1960's Vox Mark VI

Vox (from Latin vōx 'voice') This Vox Mark VI was assembled in 2020 from a group of 1960s new old stock VOX parts inventory left over in the Italian factory. It is very well made and great looking. The two pickup Mark VI is a guitar that was custom made only for Brian Jones originally and this guitar is built in the likeness of his famous axe. This is a new instrument – never gigged. Not a modern-day copy!BodyMaple, AshNeckMapleFretboardRosewood A LITTLE BACKGROUNDThe Vox Mark VI 6-string guitar, often referred to as the "Teardrop", was produced in two distinct periods. The original version was made for Brian Jones in Kent, England during the 1960s, which is where the components of this guitar came from. Vox was sold to the Japanese company Korg in 1992. A re-issue, US-made version was produced by Korg and North Coast Music in Minnesota between 1998 and 2001 using less cherished, less expensive poplar bodies (not used on this guitar).MY COORESPONDENCE WITH THE ORIGINATOR OF THIS GUITAR  AT THE TIME OF PURCHASE:“There is a fellow in the UK named Brandoni who owns all the leftover parts inventory (from the original Italian Vox factory).I have a few of these guitars. I bought eight instruments from him in October, 2001.I was in the UK about three years ago and bought four which I have sold since then.I know the necks are vintage, as are most of the rest of the components, and I think the pickups are new. The fretboard is ‘premium’ with the custom mother of pearl block inlays (inlays you will not find anywhere else on the Mark VI – only less expensive pearloid dot markers), and the 5-ply high-end maple neck is extremely rare. The tuners seem newer to me. These sound better to me than the old ones. I have a few of those as well.”Starting in England in 1961, Vox began to manufacture a line of solid-body electric guitars built at a local furniture maker's shop. Import of American electric guitars into the UK were effectively prohibited at the time, so Vox stepped in to fill the increasing demand for solid body electric guitars.They were originally made in England, and later made in Italy but there was a small window, late nineties, early two thousands where they were reissued in the US. Vox made in the USA do not command the ‘vintage’ high value of these early collectable Italian models.Lewis Brian Hopkin Jones (28 February 1942 – 3 July 1969) was an English musician and founder of the Rolling Stones. Initially a slide guitarist, he went on to sing backing vocals and played a wide variety of instruments on Rolling Stones recordings and in concerts.After he founded the Rolling Stones as a British blues outfit in 1962 and gave the band its name, Jones's fellow band members Keith Richards and Mick Jagger began to take over the band's musical direction, especially after they became a successful songwriting team.When Jones developed alcohol and drug problems, his performance in the studio became increasingly unreliable, leading to a diminished role within the band he had founded. In June 1969, the Rolling Stones dismissed Jones; guitarist Mick Taylor took his place in the group. Less than a month later, Jones died by drowning at the age of 27 in the swimming pool at his home at Cotchford Farm, East Sussex. His death was referenced in songs by many other pop bands, and Pete Townshend and Jim Morrison wrote poems about it. In 1989, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Rolling Stones.As Richards tells it, Jones came up with the name the "Rollin' Stones" (later with the 'g') while on the phone with a venue owner. "The voice on the other end of the line obviously said, 'What are you called?' Panic! “The Best of Muddy Waters” album was lying on the floor—and track five, side one was 'Rollin' Stone Blues'"Jones was a gifted multi-instrumentalist, proficient on a wide variety of musical instruments. As a guitarist, in the early days, he favored a white teardrop-shaped electric guitar produced by the Vox company.By the end of 1965, the model had been renamed the Vox Mk VI, with guitars built in Recanati, Italy (for the US Market) as well as Dartford UK (for the UK Market).