Chicago, IL, United States
About this listing
Offering an incredible piece of musical history here: A mid-1960's Vox Phantom IV Bass formerly owned by Chicago blues great JW Williams, and played on stage and recordings with Junior Wells (Pleading the Blues) and Buddy Guy (Stone Crazy! - originally released as The Blues Giant), and also on stage for a special evening at Kingston Mines in Chicago with with none other than Dickie Betts and Gregg Allman, as well as with Buddy Guy in various shows, notably at the old Checkerboard Lounge in the 70's -- This bass is featured prominently in photos I have included in this listing. (SEE PHOTOS!) In his storied 50+ year career JW played with some of the greatest artists in the Blues. Before joining the bands of Buddy Guy and Jr Wells, JW played with Jimmy Reed and BB King. In the course of his career he played with many other great artists, including John Lee Hooker, Big Mama Thornton, Buster Benton, Carl Weathersby, Bo Diddly, James Cotton, Lonnie Brooks, and Eddie Shaw, just to name a few. This bass has seen so much in its storied life with JW, and it's an honor to have it in my possession. In 2011 JW and his band were honored as Best Blues Entertainer of Chicago at the 30th Annual Chicago Music Awards. JW passed away in August of 2023 and I obtained this instrument at his Estate sale in December of 2023. Description of instrument: When I bought this bass it had been stored in a moist area (most likely his basement) and suffered some significant setbacks because of it. The original pickguard (with distinctive added black and white stickers still in tact as seen in the historical photos), was severely warped far beyond repair (see photos), and the original Vox case was rendered basically useless from a structural, protection, and transport standpoint, but still somewhat in tact (as shown in photos). I still have both the original case and original pickguard, both of which will of course be included in the sale. The original pots were frozen beyond repair and the neck pickup was non-functional not repairable, but the original pots, remaining original knobs, and pickup were left on the original pickguard. The original bridge saddles were thoroughly rusted and replaced, but I have had them sitting in WD-40 for months now and they look good (still some rust but useable), and will also be included in the sale. I had Pete Flynn of Music Gallery in Highland Park, IL make a replacement pickup for it, and he found a cover that was nearly the same size as the original, though not exact. It looks good, sounds great! Pete has over thirty years of experience in guitar repair with an endless list of of past clients including Prince, Robert Cray, and Johnny Winter to name just a very few. He's a magician and wonderful at what he does!The neck and original tuners are fully functional and the truss rod work well both ways. This bass plays great and surprisingly has sort of a chunky neck - think mid-60's Fender Precision bass kinda vibe - very cimilar to my '66 P bass. Pete Flynn set it up and it's really great! Original frets have plenty of life but of course aren't huge as is true of the era, with no dead spots, and it plays quite smoothly. Original metal nut with "zero fret". Original bridge plate, original finger/thumb rest, original string retainer on headstock, original neck plate with serial number, replaced strap buttons (Schaller StrapLock-compatible I believe). The entire finish is original --> neck and body, with nice checking and commensurate aging, with some minor expected dings but nothing too serious. Red is the most rare of the stock Vox colors! The neck binding is quite nice, with normal fading but no shrinkage or cracks and is smooth up against the neck with no rough/uneven spots or separation, which is a nice surprise given its storage history. Lastly, the original rear pad is missing but the holes are there to show it was once a part of its history.This will be shipped in a nice padded gig bag but also with the original case, original pickguard, and any other original parts removed from the bass as described above. This is an amazing opportunity to own a verifiable piece of Chicago Blues History, owned and played by a beloved Chicago Blues musician, who played this very instrument on significant recordings and on stage with some of the greats of his era. I will consider offers but it is priced it in accordance with its historical significance. Thank you for looking. ** More photos available upon request. Please feel free to ask any question you may have - all inquiries will be kindly answered. Thanks! **** Continental (LOWER 48) US shipping unless prior arrangements are made. Glad to ship worldwide if costs are covered. ** Have confidence in my perfect Reverb feedback record. I communicate kindly, pack well and try my best to ship quickly when possible. Thanks for looking! *Thanks for looking!
Original Price£3,917.67
29% price drop
New Price£2,820.02
+ £392.16 Shipping
