User:Eric Winesett/vox

test

To do

• reorganize to separate history from detailed descriptions of products
• add more info about amps other than AC30 and Beatles amps
• add more about 1970s-1980s era
  • Vox Sound Ltd. era
  • CBS-Arbiter era
• fill in guitar info
• (?) add info about companies now making reproductions of Vox equipment

• add Vox amp information to Thomas Organ Company article

(Existing)

Meanwhile in Sepulveda, Thomas Organ, after importing JMI's British-made amps for a short period in 1964-65, began to produce a line of mostly solid state amplifiers in the United States that carried the Vox name and cosmetic stylings. With some assistance from Dick Denney, these amps basically paralleled JMI's own transistorized amplifiers but were different from the British and Italian made Voxes in sound and reliability. To promote their equipment, Thomas Organ built the Voxmobile. a Ford roadster dressed up to look like a Phantom guitar, complete with a Continental organ and several "Beatle" amplifiers. Despite the huge marketing effort, Thomas Organ's Vox products did much to damage the reputation of Vox in the North American market for many years, and by the early 1970s Vox's American presence was virtually nonexistent.

Vox in the U.S.A.

As the "British Invasion" increased demand for Vox products in the United States, JMI licensed the Thomas Organ Company of Sepulveda, California to import Vox products beginning in 1964. Thomas imported JMI's British-made amps for a brief period, then began to produce a line of mostly solid state amplifiers in the United States that carried the Vox name and cosmetic stylings. By the end of 1965, Thomas had paid the Royston Group for full control of Vox-branded products for the American market. Designed with some assistance from Dick Denney, the Thomas Vox amps paralleled JMI's transistorized amplifiers but were different from the British and Italian made Voxes in sound and reliability. Popular models included the Buckingham, the Royal Guardsman, and the Super Beatle, all of which were "piggyback" head and cabinet combinations featuring integrated chrome stands with wheels (also called "trolleys"). The American-made amplifiers had trapezoid-shaped heads, which visually distinguished them from their rectangular JMI cousins. The top-of-the-line Super Beatle was a solid state version of the JMI AC100 tube amplifier, re-branded to capitalize on the popularity of the Beatles. --- It had all of the options available in the various models of Vox amps made by Thomas Organ: tremolo, reverb, fuzz distortion, and MRB (a midrange boost effect) - all controllable from a remote foot switch.

Outline

History

1970s-80s

• VOX sound Ltd.: Royston, CBS Arbiter
• Vox Ltd.: Rose Morris

Products

Amplifiers

• AC30
• AC15
• Thomas Organ USA models
  • Super Beatle
  • Royal Guardsman
  • Buckingham

Organs

• Continental
• Jaguar

Guitars and effects

• Phantom VI & XII
• Mark VI & XII
• Wah-wah

Other products

• Guitar-Organ
• Mando guitar(?), unusual stuff)