Product: Vox Astro IV
Price Paid: for free!
Submitted
12/05/2003
at
02:17am
by
Jerry S. from Belgium
Features
:
7
This is a vintage "made in Italy" Vox Astro IV bass. 22 frets, on a big chunky maple neck with the darkest rosewood I ever seen.
it has a laminated top but a full body. There are three controls, Volume- PU switch (neck-neck+bridge-bridge)- treble.
the pick ups are vintage all the way very silent and create a somewhat thumphy bass (in all positions)
the body shape looks like a violin and is in a sunburst color, that looks very much like the Fender sunburst from the 60ties.
the tuners are very small for a bass, they look more like guitar tuners but they are 100% original. They are a pain to tune.
Sound
:
7
I don't play bass, but guitar in a Surf band. I mainly use this bass for songwritning. The sound is very thumphy, vintage and silent. It's nowhere near the buzing sound of a Jazz Bass or simelar bases.
It sounds in between a Baritone guitar and a Bass guitar, so it suits 50ties and 60 ties music like a charm. The sounds are not very variable, but nice.
It is too silent to use live, although we have used it on some songs.
Action, Fit, & Finish
:
9
The thing is well made, for sure. It came from a wet besement when I got it. Finish was all cracked, but it still worked from the first time I pluged it in.
Most of the hardware was rusted and stained, but this was easely removed and the chrome was not touched by the years. So good work from Vox (Italy)
Reliability/Durability
:
10
This is by no means a live bass, although the Bass player of "Roland" (Blues man from Belguim) was very fond of it and offered to buy it. It works fine on a good amp (like a Hughes and Ketner, Ampeg, etc...) but not on cheap amps, then it sounds to cheap.
It's about 40+ years old, never refined or restored. I only cleaned it, and it still works! I never even had to adjust the tuss rod! Even not after changing from Round to flat wound bass strings....
If used live, we never use it without backup.
Customer Support
:
No Opinion
Never dealth with them, I don't think that the Vox produced nowadaus has any afinity with the instriments produce in the 60ties in Italy.
Overall Rating
:
8
I play guitar for about 12 years now. Mostly Surf these days. My gear vary's a lot. I use Fender Jaguar's and Jazzmasters mostly. And some strat copy now and then and some older Framus and Melody guitars to (vintage), so the bass is surplus. But I would never part with it! I could of sell it ten or more times. If it got stolen...I would become furious with anger....(to quote Samuel L. Jackson in Pulp fiction)
It's not a top quality Fender Bass by no means, but it has this charm that I haven't found in any other Bass guitars...Well okay...a Burns Jazz Bass comes close...
