Univox U45B

Very Simple. Volume, tone, tremelo. 3 Inputs. All you need for an awesome simple tube amp.

The other tube amps I have used to compare this to are a Magnatone 432, a cheapo electar tube 10, a bogen amp modified for guitar, and a laney lc15. Needless to say, the Magnatone is the only one to really compare to. And honestly I think in general it is much easier to find great sounds from this amp than the Magnatone. The magnatone is pretty sweet though, and has great reverb, as well as awesome vibrato and tremolo, so the features aren't the same. I have been using my custom home made guitar through this amp. It is a headless F**ned fret guitar all made from black limba and rosewood, semi-hollow and very light. It has only a P-90 style bridge single coil pickup, volume and tone. The amp really brings out the natural sound of the guitar, and when turned up all the way the overdriven sound is sooooo natural and complex. Very cool and fun.

Seems simple enough. If a tube wore out I've heard it isn't tooooo difficult to find the right one on ebay.

none

I've been playing about 10 years, self taught, by no means very good. But I make custom guitars and have a good ear for sound, and like to have other people play my guitars/amps to hear how they "really" should sound, haha. For the price, this amp is so much better than any new amp you could find. It's ridiculous some manufacturer right now can't produce something like this for a reasonable price.

Apears to be the 66 model with the controls on the top has 3 inputs (guitar - ACC - AUX), volume, tone, & vibrato knobs, & a jack for vibrato footswitch. About 15 watts all tube, great for recording, practice, & small gigs.

I play mostly classic rock, jam band, jaxx, & blues styles. This is my "go to' amp for recording. I replaced the tubes with some nice 70's NOS tubes that weren't very expensive. Once I got those NOS tubes in there the amp was incredibly quiet, that why it became my #1 studio amp. I've had vintage Fender Champs before and I like the tone of this amp better. I picked up a footswithch for the vibrato and use the effect frequently, the range of speed works fine for me. My also overdrives after you turn it past 6 or 7, wonderful overdriven sound, smooth.

Mine was a little screwed up when I got it, after some new tubes and a trip to the Doctor(repair guy), everythings been fine for years. I don't gig with the amp though, studio and practices only.

Never dealt with them, are they still in business ?

I've been playing for over 25 years and am a huge fan of tube amps. I play one of those Epiphone Les Paul Junior's hot-rodded with a 92 Gibson USA pickup, Schaller Tuners, & a Leo Quann Badass wrap-around bridge. I use a variety of effects, Boss, Behringer, DOD, & vintage Ibanez. I also worked in a few different music stores over the years, & I've tried alot of equipment. This is the one amp I intend to hold onto forever, I've had since 2003 and can't imagine recording without it. If you want a classic tube sound, buy it, you wont be dissapointed.

This is an all tube, handwired point to point circuit amp. It features Tremelo via footswitch, which I like. The tremelo is not slow enough for me, (anyone who knows how to change that, please contact me!) but it sounds good. It is so warm and complex, I can't find another amp like it. It's got character and lots of it, which is a feature you can't pay enough money for. It's pretty loud for a small gig, but don't gig it, record it! It's not worth getting messed up

wow, this is the warmest, i've only played with humbuckers and it gives a VERY fat sound with lots of overtones, from rich basses to cutting highs. it is slighty noisy due to the old pots and tube connections. IT suits my blues/folk, excellent for allman-style slide work, and gets just distorted enough when you crank it up. Don't play metal on it...please. My speaker's voice coil was damaged when I got it, so I replaced with with a vintage 70's Jensen c17 (i think) and it sounds so good, but it rattles a lot, and I don't know whats shakin' inside of it. (its so old).

I'd say its pretty reliable, due to the fact that it's easily serviceable and it's been 30-40 years since it was built. The simple circuit allowed me to recap it and fix it up from a friend's basement dust collector to an amp that I would never sell for any price. The tubes are readily available, and there is tons of stuff online. I lost one of my wire retainers, so the tube keeps coming loose, so keep those retainers!

none.

I own a fender bassman, twin-amp, champ 25se. I would buy 10 of these if I could and make everyone use them and learn to fix them! they are great and simple place to really know what you're using to make those sounds. I got it for free and fixed it up with new tubes, speaker, caps, and 3-prong for about 200 dollars. well worth it!

These were made in 1965 according to www.univox.org (great resource for Univox stuff!). I play Beatles pop/rock music and this amp fits perfectly with my style of music.

The U45B has one channel with 3 inputs, one volume, one tone, and one vibrato knob. The vibrato knob is basically for "on" and trem speed. There is no adjustment for the tremelo intensity which may be a problem for some. Its such a beautiful, expressive tremelo that I really can't complain. It also has a foot switch control which is great.

For a small amp it packs a mighty punch. You could probably use it for small clubs with a little micing. Although I haven't tried it yet...I'm sure its loud enough to not be buried by a drummer if you wanted to use it for rehearsal. Recording studio? Absolutely!

The tube and speaker specs are included in other reviews so I will leave them out of this one

The U45B has a nice range of clean and dirty sounds. It starts to break up around 6, and by 9,10 you have some nice, chimey, harmonic rich overdrive.

I took a tip from one of the other reviewers here and tried plugging my guitar into the acc input, and then using another patch cable to input the other two channels as you would if you were chaining the channels on a multi-channel amp. Though this is a one channel amp only, plugging a patch cord into the additional inputs adds some intense distortion! I also tried using different combinations of this and each produced different results in tone and overdrive. A very cool trick! Thanks other reviewer!

So far I've played a 1965 tele, a 1979 Mahogany tele, and a Silvertone H78 through this amp. The amp loved all three guitars. With the early model tele it sounded almost like an AC30 top boost - very chimey and compressed.

I think another reviewer mentioned that this was a noisy amp. Mine is dead quiet. The only time it got a bit hissy is when I used the multiple inputs and the volume was slammed. Even still it wasn't that bad.

I haven't had this one long enough to really say, but I do have another Univox amp (U305R) that has been very reliable. These are such simple circuits there really isn't much that can go wrong.

no customer service to be had but there are plenty of resources for these amps online. but these Univox amps are workhorses - if you take care of it I'm sure it will last you a lifetime.

I've been playing for about 25 years. I have about 20 amps including a 1963 JMI AC30, a Harmony H415, Harmony H200, Fender Vibrochamp, Magnatone Varsity... My favorite guitars are Harmony and Silvertone guitars with DeArmond silver/gold foil pups...as well as the models with Gibson P13 pups. I'm also a fan of some Framus guitars.

There is really nothing to hate about this amp. I'm not a big reverb user so that lack on one here doesn't bother me. Some may also be disappointed by the lack of intensity adjustment on the tremelo. Its still a great sounding trem though.

I absolutely LOVE the tones you can get out of this little guy. So far its loved all of the guitars that I've plugged into it - and it didn't swallow up the guitars personality with its own (if that makes sense to you).

If I had to compare it to another amp I would say it sounds like a one speaker version of an AC30 top boost. Think of The Beatles during the Revolver period.

If this were lost or stolen I would try to find another one immediately. I haven't had a chance to use this one in the studio yet but I can imagine that it will become a "go to" guy. And the fact that you can still get them relatively cheap makes them an incredibly bargain. I got mine for $169 "buy it now" on eBay and I almost feel like I took advantage of the guy. If I had to I would pay up to $500 for one...maybe more if they were harder to find.

the scoop i understand is, these were made in '65 by univox. somehow, univox was related to westbury guitars, but do not hold me to that. (?)

features? very simple. volume, tone, tremolo (which does not work, even with all new tubes).

3 inputs GUITAR, ACC, AUX. (did ACC stand for accordian?!!!) i unlocked this killer feature" take a patch cable, and plug the guitar and aux inputs, and use the acc input. this increases the amps gain like 200%!!! is this detramental to the amp? not sure. but, it sound soooo goooood! email me if you have any insight on this)

some complain because of the lack of features of this amp, but i have owned A LOT of different amps, and this, with one volume, one tone, is simply put THE BEST SOUNDING AMP I HAVE EVER HEARD!!! if you have a sweet little tube amp, who needs prametric eq anyway?!!!

because it is low watt, you can get a natural crunch simply by striking the strings harder! it responds like an acoustic piano!!! i can talk for days about this!!!

simply with my volume knob on my guitar, i can get anywhere from sparkling clean to down and dirty!

well, this is a vintage amp, and the capacitors will need replacing. there is a slight "hum" to it, but it is not too bad.

it is a vintage tube amp with a jensen special design 12. so, this thing has it's own character and personality! i like jensens better than any speaker out there! alnico rocks!!!

these things are perfect for recording! of course, without the hum, it would be even bette. but, i would use this thing with the hum over a solid state peavey any day of the year baby!

the only reason i give it a 9 and not a 10 is because of the hum, which can be fixed.

i have had to replace the tube socket in the recifier. the sound kept cutting off all together, and that was the culprit.

i replaced the old tubes with telefunken tubes, NOS. those are oddball, 6BM8, 7 pin tubes. as far as i know, they do not make them anymore. but, after a year of searching, i found triodeel.com an outfit in chicago, which carried about every tube on the planet! there is a 12ax7, and i have heard this was for the tremolo only, not sure though. that sounds strange...

i gave it a 7 on reliability. take care of it, and it will take care of you. not the kind of thing roadies want to play pitch and catch with, and do not sit on it! the curcuit board is fragile!

nope.

i call this amp my secret weapon! it has it's own personality, and after using it for the past 7 years, it has my own personality (or i have it's personality, which is probably the case!)

i have been thinking about seeing if i can get a preamp out jack built onto this, so i can use it to drive my fender bassman 50 amp with it. not sure if i will do that yet or not.

I have the 1966 version (controls on top). Very simple -- volume, tone, tremolo (speed only). All tube, including rectifier. Simple collection of resistors and capacitors soldered to a circuit board. Very easy to work on for anyone with basic skills. (For travel, I installed a small Weber load dump on the speaker line. I engage it when I want to get a nice overdriven tone in a hotel room without a visit from the manager.)

Don't expect crystal clear, low-noise, hi-fidelity sound. For blues and rock, however, this amp sings in a way few amps of any size can. The only things I put in front of it are my strat and a MXR compressor. Even at low volumes I get sweet, harmonically rich natural distortion. (You can leave your pedal boards at home.) I've tried several speakers with it, but the stock Jenson 12" is excellent. The cabinet is open-backed and contructed of 1/2" plywood. It is very light and very resonant. Unusually good bass response for its size.

These amps are old, so be prepared to give it some TLC. Shortly after I acquired it the tremelo stopped working and the amp buzzed and shorted on resonant frequencies. After some hesitation (I did not want to mess with its mojo), I replaced all capacitors, resoldered all the traces, and replaced the power cord with a properly grounded 3-pronger. This vastly improved the overall tone, eliminated the shorting, and restored the tremelo. Warning -- The amp is so resonant that I am anticipating loose connections in the future. The traces on the circuit board can be damaged if over heated, so be careful with your soldering iron. I like it so much I'm looking for a back-up (In fact, I'm willing to make a serious offer to the disappointed reviewer appearing below if he is interested. This amp is so simple that, barring a bad mod or damage to the transformers, I believe I can make it sound right).

None -- but a few enthusiasts have posted information that is quite helpful.

I have generally been disappointed by small amps. This is an exception. I keep this amp on my bench and toss it in the car when I travel. If I take my guitar, I take this amp -- it's that easy. If you are looking for a practice amp that's small, light, and capable of big blues tone, you should try this amp.

No features--its' horrible

Gibson Les Pauls, Pre CBS strats, 68 Epiphone Casino with P-90s--all sound horrible. Sounds like a tin can with a blanket wrapped around it--garbabe.

Brought it to a service tech right away.

Been playing 26 years, have all sorts of great and classic stuff. I beg you please do not buy this amp, it's horrible as are all Univox products. No--really. I'm NOT writing this review to keep you from bidding on amps I want to buy--really. I don't want them all for myself--really. Don't buy them, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE.

These amps are sooooooooo simple! Why can't they make them like this today for less than $2000.00. The Univox amp schematics are identical to the old Gibson and Magnatone amp..............They are also identical to the Matchless and other very high end big $$$ amps! I am now using Univox U-45B 10watt 1x12 / U-75B 12watt 2x10 & an U-305B 18watt 1x15............I would run any of these amps side by side with the high $$$$ amps and stand my ground! There awesome!

The tone of the Univox amps that I am using is trully wonderful. They also make just about any stomp box of rack effects unit sound great! It's just a matter of time before other players learn about these closet tone monsters and the prices will start to sky rocket like the old Magnatones are doing today...............Better Buy'um Now!!!

Reliability on a 40 year old amp? I would say reliable is an under statement.

Simple! Any tech guy can work on these amps.................There point to point.

I have been playing a LONG time! Univox is the only way to get great tone at a great price..............................BUY ONE if you can find one! :o)

This amp was built in 1965 Three inputs: Guitar, Acc, and Aux / Volume, Tone and Tremelo knobs. Foot swith jack, a Red square power light, 12in Jensen Speaker. The tubes are 12AX7, 6BM8, 6BM8, 6X4. 10Watts, All tube, no transistors. LOUD!!

I have a wall of Amps, Really! From ART to Dr.Z I have been playing for more than 30 years. Last month I went to Atlanta pick up my newest..........MATCHLESS DC-30....... A great deal at $2850.00 NEW. I received a CD in the mail of a friends BLUES DEMO, his playing has always been great but his tone on this CD was Ultra Warm & Gutsy! I mailed him ( knowing he also uses Matchless ) to find out what pedals were in from of his amp to get that tone. His return email floored me! "No stomps! And Im not using Matchless on this CD". He told me he was plugged strait into a 1960's Univox U-45B He had picked up at a yard sale for $40.00!!! I ran to my computer and went to "ebay" guess what? A 1965 U-45B was listed and picked it up for $182.00. The one I found has seen better days! I fired it up and fell in LOVE! This amp is a MONSTER!! Deep warm blues tones.......and loud as BALLS! If your looking for the BLUES TONE......Don't spend any more $$$ on pedals or $3000.00 amps. Find a U-45B and buy it!! You won't be sorry!

It's over 40 years old!

Out of buzzzzzzzz

I love this amp! It is a "10" in my book! If it were to break and the repairs were $500.00 "I WOULD FIX IT".

My U45B dates from around 1965. I bought it at a fleamarket for $100, put $300 into it, replacing tubes and power cord. Well worth the expense, as it sounds just amazing. It's simple, with a 12" Jensen speaker, gold cloth cover. Volume, tone, tremelo with footswitch jack, three inputs. Tremelo works just fine. I have a Zoom II 505 pedal for effects, but I prefer just guitar and amp for most situations in which I'm playing electric. I've used this amp at club gigs and for recording, and it delivers the warmth and bite I want every time. It's simple, but so am I.

I'm using this amp with semi-hollowbody guitars for the most part--Harmony Rocket, Kay Speed Demon, Cort Triggs Chamber. Jazzy blues, swing, some bluesy rock or rockabilly, some country. The vintage guitars have single coils (two on the Harmony, three on the Kay) that sound sweet to nasty depending on settings. The Cort has two humbuckers and is a livelier instrument. I like the vintage sounds, but the Cort is more reliable so I favor that on gigs. No amp noise at all--now and then a little passing static, so I'll have the grounding checked at some point. Not a problem on a gig as yet. Variety of sounds depends on what I plug in and how I play, not the amp itself which is reliable for my music. If I want a lot of distortion, I go to a pedal effect. The amp itself distorts enough for blues/country/rock needs at higher volumes, but my band is a lower-volume ensemble, so I favor jazzy tones, clean sounds, just a touch of distort on some blues. I rarely crank it above 7, no need thus far. I have a very loud Peavey ss amp for louder musical settings. I love the sound of my Univox, just hypnotic.

Tubes sit a little loose and unprotected in the cabinet, so I'm very careful about transport, setting up, etc. I'm not going to carry two amps to a gig, so I never have a back-up amp. It's not failed me since servicing. Completely reliable in current use.

This amp is 40 years old at least, so I'm on my own. It took a while to get all the tubes, but the service center folks were cool, and they loved the amp, too.

I've played guitar 30 years, own about 25 instruments including 3 keyboards, mandolin, banjo and 20 guitars. Most of that time I've played acoustics, only started going electric about 4 years ago. I had an Applause a/e with a small amp, and a soundhole pick up I'd use on my 12 string, but that doesn't really count. I have a piece of shit Gorilla Cruncher practice amp, a nice but heavy Peavey Bandit 65 which I've never played above 4-5 (one loud mother!), and my Univox.

If anything happened to the Univox, I'd look for another or something similar. I was pricing vintage Champs, but the ones in good condition were very pricey, the affordable ones were in bad shape--I figure the cost of playing through a decent tube amp is $350-400 no matter how you slice up the expense, up front or rehabbing.

I don't hate anything about the amp. It totally works for my music, which is quite varied in genre, volume, texture.

These old Univox amps sound quite good. I know several friends with similar models, and they swear by them for club gigs and recordings. Especially if you play bluesy, rootsy kind of music, and have the right guitar, this amp will deliver.