{"product_id":"vox-model-ul-7120-hybrid-head-and-cabinet-amplifier-1966-14056","title":"Vox Model UL 7120 Hybrid Head and Cabinet Amplifier (1966)","description":"Vox Model UL 7120 Hybrid Model Head and Cabinet Amplifier (1966), made in Dartford, Kent, England, serial # 1037, Black Basketweave Rexine covering finish. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWhile the Vox AC-30 is widely familiar to generations of players, this UL 7120 is a different matter entirely, a rare and somewhat historic if quirky hybrid creation tied to a specific time in both JMI and general musical history. These are considered one of the rarest of all \"Beatle Amp\" styles, a must have for the Abbey Road sonic completist. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWhile Vox was the house brand of Tom Jennings' Jennings Musical Industries in Dartford, Kent the guitar amplifiers were primarily the work of two younger engineers, Dick Denney and Derek Underdown. Denney designed the now-legendary AC-15 in 1958 and the subsequent AC-30. Jennings, Denney, and Underdown stayed on when JMI was taken over by Royston Industries in 1964 even as manufacturing moved from Dartford to Erith, Kent but both Jennings and Denney left in 1967 and Royston was bankrupt in 1968. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eVox amplifiers will forever be inextricably linked with The Beatles, used exclusively by the band in public under a \"handshake' deal until manager Brian Epstein's death in 1967. From the AC-15 and AC-30 through the AC-100 and this less well known 7120, Vox amplifiers became synonymous with the most famous band on earth. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn spring 1966 the Beatles were planning what became their final world tour. Always keen for the band to showcase the latest Vox gear, Denney provided John, Paul, and George with prototype 7120s even as JMI still had the amp in development. First featured in a promotional video for \"Rain\" that May, the 7120 went on to become an iconic part of Beatle legend that summer, appearing with them on stage in Munich, Essen, Hamburg, Tokyo, and Manila and later featuring heavily in the recording of \"Revolver\".\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe hybrid design of the 7120 represents a key transitional step between fully tube-powered amps and later solid state designs. Dick Denney travelled to California in October 1965 as part of the arrangement between JMI and Thomas Organ, who had purchased the rights to sell (and by extension build) Vox amplifiers in the US. The Thomas factory was a pioneer of solid-state circuitry and presented their innovations to Denney. Still wary due to the failure of the early germanium output transistors in the 1963 T60 bass amp, Denney was unwilling to commit to a fully solid-state design but was intrigued by the wide range of features and effects that could be produced by Thomas' solid state preamps. The result was this hybrid amp with a modular solid-state preamp section feeding a tube power section. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe solid state modules in these performed so well that Vox soon transitioned to a slate of fully solid-state designs, which never gained any real popularity. The unveiling of the new UL Series brought a big aesthetic change for the Vox line-up: The gold-plated Vox logo was gone, replaced with a sleek panel of anodized aluminum. The controls and input jacks were moved from the rear of the top panel to the bottom of the front panel facing the audience. Five small lamps under the top of the front panel illuminated the controls. The face of the head has the trademark diamond pattern etched and a Vox logo gracing the upper left corner. The 7120 has a total of eleven air vents, four rows of two on the top of the cabinet and three on the bottom. Two heavy-duty handles on each side were added to make the massive 62lb weight of the amplifier head manageable to move. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe 7120 features a unique solid-state preamp section; unlike the printed boards used by Thomas, the circuitry is completely hand-wired on tag strips, also used in JMIs Vox Models 715, 730 and 760 models. The head features two channels, Normal and Vibrato, each with Volume, Treble, Middle, and Bass controls along with a \"Boost\" switch. The Vibrato channel also features Distortion (fuzz) and optical Tremolo controls. Both channels also share Vox's unique \"crystal phono cartridge\" reverb where, in an ingenious feat of practical engineering, the reverb spring itself is suspended between two phonograph cartridges. This is global for both channels with a single level control. The rear panel includes a mains voltage selector, a pill-style impedance selector, and two 1\/4\" output jacks.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe power section features Four KT88 tubes yielding approximately 120 watts of output into its accompanying 4 x 12\" + 2 x tweeter horn cabinet. This particular cabinet is a not-so-unlikely companion from a different model in the UL series; the 460 bass model. It is a closed-back 2x12\" + 2x10\" variant, with the bottom half loaded with 12\" Celestion T1225s and 10\" Celestion CT7721s for the top half. These pieces appear to have been together for many decades, and anecdotally the unit is purported to have once been used by the Troggs; these expensive amps were only built in small quantities and used primarily by the top UK bands of the time. Today these hybrid Vox amps are extremely rare in working condition, unique relics of late beat-era England just before the Marshall tide swept all before it becoming the new paradigm of \"The British Sound\".\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eHeight is 11 in. (27.9 cm.), 24 in. (61 cm.) width, and 11 1\/2 in. (29.2 cm.) deep. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eCosmetically, this head and cabinet set is in fabulous shape overall. The black 'Rexine' covering on both the head and the cabinet shows very little wear, save for the occasional dent here and there but no major tears or pieces missing. The front control panel and face plate on the head are nicely clean with all the etched lettering and graphics nicely intact, save for a minor dent on the upper panel and some typical light wear overall. All the original knobs and red and green pilot lights are present as well. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe speaker cabinet is overall in equally fine shape except for some patching\/repair work to the lower parts of the grille cloth, which is otherwise in great condition considering its fragility and age. The original wheeled trolley is in wonderful shape and the original three-button footswitch and power cable are present as well. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eElectrically, this amp is nicely original. The two Vox-branded Celestion 12\" and 10\" speakers are original to the cabinet and the latter bear the codes H31MK, dating them to December 31st of 1965. All four speakers have been professionally reconed by our in-house experts and all test and sound fabulous. The power and output transformers all appear original to the amp, as do all the pots and crystal phono cartridge reverb tank. The cabinet back panel is currently missing a couple of screws. The amp has been thoroughly serviced to our standards, including replacement of all electrolytic capacitors, cleaning of all sockets, pots and jacks and biased to spec. Overall Excellent - Condition.","brand":"Vox","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56501958574220,"sku":"14056","price":13950.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0672\/8702\/3756\/files\/01_d2859ec0-bf42-41ce-acb8-acc051b7250f.jpg?v=1788646313","url":"https:\/\/retrofret.com\/products\/vox-model-ul-7120-hybrid-head-and-cabinet-amplifier-1966-14056","provider":"RetroFret","version":"1.0","type":"link"}