Univox Les Paul Copy

My guitar is a 1972 Les Paul copy, I think it's the Univox 'gimme' model. Orange sunburst, same scale length as a Gibson, same set up. Unlike some other Univox owners, I've had no problem with the tuners on my Univox, even after owning it and playing it 25 years or so. Every now and then I drop a few drops of lube on 'em, that's all they need. The pickups are humbuckers, the Univox ones with the clear plastic top. They sound gnarly -- a good, bluesy midrange gnarly. Good round tone.
the guitar itself has a bolt on neck, and unlike a Gibson, is a semi hollow body. The base is laminated (prob. mahogany), the top is laminate, and leaves a hollow spot underneath the bridge and tailpiece, you can see it when you take off the access plate on the back of the guitar.
Both the tuneamatic bridge and tailpiece are metal, and Gibson style, except the bridge posts are thicker than a Gibsons.
The guitar is wired a little differently than a Gibson, the controls are set up a little different. Same number of controls, but both tones are at the bottom of the guitar, where on most Gibsons I've tried the tones are towards the back of the guitar.
Whoever designed this guitar (the folks at Aria, from what I've read -- they built Univoxes for a long time) knew what they were doing. In some respects it may be an improvement over the 'real thing'. I remember taking my guitar in to music stores in the '70's, thinking I'd upgrade to a Gibson, and none of the Gibsons sounded any better. I think the combination of the pickups and hollow spots inside it give it a good tone.

I play mainly hard rock and blues-rock, and the guitar fits my style perfectly. I use a Marshall amplifier. The bridge pickup is maybe a bit more midrangy than a Gibson's, the neck pickup is the best humbucker neck pickup for blues that I've played on.
The guitar maybe has a little less bass than a Gibson, more of a midrange peak, adequate highs. The average listener maybe wouldn't hear the difference, but a Gibson player probably would.

The action is adjustable, as well as the neck. I've had no troubles at all with my guitar. The pickups have three adjustment screws instead of just two.
the neck is a bit thinner than the Gibsons I've tried. It has a nice feel to it.
The only flaws were induced when the idiot that I had refret it back in 1980 or '81 ruined some of the neck binding. Since then I've learned to do most guitar work myself......

the hardware is solid, the gold finish has worn off the tailpiece and bridge, from playing. Everything else has withstood nearly daily playing for 20 years. Like any guitar -- take care of it, and it will take care of you.
I would never use ANY guitar in a gig without a backup.

I think I reglued one strap button cause it was coming loose. The other one has held up fine.

The Univox company doesn't exist anymore. If you chance on to one of these guitars, get a competent guitar tech to do any work on it -- Univoxes were cheap guitars in their day, but they're better than most of the modern guitars I see in any music or guitar store. They are well worth any investment. If you're into modern rock, they may not be your cup of tea. If you're into blues, or hard rock, they sound quite good.

I've been playing for 25 years, my other guitars are copies and guitars considered 'cheap' in the '70's. I sometimes think about getting a Gibson or whatever, but the sound I hear from such guitars never seems to merit the cost, I already have the sound I want.
I wish they still made these guitars.

Japanese made Les Paul Copy. Set up is exactly like a les paul. Has bolt on neck, not sure on wood type though. Tuners were crappy so i replaced them with a vintage set of grovers. Dual covered humbuckers w/t 2 volume and 2 tone knobs. Came w/t original case.

For a copy this guitar has great sound. The humbuckers give off a great sound. Their really versatle and great for playing different kinds of music, from soft blues to rock.

The guitar is really old but you can tell well made, its got all the scratches of an old guitar. The guitar is extremely well made and i cant find any flaws the finish is a buitiful transparent wine red. When i saw this guitar hanging in the workshop of a friend i imeadiatly offered him whatever he wanted for it, even though i didnt play guitar at that point.

This guitar is solid as a rock i woulnt be affraid to drop it ever and i dont plan on needing a backup on gigs(unless i break a string). The tuners on it though were pieces of crap and would never stay in tune. Otherwise everything else is great. The fretts are a little worn and buzz at the 14th frett but as soon as i get the truss rod adjusted itll be just fine.

Univox went out of business a long time ago so if this thing breaks im on my own.

I love this guitar and plan on keeping it forever. Its a great guitar for a beginner and even somewone whose been playing forever. The best thing about it is its vintage feel, i love old guitars they have so much more character than new ones

if you want detailed features go on gibson.com and check for the 69 les paul. I think it's a lot like it. It was made in the 70s in Japan. it has a bolted on neck. keys are made of solid metal and has that reliable screw to adjust resistance. it has a mighty mite ( or something like that ) on the neck position which is noisy but were the base pick up replacement for the les paul till the early 80s and I replaced the other mite by a dimarzio ( thanks god for that pickup ) X2N. this sounds like the hell on earth. EMG pickups sound like sissies when compared to x2n.

I play heavy rock n roll ( some kind of a mix of motorhead meats thin lizzy on a crash with ac/dc and some recent stuff like supersuckers or hellacopters. and, of course the MC5. ) I use it at the moment on a seventy something traynor ( but I used it on a 69 musicman, a 64 fender band master or a 72 superplexi marshall and it still souns clear, crispy and loud ) and I use a boss turbo overdrive to make it scream louder. it has a huge difference between the bridge and the neck pickup and it makes it very nice for solo-ing.
there's nothing I dislike about my guitar .

probably the best univox ever got out of the factory. ( I tried 2 other ones and they were crap ) I djusted everything on it my self and since it was probably made before me I cant tell about the factory settings. but everything is in the right place and it' heavy

this guitar is THE rock.
it's good for another 30 years I guess.
I entirely depend on it and I rarely use a backup.

if you dont want to spare 2000$ on a guitar that will last you can buy mine which I paid 70$ and get the same reliability, sound and looks. But it's not for sale HA!
it it were stolen I would tell my insurrances I had a les paul standars cause I 'll never find such a piece of art for that price.

this gibson les paul black beauty copy was made in 1971 and purchased new that same year. i think it was made in japan, but i'm not sure. it is a 22 fret, 24 3/4" scale length with a tune-o-matic and stop tail. the same hardware and control setup as a real lp. 2 volume, 2 tone and three way switch. the pickups are a strange size, not standard humbuckers or NY minis, somewhere in between. but what i found unique was not only could the pickups be adjusted for height, there is an aditional screw in the pickup surround that adjusts the angle of the pickup as well! i lost this feature when i had a pair of seymore duncan's installed. the guitar tech had to cut into the guitar to get them to fit, but the end result is not visable upon casual inspection. the body is two slabs of unknown wood glued together( you can see the seam under the paint go around the guitar). the neck is a bolt on type with a rosewood fretboard that has block pearloid inlays. after 29 years of playing this guitar off and on, the frets have just about had it. i keep saying i'm going to have them redone. tuning heads are no-name sealed pot metal in gold, as is all the hardware. it is pretty much worn off the bridge and tail piece, i'm sure because of all the sweat that never got wiped off. the paint has stood up extremely well over the years, and the neck still has some adjustment left in it. the guitar came with a fitted black vinyl covered case that has a fairly plush gold lining. but the really striking feature about the case is it has these gold colored bumper strips that run around the entire case. people who own real les pauls ask me if i want to sell the case all the time.

when the guitar was relatively new the pickups were pretty powerful. amps didn't offer the diverse tones they do now, but i remember that the guitar would feed back at higher volumes. i now have a line6 duo and a 70's era ampeg jet(yes, my first amp). the guitar always had a thick, dark tone. it was never a screamer. really great for fat, heavy chord backup. the action was never even from the nut to the 22nd fret. it would always get higher the further up the neck you played. not conducive to fast lead work. but the guitar was always a blast to play. the controls have gotten quite noisey over the years. i'm sure it's the dust that has settled in them. after i put the duncan's in it, i now use the neck pickup exclusively. it's a jazz neck pickup and it sounds unbelievable. the body is so heavy(10+lbs?) the vibe with the new pickup is so clear and thick i can't discribe it in words. what i can say is that if you have one of these old guitars, upgrade the electronics. you won't believe your ears.

the guitar is double bound front and back, the neck is bound(thank God, because the fret ends would shred your neck hand, over the years the ends now protrude thru the binding and they are sharp). the headstock is triple bound laminate, very nicely done and has held up really well considering all the years of abuse. the nice thing about all the binding is how it has aged. it was brite white when new and now, 29 years later, it has become this warm cream white-yellow color. the guitar has aged gracefully and i treat it with gentleness and respect now. my world was consumed with music when this guitar was new, and all that i learned, i learned on this guitar first. i keep her very comfortable now.

if someone would buy one of these copys today, i would recommend a guitar tech open it up and check all the wire connections. also the guitar has a grounding problem when you roll off the volume contol if the selector switch is in the middle position. in itself, the guitar is built like a truck! but if you play live, have another guitar in the wings, just in case.

UNIVOX has been gone for many years.

i've been a guitarist for over 30 years off and on. i now own a voo- doo strat, a samick semi-hollow, two angelica flat tops, an ovation applause round back classical nylon string and for good measure a no name mandolin and violin. pedal steel is where my intrests are now. i didn't mention that the UNIVOX was a birthday gift from my father and brother when i became 14 years old. i never really thanked my father correctly for opening up the world of music for me to love and enjoy. i just never took the time. i think i'll sign off now and call my brother.

made in japan, h/h pickups, 2 tone, 2 volume knowbs, set up exactly like les paul. 22 frets. like i said, just like a les paul.

Sounds pretty good, it was my first guitar, i've tried tons of guitars at music shops and haven't found any to be that much better, given that this guitar was made in the 70's, and not by a major manufacturer. mine was very well taken care of. sounds good, i use a marshall vs265 2x12 combo and it sounds good clean, good distorted, higher gain gets feedback, but i guess thats the same as every guitar. i play alternative, some metal , some punk, and some blues, it suits me fine.

i think this is fine, mine is a nice sunburst, as nice as any i've seen on a fender or a gibson. strings get higher as you get into the higher frets which isn't good for hammering on, but it still sounds fine. after 30 years the pots still don't crackle, so all in all its pretty good.

This is the only guitar I own. I take it to all gigs. it never dies. i've dropped it from playing height, banged the neck on walls, stilll in one piece. i don't suggest you try it but i think it would stand up to almost anything (within' reason)

are they still around? don't need it anyway.

I've been playing for five years, i've gigged with it no problem, I like it, i think if i lost it it would be impossible to get another one in this good of condition.now it may not be as cool as a gibson, but it still looks nice and sounds good. i use it through a marshall 2x12 vs265 combo and it sounds good. although, i am buying a MIM Telecaster this weekend because I would like to have more guitars. This guitar sounds good clean and distorted, if you ever find one in a pawn shop for under $200 i'd look at it twice instead of just passing it by.

Cool old Les Paul copy, bought for $175....made somewhere in asia...22fret, shiny black w/black knobs and gold hardware...aftermarket grover tuners...les paul pickup cnfig...cool pickups...they are unlike any others i have seen (they're long bars that run perpindicular to the strings of the guitar....some crazy mid 70s asian company used to make them)...passive pickups....les paul style tail piece...rosewood frets, low fast awsome frets...(like a les paul fretless...only cheaper!) bought with an old generic case
this is just a plain old vannilla guitar.

The sound of this guitar is real muddy, great for rythem rockin...but it can also howl the blues...I'm playin through an old 70s epiphone Pathfinder 15 watt tube amp...these two suit each other...i play through boss distortion and proco turbo rat effects...the guitar is suprisingly quiet, no harsh sounds, a little fuzzy/staticy, no fret-outs, i love everything about this guitar except its weight!...this guitar is very heavy, i think, but i'm really only used to my freinds fenders and epiphone hollow body....it might weigh in very similar to other lespauls?...also, amp cant handle output of the pickups when even at low levels through proco turbo rat....amp cuts out and sounds like its dying when distortion is cranked up on rat settings.
overall good deep rythem tone, very muddy...but it clears up okay with some fine tuning (pretty wide range of tones available through les paul 4 knob w/switch setup)

great action...low fast frets....cant say how the factory setup was, but the guy i bought it from put on aftermarket bridge, and grover tuners....it has more sustain than any otherr guitar ive ever played...which aint sayin all that much (ive only been playin for 2.5 years...dont play around at guitar shops)...but i have played on about 7-8 differant guitars, uussually side be side with my lovely univox.

Ive droped this guy several times...doesnt even bruise...the guitar is going on 30 years of neglected service and still shines...strap buttons suck!....but i have yet to change them..

i dont think univox is around any more (too bad...this entry level guitar blows away anything that you can find at a shop for under $600)

i think this is a super guitar for $175...way better than any new guitar in this price range...(they don't build like the used too!)... i would not spend more than two hundred bucks on a guitar so i think this is the holy grail of the guitar world ( although i wish i could also find a good old jaguar for under $200 bucks too :)
if this guitar disappeared, i would hope to find it again...cuz it is a great, cheap rocker!....its unique to me and it looks suprisingly sharp.

Univox Les Paul copy (no model name indicated on guitar), circa mid 70's. Sunburst, same knob/switch/pickup configuration as a real Les Paul. Has a bolt-on neck, rosewood (or rosewood-like) fretboard. 22 soft metal frets :-) Pickups without covers with a cool tranlucent fiberglass top where the poles are; a pinkish color because of the copper underneath. The stop tail piece is also made of some sort of fiber glass, much lighter than a real one. Probably sucks some tone?

Sounds grittier than a les paul, maybe a wee bit harsh, but also kinda cool and trashy. Smooths up a bit with when backing off the volume.

Action is great for what this guitar is. The frets are nearly gone, though I tell myself that I will do a fret job on this guitar myself as a no risk experiment to learn fret replacement. No false tones or nothing, just makes playability diffucult. I'll give a higher rating however because I remember the guitar 17 years ago when my high school friend had it, it was fast.

Lighter wood than a real Paul, but body/neck is solid (not like the Hi Flyer I also reviewed). Usual soft Univox frets almost gone. Crackly tone pots from lack of use, vol pots ok. Switch was shot, replaced it with an all-parts, now fine. Plastic jack cracked and glued by my friend, now shot. Replaced it with an all-parts oval shaped thing, now fine, tho screw marks are showing. Used to use it on gigs for slide parts in G tuning, no need worrying about the slide bumping those frets :-) Also, the pole pieces have a tendancy to pop out. I'm missing one on each pickup. The pickup is so loud it doesn't matter.

I heard they had a merger with Teisco Del Ray and Checkmate :-)

I use it for reharsals along with a Univox 1x12 amp from the early 70's. Took it out of my drummer's basement after a flood and the case was all moldy and so was the guitar. It was sitting under the pool table for quite a long time collecting mildew. My friend doesn't know that I fixed it up :-) My rating is for what this guitar is, and does not mean the same as an 7 for Gibson! P.S. Future review of the Univox amp coming up as soon as I get the model number (it kicks some butt for old tranny garbage).