Vox AC30 - Geloso sockets and connectors
Detail of AC30 Super Twin II serial number 5002.
Some notes on the Geloso three-pin speaker connectors found on early AC30 Super Twins (normally Super Twin II amplifiers and cabinets), from late 1961 through to the end of 1963.
In many respects, Geloso (based in Milan) was well ahead of the field in its development of connectors. American-made Cannons were not taken up by Vox until late 1962.
JMI presumably got the idea from the Meazzi Echomatic units it brought into its catalogue in the autumn of 1959. A page on the Meazzis can be found here.
September 1959.
To accompany the pieces of equipment fitted with such sockets, Vox naturally supplied cables with Geloso plugs. See the picture of the Domino, below. Standard XLR plugs (Cannon, Amphenol, etc.) do not fit.
The shortlist of other instances of three-pin Gelosos, 1961-1964, at present is: certain ranges of guitar produced by Stuart Darkins for Vox and Hohner; Vox Domino piggy-back amps; some Binson Echorec echo units; and some early Vox LS40 column speakers.
Although three-pin sockets are not ideal for guitar, the flat sides certainly made them useable on thinner solid bodies.
AC30 Super Twin II serial number 5002.
A Vox Domino piggy-back bass amp with its original Geloso connector and cable. In the fourth picture, the end of a NOS plug - a Geloso 396CR.
Hohner Holborn produced by Stuart Darkins, closely related to the Vox Ace.
LS40 columns from late 1963 / early 1964 with one original Geloso connector each and an added jack socket. The speaker cabinets are currently (May 2021) on offer here.
Below, a detail of a shot taken backstage at the Manchester ABC - sometimes called the Manchester Apollo - 20th November, 1963, during the performance by The Beatles that was filmed by Pathe News. Note the Geloso XLR connector on the AC30 Super Twin speaker cabinet (belonging to another band).
Athough Geloso connectors are known on several surviving AC30 Super Twins, it is good nonetheless to have contemporary record.
Manchester ABC, 20th November, 1963.
An original Geloso on the speaker cabinet of serial number 5329.
Picture from the IMDB page on the Pathe newsreel of the concert. There are some good excerpts on youtube.