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1967 Vox (JMI) electric guitar catalogue
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 This was the last guitar and bass catalogue produced by Vox under the ownership of JMI. The cover features Brian Jones of the Rolling Stones, playing his trademark Vox Mark VI teardrop, and features a line up of British and Italian built vox guitars and basses; Vox Phantom, Vox Mark, Vox Spitfire, Lynx, Super Lynx and the Jones' Stones colleague Bill Wymans signature Wyman Bass. Twelve pages.
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1964 UK Vox precision in sound catalogue
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 Vox catalogues were issued in different parts of the world representing the products available in that region. Guitars and amps were made across three continents throughout the 1960s, but this early JMI newsletter/catalogue was aimed at the British market, and showed guitars and amplifiers available in the United Kingdom. Most are British made, although there are electric acoustics imported from the Italian guitar builder Crucianelli, and some of the solid body guitars are fitted with Italian-made (Eko) necks. Also shows British-built Vox amps, and acessories. Eight pages
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1963 Vox Shadow
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 The specifications and features of certain Vox guitars were somewhat fluid throughout the course of their production. The Vox Shadow had two pickups at this stage (see other Vox Shadow versions); and is made of a lightweight laminate wood rather than the solid mahogany used on the three pickup Vox Shadow from 1964.
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1964 Vox Shadow
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 Vox made several different guitars with the name Shadow (other Vox Shadow versions); this one from 1964 has a Fender-style mahogany body and three single-coil pickups. Like previous versions of the Vox Shadow, this guitar was meant to resemble the guitar of Shadows guitarist Hank Marvin (who was playing a red Fender Stratocaster at the time). Many a British guitarist learnt on a guitar like this, but although functional, these all-British built Vox's were not up to the standard of the Phantom or Mark series. There are a few short Vox Shadow sound clips.
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1965 Vox catalogue
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 With 'Beatlemania' and the 'British Invasion' firmly underway, Vox needed a US distributor for it's products. Enter the Thomas Organ Company. This 1965 Vox guitar and amp catalogue was the first issued by the Thomas Organ company for the US market. It features a few Italian-made guitars, as well as a lot of British made ones. In contrast, the next catalogue features almost exclusively Italian instruments.
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Vox Bassmaster
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 The Vox Bassmaster was one of numerous early Vox guitars styled, at least vaguely, on Fender instruments. As an entry level bass it wasn't bad. It had a very thin neck, and along with it's short, 30" scale, made an ideal students bass. It was British made, but a forerunner to later Italian models. Have a look at a 1963 Vox Bassmaster, and a 1965 Vox Bassmaster, with sound clips.
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Older updates here
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1964 Vox Shadow
Solid-body three pickup electric guitar
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Vox Shadow main page | 1963 Vox Shadow | 1964 Vox Shadow | sound clips |
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| 1964 Vox Shadow (3 pickup)
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| Model |
1964 Vox Shadow |
| Pickups |
Three single-coil Vox V1 pickups. |
| Scale |
25 1/2" |
| Body |
Mahogany body. 16 3/4" long, 12 1/4" wide, 1 1/8" thick. |
| Neck |
Sycamore bolt-on neck. No adjustable truss rod. 19 frets. Width at nut 1 5/8" |
| Hardware |
1 volume and 2 tone controls. Three-way pickup selector switch. Co-axial input. Vox standard tremolo |
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Similar Models
In the early 1960s, JMI were the UK distributors of Fender guitars and amplifiers. These were well regarded by the British guitar buying public, but largely out of their price range at the time. So it is no wonder that they applied many Fender characteristics to their own Vox brand of instruments. Before the Beatles, the biggest Vox endorsees were the Shadows - a very popular UK band at the time, with guitarist Hank Marvin famously playing his red Fender Stratocaster.
So Vox's answer was a series of Stratocaster-shaped guitars; usually in red, with two or three single coil pickups, and often called the Vox Shadow. It is actually a lot more confusing than that; the Shadow was initially a very simple single-cutaway guitar, which was not produced for very long. When the Stratocaster-style models came in, the two pickup version was branded the Vox Shadow, whilst the three pickup version was the Vox Dominator. By early 1964, the three pickup version was renamed the Vox Shadow, and the two pickup the Vox Duotone.
From the 1965 Vox catalogue
A very complete guitar at a most competitive price. Three slimline pick-ups and roller-bearing smooth-action tremolo unit, separate tone and volume controls and flick-action pick-up selection switch. Polished neck reinforced with two embedded steel rods, with rosewood fingerboard. Finished in red or white high gloss polyester. |
Controls are simple enough. There are three settings on the pickup selector switch; one for each pickup. There is no way to activate two or more pickups simultaneously. The neck and middle pickups have a tone control. The bridge pickup does not. There is also a master volume.
Like many early Vox guitars, this 1964 Vox Shadow has a co-axial, tv-type input. It has a thin (just 1 1/8") body, made of mahogany and a sycamore neck; both UK-made. Higher end Vox guitars of this period had British bodies and superior Italian-made necks (with adjustable truss rod) i.e. the Phantom and Mark series.
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| This Vox Shadow has three single-coil Vox V1 pickups |
The Vox standard tremolo, marked "Vox Pat. App For" |
Unlike the Fender Stratocaster that influenced this model, the pickup selector switch has just three positions, one for each pickup. |
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| Black control knobs seem to have been the standard for three-pickup shadows. Most knobs (of this style) fitted on other early Vox models were cream/white |
Vox Shadow headstock detail |
Vox Shadow reverse headstock detail |
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| Vox Shadow reverse. Neck plate. |
Early 1960s green Vox decal on the headstock |
The decal with model designation is somewhat worn, despite the otherwise fine condition of this guitar. This underlines the fragility of Vox decal logos |
The Vox guitars of the early 1960s, regardless of how many pickups they actually had, were always routed for three pickups: the Vox Stroller, Vox Shadow/Duotone and Vox Dominator/Shadow. This allowed easy assembly in the Vox factory (the bodies were made by G-plan, a UK furniture manufacturer) and the chance to produce more or less of each model depending on orders.
Shown also below is the original Vox UK case in which many of these guitars were sold.
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Back to the VOX INDEX | comment If you are looking for specific vintage guitars for sale, you may have to keep an eye on numerous vintage guitar stores, classifieds websites and ebay listings. Below are just the auctions - Vintage guitar stores tend to advertise theirs in their ebay online vintage guitar stores - have a look because there are some different listings.
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