page_title: Vox Continental
section_title: Description
hierarchical_section_title: Vox Continental / Description
caption_attribution_description: English: Vox Continental Internal Workings
context_page_description: The Vox Continental is a transistorized combo organ that was introduced in 1962 by the musical equipment manufacturer Vox. Having a characteristic bright but thin, breathy sound, the "Connie", as it was affectionately known, was designed for touring musicians. It was also intended to replace heavy tonewheel organs, such as the revered Hammond B3.
  While that goal was not entirely accomplished, the Continental became a very popular instrument, especially with garage bands, and it can be heard in many 1960s and 1970s hit singles by The Beatles, The Animals, The Doors, Elvis Costello, and The Velvet Underground. After being phased out of production in the early 1970s, the organ remained a sought-after combo organ by enthusiasts. In September 2017, Korg released a workstation-style keyboard named in honor of the Vox Continental and highlighting the particular Continental organ sound.
context_section_description: The Continental had two basic designs, each with its own variations. They were the single manual Continental, and the dual manual model  called the Vox Continental II in England and the Vox Super Continental in Italy.  Vox Continentals were initially manufactured in the Jennings Musical Instruments 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 in the USA. 
  In 1992, Korg acquired Vox. Since then new products carrying the trademark Vox have been primarily for the guitar player, and the Korg trademark appears on keyboards.
  The Continental is visually striking, with atypical features for a keyboard instrument. The most obvious one is its reverse-colored keys (black naturals and white sharps) similar to a harpsichord. Then the chrome Z-shaped bolt-on leg stand assembly and bright vermilion (in some models grey) top made for a distinctive and handsome piece of equipment. The Vox Continental used six slider-type, metered volume controls called drawbars instead of the stop-tab rocker switches seen on other combo organs. Two of the drawbars controlled the voices (flute and reed tones), and three of the other four controlled the footages (in reference to ranks of pipes on a pipe organ, but were essentially successive octave controls. The lower the footage number, the higher the octaves were pitched (8 foot being one octave higher than 16 foot etc.), the last of the four controlling a mixture of four higher pitches. There was a single-speed, single intensity vibrato, but the Continental had no other special effects or bass pedalboard. Its simplicity was appreciated by many players.
caption: Vox Continental internal circuits and components.
exif: {}