A small sample of surviving AC100 SDL cabs
Four Celestion T1088s and two Goodmans Midax horns
Cabinets were made for JMI by Gla-Rev (based in Hainault, Essex) and in 1964 and 1964 dispatched to Dartford Road in finished cosmetic form (already covered with vinyl and with piping and grille cloth in place). Speakers, wiring, and connectors would be fitted by JMI.
Mark 1A: late 1964
Capacitors in the bottom of the cabinet, heavy-duty wiring throughout. The XLR socket is on the lowest back board. See this page for a pictures of Mark 1 cabs and trolleys used by 1960s bands.
Mark 1B: late 1964
Still the trolley with basket top, but the wiring is now standard green and yellow 0.2/24 gauge in twisted runs, and the paired capacitors - 1uf each - are mounted on the underside of the cabinet top and internal shelf, as in Mark 2 SDL cabinets. Further pictures of this cab and trolley can be found on this page.
Mark 2A: first half of 1965
These cabs have the rectangular Cannon XLR connector on the back panel.
AC80/100 serial number 236 with a black control panel. Perhaps the original cabinet (ie. the one that accompanied the amp from the factory) - note the Type 2 trolley. The original speakers have gone, but some of the wiring loom is still present.
Cab accompanying serial no. 306 (black panel). The second earliest surviving Mark 2 cab. Note the rivets round the frames of the T1088s.
Around May 1965 (collection: Jim Elyea). Pictured with AC80/100 serial no. 380, which presumably accompanied it from the factory. Speaker terminals on the struts of the Celestions.
Serial no. 392. The speakers date from May 1965. Midax horns nos 14868 and 14911. Further pictures are here.
Details of an AC100 SDL speaker cabinet of similar date to serial number 392's can be seen on this page - Celestion T1088s with May 1965 date codes.
Cab accompanying AC100 serial no. 502 (owned by Michael Finger - see this page). Note that the wiring loom, speakers, and horns are just as they left the factory around July/August 1965.
Details of a cab sold on ebay in 2014. Produced by GlaRev - see the "G-R" stencilled on the shelf. On the sticker: "GG 15007". Double-pin corners were added on the front. The original single-pin corners are still in place on the back though.
Currently in Switzerland. The amp is from 1966, but the cab is earlier. Note that the terminals of the speakers are on the struts of the frames.
Bags of character. Original speakers and horns in place. The numbers of the Midaxes are 13123 and 13388. Thanks to Billy for the pictures.
Cab accompanying amp serial no. 772. One of the speakers has the code 18HK = 18th August 1965. Midax serial no. 15910. Still the rectangular Cannon XLR.
Mark 2B: later 1965 - 1967
Round (doughnut shaped) Amphenol XLR connectors. In 1966 backboards are made of chipboard (particle board) rather than the Baltic plywood used for the rest of the cab.
Sold on ebay.de, January 2011. A cab in excellent condition. Produced early 1965? Speaker terminals on the struts. Midax serial no. 15548.
Early 1966
A finely restored cab. New grille cloth and castors, all else original. Two speakers have date code 03JK, and the two others 06JK and 11HK - respectively 3rd and 6th of September 1965 and 11th August 1965. The Midaxes have serial nos 16598 and 17747. The back panels are particle board. Cab signed by "MAY" who worked on many 7-series cabs. Amphenol connector.
Sold in Florida in late 2011. Only one small photo available.
A cab in the process of being restored (collection: Mark Vaquer). Good cosmetic condition, crossover capacitors in place, but awaiting horns and speakers
1966: Interlude - Goodmans speakers and Celestion alnico T1088s
Probably an English-made cabinet for an early American solid state Super Beatle amp. Owned by Denis Girard. Note the hooded castors to the trolley, four-part back, and (English) Goodmans speakers - a species of the Audiom range - perhaps 1965 or early 66. Could this cabinet be a prototype? Note that the XLR plug is on the lowest back board, as on Mark 1 SDL cabs.
Another cab with Goodmans speakers, accompanied by an AC100 from 1966 (three-line serial number plate, and internal guard plate around the EL34s). New cloth on the front of the cab, but otherwise in fine condition.
Probably an early American Super Beatle cab - note the solid birch baffle as JMI used (standard Super Beatle cabs had particle board) - in a Frankenstein trolley, part Super Beatle, part Series 90.
1966/1967 and transitional to the solid state Supreme cabinet
A handsome AC100 cab and trolley in company with an AC50. Its former owner noted: "I bought the AC50 secondhand from VOX at Dartford, it was in a wooden shack where they kept gear that had been out on loan to 'well known' bands. Ostensibly mine had been used by Chris Barber's Jazz band, but I can't prove it. Cost £35."
The cab was purchased in 1973 from a seller who had placed a small ad in a local paper. Corner protectors have single pins, and the single-piece back-panel has a domed Amphenol XLR input socket. Three of the speakers are ceramic magnet G12s - T1225s (?) sprayed silver, with large silver and blue Vox stickers. The fourth is a Celestion G12 alnico. The wiring is standard Vox style for 7 series amps (1966). Probably produced close to the end of the AC100 run.
Left and centre, an AC100 amp cover. On the right, a JMI price list from 1967. The AC100 amplifier section cost £105, the cab and trolley £147, and the cover (for the amp), £1 13s 3d.
First image - backs of the Beatles' AC100s during the show in Paris in June 1965, "straight" XLR speaker cables in view. The other two are of an original mid 1965 XLR - Cannon connectors on the ends (for the rectangular sockets on amp and cab).
Amphenol XLR connectors - for cabs with the newer style "doughnut" socket.
Supreme cabinets (before the introduction of Goodmans Power Range speakers)
Probably from late 1967. The logo has "Solid State" in small letters below "VOX". Note that the ceramic Celestions are the same as those that appear in one of the AC100 cabs pictured above.
Mick Jagger backstage before the Warsaw concert (13th April 1967) of the Rolling Stones' Spring tour of Europe. For more about the tour, see this page. Infamously at least one of the cabs is said to have caught fire - NOT the result of sheer volume as the urban myth has it, rather the failure of one of the power transistors in the Supreme amp.
Vox Sound Equipment Limited (mid 1968 to mid 1970)
A well used Supreme cabinet from early 1968 with old-style logo. The corner protectors have two pins, however. The speakers are Celestion alnico T1096s - 16ohms - from January of that year. The wiring has been redone. Further pictures on this page.
A Vox Sound Supreme cab - number 417, in fair condition - the trolley is missing at least one of its crossbars. Probably produced in 1968. Offered for sale on dba.dk in 2007. The speakers are 16ohm Celestion T1096s, as in an example further down on this page. At some stage the cab seems to have been in a later tilt-back trolley, as pictured in the 1969/1970 brochure - one can see the tell-tale signs on the side.