The Vox Continental is probably the most famous of the new breed of transistor organs that started emerging in the early 1960s.

Previously, organs were built around tone-wheel technology. While this did create a classic organ sound, it made the instruments heavy, unwieldy and expensive. With the advent of transistors, it was possible to create lightweight, portable organs. In practice, the majority sounded thin and weak by comparison, but this sound did appeal to the new surf music that was evolving at the time. The portability also appealed to groups.

The Vox Continental was unusual in that it actually sounded quite good.