The VOX Showroom - The Royal Guardsman

The Royal Guardsman: V1131/V1132

The Royal Guardsman was modeled after the AC-50 amplifier and cabinet rig. Early catalogs show the small box rig, but it is unclear whether or not Thomas ever actually imported the English amps. If they did they were few. Thomas quickly re-tooled the amplifier and started producing solid state models soon after it's introduction in early 1965. It had a open back speaker cabinet, but solid backs could be special ordered an all Thomas amplifiers.
The Royal Guardsman was the little brother to the Super Beatle. It was a piggyback amplifier with "glass shattering" treble and full deep bass tones. This amplifier is the first in the Thomas line to include a high frequency horn. The MRB and fuzz feature could be remotely controlled by way of a footswitch. The V1132 model was not equipped with the distortion feature.
The Viscount, The Royal Guardsman and The Beatle all had the same control panel layout and effects features. The lead channel (channel one) had reverb, tremelo, and fuzz effects. The mid or (channel two) had MRB (mid range boost- positions one two and three), Reverb, tremelo but no fuzz. Channel three or the bass channel had tone X only. This was a tone or treble enhancing effect for bass guitar.
The VOX fuzz was a very much sought after effect by musicians in the mid sixties and was the predecessor to all later fuzz and distortion variations by all manufacturers.
Similarly, the VOX MRB was the predecessor to what we know as the Wah-Wah pedal. MRB did the same thing as a Wah-Wah as far as emphasizing mid range frequencies. The difference was it did it in three fixed distinct settings. This idea was later adapted to the sweeping frequency shift of a potentiometer on a Wah-Wah pedal.

Features

Output Power 60 watts

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 12" Heavy Duty speakers

Size (Head) 9" H x 27" W x 10.5" D

Size (Speaker Cabinet) 31" H x 27" W x 11.5" D

Accessories Cover, Chrome rollerstand, Foot pedal.

Features
Output Power	60 watts
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 12" Heavy Duty speakers
Size (Head)	9" H x 27" W x 10.5" D
Size (Speaker Cabinet)	31" H x 27" W x 11.5" D
Accessories	Cover, Chrome rollerstand, Foot pedal.

Photo courtesy Gary Hahlbeck, Sonic Speakers.