While the great bands of the 1960s British Invasion used lots of different guitars, the one that shouted out “1960’s Mod Style” more than other was the teardrop shaped Vox Mark series. The Vox Mark was most famously used by Rolling Stone Brian Jones, who played a white six-string prototype made in the UK. However, due to the massive demand for the model, Vox UK began to farm out their production to Crucianelli in Italy, who made a bewildering array of models with the Vox label.
This gorgeous Mark XII is from the early days of Italian production and it has survived in remarkably good condition. One issue with Italian made Vox guitars was that the early catalyzed/ polyester finishes have a tendency to craze. This guitar, though, has somehow stayed finish-check free and looks great! Even though Brian Jones’ personal Vox Mark was white, the majority of the production-era Mark guitars were finished in sunburst. The kinkiest feature of all on this model was the Bigsby-inspired vibrato. Twelve-string guitars can be frustrating enough for neophytes to tune, and adding a vibrato into the mix made for a guitar that made tuning a challenge. One the other hand, Vox 12’s are some of the most playable electric twelve-strings. They boast a wide fretboard (a full 3/16” of an inch wider than a Rickenbacker 12) which gives the player plenty of playing room. And the Stratocaster-inspired single coil pickups have a superb, airy tone that is best heard on several mid-60’s recordings from The Hollies (Tony Hicks favored a coffin-shaped Vox Phantom XII).
Considered by many to be unplayable hunks of junk, unfairly in my opinion, a properly setup Italian made Vox guitar is a highly playable guitar that will look great on any stage. Along with being used by many 1960s bands, Vox Mark guitars have been seen in the instrument caches of post ’60’s rockers such as Tom Petty, Greg Kihn, The Pandoras, The Brian Jonestown Massacre, The Fuzztones, The Steppes, and, yes, yours truly. This particulary nice example is priced at $1750 and it can be found at RetroFret Vintage Guitars.
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