When boutique designer Tony Bruno
built the Underground 30—the amp
that went on to be his signature piece—it
was often lauded for successfully adding
something of an American accent to the
classic Vox tonality. The appeal of an amp
that can live with a foot on either side of
the Atlantic is obvious. It’s also easier said
than done. But it’s an idea that must have
stewed in the brains of Bruno and the folks
at Vox alike, because now, 15 or so years
after the Underground 30 hit the streets,
we have the first products from an official
mind meld between these two amplifier
legends—the 35-watt TB35C 1x12 combo
and the TB35C2 2x12 reviewed here.
For those expecting these latest Voxes to
be an Underground 30 lurking in diamond
grille-cloth clothing, the TB35C2 may be a
surprise. With four 6V6s, it’s unmistakably
American-voiced at its core—even with
twin, 65-watt Celestion G12-65 12"
speakers. But just as Bruno found a way
to sprinkle a little California valve flavor
on his EL84-driven Underground 30, the
TB35C2 has more than a little Vox tone
on tap—as well as a lot of very unique
and individual tones that make it a worthy
canvas for everyone from heavy blues-rock
dudes to jangle-pop songsmiths.
Dark Disguise
You’d be forgiven for assuming that the
TB35C2 is some kind of custom derivative
of the AC30 line at first glance. The
dimensions are virtually identical, and the
control-panel location and top-mounted
handles all are vintage Vox design elements
lifted from the company’s most
famous design. But there are subtle differences,
too: It’s covered in vinyl that’s
smoother than the cloth-like texture of
the classic AC30 covering, there’s no strip
of gold just above the grille, and the grille
cloth itself is crises-crossed by diamonds
of silver thread rather than Vox’s trademark
green, red, and white thread. As a
whole, the amp has a more aggressive, get-down-
to-business stance—sort of a surly
James Bond to the AC30’s more refined
John Steed.
Once you begin to navigate the Bruno’s
controls, you realize you’re most certainly
not dealing with a classic AC30-style
circuit. There’s a simple array of six
chicken-head knobs for Master Volume,
Reverb, Bass, Middle, Treble, and Volume.
But there are also three switches that can
have enormous impact on your tone. The
first is a ultra-valuable master volume
bypass (labeled “MV Bypass”), which
greatly enhances the TB35C2’s flexibility
and headroom. A very self-explanatory
and useful Bass Boost switch is located
between the Bass and Middle knobs.
And the more curiously named (but apt)
Macho switch—which can also be activated
with the included footswitch—boosts
both gain and midrange to effectively
give the single-channel amp a separate
lead channel, albeit without the benefit of
completely different EQ settings.
The guts of the amp look impressively
streamlined and built for power, with
three 12AX7 preamp tubes, and a 12AT7
and 12AX7 dedicated to the spring-reverb
unit.
Bossy in Black
For players accustomed to distinctly
Vox or Fender tones, the TB35C2 can
confound in the most pleasant way.
With tone controls at high noon, Master
Volume bypassed, and Volume at about
10 o’clock, the Vox was an agreeable companion
to all of my test guitars—a Fender
‘E’ Series Stratocaster, a Rickenbacker
330, and a humbucker-equipped Gibson
SG. At these relatively neutral settings, the
TB35C2 is more blackface Fender than
anything else—harmonically even, but a
little bit spongy like a bigger, brawnier
Deluxe or even a tweed Bassman, but not
as bright as a Twin.
Dial up a little more mids and treble,
though, and the TB35C2 comes alive
with a brighter, more articulate top
end that sounded lovely with ringing
R.E.M.- and Smiths-style arpeggios and
Heartbreakers-flavored jangling on all
three guitars, as well as round-but-biting
single-note stabs from the SG. Kicking on
the Macho switch gave the same lead lines
from the SG an enormously dirty and
long-sustaining girth that you could drive
to the brink of very controllable feedback
with a bump of the amp’s volume. While
big and certainly very present, the Macho
feature doesn’t facilitate a lead tone nearly
as cutting as, say, Paul Kossoff stabbing
at a Marshall or Jeff Beck hurling sonic
daggers from a top-boost AC30—or a
Fender Twin, for that matter. Instead, it
ranges between the big, blunted—but still
overtone-rich—clout of a Hiwatt or Neil
Young’s tweed tones. The Macho switch
also does a fine trick of retaining detail for
high-gain chording—preserving the chiming
characteristics of the Rickenbacker, as
well as the Stratocaster’s bridge pickup,
while adding an impressively muscular
growl that could drive a ’70s-style power
trio. Further, whether the Macho function
is on or off, the amp always retains a
remarkable touch sensitivity.
Given the TB35C2’s impressive bass
presence, it struck me as odd at first that
Bruno included the Bass Boost switch. If
you play in a power trio or duo, it will
give you substantially more weight, but
it can be a bit woofy unless you dial in
a fair bit of high and mid content—and
it can swallow a lot of harmonic content
from humbuckers. Still, it’s an impressive
sound that also sounds great with fuzz or
an overdrive geared for Tube Screamer-style
midrange, and it could set your bass
player free to explore some Jack Bruce-flavored
runs high up on the fretboard.
Rest assured, the TB35C2 has a place in
more civilized environments, too. It’s very
sensitive to volume adjustments on your
guitar, and it can be dialed back into zones
where the amp retains its full and impressive
harmonic spectrum without taking on
a bullying presence in a band mix. Roll
back your guitar volume, and it remains
chiming and rich, again, provided you’ve
dialed up enough mid and high end. And
the Master Volume is effective for scaling
back the amp’s burlier characteristics—
even though you do sacrifice a little of the
clarity you get in bypass mode.
The Verdict
Versatile, beautifully designed, and relatively
affordable, the Vox TB35C2 is an
intriguing intertwining of the Bruno and
Vox tone and design philosophies. The
fundamentally American voice of Bruno’s
6V6 circuit is rangy enough to flirt with
very Vox-like performance, but it also has
a personality all its own—inhabiting a
kind of ideal tone zone where the rounded
edges and give of a Bassman live alongside
the sharp clarity and grit of an AC30.
There are lots of in-between-and-beyond
tones at your fingertips, depending on
your pick attack and how aggressively you
dial up the mid and highs. And it loves
pedals too, especially fuzzes and boxes
with pronounced midrange. Those hoping
for a Vox-branded Underground 30 will
be better served opting for a Top Boost
AC30 or one of Bruno’s own amps, but
if you’re interested in covering a lot of
stylistic ground with a single amp that
retains a distinct character and color, this
impressive collaboration will make a solid
cornerstone for your sound.
Buy if...
you’re after a 6V6-powered, do-itall
tube combo with a foot on the
British Isles.
Skip if...
you believe anything other than EL84s
in a Vox amounts to blasphemy.
Rating...
