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UK VOX AMPS History of Vox in the UK JMI Era Vox Amps: 1959-65 JMI Era UL Series Hybrid Amps: 1966-67 JMI-VSL Era Solid State Amps: 1967-73 VSEL/Corinthian Era Vox Tube Amps: 1968-70 Birch Stolec Era Vox Amps: 1970-73 Dallas Era Vox Amps: 1973-78 Rose Morris Era Vox Amps: 1978-92 Korg Era Tube Amps 1993-25 Korg Era Solid State and Hybrid Vox Amps:1999-25 Korg Era Vox Valvetronix Amps - 2001-16 US VOX AMPS VOX ORGANS VOX GUITARS Vox Solid Body Elec Guitars: 1960-88 Vox Semi-Acoustic Elecric Gtrs: 1964-68 Vox Acoustic Guitars: 1964-70 Vox Bass Guitars: 1962-87 Voxton Guitars & Basses: 1969-70 Vox Gtrs & Basses, Korg Era: 1998-25 VOX FX & MISC View All Products Vox Tape Echo & Reverb Units:1963-68 Vox Microphones and Mixers Vox Boosters Vox Wah Wah Pedals: 1967-2025 Vox Effects Pedals: 1965-2025 Vox Tonelab & Stomplab FX Processors Vox Amplugs Vox Ampliphonic Accessories: 1968 Vox Accessories Vox Promotional Items VOX CATALOGS VOX MANUALS MY VOX BAND SEARCH WHAT'S NEW

How Do I Date My Vox Amp, Organ or Guitar?

I am frequently asked this question. I suspect that many might think that your serial number would be in some Vox database that would have recorded the month, date and year of production. I am unaware of such a database, but I do have some information that might be helpful in some cases. This is the only advice I can offer you regarding determining the date of manufacture of Vox products. Vox Amps built by Thomas Organ (Pathfinder, Pacemaker, Cambridge Reverb, Berkeley, Viscount, Buckingham, Royal Guardsman, Super Beatle, Beatle, Sovereign, Scorpion, Essex Bass, Kensington and Westminster): After looking at hundreds of Thomas Vox amplifiers, I have come to the conclusion that the first digits of the serial number appear to provide a clue to the year that the amplifier was produced. Serials starting with "9" appear to be from 1966, the first full year of US Vox amp production. Those starting with "10" or "1O" appear to have been produced in 1967 while those starting with "11" were built in 1968. It follows that Thomas Vox amps with serials starting with "12" were made in 1969 and those with serials starting with "13" were from 1970, the last year that Thomas produced Vox amps in California. Click here to view an example of a Thomas Vox Pathfinder serial plate from 1967. Vox Organs: Many Vox organs produced in Italy had a dated paper production tag that was stapled to the lid. Click here to view this tag, It is also common for UK made, wooden key Continentals to display the production date on the inside edge of the low "C" key. Click here to view an example. Date Codes on Potentiometers and Capacitors: One can do a fairly accurate estimation of the age of a Vox amp or guitar by checking the EIA (Electronics Industry Alliance) manufacturing codes stamped on the back of its potentiometers or on the side of its large capacitors. These codes are a system used to identify both the manufacturer of the part and the date it was produced. The EIA code typically consists of a series of two or three digits that identifies the manufacturer and a four digit code that reveals the week and year the part was made. An example: If the EIA code on the back of the volume control reads 1376623, the number 137 is in this case the manufacturer's code for CTS, a large supplier of potentiometers and speakers. The final four digits, 6623, indicate the part was manufactured in the 23rd week of 1966.

Here is another example of an EIA manufacturing code, this time on a capacitor. The seven digit code reads "235-7017." 235 is the manufacturer code for Mallory, the company that fabricated this capacitor. 7017 reveals the year and week the capacitor was produced, the 17th week of 1970. It would be likely that an amp that included this capacitor would have been built in either the latter half of 1970 or in early 1971.