VOX Ultrasonic XII - Restoration

[blackradar]

Here you are







Sorry about the links... When I post an image that's still what shows up, wish I could post them directly but hey, I've tried.

[PorkyPrimeCut]

I'll keep posting your images until you can work out what's wrong at your end



It doesn't look as bad as I'd expected, although the structural stuff is probably a worry.
I wonder if you could use something similar to a "Bridge Doctor" to strengthen the caved in top.
There's an unusual looking curved line around the Wah too. Is that just lacquer checking?

Also, that Palm Wah ain't too shabby. Can you post a close up from the side, to see how the makeshift handle is attached?

You have the Vibrato arm and that pickguard looks in good shape. They can often look a complete mess, curling up & becoming discoloured from some wierd chemical reaction.

Don't tell me you have another one sat next to it (there's a tiny sliver of guitar showing!)

If you don't mind me asking, how much did it cost you? I'm seeing silly money being asked for these at the moment.

[blackradar]

I'll keep posting your images until you can work out what's wrong at your end

It doesn't look as bad as I'd expected, although the structural stuff is probably a worry.
I wonder if you could use something similar to a "Bridge Doctor" to strengthen the caved in top.
There's an unusual looking curved line around the Wah too. Is that just lacquer checking?

Also, that Palm Wah ain't too shabby. Can you post a close up from the side, to see how the makeshift handle is attached?

You have the Vibrato arm and that pickguard looks in good shape. They can often look a complete mess, curling up & becoming discoloured from some wierd chemical reaction.

If you don't mind me asking, how much did it cost you? I'm seeing silly money being asked for these at the moment.

Just added a few more links to the same list on the post above.
Not sure about that bridge doctor... thinking about looking into professional repairing before something bad happens... although it's not too bad... I think, is it?

The pickguard is a bit smaller than it should but hey... at least it's there.

Don't tell me you have another one sat next to it (there's a tiny sliver of guitar showing!)

Touche!

[blackradar]

There are a few things about this guitar that I'm finding equally confusing and intriguing:

- The headstock inlay colour being different to any other I've seen with that solid colour instead of the usual pearly textured silvery or golden one as discussed.

- The fret markers missing the diagonal black and white lines.

- The position of the wah-wah plate being in a different spot compared to all the others I've seen.

- The palm wah. This is very confusing too. Not only the original palm is missing, but if you look at it, you can see there aren't any marks from the original triangular plate in which it usually is attached to the body. So that makes me think about different hipothesis... is it an ultrasonic? is it a different model with a changed neck? is it a prototype? not sure here... what are your thoughts?

- The colour. I know that the colour varies from one to the other depending on many factors but usually, they have this 3 colour sunburst, there's always a bit of yellow in the middle, this ones seems not only darker which again depends on many fsactors, but it's the only one I've seen missing the yellow colour in the sunburst.

- The binding is slightly different, this is very minor, but it doesn't look like the usual polished nearly blending with the fretboard like the 6 string ones I've seen before, this one's a bit more straight in the corners, a bit sharper on the edges if you know what I mean.

Also the top is a bit sunken and there's that crack at the top of the body, next to the neck pickup I have posted. So that definitely needs atention.

The booster, distortion and repeater effects seem to work as they should... the e tuner and the wah doesn't seem to.

[PorkyPrimeCut]

I'm glad I saw your latest comment because I was about to echo (no pun intended) a lot of what you're saying...





This is sooooo fucking cool!! I mean, it's not a Vox part & the EKO models never had Palm Wahs. I've never heard of another guitar having this unit, but it's possible something exists.
Or, someone's actually made this from similar parts. I guess the workings of the mechanism aren't hard to copy. I'm very impressed though. Even the hand lever looks good. It's such a shame it doesn't work....yet

My gut feeling? You've got a Vox Cheetah body with a different neck. I've not worked it out yet but there are several Vox models that had these necks. Some with dots, some with ornate headstock inlays, some with plain lettering.

[blackradar]

This is sooooo fucking cool!! I mean, it's not a Vox part & the EKO models never had Palm Wahs. I've never heard of another guitar having this unit, but it's possible something exists.

Is it?

Or, someone's actually made this from similar parts. I guess the workings of the mechanism aren't hard to copy. I'm very impressed though. Even the hand lever looks good. It's such a shame it doesn't work....yet

I think the palm wah is a made bespoke one, the mechanism is there, and that's quite difficult or ambitious to build one... not sure.

My gut feeling? You've got a Vox Cheetah body with a different neck. I've not worked it out yet but there are several Vox models that had these necks. Some with dots, some with ornate headstock inlays, some with plain lettering.

Not that quick. I thought about that too, hence I gave the hint about the possibility when I suddenly realized it wasn't just the usual case of someone with a missing lever replacing it with home made pieces with more or less success... it never had the original triangular plate as there;s no trace of any marks or holes for that.

Buuuuut, I don't think the cheetah hipothesis is valid neither because the tremolo is a 12 string one... so now if you think about it, it's not a case of adding a lever replacement, not a case of adding a 12 string neck, it would also be a case of replacing the tremolo and that makes it in my opinion quite unlikely....

Soooooo......

Miiiiiisssstttttteeeeerrrrryyyyyy....


I'm more inclined to think that it has to be an early prototype, super rare, even before they had figured out the palm wah parts. Not sure about this, of course, but more inclined.

[DaddyDom]

Wow! I'm interested in Vox guitars too and think this is supercool in a "Wow!" kind of way.

Are the people at Brandoni still operating? This looks - as you're surmising - like some kind of parts mashup and when the Brandoni cache was discovered in Italy, lots of people were buying whole guitars and all sorts of spare items and fitting them together.

(The Killing Moon wouldn't have happened the way it did without that find as Will Sargeant was an early adopter, buying one of the first complete Mark XIIs that was sold in the UK in late '83 or thereabouts.)

[PorkyPrimeCut]

I think the palm wah is a made bespoke, the mechanism is there, and that's quite difficult or ambitious to build one... not sure

This seems to be the most likely conclusion, yeah.

...so now if you think about it, it's not a case of adding a leveler replacement, not a case of adding a 12 sdtring neck, it would also be a case of replacing the tremolo and that makes it in my opinion quite unlikely....
...I'm more inclined to think that it has to be an early prototype, super rare, even before they had figured out the palm wah parts. Not sure about this, of course, but more inclined.

I guess it could be a very early incarnation. It could also be possible that someone had several parts from assorted Vox guitars that were cobbled together to make this FrankenVox. The neck is odd but I have it on good authority that some were like this. They were all handmade & mistakes did happen...

(I have a whole, undrilled Ultrasonic-style 6-string neck with very weird proportions. It was probably made as a one-off but the body it was gonna be attach to was never made)

...Anything is possible.

If you really want to dig deeper, open up the back & take some pics of the Wah unit. Let's see if it looks the same as mine.

[PorkyPrimeCut]

Are the people at Brandoni still operating? This looks - as you're surmising - like some kind of parts mashup and when the Brandoni cache was discovered in Italy, lots of people were buying whole guitars and all sorts of spare items and fitting them together...

Roberto died a couple of years ago & the business closed down. He was wanting to sell it on & maybe his family have the same intentions. Who knows?

I bought the above mentioned neck directly from him. Such a lovely guy!

[PorkyPrimeCut]

Well well, check this out...


Picture taken in the EKO factory -1967

Primitive looking Palm Wah? CHECK!
Less ornate block inlays? CHECK!
VOX-less tail piece - NOPE!

Although it's not a certainty, this adds some weight to the notion that yours is some kind of pre-production model

[blackradar]

Well well, check this out...


Picture taken in the EKO factory -1967

Primitive looking Palm Wah? CHECK!
Less ornate block inlays? CHECK!
VOX-less tail piece - NOPE!

Although it's not a certainty, this adds some weight to the notion that yours is some kind of pre-production model

Nice job Sherlock! Thanks.

Just checked the forum to find this. I didn't get a notification of any sort. Anyway....
Well, it certainly adds some weight to the idea of it being a prototype, as I have been guessing... not concluding, but more than likely to be the case.

Where is the image coming from? Are there any others?

Definitely the palm wah looks very very similar if not identical, the position being closer to the bridge too, the missing printed lines on the inlays...
It does indeed feel it could be a very early prototype or pre-production model.

The thing is, usually prototypes aren't sold, right? They're usually made for testing purposes only, so i can only guess it was acquired by someone close to the production line, rather than sold to the public, and then after that, obviously, anything could have happened.

There's a lot of mistery involved in this specific guitar.

I'm about to start working on it little by little to see if I can bring it back to a good playable standard. There's a bit of work to be done.

Thanks PorkyPrimeCut

[PorkyPrimeCut]

...Where is the image coming from? Are there any others?...

Unfortunately that's the only picture. A guy called Martin Kelly showed me it. He's something of an expert on Vox guitars, although his focus is more towards the UK-era.

..The thing is, usually prototypes aren't sold, right? They're usually made for testing purposes only, so i can only guess it was acquired by someone close to the production line, rather than sold to the public, and then after that, obviously, anything could have happened...

It'll be really interesting to see what the insides of your guitar look like. I wonder if all the effects modules look the same. I'm half expecting them to be slightly different, maybe without the code numbers.

[Twang Deluxe]

Vox was so innovative in the 60s

[Twang Deluxe]

Does Brandoni still sell parts for these guitars?

[blackradar]

It'll be really interesting to see what the insides of your guitar look like. I wonder if all the effects modules look the same. I'm half expecting them to be slightly different, maybe without the code numbers.

Hey PorkyPrimeCut (and whoever else is interested)

Have a look and let's see whether or not it looks like a prototype in the interior or if it has roughly the same vibe as any other or at least yours.



Let's see if my image gets posted or I'm still getting the same issue as before...