Vox Cougar

1966-67 Italian, laminated cheesy wood, sunburst finish which is pretty yellow after almost 40 years. Not too much finish cracking, although it's been stored on a stand for most of it's life (I'm the original owner).

I took the pick guard off years ago, but still have it somewhere.

The original hard plush case is very nice. I put a peace sign on it in 1969 which has also stood up very well.

The electronics never worked well and I finally replaced or repaired (can't remember which) one of the pickups in the 1990s.

Simple sound, since the electronics are passive. Not noisy at all.

Clearly cheaply made. Way too much shellack, wood fittings are not real smooth, etc. However, it hasn't aged much in the last 25 or 30 years. The metal looks pretty good. Not too much cracking.

Never was able to get it tuned properly (intonation problems). One pickup needed repair. Finish looks more or less the same as (say) 1975.

Never thought of trying.

I am the original owner of this instrument which I bought while in high school in 1967 or 1968. I bought it because I could afford a better one (i.e. a Fender). I still have the original triangular grey plush case which I painted a large peace sign on (you can't make this stuff up). This was my second bass; I probably spent $35 or so for the first one, which was a no-brand. About a year ago I bought a $400 Fender J-Bass, which is IMHO a far superior instrument.

I bought mine new in '65.

Great sound. Liked it far better than Fender P-Bass.

Beautiful instrument

Never broke

N/A

Starting playing bass in bands at the early age of 14. I was pretty good for a young fart. First had a Danelectro. A real piece of trash. Then Fender P-Bass. Good instrument, but not crazy about it. In retrospect, the Vox Cougar was a damned good guitar. (Other Vox instruments of which I was aware, were sub-standard [although their amps were pretty good]) I sold my Vox Cougar in the late 60s. I am now playing a Schecter C-4 and really like it.

Made in Italy in the 60's. Semi Hollowbody much like a Gibson ES-335 guitar. Two pickups with a volume and tone control for each and a toggle selector switch. Bolt on maple neck with rosewood fretboard. Tobacco Sunburst Finish with trapese type tailpeace. All original except no pickguard.

Excellent sound from this Bass. Warm rich tone from neck pickup and a bright punchy sound from the bridge pickup. The tone control allows for a nice variety in the sound. The Hollowbody gives the Bass a nice tone unlike a solid body Bass. The pickups are very quiet, I do need to clean my volume and tone pot's. It fit's my style pefectly. I play Blues and Allman Brothers/Phish/Grateful Dead type Jam music. I run it through a Ampeg SVT and a Ampeg SVT810 Cabnet for most of my playing and a Ampeg B-50R for small venues and practice.

The only problem with this Bass and I have found over the years with many 60's era Vox products is the finish they applied cracks. They used a very heavy clearcoat over the wood that causes this to happen in so many. I have owned this Bass for ten years and it has not gotten any worse. The finish cracked around the neck and neck pickup which I have seen others with the same problem. It does not take away from the great playability of this Bass or the sound. The hardware has light pitting but what do you expect from a 35 year old Bass.

This Bass has never in ten years failed me. Everything about it, with the exception of the finish cracking,is excellent. I have seen fewer around in the last few years and would love to have another one. I also use a 70's Epiphone EA-260 Hollowbody Bass and a 73 Jazz Bass but my Cougar is my baby. I have no fear of it failing me.

I've been playing 15 years. As stated earlier I own a Sweet Epiphone EA-260 Hollowbody, a 73 Fender Jazz Bass, a 74 Ibanez Jazz Bass, and a early 80's Fender P-Bass made in Japan. If it were lost or stolen I would cry. I've looked on E-bay for another one but haven't seen one yet. I love the light weight, the full sound and great playability of this Bass.

1967 29.75" short scale semi-hollow body made in Italy. This bass has two incredible warm vintage pickups. The finish is classic sunburst and cracked in a few places (thankfully mainly on back). Neck is bolt-on and tuning keys are nice large chrome. It has two volume controls and tone controls and a toggle-switch to chose 1st pickup, 2nd pickup or both. Action us a little high but not prohibitively so. This bass is all original except for tailpiece. It came with orignal case which is in poor shape. Otherwise, this bass was a real find!

My first bass was an Epiphone Jack Casady signature model, so I'm a bit spoiled. I'd also purhcased an Epiphone Rivoli and was liking a short-scale (I have small hands) but was unimpressed with the Rivoli's sound (of course a Jack Casady bass would spoil anyone from a sound perspective!). I was looking for a Rivoli II but found this on Elderly and it looked like it might be comparable. I figured Vox was known for their amps so their pickups should be good too. That and the fact that this bass was vintage and cost $200 less than a Rivoli II had me sold! I gotta tell ya, I wasn't disappointed! The vintage Vox pickups have a deep warm rich tone even when played thru my mid-price Crate BFX50 amp (I can't wait to try it out thru a vintage tube amp). The three way switch seems best on 1st or 2nd setting (the pickup closest to neck seems to sound best) and it sounds great thru my "fuzz" pedal (Boss Bass Overdrive). I love semi-hollow bodies which seem well suited to the blues and 60's style music I play.

The action on this bass is higher than most due to the classic violin tailpiece, but that doesn't seem to hurt the sound or playability at all. The finish is a beautiful vintage sunburst (this one is closer to a tobacco-sunburst)and is very lovely. There are some cracks in the finish (mainly on the back) but you've got to keep in mind it's a 35 year old instrument and does show some wear. Still, this bass is a work of art just to look at! The only flaw besides the minor finish cracks is a loose Tuning Key on G. and a non-original tailpiece.

This is an awesome instrument and I'll have no trouble gigging with it once I get a better case for it! Like all semi-hollowbodies, you've got to give it a certain amount of TLC but since it's already 35 years old I'd consider it a very reliable instrument. The strap buttons are solid and the truss rod requires little adjustment. I'd gig it without a back up with no worries at all! This bass is as solid as you'll ever find in a semi-hollow body!

N/A on the manufacturer, but I can speak volumes for the folks at Edlerly.com. I've purchased two instruments through them and they always do awesome set-up work. In fact, I got my Jack Casady signature bass thru them and when I had a class with Jack, he gave my bass the once over and handed it back to me. Edlerly's set-up work was so awesome even the man himself could find no flaws!

I've only been playing seriously for a couple of years but I've been messing around with four-strings all my life. When I bought this bass, I was looking for something with a sound quaility comparable to an Epiphone Jack Casady signature, but in short-scale. I wasn't disappointed! This Vox Cougar is awesome and has a unique warm sound that can't be beat! If this bass was ever stolen or destroyed I'd be completely heartbroken! I have more fun on this bass than any other I've ever played (violin-styles and Rickenbackers included!). If you're interested in vintage instruments (or new for that matter) check out www.elderly.com. They're the greatest and have lots of awesome deals on some stuff you've never seen before and might never see again!