Vox Mark V Basses - 2013

Vox Mark V Basses - 2013

Vox manufactured their first guitars and basses in 1962. These earliest Vox guitar models were student level solid body instruments with Fender influenced styling and features. When Vox decided that they also wanted to introduce professional level instruments, they determined that offering only "copy cat" body shapes would be unacceptable. At least some of their new professional guitar and basses would need to have a unique and iconic body design that would make them immediately recognizable as a Vox instrument. As a result, Vox developed two unusual body styles for their professional models. Along with the lute shaped Mark VI "Teardrop" guitar, the coffin shaped "Phantom" was immediately recognizable as a Vox instrument.

The 1963 "Phantom" bass had two single coil pickups and a contoured back similar to a Fender Precison bass. Pickup selection was controlled by a rotary five position switch.

Vox retired all of their "Phantom" and "Teardrop" guitars and basses at the end of the 1968 model year. No Vox basses were produced in either the "Phantom" or "Teardrop" body styles for the following 44 years.

Vox reintroduced "Phantom" and "Teardrop" basses with the arrival of the Vox "Apache" travel guitars and basses in 2012.

Prior to the introduction of the coffin shaped Vox Apache 2 guitar, travel guitars were typically small bodied acoustic guitars with short scale necks. Their compact size made it possible to stow the instrument in the overhead luggage bin of an airplane. The Vox Apache Series expanded the concept of the travel guitar and travel bass by incorporating a battery operated "drum box" and a 1 watt battery operated amplifier into the instrument. The speakers were mounted to the inside of the pick guard. Despite all their features, the US street price of the Vox Apache travel guitar was under $300. The basses were less than $350.

The Mark V bass (shown above) was introduced by Vox in 2013. It shared the basswood body and 21 fret maple and rosewood neck with the Apache 2 bass. The Mark V Bass eliminated the one watt battery powered amplifier, pick guard mounted speaker and drum box from the Apache 2 bass in favor of a second single coil pickup, dual volume controls and a tone control. The Apache 2 bass and the Mark V bass both shared a 30" (762 mm) scale length. The same padded soft case was included with the Mark V and Apache 2 bass.

The Vox Mark V and Apache 2 basses were both manufactured in China.

The 2013 Mark V Bass was not available in the United States, but it was offered by Vox dealers in Japan and throughout Europe.

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