Vox Ultrasonic restoration - IT'S HERE!

[Pacafeliz]

Yep but I don't think it's brazilian rosewood
...right?

[GAZINGUK]

Yep but I don't think it's brazilian rosewood
...right?

That's the question I've been trying to find out for a while, as many old guitars up to the late sixties used brazilian rosewood on their necks. Like you, I've had the chance to get a Vox Ultrasonic for the past seven months, but I've not been able to complete the deal due to the fact that I don't know what type of wood is used on the neck or bridge mount? I don't want the guitar to be confiscated, so I was hoping you had found a way or could confirm. Going the safe route (e.g. getting an export/import licence) would require that the seller prove when the guitar arrived in the export country e.g. with an original receipt of purchase or something like that. I believe that if it arrived after 1992 then it should not have been imported. In my case the seller is not the original owner. I don't even think he is the second or third owner. Therefore, he can't prove when it arrived in the US and would not be able to obtain an export licence if he followed this path. I could take the risk and just have it sent while stating that it doesn't contain anything that would be in violation of cites, but if customs deem it to contain something it shouldn't then I can't have the item and as I stated before they don't always return the guitar to the sender. They would also class you as trafficking an illegal material.

I'm about to bring over a Fender Thurston Moore Jazzmaster from the US, but it was made in 2010, when supplies were supposed to be sourced in a more sustainable or ethical way. I managed to contact Fender and got them to tell me what type of rosewood was used on the neck. The guitar will pass through customs without any problems and does not adhere to the cites wood issues. Therefore, I do not require import/export certificates. Old guitars are another issue and there are no clear answers. For instance, all vintage literature about the Vox Ultrasonic or Eko guitars just state rosewood. However, we have to know where the wood was sourced from. I'm interested in finding out what happens to your guitar. At the same time, I don't want you to lose your money or the instrument, so I'm not sure what to tell you. It's a really crazy situation. I do agree with using sustainable materials though. Things like ivory and tortoise shell shouldn’t be traded and deforestation is a huge issue, so Brazilian rosewood should be preserved and I don’t agree with making new instruments with that particular type of wood. There's no easy answer for instruments that have already been made though. I can see both sides of the issue.

[Pacafeliz]

Nah I'll just trust that it's not brazilian, and hope all goes down well...

[PorkyPrimeCut]

The grain on my two Vox necks couldn't be more different.

My 12-string Ultrasonic has fretboard wood so dark & smooth that it looks like ebony whereas the other "anomaly" NOS neck that I have looks much paler, browner & grainier. It's probably Indian rosewood.
I did read something years ago - whether it was an ad, an old review or some text from back in the day, I'm not sure - that said the wood used was Brazilian but I have no idea of knowing how accurate this was.
I've also asked on a Facebook group but haven't had much response except one guy saying he's not heard of any Vox guitars using Brazilian rosewood.

[GAZINGUK]

The grain on my two Vox necks couldn't be more different.

My 12-string Ultrasonic has fretboard wood so dark & smooth that it looks like ebony whereas the other "anomaly" NOS neck that I have looks much paler, browner & grainier. It's probably Indian rosewood.
I did read something years ago - whether it was an ad, an old review or some text from back in the day, I'm not sure - that said the wood used was Brazilian but I have no idea of knowing how accurate this was.
I've also asked on a Facebook group but haven't had much response except one guy saying he's not heard of any Vox guitars using Brazilian rosewood.

Yeah very good point. I've seen a few Eko necks for sale on eBay (same company that made the Ultrasonic). They also said they thought it was brazillian rosewood, but then another couple of listing with the same model of neck (from the same type of guitar) said it was ebony or just rosewood too? There is no information available to clearly point out that the guitar contains a specific type of wood, so I'm left in a state of inertia with my purchase. That's why I've been told by a few guitar shops and someone from UK customs that if you don't know, then treat it as if it's dalbergia nigra and get the correct certificates. I'm very keen to see what happens, please can you update me with the process Pacafeliz, as I want my Ultrasonic.

Here's a bit more about EU imports of restricted woods. The article is a bit old, but the rules still apply apparently:

https://www.mk-guitar.com/2014/01/31/gu ... -what-not/

[GAZINGUK]

I forgot about this, but I did contact Roberto at Brandoniguitars.co.uk (the company that bought up all the old Vox Eko parts made in Italy in the 60s/70s). He did have a few vox parts for sale including the teardrop style necks. However, Roberto no longer wants to sell such parts, rather he wants to use them to build and sell his own guitars. Regardless, I did ask what type of wood was used on the fretboards of the old style Vox necks. He said it was rosewood, but he doesn't know what type.

[PorkyPrimeCut]

Here's a bit more about EU imports of restricted woods. The article is a bit old, but the rules still apply apparently:

https://www.mk-guitar.com/2014/01/31/gu ... -what-not/

The laws were relaxed a little recently.

[PorkyPrimeCut]

I forgot about this, but I did contact Roberto at Brandoniguitars.co.uk (the company that bought up all the old Vox Eko parts made in Italy in the 60s/70s). He did have a few vox parts for sale including the teardrop style necks. However, Roberto no longer wants to sell such parts, rather he wants to use them to build and sell his own guitars. Regardless, I did ask what type of wood was used on the fretboards of the old style Vox necks. He said it was rosewood, but he doesn't know what type.

Yeah, the other neck I mentioned was bought from Brandoni back in 2009, when I was living in London. What I thought was a 6-string Ultrasonic neck ended up being a weird short scale, B-stock prototype that I've not been able to use. He had 2 of them.

This is the colour of the fretboard...



Pat, yours looks a lot darker so it could be ebony, like my 12-string. Good luck with getting it delivered safely!

[GAZINGUK]

Here's a bit more about EU imports of restricted woods. The article is a bit old, but the rules still apply apparently:

https://www.mk-guitar.com/2014/01/31/gu ... -what-not/

The laws were relaxed a little recently.

Yeah, I that's how my Thurston Moore Jazzmaster will be allowed to move freely. I just wish I could say for sure what type of wood was on the Ultrasonic. Old Fenders and Gibsons will still be stopped. Those guitars did use Brazilian rosewood (unless they have a full maple neck).

[GAZINGUK]

I forgot about this, but I did contact Roberto at Brandoniguitars.co.uk (the company that bought up all the old Vox Eko parts made in Italy in the 60s/70s). He did have a few vox parts for sale including the teardrop style necks. However, Roberto no longer wants to sell such parts, rather he wants to use them to build and sell his own guitars. Regardless, I did ask what type of wood was used on the fretboards of the old style Vox necks. He said it was rosewood, but he doesn't know what type.

Yeah, the other neck I mentioned was bought from Brandoni back in 2009, when I was living in London. What I thought was a 6-string Ultrasonic neck ended up being a weird short scale, B-stock prototype that I've not been able to use. He had 2 of them.

This is the colour of the fretboard...



Pat, yours looks a lot darker so it could be ebony, like my 12-string. Good luck with getting it delivered safely!

Love the neck. I wonder what type of rosewood that is? Do we have any dendrologists on the forum? This subject is really frustrating to me. Here's Brazilian rosewood:


https://www.google.com/search?q=brazili ... Fdc9HA4KfM

Do you guys think it looks the same?

Here's Indian rosewood:

https://www.google.com/search?q=indian+ ... irefox-b-d

Could be either one if you look through the many photos.

If you look at the link below it seems more like Brazilian rosewood to me:

https://www.wood-database.com/wood-arti ... rosewoods/

[PorkyPrimeCut]

It seems to be all over the place. The Brazilian rosewood I'm familiar with, on my Jazzmaster, is really dark & has dashes of open grain dotted around. I've seen other stuff with pale streaks running through it &, as you've shown in those pictures, some of it looks just like the stuff used in my NOS neck- more of a golden brown.



By the way, Pat, if you're missing some knobs these white ones are an almost exact match. They just use a slightly different font & you won't get any with DIST, REPEAT or TR - B BOOST on them.

[GAZINGUK]

It seems to be all over the place. The Brazilian rosewood I'm familiar with, on my Jazzmaster, is really dark & has dashes of open grain dotted around. I've seen other stuff with pale streaks running through it &, as you've shown in those pictures, some of it looks just like the stuff used in my NOS neck- more of a golden brown.



By the way, Pat, if you're missing some knobs these white ones are an almost exact match. They just use a slightly different font & you won't get any with DIST, REPEAT or TR - B BOOST on them.

I currently have a 67 Fender Bass VI an early Mosrite Combo (number 46) with full trem. I also had an original 62 Fender Jaguar. However, that was stolen about ten years ago in Berlin. Each have or had a Brazilian rosewood fretboard and some are/were a lot darker than others. It's just so hard to tell without official information from the manufacturer. The issue isn't a big deal unless you want a vintage guitar. I'm sick of it. I just hope he gets his Ultrasonic. That way I'll try and get mine!

[Pacafeliz]

Well my brother shipped it out yesterday. For now it's only waiting and hoping...

[PorkyPrimeCut]

Well my brother shipped it out yesterday. For now it's only waiting and hoping...

I'm sure plenty of guitars with Brazilian rosewood parts have made it through safely. The old ES125T I used to have arrived without any problems.

By the way, someone posted this on Facebook in response to my question about the fretboard wood. From a Vintage Guitar Magazine articles entitled "Vox Guitars Invade America : From Dartford to Sepulveda"...


...Differences between English and Italian interpretations of Vox designs are often small but significant. JMI used at least three subcontractors for guitar necks and results were inconsistent, especially the fretwork. Most JMI necks are one-piece with a rosewood or ebony fingerboard and have a thinner finish, even when the body is swathed in polyester. Eko necks carry heavy poly finishes, but the actual construction and especially fretting are more consistent. Italian necks used maple (originally one piece, later often multi-laminate) with a bound ebony fingerboard and a truss rod adjusted via an easily accessible plug at the body end. This rod was coupled with a metal T-shaped center section under the fingerboard, and has sometimes worked too well over time – some Eko-made Voxes today show neck and fingerboard crack issues where the rod has been overtightened. Still, at the time, the Italian neck seemed a more-reliable improvement. It’s easy to tell the difference – Eko necks have “Made in Italy By Vox” in small print on the back of the headstock.

Other problems can emerge as the guitars age. Eko’s heavy polyester finishes sometimes crack or check heavily. Unlike JMI versions, the Italian pickguards used an unstable plastic and many have shrunk and warped, though this was not a problem at the time. Much of the hardware was well-made and nearly identical – both used similar Van Gent tuners fitted with stamped metal Vox-branded covers, and Eko copied JMI’s bridge and vibrato designs very closely. An important sonic difference was the pickups; Eko-made units look much like their English antecedents, but produce a thinner sound and weaker output. Most Thomas Vox guitars shipped in a distinctive oblong grey case – attractive, light, and handy, but fairly flimsy, as well with a plastic handle that has an annoying habit of snapping off....


It's impossible to say if all these described differences are accurate but there are still some interesting points. The mention of ebony for starters. That clears up what I thought about my 12-string neck but doesn't explain the paler woods used. Also, I never realised the tuners were Van Gent. Aren't they pretty highly rated?
It's an odd comment about the pickups though, being described as "thinner and weaker". The two Ferro-Sonic pickups on my Ultrasonic are fantastic and I'll be interested to hear your thoughts, Pat, seeing as your experience with a wide range of pickups is clear.

[Pacafeliz]

Thanks, will do!
Currently looking for a good bridge, so I can string it up and strum it as soon as it arrives. I have no idea if the pickups or anything even works