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Post subject: Vox Super Beatle Solid State Amp from '66 - SWEET!
Posted: Thu Feb 12, 2015 9:37 pm
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I had a lot of fun today... One of my students got a super cool vintage Vox Super Beatle Amp head with the matching 2X10 cabinet from '66... ALL ORIGINAL and it decent shape... brought it over earlier... and we took it for a test drive with his Tele and my AVRI Strat.

This amp was a lot of fun... A very loud vintage 45 watt solid states head. It had a creamy overdrive when you opened it up... the 2 X10 cabinet was punchy and the bottom end was was tight... GREAT tone. This model has the tremolo and reverb. The tremolo was killer...nice deep swells... the reverb was nice too... sounded like you were in an empty warehouse when you pushed it past 3... I kept it down about 2... sounded nice... and it was loud as hell once you got up around 5 on the volume... that's when it starts to breakup real sweet... good sustain... got some nice feedback happening...

I played my '62 RI... sounded nice sound going this amp... did Hendrix-y stuff... whammy bar antics... little wing, voodo child inspired licks... then some Stevie Ray like riffs... this amp was great.... good warmth and gritty ... perfect amp for AC/DC... Hatchet... Hendrix, SRV, Blues Rock, Southern Rock, Texas Blues... Classic Rock...

Here's a pic of a different one that looks exactly like it:
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Post subject: Re: Vox Super Beatle Solid State Amp from '66 - SWEET!
Posted: Thu Feb 12, 2015 10:00 pm
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That looks like a Vox Super Berkeley to me.

The Super Beatle was a 100-watt head sitting on a tall trolley, accompanied by a speaker cabinet equipped with four 12's and a pair of HF horns.

I owned one back in the day.

Arjay

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Post subject: Re: Vox Super Beatle Solid State Amp from '66 - SWEET!
Posted: Thu Feb 12, 2015 10:21 pm
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Yep, I remember the 4-12 well. A buddy I jammed with in the early 70's had one along with a '59 Les Paul Jr.. All the speakers went on it, (and someone stole his Les Paul shortly after). I believe it had alnico's, silver or light blue, can't remember.


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Post subject: Re: Vox Super Beatle Solid State Amp from '66 - SWEET!
Posted: Fri Feb 13, 2015 3:02 am
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Retroverbial wrote:
That looks like a Vox Super Berkeley to me.


Arjay


+1

http://www.voxshowroom.com/us/amp/berk.html

I believe these Vox amplifiers were manufactured in the usa without the permission of Vox England and not anything to do with the true Vox of the time.


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Post subject: Re: Vox Super Beatle Solid State Amp from '66 - SWEET!
Posted: Fri Feb 13, 2015 5:35 am
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So... it isn't solid state, either?


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Post subject: Re: Vox Super Beatle Solid State Amp from '66 - SWEET!
Posted: Fri Feb 13, 2015 3:09 pm
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stratele52 wrote:
Retroverbial wrote:
That looks like a Vox Super Berkeley to me.


Arjay


+1

http://www.voxshowroom.com/us/amp/berk.html

I believe these Vox amplifiers were manufactured in the usa without the permission of Vox England and not anything to do with the true Vox of the time.


Cool... it's a super "Berkeley"... I'm going to post a few pics later...

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Post subject: Re: Vox Super Beatle Solid State Amp from '66 - SWEET!
Posted: Fri Feb 13, 2015 4:11 pm
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We'll look forward to them. Vox's trolley jobs exuded a certain "cool" factor back in the day. They could sure be a PITFA to load into a car trunk though.

:mrgreen:

Arjay

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Post subject: Re: Vox "Berkeley II" State Amp from '66 - SWEET!
Posted: Fri Feb 13, 2015 6:33 pm
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Retroverbial wrote:
We'll look forward to them. Vox's trolley jobs exuded a certain "cool" factor back in the day. They could sure be a PITFA to load into a car trunk though.

:mrgreen:

Arjay


LOL... yeah.... especially if it actually was a Super Beatle amp :shock:
I researched the amp a bit... It's a Vox Berkeley II... vintage solid state amp. Sorry about getting the model wrong :P
As you can see from the pics... aside from the grill cloth being a bit worn... It's in fantastic condition. This thing was super cool to rock out on. Here's a couple of pics of the amp...
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Post subject: Re: Vox Super Beatle Solid State Amp from '66 - SWEET!
Posted: Fri Feb 13, 2015 6:51 pm
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I believe Mojotone stocks and sells vintage-spec replacement grill cloth for Vox amps (if you're so inclined)......

Arjay

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Post subject: Re: Vox Super Beatle Solid State Amp from '66 - SWEET!
Posted: Sat Feb 14, 2015 10:02 am
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Perhaps the vintage spec replacement grill cloth thing is in order, Arjay... but will that bring down the amp's current value? Even though the original cloths are showing signs of their age... isn't it still worth more with... the original grill cloth :?:

One thing that I found very interesting about this amp... it had a tube sound about it... even though it's a solid state... one thing I noticed... when powering down... there was a slight delay... just like what you would get from a tube amp that has no standby switch... the signal lingers... then the volume decreases for a few seconds as it gradually goes off...

Here's some more info about these amps... perhaps the awesome tone (aside from the two "Gold Bulldog" speakes in the cabinet) is because of the germanium transistors.... And... I can't get over how LOUD this amp can get... It had a nice "tight" sound, too.. the mids and bottom end weren't overbearing... and the high end had a good "warmth" to it 8)

"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 18 watt 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 four ohm V4082 Berkeley II speaker cabinet and trolley had two 10" Vox "Gold Bulldog" speakers made by Oxford Speaker of Chicago IL."

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Post subject: Re: Vox Super Beatle Solid State Amp from '66 - SWEET!
Posted: Sat Feb 14, 2015 10:33 am
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Done correctly, a grill cloth swap using original-spec materials will be totally seamless.

Save the tattered original cloth for "posterity".

Arjay

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Post subject: Re: Vox Super Beatle Solid State Amp from '66 - SWEET!
Posted: Wed Jul 08, 2015 11:17 pm
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Very Nice
What controls does it have? Reverb? Tremolo? Is it a clean or gritty sound? I play in a 60s type band. I handle all the surf and crystal clean guitar work. We swap instruments so I play bass on the heavier or distorted guitar songs. I played my Tele and Jazzmaster through a vintage AC 30 and was very happy.


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Post subject: Re: Vox Super Beatle Solid State Amp from '66 - SWEET!
Posted: Thu Jul 09, 2015 12:40 am
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guido wrote:
Very Nice
What controls does it have? Reverb? Tremolo? Is it a clean or gritty sound? I play in a 60s type band. I handle all the surf and crystal clean guitar work. We swap instruments so I play bass on the heavier or distorted guitar songs. I played my Tele and Jazzmaster through a vintage AC 30 and was very happy.


You can read all about Vox's Berkeley II here......

http://www.voxshowroom.com/us/amp/v1081.html

They were nice little packages, especially for someone with a Rick 330 who was seeking the quintessential George Harrison vibe, but other than that they were basically a one-trick pony.

Arjay

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Post subject: Re: Vox Super Beatle Solid State Amp from '66 - SWEET!
Posted: Thu Jul 09, 2015 9:38 am
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I will be honest, I was born in 67 got my first amp, A Fender in 1983, no matter the band or the venue, I have ALWAYS had a Fender amp. I do have a Lab Series L5 that is a excellent Tele/Country setup. I never had much experience with other brands. i was a few months shy of being 16 when I got my first amp, really didnt have a music teacher so I looked at guys I admired, they all used Fenders so I stuck with them. When you see Vox stuff and Marshalls in my area guys used them and you NEVER would see them for sale.


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Post subject: Re: Vox Super Beatle Solid State Amp from '66 - SWEET!
Posted: Thu Jul 09, 2015 12:41 pm
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guido wrote:
When you see Vox stuff and Marshalls in my area guys used them and you NEVER would see them for sale.


That's because the modern interpretations are built in the same Chinese factory and when they reach the end of their design service life (two to three years), they self-incinerate and their owners heave them into the nearest landfill then go out and buy another cheap POS.

:lol:

Arjay

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