new old stock vox teardrop

[kipper]

hi all anyone know anything about phantom guitars in the usa. i have found there webb site and it looks good. also the firm in uk putting together vintage vox parts in teardrops ect any one got one or have hands on with ethier firm please. thanks peter

[kipper]

no one??? peter

[George Geddes]

Are you thinking about the Alden Teardrop?

http://www.northernguitars.co.uk/index. ... &Itemid=26

George

[kipper]

thanks for the link. the firms name i have found out is brandoni in wembly london. they say they have a limited supply of old vox parts phantom and teardrop. they put them together and sell as whole vox guitars. i wold like some informaton on them are they any good. the phantom guitarworks in usa make them from new parts and hold the building rihts on vox guitars. i would like to now also if they are any good. thanks peter

[George Geddes]

Brandoni have been around for a long time, but I have no idea of the quality.

The Alden 'replicas' are highly thought of, and how about this for £199?

http://www.molemusic.co.uk/images/HUTCTEAR.JPG

George

[kipper]

thanks george looks good is that a hutchins. just been on the phone and spoke to roberto the boss at brandoni. seems like a nice bloke and was quiet helpfull. peter

[Graylion]

Yes, Brandoni have been going a long time. I have every reason to believe their assembly quality is good. According to their site they bought all the remaining stock from Eko when they closed down, as well as spare parts from Vox. Eko made most Vox guitars as far as I am aware. So the Phantom - including the XII - should be as close as you can get to N.O.S.
Cheers, Lionel

[JimN]

The best-remembered Vox solid guitars were made in England, with many of the bodies and necks under contract by the G-Plan furniture factory. The Eko connection came later (the middle of the sixties), when some models were transferred over to Italian manufacture and other, newer, guitars were introduced. Italian-made models are easily distinguishable from the genuine article*. Most pre-existing Vox guitar models never made it through into the Italian era, and those few that did were usually given "improved" appointments such as bound necks, zero-frets and Eko-style truss-rod adjustment. As a rule of thumb, if a Vox guitar is either semi-acoustic, or solid with a bound neck, it's Italian.

JN

[* The genuine article being things like the Stroller, Duotone, Shadow, Ace, Super Ace, Escort, New Escort, Soundcaster, Consort, Phantom, Phantom Mk VI (teardrop), Symphonic bass, etc. The best of those were built according to a Fender-like ethos, and some of them (especially the Soundcaster, Symphonic Bass, Consort and New Escort) were - for the time - quite close copies of Fender models.]

[George Geddes]

Yes, indeed that link is to a Hutchins. I spotted one of their Phantom replicas - the pentagonal rather than teardrop shape - in a local shop recently and was tempted but for the fact that it had a maple fingerboard which (a) I felt was inappropriate, and (b) I prefer rosewood anyway. Oh yes, and (c) I had just bought a Telecaster.

A Phantom still lurks on the wants list, but I need to wait a decent interval...

George

[kipper]

thanks for replys its an intresting subject vox teardrops. i brought a hutchins brian jones ltd to 250 bought out by the brian jones fan club. they sell for about £500.00. not sure if they are worth that much but arnt bad. i got mine at less than half that making it a good buy. it plays ok sounds 60`s which is what i like. thats how i got on to wanting a higher grade version. i think the phantom guitarworks version is the better buy from the usa but you have to pay import charges which puts it up a bit. and they have improved it a lot from oridginal and it dont say vox on the headstock , but does seem a very nice guitar and i am told sounds the 60`s type sound. peter