| Features - Vox Berkeley |
| Output Power |
17 watts (Valve), 20 watts (Solid State) |
| Channel One |
Two inputs,
one volume,
one bass,
one treble. |
| Channel Two |
Two inputs,
one volume,
one bass,
one treble. |
| Speaker(s) |
Two Vox Bulldog 10" speakers |
| Size (Head) |
8.5" H x 27.5" W x 9" D |
| Size (Speaker Cabinet) |
17.5" H x 27.5" W x 9" D |
| Accessories |
Cover, Chrome rollerstand, Foot pedal. |
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In 1965, Thomas Organ inked an agreement with the parent company of Vox, Jennings Musical Instruments (JMI), that made Thomas the sole Vox distributor for the United States. One of the conditions of this agreement allowed Thomas Organ to manufacture Vox amps in the US if JMI could not make enough amps to meet the demands of the American market.
Before the ink on the distribution agreement had dried, Thomas Organ had already started development of Vox amp designs they planned to build in California. The first Thomas designed Vox amps debuted in late 1965. They were the V-1 Pathfinder, V-2 Pacemaker, V-3 Cambridge Reverb, V-4 Essex bass, and the V-8 Berkeley Super Reverb.
The V-8 Berkeley Super Reverb was an all tube guitar amplifier loosely based on the JMI AC-15. The Berkeley Super Reverb had two cathode biased EL-84's along with an EZ81 rectifier, three ECC83 (12AX7) and one ECC82 (12AU7) tubes. The amp featured "top boost" tone controls, tremolo and reverb. It did not have the elaborate Vib/Trem circuitry of the JMI AC-15.
The matching 2 x 10" speaker cabinet for the V-8 Berkeley had English made Celestion speakers and a chrome roller stand.
By mid 1966, an all transistorized V1081 Vox Berkeley II model was introduced. It featured the same controls and features as the tube model. This model utilized germanium transistors in the output section and the pre-amp was hard wired to the power section. This was a serviceman's nightmare. As many as thirty wires had to be de-soldered and then re-soldered each time a service tech wanted to check the amplifier out for repairs.
The V4082 Berkeley II speaker cabinet and trolley had two 10" Vox "Gold Bulldog" speakers made by Oxford Speaker of Chicago IL.
The V1083 Berkeley III Super Reverb was introduced in 1967 and was an updated and better designed amplifier than the V1081 it replaced. The all transistorized Berekely III had two channels, tremolo, reverb and MRB.
The V4083 Berkeley III speaker cabinet and trolley was identical to the Berkeley II and also used a pair of the Chicago made Oxford/Vox 10 inch "Gold Bulldog" speakers.
All the Berkeley models were piggyback versions of the Cambridge Reverb.
The V1081 Vox Berkeley II amp and cab retailed for $399.90 in 1966. Adjusted for inflation, the 2010 retail price of the Berkeley II would be $2715.00. Does that explain why your dad wouldn't allow you to buy one?
North Coast Music offers many replacement parts for the Vox Berkeley. Some are shown below.
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