Jennings Musical Instruments

Jennings Musical Instruments is a manufacturer of musical instruments, and the original owner of the Vox brand. The company was founded by Thomas Walter Jennings. History The Jennings Organ Company was founded by Thomas Walter Jennings in Dartford, Kent, England in 1950. Jennings' first successful product was the Univox, an early mains powered electronic keyboard with built-in valve amplifier and loudspeaker, similar to the Clavioline. There is some debate over whether the Clavioline or Univox was used in the song Telstar, but many think that it was the latter. In 1956 Jennings was shown a prototype guitar amplifier made by Dick Denney, a big band guitarist and workmate from WWII. Denney was going deaf and invented the Vox amp so that he could still hear himself play. Richard Mann, a friend of Dick's drew up the first blueprints, which were presented to Jennings of Bexleyheath. Dick Denney received very little for his invention but continued to design from a workshop built in the garden of his council house in Erith, Kent. The company was renamed Jennings Musical Industries or JMI, and in 1958 the 15-watt Vox AC15 amplifier was launched, and was popularized by The Shadows and other British rock 'n' roll musicians. Its more famous product, AC30 was launched in 1959, and later used by The Beatles on their first two albums.