Vox Bassmaster >> Vintage Guitar and Bass (original) (raw)
Two British-built Vox Bassmaster basses, a 1963 (left) and a 1965 (right). These are less common colours; most are red.
Model: Vox Bassmaster
Produced: UK (JMI)
Production years: 1962-1966
Body: 17 5/8" x 12 1/4" x 1 1/4". Solid mahogany, agba(?), sycamore or ply (look for more curved edges on the solid wood bodies)
Neck: Necks are typically made from a single piece of sycamore, and do not feature an adjustable truss-rod. Rosewood fingerboard with dot position markers
Scale: 30"
Width at nut: 1 5/16"
Width at 12th fret: 1 11/16"
Hardware: Two UK Vox single-coil V1 pickups, Fender-style pressed aluminium bridge with Vox-engraved cover. Open gear tuners. Scratchplates are 1-ply white, changing to 3-ply w/b/w by early '64. Co-axial input jack.
Finishes: Red, white, sunburst
The Vox Bassmaster was one of Vox's earliest guitars, and probably their first bass. It was first advertised (alongside the Vox Contour bass, in December 1960). Vox guitar manufacture was in it's infancy, and unlike Vox amps, the first guitars were primarily aimed at entry level guitarists who were into the Shadows (one of the earliest British guitar bands who endorsed Vox amps, yet played Fender guitars). Short scale (30") and a thin neck made them ideal for younger hands. The Bassmaster was a loose Fender Precision copy, but smaller, and more economically manufactured. They were produced from late 1960 until at least early 1966. They were manufactured in the UK, the necks outsourced to furniture manufacturer G-plan with the electronics and assembly taking place at the JMI plant in Dartford.
Vox Bassmaster construction
Early versions were made with plywood bodies, sycamore neck (a European tree closely related to maple) and rosewood fingerboard (see this 1963 Vox Bassmaster). They also used mahogany (see this 1965 Vox Bassmaster) and sycamore as body material. Necks were thin: just 1 5/16" and without an adjustable truss rod. Vox catalogues only mention red and white polyester finish options, although various burst finishes were available, and perhaps black. But red was by far the most common colour.
Naturally, the solid wood bodies are more desire able, and it is easy to see this if you examine the unpainted neck pocket. But even without taking the neck off you can often tell by looking at the curvature of the body edges - in the picture here the top guitar has a laminate body, the bottom is solid mahogany - notice the difference in shape. Click the image to see a larger version.
The Bassmaster had two Vox single coil pickups but very simplified electronics (wiring diagram). Just one volume and one tone control. The input was a coaxial tv aerial jack, positioned on the side of the bass until the second half of 1964, then mounted on the scratchplate from then on.
But sales were good and today, the Vox Bassmaster (along with the Clubman) is probably the most regularly seen of all vintage Vox basses in the UK, though maybe not so common elsewhere in the world. They don't sound bad either - have a listen to the Vox Bassmaster soundclips - a 1965 mahogany-bodied Bassmaster, through an Ampeg B15. I like the last clip with the tone rolled down.
A British Vox bass
All Bassmasters were British-built, and when guitar production in the UK was superseded by the Italian-built Vox's, the basic body shape and thin neck lived on as the Vox Panther and Vox Hawk bass guitars.
When JMI folded, and Vox guitar production ceased in early 1968, leftover Bassmaster stock was sold on by Dallas Arbiter nominally unbranded (though potentially still with a Vox engraved bridge cover and pickups) simply as model 4533. This was at a somewhat reduced price of £21 1 8 (the 1967 list price was £28 15 0).
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VOX BASSMASTER 1965 - short scale.
Bristol, BS3***, UNITED KINGDOM
£420
Vox Bassmaster 1965
One of the tuners are not original
No case
Sounds great
Good condition as you can see in the pictures
... more
1969 VOX PANTHER BASS - BESENSTIEL HALS - SUPER DÜNN - SHORT SCALE
COLOGNE, GERMANY
€555
1969 VOX PANTHER BASS - SUPER SLIM BROOMSTICK NECK :
* refinished with a spray can, rough
* body has extra routs
* super slim neck=easy to play
* 1 changed tuner
* pickguard is totally WARPED
* needs parts=pickups, electronics, bridge & new pickguard ++PLENTY of PARTS for SALE ++
ATTENTION! OVER 1000 more
GUITARS-BASSES-AMPS-PARTS
in our OTHER AUCTIONS !!!
CHECK OUR SHOP OUT -------------->>>>>
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1969 VOX PANTHER BASS - SUUUUPER SLIM BROOMSTICK NECK
COLOGNE, GERMANY
£499
1969 VOX PANTHER BASS - SUPER SLIM BROOMSTICK NECK :
* refinished with a spray can, rough
* body has extra routs
* super slim neck=easy to play
* 1 changed tuner
* pickguard is totally WARPED
* needs parts=pickups, electronics, bridge & new pickguard... more