Vox AC30 website updates

April 2022

30th April

As late as June 1959, JMI was still advertising the AC2/30 with or without vibrato - at 62 and 70 guineas respectively, the prices that had been set in March 1958. Note that the G1/10 is also on offer. The intended audience of the advert - accordionists - was a fairly conservative crowd.

When JMI brought the AC/30 into production in July/August 1959, there was only one model - vibrato built in, at 70 guineas, the price still quoted in April 1960. In May 1960, the new Twin was introduced alongside it.

June 1959.

29th April (2)

It looks as though the black panel AC30/4 illustrated in the previous entry is now (or more recently at least) in a different box. A search in the files brought a second set of pictures to light. Two things probably follow: (i) that the chassis did not come from factory in either of the boxes it has photographed in (which explains the non-matching holes on the preamp lip, noted in the previous entry); and (ii) that it is not serial number 4715. In this instance, one step forward, two back.

Older box

Older box

Older box, detail of the image above

More recent box, detail of the image below. Note the cracks on the jack socket rings and the scrape around the Normal channel volume control.

More recent box - different new / old handles.

More recent box.

29th April

Serial number 4715, a late black panel AC30/4. A question that may not have any definitive answer (at present, at any rate): why does the lip of the preamp have five screw holes and the upper edge of the back-board only two?

28th April

A new page has been started on the capacitor added to the circuits of the AC30/4 and AC30/6 in February 1961 - . It may in time be possible to add some relevant info on third circuit AC15s.

If the pattern of renewed components in AC15 serial number 4177 follows what was there originally, then the amp evidently post-dates the addition of capacitor C42 and the deletion of C17 and R15 in February '61.

Detail of the AC15 circuit diagram, OA31

27th April

OK, time to bite the bullet. There are some questions to ask of a number of early TV Front AC30 Twins. First: so-called serial number 4290. The plate first appeared around 2005 on ebay.uk on an early [split-front] Twin, later covered in red vinyl. It now features on the cabinet of a TV Front amp covered in non-standard rexine and containing an AC30/6 chassis no less. It is not known at present where the AC30/6 chassis came from. Pictures of the amp have now been removed from the . Pictures of a further TV Front amp (cabinet covered in two-tone vinyl) will probably also have to be removed.

Below the plate stamped sn. 4290N - note the identical areas of damage in the two shots.

Plate as it appeared c. 2005 on an amp sold on ebay.uk.

Factitious TV Front amp - unlikely to be original.

26th April (2)

A better detail of one of The Shadows' AC30/6s, Abbey Road, autumn 1961. The member of the band using it was plugged into the Brilliant channel.

26th April

A further - probably from the summer/autumn of 1961. Cabinet recovered; some work on the electronics. As the pictures are quite small, it is hard to make out any detaila that seem particularly distinctive though (aside from the obvious).

25th April

Thanks to Robert, pictures of two AC30s from mid 1971 - serial numbers 25672 and 25712 - have now been .

24th April

Just to note that AC30X (Expanded Frequency) serial number 11913N has recently come to light, the highest number currently known for these amps in the standard serial number sequence.

During the course of 1964, the AC30X was given a sequence of its own, probably beginning at 500 and presumably brought into being at much the same time as the new sequence for AC30 Twins, which began at 2500. New sequence AC30Xs generally have grey control panels.

Quite how JMI went about producing the AC30X is unknown - but it seems fair to assume that small batches were made initially, then single units (as special orders). Serial numbers will have been assigned at point of dispatch. Serial number 11912 for instance is a standard Twin.

23rd April

Super Twin amplifier section serial number 5675N, recently sold in the UK. Mains and output transformers renewed; new handle; and two replacement black metal vents. Most striking, the vertical logo composed of single letters, the "O" in the form of a theta, as on certain early T60 cabinets. Somewhere there is an early photo of another AC30 Super Twin with a similar logo.

21st April

The page on the AC30 brochure of Spring 1961 has now been . It may be necessary to augment it (with links, further comments, and so on) in due course.

20th April

The first page of the AC30 brochure - the presence of Lonnie Donegan does indeed seem to be the key to dating. The Vox price-list published in "Melody Maker" on 13th May 1961 gives the same short roster of artists as price-lists issued earlier in the year had - no Lonnie. Then on 20th May, the advert for the "New Vox Twin" appears. Donegan is named, remaining in the roster of artists in price-lists through to the end of 1961.

Note also that the picture of The Shadows in the catalogue is much the same as the one that forms part of the "Melody Maker" ad. on the 20th - except that the guitars do not figure. Jet Harris left the band in April 1961, so the picture was slightly out of date at time of printing - but not by much.

19th April

A full set of pictures of the AC30 brochure from 1961 - Spring (?) - will be posted soon. Details have already been used on the site here and there, but the thing as a whole really needs to be represented.

Mention of Lonnie Donegan on the first page may indicate printing in late May 1961. See the entry below for 12th April (2).

17th April (2)

One of the last - it not the last - JMI adverts for the stand-alone Vibravox unit. From the AC30 brochure of mid 1961. The text is on the page following that of the illustration.

17th April

Mid 1961, the advert for the AC2 in the brochure issued to promote the AC30 with new Celestion blue speakers. The AC2 has two inputs, a large logo, black control panel, and two-piece back, which first appears at around serial number 2150 - - the number sequence having kicked off at 2000.

15th April

It seems that as well as making slider boards for AC50s, the "Taylor-Made Company" made numbers of boards for AC30s. The company (perhaps based in Essex, as many timber/joinery companies were) also produced contract work for E.K. Cole (EKCO) of Southsea.

"Woodware" appears to be the registered name ("REGD"), so it may be possible to track down further details of the company. Thanks to Eric for the picture. The page on has been updated.

The underside of the chassis slider board of serial number 19157.

13th April (3)

A match? A picture of two AC15s on stage, NME Poll Winners' Concert, 21st February, 1960; and a detail of the promotional picture of Cliff and the Shadows published in various sources in early 1960. If the amp in the upper pic - which has lost its handle - is not the one in the lower (prior to the handle being lost), then it is a very close twin. Their VOX logos are almost excessively large.

The other AC15 on stage has a logo formed of slanting panels of stick-on letters - of the type normally used for house names (often stuck on gates or door jambs, and so on). Lonnie Donegan had an AC15 with a logo similarly formed.

NME Poll Winners' Concert, 21st February, 1960.

Detail of a photo published fairly widely in the first half of 1960 (see below, entry for 9th March for a large, though still cropped, print). In terms of dated instances, 14th April, 1960 is one.

13th April (2)

An interesting but cryptic Selmer advert, 13th January, 1962. The list price of a new AC30 in a JMI pricelist published on the same day was 100 guineas (£110 and 10 shillings). What does "late model" in the Selmer ad signify? - a copper panel amp? - "post-LOC" rather than "pre-LOC" circuit? - intriguing. Copper panel amps were still new in January '62, only around four months old, so a reduction of £20 and 10s from standard list price probably indicates something else - a late black panel amp in reasonable condition?

As for the first amp at £75 - an early "pre-LOC" model? - or perhaps another black panel AC30 from later 1961 priced in line with its condition? At any rate, that amp was £35 and 10s cheaper - a substantial amount - than a new one.

Detail from a Selmer advert, 13th January, 1962.

Detail from a JMI pricelist, 13th January, 1962.

13th April

Were it not for the AC30 Super Twins, the picture below could almost be early 1961. In actual fact it is of an event sponsored by the "New Musical Express" at the Battersea Gardens Festival, 19th May, 1962. A second event, sponsored by the "News of the World" newspaper and featuring the Rolling Stones (among others), took place in the open by the boating pool.

At least some, if not all of the equipment pictured below is likely to have been provided by JMI specially for the event - a back line to suit all needs. Two TV Front AC30 Twins (far left and far right), two TV Front AC15s, and three AC30 Super Twins, two with "tray" stands.

Battersea Gardens, 19th May, 1962. Photo by Harry Hammond.

12th April (2)

Someone at JMI in the early 1960s - ie. prior to the arrival of Charlie Cobbett (Group Liaison Officer) - had a keen eye for the value of television - particularly programmes broadcast by ATV - as a promotional medium.

The Shadows were given new TV Front AC30 Twins for Cliff's new ATV series (Christmas 1960 to March 1961). The band was then given new split-front AC30/6s for the NME Poll Winners' Concert (5th March 1961), filmed in part by ATV. And it appears that the Lonnie Donegan band was provided with a beige split-front AC30 in advance of Donegan's fourth ATV series, beginning on 11th May, 1961.

Below, a screen-grab from the Donegan show broadcast on 18th May, 1961, Les Bennetts the lead guitarist in view. The AC30 is fleetingly visible in the show broadcast on the 11th.

18th May, 1961.

12th April

A detail from a double-page Jennings spread, March 1958 - some more on the . The amp is said here to have six inputs. Other early sources (1957 and 1958) generally say either three or four. The operating voltage is given as 200v/215v. These were either settings in the 110-250v or 200-250v operating ranges stated in other promotional material, or a misprint (for 200/250v).

11th April

Thanks to Eric, pictures of AC30 Twin - assembled by Burndept for JMI, chassis number 10887. The Woden transformers have date code "KV" = October 1964, the choke "HV" = August '64.

Serial number 19157.

10th April (2)

A great pic. of a split-front AC15 at the NME Poll Winners' Concert, Empire Pool, Wembley, 15th April, 1962. By 1961, the event had become an extremely useful showcase for JMI. Almost every band on the bill used a Vox amplifier of some description - either their own or one provided by Jennings for the event.

10th April

Thanks to Steve, pictures of an with a serial number probably in the high 4000s / low 5000s, produced for export to the USA early on (perhaps early 1966).

Chassis number 10375 - assembled for JMI by Burndept.

9th April

Thanks to Frederik, pictures of , in superb condition. Unusually the chassis is Westrex-made and the serial number plate hand stamped.

Serial number 19054. On the plate, the line relating to voltage and cycles has been painted out (part of the process of bringing the amp into line with Danish electrical legistlation). This was probably done by the main Vox import agent in Denmark, "Europaisk Musik Import". The company remained agents for Vox through to the early 1970s, having been appointed initially at some point in 1963.

8th April (2)

The price of the AC30 (Normal) on the reverse of the flyer below is given as 110 guineas. This tallies with the price given for the amp by JMI in promotional material from February to May 1963. By August 1963, the AC30 had gone up to 115 guineas.

8th April

An old picture of a Vox flyer - probably from Spring 1963 - illustrating among other things the T60 bass amplifier along with the Vox Transonic. A pricelist is on the reverse, at its head the stamp of the shop from which the sheet came: "Rose & Son", possibly in Brighton.

A price for the Transonic is first given in February 1963 - 150 guineas (equivalent to £157 and 10 shillings). See .

7th April

Three pics of Terry Dene and band, published in April 1960 - just visible in the background, an AC2/30, handle on its side.

4th April

A minuscule (4.5cm wide) but interesting advert placed by Gamlin Pianos in the "South Wales Echo", 27th April, 1963 - a promotional AC30 in "Bright Red". For examples of amps in colours - red, green, and various shades of blue - . Could the Gamlins amp be serial number 6932? The date would just about fit.

It seems likely that these AC30s were made primarily to help main dealers promote the lines of Vox amplifiers that they stocked. There is no evidence to show that they were exhibited at Trade Fairs. That was the role of the perspex AC30.

Whether particular colours were assigned to particular dealers - ie. red always for Gamlin, blue for Yardley's in Birmingham, say - is not known at present.

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3rd April (2)

Thanks to Terry Webster, a picture of Jet Harris and the Jet Blacks, Dutch TV, late 1962. Terry, the bassist, is immediately to the left of the AC30 Super Twin. The band's equipment was provided by the Jennings shop on Charing Cross Road.

Late 1962. Jet had left The Shadows in April.

Jet Harris had been provided with a pre-production T60 in August '62 - shortly before the new amp was displayed by JMI at the Russell Hotel Trade Fair. A guitar tuner - also newly developed - was evidently built in. See the advert below, and this page on the . It is likely though that the T60 did not go out on tour. No picture of Jet using the amp has come to light so far.

A long thin advert divided into two for convenience here, Jet's surname misprinted unfortunately.

Note the line "Featuring the world's first built-in transistor guitar tuner..." This evidently was compact enough to be incorporated in guitars too (as indicated in previews of the Russell Hotel show).

Later, an electronic tuner was incorporated in the Vox solid state amps made by the Thomas Organ Company in the USA. The effects in these amps were wholly derived from original JMI designs (as one might expect).

3rd April

Just to note that the page on has been updated and tidied up. For some reason, four-digit chassis numbers instead of the usual five were used from around chassis 3000 to 3100. Thanks to Glen Lambert for pointing this out.

Chassis number 3018, serial number unknown, probably in the low-ish 11000s though. Thanks to Glen for the picture.

2nd April

A better version of the advert for "Vox Week", placed by Gamlin Pianos of Cardiff in the Welsh press in the second week of February 1963 - this from the "South Wales Echo". In actual fact the week became a fortnight.

In 1962, as a means of pushing sales forward, JMI had set up a team of regional respresentatives working under John (?) Willament, General Sales Manager - Reg Clark's immediate predecessor. John Vose handled Scotland and Northern Ireland; Colin Barratt the Midlands and northern England; and Eddie Haynes the south east of England. It is not known at present who handled the south west of the country.

At any rate, it is likely to have been Colin Barratt, based in Cheadle in Manchester, who brought Gamlin on board as agents - certainly by the autumn of '62 - and probably Kitchens in Leeds too. See the note below, entry for 27th March. Agents generally carried the full range of amplifiers; smaller shops stocked only the most popular models - in the very early 60s the AC15, then later the AC30.

Some lines were supplied as "Sale or Return", at least until the practice was phased out by legislation in succeeding years.

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