Vox’s Starstream XII was the hollowbody version of the teardrop-shaped Mk VI solidbody that Rolling Stones guitarist Brian Jones made famous.

It was symbolic of the parent-company JMI’s seemingly overnight change from one of the most promising companies of the mid 1960s – whose guitars, amps and combo organs were pervasive among the British Invasion Groups – to an importer of increasingly bizarre Italian instruments.

Introduced at the same time Vox had outfitted a guitar with organ electronics, the Starstream XII was overloaded with features, including a built-in tuner, distortion effects, treble and bass boost, percussion generators and even a hand-operated wah-wah – not to mention it’s 12-strings.

Vox’s fall was even faster than it’s rise. In 1964, unable to produce enough instruments to meet the surging demand, owner Tom Jennings outsourced instruments to the Italian-based Eko company. At the same time, he sold a controlling interest to Royston, a British holding company. Guitar designs veered toward style rather than substance, and when Royston folded in 1969, that was the end of Vox guitars.