The design of the V272 Sidewinder IV bass was doubtlessly influenced by the growing popularity of the Gibson EB-2 bass in the late 1960s. By including a series of battery powered onboard special effects in their "EB-2 style" model, Vox hoped to lure customers away from a Gibson.

The 1968 US Vox catalog described the Sidewinder IV bass as follows:

"A brilliant all new 4-string double cutaway electric acoustic bass guitar. Has built in G tuner, distortion booster, treble and bass booster. All new easy-to-fret fast-neck with the Vox double T-bar and adjustable steel rod. Two exclusive VOX Ferro-Sonic pickups. Fully adjustable bridge. One volume, two tone controls, 3-position pickup selector switch. Jumbo chrome plated machine heads. Sunburst or Cherry."

The 1968 US Vox price list indicated that the retail price of the Sidewinder IV was $375 USD. In today's dollars, the Sidewinder IV would have retailed for about $2395.

The Sidewinder IV was produced for Vox in Italy by EKO in Recanati Italy.

The circuitry for all the onboard effects in the Sidewinder IV bass was designed into a single module. Often this module was sealed and encapsulated, making it not repairable or replaceable. Additionally, the Vox service schematic for this guitar includes no repair information for these modules. If you find that changing the 9 volt battery that powers the internal effects does not correct a malfunctioning effects circuit, you should probably consider the onboard features permanently inoperative. Replacement modules have not been available for over twenty years.