Details from the second printing of the JMI Newsletter produced for the Russell Hotel Trade Fair, August 1965. The whole back page can be seen at the foot of this page.

The MC150 was the largest and most powerful amplifier (of any sort) formally offered by Jennings in the 1960s. The intention initially was to offer an all-valve unit - a preamp along the lines of the MC100/4 with three microphone inputs and one for music. By the time the amp came to production in late 1965, it was evidently felt that the six-input transistor preamp, developed for the MC50/6 and MC100/6, would be better as a "front end". Reverb became an optional extra (10 guineas).

Detail from a review of the Jennings stand at the Russell Hotel Fair, August 1965. See also the text of the flyer at the head of this page.

The speakers mentioned in the Trade Fair text - "eight heavy-duty 12" loudspeakers in two line source cabinets" - may have simply have been promotional talk for standard LS60 cabinets. Although these are regularly said in the literature to be 60 watt units (the clue very definitely being in the name), it is likely that they could handle 80 watts with ease - a pair for 150 or 160 watts (see the review in "Beat Instrumental" magazine further down this page). No mention is made in the pricelists of proprietary cabinets or drivers.

To date, no surviving example of the M.C.150 has come to light (in common with the MC30). The 1980s and 1990s were not kind to older PA equipment. For surviving MC50s from 1965 and later, see this page. MC100s can be found here.

Quite how many MC150s were sold is difficult to say - probably reasonable numbers though as the amp remained in the Vox catalogue through to 1967. It was marketed in the UK and Europe, but not the U.S.A. The only example that has so far come to light in music press adverts is one that the Orange shop on New Compton Street had for sale in 1969. Orange sold a good deal of new, used, and surplus Vox equipment in the late 60s.

"Melody Maker" magazine, 19th April, 1969. The shop had the amp until the 26th of May. In the advert of 31st May, the MC150 has gone.

In terms of electronics, the M.C.150 is an interesting case. The preamp of the non-Reverb model was a standard Vox "modular" unit. The four-input front end will have been pretty much identical to the one developed for the MC100 - seen in the examples on this page. The transistorised six-input front end - the one adopted for the unit by late 1965 - can be further down the page linked above.

The circuit diagram for the MC150/4, which on the analogy of the sheet for the MC100/4 will probably have encompassed both preamp and power amp, is currently unidentified. The diagram for the MC100/4 is OS/086. This will be posted in due course.

There were two evidently two sheets for the MC150/6 - one for the transistor preamp (shared with the MC50/6 and MC100/6); and another for the power section. This last is OS/151, and the MC150's power section in this sheet is identical to that of power section of the Vox UL4120 and UL7120 amplifiers.

OS/151 will be posted soon. Safe to say, the MC150/6 was an exceptionally powerful amplifier with its four KT88s and ECL86 and EL84 driver/splitter stage.

Notices of the Vox MC150

"Beat Instrumental" magazine, October 1965. Review of the Russell Hotel Trade Fair.

JMI pricelist, November 1965.

Pricelist produced by Barth Radio-Musikhaus, Stuttgart (one of the three main distributors in West Germany), for the German market, 1966.

JMI pricelist, April 1967.

Back page of the JMI flyer for the Russell Hotel Trade Fair, August 1965.

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