Vox Astro IV Hollow Body Electric Bass Guitar (1968)
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Item #7197
Vox Astro IV Model Hollow Body Electric Bass Guitar (1968), made in Recanati, Italy, sunburst polyester finish, laminated maple body and neck, ebony fingerboard, original grey hard shell case.
The fairly unique violin-body Vox Astro IV was a direct descendant of the company's earlier 1966 V-250 "Violin Bass", which itself was only available for a year or so. The Astro was built with the same arched, F hole hollow body but used the newer very narrow neck that Rolling Stone Bill Wyman requested for his namesake teardrop-body model in 1966. By 1968 all Vox basses used this neck design, which is about the slimmest ever fitted to a professional class bass! The Astro IV is a pretty far-out take on the Hofner violin bass and has all the typical evolved Vox appointments for that year; wider-cased metal covered pickups (with more output than the earlier design) and a *very* large headstock with larger long-stemmed tuners and a giant VOX logo made of individual gold plastic letters. The dark Fender-like sunburst finish on this body was one of several finish options.
This model also has a special feature specific to Vox in 1967-8: elaborate onboard transistorized effects that were pioneered by the company in this period. The "distortion" circuit is particularly interesting, an onboard fuzzbox adjustable from a sizzly buzz to a white noise maelstrom, while the rotary Treble-Bass boost is also quite effective. There is also a "G" tuner, more important in the pre-electronic tuner days of 1967 but still vaguely working, though the pitch has drifted somewhat! These third generation 1967-68 Eko-made models are some of the nicest of all Vox instruments in terms of build quality and fretwork, and this is a fast-playing and good sounding if rather eccentrically styled bass from the company's later '60's line. A distinctive instrument by any standard, this model had one moment of rock glory appearing in Bill Wyman's hands at two well-documented Rolling Stones gigs: the "Rock 'N' Roll Circus" TV special in 1968 and the massive Hyde Park concert in the summer of 1969. An oddball Vox classic, perhaps, but one with a pedigree!
Overall length is 47 3/4 in. (121.3 cm.), 13 1/4 in. (33.7 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 1 7/8 in. (4.8 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 29 1/2 in. (749 mm.). Width of nut is 1 7/16 in. (36 mm.). Very clean and all original, with only some typical finish checking and almost no play wear. The pickguard has shrunken up a bit, but is still intact. The electronics are working, the tone control for the treble pickup seems to have little effect but the all-important active units are still fully functional. Complete except the fabric back pad is missing; includes the original shaped case (with the plastic handle unfortunately broken off). Excellent Condition.
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The fairly unique violin-body Vox Astro IV was a direct descendant of the company's earlier 1966 V-250 "Violin Bass", which itself was only available for a year or so. The Astro was built with the same arched, F hole hollow body but used the newer very narrow neck that Rolling Stone Bill Wyman requested for his namesake teardrop-body model in 1966. By 1968 all Vox basses used this neck design, which is about the slimmest ever fitted to a professional class bass! The Astro IV is a pretty far-out take on the Hofner violin bass and has all the typical evolved Vox appointments for that year; wider-cased metal covered pickups (with more output than the earlier design) and a *very* large headstock with larger long-stemmed tuners and a giant VOX logo made of individual gold plastic letters. The dark Fender-like sunburst finish on this body was one of several finish options.
This model also has a special feature specific to Vox in 1967-8: elaborate onboard transistorized effects that were pioneered by the company in this period. The "distortion" circuit is particularly interesting, an onboard fuzzbox adjustable from a sizzly buzz to a white noise maelstrom, while the rotary Treble-Bass boost is also quite effective. There is also a "G" tuner, more important in the pre-electronic tuner days of 1967 but still vaguely working, though the pitch has drifted somewhat! These third generation 1967-68 Eko-made models are some of the nicest of all Vox instruments in terms of build quality and fretwork, and this is a fast-playing and good sounding if rather eccentrically styled bass from the company's later '60's line. A distinctive instrument by any standard, this model had one moment of rock glory appearing in Bill Wyman's hands at two well-documented Rolling Stones gigs: the "Rock 'N' Roll Circus" TV special in 1968 and the massive Hyde Park concert in the summer of 1969. An oddball Vox classic, perhaps, but one with a pedigree!
Overall length is 47 3/4 in. (121.3 cm.), 13 1/4 in. (33.7 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 1 7/8 in. (4.8 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 29 1/2 in. (749 mm.). Width of nut is 1 7/16 in. (36 mm.). Very clean and all original, with only some typical finish checking and almost no play wear. The pickguard has shrunken up a bit, but is still intact. The electronics are working, the tone control for the treble pickup seems to have little effect but the all-important active units are still fully functional. Complete except the fabric back pad is missing; includes the original shaped case (with the plastic handle unfortunately broken off). Excellent Condition.
