The Buckingham Speaker Cabinet, Swivel Trolley and Gold Bulldog Speakers



The US Vox Buckingham speaker cabinet and swivel trolley were inspired by the Vox AC-30 extension speaker cabinet and swivel trolley made by JMI Vox in the UK. However, there were quite a few differences between the Buckingham and AC-30 speaker cabinets.

The JMI Vox AC-30 speaker cabinet was constructed of 13 ply 3/4" baltic birch plywood. Only the earliest Buckingham speaker cabinets were made of plywood. Most were constructed of particle board, as is the example shown at left.

The Buckingham had a non removable baffle board. The black Vox diamond grill cloth was glued directly to the face of the baffle and is virtually impossible to replace should the grill fabric be damaged. The AC-30 featured a removable baffle board that was bolted to the cabinet. Replacing the grill cloth on an AC-30 cabinet is a relatively straightforward operation.

The Buckingham also had a noticably narrower band of vinyl on the upper side of the baffle board when compared to the AC-30.

The Buckingham had a trapezoidally shaped logo with the vertical letters. The AC-30 cabinet used the traditional -V-O-X- style logo.

After Thomas Organ completed the electronic design for the "AC-30 based" Vox Viscount and Buckingham, speakers needed to be selected for the amp. If Thomas Organ wished to include the same speakers in these amps as used the AC-30, they would need to be equipped with two English made Celestion/Vox Alnico silver speakers. This posed a problem as Thomas Organ hoped to avoid the importation of any parts from the UK, including speakers.

Thomas Organ turned to the Oxford Speaker Company of Chicago, IL to make the speakers for the Viscount, Buckingham and many other US Vox amps. Selecting an Oxford alnico magnet 12" speaker that was loosely based on the specifications of the Celestion Alnico Silver seemed to be a good solution. Using the Oxford "Gold Bulldog" saved Thomas Organ the importation costs involved in shipping the Celestion speakers from the UK to California. It even reduced the basic price of the speaker itself.

My thanks to Curt Steele for allowing me to take pictures of his Buckingham speaker cabinet for the Vox Showroom.






North Coast Music manufactures many replacement and restoration

parts for the Buckingham under license from Vox. These parts are
available exclusively at North Coast Music. Some are shown below.






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Photos and editorial content courtesy Gary Hahlbeck, North Coast Music


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