Vox / Bill Wyman Signature / 1969 / Tobacco Sunburst / Bass
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Nice old Vox Bill Wyman Signature Bass - Serial No. 74728 - made in England. All original except for the circular pad on the back of the guitar - sorry no case.
About the Bass:
The Vox Wyman bass was designed in 1965 using elements of the Vox "Phantom Mark III" teardrop design-later called just the "Mark" series and has some of the features from Rolling Stone Bill Wyman's preferred Framus hollowbody basses. His bandmate Brian Jones had been using the prototype solid teardrop guitar for much of 1964 and 1965, and Vox was eager to secure another Stone as an endorser. The laminated maple short-scale neck is very narrow, which was Wyman's preference. Like most production Vox instruments after 1964. This is a very light, easy-playing bass with a surprisingly punchy and well-defined tone... definitely one of the better Vox designs. Wyman himself used his prototype for several years in the mid-late 1960's before moving on to Fender and Dan Armstrong basses.
"By 1964, the British music scene was exploding with bands like the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, the Animals, the Dave Clark Five, and the Hollies—all of whom used Vox amplifiers. Jennings started to pitch Vox guitars to all the major acts, which made them immensely popular, and resulted in a huge demand for the instruments. To keep up with the request for more Vox guitars, Jennings contacted Welson, a small Italian manufacturer who began building a limited number of inexpensive single-cutaway jazz box guitars that were added to the Vox line. Later, a larger Italian guitar manufacturer called Crucianelli was hired by Jennings to build semi-hollow electric guitar models bearing the Vox name.
British production of Vox guitars continued simultaneously, and it was common to have the same models built in both factories. British-made Vox guitars have sequential serial numbers stamped on the back of the headstock (and later on the neck plates), while the Italian-made guitars have a different set of serial numbers that is always stamped onto the neck plates." (Andy Babiuk, Vintage Guitar Magazine).
TC Ellis Guitars, Ltd., UK 
My mission is to create the highest quality electric guitar for the most affordable price.
My instruments are custom designed and hand finished in the UK to fit the precise requirements of each individual guitar player's wishes, but without the high cost you would expect see at this level of craftsmanship. I use the exact same production process as the big name guitar manufacturers, using the finest woods, electronics and hardware.
My luthiers and I have decades of hands-on guitar building and “fine tuning” which insures that our guitars deliver the best possible guitar at these incredible prices.
TONE - Vintage sensibilities come together with design innovation for tone that satisfies the most discriminating players.
STYLE - My guitars are an extension of your musical and stylistic individuality, a unique voice in a sea of clones.
VALUE - I put extensive research and development into my products to raise the level of performance. That is why my guitars are often compared to gear costing several times more.
SERVICE - A product is only as good as the people who stand behind it. My philosophy is simple: treat customers the same way I want to be treated.
I have been building, collecting & playing guitars all my life. My collection has become quite extensive ranging from Stratocasters from the 50's, 60's, and 70's to more exotic guitars such as D'angelico, D'aquisto, Zemaitis, Fender & Gibson Custom Shop, and my Birdfish made by Ulrich Teuffel shown below.
I have spent years refining techniques to make my guitars play and sound as good as possible. My guitars have to pass the basic criteria: Sound, Playability, Looks and Affordability. I utilise my collection to take precise measurements of the construction and setup from world class guitars and transfer these onto my own guitars.
The kind of setup performed on a £10,000+ Custom Guitar is the same as the setup I perform on all my guitars (see setup section) regardless of the cost of the guitar. I also perform these setups on my customers own guitars - a well setup guitar is a pleasure to play and hear.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.
