1960s Vox V230 Tempest XII Vintage 12 String Electric Guitar Sunburst w/ Case, Eko Italy

Up for sale, a 1960's Vox V230 Tempest XII in excellent condition and in perfect working order, dialed in to play its best with a fresh refret and carved bone nut. Manufactured in Italy at the Eko factory exclusively for Vox, this Tempest was only produced for two short years from 1966-67. Boasting a Strat-inspired body shape and trio of single coil pickups, the Tempest is an incredibly effective and versatile 12 string with a distinctive, vital sound in every position on the five-way blade switch. The bridge position has a nasally honk, while the middle pickup has a distinct clarity and cut, and the neck pickup is warm yet still enhances the chorusing chime of the 12 string design. Featherweight at 7lbs, this Vox is dialed in with fresh strings and low action.The maple neck has a medium D profile carve with generous shoulder and ideal substance in every register while being extremely easy to chord, measuring .855" deep at the 1st fret and .925" at the 12th. The dark rosewood fretboard has been refretted with 6105 fretwire, and these frets have vintage width with appreciably more height and crown, ensuring longer fretlife and a more chiming sound for a 12 string (as the fingers have less contact with the fretboard, thus dampening the resonance of the strings less in the process). The guitar plays easily up the 25" scale with a straight neck, and the fretboard measures a full 1 3/4" in width at the zero fret just forward of the upgraded hand-carved bone nut. The headstock boasts a new universal string retainer bar, more effective than the original string trees, providing necessary downward pressure behind the nut for optimal tuning stability. The original Vox-embossed individual tuning machines are intact and turn smoothly.All of the electronics function as intended, with a three control Strat-style layout and smooth chrome-plated knobs. The bridge retains the functional flip-up string mute with fresh mute foam, offering some very unique 12 string tones that are both sparkling and plunky. The original machined aluminum stoptail rounds out the hardware, and the original white three-ply pickguard is intact, exhibiting some of the usual shrinkage away from the corners, common with Italian Vox instruments. The gloss three-tone Sunburst finish shows some broad finish checking on the body, with some scattered minor marks mostly relegated to the back and body parameter. There are also two large sections where the finish has chipped through the thick clear coat on the sides of the body at the waist, particularly on the treble side through to the black finish below. The neck profile gloss is very smooth, also with some broad finish checking which is visible yet not perceptible to the touch.The original teardrop-shaped gray hardshell case with gold plush interior is included.