Vox Wyman Bass Electric Bass Guitar (1966)
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Vox Wyman Bass Model Electric Bass Guitar (1966), made in Recanati, Italy, serial # 311142, sunburst polyester finish, laminated maple body, laminated maple neck with rosewood fingerboard, original grey hard shell case.
The teardrop-shaped hollowbody Wyman Bass was the most notable signature instrument from Vox, along with the "Clyde McCoy" Wah-Wah pedal. It stands as one of the most visually distinctive bass guitars of the 1960s, and a perennial garage band favorite. The Wyman bass was designed at JMI in Dartford, Kent in 1965 using elements of the Vox "Phantom Mark III" teardrop design -- later called just the "Mark" series -- combined with features from Rolling Stone Bill Wyman's preferred Framus hollow body basses. His bandmate Brian Jones had been using the prototype solid teardrop guitar for much of 1964-5, and Vox was eager to secure another Stone as an endorser.
The teardrop body is fully hollow, with an arched top and a single distinctively shaped curved sound hole. The laminated maple short-scale neck is very narrow, which was Wyman's particular preference. Two 4-pole single-coil Vox bass pickups provide a wide range of tonal options. The controls are master volume and tone and a 3-way lever switch for pickup selection. The pickups are mounted into chrome-plated rings, the body is further accented with a chrome control plate and chrome pickguard decorated with an embossed VOX logo. The 2-way adjustable bridge sits under a V-logo chrome cover.
Like nearly all production Vox guitars sold in the US this bass was made in Recanati, Italy. Vox' parent company JMI was already working at capacity as an amplifier builder; instead of expanding their guitar-making facilities the bulk of instrument production was outsourced to the giant EKO factory. This bass was made there in 1966, and sold in the US by Vox's distributor Thomas Organ in Sepulveda, California.
This Wyman bass is a very light, easy-playing bass with a surprisingly punchy and well-defined tone, definitely one of the better Vox designs. Wyman himself used his UK-made prototypes for several years in the mid-late 1960s before moving on to Fender Mustang and Dan Armstrong basses. The Wyman bass was popular with teen garage players in the US and occasionally seen in professional bands as well; it is not one of the rarer Vox designs of the 1960s but one of the most user friendly.
Overall length is 43 in. (109.2 cm.), 13 in. (33 cm.) width, and 2 1/8 in. (5.4 cm.) in depth at side, taken at the end block. Scale length is 29 1/2 in. (749 mm.). Width of nut is 1 3/8 in. (35 mm.).
This nearly 60 year old bass remains in very nice original condition, complete including oft-missing stamped metal bridge cover and metal pickguard. There is some typical heavy finish checking (nearly always seen on these Italian-made instruments) but no flaking or chipping and little actual play wear. There is some light corrosion to various metal parts but nothing too severe. The white switch tip may be a replacement (most are black) but it is the correct style.
There are no neck cracks or splits (which are very common on these laminated neck Italian Vox models) and the original frets show very little wear. This is a very nice quite playable example including the original Vox oblong grey case with one latch broken but the fragile plastic handle still intact. Some original paperwork remains in the pocket. Overall Excellent - Condition.
The teardrop-shaped hollowbody Wyman Bass was the most notable signature instrument from Vox, along with the "Clyde McCoy" Wah-Wah pedal. It stands as one of the most visually distinctive bass guitars of the 1960s, and a perennial garage band favorite. The Wyman bass was designed at JMI in Dartford, Kent in 1965 using elements of the Vox "Phantom Mark III" teardrop design -- later called just the "Mark" series -- combined with features from Rolling Stone Bill Wyman's preferred Framus hollow body basses. His bandmate Brian Jones had been using the prototype solid teardrop guitar for much of 1964-5, and Vox was eager to secure another Stone as an endorser.
The teardrop body is fully hollow, with an arched top and a single distinctively shaped curved sound hole. The laminated maple short-scale neck is very narrow, which was Wyman's particular preference. Two 4-pole single-coil Vox bass pickups provide a wide range of tonal options. The controls are master volume and tone and a 3-way lever switch for pickup selection. The pickups are mounted into chrome-plated rings, the body is further accented with a chrome control plate and chrome pickguard decorated with an embossed VOX logo. The 2-way adjustable bridge sits under a V-logo chrome cover.
Like nearly all production Vox guitars sold in the US this bass was made in Recanati, Italy. Vox' parent company JMI was already working at capacity as an amplifier builder; instead of expanding their guitar-making facilities the bulk of instrument production was outsourced to the giant EKO factory. This bass was made there in 1966, and sold in the US by Vox's distributor Thomas Organ in Sepulveda, California.
This Wyman bass is a very light, easy-playing bass with a surprisingly punchy and well-defined tone, definitely one of the better Vox designs. Wyman himself used his UK-made prototypes for several years in the mid-late 1960s before moving on to Fender Mustang and Dan Armstrong basses. The Wyman bass was popular with teen garage players in the US and occasionally seen in professional bands as well; it is not one of the rarer Vox designs of the 1960s but one of the most user friendly.
Overall length is 43 in. (109.2 cm.), 13 in. (33 cm.) width, and 2 1/8 in. (5.4 cm.) in depth at side, taken at the end block. Scale length is 29 1/2 in. (749 mm.). Width of nut is 1 3/8 in. (35 mm.).
This nearly 60 year old bass remains in very nice original condition, complete including oft-missing stamped metal bridge cover and metal pickguard. There is some typical heavy finish checking (nearly always seen on these Italian-made instruments) but no flaking or chipping and little actual play wear. There is some light corrosion to various metal parts but nothing too severe. The white switch tip may be a replacement (most are black) but it is the correct style.
There are no neck cracks or splits (which are very common on these laminated neck Italian Vox models) and the original frets show very little wear. This is a very nice quite playable example including the original Vox oblong grey case with one latch broken but the fragile plastic handle still intact. Some original paperwork remains in the pocket. Overall Excellent - Condition.