Vox Symphonic Bass 1965 Sunburst

Vintage 1965 Vox Symphonic Bass made in England.

This was the top of the range Vox bass in The 1960s and is pretty rare now. This one is mostly original but has had some professional work done to get it up to scratch; full re-fret including sanding and radiusing the fretboard, new bone nut made from scratch, neck pickup re-wound by Aaron Armstrong at Armstrong Pickups, neck pickup volume pot replaced with a “new old stock” 1965 Morganite unit as Vox would have used in the 60s. Every original part has also been cleaned and serviced to get it working as well as possible. The bridge cover is missing and the pickup cover appears to be a replacement.

It now plays really well and sounds fantastic. The tone is similar to a Rickenbacker 4001 but with more options. It goes from very bright to fat and warm with a long sustain. It’s fully setup with Rotosound flatwound 40 - 100 gauge strings and an action of 3mm at 12th fret on the E string and 2.5mm on the D. The neck has a modern profile and feel. A bit slimmer than a fender Precision bass with a 7.25 inch fretboard radius. Very comfortable. Truss rod works but the nut is stiff so be careful if you adjust it.

Someone has touched up the finish in the past with what appears to be black marker pen and I think there has been thin, clear lacquer sprayed over the body and headstock too. There is finish checking and finish cracks around the neck pocket that do not go into the wood. There is a small, repaired crack to the thin area of wood between the neck and pickup.