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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
The controls for the three-pickup Vox Shadow (formerly known as the Vox Dominator) are as follows:
[1] Master volume
[2] Middle pickup tone control
[3] Neck pickup tone control
[4] Bridge pickup (Vox V1)
[5] Middle pickup (Vox V1)
[6] Neck pickup (Vox V1)
[7] Three way pickup selector
Controls are quite simple: master volume [1]. Three identical pickups [4-6], and a three way switch [7] to select one pickup. It is not possible to use two or more pickups simultaneously. The controls are slightly unusal in that there is a tone pot for both the middle [2], and neck [3] pickups, and no means of changing bridge pickup tone.
Vox Shadow. Bridge pickup. The three-pickup Shadow has no tone control for the bridge pickup. Vox Shadow. Middle pickup only, volume 10/10, tone 10/10. Vox Shadow. Middle pickup only, volume 10/10, tone 0/10. Vox Shadow. Neck pickup only volume 10/10, tone 10/10. Vox Shadow. Neck pickup only volume 10/10, tone 0/10.
Cranked amp: volume 10, treble 5, bass 5
Vox Shadow. Neck pickup only volume 10/10 and tone 10/10. Vox Shadow. Neck pickup only volume 10/10 and tone 0/10.
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.
