The group I was in from 1961- 1970 was The Echoes who were sponsored by Vox in 1962. We had the job of trailing their equipment. They set us up with two AC30, a Foundation bass amp with an 18inch speaker (which I still have it was the prototype of this speaker box, with the handles on the outside of the cabinet. This made it hard to pack squarely. I suggested they should be inverted the handles into the cabinet, which they did on later models) They also gave us the first Continental. This we used on many of the recordings we did of our own and other artists. I also played the Phantom Bass Guitar from 1961 until 1966 when they gave me the Cougar bass guitar to trail. The group also used the six string Phantom Guitar as well as two PA systems one with 8" speakers, the other 12" speakers. I always went to the musical instrument expos back in London catching up with Dick Denning and Larry Macari. Dick was a genius that's for sure!
Thanks so much for sharing your story - very interesting indeed! I just had a listen to a couple of your records; really great sound! The Phantom guitars had such a distinctive tone. I also read that you also went on to be Dusty Springfield's backing band? Amazing!
@@zenartist There are too many to mention...but in all honesty this one I was not familiar with - so thank you very much for putting it in front of me, it's fantastic!
Great documentary as usual! Although the sound is definitely an acquired taste, I think, for the right genre and vibe it’s perfect. And I absolutely applaud doing things inconveniently and tinkering and restoring old pieces of electronic equipment. Bravo!
Thanks! Unfortunately the organ has been sold, so I can't do any more videos with it...although hopefully the chords/solo should be fairly easy to work out from the bird's eye view of the keyboard, with a little trial & error perhaps?
There is a step in organ history that is missing: Between the technically simple combo organs of the 60's and the later Hammond revival there was "the age of the hyper space super organs" - or whatever it should be called. The most fantastic - but unfortunately unaffordable for practically anyone but a few - was Yamaha's GX-1. Lowrey had a range - Gotye paid homage to them in the song "State of the Art". There was Wersi that was played by a plethora of famous touring organists, and both Elka, Technics, GEM, Solton, and many others made them from the early 1970's to mid 1980's.
Fantastic as always brother! Got to work this morning, and a smile was brought to my face when one of my favorite RUclipsrs uploaded a video of one of the coolest vibiest keyboards of all time 😎
Superior sound of the Hammond organ? No, the different sound of the Hammond organ. Nice history and playing, though :) I started collecting combo organs because of Stereolab. Bought broken ones for cheap, fixed them myself and enjoyed them in between bouts of fixing them again. That's why you should always have more than one combo organ. The one that always sounded good and cut through the mix no matter where I played it was the Fender Contempo, and it has the nicest key action too.
@@CAMFORRESTER If we're talking about superior sound, that's like saying a Les Paul sounds superior to a Strat; a matter of opinion. A Hammond won't sound like a Vox, or a Farfisa. The Hammond has percussion and lots of extra footages, But a Yamaha YC series does too. You can also pick up a Vox or Farfisa by yourself and fit it in the trunk of a compact car. There's still a lot of snobbishness against combo organs by Hammond players, but all organs are cool in their own way and if the sound inspires you in a way that nothing else does it's superior to you.
@@wmfthe5th376 I understand what you mean, but I think snobbishness is a harsh word. I have owned and played several Hammond and Vox organs and played several other combos, and have thoroughly enjoyed them all for what they are, but I personally see combo organs as derivative - the Hammond not only pre-dates them by a quarter century, but the tonewheel organs also out-lived (the Vox at least) by four years, and I do believe there is a good reason for that. History has proven that the tonewheel sound has tonal quality, and innate versatility that transistor organs just don't. There are examples of its use in almost every genre of music, and the sound has never really gone out of fashion (and through a straight amplifier - not a Leslie - with just the right drawbar registration, the Hammond has the ability to sound remarkably bright, and very similar to a Vox). Also they were a masterpiece of engineering, and the quality of their production was incredible. Transistor organs were a fantastic electronic development, but they have a characteristic sound that is more limited. They are fabulous in their own right, but the sound has not stood up to the test of time in the same way, or had such a far-reaching appeal as the tonewheel sound. It was simply of its time. You mentioned guitars; I think a good analogy would be a Rickenbacker - glorious guitar, glorious sound, but a very specific sound nonetheless...whereas Gibson or Fender are arguably more versatile and usable across a wider spectrum of musical styles.
Shame you sold it….lovely looking (& sounding) thing and it’s errr orange, what’s not to love! I know nothing about musical instruments even though my missus is a piano teacher. I’ve found with audio amps of that era though that germanium transistors produce a nicer rounded fat tone compared to silicon, with a great valve like mid range. The Vox looked to be loaded with carbon composition resistors though which are notorious for absorbing moisture over the years and drifting high in value which will impact the rest of the circuit. If you kept it would’ve been worth changing those to carbon film.
Yeah I definitely had to replace several resistors (indeed, with carbon film ones), but I always tend to work by "if it ain't broke, don't fix it", with regards to changing the whole lot...plus there are hundreds of them in there! 😅
I would have loved to keep it, but I just couldn't justify it sitting there barely getting used unfortunately. As soon as I found a buyer I made sure to film these videos before saying goodbye though! And yes, I've played a YC and they are indeed very good!
![[DOKKAN BATTLE] Worldwide Campaign Announcement Video Part 2!](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/JpT5Voak6WA/mqdefault.jpg)
The group I was in from 1961- 1970 was The Echoes who were sponsored by Vox in 1962. We had the job of trailing their equipment. They set us up with two AC30, a Foundation bass amp with an 18inch speaker (which I still have it was the prototype of this speaker box, with the handles on the outside of the cabinet. This made it hard to pack squarely. I suggested they should be inverted the handles into the cabinet, which they did on later models) They also gave us the first Continental. This we used on many of the recordings we did of our own and other artists. I also played the Phantom Bass Guitar from 1961 until 1966 when they gave me the Cougar bass guitar to trail. The group also used the six string Phantom Guitar as well as two PA systems one with 8" speakers, the other 12" speakers. I always went to the musical instrument expos back in London catching up with Dick Denning and Larry Macari. Dick was a genius that's for sure!
Thanks so much for sharing your story - very interesting indeed! I just had a listen to a couple of your records; really great sound! The Phantom guitars had such a distinctive tone. I also read that you also went on to be Dusty Springfield's backing band? Amazing!
I have a UK 1965 continental and a 67 Super and a gray top super and a AC 30-great stuff
You forgot to mention 96 Tears one of the definitive Vox riffs
@@zenartist There are too many to mention...but in all honesty this one I was not familiar with - so thank you very much for putting it in front of me, it's fantastic!
@@CAMFORRESTER “96 Tears is the best Rock ‘n Roll song ever” - John Lennon.
If not THE greatest Continental riff/song ever!!
Great documentary as usual! Although the sound is definitely an acquired taste, I think, for the right genre and vibe it’s perfect. And I absolutely applaud doing things inconveniently and tinkering and restoring old pieces of electronic equipment. Bravo!
House of the rising sun, magic. How about an indepth tutorial? Love your presentations.
Thanks! Unfortunately the organ has been sold, so I can't do any more videos with it...although hopefully the chords/solo should be fairly easy to work out from the bird's eye view of the keyboard, with a little trial & error perhaps?
Really great history and nice to hear a few of those classic Continental songs...thanks
cool stuff
There is a step in organ history that is missing: Between the technically simple combo organs of the 60's and the later Hammond revival there was "the age of the hyper space super organs" - or whatever it should be called. The most fantastic - but unfortunately unaffordable for practically anyone but a few - was Yamaha's GX-1. Lowrey had a range - Gotye paid homage to them in the song "State of the Art". There was Wersi that was played by a plethora of famous touring organists, and both Elka, Technics, GEM, Solton, and many others made them from the early 1970's to mid 1980's.
Fantastic as always brother! Got to work this morning, and a smile was brought to my face when one of my favorite RUclipsrs uploaded a video of one of the coolest vibiest keyboards of all time 😎
Glad you enjoyed it bro! 😉
Wow, I think that is kool.. I was curoius about what organ they used in 60's Psych Rock!
It was usually the Vox or the Farfisa.
Did you remove the felt mutes from your Country Gentleman? Great video as always!!
Nah they are there! They're just hidden a little by the light and dark colour of the guitar.
6:50 - Would Reed also play the Vox on occasion, or is there a story behind this pic?
He probably noodled on it from time to time, but not at live shows - Cale was bassist/organist/violist
Superior sound of the Hammond organ? No, the different sound of the Hammond organ. Nice history and playing, though :)
I started collecting combo organs because of Stereolab. Bought broken ones for cheap, fixed them myself and enjoyed them
in between bouts of fixing them again. That's why you should always have more than one combo organ. The one that always
sounded good and cut through the mix no matter where I played it was the Fender Contempo, and it has the nicest key action too.
@@wmfthe5th376 I'd be interested to hear your reasoning for asserting that the Hammond organ isn't superior to transistor organs...
@@CAMFORRESTER If we're talking about superior sound, that's like saying a Les Paul sounds superior to a Strat; a matter of opinion. A Hammond won't sound like a Vox, or a Farfisa. The Hammond has percussion and lots of extra footages, But a Yamaha YC series does too. You can also pick up a Vox or Farfisa by yourself and fit it in the trunk of a compact car. There's still a lot of snobbishness against combo organs by Hammond players, but all organs are cool in their own way and if the sound inspires you in a way that nothing else does it's superior to you.
@@wmfthe5th376 I understand what you mean, but I think snobbishness is a harsh word. I have owned and played several Hammond and Vox organs and played several other combos, and have thoroughly enjoyed them all for what they are, but I personally see combo organs as derivative - the Hammond not only pre-dates them by a quarter century, but the tonewheel organs also out-lived (the Vox at least) by four years, and I do believe there is a good reason for that.
History has proven that the tonewheel sound has tonal quality, and innate versatility that transistor organs just don't. There are examples of its use in almost every genre of music, and the sound has never really gone out of fashion (and through a straight amplifier - not a Leslie - with just the right drawbar registration, the Hammond has the ability to sound remarkably bright, and very similar to a Vox). Also they were a masterpiece of engineering, and the quality of their production was incredible.
Transistor organs were a fantastic electronic development, but they have a characteristic sound that is more limited. They are fabulous in their own right, but the sound has not stood up to the test of time in the same way, or had such a far-reaching appeal as the tonewheel sound. It was simply of its time.
You mentioned guitars; I think a good analogy would be a Rickenbacker - glorious guitar, glorious sound, but a very specific sound nonetheless...whereas Gibson or Fender are arguably more versatile and usable across a wider spectrum of musical styles.
Shame you sold it….lovely looking (& sounding) thing and it’s errr orange, what’s not to love! I know nothing about musical instruments even though my missus is a piano teacher. I’ve found with audio amps of that era though that germanium transistors produce a nicer rounded fat tone compared to silicon, with a great valve like mid range. The Vox looked to be loaded with carbon composition resistors though which are notorious for absorbing moisture over the years and drifting high in value which will impact the rest of the circuit. If you kept it would’ve been worth changing those to carbon film.
Yeah I definitely had to replace several resistors (indeed, with carbon film ones), but I always tend to work by "if it ain't broke, don't fix it", with regards to changing the whole lot...plus there are hundreds of them in there! 😅
Very jealous and shame you're selling it.
If you're on a budget and can't afford a Vox Continental, the Yamaha Reface YC does a pretty good imitation.
I would have loved to keep it, but I just couldn't justify it sitting there barely getting used unfortunately. As soon as I found a buyer I made sure to film these videos before saying goodbye though! And yes, I've played a YC and they are indeed very good!