Vox Continental
Encyclopedia
Transistor
A transistor is a semiconductor device used to amplify and switch electronic signals and power. It is composed of a semiconductor material with at least three terminals for connection to an external circuit. A voltage or current applied to one pair of the transistor's terminals changes the current...
-based combo organ
Combo organ
A combo organ is an electronic organ of the frequency divider type, generally produced between the early 1960s and the late 1970s. The combo organ concept, at least in the context of mass-production, is thought to have been born from the accordion, probably in Italy, as the brainchild of necessity...
that was introduced in 1962. Known for its thin, bright, breathy sound, the "Connie," as it was affectionately known, was designed to be used by touring
Touring
Touring may mean:* touring, the estate/wagon version of BMW cars* Bicycle touring* Ski touring* Touring * Carrozzeria Touring* Touring * Touring car racing* a model of Hymer campers* a song by The Ramones* Touring theatre...
musicians. It was also designed to replace heavy tonewheel
Tonewheel
A tonewheel is a simple electromechanical apparatus for generating electronic musical notes. The tonewheel assembly consists of a synchronous AC motor and an associated gearbox that drives a series of rotating disks...
organs
Organ (music)
The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...
, such as the Hammond B3.
While this was not entirely accomplished, the Continental was used in many 1960s hit singles, and was probably the most popular and best-known combo organ
Combo organ
A combo organ is an electronic organ of the frequency divider type, generally produced between the early 1960s and the late 1970s. The combo organ concept, at least in the context of mass-production, is thought to have been born from the accordion, probably in Italy, as the brainchild of necessity...
among major acts. Although phased out of production in the early 1970s, the organ still has a strong following to this day, and remains among the most sought-after of combo organs by enthusiasts.
Description
Manual (music)
A manual is a keyboard designed to be played with the hands on a pipe organ, harpsichord, clavichord, electronic organ, or synthesizer. The term "manual" is used with regard to any hand keyboard on these instruments to distinguish it from the pedalboard, which is a keyboard that the organist plays...
Continental, and the dual manual, which was known as the Vox Continental II in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and the Vox Super Continental in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
.
Vox Continentals were initially manufactured in the Jennings Musical Instruments
Jennings Musical Instruments
Jennings Musical Instruments is a manufacturer of musical instruments, notably the original owner of the Vox brand. The company was founded by Thomas Walter Jennings.-History:...
plant in Dartford, Kent, UK, and by Vox Sound in Erith, Kent. Reportedly the English factories could not keep up with demand for VOX amplifiers and organs, and in 1964, a licensing deal was signed between Jennings and the Thomas Organ Company
Thomas Organ Company
The Thomas Organ Company was a manufacturer of electronic keyboards and a one-time holder of the manufacturing rights to the Moog synthesizer. The Company was a force behind early electronic organs for the home....
in the USA.
The Continental was very striking to look at, and had features not often found in keyboard instruments, both then and now. The most obvious of these features was its reverse-coloured keys (black naturals and white sharps) similar to a harpsichord
Harpsichord
A harpsichord is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It produces sound by plucking a string when a key is pressed.In the narrow sense, "harpsichord" designates only the large wing-shaped instruments in which the strings are perpendicular to the keyboard...
. Then the chrome Z-shaped stand and bright vermilion (in some models grey) top made for a very distinctive and handsome-looking piece of equipment. The Vox Continental used six slider-type, metered volume controls called drawbar
Drawbar
Drawbar may refer to:*Drawbar , a device for coupling a hauling vehicle to a load. This usage may be road, agriculture or rail.*Drawbar organ*Drawbar , a device for changing tools on milling machines...
s instead of the stop-tab rocker switches seen on other combo organs. Two of the drawbars controlled the voices
Voices
Voices is a 2006 translation of a 2003 crime novel by Icelandic author Arnaldur Indriðason, another entry in the multi award-winning Detective Erlendur series. It was first published in English in August, 2006. The Swedish translation of the novel won Sweden's Martin Beck Award for the best crime...
(flute and reed tones), and three of the other four controlled the footages (in reference to ranks of pipes on a pipe organ
Pipe organ
The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air through pipes selected via a keyboard. Because each organ pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ranks, each of which has a common timbre and volume throughout the keyboard compass...
, but were essentially successive octave controls; the lower the footage number, the higher the octaves were pitched 8foot being one octave higher than 16foot etc.), the last of the four controlling a mixture of four higher pitches. There was a single-speed, single intensity vibrato
Vibrato
Vibrato is a musical effect consisting of a regular, pulsating change of pitch. It is used to add expression to vocal and instrumental music. Vibrato is typically characterised in terms of two factors: the amount of pitch variation and the speed with which the pitch is varied .-Vibrato and...
, but the Connie had no other special effects or bass notes. Its simplicity was appreciated by very many organists.
Single Manual Continentals
Although they had similar tones and appearance, there were 4 different builds of the Vox Continental. The first were UK models built by Jennings Musical Industries, or JMI, in DartfordDartford
Dartford is the principal town in the borough of Dartford. It is situated in the northwest corner of Kent, England, east south-east of central London....
, Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. Later UK models were built by Vox Sound in Erith
Erith
Erith is a district of southeast London on the River Thames. Erith's town centre has undergone a series of modernisations since 1961.-Pre-medieval:...
, Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
.
For a short time following Thomas Organ's 1964 licensing deal with VOX, single manual Continentals were built in the USA at the Thomas Organ factory at 8345 Hayvenhurst Avenue in Sepulveda, California, in the San Fernando Valley north of Los Angeles. There were reportedly approximately 300 of these 301-H (for "Hayvenhurst") organs made, mostly during the months of April through June of 1966. Production was then moved to the EME factory in Italy.
Hayvenhurst Continentals are distinguished by their unique tone generator boards (sourced from Thomas' line of home organs), wooden keys covered in plastic, which feature they shared with their Jennings-made forebears, and which have a very nice "touch" feel, and use of American standard hardware, which was a good deal more robust than the metric hardware used on the Italian-made Continentals, which make up roughly 80% of all Continental production, Hayvenhurst Continentals comprise about 3% of total single-manual production, with the balance being early UK-built units. Italian models can be told apart from UK and US models by their flimsy plastic keys, white and red (instead of cream and maroon) drawbars and by crossed stand braces. Some think that the sound of the Italian versions was thinner than that of its UK and US counterparts, and that UK and US Continentals, as far as appearance and sound quality, were essentially identical (even though the USA-built Continentals had little in common electronically with their English predecessors). The build quality and reliability of the USA-built Continentals are held to be superior to the other three variations.
Derivatives
In the late 1960s and the early 70s, various derivatives and variations came along, including the Vox JaguarVox Jaguar
The Vox Jaguar was a combo organ that was built in the 1960s, in Italy, , as a budget variation on the Continental. It was built into the Continental's cabinet. Its technology was far less intricate, but the Jaguar still managed to produce a decent combo organ sound...
, Vox Corinthian and the last of the single manual Continentals, the Vox Continental '71.
Dual Manual Continentals
The UK had the Continental II, and Italy had the Super Continental. Both had plastic keys and were available with and without percussion. Confusingly, the UK version with percussion (which only came with a Grey and not red top) was known as the "Super II".The dual manual had its developments and variants. These included the Vox Continental 300, which introduced reverb
Reverberation
Reverberation is the persistence of sound in a particular space after the original sound is removed. A reverberation, or reverb, is created when a sound is produced in an enclosed space causing a large number of echoes to build up and then slowly decay as the sound is absorbed by the walls and air...
and presets, and the Continental Baroque, which included internal amplification.
Usage
The instrument is commonly associated with classic rockClassic rock
Classic rock is a radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format features music ranging generally from the late 1960s to the late 1980s, primarily focusing on the hard rock genre that peaked in popularity in the...
of the 1960s, being used by such artists as Ray Manzarek
Ray Manzarek
Raymond Daniel Manzarek, Jr., better known as Ray Manzarek , is an American musician, singer, producer, film director, writer, co-founder and keyboardist of The Doors from 1965 to 1973, Nite City from 1977–1978 and Manzarek-Krieger since 2001.Manzarek is listed #4 on Digital Dreamdoor's "100...
of The Doors
The Doors
The Doors were an American rock band formed in 1965 in Los Angeles, California, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, drummer John Densmore, and guitarist Robby Krieger...
. Famous songs that use the Continental include "She's About A Mover" by the Sir Douglas Quintet
Sir Douglas Quintet
Sir Douglas Quintet was a rock band active in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Despite their British sounding name, they came out of San Antonio, Texas. Their career was established when they began working with Texas record-producer Huey P. Meaux, after which the band relocated to the West Coast...
, "House of the Rising Sun" by The Animals
The Animals
The Animals were an English music group of the 1960s formed in Newcastle upon Tyne during the early part of the decade, and later relocated to London...
, "Light My Fire
Light My Fire
"Light My Fire" is a song by The Doors which was recorded in August 1966 and released the first week of January 1967 on the Doors' debut album. Released as a single in April, it spent three weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and one week on the Cash Box Top 100, nearly a year after...
" by The Doors
The Doors
The Doors were an American rock band formed in 1965 in Los Angeles, California, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, drummer John Densmore, and guitarist Robby Krieger...
, "Sister Ray
Sister Ray
Sister Ray may mean one of the following:* "Sister Ray", 1968 song by The Velvet Underground* A fictional enormous laser cannon in the video game Final Fantasy VII* Sister Ray , a punk rock band from Youngstown, Ohio...
" by The Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground was an American rock band formed in New York City. First active from 1964 to 1973, their best-known members were Lou Reed and John Cale, who both went on to find success as solo artists. Although experiencing little commercial success while together, the band is often cited...
, "96 Tears
96 Tears
"96 Tears" is a popular song recorded by ? in 1966. It hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in the U.S. and on the RPM 100 in Canada and is ranked #210 on the Rolling Stone list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.-History:...
" by Question Mark and the Mysterians, "I'm A Believer
I'm a Believer
"I'm a Believer" is a song composed by Neil Diamond and recorded by The Monkees in 1966 with the lead vocals by Micky Dolenz. The single, produced by Jeff Barry, hit the number one spot on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart for the week ending December 31, 1966 and remained there for seven weeks,...
" by The Monkees
The Monkees
The Monkees are an American pop rock group. Assembled in Los Angeles in 1966 by Robert "Bob" Rafelson and Bert Schneider for the American television series The Monkees, which aired from 1966 to 1968, the musical acting quartet was composed of Americans Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork,...
, "Stupid Girl
Stupid Girl
"Stupid Girl" is a 1995 song written, recorded and produced by alternative rock band Garbage and was released on their self-titled debut album. The song was released by Almo Sounds in North America and Mushroom Records worldwide as the band's fourth international single in 1996, and it became their...
" by The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...
, "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" by Iron Butterfly
Iron Butterfly
Iron Butterfly is a US psychedelic rock band best known for the 1968 hit "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida".Their heyday was the late 1960s, but the band has been reincarnated with various members. In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida is the 31st best-selling album in the world, selling more than 25 million copies.-History:The...
, "I'm Down
I'm Down
"I'm Down" is a song by the Beatles written by Paul McCartney and first released as the B-side to the single "Help!" in 1965.-Composition:...
" by The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
, and "If You Gotta Go, Go Now
If You Gotta Go, Go Now
If You Gotta Go, Go Now is a song written by Bob Dylan in 1964. The first released version was as a single in the US by the UK group The Liverpool Five in July 1965, but this went uncharted in the US despite receiving much airplay, particularly in the Pacific Northwest. It was another English band...
" and "Absolutely Sweet Marie
Absolutely Sweet Marie
"Absolutely Sweet Marie" is a song written by Bob Dylan, released on his 1966 double album Blonde on Blonde. An exuberantly up-tempo number, "Sweet Marie" is full of diverse, often hardly disguised sexual imagery.- Song and background :...
" by Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
, who also played the Connie on the 1979 tour for his album Slow Train Coming
Slow Train Coming
Slow Train Coming is singer-songwriter Bob Dylan's 19th studio album, released by Columbia Records in August 1979.It was the artist's first effort since becoming a born-again Christian, and all of the songs either express his strong personal faith, or stress the importance of Christian teachings...
.
In addition to these 60s groups the Vox Continental played a large role in generating many of the keyboard sounds heard in 1970s and early 80s New Wave and Punk Rock. The Continental was used extensively by prodigy Steve 'Nieve' (aka Steve Nason), keyboard player for Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello , born Declan Patrick MacManus, is an English singer-songwriter. He came to prominence as an early participant in London's pub rock scene in the mid-1970s and later became associated with the punk/New Wave genre. Steeped in word play, the vocabulary of Costello's lyrics is broader...
& The Attractions, and by Mike Barson
Mike Barson
Michael "Mike" Barson is a British musician, best known as a founding member and keyboardist of the second wave ska band, Madness.-Biography:...
of 2-Tone group Madness
Madness (band)
In 1979, the band recorded the Lee Thompson composition "The Prince". The song, like the band's name, paid homage to their idol, Prince Buster. The song was released through 2 Tone Records, the label of The Specials founder Jerry Dammers. The song was a surprise hit, peaking in the UK music charts...
. It was also used by 2-Tone founder: Jerry Dammers
Jerry Dammers
Jeremy David Hounsell "Jerry" Dammers is a British musician who is a founder and keyboard player of the Coventry, England based ska revival band The Specials, The Special A.K.A...
of The Specials
The Specials
The Specials are an English 2 Tone ska revival band formed in 1977 in Coventry, England. Their music combines a "danceable ska and rocksteady beat with punk's energy and attitude", and had a "more focused and informed political and social stance" than other ska groups...
.
More recently in popular music culture, the organist Rhys Webb
Rhys Webb
Rhys Webb is a Welsh rugby union player who plays at Scrum-half for Ospreys and Wales U20.In 2008/09, Webb pushed his way into the Opsreys starting 15 after injuries to fellow scrum-halves Mike Phillips and Jamie Nutbrown...
, of the UK garage band The Horrors
The Horrors
The Horrors are an English band from Southend on Sea, formed in 2005. Their debut Strange House, was released in 2007 and reached number thirty-seven on the UK Albums Chart, their second album Primary Colours was released in 2009 and peaked at number 25 in the UK...
can be seen using the Continental, as can Sam Steinig of Mondo Topless
Mondo Topless (band)
-History:Mondo Topless formed in 1992 in Philadelphia, and take their name from the 1966 film of the same name. The group's Stooges-inspired garage rock is distinguished by their use of a Vox Continental electric organ. Their debut single was the 1995 7" release, "I Want You To" b/w "Real Gone...
and Walt Martin of The Walkmen
The Walkmen
The Walkmen are an American indie rock band, with members based in New York City and Philadelphia. The band formed in 2000 with three members from Jonathan Fire*Eater—Paul Maroon , Walter Martin , and Matt Barrick —and two from The Recoys, Peter Bauer and Hamilton Leithauser . All but Bauer...
, while Kenny Howes
Kenny Howes
-Early years:Raised in Mulberry, Florida, Howes began his musical endeavors at the age of ten by simultaneously learning the guitar and piano at home and the French horn at school....
of Atlanta psyche-pop group Orange Hat
Orange Hat
-Early years:Guitarist Christo Harris started Orange Hat while in high school in 1983 and was joined by guitarist/bassist David "Zeus" Henderson several years later. The pair, with constantly changing lineups, took advantage of the '80s DIY cassette culture and released a half dozen independent...
used a Super Continental. Benmont Tench
Benmont Tench
Benjamin Montmorency Tench, III is an American keyboardist best known as a founding member of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.-Early years:...
of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers are an American rock band from Gainesville, Florida. They were formed in 1976 by Tom Petty , Mike Campbell , Benmont Tench , , Ron Blair and Stan Lynch...
has also frequently used a '65 Continental since the early days of Mudcrutch
Mudcrutch
Mudcrutch is a Southern rock band from Gainesville, Florida best known for being the forerunner of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.-Early Years:Mudcrutch was formed in 1970 by Tom Petty and Tom Leadon, who had been playing together in a band called the Epics...
.
Two Vox Continental organs are seen in the promo video for "Summer in the City
Summer in the City
"Summer in the City" is the title of a song recorded by The Lovin' Spoonful, written by Mark Sebastian and Steve Boone. It came from their album Hums of the Lovin' Spoonful and it reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in August 1966...
" by The Lovin' Spoonful
The Lovin' Spoonful
The Lovin' Spoonful is an American pop rock band of the 1960s, named to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. When asked about his band, leader John Sebastian said it sounded like a combination of "Mississippi John Hurt and Chuck Berry," prompting his friend, Fritz Richmond, to suggest the name...
, played by John Sebastian
John Sebastian
John Benson Sebastian Jr. is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist and autoharpist. He is best known as a founder of The Lovin' Spoonful, a band inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000...
and bassist Steve Boone, although the signature keyboard line is played on a Hohner Pianet
Pianet
thumb|Hohner Pianet TThe Pianet was a series of electric pianos built by the Hohner company of Trossingen, West Germany from the 1960s to the 1970s. The designer of the early Pianet models was Ernst Zacharias, basing the mechanism closely on a 1920s design by Lloyd Loar...
. A Vox Continental is seen in use by Eric Harvey of Spoon
Spoon (band)
Spoon is an American rock band formed in Austin, Texas. The band is composed of Britt Daniel ; Jim Eno ; Rob Pope and Eric Harvey .-History:...
in the music video for their song Sister Jack.
Alex Turner
Alex Turner
Alex Turner is the name of:*Alex Turner , Virginian slave, who escaped at the beginning of the American Civil War and fought in the Union army*Alex Turner , film director...
also used the Vox Continental for Arctic Monkeys
Arctic Monkeys
Arctic Monkeys are an English indie rock band. Formed in 2002 in High Green, a suburb of Sheffield, the band currently consists of Alex Turner , Jamie Cook , Nick O'Malley and Matt Helders...
song 505, the closer of second album Favourite Worst Nightmare
Favourite Worst Nightmare
Favourite Worst Nightmare is the second studio album by English indie rock band Arctic Monkeys that was first released in Japan on 18 April 2007 before being released around the world. Recorded in east London's Miloco Studios with producers James Ford and Mike Crossey, the album was preceded by the...
.
The Moons
The Moons
The Moons are a British indie rock band who formed in Northampton in 2007 and comprise singer/guitarist/songwriter Andy Crofts, drummer Ben Gordelier, guitarist and backing vocalist James Edward Bagshaw, bassist Adam Leeds and keyboardist Tom Warmsley...
organist Tom Warmsley uses a single manual Vox Continental, also The Moons
The Moons
The Moons are a British indie rock band who formed in Northampton in 2007 and comprise singer/guitarist/songwriter Andy Crofts, drummer Ben Gordelier, guitarist and backing vocalist James Edward Bagshaw, bassist Adam Leeds and keyboardist Tom Warmsley...
James Edward Bagshaw uses a Vox Continental 300 at his home studio.
External links
- The history of the Vox Continental in detail: www.reinout.nl