JMI Vox AC-10 Twin Combo Amplifiers
1962-1967






1964 AC-10 Twin Amplifier Serial 1002
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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.

After the basic amp line was in place, Vox created a few new models from existing components. Vox introduced a dual 12" AC-15 in 1962 by modifying an AC-30 Twin cabinet to accept an AC-15 chassis. The AC-15 Twin was priced between the 1x12" AC-15 and the AC-30 Twin.

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 (see control panel image at top of page). Later models used a rotary switch for mains voltage selection.

The tube complement included one EF86, one ECF82, one ECC83, two EL84 and one EZ81.

You can view detailed pictures of the AC-10 chassis and learn more about its circuitry in the AC-10 "Under the Hood" web page.


The AC-10 Twin Cabinet
The AC-10 Twin had the look of a slightly downsized version of the AC-30 Twin.

Even though the AC-10 Twin was only produced for a few years, the cabinet went through a number of revisions. The earliest version of the AC-10 Twin was produced in 1962. As it was constructed primarily of 3/8" baltic birch plywood, it earned the name of the "thin edge AC-10 Twin." The front and side edges of the cabinet were radiused, but the rear edges were square (inset photo "A" ). The earliest AC-10 Twins were covered in fawn rexine vinyl. After Vox phased out fawn vinyl in 1963, the smooth black vinyl that covered the Vox Continenal organ was used on the AC-10 Twin. The amp had a large Vox logo, brown Vox grill, a hinged plastic "suitcase" style handle and brass vents.

The next version of the AC-10 Twin cabinet was produced in late 1963 and shown at right. It also featured the "thin edge" cabinet. It was similar in most ways to the original "thin edge" AC-10 Twin enclosure. The only significant change was the replacement of the luggage style swivel handle with a Vox logo handle.

The next generation AC-10 Twin cabinet was produced in mid 1964 and shown on the amp at the top of this page. It had a "thin edge" cabinet with rounded rear edges (inset photo "B"). It was covered in black pebbled vinyl. The logo, handle and grill remained unchanged but the brass vents were replaced with a new molded vent with a Vox logo.

The final version of the AC-10 Twin cabinet was produced in late 1964. Known as the "thick edge" AC-10 Twin cabinet, the top, bottom, sides and baffle were made from 3/4"

baltic birch plywood (see photo below and inset photo "C"). The cabinet was covered in black basketweave Vynide. Black Vox grill cloth and gray control panels were now the norm. Eight "one pin" plastic corners, a "Ten Twin" grill badge, a Vox logo handle and three Vox logo air vents were installed.

1963 AC-10 Twin Amplifier - Serial Unknown



1965 AC-10 Twin Amplifier - Serial 2300
1965 AC-10 Twin Photos by Erica Smith
Speakers
JMI Vox catalogs from the sixties indicated that the AC-10 Twin amp was equipped with "two special 10 inch loudspeakers." This lack of specific speaker information left the door open for whatever "special" speaker might be chosen by Vox for future AC-10 Twin production.

Vox equipped the 1963 AC-10 Twin shown on this page with a pair of 10"  Elac speakers. The 1964 AC-10 Twin also shown on this page used two Goodmans "Power Range" 10" speakers. The frames of both the Elac and Goodmans speakers were painted in the traditional blue color.

The 1965 AC-10 Twin, shown at left, utilized yet another type of 10" speaker. This AC-10 Twin included the same ferrite magnet Elac 10" speaker that Vox included in many of their LS40 PA cabimets. These speakers were finished in silver gray paint and included a gold JMI Vox sticker on the magnet cover.

The 1x10" AC-10 Is Discontinued
By 1965, Jennings had ceased production of the original, single speaker version of the AC-10 in favor of the AC-10 Twin. The single speaker AC-10 remained in Vox catalogs and price lists until the existing inventory was liquidated.

UL710
Vox intended the all tube UL710, introduced in 1966, to be the replacement for the AC-10 Twin. However, the lack of market place acceptance of the UL Series allowed the AC-10 Twin to survive a bit longer. The AC-10 Twin made a final appearance in the April 1967 JMI Vox price list.

Credits
My thanks to Ihor Boyko who took a day off from work to allow me to take photos of his Vox amp collection, including his 1964 AC-10 Twin. Additional thanks are extended to Mike Handley, another long term photo contributor to the Vox Showroom. The 1963 AC-10 Twin shown on this page belongs to Mike. Lastly, my thanks to Erica Smith for taking the photos of this nearly mint 1965 AC-10 Twin owned by her father, Greg.



Model Dimensions Weight
AC-10 Twin
24" x 18" x 9"
~40 lbs.



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