AC30 amps

Allan Holdsworth Remembers: "In The Dead Of Night" (Guitar and guitar shop 1999)

But as Holdsworth remembers, his gear for the recording of that album and its groundbreaking solo is somewhat pared down compared to the equipment he uses today. "I was using only a single 50-watt Marshall and two 4xl2 cabinets," he mused. "Occasionally, I used a Vox AC30, but not on the UK album-1 used that on Bill’s record, One Of A Kind.

Patron Saint (Guitar Player 2004)

At what point did you realize that achieving the ideal of horn-like tone would require a different approach than that of the other players who were searching for the same thing?

Actually, I learned that really early on. I think this is going to make a lot of people laugh, but, early in my career in the ‘60s, I was playing with some local band, and we had an opportunity to go into the studio. I had an AC30 and a Gibson SG, and I used to like to turn up the amp until it was right at that point where it would get real throaty and fat, but without a ton of distortion. So we started playing, and the engineer came in shaking his head saying, "No, no, no. This is all wrong. You turn the amp down, and we turn it up in the control room." And I’m screaming, "No, you don’t understand. I want you to record this sound." This would go on for hours, and it would drive me crazy. I couldn’t figure out why I liked my sound at gigs, but hated it every time it was recorded. Horrible.