Value of this 1967 Vox Phantom XII Stereo

[themouse1]

Looking for a little help on pricing this guitar before i try to sell it. Back of the headstock says "Made in Italy". I'm a keyboard player and not a guitar player so I'm pretty much in the dark about guitars. I can seem to find much info about this model on the web either. Howver, the circumstances were just right for me to take a chance on buying it. Everything appears to be original and in great shape. It's missing a couple of screws in the cover of the stereo switch and has a few dings in the finish. There is a hairline "crack"? in the headstock which Im not sure about. For some reason the crack dosent break the surface of the varnish and the varnish shows no signs of ever being repaired so I'm not sure if this is a big problem, little problem or no problem which is why i havent put any strings on it yet. Any ideas you guys could give me on the value would help before I start taking offers on it. Thanks in advance for your time and expertise. Let me apologize now if the number or size of the pictures are against the policy of this forum; I'm a newbbie and this is my first posting to any Vintaxe.com forum. I tried to just post a link to the online photo album but couldn't get it to work right. I have plenty more pictures I could email to any interested party.






















[/url]http://s76.photobucket.com/albums/j20/themouse1/Vox%20Phantom%20XII%20Stereo/[url]

[jeff mercer]

Mouse, that's an absolutely stunning guitar !
I would go on to say that I'm speechless, but I seem to be able to barely whisper "I'll give ya $50 bucks for it" !

In all seriousness, there are a few serious Vox experts/collectors that post on this forum, so seeing as I'm the first to reply, my advice would be to do NOTHING with it until you get informed advice .

Colour, case, condition, rarity etc..It's a beautiful instrument..( look, I'll go to $75..final offer ! ).

Hang in there, they're a good bunch here, you'll be looked after !
P.S...Great photos, by the way..

[themouse1]

Jeff, thanks so much for taking the time to leave a response. I'm hopeful that someone i meet here will end up giving it a good home. My first inclination was to post it on Craigslist but I eventually figured that the audience that would see it there would be too limited. Upon searching the internet I found constant references to VintAxe as a haven for REAL guitar fan and fiends. I've read most of the prior questions and responses and see that the guys here really do have a well earned reputation for helpfulness and knowledge. Here is the link to the online photo album

[VintAxe]

Hi Mouse,

I've been hanging back hoping RogerT or Riotonsunset might respond. They are both Vox collectors with Roger living in the UK and Riot in the US. I'm sure they could offer valuable insight into your instrument. If they don't stop by soon, I'm sure they wouldn't object to a pm from you. You've taken beautiful photos and I'm sure they would enjoy seeing your guitar.

I looked up your guitar in the 2007 VG Price Guide and they don't list the stereo version of this guitar. They suggest a value of $1,600 - $1,800 for the regular Phantom XII.

I think you need an opinion from someone that deals regularly in Vox instruments to help you refine the value. I can only assume the stereo version is much rarer than the standard version but I really don't have much of a feel for how it is valued by Vox collectors.

[themouse1]

[RogerT]

[Spud1950]

Here' one that sold on the Elderly Instruments site.Their prices are well regarded as reflecting real world market values. It's the only one I could find on the net with an actual selling price attached to it.



I don't think the missing screws are a big deal.They're replaceable.If the crack on the headstock is truly just in the finish, that's not a big deal either considering the really excellent finish condition on the rest of the guitar.I think the worst damage you have are the broken pieces at the neck end of the pickguard.Don't know how much that would really effect the value considering the overall excellent condition of the guitar.By the way, in order for the guitar to operate in stereo, there was a special cord that allowed you to plug it into two amps. The bass strings would channel through one amp and the treble strings through the other.

[RogerT]

The screws are no big deal. The tips of the pickguard are negligible also - its just such a common occurrence that it's almost expected. If you visit the photo album, you can see some dings and areas that the paint has taken a rub off but again, it's not going to devalue it that much. Were still talking 9 out of 10 territory.

The headstock is my only real concern. I've requested additional photos with the tuners removed. I'm not convinced it's a lacquer check and it really needs closer inspection.

It's neat to see one that has been well taken care of, though.

[themouse1]

First of all I want to thank eveyone who've been helping me with the valuation of this guitar. Here are some additional pics as requested by RogerT. I've tried to picture the area of interest from as many different angles as possible. In some of the pics the lighting glare is intentionally directly over the problem area so that you can see that the defect does not appear to actually break the surface of the varnish but appears to be beneath the varnish itself. Also, to my untrained eyes, I can't pick up any visual clues that would lead me to believe that the area has ever been refinished which would indicate a previous repair. By the way, I also have the original Vox warranty card in nearly pristine condition if this makes any difference in the value.

[RogerT]

Check your pm, themouse1.

[themouse1]

[themouse1]

[RogerT]

Okay, man...ya got some ideas now. Put her up on eBay and let the market figure it out! There's a lot of interested eyeballs on this now. Good luck!!

Also - for the edification of the interested group - here is correspondence with themouse1 regarding my evaluation. I sent it in a pm because I wanted to be as objective as professional as possible and he graciously offered this info to all! Thanks, themouse1!

" Okay, themouse1 - when you run your finger over it, it's silky smooth because...it's oversprayed. Why is it oversprayed? Because it's been repaired. What has been repaired? The side wing. I cannot be sure of the extent of the repair, but I have a good idea of what is actually is -- but for your edification, if you look at the photos objectively, you can see an 'eraser' line from top to bottom. It was the first thing that caught my eye. Uncracked, unblemished head stocks do not have that mark - it's the result of a repair. That's what my trained eye sees.

Now the good news, beyond that it is an all-original piece, is in typical shape paintwise and pickguard wise, and it is a desirable guitar for collectors. You will probably get decent money for it. You will do good in the $1500-2000 range and very well anywhere beyond that. Your audience for this piece is small, though ~ so set a minimum you are willing to part with it for, and let the market duke it out. "

There you have it - and I'm being really conservative here and trying not to overestimate of overstate anything. It's real worth what that highest bid is going to be.

[themouse1]

RogerT, in reading through another forum on this site I see that you and Riotonsunset discussed a Vox he had purchased in Dec 08 which appears to have the same defect in the headstock as this one. Is this an indication that certain Vox models have an inherent defect or weakness in this particular area or did he and I just happen to have the same kind of damage by coincidence? Sorry if this is a newbie type question but again I'm a keyboard player and not a guitar player.

[RogerT]

I've seen it before. Not endemic but it happens. Check you p.m.