Univox Coily 335 Copy

Japanes 335 copy with Bigbsy-ish vibrato. Mine is in transparent green. This came as a bit of a project. The original pickups (humbuckers, I believe) were destroyed. I had some custom rings made and dropped in a GFS Mean90 in the neck and Dream180 in the bridge.

335's don't have many features, but this one has a vibrato tailpiece so I'll give it an 8.

I'm mainly into blues and rock. I'm overall very pleased with the sound. Even at low volumes you can feel the body reverberating. I've got an Epiphone Wildkat semi-hollowbody and never really thought the hollowness affected the sound. Quite the opposite with this guitar. If you listen to it unplugged you can recognize that sound in the amplified sound.

On the bridge pickup there's enough treble that most of the time I turn the tone control down a bit. On the neck pickup there's a good amount of bass. The pickups I put in it (mentioned above) seem to suit it.

Overall it's got a nice ballsy sound to it. I can get a little bit of feedback at bedroom volumes and a bit of gain, which is always fun.

The bad: there are some noticeable peaks in the frequency response. I'm not sure if that's the pickups that are responsible or whether it's a resonant frequency of the body.

Like I said, this came as a project. I redid the fretboard and repaired a few things. Cosmetically it's a little dinged up but structurally it's fine. Since it's ~35 years old I'd say the construction is fine.

The figured top is really pretty and overall it's a really nice looking axe. The wood on the tailpiece is pretty cool. I'd take it over a Gibson 335 any day.

It made it this far. I think it will be fine.

Ha.

I've got a bunch of guitars, a lot of them pretty old. This project turned out way better than I had expected. Basically I just bought it because it was green. I don't think I'll be selling it, ever.

To a see a what this guitar looks like go to http://www.univox.org/guitars/ click on coily, then click the links for "dark brown wood version"


Its a fantastic guitar, a 1972 Hollowbody Univox "coily" 335 copy. Appears to be maple(not sure maybe mahogany) with a bookmatched rosewood veneer on the front, back and sides (inside is unfinished, much lighter wood, may be solid or plywood, who knows?...). Maple bolt on neck with rosewood fretboard, "rounded" block Abalone (plastic?) inlays, binding on everything (3-ply on the body & 2-ply on the fretboard), Bigsby style vibrato with rosewood trim "floating" bridge with roller saddles and rosewood base. Twin humbuckers(unsure?) with 3-way switching.

I play mostly from a rock, blues, alternative perspective, with plenty of clean, lightly dirty, and fully distorted tones, and it sounds great. I play throgh a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe. It has very deep dark bass tones and "strat-esque" highs. The pickup (bridge doesn't work- soon to be repaired/replaced) is an odd shape, so I would not recommend getting one if the pickups don't work. The tone is just fantastic, the best way of describing it is, "old." you plug it in turn it up, and BAM! vintage tone, and these things go dirt cheap on eBay all the time. I have yet to see any others with the rosewood veneer though (other than mine and the one on the univox site).

I wish I could have seen it before time took its toll, its hard to comment on its original fit and finish when I got it 32 years after it was made. (We found a marking inside the guitar on one of the side pieces while repairing it it says, "72" so we went with that on the date, not definate, but pretty likely.

This is the fun part. The guitar was given to me by my father's best friend. It was removed from a 19th century dilapedated stone building that serves as storage- out in the elements, this guitar experienced 20+ years of sub freezing winters and 100 degree summers. We opened the case (it's also very old) and were instanlty met with shock. It looked fantastic, EXCEPT for the section where the back had come UNGLUED near the tailpiece. No problem, we rigged up a jig ( : )) glued her up- no problem. Next, off come the ancient huge gauge flatwound strings that undoubtedly unglued the back, and a neck pocket shim was added to correct action. Locked down the floating bridge with double face tape (after careful determination of location) and intonated it. Bam! back in business. The bridge pickup is dead though, I've had it tested, I'm unsure if it can be rewound or not, SO PICKUPS MAKE OR BREAK THE DEAL, almost anything else can be fixed. After the restoration work was done though, it is a wondurful instrument, I'm sure it will last much longer in my care! I have other vintage istruments, and this one plays the best, it handled harsh elements very, very well. And only required minimal setup to bring it back up to speed.

I'm sure it could be played live, after I get the pickup problem fixed and double check the wiring. I'm very careful with my instruments so I have no worries. The finish is smooth, but it appears thin, I think it is due to the pourousness of rosewood, I doubt any filler was used. Strap buttons are a little odd, not sure I would trust them entirely (they are rounded over- like a trailor hitch with a screw down the middle). I don't think I could gig with just one guitar- so no, there would be a backup.

yea! I, the customer, supplied the support.

I've been playing about 6 years, I'm a college sophomore now. I've had this guitar about 3 years. The guitar was a gift, he pretty much said, "if you can fix it you can have it," so my dad and I fixed it, he did the glueing of the back and made a few shims for the neck, and I did all of the setup/ intonation/ neck adjustment/ lubrication. This guitar plays almost as good as any cheap guitar ($500 epiphone or fender), it still is a little tricky to intonate and keep in tune, but it sounds like a much more expensive guitar. I would seriously recommend one to anyone looking for great vintage tone at a wonderful price (cheap on ebay, usually $200-300 or less!).

early 70's Mahogany (i think) back, top and sides. the usual "335" type setup with dual volume and dual tone controls coupled with a 3-way toggle switch. a Bigsby styled vibrato (with pretty "wood-ish" inlay). a bolt on neck with rosewood board featuring nice abalone-ish blocks. ALSO two narrow chrome humbucking pickups. quite pretty to look at.

i delved into hollowbody exploration a year (or so) ago. i purchased several hollowbodies including an old Ibanez, an Epiphone and this guitar. this one is my favorite. it seems to be a "greatest hits" guitar as it can emulate a vintage Casino really well (actually BETTER than the re-issue Casino i purchased), as well as pulling off some jazzy 335 tones. it can REALLY do the "Country Gentleman" Harrison Beatles tone great i can even manage to coax a few Rickenbacker-ish jangles out of it (if i try). the vibrato works BEAUTIFULLY (much better than the Casino i dabbled with) cause the bridge has ROLLER SADDLES!!! awesome!! it is a true hollowbody (no center block) so it is QUITE resonant (and would probably feedback like a mofo if torqued "live").

i got lucky. this 30+ year old guitar is virtually flawless. the pickups are alive and talking, the vibrato is expressive and it is joy to play with. mine has the "open book" headstock with UNIVOX inlaid in capital letters across the headstock. if you can find one that is all original and in good shape JUST BUY IT. hell,...$300 bucks (or less) will get you all the jazz, blues, rockabilly and Mersey-beat tones you could ask for. you may need to tweak it a bit (as I did...mainly the bridge adjustment) but you will be satisfied in the end. I LOVE THIS GUITAR!!!

it's old and it's hollow. i treat it VERY delicately. would i gig with it?? maybe,..but i'd prefer not to.

hah hah,...i get it! good one!!

for $300 bucks (or more than likely LESS) you can scarf tones from the Country Gentleman, the Casino, the 335 and possibly even a Ricky. do i condone "tone plagarism"??? OF COURSE NOT. if i could afford the genuine articles mentioned above I'D BUY THEM ALL! i'm just a dreaming hack with a spare bedroom studio, however. i can only own "X" number of guitars (the "X" representing a fairly small number). My Univox Coily enables me to capture the essence and "SPIRIT" of several "notable" guitars,..and yet it sounds quite distinctive on it's own. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED (if found in good shape). cheers!

1970's hollow body electric; really nice considering that I paid $45.00 for it--Japanese make--like all of the others The tuners are worn out and need to be replaced-thin neck--good for fat people with small hands, like myself...

I've been playing bluegrass for about 4 years--this is my first electric. The volume and tone controls are kind of 'screwy' not dependable at all, but I like it. This is a good guitar for someone just getting into jazz or blues type music.

There is a sticker right above the bridge that says 'position of bridge base' but the bridge has been glued below this... other than that I can't find any setup flaws.--Like I stated before the controls are kind of screwy, I'm sure I could fix them though--

30+ years? it'll last a little longer as long as it's taken care of--solid strap buttons--pickups look really bad, color is faded and worn off on the corners. Use it in a gig without a backup? Never. I trust no-one and nothing.

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I like playing crap guitars I don't know why but I do. I own a 30 year old (or older) acoustic Segovia that is a copy of the Gibson Hummingbird--and a 45 year old Kay banjo--I love them all and am proud to add this to my small but growing collection.

early 70's japanese made es-335 copy. Bigsby style tremolo. Neck has a really nice feel to it. BEAUTIFUL jade green burst finish!

I love this guitar! I play alot of different styles of music, reggae,ska,jazz,blues,surf,some punk and this thing does all really well. (just beware of the feedback monster when it's really distorted)I'm running it through a fender deluxe 85 amp and I can get a really nice variety of sounds from this thing, anywhere from a jazzy bassy kinda sound, to twangy surf sounds. Even heavily distorted it sounds really good. I totally agree with the other reviewer who said that the humbuckers sound more like single coils..but QUIET single coils at that. Woohoo!

It has some issues, but what do you expect from a 30+ year old guitar?When I got this thing, I noticed how easy it was to play open chords, but higher up on the neck the action was really high. I've since shimmed the neck and now I'm in hog heaven. It still has some electronics issues I need to address (occasionally the neck pickup will go out and you have to shake the guitar to get it to come back on) This should be an easy fix..just a connection problem. Umm what else? Oh yeah the bigsby style tremolo is a pain, but I think alot of that has to do with the kind of spring you use with it. If it's too big, you could inadvertently end up pulling the wammy too far back and end up being sharp. I've taken the spring out and it stays in tune fairly well, I plan on trying some different springs on it and adding some locking tuners and that should be that. (I'll post an update to this review when I get around to it)

Well it's lasted 30+ years so I think it's pretty durable. Things wear out however, like the electronics and tuning pegs, but this is to be expected on a guitar of this age. Over time mechanical gears WILL wear out and electrical contacts WILL corrode, so keep this in mind when buying that cool looking vintage guitar. The strap buttons are solid. I'd depend on it more once I get it's "issues" fixed.

HAHAHAHAHAHA

I've been playing for 14 years, and I've played a strat that whole time. This was a nice change in sound and playability. I really like the guitar and once I get the electronics checked out, new tuning pegs, and a new tremolo spring, this thing will rock. I bought this because I wanted a hollow body guitar with a nice warm jazzy sound. I got that and so much more. If it were lost or stolen I would definitely go out and get another.

It is an es-335 copy two, humbuckers and a bigsby style tremelo. Neck is really small and thin, I can wrap my thumb all the way over.

sounds really nice. suits my style perfectly (sixties garage rock, seventies punk, dirty blues)

the neck position is full yet bright. the bridge is very twangy. These are humbuckers, according to the Univox website, but they sound more like singlecoils, lots of bite. This guitar sounds ALOT like my Danelectro DC-59 (which uses singlecoils), but less bright. THe neck position pickup works better than the neck position pickup on the dano, for crunch anyway.

My brother found this guitar in someones trash! It had no bridge, and the neck was all hanging off of the body. Put on a new bridge and got it playable. The neck is really comfy and fast, and the sound is great.

The problem is that it doesn't stay in tune. I don't know if it is the tuners or the messed up bigsby-style trapeze. It still needs alot of work in order to get it to hold tune.

It is pretty cheap and crappy, but I like cheap crappy stuff. It has lasted this long so I guess it will go on.

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I have been playing since 1984. I have an SG, a Dillion LP copy, a reissue Dano DC-59 Pro. I play through a Traynor YCV-40, a JC-120, and an Ampeg Reverberocket GS12-R.

I love the sound and playability of this guitar. Once I get some new tuners and a proper bridge I plan to gig with it.

For coming out of the trash, I can't complain.

Made in Japan in the early 70's. 22 frets. Double cutaway laminated arched maple top and back. Thinline body. 2 volume, 2 tone controls with 3-way selector switch. 2 passive Humbuckers w/plastic covers painted silver. The neck is 5 piece maple, bolt on with heel. The body style is ES335 copy, but looks more like a Guild Starfire, which is also a 335 copy. It has a fixed tune-o-matic copy bridge and a Bigsby style tremelo tailpiece with a rosewood insert. The tuners are die cast Japanese of unknown manufature. The neck is very thin and fast.

I play blues and jazz - this guitar suits my style quite well. I play through a Fender Princeton 65. No effects. One of the volume pots is a little noisy when being adjusted, but it doesn't affect the sound while playing. The sound is full and quite mellow. It is capable of screaming, but I don't use it that way. I haven't really found anything I don't like about this guitar. It is light weight (being fully hollow) and plays easily. It seems capable of producing whatever sounds I want to get out of it. The vibrato, which I use a lot, is not as responsive as a real Bigsby, but it doesn't throw the guitar out of tune, which is the most important thing for a player such as myself.

I don't know anything about the factory set up, since this guitar was almost 30 years old when I bought it. I can see that the instrument has held up very well considering it's age. The finish is a jade green-to-black sunburst - very pretty, with only one or two scratches. It appears that this instrument was considerably better made then the Korean and Chinese guitars that abound these days. I have a recently manufactured Gretsch (Korean) which I don't believe is any better built then this guitar. I would be interested to see how well the Gretsch holds up after 30 years. Considering that the Gretsch cost $1700 and this guitar only cost about $200 new (and that is also what I paid for it), I would say this is an excellent value.

I would have to say "Yes" to the first five questions. The finish and hardware have held up for about 30 years. As for the last, I never play a gig without a backup.

There is no customer support, since the company is defunct.

I have played guitar for about 40 years. This is the 16th guitar in my current collection. I have owned many more - all kinds, Gibson, Fender, Guild, Gretsch, Kay, Harmony, etc. I like this guitar because it looks unique, plays real nice and sounds great. I find I can play this guitar for long periods without wearing out my fingers, this one seems to be easier on my hands then any other guitar I own. I perform several times a month, mostly at outdoor gigs, as a single act and sometimes as a duo with stand up bass. Occasionally we use a lead guitar player as well. I like my Gretsch, but found that in this configuration, with the stand up bass, the Gretsch was too "hot" sounding. I found it difficult to find a happy medium that was loud enough to hear without drowning out the bass. I switched to an Epiphone Emporer (recent, from Korea) and that worked well, soundwise, but is a bit uncomfortable to hold because of the big (17") body. This Univox guitar is much easier to work with, and also is capable of a variety of sounds while still blending well with my accompanists.