1960 Vox Bassmaster bass

The Vox Bassmaster was one of the earliest British bass guitars, built at a time when guitar production in the UK really was in its infancy. The Bassmaster was first announced in late 1960, alongside numerous six string guitars, and just one other bass, the two pickup Contour bass. At this point JMI were assembling the instruments at their plant in Dartford, UK, but the woodworking was performed by furniture manufacturer Stuart Darkins, who made guitars for other brands at the time, such as the early guitars by Hohner (for example see this Hohner Zambesi).

The Bassmaster had a December 1960 launch price of 30 Guineas (£31 10s). It was a short scale (30 1/2") with a narrow neck. The earliest examples, as seen here, were quite different from the majority of Bassmaster production: these early basses had just a single pickup, body binding, a natural nitrocellulose finish, pearloid scratchplate with Vox logo, and the early wide pickup.

Dating this bass is quite easy. Only the earliest Vox instruments sported this natural finish and single pickup, but, like all guitars, the pot codes are the most revealing: the two pots in this bass date to September and October 1960.

Like other Vox Bassmasters, this guitar has a short (30 1/2") scale, and a narrow neck (width at the nut just 36.0mm - roughly 1.417"). This made for an easy playing bass for younger musicians, or guitarists moving over to bass, but perhaps a little narrow for some. Although the neck had a truss rod, it was not adjustable, necessitating lighter gauge strings. The comparatively short distance between bridge plate end and saddles also requires strings without windings at the silk end. The best strings I have found for vintage Vox Bassmasters (and perhaps the closest to what would have been fitted from the factory) is the Rotosound RS77S (40-90) find them at Amazon, with most other flatwounds too heavy; though even these could benefit from a few washers (or equivalent, depending on precise bridge location) at the ball end to ensure the outer wraps of the strings sit on the saddles.

A more detailed description of the construction of this bass can be found in the Supporting Members area.

Vox Bassmaster controls

The 1960 Vox Bassmaster is fitted with an early 'wide' single coil Vox pickup, scratchplate-mounted with two slotted bolts.

Controls are a single volume and tone, both capped with cupcake knobs.

The bridge/tailpiece has a plain chrome plated cover - compare this with later Bassmasters (e.g. 1963, 1965) with their embossed 'Vox' logo covers.

Combined bridge / tailpiece with cover removed. This simple bridge design is adjustable for height and intonation, but each saddle is shared by two strings, making intonation adjustments in particular somewhat a matter of comprimise.

1960 Vox Bassmaster headstock front view. There are no decals on this headstock.

1960 Vox Bassmaster headstock reverse. This bass is fitted with Van Ghent individual tuners, part 09-301-0.

1960 Vox Bassmaster 'supporting members' content

Extra content on this guitar is included in the Supporting Members area here

• 68 extra images (with description): large detailed images (1200 px wide) including body routes, circuitry, components
• Detailed wiring diagram
• Pickguard tracings (PDF for accurate sizing)