Vega were a well-known American musical instrument manufacturer and were making guitars right up into the 1970s, but may well have been more famous in the USA for their banjos.
The particular example owned serially by Eddie Silver, Hank and Bruce was a relatively small-bodied archtop (probably 16" lower bout, like the Gibson L-4 or the later ES-175). It was finished in black and almost certainly was constructed from solid tone woods, though perhaps with a Kalamazoo-style pressed top rather than a Gibson-type carved one. The earliest plywood tops fitted to quality guitars didn't arrive until the late 1940s, in the form of the Gibson ES-175 and the ES-350.
Like the earliest Gibson electrics - the ES-150 and the more deluxe ES-250 - the Vega was an acoustic guitar adapted for electric use. Just as Gibson were experimenting with pickups in this period, using the "Charlie Christian" pickup before replacing it with the earliest versions of the P90, Vega were caught up in the experimentation conducted by Rickenbacher [sic] with the early versions of their horseshoe pickup, which would later be replaced by the Toaster on most electric guitars, though the horseshoe was retained for Rickenbacker basses.
Thus the Vega guitar, which had its own acoustic pedigree, was outfitted with the Rickenbacker pickup, mounted (just as on later Rick basses) nearer the bridge than the neck. This probably meant that it had a more penetrating tone than the equivalent Gibsons, which almost all had their single pickups in the classic "neck position".
Although seminal jazz guitarist Charlie Christian (whose hundredth birthday occurred last week) will forever be mainly associated with the Gibson ES-150 and the bar pickup which now bears his name, he too played a Vega guitar (and amplifier) and was actually photographed in action with it. This was the same model as later owned by Hank, though I don't know whether Charlie owned this guitar or was just trying it out or sitting in with someone else's band.
http://www.guitarplayer.com/miscellaneous/1139/vega-archtop/18091
I understand that Bruce still owns the Vega, though it was modified by Burns in the 1960s to remove the Rickenbacker pickup and to install two Burns (rubber-clad) Nu-Sonic pickups and a standard wiring loom.
