Up for sale, a 1968 Vox Astro IV hollowbody bass in excellent, 100% original condition and in good working order. Produced at the Eko factory in Italy for Vox, this very rare bass was only manufactured from 1967-68 and sports a pair of Vox's "Ferro-Sonic" pickups as well as onboard Fuzz and Treble/Bass Booster circuits. The best part is that these onboard effects still work exactly as they should, with a robust, sizzling fuzz tone that conjures up the best psychedelic rock. Add the Boost circuit on top for all out sonic bliss, or use the Boost on its own to punch up the already very round and deep tones from the hollow body. This bass is also particularly lightweight at a mere 6lbs 15oz with its "violin" body.
Set up and boasting new TI Jazz Flats, this Astro IV is a rare and almost complete example of a classic Vox bass!
The neck has a medium C shaped profile that stays consistent in both depth and fretboard width as you move up the neck, playing comfortably and fretting easily. The figuring in the maple is particularly notable, with tight ripples of flame figuring across the entire profile and headstock. It's the nicest cut of maple we've ever seen on a vintage Vox! The Brazilian rosewood fretboard has original fretwire which shows light, uniform wear on frets 1-3, extending beneath the A and D strings until 7, with virtually no wear further up the board. The nut width should be comfortable to any Jazz Bass player at 1 1/2", and the scale length is a manageable 30". Other tonally meaningful features include a lightweight aluminum nut and zero fret. The oversized headstock retains the original raised Vox logo with stock jumbo tuning machines that turn smoothly and hold pitch well. The small "Made in Italy by Vox" lettering is also still clearly visible on the backside of the headstock.
On the body, the electronics work as they should and despite the array of controls, this bass is very easy and intuitive to dial in to your personal tastes. The Boost and Fuzz are powered by a fresh 9V battery which should be concealed beneath a plastic cover under the new padded, snap on cushion.
This plastic cover/battery box was missing when I bought this bass however and battery mounting has been achieved in a somewhat inelegant duct tape device...
(See photo)
I believe that a replacement plastic cover is available online....
The Fuzz in particular has a very nasty, raucous tone, with a buzzsaw roar that will feedback in a perfect old school Shoegaze fashion. Naturally if you roll off the volume just a touch, the Fuzz behaves nicely and blends very well with the clean signal for a tone that's a good balance between the natural tone of the pickups and the silicone Fuzz circuit. The Boost is also hugely influential in shaping the Fuzz and the bass' overall tone, proving quite useful for a primitive active EQ!
Cosmetically, the Astro IV is in particularly good condition, sporting what the original Vox catalog describes as a "Sandburst" finish. This lightly shaded deep peach sunburst is accented by very clean chrome pickup covers, bridge, control plate, and trapeze tailpiece. All of the stock knobs even retain their original silver caps. The pickguard is commonly missing on these instruments, but faithfully intact on this example, with a dark glossy shade of tortoise, and totally flat with no warping or shrinkage. Perhaps most notably, the finish is vibrant, unfaded, and has almost none of the finish checking typically seen on a Vox bass. There is a bit of checking around the input jack which has also been reinforced with an oversized washer, but otherwise it's a remarkably clean finish. There are also a few small nicks on the body as a whole. The top has a consistent arch with no caving, and there's some light flame figuring on the back.
The bass comes without a case as a previous owner had added graffiti to the original of some dubious taste....The original case was also in poor condition...
Shipping $65.00 to upper 50...
Sensible offers considered...
Set up and boasting new TI Jazz Flats, this Astro IV is a rare and almost complete example of a classic Vox bass!
The neck has a medium C shaped profile that stays consistent in both depth and fretboard width as you move up the neck, playing comfortably and fretting easily. The figuring in the maple is particularly notable, with tight ripples of flame figuring across the entire profile and headstock. It's the nicest cut of maple we've ever seen on a vintage Vox! The Brazilian rosewood fretboard has original fretwire which shows light, uniform wear on frets 1-3, extending beneath the A and D strings until 7, with virtually no wear further up the board. The nut width should be comfortable to any Jazz Bass player at 1 1/2", and the scale length is a manageable 30". Other tonally meaningful features include a lightweight aluminum nut and zero fret. The oversized headstock retains the original raised Vox logo with stock jumbo tuning machines that turn smoothly and hold pitch well. The small "Made in Italy by Vox" lettering is also still clearly visible on the backside of the headstock.
On the body, the electronics work as they should and despite the array of controls, this bass is very easy and intuitive to dial in to your personal tastes. The Boost and Fuzz are powered by a fresh 9V battery which should be concealed beneath a plastic cover under the new padded, snap on cushion.
This plastic cover/battery box was missing when I bought this bass however and battery mounting has been achieved in a somewhat inelegant duct tape device...
(See photo)
I believe that a replacement plastic cover is available online....
The Fuzz in particular has a very nasty, raucous tone, with a buzzsaw roar that will feedback in a perfect old school Shoegaze fashion. Naturally if you roll off the volume just a touch, the Fuzz behaves nicely and blends very well with the clean signal for a tone that's a good balance between the natural tone of the pickups and the silicone Fuzz circuit. The Boost is also hugely influential in shaping the Fuzz and the bass' overall tone, proving quite useful for a primitive active EQ!
Cosmetically, the Astro IV is in particularly good condition, sporting what the original Vox catalog describes as a "Sandburst" finish. This lightly shaded deep peach sunburst is accented by very clean chrome pickup covers, bridge, control plate, and trapeze tailpiece. All of the stock knobs even retain their original silver caps. The pickguard is commonly missing on these instruments, but faithfully intact on this example, with a dark glossy shade of tortoise, and totally flat with no warping or shrinkage. Perhaps most notably, the finish is vibrant, unfaded, and has almost none of the finish checking typically seen on a Vox bass. There is a bit of checking around the input jack which has also been reinforced with an oversized washer, but otherwise it's a remarkably clean finish. There are also a few small nicks on the body as a whole. The top has a consistent arch with no caving, and there's some light flame figuring on the back.
The bass comes without a case as a previous owner had added graffiti to the original of some dubious taste....The original case was also in poor condition...
Shipping $65.00 to upper 50...
Sensible offers considered...
