1971 Vox product catalog
“The Vox Discotape Unit made creative use of the cabinet and stand of a Vox Continental II organ to make the first commercially produced portable DJ system.” — Gary Hahlbeck
Selected pages of a 1971 catalog from Vox, the British manufacturer of audio equipment. These scans come from Vox expert Gary Hahlbeck, of North Coast Music, who writes about the groundbreaking gear shown in the first image:
Produced in the early seventies, easily pre-dating modern rap coffins by two decades, the Discotape was truly ahead of its time. Made from a Continental Organ shell and chrome stand, the Discotape featured two turntables with Shure cartridges; a cassette tape recorder and a 50 watt self contained amplifier. Other features included a monitor selector and volume; sliding turntable level controls; master volume controls; recording and microphone level controls; level and recording selectors and record scratch and rumble filters.
The Vox logo is perhaps Stephenson Blake’s Antique No. 6 with weight added, or derived from a generic wood type Antique. The other display face is the very groovy Blanchard Solid, spaced tightly so it almost behaves like a joined script.
“Rick Huxley, former bassist with the Dave Clark Five, was hired by Vox to be the sales executive for the Southern area of the UK after the DC5 disbanded in 1970.” — Gary Hahlbeck
“Amplifiers pictured are an AC30 Top Boost Combo (lower left), Super Foundation Bass head with 2x18 cabinet (upper left), Foundation Bass head (center bottom), PA100 head with reverberation (upper right), and Slave Master (lower right).” — Gary Hahlbeck
