Detail of the hand-stamped plate of Vox Continental (TC = "Transistor Continental") serial number 1313, produced and sold by the Jennings Organ Company Limited in 1964.

As is well known, the serial number sequence for Vox Continental organs began in late 1962 at number 1000. Plates were stamped by hand initially and added to the organs by the Despatch Department, headed by Jack Jennings, Tom's brother, as they became ready for sale. Jack would enter details of destination, buyer, date, and so on, against the new numbers in his registers (now unfortunately gone).

Hand-stamping of plates was the norm at Dartford Road across the whole of the Jennings range - amplifiers, organs, echo units - through to mid / late 1964.

Below, a provisional overview of Continental numbers into 1965, further material to be incorporated shortly.

The main index page on Vox Continentals can be found here.

Notes

1) - few Continentals have come to light so far with "TC" numbers ("Transistor Continental") in the 1600s, 1700s, and most of the 1800s. Why? Simply one of those things? It seems unlikely that organs with numbers in this range were caught in the fire at the West Street Works (erith) in December 1965.

2) - between serial numbers TC1597 and TC1888 a new mode of assembly was evidently brought in: generator boards laid flat in a metal tray instead of being held upright in a metal frame. The change is likely to have been introduced soon after the Organ Department moved to Erith in late 1964 / early 1965. An organ with new-style boards is seen during final checking in one of the films made at the Works in early '65. Serial number TC1888 is certainly from 1965.

3) - the machine stamping of plates comes in at much the same time as the change in production noted above - between TC1597 (hand stamped) and TC1888 (machine stamped).

4) - also, a new style of serial number plate appears. "The Jennings Organ Company Ltd" becomes "Jennings Musical Industries Ltd" with "Dartford, Kent, England" underneath. The voltage rating changes - from "200/250 VOLTS" to "110/250 VOLTS". Bulk exports to the USA - in other words to Thomas Organ - are clearly in view, the deal with Thomas having been announced in late August 1964.

TC1888. On the generator boards, Mullard mustard capacitors with date code "D4N" = last quarter of 1964 for their manufacture. But see (6) below.

5) - the fire at the West Street Works (Erith) in December 1965. The most likely picture at present is that organs with numbers in the higher 2000s were destroyed, production thereafter swiftly being passed under contract to Burndept - Continentals with numbers in the 3000s, plates marked "BD".

6) - in 1964 JMI evidently bought a huge number of Mullard mustard capacitors for use its organs. These have "A4N", "B4N", "C4N", and "D4N" date codes = first, second, third and last quarters of 1964 for their manufacture. In serial number TC2673, Mullards with these dates are found in company with an original electrolytic dated September '65 (the organ therefore not ready for sale until some months later). For the Mullards to have any real value in the assessment of a Continental's date, one needs some secondary point of reference.

How many

Below, a gentle probing of the question of how many Vox Continental organs were made (ie. made ready for sale) at Dartford Road in early years:

Late 1962 to late 1963 - probably around 130-150, from TC1000 through to the mid 1100s (insofar as serial numbers are concerned).

Late 1963 to late 1964 - somewhere over 400, from the mid 1100s into the higher 1500s / low 1600s.

400 in one year is a colossal number - approximately 8 per week. A note on known component date codes will be set out in due course.

Herrburger Brooks (makers of keyboard assemblies for JMI): a preliminary search through the Herrburger archive in the Derbyshire County Archive a little while ago did not bring to light - at first pass - any ledgers with details relevant to Jennings or Continentals. It may be that something will emerge in further trawls.

What does seem clear at present is that the numbers stamped by Herrburger on the assemblies it made for Jennings increase as JMI's own serial numbers increase. Their only relation however is up.

Back to the main Vox Continental pages.

Back to Jennings valve organs (the Jennings Organ Company), 1952-1965.