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A tonally versatile addition to Vox's range of electrics.

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• Review

The legacy of Vox-branded electric guitars goes all the way back to the early sixties, and arguably the most famous models of all can thank their legendary users for their notoriety.

The Stones' Brian Jones used the classic Teardrop Mark VI, while Joy Division singer Ian Curtis strummed a Phantom VI - two designs that were reissued in 1998.

These two models bear little resemblance to those of the past and instead include a selection of innovative features that should fascinate as well as impress. Although many of them are also included on the flagship Virage range, as well as the more modestly-priced Series 33 models, it's hoped that the models within the 77 and 55 series will mix the best modern guitar design with retail prices that won't cause anyone to turn away in disgust.

"It's the sort of instrument that could become a real workhorse."

Currently the Series 77 includes just the double-cutaway design that we have on review here, but the Series 55 includes both double and single-cut designs.

Rich Lasner is vice president of development at Vox Guitars and during his time at Ibanez Hoshino was, among many other things, integral in the development of Steve Vai's JEM. Lasner's crack team also includes chief designer Eric Kirkland and senior production engineer Bob McDonald.

The Series 55 models are all-solid, with the bodies of the single-cut models - with a transparent finish, as on our review model - constructed from solid mahogany with an ash top. It provides a slightly reduced level of 3-D contouring than the Series 77, but remains a very tactile instrument.

"From the design perspective the body contouring is quite similar, although the 77 has a fully arched back instead of the bevelled back of the 55. In manufacturing, the 55 is all cut from solid, instead of the laminated top and back of the 77," says Kirkland.

All modern Vox electrics feature the company's own design CoAxe pickups. Neither a single-coil nor humbucker in the traditional sense, the design incorporates a central row of pole-pieces encased in a high-impedance coil that's flanked by two blades. The entire construction is then surrounded by a low-impedance winding, which cancels the hum.