Vox Ultrasonic restoration - IT'S HERE!

[PorkyPrimeCut]

[Pacafeliz]

It's here!!!
No hassles, no customs probs, no import tax or such.

...but man it's a bloody mess!!!
This one won't be easy.

Stay tuned for more, dammit my online french course begins again in 30mins

[PorkyPrimeCut]

Oh boy! What's the prognosis, doc? Is there actually any circuitry left in there at all??

...and, be prepared for everybody who realises you have this to start begging you to sell them single tuners or the vibrato arm!!

[Pacafeliz]

The neck is glorious

The wiring seems complete except for the E tuner. But there's some loose wires and well, no sound currently.





Also, quite a big chip under the low E tuner (and a split/crack)


We'll see what I can do this weekend...

[PorkyPrimeCut]

Oh wow, that's taken a bit of a beating!!

The neck is glorious

Yeah, the inlay on the headstock is beautiful & I think the necks are probably the best quality part of these guitars. Really nicely constructed & very solid, thanks to the unusual "Double T" design...



You've possibly seen, I use a 12-string neck on my Ultrasonic. The profile is basically a millimetre wider than a late 50s Gibson, which I consider perfect for my hands!!
As I remember from the oddball prototype neck I have, the 6-string necks were skinnier than Fenders at the nut. Super slim!!! Check out photos of some of the bass guitars in this series. The necks look ridiculous!! How thin??

I wish you the best of luck finding a replacement tuner. Those things are like hen's teeth but, if anybody can get lucky finding one, it's you!

[Pacafeliz]

Thanks! Yeah I'll try to somehow make the headstock damage more solid and for now just add a pressure kinda tuner like Schaller or such.
Also found a wiring image on the vox website, so I have something to work with... So far no sound.

[raphaël]

Wouhou !!! Such an exciting restoration Pat !!

[pad]

This Ultrasonic is totally worth the hussle!
Hope youll bring it the glory it lost someday!



lmk if prices drop to 1k and you REALLY need to seellll it

[PorkyPrimeCut]

...I'll try to somehow make the headstock damage more solid and for now just add a pressure kinda tuner like Schaller or such...

Maybe shift all the tuners up one space to see if that E position is stable & aligned? I'm not sure just how smashed in the end of the headstock is from your picture.

I wonder if someone was trying to copy Pete Townsend's infamous performance on the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour.

[pad]

I wonder if someone was trying to copy Pete Townsend's infamous performance on the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour.

I think Pete used Vox guitar for that, because of that perfect slim necks

[Pacafeliz]

Back in the mid 90s, my brother used to own an old offetish Vox bass that had an E tuner and fuzz built in, it was amazing but/because it hat SUCH a thin/narrow neck, it was incredible.

Man I loved that one. Dunno what happened to it, though.

OH FOUND IT ONLINE! It was a Hawk IV bass
I still have pics somewhere. The paint was badly damaged so we had it refinished by a local car painter in Costa Rica.
Now I remember it used to be red.
Man the memories!
It was about the time when i got my 1st offset (a '66 Musicmaster II) for $20 and a mid 70s Gibson SG for $200.

We had them all refinished...

[PorkyPrimeCut]

I'm hearing about more & more Vox guitars fitted with some or all of these built-in effects.

Originally I thought it was just the hollowbodied basses, 6 and 12 strings (with the exception of the Invader) that had them but more & more are springing up, including a number of Eko guitars, made in the same factory.

I'd never heard of the Hawk IV until now

[Pacafeliz]

Wow I only just realized that the 3 way switch isn't even really a switch, just a pressed together kinda metal/copper(?) bar!


When i plug the guitar in there's is only grounding buzz but I HEAR THE WAH WORKING when i move the nibble thingy!
It bums me so much I'm not coming forward with this because of the little screws that hold the on/off switches of the effects! Need to keep looking til I find something that works.
What I'm worrying about is the head crack. I'll have to have that one professionally fixed. So they can also fix the rest, instead of me screwing something up...
Working on a Hollowbody is hell, and full of electronics like this one, even worse.

Stay tuned!

[PorkyPrimeCut]

Wow I only just realized that the 3 way switch isn't even really a switch, just a pressed together kinda metal/copper(?) bar!

Do you have any of the control plate mounting screws? If not, do you want me to measure the ones on mine?

[Pacafeliz]

Wow I only just realized that the 3 way switch isn't even really a switch, just a pressed together kinda metal/copper(?) bar!

Do you have any of the control plate mounting screws? If not, do you want me to measure the ones on mine?

Yes please!!!