With the successful introduction of the Vox Ace in late 1960, it was no surprise that an expanded, 3-pickup version, the Super Ace, was added to the range in 1962. But both the Ace and Super Ace were redesigned in 1963, with a new body style, headstock and pickups; and an example of this redesigned Vox Super Ace is shown here. The old-style Super Ace had a central pickup placed right back against the bridge pickup. The redesigned version, more sensibly, placed the pickup centrally between the two other pickups. It was, like much of the rest of the Vox line, a broad attempt to fill the desire for Fender guitars, at a time when these American imports were out of reach for the vast majority of British guitarists.
But this is a pretty early example and there are some features that would be refined as production went on. In fact this example had to undergo a few modifications during assembly, to get the design to work. Notice how close the bridge cover is to the scratchplate - it has actually had a small corner cut out to allow it to sit flush on the guitar body! Furthermore the control cavity routes have been expanded after painting, to accommodate the three-way switch. Nothing has been repositioned, and the scratchplate/electronics are all original. This is an example of early 1960s JMI workmanship! You can find out a lot more about the inside of this guitar in the supporting members area here.
The 'new' Super Ace was first pictured in the 1963 Vox Precision in Sound catalog, but with the description copied from the 1962 catalog - incorrectly describing the pickup placement of the old version. The correct desription did appear in 1964 literature
Often the history of individual guitars is lost as the instrument passes from owner to owner, however this example is an exception. It was produced in the second half of 1963 (from the serial number - also the potentiometers date to July 1963, more about dating vintage Vox pots), shipped in 1963/64 and sold in late 1964 by Manns Music (still there) in Colchester High Street. It saw service in local band 'Stage One' for a couple years before being retired. Not a long career then! The original price for the Super Ace in late 1963 was £47 5S. This placed it in the middle of their solid body range. The single pickup Stroller was just £19 19S, whilst the very fine Soundcaster (not far off a Fender Stratocaster in terms of build and playability) cost £89 5S. By contrast, in early 1964, a genuine Fender Stratocaster (Sunburst finish) cost a whopping £173 5S; a red one £180 12s!
And this is a pretty nice playing guitar. A lot lighter than the Soundcaster, but with the same pickups, a nice curved radius rosewood fretboard, and a functional Vox De Luxe tremolo. The neck has no adjustable truss rod, but the set up is still pretty nice. And quite capable of producing some lovely tones too. Check out the video clips at the end of this page.
The controls of this guitar are a little different from many modern guitars, although quite typical for early Vox models. Rather than having a master tone, there is a tone control for the neck pickup, one for the middle pickup, but no ability to adjust bridge pickup tone. The third pot is a master volume. Combined with the three-way pickup-selector switch (neck/middle/bridge), this allows for quick tonal changes - perhaps a warm rhythm sound from the neck pickup with tone control turned down, to a piercing lead from the bridge. Of course, there is no way to combine pickups with this set up.
Subscribe to the vintageguitarandbass youtube channel for more vintage guitar and bass demos. Also, check out the other Vox Super Ace videos in the supporting members area.
Find out more about these instruments here: 1963 Vox Super Ace, 1973 Fender Vibrolux Reverb
Here is a very short clip of a super cool Super Ace by Vox. Made in England in the JMI factory circa 1963 - and paired with a gorgeous 1973 Fender Vibrolux Reverb. Check out the other clips of this guitar/amp combination, or watch the long version (25+ different, from rich and warm, through superbly crunchy, to interplanetary exploration) in the vintageguitarandbass 'supporting members' area here. Strung with Gibson bright wires (10-46).
Recorded here with a Shure SM57 (left channel) and a Heil PR-40 (right channel), through a Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 interface - highly recommended gear!
Find out more about these instruments here: 1963 Vox Super Ace, 1973 Fender Vibrolux Reverb
Here is a very short clip of a super cool Super Ace by Vox. Made in England in the JMI factory circa 1963 - and paired with a gorgeous 1973 Fender Vibrolux Reverb. The Vibrato and Reverb on this amp are just MAGNIFICENT. Check out the other clips of this guitar/amp combination, or watch the long version (25+ different, from rich and warm, through superbly crunchy, to interplanetary exploration) in the vintageguitarandbass 'supporting members' area here. Strung with Gibson bright wires (10-46).
Recorded here with a Shure SM57 (left channel) and a Heil PR-40 (right channel), through a Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 interface - highly recommended gear!
Find out more about these instruments here: 1963 Vox Super Ace, 1973 Fender Vibrolux Reverb
1963 Vox Super Ace vs 1973 Fender Vibrolux (Shure left, Heil right) Strung with Gibson bright wires (10-46) - The Vibrolux is an AWESOME amp! Like it's big brother, the Fender Twin, it has a great clean tone, cavernous reverb, and the most amazing vibrato - but in a smaller 40 Watt 2x10 package. A superb recording amp indeed. And just perfect for blues. But it does rattle a bit when turned to high. I use other amps for distorted tones, but the Vibrolux is the GOD of clean! The Vox Super Ace, with it's V2 single coil pickups has a really great sound too - three three pickups operate one at a time, with tone controls for the middle and neck only - this guitar has some superbly beautiful warm tones, with these tones rolled down a little (or a lot!). It doesn't do bright and piercing as well as it does warm and rich, but it's a real pleasure to play. This video demonstrates 25+ sounds, from rich and warm, through superbly crunchy, to interplanetary exploration.
Recorded here with a Shure SM57 (left channel) and a Heil PR-40 (right channel), through a Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 interface - highly recommended gear!
Find out more about these instruments here: 1963 Vox Super Ace, 197X WEM Clubman MK 8
The WEM Clubman is one of the brands smaller amplifiers - just 5 watts through a single 12 inch speaker. But it's an awesome sounding amp, especially if you want a bit of grit! And the three-pickup Vox Super Ace has a lot of different tones. This video shows just one sound: the middle pickup of the Vox with the tone rolled down a little, through a fairly tame amp. Crank up those controls for some MUCH hotter sounds. Check out the other long version of this video in the vintageguitarandbass 'supporting members' area to see what this combination can do. Strung with Gibson bright wires (10-46).
Recorded here with a Shure SM57 (left channel) and a Heil PR-40 (right channel), through a Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 interface - highly recommended gear!
Find out more about these instruments here: 1963 Vox Super Ace, 197X WEM Clubman MK 8
The WEM Clubman is one of the brands smaller amplifiers - at just 5 watts through a single 12 inch speaker, you're probably going to have the volume turned up somewhat. And this is where the magic is. Yes the clean tones are nice, but when you crank this amp, you get some seriously rich, and superbly creamy overdrive. As always, we start clean, turning gain up as we go. The three V2 single-coil pickup Vox Super Ace has plenty of tonal variation too. The combination of Vox Super Ace and WEM Clubman must have disturbed countless neighbours in the UK in the early 1970s. Not loud enough to gig, but a great recording set up with some awesome tone! TURN IT UP! Strung here with Gibson bright wires (10-46).
Recorded here with a Shure SM57 (left channel) and a Heil PR-40 (right channel), through a Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 interface - highly recommended gear!
Find out more about these instruments here: 1963 Vox Super Ace, 1964 Vox AC4
This is a really cool British-built vintage guitar from the early 60s. Nice sounding, with plenty of mellow with the neck pickup selected and the tone rolled down, but maybe not as much bite as you'd expect from the bridge pickup alone. (Perhaps the springs should be removed to raise the pickup further). The tremolo is pretty useable, and doesn't detune the guitar significantly with a little use - i've not really tried any dive bombs mind you! The AC4 is a cool amp, with a beautiful basic sound; it isn't really loud enough to disturb anyone else, but this does mean it doesn't get especially gainy either. I generally wish it would give a little more... Strung with Gibson bright wires (10-46).
Recorded here with a Shure SM57 (left channel) and a Heil PR-40 (right channel), through a Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 interface - highly recommended gear!
Extra content on this guitar is included in our Supporting Members area here
$1250
$1600
$1999
$4499
$570
$120
$1049
$2695
$676
$6995
$2495
$795
$2800
$850
$232
$2800
$1898
$5500
€1500
€2000