Jim Smith writes:

Subject: Vox Guitars

A bit of confusion in this article which has been spread elsewhere.

Jennings Musical Instruments (JMI) hired the Design Centre (London) in 1962 to create a new-looking guitar that would sound and play like the American Fender Stratocaster, made iconic by Hank Marvin of the Shadows. The result was the Phantom, variously described as trapezoidal, five-sided or coffin-shaped. The rounded Mark series followed perhaps a year later.

The first few hundred examples were made by British sub-contractors. Once the British Invasion created huge demand for Vox products, production was shifted to the large and experienced guitar maker EKO of Italy to meet the flood of orders.

Noted users of Phantom guitars include the Hollies and Joy Division in Britain, plus Paul Revere and the Raiders and Tom Petty in the USA.

Teardrop-shaped Mark guitars were used by Brian Jones of the Rolling Stones in six and 12-string versions, and the American band the Standells.

Both body shapes were awkward to play sitting down, just fine when used in a standing position with a strap.

These two premium Vox series did not make much of a dent in the American solid-body market because they were priced up to 30% more than the established Fender brand, and the quality was no better.

Today the originals and newer replicas are appreciating as nostalgia and the desire for something different continues.