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1967 Vox (JMI) electric guitar catalogue

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.

1964 UK Vox precision in sound catalogue

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

1963 Vox Shadow

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.

1964 Vox Shadow

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.

1965 Vox catalogue

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.

Vox Bassmaster

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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Vox Shadow
Solid body electric guitar

The Shadows circa 1961. Hank Marvin with his red Fender Stratocaster is on the left.

The story of Vox guitars is so often told, not from the beginning, but with the Vox Phantom; Vox's first 'original' guitar. But the story does start earlier than that, and is intimately linked with a British guitar band of the period: the Shadows. They not only used Vox amplifiers, they appeared in just about all of Vox's early publicity, and guitarist Hank Marvin even designed a tremolo unit for Vox. The Shadows sound was somewhat defined by Hanks use of the tremolo.

Under the ownership of JMI, Vox put out three distinct guitars named Vox Shadow. As eluded to earlier, all early Vox guitars were copies of guitars by other brands, and with some connection to the forementioned Shadows. When the Shadows initially started endorsing Vox amplifiers (1958/59), guitarist Hank Marvin was playing a single cutaway Guyatone LG50 guitar (actually, his was branded Antoria, but otherwise the same). And it was no coincidence that the earliest Vox guitars were copies of this: the one-pickup Vox Stroller, and the two-pickup Vox Shadow.

1963 Vox Shadow (2 pickup)

By 1960, Hank had replaced the Antoria with a Fiesta red Fender Stratocaster. This lead Vox to upgrade the Stroller and Shadow with a strat-styled body and bright red finish. These still had one or two pickups, but the Shadow also had a Vox standard tremolo (have a look at a 1963 Vox Shadow). This version sold well. Soon an extra model was added to the line; otherwise identical to the Shadow, but with a third pickup, the Vox Dominator.

1964 Vox Shadow (3 pickup)

Finally, by the middle of 1964, the two-pickup Vox Shadow was renamed the Vox Duotone, and the three-pickup Vox Dominator became the Vox Shadow - have a closer look at a 1964 Vox Shadow

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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.