Univox U202R(4) 112 Combo

This Univox combo has a blonde and brown tolex pattern with a wheat grillcloth. It is the copy of a Magnatone amp from the early 60s. It is in almost mint condition with the original cover and footswitch.

I believe this amp is a 1963 or 64 model because the 12" Alnico Fisher speaker is dated the 33rd week of 1963. This amp is absolutely fantastic for Jazz, Stax, Blues, Soul music, Surf or 60`s pop. It has 2 channels with a low and high gain per each section. The Reverb is incredible and the Tremelo is more of a Vibrato in a Magnatone way.

It is point to point wired with amazing detail and has an all tube preamp and power circuit. 6973 Power tubes fuel this unit.Some of the preamp tubes I have never heard of but there are about 3 12ax7s in there. The capacitors are light purple Matsushitas(Panasonic) mostly. We are probably looking at a Net of 20 watts here.

Absolutely fantastic Vibrato (Panel says Tremelo) and reverb which are so strong I never move them to 1/8 of their potential. This amp has a really mellow output stage and the gain rarely becomes ferocius and that Fisher speaker does not break up. It is like a constant brown sound with limited clipping on the high gain. I played more 4 archtops thorugh this amp and the Humbuckers did not challenge it to a breaking point.

With single coils the amp is not as consistent in my opinion. With my Fender Musicmaster that Steve Cropper sound was very prevalent. Everything else seems a bit more unbalanced and I am not talking about the Capacitors it is more of a power challenge. The one exception was my 1962 Gibson Melody Maker with P90s opened up the amps momentum to bark at you as a blues amp should do. Again this amp is more for Jazz or Surf.

Took off the back panel and only a couple of caps look worn. I played it for 4 hours the night I got it and it did not hiss, heat up or clip at all. One cap on the 2nd channel might be leaking however once I got the juices flowing it stopped the power drop game it was playing. That speaker is clean and is original according to what I have read although some other U202s I have seen have had Jensen and Deerfield Research speakers.

I would like to know if this amp was made by Guyatone/ Panasonic or another factory? i have searched and searched but there is little info on this amplifier however I know from looking at the 1965,68, catalogues that this is probably a 1963 or 1964 model.

This amp is as good as my 2 1960s Ampegs, can hang with my Fenders and I have spent much time going it over. It is an asthetically appealing amp to look at and could almost be a piece of furniture.(Like a Carr amp). The Apto version of this exact Amp sold for over $900 on Ebay last month and they are becoming highly collectible which is why I snatched this one. Most Univoxes do not have the features this amp does and it looks better than a Magnatone (blasphemy I know) and will certainly be more reliable.

Amp was mfr'd. sometime around 1965-67, and has the sought after tone
that suits the style of playing many blues guitarists and harp players
desire. 18 watts all tube power, 2 channels w/2 inputs each. Desirable 12" Jensen Vibranto speaker. Footswitchable tremolo. Hand wired point to point circuitry. adequate for small clubs, recording, rehearsal. just enough volume to stay on with a drum set. Mike'd through PA would put it in place for clubs.

I play a '78 Gibson LP custom, dual humbuckers, and a semi hollow Hamer, also played a '71 ES335 through it, all have humbuckers. The combination is a slice of pure MOJO.
I'm primarily a Chicago style Blues /R&B player, with late 60's and early 70's British invasion influence. This amp will make you cry! The sound is mostly mids and well defined lows, not exceptionally bright treble. Super nice distortion, not muddy, but rich. Starts to break up at half volume. Some minimal hum, maybe a cap job will rectify.

Dependable? 36+ years old and still smokin', can't say any more than that. I put new (and hard to find) 6973's and a new 6CA4 in when I bought it, and that set it pretty well right. at this age, a cap job, and pot cleaning would be sure to smooth out any minor noise issues.

Won't even try to go there.

I've been playing for 33+ years, My other amps are a '71 Princeton,
'59 or '60 Ampeg M12, '68 Vox Viscount, Sano 50WRT, 60's Silvertone 1483. I would replace this amp if it were stolen, and then send out a bounty hunter for the theif. Love the tone, although the lack of treble bite makes harder to squeak out the harmonics. I wish it had a grounded plug. This compares well to vintage Ampeg or Vox units. The reason for buying this amp is pure tone, she ain't pretty, but she sure can sing.