Vox Supercontinental (Continental Mk.II)

No other keyboard looks better on stage. I put a replacement stand on a 1967 Super thats in great shape. The Vox stands out with the "z" stand and red top. The other keyboards don't look exciting.

The only sample I bought for a K2661 was a Vox Continental. This is a must have sound. Unique. I hear this keyboard in TV show themes and ad's all the time now. New Tom Petty cd track 1 features this Vox.

This Vox Super survived huricane Ivan and every note plays great. I bought this keyboard in 2000. It may have been serviced before then. No problems to this date. Still mostly in perfect tune. I think it's solid enough that I may tune it soon.

North coast and other suppliers for parts.

This Vox Super Continental will be shipped to the Rock &Roll Hall of Fame on or before my death. I would never sell it. I think the Super Continental is in the R&R music instrument Hall of Fame for a reason. Play it through a Vox AC30 tube amp, or best, run it through a super stock Leslie; this baby screams through any mix.
Did I mention, no keyboard to this date looks so cool on stage.
I wonder how many of these Super Continentals were even made?

This is completely analog and has two sets(for top and bottom keyboards) waveforms emulating flute and reed tones. Then you have your other draw bars to offer different tones. The only added feature this really has is a bass sustain, and a vibrato, both of which are typical to combo organs and electronic organs alike. Very warm. Besides this nothing is labelled, Which is kinda lame without a manual.

This instrument is very limited in which it's only purpose is to supply an organ tone, but it preforms this very well. The only built in effects(if you want to call them that) are the vibrato and bass sustain. Completely polyphonic.

The super continental is very responsive to touch, but without bass sustain after touch is very limited. It has a very realistic organ reed tone for a combo organ, and paired with the flute, sounds very churchy almost pipe organ like. This instrument could be used for all types of music, but I would say like most combo organs it works best with rock and roll. This organ offers very nice clarity. The bottom keyboard is identical to a standard continental, I don't know what to compare the top organ to.

Finding these organs in pristine condition is very rare, even if they are they usually they have a faulty oscillator, sticky keys, or draw bar conflicts. This organ was given to me for free at a garage sale in rough condition. The cabinet was rebuilt, I guess in attempts to salvage this incredible organ. A few keys were missing their springs, and the draw bars made an incredible rumble when pulled. A can of control cleaner and a good dusting, fixed all but two oscillation problems. I have plans to refurbish this unit, but for being gigged on and off for 25+ years, This unit has stood the test of time. A major problem with these old Vox organs is missing power plugs, and good luck replacing it. Start surfing old thrift stores and electronic outlets, you might find something that matches.

Due to the products age getting any type of support for this organ is very slim. I believe you can purchase schematics from them that's about it. The Internet has a few sources regarding the Continental, but not much for the Super/Continental II. Although you can find replacement keys, logos, and toggle switches all over the Internet. If you look hard enough so in terms of Internet support there is plenty, virtually nothing from Vox though.

This combo organ is irreplaceable. If something unfortunate were to occur I would seek out another. The transistor-esque tone you get from this organ is one of a kind. Very unique sounds. I own a platter of different instruments, and an array of organs, this one is by far one of the best combo organs, and it's easy to see why it is so sought after. Any amp with a good speaker and bass control, will sound awesome. But your best bet for the vintage warm sound would be a valve amp. There aren't very many cons for this organ, or something I could even classify as a problem. If you are not a fan of "cheesy" organ sounds then avoid this. One thing I would like to see is a volume control not based of drawbars that would sacrifice tone with lower levels(I could be wrong about this). But if it's good enough for the Beatles and the Beach Boys, well it's sure as hell good enough for me.

This is completely analog and has two sets(for top and bottom keyboards) waveforms emulating flute and reed tones. Then you have your other draw bars to offer different tones. The only added feature this really has is a bass sustain, and a vibrato, both of which are typical to combo organs and electronic organs alike. Very warm. Besides this nothing is labelled, Which is kinda lame without a manual.

This instrument is very limited in which it's only purpose is to supply an organ tone, but it preforms this very well. The only built in effects(if you want to call them that) are the vibrato and bass sustain. Completely polyphonic.

The super continental is very responsive to touch, but without bass sustain after touch is very limited. It has a very realistic organ reed tone for a combo organ, and paired with the flute, sounds very churchy almost pipe organ like. This instrument could be used for all types of music, but I would say like most combo organs it works best with rock and roll. This organ offers very nice clarity. The bottom keyboard is identical to a standard continental, I don't know what to compare the top organ to.

Finding these organs in pristine condition is very rare, even if they are they usually they have a faulty oscillator, sticky keys, or draw bar conflicts. This organ was given to me for free at a garage sale in rough condition. The cabinet was rebuilt, I guess in attempts to salvage this incredible organ. A few keys were missing their springs, and the draw bars made an incredible rumble when pulled. A can of control cleaner and a good dusting, fixed all but two oscillation problems. I have plans to refurbish this unit, but for being gigged on and off for 25+ years, This unit has stood the test of time. A major problem with these old Vox organs is missing power plugs, and good luck replacing it. Start surfing old thrift stores and electronic outlets, you might find something that matches.

Due to the products age getting any type of support for this organ is very slim. I believe you can purchase schematics from them that's about it. The Internet has a few sources regarding the Continental, but not much for the Super/Continental II. Although you can find replacement keys, logos, and toggle switches all over the Internet. If you look hard enough so in terms of Internet support there is plenty, virtually nothing from Vox though.

This combo organ is irreplaceable. If something unfortunate were to occur I would seek out another. The transistor-esque tone you get from this organ is one of a kind. Very unique sounds. I own a platter of different instruments, and an array of organs, this one is by far one of the best combo organs, and it's easy to see why it is so sought after. Any amp with a good speaker and bass control, will sound awesome. But your best bet for the vintage warm sound would be a valve amp. There aren't very many cons for this organ, or something I could even classify as a problem. If you are not a fan of "cheesy" organ sounds then avoid this. One thing I would like to see is a volume control not based of drawbars that would sacrifice tone with lower levels(I could be wrong about this). But if it's good enough for the Beatles and the Beach Boys, well it's sure as hell good enough for me.

I bought my first Supercontinental in 1967, new for $1200. That was a lot of money way back then. What a sound!!!! I played it in a college rock band through a Leslie. It could not be simpler to use, just turn in on, pull out the drawbars and rock out. Of course it had technical problems from time to time but anyway it is just the coolest looking and sounding instrument you can imagine. So sorry I sold it.

The keyboard action was kind of clunky and plastic but who cares. Only effect was vibrato. I am afraid it didn't have any midi capabilites or on-board sequencer as those wouldn't be invented for about 25 to 30 years later. Also, this thing was so damn heavy that you would swear it was filled with cement, I mean it was HEAVY! It is also a bit of a project to set it up on the original stand, but once you do it really looks great. The only real feature it has is the just incredible sound.

Unbeatable sound!!! I frankly feel that the vox kicks ass on any Hammond B-3, it is just sooo fat, thick, incredible sounding that if you haven't heard it I can't describe it to you. Velocity? Aftertouch? what't that? This is simply the best rock organ ever made. The analog sound is so fat and sweet that any digital keyboard just sucks by comparison. I have had an original Korg cx-3 (analog), Hammond B-3, EPS 16 plus, Nord Electro, etc. and NOTHING ELSE EVEN COMES CLOSE. When you play this thru a Leslie at volume you are the king of the hill.

You absolutely cannot rely on the early models of the Supercontinental, but ones made after the first year seem to be fairly dependable, but hey, who cares.

Forget it. Maybe you can find somebody to fix it, but don't count on it.

If I was to start playing again on a semi regular basis I would find one and buy it, doesn't matter what the price is, nothing compares (I still have my leslie and this is an indespensable piece of equipment if you want to get the best out of the supercontinental)

Plug it in, pull the drawbars out, and play The Doors, Animals, Dave Clark 5, Monkees, Iron Butterfly, Costello, and whoever else used a Vox. Nothing even comes close.

Easy to use.

Unlimited polyphony. Keyboard action is kinda clunky and loud BUT WHO CARES, ITS A VOX.

Vibrato is the only feature. Plug it into your amp that has reverb. That's all you need. I'm a beginner but I'm a friek about any music that used this killer keyboard.

Reversed black and white keys. Way cool. Sometimes I think I bought it simply for the way it looks.

Limited features? Oh, yeah, forgot about the vibrato...WHO CARES, ITS A VOX!

It's an organ made with transistors and tons of wire. Made in Italy in '67. It does one thing well: 1960's pop music.

The "Light My Fire" sound is real easy to find. You can't really have the 4th drawbar all the way out or it will sound too bright. I also set the sine drawbar just one drawbar click below the "M" drawbar. Imagine the brightess of the sound of "Light My Fire" vs "In-a-gadda-da-vida" and you'll hear a slight difference. You can also get the "I'm a Believer" sound...anything like this, the Vox is hands-down the organ to get.

Makes one type of sound: KILLER! This is the absolute holy grail of combo organs.

ITS A VOX!

Only one problem: One "A" key on the upper manual doesn't work with one drawbar because the key contact is busted off. Other than that, it works perfectly. I will get it fixed sometime soon.

I hear these things suck as far as reliability is concerned. So far so good for me, even though I've only had her for 3 months.

Try the web. There is some good stuff out there as far as repairs, some parts, etc. Go to www.combo-organ.com for tonz of info on any combo organ ever made, including links for repairs, etc.

I have lusted over these organs since I started playing about 10 years ago, after a long hiatus from boring piano lessons as a 7 year old. I bought it for one reason: ITS A VOX and NOTHING will EVER sound like this thing. I would probably invoke slow Chinese torture upon the person who would/could steal this thing away. Nothing would replace it other than another one.

As the other reviewers have said, it's pretty easy to use....plug it in the wall, plug it in an amp, turn it on, play. No presets, just drawbars for both manuals.
I only have a copy of the page from the manual with the suggested registrations for the drawbars. Nice tones! I will be happy to share this page with anyone that wants it.

I guess you could play every note on the keyboard if you were so inclined.
I have the Italian made model, made "Gen 1968", so it has plastic keys, but the action is wonderful; light but with a certain firmness, makes my Roland keyboard seem cheap.
One effect, vibrato, but it's a nice sounding effect. No midi, expansion, etc., except that some could attach a set of pedals to sub for the manual bass.

Classic Rock! This is ideal for almost any tunes that didn't feature a Hammond sound, and you can sort of cover that with a Leslie or some simulator. I too have played classical msuic on it, great for Bach, and some other styles too, but it is the perfect surf/early metal/psychedelic organ. Works OK for funk, oddly enough.
No velocity or aftertouch...this is an ORGAN!
Unlike the synths with sampled organs, this is infinitely variable tonally over its range, so it is very expressive.

Mine's been working fine with no repairs since I bought it in 1989! I have hauled it on gigs, but prefer not to; however I didn't have a backup, unless you counted the U-20 I stuck on top for piano, string, and other sounds.

Yeah, right! Vox hasn't made these in years. As the other reviews indicate some service is available.

I bought it for $300, but that also included a nonworking spare for parts, plus a nonworking Farfisa that I got $100 bucks for. (Wish I'd kept it). I would be very upset not to have this organ, it's a real treasure.
I've been a pro musician since 1973, play guitar, bass, keys, winds, etc. Other keyboards include: Roland U-20, Akai AX-60, GEM PK-5, Moog Prodigy, a Microrgan, some cheesy Casio.
I love the Super continental's sound, feel, look, but not the weight, although it's not too bad. Just a lot heavier than a synth.
I do wish it had percussion, but very few did.
All in all, a wonderful instrument.

You don't need some 300 page manual to play this one. Turn it on, pull out some drawbars and get lost in the 60's. It is what it is and it don't pretend to be anything else.

built in effects? Yeah it has...um....let me see....uh...oh yeah, vibrato. A little reverb would be nice but whatever you're playing it through usually has that. Again, it is what it was intended to be. One feature that it has that can't be imitated is it's classic style. I've had people who knew nothing about music come up and recognize it as a Vox and immediately go into some story from long ago where they saw their first one. (no telling what other "firsts" happened that same night). I'd venture to guess that the Vox Continental organ and the Rickenbacker guitar are the most lasting visual images from the mid 60's music scene.

It's made for 60's rock. Period. And it does it like nothing else. I've had several. Farfisa, Panther, Acetone. They all had their distinct sounds. This one is VERY distinct. A little different than a regular Continental but it can be tweaked to sound the same. Actually more versatile than the Continental. I'll bet the word "versatile" isn't used very often with these. hehe. Straight up through the amp, it's pure 60's heaven. But here's the kicker. I have a Leslie 145 w/the combo preamp pedal. Plug it in there and WHOA. Gets very dirty and Hammond-ish. Doesn't even sound like the same organ. But then again, a Leslie seems to have that effect on things. But that's another story.

When I first got it, I was telling the local dealer (who sold these things new in the 60's) about it. He asked what kind of condition it was in. I said great except that the drawbars were a little finicky. He said "aw hell, they were like that when they were new". I think maybe reliability has always been somewhat of an issue. I had a Vox Jaguar in the 60's and seemed to always be fooling with it. And this weird power cord. I can't believe that there isn't anything else on this whole planet that uses it. I've had to "retro" something else as it is long since gone. I don't gig with it anymore at all except if were doing a strictly 60's gig, like someone's 50th birthday or a class reunion or something like that. I'd be scared to death to try to depend on it night after night.

There is no customer support through Vox. (which is part of Korg now, but you knew that) but there is an endless amount of knowledge of these things out there. Places like www.voxtalks.com , www.voxshowroom.com , North Coast Music, Rhoads Music, etc. can either help you (and are very willing to do so) or will point you in the direction of someone who can. In my opinion, this type of customer support is MUCH better than someone hiding behind a 16 step phone menu in some cubicle in an office.

This one can't be replaced. If someone stole it I'd chase down the scumbag and date his sister. This one belonged to the lady who (with her husband) had the original Vox dealership locally back in the 60's. They were like father and mother to all of us garage band junkies back then. They'd loan us equipment, let us make payments on a handshake, and various other supreme acts of kindness. When she retired they sold the dealership to a friend of mine who worked for them from the start. When the gracious lady passed away her daughter called me a month or so later and said she had this organ and that her mother had always said that when she was gone she wanted me to have it. She wouldn't take anything for it but I finally persuaded her to let me donate $100 in her mother's name to charity. For that reason, my grandkids will have to get hungry before I sell this thing.

N/A no presets, no software. This is a classic 1960s organ. You won't find anything else like it in a modern synth. Even the best sample I've heard doesn't come close to the real thing. So it's very easy to use. Just play it, man. The drawbars are fun to experiment with to produce different harmonics. It can go soft as a church organ or you can make it SCREAM!!!

The effects built in are the drawbars which produce different harmonics. The top and bottom tiers of this organ have different drawbar options and they are slightly different options than the, smaller, continental organ so it does make a slightly different although very similar sound to the continental. The organ does have a vibrato on/off switch and it sounds great for surf rock or psychadelic tunes. The bottom octive in the bottom tier has an extra bass option 8' or 16'. On mine, I've never gotten this to work well (something's wrong with it) so I've turned it off completely. So not many features but the ones it does have are perfect for what this organ is for.

Can't get any more realistic than this because it's the real thing. Not a sample or FM synthesis of what someone "remembers" a VOX sounds like. I play rock and it works perfectly in our band. I play it through a wah pedal and an Alesis NANOVERB effects box which can sit easily on the top of the organ. This adds some much needed reverb, in my opinion. The delay effects are also fun to play the supercontinental through. I've always thought you could play classical through it. Have played some of Bach's inventions on it and they sound pretty...super.

I do gig with this organ. In hind site, I should have bought a continental. It would have been easier to lug around. It's a heavy organ. I've broken two of the plastic/rubber handles. Luckily I can get replacements over the net. I did lose the power cable at one point and that freaked me out. It's a non-standard power cable. I was able to MacGyver a cable by taking a CD player power cable, splitting the two metal connectors by cutting down the middle of the rubber in between them, and then reaming out the metal connectors with a leatherman to make them wider to fit the organ. I used this cable for a couple of weeks until the bar called me back and said they had my cable I left there. Now the cable is the first thing I pack away in my backpack and I keep that spare cable around that I made. I also stack an Alesis QS6 on top of this organ. There is a fuse on the organ and my worst fear has always been that this 35 year old fuse will blow in the middle of a gig. I use the Alesis for some of those grittier organ sounds that I desire and also to back up in case the VOX goes down.

The best support is via the web. Northcoast music, USA, sells replacement parts such as the plastic drawbar ends (at a high premium price), the wing nuts, handles, etc.. I do worry that I will blow a transistor or some other small piece of electronics in side and will need to hunt down an electrician. For now, it works great.

I couldn't do without this organ or another similar organ such as a jaguar or continental. Honestly, as I said, if I lost this organ I would probably get a continental. But I may not have a choice. These things are difficult to find. I waited around about a year before I found one that was in good working and esthetic order. I also own the Alesis synth, a Fender Rhodes, a piano, and an Ensoniq keyboard. The supercontinental is by far my favorite. It's the sound I want.

This is honest-to-goodness straight forward organ to use, just plug in, switch on, twiddle with the drawbars, and off you go... Come on baby light my fire

What is it? Well, it's a double manual (a 'duo') drawbar organ. Mine is the English version, built in Erith, Kent, in 1967. It sounds cool and looks cool - reverse coloured keys (the white keys are black and vice versa) and comes with gorgeous Z-shaped chrome legs.

Unlimited polyphony - I assume, I haven't put it to the test.

Effects-wise, well, if you wanted effects, you wouldn't by a Continental, would you? The standard Superconnie comes with vibrato. I've got a variant that has 4 additional tabs that allow you to change the percussion - hard/soft/fast/slow, though these don't work at the mo, just make a load of rumble and hiss, so I fiddled with them until I found the permutation that was least noisy and left them alone.

The keyboard action is lovely - firm and smooth. Class and quality. 35 years old and still perfecto. Now would you get that with a 2002 black plastic synth? Until I bought this I was used to playing cheap keyboards with crappy hollow plastic keys. I have seen the light. There's no going back.

Expansion possibilities? Hmmmm. Pedals? I use a wah - to similate a Leslie effect or add a bit of interest, but otherwise nothing. But if you wanted limitless sound possibilities, you wouldn't buy a Vox.

Does this organ sound 'very realistic'?? Well, since this is the holy grail, the godfather and the Big Bang of combo organs all rolled into one, that's an easy one. It sounds 100% realistic because it is 100% 'the real thing', not a copy. What modern keyboard can seriously imitate the sound and action, the heart & soul of a 60s combo? It feels alive when I play it; it cries, it shrieks, the tonal quality of the notes alters... I can only say that it has more in common with a guitar than a modern keyboard.

Soundwise, sure, the drawbars do allow you to change the sound of the organ to a fair degree - but of course, it's always gonna sound like a cool 1960s combo organ. I'd like to compare it to other combos with tabs, but I don't know anyone else who owns one of these things. I note that one of the other reviewers described the extra drawbar on the upper manual as 'plasticky', well that's a matter of taste, mate, I love the deep sound it produces.

In terms of the music it's suited to, I bought it to play rock, blues, etc. Would it suit other styles of music? I'd have to think about that.

Grrrrr, this is the downside. You don't know how reliable your organ is gonna be when you buy it - and I certainly wouldn't buy one of these things blind off Ebay, etc. These instruments are fragile - it doesn't take much for one of those transistors to go, or for a soldered joint to break. Then it just emits spacey noises and you think $#%&!! I bought my Vox two months ago. The guy I bought it off had just had 3 circuit boards repaired and, within a day of getting it home, another one went. I've since shipped the whole thing off to a specialist organ repairers for a full service. They're gonna tweak a few things - adjust the vibrato, mend the percussion tabs, and give the whole thing a good going over. Hopefully then, it'll be a reliable instrument, but I wouldn't bet on it.

Total cost of repairs/servicing so far = #300. Ugh.

There's no customer support from the company, cos they don't make organs any more.

A company in the U.S. (East Coast Music - check out the voxshowroom.com site for a link) sells the circuit diagrams, if you're brave enough to want to try reparing your own organ, plus a few odds and ends, badges, handles and the like.

There are also a handful of specialist companies in the UK that repair vintage organs. No doubt the same applies in the U.S., etc.

I bought the Vox because I've always loved the beautiful sound they make. They're unique. If I wanted reliability and versitility, I'd buy something else, but I don't.

Is it worth what I paid? Well, the jury's out on that - given the amount of #### I've spent on repairs. But, it comes down to more than money, and I'm happy to have found one of these things - they're not exactly common. Would I sell it? Silly question. What would I do if it were stolen? Track down the thief and remove his testicles with a blunt knife.