VOX T60 SPEAKER CABINETS
In progress, June 2026
From late 1962 to late 1963, when the 18" Foundation Bass unit came into being, T60 cabs were the only cabinet expressly made for bass by Vox.
And of course, production of T60 cabs continued, in hand with T60 amplifiers, all the way through to 1967.
Care is needed in assigning possible dates to cabs based solely on the type of logo affixed. As with control panels and components in amplifiers, there can be a good deal of overlap between types of logo, speakers, and so on.
The earliest cabinets - July / August 1962
2 x 15" speakers
The T60 given to Jet Harris in mid August. On the left, the trade press photo; on the right a detail from an ad in the mainstream music press, Jet's surname unfortunately wrongly spelt in both. Harris evidently never used his T60 publicly, either with the Shadows or afterwards (info. kindly supplied by Terry Webster), preferring, when he had the choice, AC30s.
The VOX logo looks a bit half-hearted, certainly in relation to the one pictured below.
Why no diamond grille cloth on the early T60s? Perhaps at the time JMI did not have rolls that were tall enough for the speaker cabinet. That the one shown by JMI at the Russell Trade Fair in late August 1962 had a standard diamond front (and a standard vertical "pie" logo) has to be borne in mind however.
For a time at least, Sounds Incorporated also had an early T60 with flecked beige cloth and a horizontal logo, caught in the picture below (taken in late 1962 or early 1963):
Sounds Incorporated on stage, late 1962. The rear panel of the amp has an extra control, probably for tremolo, as below. By mid 1963 the band had a new "standard" T60.
The panel of a Vox Transonic amplifier, effectively a T60 chassis in a space-age-themed cabinet. Controls: volume, treble, bass, and tremolo.
The Russell Hotel Trade Fair - late August 1962
2 x 15" speakers; metal bars inside the side handles
Below, the T60 presented by JMI for the first time in public: beige vinyl for the speaker cabinet and amplifier section, standard pattern diamond grille cloth for the front. Note the presence of the wheeled trolley and the bars inset in the side carrying handles. Similar bars are evident also in the cabinet pictured with Peter Jay and the Jaywalkers some months later, photo by Dezo Hoffman. It seems likely that JMI loaned its demonstration cabinet to Dezo for studio work.
Late August 1962; music trade press.
August 1963, advert featuring Peter Jay and the Jaywalkers with two AC30 Super Transonics and a T60, probably the one shown by JMI at the Trade Fair, pictured above.
In mid 1963 JMI supplied Dezo's studio with a new set of amplifiers finished in black vinyl. The old ones in beige presumably went back to JMI for sale or loan. A further instance of the demonstration unit from earlier 1963 (the standard promotional photo through to later 1963):
On the left, the T60 in the "Choice of the Stars" catalogue of early 1963; on the right an advert in the mainstream music press from March 1963.
As can be seen, the same image of an early demonstration cabinet - metal bars in the side recesses - was used in the two promotional pieces. Both note that T60 cabinets had two fifteen inch speakers. Where does one find an early 2 x 15" that has a logo with a plain "O" ie. no bar through the middle?
Early 1963
2 x 15"; black vinyl
Below, a 2 x 15" cabinet from early 1963. The speakers are Goodmans Alcomax. It is possible - no more than that for the time being - that such speakers were fitted to the cabinet given to Paul McCartney in March 1963.
A detail to show the latching Cannon XLR socket and the type of vinyl covering used. The speaker cabinet of T60 serial number 304 also has a circular Cannon socket with its latch mising.
Below, the early T60 set owned by the Beat Cats (Berlin). Note the early form logo on the speaker cabinet, the "O" with a bar through, almost as a theta. Is this the cab with the Goodmans Alcomax speakers (above), which came to light in Berlin a couple of years ago?
The Beat Cats, 1964.
Paul McCartney's T60 (2 x 15")
As mentioned above, Paul received his T60 set from JMI in late March 1963. This he used through to early August, at which point the T60 amplifier section disappears from sight, and an AC30 Super Twin amplifier section comes into the picture. The T60 speaker cabinet was retained, and is last seen in the Paris Studios, London, mid December '63. More on this page. The AC80/100 amplifier provided by JMI for the Beatles' Christmas Show at Finsbury Part in late December arrived with a new 2 x 15" cabinet, spelling the end of the T60 speaker cabinet, which may have gone back to Jennings.
At present there is no definitive way of knowing whether Paul's T60 speaker cabinet was a 2 x 15", or 1 x 12" + 1 x 15" (which has been floated as a possibility). On the latter, see the sections further below on this page. On balance, Paul's seems more likely to have been a 2 x 15". That JMI did not begin advertising cabinets containing the latter configuration of speakers - 1 x 12" + 1 x 15" - until mid 1963, while not conclusive, is highly suggestive. In early 1963 the Beatles were still not a headline act.
JMI promotional brochure from 1963 with image of The Beatles, Paul with his T60 set.
The Beatles playing Plymouth, 13th November 1963. The T60 amplifier is long gone but the cab remains. One can just see that it has 2 x 15" cut-outs.
Wimbledon Palais, 14th December 1963. The two 15" cut-outs are perhaps even more evident in this picture.
Although much has yet to be substantiated, the feeling certainly seems to be that Goodmans Alcomax speakers preceded the use of Tannoy ET.119s, which were sprayed azure blue for Jennings (as the Fanes and Celestions that followed were too).
Picture from Jim Elyea's book. The cab has a logo similar to the one on the cab with Goodmans speakers, above.
Single blue Tannoy 15s are also found in company with 12" Fanes and Celestion blues in (later) 1 x 12" + 1 x 15" T60 speaker cabinets.
Into 1963
1 x 12" and 1 x 15"
Some way into 1963 the decision was made to equip the T60 speaker cabinet with one 12" and one 15" driver instead of 2 x 15". A number of cabinets that were originally made to take two 15" units were ingeniously converted by the bolting in of a board for the 12" speaker in the upper section of the box. Below, illustrated by Jim Elyea, the prototype cabinet made by Mick Bennett of JMI.
Mick Bennett's prototype 1 x 12" and 1 x 15" cabinet.
The reason for the change? To give more definition to the sound.
Below, a standard production T60 cabinet with an inner panel for a 12" speaker rather than a 15" in the top of the compartment. From the front the cabinet still looks like a 2 x 15". The "O" of the logo still has a bar, much as a theta.
Speaker cab from 1963 (with original drivers) sold in South Africa, 2018. Inside: one blue Celestion T530 12" on a supporting board, and one blue Tannoy 15". The runner lower right is: "BASS".
Just to add that the original design of the cabinets and subsequent change had nothing to do with the AC100 (as has been ventured). The AC100 came along much later - in early 1964.
From mid 1963
1 x 12" and 1 x 15" cut-outs
The 12" Celestion blues are the 15 ohm version of the T530 - T797 in the Celestion log book. The "silver" version was logged as the T1096.
Serial number 311 - black panel. Cut-outs for one 12" and one 15" speaker. Perspex logo. The BASS runner probably repositioned.
Possibly a black panel amp. Cut-outs for one 12" and one 15" speaker. Plain perspex logo - no cross-bar across the "O".
Bill Wyman's T60, used on the band's 1963 tour and probably issued to him by JMI shortly in advance of it, had a cabinet with perspex logo similar to the one above.
November 1963. The T60 is seen on stage in photos taken at Cardiff on 6th October.
Below, a detail from a photo taken on the 17th October, 1963, at the opening of McCormack's Music in Glasgow. The Rolling Stones, who were on tour at the time, are pictured with the amp. The logo of the speaker cabinet is probably perspex with black rexine backing.
17th October, 1963.
A perspex logo devoid of letters now and detached from its cab. Note that the letters were glued rather than pinned on.
Late 1963 into 1964
The second principal form of T60 speaker cabinet logo, single letters on a wood block covered in rexine, used from later 1963 to the late summer of 1964, though not exclusively. One also finds older-style perspex and early dimpled plastic logos in 1964.
Single-letter wood-block logos are also found on the 2 x 15" cabinets issued with early AC80/100s.
From very late 1963 certainly, numbers of cabinets were covered in basketweave vinyl. The earliest of these still had logos covered with dimpled rexine. Blocks covered in basketweave came in during the course of 1964.
Various examples survive of these logos with a bar across the "O" (just as on earlier perspex logos).
A small box diamond input AC50 from the second quarter of 1964. The cab has one Celestion T530 12" speaker and one Celestion T900 15" speaker. Logo on a wooden block - individual letters, but cross-bar across the "O".
The crossover capacitor, to protect the 12" speaker, is a green TCC electrolytic, 32uf, 350v rating.
Accompanying amplifier serial no. 593. One 12" and one 15" driver. The logo is a wooden block with individual letters attached. The runner lower right is: "BASS". Bought new in June 1964 - further pictures here - but probably made some months earlier.
One 12" and one 15" driver. The logo is black plastic. The runner lower right is "T60 BASS".
A 15" Celestion T1074 15ohm speaker
By mid 1964
Silver (poly grey) Celestions
Serial number 941. One Celestion 12" T1096 15ohm and one 15" Celestion T1109.