Vintage Bass Guitar – Basses Made by Vox
Posted By admin on
Vox is probably not the first name that comes to mind when you think of a vintage bass guitar. They are a British company that is better known for making amplifiers as well as the Vox organ, but that didn’t stop the likes of Larry Graham and John Entwistle from playing Vox basses.
Vox produced a variety of electric bass guitars (as well as electric guitars) throughout the 1960s. Their earliest bass guitars were built by a British company called JMI (Jennings Musical Industries). As demand for their instruments increased, primarily from the U.S. market, they brought in EKO, an Italian company, to help with production starting in 1965.
1963 Bassmaster
1965 Cougar Bass
Vox Bass Models
The first Vox bass appeared in 1961 and was called the “Bassmaster.” It had a double-cut solid body (later mahogany) with a 30” scale length. It used 2 pickups with one set of volume & tone controls, the neck was made from sycamore and the fingerboard from rosewood and they were manufactured until 1966.
In 1963 Vox introduced their “Cougar Bass.” The Cougar was styled like the Gibson ES-335 electric guitar with a double-cut hollow body with 2 f-holes, two pickups with two sets of controls. It had a maple neck and ebony fretboard and was produced until 1967.
The Sidewinder IV bass was only produced from 1967-1968 but attracted a fan base that included John Entwistle and Larry Graham. On the surface it was similar in design and appearance to the Cougar bass but the Sidewinder included active electronics.
But in 1963 two other models made their debuts with designs that were rather unique.
1966 Wyman Bass
1966 Phantom IV
The “Mark IV Bass” was one of these. It had a hollow-body with 2 single coil pickups, one set of volume/tone controls, 4 open backed tuners and an ebony fingerboard. What made this instrument different was it style, it was shaped like a teardrop and is often referred to as the “Teardrop Bass.”
They also made a special edition hollow-body teardrop version called the “Wyman Bass” in 1966. From what I’ve read the Rolling Stone’s Bill Wyman didn’t really care much for the instrument, however he did like the endorsement deal.
Well at least Vox is using their imagination now and if the teardrop design was imaginative then the design of the “Phantom IV” vintage bass guitar was downright bizarre.
Unlike most of the other Vox basses the Phantom IV used a 34” scale length with a wide neck. It had a solid hardwood body and two pickups, one set of volume/tone controls and a pickup selector switch.
It’s all pretty standard stuff until you look at it… it kind of looks like “The Pentagon” melted. In 1967 they issued the “Delta IV Bass” which was similar in appearance to the Phantom but it came with active electronics.
Collectibility
The Vox bass guitars were never as popular as their guitar amplifiers and the earliest versions were budget models and not exactly of the best quality.
Their Bassmaster model, made from 1961-1966, reflects this and will probably run you $400-$500 in excellent condition.
The Cougar Bass for all years 1963-1967 will fetch around $1,000, in the same condition.
Values are a little different with their more unique basses.
The Mark IV Bass in excellent condition for the years 1963-1965 (UK models) may cost you over $2,500 while the 1965-1969 Italian built versions might go for about $1,300. The Wyman Bass in this condition can go for $1,500.
A similar price disparity also applies to the Phantom IV vintage bass guitar whereas the UK models from 1963-1964, in excellent condition, can run you $2,000 or more while the Italian models hover around $1,400.
[...] Find out more about Vox basses at Vintage Bass Guitar [...]