All Near Mint and All Original 1964 Vox AC-10 Twin

1964 Vox AC-10 Twin Combo.

This is an all original 1964 Vox AC-10 watt, twin speaker tube combo weighing just 38 lbs. The solid pine cabinet measures 24 1/2 inches wide x 18 3/4 inches high x 9 inches deep. Two original ten-inch Celestion/Vox Alnico G10 'Silver Bell' speakers with stamped codes: "8461" and "10N-85" and "10N-86". Top control panel with two "Vibrato" inputs, with three rotary controls (Amplitude/Speed/Volume) and two "Normal" inputs with two rotary controls (Volume/Tone). Five-way rotary switch for mains voltage selection, two-way on/off switch and red pilot light. Original black tolex covering with original brown latticed grill cloth. Serial No. "1468" and Model No. "AC-10} stamped in blind on rectangular metal plate affixed to top back panel of cabinet. The chassis serial number is "01617" (stamped in blind). The black tolex covering is almost mint and the original plastic handle has virtually no wear. There is a very small tear in the grille cloth over the left-hand speaker, otherwise this amp is near mint. A wonderful fifty-one-year old legend… just turn it up for real tube gain at a reasonable volume. Complete with the original Vox 'on/off' foot-pedal (for Vibrato) and the original brown tolex cover. This is the finest example of an AC-10 Twin that we have ever seen. This fine amp has been fully serviced by 'Tone-Wizard' Doug Anderson of Tone Zone in Altadena.

The tube complement includes one EF86, one ECF82, one ECC83, two EL84s and one EZ81.   

By 1961, Jennings Musical Industries had laid the foundations for a complete Vox amplifier line. JMI introduced the 4 watt AC-2 (later known as the AC-4) as an entry level amp. Next came the 10 watt, single 10" speaker AC-10, marketed by Vox to "the smaller group." The 17 watt, single 12" speaker AC-15 met the needs of the club musician. The 34 watt, dual 12" speaker AC-30 Twin was perched at the top of the Vox line.

JMI also added a second 10" speaker to the AC-10 in 1962 and created the AC-10 Twin. The addition of a second speaker in the AC-10 Twin helped to bridge the gap in the Vox line between the single speaker AC-10 and the AC-15. The AC-10 "Super Reverb Twin," a separate AC-10 head with reverb, tremolo and a matching 2x10 speaker cabinet became available in 1963.

The AC-10 Circuit: The circuitry for the Vox AC-10 was designed by Dick Denney and was published on Jennings service schematic OS/008, "AC/10 Amplifier No. 3," dated September 9, 1960. The schematic was updated in September 1964 when 120 and 160 VAC mains voltage taps were added to the power transformer for export models. The AC-10 had a Vibrato and a Normal channel, each with two inputs and a volume control. A single tone control rolled off the treble response in both channels. Vibrato was a bit of a misnomer as the AC-10 actually had tremolo, not vibrato. The Vibrato channel had "Speed" and "Amplitude" (depth) controls. A remote "egg pedal" foot switch actuated the tremolo effect. Early models included a plug style mains voltage selector. Later models used a rotary switch for mains voltage selection.