{"id":36697,"date":"2013-03-21T10:05:13","date_gmt":"2013-03-21T18:05:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/bassic-sax.info\/blog\/?p=36697"},"modified":"2024-06-06T10:12:56","modified_gmt":"2024-06-06T17:12:56","slug":"whatever-happened-to-the-king-ampliphonic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bassic-sax.info\/blog\/2013\/whatever-happened-to-the-king-ampliphonic\/","title":{"rendered":"Whatever Happened To The King Ampliphonic By Vox?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Yesterday I noticed this ad on eBay, <\/a>for the King Ampliphonic, amplification system by Vox. According to the seller, the ad is circa 1975, and is from Downbeat Magazine.<\/p>\n

\"King<\/a><\/p>\n

Source: OperaRex on eBay.com<\/span><\/p>\n

The King Vari-Level pickup, was a key component in this system. The player had a choice of either straight amplification, by plugging the Vari-Level pickup directly into an amplifier, or having the ability to alter his\/her tone through the Octavoice controller.<\/p>\n

The Octavoice controller\u2014or “control center”, as King called it\u2014allowed the player to use straight amplification, or have his\/her instrument sound 1 or 2 octaves lower. Or if they preferred, the player could project all 3 of these instrumental voices, as well as their unamplified sound. That was a lot of control, but didn’t end there.<\/p>\n

The Octavoice also allowed a player to “change or multiply tone colors”. I’ll say it again, there was a lot of control built into a little belt pack.<\/p>\n

Based on the photo above, one can see that the pickup was built into the trumpet mouthpiece. However, the photo of the saxophone player doesn’t show that the pickup on the sax was generally located in the neck<\/a>.<\/p>\n

According to The Vox Showroom<\/a>, The King Ampliphonic system was a direct result of Thomas Organ trying to find ways to expand the company’s market:<\/p>\n

Looking for new markets, Thomas Organ entered the band instrument business with their Vox “Ampliphonic” line. They hoped to bring the same spirit of innovation that powered their guitar amplification products to the “big band” stage. But their goal went beyond amplifying band instruments through a Vox amplifier. Thomas Organ also wished to develop outboard effects devices that would radically modify the tone of reed and brass band instruments just as MRB, fuzz tone, and Repeat Percussion had done for guitar.<\/p>\n

Source: <\/span>Vox Ampliphonic Octavoice I & II page on<\/span> The Vox Showroom <\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

After sourcing out some woodwinds and brass winds that would accept a pickup, the company designed a set of amplifiers that could accept a signal from these pickups. Then Vox went about developing the Octavoice I & II as an outboard<\/em> effects unit. To read how the units dropped the instrument signal by 1 and 2 octaves, check out the Vox Ampliphonic Octavoice I & II page, on The Vox Showroom website<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Vox Showroom has 5 further resources on the Ampliphonic Octavoice, including a catalogue, owner’s manual, and an instrument price list. So if you’re interested in finding out more about this vintage effects unit, be sure to check the links towards the bottom of the Vox Ampliphonic Octavoice I & II page<\/a>.<\/p>\n

A King Ampliphonic Octavoice I recently sold on eBay. (The I was for woodwinds, while the II was for brass winds.) This will give you a better idea of what these units looked like.<\/p>\n

\"Ampliphonic<\/a><\/p>\n

Source: rocktan79<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Ampliphonic<\/a><\/p>\n

Source: rocktan79<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Ampliphonic<\/a><\/p>\n

 Source: rocktan79<\/span><\/p>\n

I did a some searching on the ‘Net and found quite a lot of other info about the Vox Ampliphonic Octavoice, but sadly no sound samples of a saxophone using the unit. Here is a listing of some of the more interesting links I did find though:<\/p>\n