Vox AC30 website updates

2020

31st December

Back in August (), I posted some pictures - repeated below - of numbers inscribed on chassis assembled by Westrex for JMI.

A further "165" has just come to light on AC30 serial number 12569 - thanks to Ben for the pic.

AC30 Twin, serial number 12569.

An AC80/100 from the third quarter of 1964 (serial number plate lacking).

AC30 Super Twin, serial number 3021.

AC30 Super Twin, serial number 3863.

The same person inscribed "119" and "130" on other amps. The signifance of these numbers is unclear at present. "119" naturally makes one think of Dartford Road. But "130" and "165"?

30th December

Below, six pictures from a larger set of a late black panel AC30/6. The serial number plate is a reproduction of a later type (with long silver panels), deliberately scratched up to make it seem "old". The number - 5014T - is nonsense. But the chassis is right for later 1961.

Transformers are Haddons. The chassis (assembled by Westrex) has the wrongly-positioned hole for the rectifier valve. Every capacitor in the preamp has been replaced. The cabinet, which is probably original to the chassis, is in excellent condition.

29th December (2)

"Melody Maker" magazine, 20th December, 1952. A fantastic design from "WSE". "WSE" was the company that Jennings recommended for amplification in the early 1950s, stocking certain of its models in the shop on Charing Cross Road. Anything but Selmer.

"Melody Maker", 20th December, 1952.

29th December

Detail from a picture of The Kinks rehearsing for a BBC broadcast at the Playhouse Theatre, London, September 1964, Pete Quaife with a Super Twin amplifier section and T60 bass cabinet.

The Kinks, Playhouse Theatre, September 1964. Getty Images.

The page on has recently been updated. In late 1964 and early 1965, Burndept had evidently either bought in large stocks of components or hugely over-produced. At least two chassis with serial numbers in the 4700s (1966) have components with surprisingly early date codes.

28th December (2)

For many the picture below published in "The Vox Story" (1993) will have been the first encounter with an AC30 in a slope-sided amplifier section cabinet.

The amplifier pictured is a "Super Twin", top boost presumably on the back panel, serial number unknown.

The comment "introduced for the U.S. market" is spot on. Substantial numbers of these new-style amps, "Super Reverb Twins" first, then "Super Twins", were produced for export to the USA from early 1965. Below, one of the first catalogue images of the AC30 SRT in its finalised form.

A detail from the Thomas Organ "Million Dollar Sound" catalogue of late 1964 / early 1965. Although the text describes the "Super Reverb Twin", the runner on the front of the amp says "Super Twin". Note the "basket" on top of the trolley to hold the amp.

A good number also went to Germany. At present, the earliest AC30 SRT to have come to light so far in a new-style slope sided cabinet is serial number 3523. The earliest slope-sided AC30 ST is serial number 3863.

There is, however, in the States a slope-sided AC30 ST (sold on ebay a while ago) apparently with the number 2825, which seems incredibly low (but possible perhaps). Whether everything goes together though is difficult to say. The Celestions seem to have Thomas Organ part number labels on them.

28th December

A new page on has now been set up. Some additions to follow.

AC30 SRTs destined for export to the USA were often fitted by JMI with a 0.05uf 500v Radiospares capacitor from the mains switch to ground - a means of suppressing arcing, if there should be any, at switch on. The capacitor does not appear on any circuit diagram. AC50s and AC100s were also fitted with these capacitors (again not represented on any of the sheets that have come to light).

AC30 Super Reverb Twin serial number 5031.

27th December (2)

Jennings advert in "The Organ Quarterly", April 1958, the note at its head indicating that an organ had been installed in the Civic Auditorium, Lower Hutt, New Zealand. The building was constructed in 1957.

Jennings had up to this point mainly exported Univoxes, but not much more, to New Zealand (Upper Hutt and elsewhere) and Australia - see the brief note .

It is interesting to see that the model - Model "G" - installed in the Auditorium was brand new, and not available at the time in the UK.

Civic complex, Lower Hutt, New Zealand.

"The Organ", April 1958. Mr Mackay is now the Sales Manager, replacing Leslie Morley. See below, entry for 16th December.

27th December

Eight more Twins from mid 1964 now added - six Trebles, one Bass, and one Top Boost. Serial numbers 13169T, 13270B, 13492TB and 13707T . Serial numbers 14388T, 14595T, 14934T and 14970T

Some more coming shortly on late Super Twins.

26th December

The page on Twins with is now up. Chassis (mainly "Top Boost" in panel) were made primarily by Burndept - in common with most Twins with numbers in the 11000s or higher. Chassis made Westrex were generally allocated to Super Twins.

In early 1965, the contract with Westrex came to an end however: in late 1964 JMI had moved a large part of its operations into Burndept's West Street Factory in Erith - the "West Street Works". From around the second quarter of 1965, Burndept became the sole manufacturer of AC30 chassis, and the principal manufacturer of AC50s and AC100s, though Triumph Electronics in Purley augmented production of these last from time to time.

23rd December (2)

Slightly better pictures of the first edition of "The Shadows Modern Electric Guitar Tutor", 1963. The second edition followed fairly quickly on its heels with much the same principal content, but different Vox adverts, and an improved picture of the Phantom guitar on the cover.

Second but last page. The last has pics of Vox guitars.

The standard picture of the AC30 in beige with a note to say that the amps used by The Shadow (illustrated in the body of the book) were in black.

Dynamic Vibravox.

23rd December

Pictures of Bill Wyman's AC30, serial number 5048N, bought before he joined the Rolling Stones. Pictures from Julien's Auctions. The catalogue entry - - states that the amp was built in February 1962. Although no point of reference is given (speaker date codes perhaps?), this seems right. Serial number 5002N has speakers with date codes of late December 1961, so *final* assembly - i.e. the making ready of number 5002 for sale - is likely to have been in January/February '62.

Serial number 5048N, owned by Bill Wyman from 1962-2020.

21st December (2)

Kenny Lee and the Mark 4 in 1964 with a TV Front AC30, two later beige Twins, and a beige Super Twin. The first two shots were taken during the band's residency at The Big Ben Club, Wilhelmshaven, 9th February to 28th March, 1964. The third comes from a second residency, 4th - 10th May

All three pics .

21st December

A little more on Expanded Frequency AC30s. Serial number plates - at first they are much the same as standard twins with serial numbers in the 10000s but with an "X" stamped after "AC/30".

Serial numbers 10457 and 10471 were stamped in the same way.

Towards the end of 1964, production of AC30X chassis was taken over by Burndept. At this point, a new sequence of serial numbers was brought in, beginning either at 500, or more likely, 550 - remember that the new Super Twin sequence, introduced earlier in the year, kicked off at 2500, not 2000.

Stamping of the plates in the new AC30X sequence was fairly haphazard. There are at least three varieties:

Serial number 584. "EX 30". New style plate with longer silver panels.

Serial number 589. "AC.30 EX". A different set of stamps.

Serial number 593. "AC.30 X 15". All still hand stamped.

A further thing to mention is that the Expanded Frequency cabinets *may* have been made by Gla-Rev. At any rate, all that have come to light so far have chipboard (particle board) baffles rather than solid ply.

Cabinet of serial number 593. Chipboard baffle. The speakers are 15inch Celestion T1109s.

20th December

The first of two sets of notes on copper-panelled chassis with integrated top boost - i.e. separate treble and bass controls, making eight on the panel in total rather than the six of standard Twins - Vibrato Speed; Vib-Trem Switch; Vib-Trem, Normal, and Brilliant channel volumes; Treble; Bass; and Cut.

Most, if not all of the chassis were made by Westrex, presumably to keep complications of production to a mininium. Not only did they have to be specially fabricated; with six valves rather than five in the preamp, they had to be wired differently too.

On the underchassis one often finds, in pencil, an X in a circle = "Expanded". Two examples below, the initials "DP" preceding - see the entry for 14th Dec. lower down this page for further examples of the initials alone.

One has to admire the thoroughness of "DP". That the chassis was an "expanded" one will have been clear at first glance.

A detail of a chassis from an Expanded Frequency AC30 with a copper panel - further pics .

Details above and below of a copper panel chassis with integrated top boost from a standard AC30 Twin (serial number unknown, but probably somewhere in the 10000s).

Why the first example should have an old-value cathode resistor - 82R rather than the 47R/50R introduced in the last quarter of 1963 - is difficult to say. Perhaps a replacement? Its legs are certainly not sleeved (as they often were at factory). A pity that its date code is not visible. The date code of the other amp's cathode resistor (50R - and it is 50 rather than 80) is plain enough though - "UH" = August 1963.

Although underchassis are perhaps the least well represented part of AC30s in terms of photographs, it may be possible gradually to build up a picture of how long the "cross-over" period lasted between old value resistor and new.

19th December

Pictures from some time ago of a Twin of 1963 or 1964. The back boards of the cabinet have rounded corners, so a serial number higher than around 7300-7400 is in view. The presence of a round footswitch would normally suggest *no* higher than the high 7000s, when the new egg-shaped switch comes in. However, the serial number plate, with its long silver panels, must bear a number higher than the mid 11000s.

So footswitch or plate - perhaps even both - cannot be original to the amp. At some point it may be possible to identify or "place" it though. Note the presence of the cover, probably burgundy in colour.

18th December

The Blackhawks at the Gaumont Cinema, Hinckley, c. 1962 / 1963. A great shot of an AC30 Super Twin on stage, the amplifier section with leather rather than black plastic handle. Pic from .

17th December (3)

Now added, a chassis from an amp originally with - perhaps number 12253. Thanks to Michael for the pictures.

17th December (2)

The entry for has been updated. Thanks to John for further pictures and info.

17th December

"Melody Maker" magazine, 10th August, 1957. This *at present* is the earliest public mention that has come to light of the new company "Jennings Musical Industries Limited". See the entry below (1st December) for the others - "Jennings Musical Instruments Limited" (from 1949) "The Jennings Accordion Company" (from 1949), and "The Jennings Organ Company" (from at least 1954).

It is very tempting to race ahead and say that part of the reason for bringing "Jennings Musical Industries" into being lay in the decision to produce ranges of guitar (and accordion) amplifiers - for which Dick Denney had been hired. That the ad below gives no such hint may simply be due to the fact that the amplifiers were not at the time advanced enough to advertise. Guitars (produced by other manufacturers) had been part of the Jennings catalogue from late 1950.

"Melody Maker" magazine, 10th August, 1957.

16th December (3)

Preliminary pictures of the first edition of "The Shadows Modern Electric Guitar Tutor", 1963. Further photos to follow. The Jennings advert for AC30s in the second edition can be found .

The Transonic (four control version rather than three); a beige AC30; and a Super Twin in black.

At the foot of the advert: "All VOX amplifiers feature the dynamic Vibravox. This is a unique method of introducing both frequency and Amplitude control, it is this combined effect which gives VOX amplifiers their characteristic Vibrato.

16th December (2)

"The Organ Quarterly", July 1957 - a letter to the editor from Leslie Morley, Sales Manager at Jennings in the mid to late 1950s (i.e. one of Reg Clark's predecessors). The article to which Morley was responding will be posted in due course. It was clearly stinging, but not without merit.

Have a look at the advert below (entry for 7th December) - a Jennings organ with what looks to be the interior of Ripon Cathedral in the background. Not really a practical proposition. By 1961, Jennings and Selmer had ceased advertising in the periodical, the ads for that year being from makers whose organs really could fill Ripon with sound.

16th December

Pictures of serial number 5503N, which is likely to have been ready for sale in the autumn of 1962, - external views only.

A combined page on AC30s with numbers in the 18000s and 19000s coming soon, along with some additions to the existing 13000s and 14000s.

15th December (2)

Difficult to know what to do with this one. Sold at Heritage Auctions in 2020. Serial number 8356B. A nice-looking Twin on the face of things. But the copper panelled chassis has integral Top Boost, which first occurs in AC30s with serial numbers in the 10000s. Perhaps there is some good genuine example in the high 9000s - but the 10000s are the real locus for these new panels.

The cabinet (which has back boards with rounded corners) is in excellent order - which is always good to see. And it still has un-radiused corners - i.e. a flat profile front and back. Radiused corners appear in the 12000s.

15th December

A couple more Twins with serial numbers in the 6000s registered towards the end : number 6898B (though the wooden cabinet is evidently from a later amp), and 6948N.

14th December (2)

Serial number 5916N , along with some new pictures of 5937N. Both are likely to have been made ready for sale in early 1963.

The underchassis of 5937N is marked "DP 52" in pencil. It is not clear at present what the initials signify - perhaps they are of the person who checked the amp? "DP" is also found on a chassis (now parted from its cabinet) produced a few months later.

Detail of serial number 5937N.

A stray chassis from mid 1963.

14th December

Three more AC30s from the first half of 1964 added: serial numbers ; ; and .

13th December

The page on "documents", 1959, has now been started - A representative selection of material on organs will be incorporated soon. Organs, along with accordions, were an important part of the business in 1959.

The prices of the four principal models of amplifier advertised - the AC10 with and without vibrato, AC1/15 (renamed the AC15 from September 1959), and the AC/30 - remained steady throughout the second half of the year.

"Melody Maker" magazine, 26th September 1959.

12th December

A "documents" page coming soon for 1959 - the principal amplifiers in the Jennings catalogue being the AC10 with and without vibrato; the AC15; and the new single speaker AC/30 (from the summer of 1959).

Below, notice of a venture that seems not to have taken off: the Jennings "British Organ Hire Service".

"Melody Maker" magazine, 7th March, 1959.

10th December

A Jennings advert in "The Stage", 5th of May, 1955, to coincide with the "British Industries Fair" (B.I.F.). See the ad in "Accordion Times" at the top . The Jennings demonstrator, Eric Easton, went on to manage the Rolling Stones. His link with JMI may have been useful, though it is unlikely to have been paramount in his appointment.

Once the various legal cases following his dismissal in 1965 had been settled, Easton moved to Florida, and set up in business selling organs.

"The Stage", 5th May, 1955.

9th December (2)

An interesting AC30 in the States. The chassis is from 1964 - Woden transformers with date codes "KU" and "MU". It will originally have belonged to a box with a serial number in the high 9000s or low 10000s.

The present box is much older however. Note the square corners of the back boards. But it has been revamped: new vinyl covering, grille cloth, and corner protectors added at front (with double pins). The serial number plate is typical of those used for a short time on black panel amps of early summer 1961 - serial numbers in the 4600s - . The speakers in the cabinet may date from this time too.

So an instance of a later chassis being slipped by a restorer into an early box rather than the other way round (see below, first entry for 8th December).

9th December

In 1965 and 1966, JMI retail pricelists meant very little in cities. Dealers and larger shops bought from JMI at a discount and sold at well under the list price. £70-80 was around the average one paid for an AC30 in London in '66. Below, adverts from "Melody Maker", 5th March and 3rd September. Pan Music was a major seller of Vox equipment from early summer 1965; Rudall and Carte (formerly Rudall, Carte and Rucke) dealt mainly in instruments for the orchestra, though the shop normally had selections of guitars and amplifiers too - increasing numbers as the sixties rolled on. In September 1965, Rudall listed a second-hand AC80/100 bass set for sale, probably one of the earliest to have been offered second hand in the West End.

"Melody Maker" magazine, 5th March, 1966.

"Melody Maker" magazine, 3rd September, 1966. Rudall also invited buyers to make offers on items of non-functioning equipment - echo units, guitars, amplifiers, and so on.

8th December (2)

A great picture of Dick Denney at the launch of "The Vox Story"; at left, Alan Hutton, manager of the band "Force Four". The frontispiece is signed by Dick and David Petersen (his co-author); Jack Jennings (brother of Tom, and in charge of Despatch at JMI); and Alan Larkins and John Bethull formerly of JMI Research and Development. Thanks to Bill for the pictures.

8th December

A late black panel AC30/6 chassis - probably late autumn / early winter 1961 - recently sold on ebay. The wooden cabinet, speakers, serial number plate, and so on, were all from later sources, different in each case, a real patchwork amp (probably created in the 1990s). Further pics .

Note the white EL84 sockets, and the closed-up phantom hole for the rectifier valve. Transformers are Haddons. The Woden choke, date code "HT" = August 1962 - is a replacement from yet another amp.

7th December (2)

The serious business of building and selling organs - the advert below placed by Jennings in July 1957 in "The Organ Quarterly", a review aimed at organists and historians of ecclesiastical music and instruments. Remember, Derek Underdown and Dick Denney will have been at work designing the Vibravox and AC2/30 at much the same time as this page appeared.

"The Organ" was published by "Musical Opinion" magazine, in which Jennings also advertised. See below, entry for 1st December.

7th December

Serial number 5672N, bought new in 1962 along with the Strat. The amp is fully original (no electronic or cosmetic repairs/renewals). The stand was purchased later. Thanks to Kevin for the pics of this superb AC30.

4th December

Thanks to Danny, further pictures of serial number 16041 .

Just to note that the cinema amplifier with Woden transformers pictured below (entry for 28th Nov.) is a Bell and Howell design - a species of "Filmosound" amplifier - manufactured under license in the UK by a division of the Rank Organisation.

2nd December

A small quirk of the AC30 chassis made under contract for JMI by Burndept from late autumn 1962 - the small cut-outs in the aluminium preamp upright for the cage nuts. Chassis produced by Westrex do not have these; nor the early chassis made by Burnham Engineering (Dartford).

Details from serial number 6097.

1st December

A few notes about early Jennings days. Up to and for a little way into 1957, there were three companies: "The Jennings Organ Company", "The Jennings Accordion Company", and "Jennings Musical Instruments Limited".

"Jennings Musical Instruments Limited" plaque on the headstock of a guitar sold by the shop on Charing Cross Road, c.1954. The guitar however was not made by Jennings. One also finds these plaques on the accordions that Jennings sold. Badges on early amplifiers tend just to have "Jennings"

By the end of 1957, a fourth company was brought into being: "Jennings Musical Industries Limited". This became the principal name presented to the public. Occasionally in early advertising one finds "Jennings of Dartford", but that was simply useful shorthand, not a company. "Jennings Musical Instruments Limited" survived until late 1968. It is the company cited by the executors of the JMI wind-up sales in September 1968.

As has been mentioned, Jennings-made console organs (ie. organs with wooden cabinet, built-in amplifier and speakers, and "bench" style seat) were important in early days (and indeed remained so until around mid 1965). In the late 1950s, "The Jennings Organ Company" took out a series of ads in "Musical Opinion" magazine, a monthly journal covering a wide range of "high-brow" musical subjects - recent classical concerts, new books and recordings, and articles on the restoration and repair of pipes and keyboards. The Royal Academy of Music and The Guildhall were regular advertisers, along with the long-established makers of keyboard instruments. Below the Jennings ad in the issue for February 1959.

Six models are presented, some not even remotely cheap. The advert placed by Jennings in the issue for May 1959, can be found on the Selmer also placed adverts for its organs in the magazine - in February 1959 a double page spread.

"Musical Opinion" magazine, February 1959, front cover.

Remember that from 1958 Jennings was beginning to sell increasing numbers of AC10s and AC15s. Its two prospective audiences could hardly have been more different: beat and skiffle groups on the one hand; church, church hall, and club/community organists on the other. By early 1960 accordions were on the way out.

A new page on select early Jennings things will be coming soon.

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