VOX AC100 - UPDATES AND NEW INFO
August to October 2021
30th October
The World Accordion Championships, Leicester, 27th-30th September, 1967, an annual competition held in a different country each year. Jennings had attended in 1955 (Brighton), but no record has come to light of anything between '55 and '67. In '67, Eddie Haynes was evidently present primarily in a representative capacity - in other words there is unlikely to have been a dedicated Vox stand.
Published October 1967.
29th October
Hilversum, 10th-11th October, 1966, 2nd Dutch Musical Instrument Trade Fair - JMI represented by Dick Denney and Colin Barratt, perhaps others too.
JMI exhibited at the stand of Fa. Timmermanns of Amsterdam, the principal Dutch agent for Vox since c. 1965. On show, an AC100; the Guitar-Organ; Line Source column speakers; and possibly a 7-series amplifier, far left.
A new page has been started here.
28th October
A short review of the Russell Hotel show of 1967 concentrating on the new transistor organs, and the Gyrotones. The organs are likely to have been a means of using up "left-over" Thomas organ parts. In early 1967 Thomas and JMI ended their reciprocal arrangement - JMI had distributed Thomas's organs in the UK since 1963.
Below, the "Impulse" lighting units shown at the Fair. These were described in reasonable detail by Reg Clark in a piece published in the Sydney Morning Herald on 3rd December '67. In July 1968, the lights were advertised in the secondhand pages in "Melody Maker" and sold off.
Sydney Morning Herald, 3rd December, 1967.
Melody Maker, 20th July, 1968.
27th October
Thanks to Eric, pictures of AC100 Mark 2 serial number 900 - a nice one - currently in Arizona. Now registered on this page.
26th October
By 1969 the Frankfurt Musikmesse had outgrown its traditional venues - Halls 11 and 12 - so for the 1970 show the organisers moved proceedings to the much larger Hall 5 at the rear of the ground.
Aerial view of the Fair complex published in a music trade journal in late 1969.
Halls 11 and 12 as marked on the photo above.
From 1963 to 1967 JMI exhibited in Hall 12; in 1968 in Hall 11. "Vox Sound Equipment Limited" had a space in Hall 11 in 1969; "Vox Sound Limited" exhibited in Hall 5.
25th October
One of the best short reviews of the JMI stand at the Russell Hotel Trade Fair, August 1966. The solid state amplifiers are the "headline" items; the new guitars are named, along with various accessories - the "Keetaar" (not put into production) and the frequency tuner (illustrated in adverts, but made only in very small numbers) - and among other things the "Circlophonic Sound System", predecessors of the Vox Gyrovox/Gyrotone.
The page on the Fair - link above - has been tidied up. Further material to come.
22nd October (2)
Bournemouth, December 1967 - one of the smaller trade shows attended by JMI. The show was arranged by Eddie Moors (of Eddie Moors Music Ltd, Boscombe) at the Wessex Hotel, West Cliff, Bournemouth, 6th-7th December. This was the first time that Jennings had attended the event.
Music trade magazine, January 1968. Behind Dave Roberts a Vox Supreme, at right in the picture a Gyrotone III rotating speaker cabinet.
22nd October
A further note on the Russell Hotel Trade Fair of 1965. Note that the speakers in the new LS60 units had double cones (these were sometimes termed "whizzers"). Such units were produced, notably by Celestion, for PA and organ applications.
It is unlikely that many LS40 column speakers with integrated 40 watt transistor amplifiers were made or sold.
Music trade magazine, September 1965.
20th October
Pages from a guide to the Russell Hotel Trade Fair of 1967, the first showing the various venues in Russell Square. By 1966, the Fair had expanded well beyond the means of the Russell to host it alone. Nearby hotels were booked by AMII to accommodate the displays of piano manufacturers and late-comers to the event. The second page (the second of two) gives the locations of the stands of manufacturers H to Z in the venues in the Square.
Where the Russell Hotel is concerned, the norm was for displays to be mounted on the ground floor. Rooms on the first were primarily for demonstrations (ie. noise). Larger manufacturers normally had one or two spaces on the ground and several on the first.
18th October (3)
A further pic. of the LS60s at the Russell Hotel Fair, 1965, along with new two-manual Continental (ultimately put into general production in a different form) and of course an AC30.
Music trade magazine, September 1965.
18th October (2)
The entry below has been adjusted. It is not clear how the units hinged together face to face for transport - presumably some built-in (rather than "add-on") fittings not visible in the picture. Otherwise no real advance over putting the columns face-to-face and wrapping a couple of belts round to keep them together. Hinged up, the pair must have been phenomenally heavy.
18th October
A new picture of the LS60 column speakers, presented for the first time at the Russell Hotel in August 1965. As the photo indicates, each column apparently had two compartments. The columns could be stacked one on top of the other, and hinged together for transport.
Each column had four 12 inch speakers and a tweeter, presumably a Goodmans Midax or Trebax horn. Total power handling per column was reckoned to be 80 watts, a pair therefore being sufficient to cope with the new MC150/6 150 watt Public Address amplifier.
Quite how many units were produced in this format is unknown - probably very very few. Original JMI LS60 columns (of the non-hinging variety) are scarce these days. The idea of portable folding column sets was taken up later though under "Vox Sound Equipment Limited" (mid 1968 to late 1969).
Music trade magazine, September 1965.
17th October (3)
Please note that the context of the items below has been corrected - NOT Frankfurt 1965, but the Russell Hotel Trade Fair in August of that year.
17th October (2)
Two items on the Russell Hotel Fair, 1965 from the music trade press. A short preview published in August, and a small and slightly strange picture of the Vox stand published in September. Perhaps the most curious thing in the former is mention of a "brass" version of the guitar organ.
Music trade magazine, August 1965.
Music trade magazine, September 1965, Larry Macari (as mentioned in the text above) on accordion. The identities of the two others are not known at present.
17th October
Just to note that "Pavilion A" in the picture below accommodated for the most part British piano manufacturers. These had exhibited as a group at Frankfurt since the 1950s.
JMI and other makers of electronic instruments had stands in the main hall - Hall 12. British companies did not always have adjacent spaces - ie. one might find Hohner next to Rose Morris for instance.
16th October
Below, a pic of Trade Hall 12, Pavilion A at the Frankfurt Fair, 1965 - Musikinstrumente aus Grossbritannien.
Music trade magazine, March 1965.
11th October
Two views of the Russell Hotel Trade Fair (and the "Million Dollar Deal" forged by JMI and the Thomas Organ Company), the first that of "The Guardian", the second of the music trade press, which both served and depended on musical instrument manufacturers. Tom Jennings's and Reg Clark's promotional statements were regularly relayed more or less verbatim.
"The Guardian", late Auust 1964.
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Music trade press, 3rd September, 1964.
9th October
A note published in the local Dartford papers, 10th November, 1967, on Tom's action against Royston. The music trade press recorded in December that he had retained Quintin Hogg (Lord Hailsham) to represent him. Tom was ultimately successful and had returned to numbers 117-119 Dartford Road by May 1968. See the entry below for 7th September.
In the meantime, JMI had mounted at least two liquidation sales at 115 Dartford Road and centralised operations at the Vox Works in Erith. It seems likely that when 115 reverted to Tom, he sold it off.
JMI, which had brought several new products to the Frankfurt Fair in February 1968, continued operating until April. R.N. Langdon, the official receiver, signalled to the music trade press that the company had come to an end on 26th April 1968, and that its place had been taken by "Surminster Limited", trading as "Vox Sound Equipment Limited".
Local Dartford paper, 10th November 1967.
Music trade press, December 1967.
Published in the music trade press in July 1968.
8th October
AC100 serial number 2105 is currently on Reverb and has been for a little while. It is certainly not "c 1965" though.
Serial number 1689, modified, is also on offer on the site on this page.
6th October (2)
Just to note that the prices given in the overview of Vox PA amplifiers published in April 1965 (below) correspond with those given in the JMI pricelist of November 1965. Notes on the various types of amp can be found on the main PA index page. These will be augmented further shortly.
6th October
In 1965 the "Association of Public Address Engineers" (APAE) mounted its annual show at the King's Head Hotel (Harrow) from 17th-18th March. The association journal noted that JMI had attended and demonstrated its radio microphone again - probably in its revised form (see the entry below, 1st October). The unit itself as a "product" was nothing particularly new though. The Vox radio mic had not only been shown in Harrow the previous year, but also at the Russell Hotel Trade Fair in 1962, refinements and changes having been introduced in stages. The first company to present a radio mic to the APAE however was Lustraphone - a link-up with the BBC in 1962. Commentators in the association journal were quite clear that Lustraphone was the pre-eminent manufacturer in the field.
Although reviews of these smaller trade shows are relatively uncommon, a fairly extensive survey of the APAE meeting of 1965 has come to light in an electronics trade journal - a strange magazine covering everything from blow-heaters to high-end test equipment for engineers, and more or less everything in between, ground that would be taken up these days in a host of specialist publications. At any rate, the magazine, on 16th March, devoted three full pages to the APAE exhibition; and on the 29th April, produced a guide to the various types of PA amplifier on the market.
Above the image and short note on the Vox PA range published on 18th March 1965 (not the 16th as previously stated).
Below, the specs printed in the section published on 29th April 1965. Note that the MC50/6 is expressly mentioned by name (all that was said on the 18th March is that two models had six inputs).
"A", "P", "S" = amplifier section only; portable; and/or shelf-mounting. "A" and "V" are AC mains operation and valve. "V" with number = number of volume controls. "T", "B" = treble and bass controls. The final column is price in £sd. The comparative tables were printed longitudinally across three pages. The entries below have been divided into two sections to aid clarity.
Published 29th April 1965.
1st October (3)
A section from a piece on Tom Jennings, published in a trade journal, December 1964. Thanks to Martin for the reference. The interesting thing in relation to the Vox Radio Microphone is mention of a four-channel unit, listed later in the JMI pricelist of November 1965
A number of the circuit diagrams for the revamped Vox Radio Mic. range are dated December 1964 - some doubtless being ready for view (if only in pre-production form) at Frankfurt.
Detail from the piece on Tom, December 1964, which spans two columns in the trade journal.
Pricelist of November 1965.
1st October (2)
Just to add, that the Radio Microphone, was in 1962, to have been called the "Transair". All the formalities were gone through to bag the name, but ultimately it was never used.
1st October
Some material coming soon on the Vox Radio Microphone, which went through a series of changes from 1962-1966, cosmetic and electronic. Below two promotional pictures used in music trade magazines. The first shows the general appearance of the unit as it was from late 1962 to 1965; the second from early 1965 to 1966.
In some respects, the Radio Microphone was like the Guitar Organ - a technological achievement, but the substantial effort involved in design and manufacture had little return in terms of sales. By 1966 JMI heralded any sale a success - apparently microphones had been purchased by churches, for the celebrant at mass.
The very earliest units are likely to have been covered in beige, or perhaps even orange to match the Continental and Vox Transonic amplifier, both shown for the first time with the new unit at the Russell Hotel Fair of August 1962. Redesign took place in late 1964 in advance of the Frankfurt Trade Fair of February '65. Burndept, long in the business of producing communication devices for the military, navy, and aerospace industry, provided a new electronic circuit.
Trade journal February 1964. This image was embodied in various adverts during the course of '64
Trade journal March 1965.
2nd August
As a follow-up to the Frankfurt Trade Show of February 1965, Jennings put out this now familiar advert for the AC100 SDL in the music trade press in March. The ad also went out in "Beat Instrumental" magazine, though the context was obviously different. The SDL had already been showcased in the British marketplace, the drawing embodied having been made by September 1964.
