his rig with plenty of power amp distortion and even more when you boost it.
What you’re getting:
- 6 Presets (see the sidebar "Included Presets" for more info)
- Favorites Effects Library*
- Old Version (2.91) of this preset bundle & a detailed walkthrough
- A few suggestions for setting up your Helix device
- FAQ and troubleshooting guide
* Favorite Effects Library contains 32 various saved effect settings so that you can easily swap in alternate compression, reverb, and tremolo tones to customize your presets.
** The Vox AC-30 Amp Tone bundle has recently been updated to the latest 3.50 cab design. All previous customers should've recieved an email with the latest version. I never charge for updates.
Amp Tone presets are created for use in stompswitch mode to give you the most control possible. Footswitches 1, 2, and 3 exist as the core of the preset and control compression, pedal overdrive, and amp overdrive/EQ parameters. These three are dialed in to work well on their own, or when stacked together. Explore the different combinations of these 3 switches to get the most out of these presets. Footswitch 4 controls reverb. Footswitch 5 will engage a tremolo. Footswitch 6 is a 3.5db clean solo boost. This preset is meticulously dialed in and tested for live performance with a full band. Use it on your HX Stomp in combination with other external effect pedals, or drop the 8 blocks given into your larger Helix unit and build your own custom preset around it with the premium amp tone serving as the foundation. Explore different combinations of footswitches 1-3 and you'll find that these presets will cover the essentials when it comes to various compressed, overdriven, and amp tones. Footswitches 4, 5, and 6 are optional.
Questions? Just reply to the download email you receive and I’m more than happy to help.
This preset package will work on the following products:
HX Stomp
HX Stomp XL
Helix LT
Helix Floor
Helix Rack
Helix Native
*Helix Native users please note that all of my presets exist in stompswitch mode. Helix Native is set up to prefer snapshots, however you can use these presets in stompswitch mode just fine. Check out the Helix Native manual pages 14 & 15 for information on loading these presets in HC (hardware compatibility) mode. When prompted, make sure you select HX Stomp XL as the original device since that is what I create these presets on.
*Due to popular request, I've also updated this bundle to use separate amp & cabinet blocks so the presets are easier to customize or use with an external cab of some sort.
Helix - Vox AC-30 Amp Tone
20% off an order of $80+
This preset bundle contains 3 contrasting amp tones that are characteristic of Vox AC-30 & AC-15 amplifiers. Each preset comes with a compressor (footswitch 1) and an overdrive pedal (footswitch 2) that have been dialed in to work well with that amp. In addition to those gain stages, footswitch 3 will toggle between various amp settings for even more control within a single preset. Of these three presets, I’ve created two versions - one for single coil pickups and one for humbuckers.
- Vox AC30 1 presets - the cleanest preset, sitting right at the edge of breakup with the Essex A30 amp & Blue Bell cab models. Uses the Teemah! (Paul Cochrane Timmy) for additional overdrive and the Kiny Comp (SP compressor) set to crush the incoming signal.
- Vox AC30 2 presets - a mildly overdriven base amp tone that you can toggle to a more intense preamp drive using the A30 Fawn amp model with the Blue Bell cab. More overdrive and mid shaping comes from the Minotaur (Klon overdrive). You also get a mild LA Studio Comp (LA-2a tube compressor).
- Vox AC30 3 presets - high gain non-master volume vintage preset with plenty of power amp distortion using the Essex A15 amp model and Blue Bell cabinet. It's paired with a Deranged Master (Dallas Rangemaster treble booster) to help shape the very overdriven amp model into something better for lead playing. There's also a Deluxe Compressor set up for a very smooth, sustaining tone.
All of the amp tone presets across my website have been leveled with each other so that you can switch between them effortlessly - just make sure you’re using the correct version for single coil or humbucker equipped guitars.
There is also a favorite effects folder included with your download that has even more compression tones to pick and choose from. They’ve been dialed in and leveled separately for humbuckers and single coil pickups so all you need to do is simply double click on the favorite file and they’ll load in automatically assigned to footswitch 1, ready to use. In the favorites folder, I’ve also included various settings for tremolo and reverb, each available in mono and stereo versions. Want to switch out a Fender-style bias tremolo for a Vox-style optical model? How about a bright spring reverb in place of the darker sounding model that initially comes with the preset, or switch it up with a plate reverb or concert hall? Once you’ve loaded the favorites into your device, it’s as easy as double clicking on the file name. In total, there are 32 different favorite settings to explore and customize your presets with.