Vox AC10 control panel types, 1960 to 1966

Glen Lambert

Type 1 - photo-anodised black on aluminium . No 'A JMI Product' legend. B9A voltage selector. Brass brights in cream RS knobs. Generally in rounded TV Front 1x10 Cabs. Metal topped input jacks. Brown hammertone Plessey or Richard Allan 15 ohm speakers. Examples range from serial numbers 3158 to 3337. These were built in 1960.

Type 2 - photo-anodised black on aluminium with 'A JMI Product' legend added below the voltage selector. Round dark brown knobs. Examples range from serial numbers 3402 to 3433. Early examples in rounded TV front 1x10 cabs with a change to fawn covered split-front cabinet in mid 1961. These amps were built from late 1960 to 1961.

Type 3 - photo-anodised copper on aluminium. Minimal legends on panel. Index dot next to voltage selector held over from B9A type selector; Bulgin pointer knobs; 5 way paxolin voltage selector with voltages marked on the selector. Serial number range: 3496 to 3966N. Split-front single speaker AC10s and Twins in fawn vinyl; from ser. no. 3689 certain Twins covered in black; and later in early 1963 early Super Twin Reverbs. From ser. no. 3496 through to the mid 3700s, Goodmans speakers with red Axiette-style magnets were normally fitted; from (and including) ser. no. 3753 blue Elacs were adopted. Amps with Type 3 panels were built from late 1961 to early 1963.

Type 4 - photo-anodised copper on aluminium. Detailed artwork including borders, level graduations & voltage selector legends. Artwork too wide for opening. Change to plastic Rendar input jacks with colour-coded nuts, no markings on voltage selector itself, blue Elac 10N/81 15ohm speakers. Two known surviving examples serial numbers 3805 and 4030N. Note that a fawn 1x10 amp, serial no. 3821, has a Type 3 panel, indicating a relatively small number of Type 4 were used, probably only by one assembly contractor (Westrex), whilst the other (Triumph) was still using Type 3. These amps made in 1963.

Type 5 - photo-anodised on aluminium. A return to a plain version artwork with index dot near voltage selector deleted, the change to black covering completed by late 1963 in the 3900-4000 serial number range, change to moulded SBA handles by serial no. 4108. Examples of amps with this type of panel range from 4108N to 4223N. These were made from late 1963 to 1964.

Interim/in-house traffolyte black panel. Possibly left-over from prototyping stage and used later when panels were out of stock or a later cobble-together by Alan Pyne. Artwork is that of the previous AC10 Amp No.2 albeit with 5th knob and appropriate legends added. The one surviving example has components suggesting a 1963-1964 build

Type 6 - photo-anodised copper on aluminium. Voltage markings added around the voltage selector. The transistion to black Basketweave Vynide was completed late 1963 - early 1964. Examples of amps with this panel range from serial numbers 4231N to 4467N (single speaker AC10s); 1000 to c. 1300 (AC10 Twins). These amps were built in 1964.

Type 7 - etched nickel plated brass, silk-screened grey paint. Custom made 'Vox' logo; plastic "slot" then "dome" voltage selector; large slotted nut on power switch. General serial number range for this type of panel: 4500 - 4700 (single speaker AC10); c. 1300 - 3200 (AC10 Twin). These amps were built late 1964 to 1965. Stock on hand was used through to end of product life - c. 1966.

A little known feature found in only the 1960-1966 AC10 Amplifier No.3 was that the Amplitude control (with the tremolo pedal off) had the ability to change the harmonic content of the Vibrato channel due to its ability to vary the voltage on the EF86 screen grid 2. Turning the Amplitude control to maximum nearly doubles the screen voltage, drops the plate voltage by more than half and applies an increase to grid 1 bias resulting in a louder more open tone, whereas setting the amplitude to minimum results in a more compressed quieter level.

For earlier AC10s see the .