The Vox Super Continental dual manual organ
Pre-production demonstration version, Russell Hotel Trade Fair, August 1965.
Page in progress (April 2025)
Developed during the course of 1965, the Super Continental dual manual (in pre-production form) was displayed in public for the first time at the Russell Hotel Trade Fair in August 1965 (pictured above).
Production proper will have begun initially at the Vox Works in Erith - the West Street Works - leased from Burndept Electronics, a fellow member of the Royston Group of Industries. Royston, which had controlling shares in the two companies, actively encouraged collaboration. Encouragement stopped just short of mandation one senses.
At any rate, production did not remain long in Erith. Following a serious fire at the Works in early December, the Organ Department (in company with others) moved back to Dartford Road, and what should really be termed "final assembly" rather than "production" remained in Dartford through to 1967. The manufacture of various elements that went into the Continental was regularly contracted out.
Material on Italian-made Super Continentals - made at the Eko factory in Recanati from early 1967 - can be found on this page.
The Organ Department, West Street Works, early 1965.
Detail from the JMI pricelist of November 1965. The dual manual Continental was one of the most expensive items in the Jennings range, topping a full AC100 SDL by a good margin.
Below, "Exchange and Mart" magazine, March 1967, mention of a dual manual having been purchased in April 1966 - so quite early on. The organ will have been made in Erith.
A page on the fire of December 1965, currently dealing principally with amplifiers, can be found here.
Early examples
The serial number sequence for the Super Continental began at 2000. Whether all early ones had plates with numbers is not known at present.
Below, thanks to Steve a shot of an early production Super Continental dual manual: the lid a sort of thin "square top", fixed with screws from its top; keyboard side panels of wood rather than metal. The main electrolytic capacitors are dated October 1965 (date of their manufacture).
Further images can now be found on this page.
An organ similar to the one above was evidently shown by Jennings at the Frankfurt Fair in late February/early March 1966:
Dick Denney and "Miss Vox" at Frankfurt in 1966. The Super Continental can be made out at left, no face plate on the front of its lid, a guitar lying flat on top. The organ may have been used as the basis for the illustration on the front of the service manual (further below).
Another was issued, probably at much the same time, to the Beatles. The Beatles new UL7120 amplifiers arrived on 12th April. Below, a photo showing the organ on stage in June at Essen:
The flare of the logo can be seen on the front of the lid, right-hand side.
Below, a shot of Mike Smith of the Dave Clark Five trying out an early Vox Super Continental organ at Dartford Road, 1966, watched by Reg Clark. Picture from "The Vox Story", ed. Petersen and Denney, p. 38. It is possible - no more than that - that this was the organ shown at the Frankfurt Fair in March.
Going solely from the photographs currently known, the group were no strangers to the Works. Later on Dave Clark was appointed a sort of roving ambassador for Vox by Tom.
Jennings promotions and documentation
Section in progress, April 2025
Jennings Super Continental service data folder, 1966.
The JMI booklet on the "Theory of Operation" has a page to itself here. For an overview of early circuit diagrams (schematics), see this page.