The Vox AC30 Super Reverb Twin 2 (II)
Mid 1962 to 1967
Serial numbers in the 5000s through to new series 5000s
Detail from a JMI pricelist published in the music press on 12th May 1962, the earliest dated mention (so far) of the Vox AC30 Super Reverb/Twin/II.
The "2" or "II" signifies the provision of two closed-back speaker cabinets, a format developed initially for the AC30 Super Twin 2 (or II) in late 1961. The Super Twin 2 did not last long however, disappearing from the JMI catalogue at some point in late '62, the format - an amplifier section with two speaker cabinets, issued as a set - taken forward from that point by The Super Reverb Twin 2 alone.
Below, one of the earliest pricelists to outline the updated range:
February 1963 - 210 guineas.
Pricelist accompanying material supplied to Kitchen's Music Shop in Leeds in early 1963 - 220 guineas.
Detail from the JMI dealer catalogue of 1964.
"Exchange and Mart" magazine, December 1967, a rare instance of a Super Reverb Twin II "out in the wild".
Wiring
Amplifier sections normally will have had two XLR sockets on their back panels. In terms of impedances, the sockets will have been linked at factory to the 8 ohm tap on the speaker terminal block in the preamp in order to accommodate the two cabinets of 16 ohms apiece (two Celestion blues in each). If the player decided to use one cabinet on its own, JMI's expectation presumably was that the sockets should be linked into the 16 ohm tap - which involved taking the back panel off. It is fairly safe to assume that the owners of Super Reverb Twin II sets did not always do this. Whether the documentation supplied with the amps by Jennings laid down the law in fairly unequivocal terms is unknown at present.
Standard position for the terminal block for speakers / sockets. Green (top) is 8 ohms; black (centre) is common; blue is 15/16 ohms.
Surviving examples
Amplifier sections have twin XLR on their back panels. As in the case of known Super Twin IIs however, the examples that have only come to light so far preserve only one of the two original speaker cabinets.
Serial number 4691. The XLR sockets currently in place are later Switchcrafts. The amp bears the shop plate of "Quigley Music Studios" in Kansas.
Serial number in the 4800s.
The arrangement of the amp immediately above is unusual in that the sockets are on the right-hand side of the back board. Speaker terminal blocks were always mounted on the other side of the chassis.
The red warning plaque is of the early type. Where AC50s and AC100s are concerned, a new version had been introduced by the time serial numnbers in the 5500s (AC50s) and serial numbers in the 1200s (AC100s) became ready for sale.