Combo Organ Heaven: Vox-Other

Vox: Riviera

A late-60's product of Vox Sound, Ltd, the Riviera series comprised four different models. The series was also referred to as "Collosus", which was strictly a marketing term. The quotes below (in yellow) are from Dave Linsell (Electronics engineer at Vox Sound from 1969 to 1971), who describes the series thusly:

"The Riviera series was first introduced around 1968 and had a life of its own, and although it borrowed from the Continental stable of circuitry, it stood out as a completely separate range, and had an impressive performance. It was purely a UK product, manufactured in very limited numbers in Erith, Kent by Vox Sound Ltd., and will be a real collectors item."

Dave says that there were only 3 or 4 people building them, and it took 3 to 4 days to produce each one. They were made over approximately a 2-3 year period, which would put the total number produced at less than 500.

Many thanks to Henry Badowski for the the pictures (and someadditional information) that follow:

This ad is from a March, 1968 issue of Beat Instrumental.

Riviera I (aka "Mini-Riviera)

"Used US-sourced Thomas consoles (polished wood mainly), and offered 8 harmonic drawbars on the top manual and four on the lower. The keyboards were conventional colour-coding. The lower section contained amplifier and reverb electronics and a 13-note pedal-board. These organs were mated with the ‘Gyrotone I’ rotary speaker (the Vox version of a Leslie) to provide a complete system."

Feature-wise, the Riviera I is sort of between the Continental II and the Continental 300 - having additional drawbars (8 altogether on top - nearly the full "Hammond" complement!) and Reverb, but no Bass Sustain or Presets. It has no standard 1/4" output, but has a multi-pin connector that connects to a Vox "Gyrotone" cabinet (see below). It uses the same oscillator boards as the Continental II, as opposed to the IC type boards used in the '300 series. Also, the Percussion controls are identical to those on the Continental II w/percussion, rather than those of the '300.

Controls

    Drawbars:
        Lower: 8', 4', 2', IV, Foundation, Reed
        Bass: Foundation, Reed (good old "~" and "M")
        Upper: 16', 8', 5-1/3', 4', 2-2/3', 2', 1-3/5', 1', Foundation, Reed
    Tabs to left of upper keyboard: Main/Gyrotone, Gyrotone Slow/Fast, Reverb on/off, Bass 8'/16', Vibrato Off/On, Bass Sustain (knob)
    Buttons to right of lower keyboard: Percussion: 2nd Harm, 3rd Harm, Long Perc, Soft Perc

Mini-Riviera - aka "MR2P

"The same as the Riviera I electronically, in a split cabinet, vinyl-covered as in the Riviera II. This carried the model number MRIIP (Mini-Riviera II Percussion)"

Note the normal colored keys with reverse bass section - more like a Jennings than a Vox. The drawbar tips are classic Vox, but the markings are on the panel, Jennings-style, rather than the tips themselves.

(Ironing board stand was NOT original equipment)

Riviera II

(Sorry, no picture available yet)

"The same specification as the Riviera I, but with 8 harmonic drawbars on each reverse-colour keyboard. Notably, however, the casework was not supplied by Thomas, but was split into two sections - vinyl-covered (the same as Vox amps) together with diamond pattern grill-cloth on the lower half. 2 multi-way McMurdo plug/socket assemblies connected the top and bottom sections together. This had a larger rotary speaker – the ‘Gyrotone II’"

Dave also tells me that the Riviera II featured Sustain on the upper keyboard, selectable by 5 or 6 rocker tabs. The top (organ) part is detachable , but is inoperable apart from the base. The ID plate shows the model name as "RIV 2 REX", made in the UK.

Gyrotone Cabinet

As Dave indicated above, the Gyrotone was Vox's answer to the Leslie speaker. Here's how Henry describes it:

"... it uses a separate rotary speaker cabinet (the Gyrotone) which has 2 forward facing 12" speakers (used when the organ is set to 'main') plus an upward facing 12" speaker on a shelf in the middle of the cabinet with a styrofoam rotating baffle above it (used when set to 'gyrotone')..."

And here's a somewhat humorous account of a Gyrotone experience, courtesy of Paul Strange of Horizon 22: "The rotor - a bit like an old washing machine (!) - was in quite a mess when I got it, and things gradually became worse. Chunks of the styrofoam kept flying off when the motor was switched on and the whole thing felt like it was going to shake itself to bits!" But all's well, that ends well. After replacing the lower rotor with one from another, smaller, Gyrotone, he reports: "I couldn't believe it once the transplant had been completed - the sound was a vast improvement, and the Diamond 800 organ I was using never sounded better.Using the one speaker - now with extended bass - was great for recording..."

Controls

Riviera 400

"The Integrated Circuit version, created at the same time as the Continental 300 series (1970). It offered a contemporary-styled simulated wood (melamine) console version with separate upper and lower halves connected by a ‘lost’ self-aligning connector that avoided the ugly cables found in the other split models"

No pictures or other information on this one at this time.