Vox V268 Ultrasonic

This Ultrasonic is a 12 string model from 67 or 68. The neck is wider than other Vox models of the same manufacture year. I currently use this guitar in a 6 string configuration.
The body is similar to a Gibson ES-335 or 330, though it only has supports for the bridge and battery compartment making it more in between those models than anything. The wood is probably some type of combination wood--I'm not really sure.
The guitar has 2 ferro sonic pickup which sound really really great. The neck pick up is very meaty but also articulate with lots of tone. The bridge pickup is very bridgey and undeniably that 'Vox sound.' There are two tones and a volume for these pickups.
Obviously, some of the major attributes of the Ultrasonic are the effects. There is a treble/bass boost (which is actually the most useful in my opinion), a distortion fuzz, a repeat percussion tremelo and a hand wah. All of these in tandem is a freaky thing, something other than your usual sound. The guitar is a relic--there's no other way to describe it. It is capable of pretty much any sound you could imagine. The effects don't quite cut so well live (except for the T/B boost which is the best solo sound ever) but are quite useful in the studio.
The bridge is the floating Vox style bridge. It makes a Vox a Vox. It can move if hit hard but generally, its just fine and really makes the guitar have the sound sound.
There are 12 tuners. There is a place under the back plate to install a regular 9V battery.

Dude, this guitar is the coolest thing I've ever played. I knew it would be, but not until you get a chance to really go nuts with it do you see its versitility. I mean, not only does it function as a 60's electric 12 string, its got treble boost, fuzz, repeater and a hand wah. There's also an E-tuner which is whatever. Mine is broken and only plays a G. No big loss. Like I've said before, the treble boost is surprisingly the most bad*** effect on the thing. It helps old little tube amps that are notoriously dark to really cut. The fuzz is sick, even better w/ the boost and w/ the repeater and wah its just floating in velcro fart land. There is a tendency for the guitar to feedback when all the effects are in--perfect! What I love about this guitar is that someone in the 60's had the balls to make something that was capable of really just blowing you away and they didn't hold back. I could see a pedal manufacturer now shying away from the kind of sonic decemation this thing can create.

Uh, the lacquer job is fine but there is a ton of checking and its only going to get worse. I don't mind that too much--as long as it plays right. The neck was in pretty ***** shape when I got it. There was a good amount of back bow in the neck and it refused to fret the high E or B on the first half steps. It killed me. I took it to a guy who straightened the neck and refretted the thing. He did a superb job. It was completely necessary and I'm 100% glad I did it. It plays great now.

This guitar seems really solid and it feels like a solid, good guitar. That being said, I don't want to try out anything that will really test the limits of its construction. Its too heavy to move around a whole bunch but still it feels solid and like a great guitar. I'm going to hold on to it for a long long time.

Naw mang. This beast is way older than me.

If anyone out there is looking for something special, this guitar is that. I've been playing guitar for the last 13/14 years and I feel that only now have I really found the sound I've been looking for. Total relic, buy them now, they will not be cheap in the future and they will not be easy to find. There is no way to reproduce this guitar--none. Total champ.

My model is a 1968 V268 Ultrasonic made in Italy by Vox.
It's basically a copy of the Gibson ES 335 thin linr arch top guitar but with a bolt on 22 fret neck. First off, let me say that this guitar is loaded with features that at first glance I thought would be gimmicks + sound like ass. However, every feature sounds great.
There are five "active" features powered by a 9-volt battery stored neatly away in a compartment behind the button on pad found on the back of the guitar. The first feature is the E-tuner. It's basically just an oscillator that throws out an e-note to tune to, very useful + it can also be used as an effect if you're playing in the key of E + want some noise between notes. The second feature is the Bass/Treble Boost. It simply lowers or brightens the tones with an added boost kinda like switching on the top boost on a Vox amp. It's also adjustable with it's own pot. The third feature is the FUZZZ. This is probably the best fuzz distortion I've ever heard. It also has it's own pot so you can get anything from a slightly overdriven tube sound to full on Hendrix in space. The fourth feature is the REPEATER, whis is kind of a pulsing tremelo effect. It also has it's own pot to shape the speed of the effect. The fifth effect is another favorite, the built in WAH. Flip the switch on + turn the palm control around to wah by hand rather than a foot pedal. This is also one of the best wah sounds I've ever heard. It's basically a vintage 68'Vox wah built in to the guitar.
The guitar also has a Bigsby copy tremelo unit, but the arm is missing on mine. From what I've heard the Vox "bigsby's" work fine.
I don't know what type of wood it's made of, but it doesn't sound like it's top of the line. However the sunburst finish is very nice looking + has tons of varnish, which looks great, but tends to crack with age. The neck appears to be made of quality wood, but it's very thin, which is easy to play, but combined with the bolt on construction doesn't lend itself to tons of sustain. The neck also has beautiful mother of pearl inlays to mark the frets, and to make up the Vox logo on the headstock.
The pickups are the chrome covered Ferro-Sonic single coils, which sound like classec vintage single coils, but also don't lend to sustain very well. The tuners are good quality heavy gauge metal with chrome covers w/the vox logo on each. They never come out of tune. The bridge is a Tune-o-matic adgustable.
2 pickups, 1 volume control for both, each have their own tone contour pot, switchable btw.. neck ,bridge, or both.

Like I said, all of the features on this guitar sound awesome + are all useable. I'm playing it through a 72' Fender Quad Reverb moded w/ blackface circuitry, hotter pots, and power tube conversion from 6l6's to british el34's. My effects chain is simply a boss tuner, Fulltone Fulldrive, + Maxxon/Ibanez analog delay. It has that nice old Stones/ Brian Jonestown Massacre sound. However, I wouldn's say the natural tone is very rich or full with lots of sustain, but it is a good sound of it's own.
There is quite a variety of sounds available from natural to spaced out noise, especially when the built in effects are combined. I've giged out with this guitar + played around with it quite a bit.
My likes are the effects, the ease of play (thin neck), the looks, and the overall sound which has it's place, but I wouldn't use it for a whole set.
My dislikes are the lack of natural sustain, it's vintage single coils are noisy under lights + there's only one volume pot for both pickups.
I definitely have to take the built in effects in to consideration for this rating. Also, the effects seem to sound better with a heavy duty battery rather than a modern alkaline battery.

This is basically a cheaper copy of a Gibson ES335 body with some nice added features. The action is amazing after I had it set up. The neck is very easy to play. THe pickups are easy to adjust for different tones. The only flaws, are the poorer quality wood, and the heavy varnishing which tends to crack, (mine has 1 crack). There just isn't the general attention to detail you get from a professional luthier or a hand crafted Gibson.

This guitar will definitely withstand live playing. Unless you smahsh it to Fu*%ing pieces like Pete Townsend did on their famous Smothers Brothers appearance ( I believe the guitar he smashed was an ultrasonic). Anyway mine's 36 years old + the only flaws are 1 crack in the varnish + a missing tremelo arm. The padded back is also a nice feature which has kept it from being scraped + dinged. I would use it on a gig without a backup + have used it.

I think any warranty would have ran out, ummmm....35 years ago.