The Vox Grenadier PA column was the US version of the JMI
Vox L.S.40.
Thomas Organ struck a deal with Jennings Musical Instruments in September, 1964 to become the exclusive importer and distributor of Vox for the North American marketplace. Soon after, shipments of UK made Vox gear crossed the ocean to Thomas Organ in California. About a year after the original distribution arrangement was inked, Thomas Organ renegotiated the US distribution agreement with JMI. As a result of this new contract with JMI, Thomas Organ would be allowed to produce Vox gear in their own US manufacturing facilities. Thomas Otgan would no longer need to import Vox gear from the UK.
The Vox Grenadier PA column is a good example of a product that Thomas originally imported from JMI in the UK but later produced in California. As was often the case, Thomas Organ offered multiple versions of the 4x10" Grenadier PA column: Model V-1-20, Model V-91 and Model V-1091.
Grenadier - Model Number V-1-20 - The V-1-20 Grenadier was offered during the roughly one year period that Thomas Organ was importing Vox products to America produced in the UK by Jennings. Thomas simply renamed the Jennings Vox
LS-40 PA enclosure "Grenadier" for the US market. This V-1-20 Grenadier makes it's sole appearances in Thomas/Vox sales literature in the
1964 "Vox-the Million Dollar Sound" catalog, the
1965 "King of the Beat" catalog and
September 1965 Vox US price list. These British made columns were constructed of baltic birch plywood and were typically equipped with four 10" 4 ohm Elac 10N speakers. The Elac 10N speaker was equipped with a small ceramic magnet and offered a power rating of just 10 watts RMS. The frames of these Elac 10N speakers were painted either gray, blue or hammertone silver (see image at left). The speakers were wired in series to produce a 16 ohm load. A chrome plated tilt back stand was included in the $259.90 (1965) US MSRP.
Grenadier - Model Number V-91 - The V-91 version of the Grenadier PA column was produced in the Thomas Organ facilities near Van Nuys CA and replaced the UK made V-1-20 Grenadier. The sides of the V-91 enclosure were plywood but the baffle and back were particle board. Like the V-1-20, the V-91 was equipped with four 10" Elac 10N speakers and included a chrome plated tilt back stand. The US retail price remained at $259.90 each.
Grenadier X - Model V-1091 - The Vox V-1091 Grenadier X replaced the preceding V-91 model and first appeared in the
July 10, 1966 US Vox price list. The name change from "Grenadier" to "Grenadier X" was necessitated to avoid confusion with the newly introduced V121 Vox Grenadier XII 4x12" PA column. The transition from plywood to particle board enclosure production occurred during the V-1091 period. Thomas Organ initially imported either Elac 10N or Celestion 7722 10" speakers (see images at left) for use in the V-1091 Grenadier X. At some point, a change was made to US made Oxford 11J4 10" ceramic magnet speakers, probably as a cost saving measure. The V-1091 added an 4-16 ohm impedance selector switch to the back of the column. A 1/4" jack, mounted near the top of the back, allowed the Vox V826 accessory high frequency horn to be connected to the Grenadier X. T
he 1966 US Vox price list shows a MSRP of $259.90 for the V-1091 Grenadier X PA column. By June 1968, Thomas dropped the MSRP of the V-1091 Grenadier X to $198.
