(Headway) Vox
Hello Kitty UK 33 HK

When the Vox Hello Kitty limited edition Ukuleles, (there were two types, the mahogany uk33hk limited to 400 and the koa uk55hk limited to 100), came out I was very taken with them, and a little confused too. First Vox; now its a name with a good rock'n'roll heritage and as such the kind of thing I wanted if only for the heritage name; but there is no history of Ukuleles in the brand? Ok so Korg had brought Vox since its heyday as the British Guitar and Amp maker of the 1960's and I know the Japanese do like their Ukuleles but it still seemed a little odd for Korg to put the name on this limited edition range? Even odder that they brought the range out in conjunction with Hello Kitty, (another thing I know the Japanese like, but why the link to Vox?) The next odd thing about the whole setup was these were very high quality Ukuleles, actually made in Japan by Headway, but they were very expensive, (more expensive that I thought Hello Kitty collectors would want to go - and I didn't think the Hello Kitty connection would appeal to serious Ukulele collectors who would be willing to pay that sort of money for a Ukulele: when I say serious I don't mean me because I can never take myself seriously - its all a bit of fun.) They were also only originally available in Japan so, though I liked the idea of owning a Vox and I thought the Kitty sound-hole looked fun I'd never realistically get the chance to invite one to Ukulele Corner. Well after a year or so Korg international got hold of some and they became available in Europe but they were still very expensive and they were still Hello Kitty. There were a lot of other Ukuleles that I wanted more if I was going to spend that kind of money. Korg had also put out the Vox Teardrop electric Concert, it played far more to Vox's heritage and was a lot cheaper so it was a much better bet to feed my need for a Vox Ukulele, so the whole thing was well on the back burner. Then this one came up, its from Korg UK and is an ex-display model; and still not cheap, but a serious amount cheaper than they were originally, (cheaper even than the teardrop); and I still think the sound-hole looks fun; and I still want a Vox; and I know Headway make very good Ukuleles. So I set the invitation out...

Now its arrived I can see it is very very good.