Vox Phantom bass - rare left-handed model

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Here's something you don't see very often, a left-handed Vox Phantom Bass. This particular instrument has been custom built from original 1960s New Old Stock vintage parts. Like the doubleneck Eko we looked at a few days ago, I'd wager that this Vox was pieced together by Brandoni Guitars. Remember that the Eko factory in Italy also produced Vox guitars in the 1960s after production was outsourced, Vox guitars having previously been built in Dartford, Kent, in the UK.

This bass is currently listed on eBay and has a Buy It Now price of £1,500.

G L Wilson

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National Resolectric

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A couple of weeks ago we've been having a glimpse at a National Resolectric that appeared on some TV show.

Well if you are looking for one in Europe and have a couple of grands to spare, look no more, you will find one here.

It looks pretty vintage but it's the most recent model, with piezo pickup and stuff! Actually, if I may say, the chickenhead knobs are a little bit overstating!

Bertram

© 2011, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 10th year!

1994 Ibanez Talman TV650

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The Ibanez Talman is a typical example of a series of great guitars that didn't find their players - between 1994 and 1998 several varations of the Talman were released, with different designs, woods (including a composite wood known as Resoncast), and pickups (humbuckers, minibuckers, lipsticks, P90s and different combinations), then the model disappeared, I feel, before anybody even had the time to notice that Ibanez could do something else than JEMs.

This beautiful Ibanez Talman TV650 seems to be a poly-hybrid - the body and the pickguard merge Telecaster and Firebird designs, with a typically Japanese long lower horn, the pickups are two mini humbuckers and a lipstick in central position, a rare but quite logic combination, the knobs and the switch come directly from a stratocaster but the control/jack plate that belongs to the Talman but fuse Tele and Strat gear in a genius strike.

I'm usually not a fan of golden gear but there it fits perfectly the the cream finish of the Resoncast body and the perloid binding. It's a superb instrument and it's a pity that it's been discontinued so quickly, it had the potential of a classic - we need news classics, the old ones are tired and boring. 

Look at another Talman here.

Bertram

Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 9th year!

Vox Teardrop bass for southpaws

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Here's another treat for our left-handed friends: what appears to be a 1960s Vox Teardrop bass. However, it is a bit of an oddity. It's not a true vintage instrument, as it has been assembled from New Old Stock (NOS) Vox and Eko-made parts.

It certainly looks the business but - I'm trying to think - was there ever a solidbody teardrop-shaped bass issued by Vox back in the day? I'm aware of the Bill Wyman model but that was a semi-hollowbody. Given that this looks to be a short-scale bass, maybe the lefty body used was originally intended for the Vox Mark VI 6-string guitar.

G L Wilson

Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 9th year!

Italia Maranello (lefty)

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Whenever I see an Italia guitar, I have the feeling that Trev Wilkinson who conceived them really did it for his own pleasure, and that it's kind of him to share...

Not a fan of sparkle finish but I have to admit that this lefty Italia Maranello has the chic of vintage Italian guitars from the 60s (even if this one is actually based of an Hagström model) plus for sure the qualities of modern guitar making (plus the innovative contribution of Mr Wilkinson's hardware...)

Or how to be both tinsel and elegant at the same time...

Bertram

Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 9th year!