M

ODELED

 A

MPS

 & C

ABS

:  

W

HICH

 A

MPS

AND

 C

ABS

 A

RE

 M

ODELED

?

4 • 10

to the Vox AC 30 Top Boost, the early Vox amps were the first designed especially 
for electric guitar (Hey, some early amps from other manufacturers have 
Accordion inputs! Polka, anyone?), and used Class A power amp designs, rather 
than the much more common Class AB type. We were lucky enough to find what 
we are told was one of Bryan Adams’ favorite AC 30s for recording. Lenny Kravitz 
happened to be using it the week before we began testing. It was one of the gems 
in a great collection of vintage amplifiers offered for rental in Los Angeles, where 
Line 6 is located. We later bought this amp, and continued to hone our emulation 
of it to bring you the Amp Model it inspired in the POD. This is definitely a good 
place to start to get yourself some of those classic British invasion sounds. Like the 
AC 15 (above), the AC 30 NTB has only a single treble control, so POD’s 

Bass

and 

Middle

 controls here are set up for boost after the Amp Model processing to 

add a little extra flexibility without compromising the accuracy of the model. The 
12 o’clock setting on these controls is flat response.

California Crunch #1 

(Hold Tap + Brit Blues)

 -

The first of the “boutique” 

amp makers was probably Mesa Boogie. Boogie made their mark in the late 70’s 
and early 80’s by adding master volumes and more gain stages to amps with 
Fender-style circuitry. You can hear the Fender heritage but with more “punch” in 
the mids. This model is based on the Clean Channel of the classic Boogie Mark 
IIc, with the enhancements of the + version of the Mark IIc circuitry design. 

California Crunch #2 

(Hold Tap + Brit Classic)

 -

 And this Amp Model 

emulates the Drive Channel of the IIc+. Try your Santana licks here.

Boutique #1 

(Hold Tap + Brit Hi Gain)

 -

 Based on the Clean Channel of the 

Dumble Overdrive Special. The Dumble Overdrive Special is one of those 
incredibly expensive, custom amps that most people never get a chance to actually 
get close to in this lifetime. Each incarnation of the Dumble magic is a little bit 
different, because each of these amps is hand built for a specific customer, and 
voiced to match their playing and desires. With that in mind, we based this Amp 
Model on the analysis of several different Dumble Overdrive Specials. Despite this 
tuning to the individual owner, these amplifiers tend to have a number of features 
in common; the clean channel is very sensitive to attack, and dynamically