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List of updates / new info. on Vox solid state amps (1967-1972).

November and Decemeber 2021

20th December

Thanks to Sebastian, pictures of Supreme serial number 1174, probably late 1967, still the earliest type of logo (silver, VOX only, no mention of "Solid State" beneath).

11th December

Also posted on the updates page of the Vox AC100 website, pictures - thanks to Cedric - of a superb pair of Line Source 60 (LS60) public address speaker cabinets along with their original covers. The 12" drivers are heavy duty Goodmans, much as in Vox Supreme speaker cabinets.

The speakers were exported to Germany early on and sold by Musikhaus Porsche in Lübeck

6th December

Below, photos from a set of taken taken for JMI before 31st August, 1967, and probably before the Russell Hotel Trade Fair, 20th-24th August - the original Vox disco unit, two turntables only and a microphone. The modified Vox Continental organ stand had brackets on which the lid of the unit could be set.

The unit was sold off in July 1968 when "Vox Sound Equipment Limited" got going in the West Street Works. See this page.

A detail of one of the JMI displays at the Russell Hotel Trade Fair, the disco unit side on.

3rd December

Photos taken for JMI in late May 1969 of the Multi-Link II speaker cabinet (2x12" and 2x15"). At this early point in development, the impedance matching transformer was not adjustable. The signal into the cab passed both to the speakers and to the transformer, feeding out from the transformer to the second jack socket.

Later the built-in impedance matchers had adjustable settings. Some cabinets were produced with semi-closed backs. See this page.

The Multi-links were exhibited for the first time at the Russell Hotel Trade Fair in August 1969, but are likely to have been put into production before that - probably in June/July.

The 15" drivers in this cab are Goodmans Audiom 81s.

27th November

Two more items relating to the VSEL display at the Russell Hotel Trade Fair in '68 - the company's advert, a handsome double-page spread; and a preview report of some of the equipment on show.

26th November

A couple of pieces relating to the Vox display at the Russell Hotel Trade Fair, late August 1968. The new company - "Vox Sound Equipment Limited" - was only two months old at this point. Photographs of the stand are few and far between in the music trade press, the shot of the guitars (and strings) below being the only one that has come to light so far.

18th November

The pictures below, from a set taken in the early summer of 1966, show a solid state "treble" amp in an early stage of evolution. The control panel is at this stage some sort of thin overlay - one can see the wrinkles. The depth of the case and arrangement of metal vents on top would normally suggest a Defiant or Supreme (originally called the "Beatle"). However, one cannot rule out the possibility that the Conqueror was to have taken the same form initially.

DIN plugs had been tried out by JMI for footswitches as far back as the summer 1964 (on the AC30 SRT). A different arrangement was arrived at, however, for the footswitch of the Conqueror shown at the Russell Hotel Trade Fair of August 1966 - ie. a couple of months after these pictures were taken. See this page for a picture of the Conqueror. Things evidently moved fast at times (especially where promotional events were concerned), more slowly at others.

Control knobs are of the type used on Vox Echo units (and surviving pre-production solid state amps) - a taller barrel than the ones finally adopted in '67.

The earliest dated advert to show one of the new amps is September 1966 (the one featuring Mick Jagger, as issued also in "Beat Instrumental" magazine though a month later). Pre-production amps were in the hands of bands for testing by early 1967.

Pictures taken in the early summer of 1966.

16th November

As noted in yesterday's entry and on the pages illustrating "Vox Sound Equipment Limited" amplifiers, the solid state range had different designations in Denmark. At present, the reason or reasons for the redesignations are unknown. One possibility is that amps were shipped to Denmark still needing final assembly and finished off there by the principal VSEL importer - "European Musik Import A/S. Kirke Vaerlosevej 261, Lille Vaerlose, a little to the north of Copenhagen. See this page, and the note for 30th September (2|) on this page. A certain amount of import duty was waived for items that arrived in the form of component parts. It may be that new names were simply a means of aiding the bureaucratic process.

Within Denmark, amps were sold for the most part by Alfred Christensen and the Dansk Musik Instrument Company (1966-2002), which was effectively Alfred Christensen by another name. In Spring 1969, a catalogue was produced based on the material issued by VSEL in the UK in February.

A1 - Supreme - unknown serial number, "A1" stamped on Alfred Christensen plaque.

A2 - Super Foundation Bass - 2202.

B1 - Defiant - 2508, and one with an unknown serial number.

B2 - Foundation Bass - no examples at present.

C1 - Conqueror - 2203, 2271, 2377, and one with an unknown serial number.

C2 - Dynamic Bass - 2221.

Front cover of the Christensen / Dansk Musik catalogue, Spring 1969. In the body of the catalogue, the amps are given with their conventional names, "Conqueror" etc.

15th November (2)

VSEL Super Foundation Bass serial number 2202, mid 1969, made for the Danish market and designated "A2" on the serial number plate rather than "S.F.BASS". The Supreme was "A1". Now registered on this page.

15th November

Continuing the bass amplifier theme, an entry now created for JMI Super Foundation Bass serial number 1094, signalled below (29th August) - probably produced around September 1967.