Univox UEQ 375 Impersonator

Pretty easy. 4-band eq with sliders. Volume. Two switches; Lo-Shift and Hi-Shift. I keep both of these on at all times. Two foot-switches; Cancel, which ironically turns the thing on, and Solo, which as previous reviewers have said, is a temporary activation. Engaged while your foot is on it. Disengages when you take your foot off. I love this feature! I think more clean boosts should have it.

Sound quality on this is great. No extra noise. This item, like most vintage pedals, is not wired true bypass. However, I don't notice any coloring of my tone when the effect is not engaged at all. It does change the tone when you turn it on, but it's an eq pedal. It's supposed to. Nonetheless, quite transparent. If I leave the eq flat, I notice next to no difference in tone. I use this primarily as a clean boost, and depending on which amp I'm using, I fiddle with the eq. Really great clean boost.

Seems very reliable. I'll probably get another clean boost to use as a backup, in case the batteries die unexpectedly. I've only had it a few months, so I can't say for sure.

Hahahahahahahahahahahaha!
I bought this off eBay. I bought it off Joel Purkiss, a great guy in Michigan who repairs and builds pedals. If I were reviewing him in this category I would undoubtedly give him a 10, but since I'm pretty sure Univox is defunct, and even if they weren't, I'm pretty sure they would be of no help, I have no opinion.

I can't say enough good things about this pedal. It's great. Again, I bought this from Joel Purkiss, who apparently bought it in non-working condition and fixed it. Another reviewer mentioned that his had the JRC4558 chip. I asked Joel about this and the one that I have does not, but apparently the chip in mine is interchangable with the JRC4558. It's possible Univox was just using whatever was cheapest or whatever was currently available in quantity. As this is not an overdrive pedal, I don't think it really matters. A lot of people talk about the JRC4558 as though it's the holy grail. I've been told that actually it was not considered the best quality op-amp chip at the time, but just happened to be a happy marriage for the famous TS-808 circuit. I'm no expert, though, and I'm not pretending to be, so future reviewers, be kind. For $89, this thing was a fantastic value for a clean boost. Most boutique pedals are over $100, many of them well, well over $100, and most don't have the nifty features that this thing does. The EQ is nice, and I love the "Solo", temporary activation switch for short solos and fills. I'm also the lead singer in my band and it's great to just take my foot off the switch and I'm instantly back to rhythm guitar level. Highly recommended if you can find one. One more thing. I asked Joel about a true bypass mod, which he said was possible, but because of the "Solo" switch would be a little tricky. In the end I decided against it, and I'm not sorry. This thing is not "technically" true bypass, but you'd never know the difference.

It's really easy to understand how to get a sound out of it. It's basically like setting up an amp, but with sliders and switches instead of regular dials. Even though it's not exactly the same thing, it works kind of like an E.Q. pedal, so if you can work one of those, well o.k.

I must say, I'm very happy with this old unit. Very, VERY happy, in fact.

I think it was made in the 70's? Anyway, it does EXACTLY what I need it for. I wanted a clean boost for when I solo (or a "dirtier" boost when I'm soloing through a distorted amp), and I also needed a bit of tone change when I do this. It does all of this PERFECTLY (better than a Boss or DOD eq, and I have owned both in the past). Some clean boost pedals I've tried (ZVEX, etc) work great in making your sound just louder for a solo, but don't you want a different tone when you solo? I do.

I use a Les Paul and a Telecaster with several different tube amps and a number of effects pedals, including wah-wah, Univibe (clones), phasers, analog delays, and some overdrive-type "distorters" when I'm in the mood for some heavier tones.

By the way, my son likes the metal stuff, and he gets a RUTHLESS metal tone by setting a scooped-mids tone on this thing and sending it into his Boss Metal pedal (don't know the model).

This unit is not noisy. I was surprised to see a "JRC4558" chip inside when I opened it up to look at the circuit. This is the chip in the vintage Ibanez Tube Screamer pedals that everyone likes but I don't own one.

Also, the extra "solo" switch is very cool--I like using it for those quick "standout" passages in songs when gigging.

NOTE: I give it a "9" because "perfect" tone is almost impossible, I think. Maybe I'm too picky?

As far as I can tell, this pedal is very solid. Old-school quality, for sure. I would gig without a backup (but I must say, these things seem pretty rare, so what would I do if it got stolen? Don't know--I guess I'd find some boutique builder who could clone the circuit, unless they charged too much).

Univox is the company. I don't even know if they still exist. I guess I have to give "no opinion", because I don't have an opinion (never dealt with them).

O.k., it gets a 9, because I think "perfect" pedals are almost impossible to find. I've tried REAL vintage Univibes, Fuzz Faces, Clyde McCoy's, and only SOMETIMES are they a perfect 10.

Anyway, this thing does exactly what I wanted it to, and in a way that newer pedals cannot--it is a warmer, better sounding booster and E.Q. than any other E.Q. or "clean booster" I have tried (and I've tried about all of them, looking for what I need).

Very easy to use.

It sounds great. It can give a nice clean boost and it has a good sounding EQ. It can get very loud so that is a plus. There is also a footswitch for solo so when your foot is on the switch the eq is on. very cool. It takes 2 batteries but I have not yet had to replace them.

Doesn't seem like it would be easy to break. Might be able to break off the switches but they seem pretty secure.

Sounds good. Cool for a simple equalizer.