Univox U45B

10 watt all tube combo made in 1965. Mine has very retro cabinet and metal badge on grille identifying it as "Meteor" model. (See www.univox.org) I use it for recording and low volume noodling. Clean sound (with volume lower than 6) is perfect! Sounds better on recordings than my blackface Fender Princeton or my silverface Champ. Distortion when cranked is also great, and it sounds good with every distortion/fuzz pedal I've tried. I give it a 9 for features because like previous reviewer, I prefer simple and can get closer to the sound I want with an amp like this than with an overly complicated amp. Cool Jensen speaker too. One drawback is the tremolo doesn't work, even with a pedal. (Maybe I don't have the right type of pedal.)

It sounds great with my Gibson ES335 (1970) and with my American Fender Strat (1997). By comparison, my Princeton and Champ sound way too dark with the Gibson's humbuckers, and I'm just not into the sound of my Strat into my Marshall JCM 800 (4010 combo). The Univox is the only amp I have that sounds equally good with humbuckers and single coils. The distortion is very full sounding, doesn't disappear in the mix.

I've only had it for a couple of weeks, but it's nearly 40 years old, and with some new tubes (NOS) it rocks. I don't expect any problems, and if anything does go wrong, I'm sure it would be a simple job for any tube amp tech. I gave it an 8 just because Univox no longer exists, but I'm sure any replacement parts that I might need wouldn't be too hard to find. (I had never even heard of the 6MB8 or 6X4 tubes that it uses, but found several NOS tubes on ebay.)

Univox is long gone, but repair techs and parts are readily available.

For $175 (which includes shipping and new tubes) this amp is the best bargain I've scored in a very long time, even though I paid significantly more than most of the other reviewers. I love my Marshall JCM 800 combo and my blackface Princeton, but if I had to spend a week recording wih only one amp, the Univox would cover all the bases much better than those. It sounds great, looks cool, is light and easy to carry, and cost less than I've paid for some pedals! I'm planning to buy a few more of these. I can keep one in my home studio, one at my office, one in the living room, even give a couple away to my buddies who play, and still spend less than one "boutique" amp would cost.

This isn't a review but an attempt to get some info to Jane who posted the Univox U45B review 7/31.

The IEC "made in England" tubes are probably highly regarded Mullards.If you change the other tubes you probably want to save and compare the old and new.

You mention owning a little 3 tube Dynamax amp.I'm guessing this is what is known as a series heater/acdc/widowmaker amplifier.These amps 50C5,35 something or other etc. and similar tubes.These amps do not have power transformers and the chassis can be directly tied to the AC depending on how the amp is plugged in to the outlet.Unless the amp has an isolation transformer built in they have a high electrocution factor.Search google for series heater amps for more info.regards,Chris posting in the forums as mc5nrg

this is your basic tube amp....kinda like a fender champ kind of deal.....it's from about 1965, according to info found at univox.org....it has one channel with 3 inputs (marked 'guitar', 'accordian' and 'aux'....one volume control, one tone control. one tremelo control....one footswitch jack for the tremelo.

this amp has all the features i was looking for: good basic tube sound, low weight, nicely made, decent speaker....and a great price in this day and age of 'boutique amps' and the 'vintage & collectable' market....as far as features go, i wish it didn't have the tremelo circuit...it doesn't work anyway and it just means more stuff in the circuit.

i will use this amp for recording, practicing and performing....admittedly i have a biased idea of how to play electric music: small amps of about this size, a small low-volume drum kit, such as old gretsch jazz kits or the tama stagestar kit i own....a drummer who can play with bundle sticks if the joint is really small....if you want it to be loud out front, mike everything and turn up the PA.....the band can be set up very close together, hear everything and everyone very clear and can play softly OR loudly.....

amps like this are PERFECT for this approach....think steve cropper's playing on so many stax/volt classics or roy buchanan playing with a champ miked thru the PA

admittedly my high rating for 'versatility' reflects the fact that i prefer to control my sounds from my guitar and/or pedals....to me, a simple amp IS a versatile amp.

this was a 'love at first strum' amp.

i'll be using this with a tele, a danolectro u-2 reissue (set up with flatwounds--my cheapo jazz box/rhythm guitar) and a 70's fender bronco.

i play a lot of basic roots rock/memphis soul/motown/simple smart 'punk' stuff (such as television, patti smith et al)....and i ATTEMPT to play grant-green/blue note style 'soul-jazz/organ trio stuff

there is a slight hum, but i plan to have a grounded cable added, which others here have mentioned solving the hum problem.... i also plan to have a general tune-up done by a good amp tech...the pots were very scratchy but cleaned up with some tuner spray...at first .there was a crackly distortion sound unless the tremelo footswitch was
plugged in (even though the tremelo doesn't work) but that problem vanished after i replaced the tremelo circuit tube with a sovtek 12AX7....i'll probably replace all the tubes in like fashion (they were all IEC tubes made in england--don't know if they were what these amps were originally supplied with.)

it gets a nice fat jazz 'grant green' sound at low volume (up to about 3) then gets very classically bluesy from then on....think keith richard's sound....as others have mentioned this thing really responds well to pedals....using the stock zoom 505II "B1" setting it just wails, a very classic singing electric guitar tone....i used that setting while trying the amp out in the store, playing the riff from 'satisfaction' and it was THAT TONE, right on-target.

this kind of sound comes SO easily from a good tube amp...the overdriven sound of the amp alone is just fine.

i've never been able to get that tone from any combination of solid state amps and pedals...some come close but there is always a residual harshness and artificiality about them....a good tube amp produces sounds that you don't have to think about or program, you just ride it intuitively...it becomes very much an extension of your hands and your guitar, the three components in tandem producing the musical instrument called 'electric guitar,' and this little univox IS a good tube amp.

this thing is about 37 years old and still sounds fine....so i assume it's got many more years left in it....when i opened up the chassis the circuits were very clean--no dust, rust or crud. the components are well-protected and the workmanship is VERY neat and cleanly done.

i've had many similar amps and not much ever goes wrong beyond blown speakers and tubes.....but this amp is relatively new to me so i'll give it an '8'....it'll probably hold up fine (and there is certainly not any exotic components if something does fail)....it has been, by the looks of it, well-used, always a good indicator of reliability.....a schematic is available from univox.org.

the case is not the thick plywood fenders or marshalls use, but it's also not the masonite and particle board the old danelectros used....if not abused it should last...i'll probably add some corner protectors because it does show some wear there.

i'll also add some kind of heavy wire screen or plastic grill material (available at radio shack or craft supply stores) to protect the tubes from accidents. (see the photos of this amp at univox.org to see how the tubes are vulnerable to potential mishaps via the open back)

i also own a REALLY beat-up solid state univox amp and it's still playing fine....it's actually one of the better-sounding solid-state amps i've ever owned....in the 70's i owned 2 hi-flyers....so going by my experience with univox gear, they were well-made, built to last and sounded good.

at a gig i'd have a back-up, but that is something i always do....also have some spare fuses and a screwdriver handy (you have to remove the back panel to replace the fuse).

this doesn't apply....use a good local amp guy or DIY.

.i've been playing for 39 years and grew up when such amps and sounds were commonplace: danelectro, fender, harmony, silvertone etc....now solid state makers are alway claiming "tube sound".....so why not just get a tube amp?

i also have a little 'dynavox' amp with a 6" speaker and 3 tubes, 1 volume and 1 tone control--incredibly hummy and scratchy but it has one great tone: turn everything to 10 and it's a mini marshall for recording...it was cheap ($40) and weighs about 3 pounds.

i also have a fender blues junior but i'll probably sell it because this univox thing has better tone, weighs far less and does a better job at what i bought the blues junior to do....i'd much rather have a few of these univox things or similar (like dano's, supro/airline or harmony)....they cost far less $$$...you can get 2 or 3 such amps and still spend a fraction of what a blues junior costs.

yes the fender is louder but also more brittle-sounding...maybe because of the solid-state rectifier?

yes i would look for another if it was stolen or lost.

i might replace the 12" jensen with a 10" jensen....i prefer a little less low-end, a tighter sound.

tip for young players: try to find such amps rather than the solid state amps offered as 'small/practice amps' these days....they simply sound better and often can be found for the same or less money...then get your distortion & effects from pedals.

Made in 1965, this amp was very cutting-edge. Has Tremolo and reverb. Very cool. see Univox.org for specs.

I am selling my Fender amp. period. Also, why do people spend $2,000 for a new amp, matchless, etc. and not sound half as good a $40 amp from '65?

I'd record, gig or practice with this amp. Never a problem after I put in some Telefunken tubes.

n/a

don't hesitate to picl up one. might be quiet for gigging but that's why they invented mics and PA systems.

3 inputs (you cant really use more than one at once tho, wave cancellation means the sound of the guitars keep cutting), volume, tone and tremlo. ive never used the tremlo cause i dont have a footswitch to switch it one! All the info i have found says that it was made mid-60s

I use Vox custom25 (basically an 80s superstrat with 1peice neck and 2 humbuckers), through a marshall gv2 pedal to drive the amp at low volumes. I bought the amp off ebay and all the valves got smashed up when it was shipped over here, and it need a transformer to run on uk current, so it cost about #100 to repair (the valves were a bugger to get hold of). Everyone in the guitar shop told me that it was a waste of money, its just a crappy old amp. But NO! i love it. i play mostly blues\hard rock (aerosmith, GnR, led zepplin etc.) and some blues and this amp sounds amazing. without the pedal, u have to crank the amp up to 10 to get it going, but i dont like to do this incase it blows up. however, with the pedal and my guitar set just right, u can put the amp on 4 and have an amazing ballsy tone. playing any lower than 4 doesnt quite work tho, as the amp seems to like being at a bit of volume befor it gets going (lower than 4 can sound abit flat). the clean tone, altho usable isnt anything to write home about. this is an amp that likes to be driven hard and fast!!

the insides were a mess when i got it(no valves, capacitors gone soggy etc.), but i had it all redone and have had no problems so far. i wouldnt like to drive it to hard for to long, tho. The valves just hang down abit precariously at the back with just some weedy bits of wire to hold them in. dont touch them when youve been playing either!!

Univox is dead. the only support you will get is at your local music shop, and they will just tell you its crap and rip you off!! check out www.univox.org

I would hate for anything to happen to this amp. I love it dearly and i think i might have a hard time getting hold of another one. If you see one cheap (it will be cheap aswell), i would definatly recommend buying it. I also love the fact that its so old, just imagine the riffs and solos its churned out over the past 30 years. this amp has a soul man! no modern amp can compete with an amp with a soul!

I finally found a site that deals with Univox products- www.univox.org. According to them, this amp was made in 1965 and the two 6bm8's are preamp and power tubes in one (interesting, but I'm not sure of its accuracy). This amp has a volume and tone, and a tremolo control. I have never been able to get the trem to work at all. I'm a big proponent of K.I.S.S. (Keepin it simple, stooopid!) so this amp suits me fine, but I would like to sort the trem out.

The tone pot is well voiced and the amp goes from dead clean to super-nice distortion really easily. I like the 6x4 sound at full blast. Very smooth, musical sounding rectifier. The amp has a more modern edge when at full, which I would suppose is due to its push-pull design. Great wailing tone. But when I run my Dano reissue into it at half volume, it sounds just like Ritchie Valens. Mmmmm. Love my tone. The only problem is that the original Jensen was swapped for a Rola with a teeny voice coil, so it sounds choked tight now. I will be dropping in a slightly less crappy aluminum speaker just for fun soon. It will sound grr-eat when I can finally afford a decent paper cone speaker (probably a shitty Jensen reissue for now, but one day, a P12Q). I dig the vibe very much.

Well, I thought it was pretty much infallible, but the tube holders always seemed a bit weak. Today I was proved right when one of the tubes went pfft. Nothing I can't cure, but mildy annoying. There is no real external tube protection. The whole amp is handwired point-to-point, though, so anything which broke I could fix right away (although I still can't figure out what the heck is causing the trem not to work). Would I gig with it? Probably not. Would I record with it? Sure. Right now it is my main practice amp, and because the speaker sucks so much I use it for bass when I need to. I honestly don't care if this speaker blows up(of course, now that I said it, that's what'll happen)!

Umm...I actually have the original warranty card from Merson Music in Long Island, but thirty-six years is a long time. i have a good amp guy, and I have Gerald Weber's book 'A Desktop Guide to Hip Vintage Guitar Amps'. Between those two I'm good to go.

I love this amp. I got a tremendous deal on it. It had been languishing in the local music shop for years and then I up and bought it. Love love love it!

a Japanese made (I think), 8-10 watt, 1 x 12 combo w/Jensen, tremelo, 6x4 rectifier, an el90 power tube, and two 12ax7's in the preamp. very simple setup. 3 jacks. Univox used this general setup in a lot of cosmetically different configurations. made throughout the 60's, maybe into early 70's. it has no reverb, no fx loops, no speaker out jack.very very simple setup.

this is a fun amp to play through. at 10 watts, it's easily overdriven at modest volume levels. the tremelo, (if indeed that's what it is!) is useless as a tremelo per se, but you can use it as an effect, I suppose. (I never use it at all.) the U45B's tone is pretty classic, heavily saturated tube driven, 60's rock and blues tone. think stones without the ampeg bite; it doesn't 'bark', but gets a ballsy, creamy break up. sorta squishy as there is alot of sag in this amp. it can be a little noisy when you crank an OD pedal full bore through it. the louder it is played, the less noticable are its inherent noises. it is a wonderful amp to just crank open full throttle and do blues and classic rock. it is not terribly versatile, but it has a very creamy, overdriven sound that is a lot of fun to play. it's clean sound is articulate, but at 1/2 way on volume, it overdrives.

no problem yet...it runs somewhat hot...but its lasted 25 years so far, why not 25 more!

NA

15 years playing. I like lower wattage amps generally. this is a very reliable, extremely lightweight (lbs wise!) 60's tube amp that is well made, inexpensive and relatively attractive looking amp (in a vintage way...mine has the goldish mesh front). it's tube compliment is inexpensive to replace. this is an ideal amp for someone wanting a reliable, fun bedroom/recording amp, or just an easy amp to tote about. it's got nice fat, creamy breakup, fabulous sag and plays blues wonderfully. it's a fun, simple amp that I'd take over most of the lower priced current models and most ss ones out there. If I had to choose between a new Vox Pathfinder, a Danelectro Nifty 50, a Fender Bullet or the Marshall Parks, I'd take the Univox U45B in an instant. it has less features, but sounds alot better. a great entry level tube amp that won't bust your bank, or back!, and will give you the desired pleasures of a 60's tube amp.

It is a 1x12 combo, of very low wattage (1-3, judging by the single 12ax7 preamp tube and the diminutive pair of 6bm8 power tubes). I'm guessing that it was made in the mid to late '60s at latest. I'm basing this guess on the assumption that Univox was a Japanese company, and I'd think that the Japanese would have abandoned expensive, bulky tubes pretty early on. Also odd is the use of american internal components (except transformers, power transformer has a 100 volt tap on the primary side) not to mention a lightweight Jensen speaker. The amp is well suited for practice and recording, as it is not that loud (compared to my '68 Twin) It does distortion and clean equally well, which makes it pretty much good for anything except maybe Jazz. I use it mostly for blues/rock, almost any style of rock. As far as features, it has plenty for a small old tube amp. It has three inputs: guitar, accordion (!) and aux., with only one channel. It has three knobs, volume, tone, and tremolo, with a footswitch jack for the tremolo. The tremolo was disconnected when I got it, and I never bothered to reconnect it, so I don't know what it sounds like. Doesn't matter, I have a Roto Vibe. If the tremolo DID work, there would be no adjustment for depth, which is pretty beat. Even though I don't use it, the accordion input is just too cool!

Any Les Paul type guitar (I've used many, including old Ibanez, a pretty good copy by Cort, and an early 70's Gibson) with decent humbuckers will OD the amp pretty well, but a strat (I use an old ESP copy) needs a little help. A Pro Co Rat with almost no distortion is perfect to push the signal over the edge. Maybe a Fender would have stronger pickups, and wouldn't need the rat, I don't know. The distortion is very smooth and mellow, in fact the amp sounds really round and full after you get it past 1/4 way up on the volume. It has a pretty loose sound, with a lot of 'give', possibly thanks to the tube rectifier. It's like there is slight resonance after you damp the strings, which is why it probably wouldn't cut it for jazz. It does any classic rock sound really well, except Jeff Beck's sound on Blow by Blow (you didn't really want to sound like THAT, did you?). It's really good for a violin type sustain sound, like those orchestral parts on the Queen records. Believe it or not! (not to say it's identical, of course. just a reasonable facsimile) Of any amp Iv'e ever played, THIS is the one I'd pick to record with. (keep in mind I've never played an old low wattage Fender)

When I got this amp, I replaced the power cord, (no ground, don't touch another player!) replaced the pre-amp and rectifier tubes, and cleaned the pots. Thats the only service it has needed in 9 years, HOWEVER, the power transformer looks like an extremely flimsy unit, and I wouldn't care to push it too hard for too long. Maybe thats just paranoia, but as Univox is out of business as far as I know, I doubt I could find another transformer readily (see Customer Support below). Also, the sparkled cloth cabinet covering is quite tattered, so I don't like to take it out much. If you did use it on a gig (it would have to be miked) it would be wise to bring a backup.

Univox? Univox!? Whats a Univox??

At $10, It's hard to beat this amp for value. You would pay many times that amount for an old low wattage fender, which may or may not sound better. In fact, anything made in America or (Egad) England is sure to cost more. Heck fire, a decent amp cord costs more!! I'd definitely jump on any other Univox tube amp, they also made a cool guitar in the 70's that I'd like to get my mits on. Interestingly, Laffayette amps look identical to the Univox, and may be related in some way. Probably another good deal. I have another Low wattage all tube amp, a Guild Thunder One, or T-1x12. The univox stacks up well, in fact the two complement each other well. The Guild is a little louder (8-10 watts max)and noticeably brighter in sound. The Guild is a much tougher amp externally, with a tolex covered cabinet and this mondo handle that looks like it came off an American Tourister suitcase (the Uni's handle is long gone)I DO wish the Univox was built as well on the outside. Then of course there's the Twin, but that's a completely different ball o' wax. Please Email me with questions, or if you can tell me ANYTHING about this obscure little amp.