This page picks up from the one on the JEI J68 and J69, the former becoming the J70 in mid 1970.

January 1970, the two manual organ at foot, not designated either as a J68 or J70 at this point.

So far as one can tell the J70 was not officially "released" until the summer of 1970 however, a note published in the music trade press in May indicating that new models were forthcoming. The first explicit mention of the J70 - as a newly designated model with "Walking Bass" - appears in a review of the JEI display at the Russell Hotel Trade Fair in August 1970: "Jennings Electronic Industries ... have two models, the J.70 and J.71, on sale at the moment". The J.71 was the three-manual model, the successor of the J69.

August 1970.

The Russell Hotel Trade Fair, August 1972, a J70 just in shot at left.

To what extent production went in step with sales is difficult to gauge. That the J70 appears in the purple catalogue of the summer of 1973 may indicate that Jennings had plenty to sell - in other words, take up had not been brisk over the preceding years. In terms of pricelists, December 1974 is the last we see of the model, pitched at £578.88. The only organ visibly present at the Frankfurt Fair of 1975 was the J71.

Summer 1973.

When Jennings finally folded in 1975 it seems likely that numbers of J70s remained unsold and were auctioned off or passed on at a discount. Tom was long gone. At least two surviving units have had their plates clipped.

Tabs, drawbars, and controls

As can be seen, numbers of elements (though not all) run in parallel with the Vox Super Continental II on the one hand, and to a more limited extent with the Riviera, both still relatively new when Tom and Dick left JMI. The J70 is not just a Vox "knock-off" however.

Tabs: "Mellow"; "Pulse On"; "Slow Pulse Fast"; "Tone I"; "Tone II"; "Tone III".

Pedal bass drawbars (two): "Pedal Tone".

Drawbars Lower Manual: 16'; 8'; 4'; [Mixture] IV; and two for "Tone".

Drawbars Upper Manual: 16'; 8'; 5 1/3"; 4'; 2 2/3'; 2'; 1 3/5"; 1'; two drawbars for "Tone".

Tabs: "Mellow"; "Perc"; "Perc 8'"; Perc 4'"; "Perc 2 2/3'"; "Perc 1'".

Apron front left: Walking Bass controls, Vibrato and Tremolo.

The lower and upper (middle) manuals of the Jennings J71 followed the same arrangement as above. The J70's rear panel connections and sockets can be seen in the pictures below.

Some surviving examples

Below, an overview for the time being of surviving J70s. Most are in Europe, which was Tom's best market in the early 1970s.

Serial numbers are likely to have begun at 300, the lowest encountered so far being 345. At least two have had their plates clipped and obscured.

Serial number 405

Currently in Europe. The top of the serial number plate, bearing "JENNINGS ORGAN", has been clipped away.

Serial number unknown

The organ in excellent cosmetic condition all round, one of the nicest known to survive. On the rear panel, the serial number plate has been covered over with a Jennings speaker cabinet plate.

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