Univox
 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification.(July 2015) |
 | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Musical instruments |
| Founded | 1960 |
| Founder | Thomas Walter Jennings |
| Defunct | 1987 |
| Headquarters | , |
Area served | Global |
| Products | Electricandacousticguitars Bass guitars Amplifiers Electronic keyboards Effects units |
| Parent | Korg |
| Website | VintageUnivox(archive site) |
Univoxwas a musical instrument brand of Unicord from the early 1960s, when they purchased the Amplifier Corporation of America ofWestbury, New York,and began to market a line ofguitar amplifiers.Univox also distributedguitarsbyMatsumoku,effects unitsby Shin-Ei Companion, andsynthesizersbyCrumarandKorg.
In 1985, theWickes Companiessold Unicord to Korg, and the Univox brand was phased out.
History
[edit]In 1964, Unicord (a manufacturer of electrictransformersacquired byGulf and Western Industriesin 1959) purchased the Amplifier Corporation of America and began marketing a line of amplifiers under the name of Univox.
Univox-branded fretted instruments (electric and acoustic guitars and electric basses) began being imported from Japanese contract manufacturerMatsumokuin 1968,[citation needed]In 1978 Unicord phased out the Univox line of guitars and equipment. They switched to an original guitar line called "Westbury", and an amp line called Stage which lasted until about 1982. The Unicord Corporation was purchased byKorgin 1985, effectively ending the line.
Univox was best known for its copies of instruments from better-known companies such asFender,Gibson,Rickenbacker,Ampeg/Dan Armstrong,Epiphoneand others. TheUnivox Hi-Flierwas based loosely on the distinctiveMosrite"reverse swept" shape; it was popularized in the early 1990s byKurt Cobain,almost two decades after original production had ceased.
Change to Stage amplifiers
[edit]The Univox name developed a market reputation as cheap because Unicord had copied amplifier designs from companies such asShureandElectro-Voiceinstead of doing major original research and development. Univox used time-proven electronic circuits and quality components, but to avoid the negative market perception Unicord introduced the Stage brand; the only difference between the Univox and Stage equipment was the nameplate, attached prior to shipping.
Relationship to Korg and Marshall
[edit]Unicord was also the U.S. distributor for bothMarshall amplifiersandKorgsynthesizers.
The Marshalls usedEL34output tubes, but as they could barely reach the rated output wattage Unicord replaced them withKT88tubes before shipping to U.S. vendors.
Unicord had begun as a manufacturer of electrical transformers. When the original Marshalls came to the U.S., Unicord's engineers were concerned that the output transformers could not reliably handle the full output. Unicord redesigned the output transformers and told Marshall to use the Unicord design in all units shipped to the U.S., and Marshall could use the design outside the U.S. if they wanted to. Marshall did adopt the Unicord design for all their tube amps.
Tony Frank, the design engineer at Unicord, created the dual-volume-control two-stage pre-amp that Marshall introduced with their 4140 and 2150 amplifiers, which allowed a "super-dirty" fuzz even at extremely low volumes.
Products
[edit]Univox amplifiers
[edit]
A number of tube and solid-state amplifiers were produced by Univox over the years. These ranged from small practice combo amps to powerful heads with separate cabinets. Some models had built-inspring reverbandtremoloeffects. In 1971, Univox introduced the B Group amplifiers, covered in two-toned blue or grayTolexwith distinctive ovaloid cosmetics.[1]The C-Group (UX) line of amps were used byThe Jeff Beck GroupandLed Zeppelin.[2]
Univox guitars
[edit]In 1962, Gulf and Western acquired Merson Musical Products, an importer of various headstock-brand guitars such as Tempo, Giannini andHagström.Around 1968, they started producing Univox-branded guitars. Unicord and Merson split in 1975, but Unicord continued to make Univox guitars until about 1978, even adding some newer models.[3]
Electric guitars
[edit]
- Badazz
- Coily
- Custom
- Custom 335 (six and twelve-string versions)[4]
- Deluxe
- eEagle
- Effie (six and twelve-string versions)[4]
- Gimmie
- HR-2
- Hi-Flier
- Les Paul Copy (black and goldtop)
- Limited Edition Series (double-cut Les Paul Junior copy)
- Lucy
- Mother/Rhythm and Blues
- Pro (Jazzbix)
- Ripper
- UC-2
- UC-3
- Westbury Performer
Bass guitars
[edit]- Badazz
- Coily
- Hi-Flier
- Naked
- Precisely
- Eagle
- Professional
- Stereo
- UB-1
- 'Lectra
Acoustic guitars
[edit]- Auditorium
- Artist Series
- Dove
- 'Grass
Univox keyboards
[edit]
- Univox K4
- Univox MaxiKorg K3
- Univox MiniKorg K1/K2
- Univox Stringman (see"link".Archived fromthe originalon 2010-12-19.)
Univox Drum Machines
[edit]
- Univox JR-4
- Univox SR-55
- Univox SR-95
- Univox SR-120
Univox effects
[edit]
Univox had many effects units, generally made by Shin-Ei, but perhaps their most well known was theSuper-FuzzPedal, used byPete Townshend.[3]Univox also produced theUni-Vibe,a chorus/vibrato that attempted to emulate aLeslie speakereffect, popularized byJimi Hendrix.
References
[edit]- ^ "Univox Amplifiers".VintageUnivox.
- ^"Whole Lotta Led".
- ^ab "The Univox Page".VintageUnivox.
- ^ab Wright, Michael."Univox Guitars – Merson/Unicord Part 1".Vintage Guitar(February 1998).
External links
[edit]
- VintageUnivox (moved fromUnivox.orgin 2014)
- "Lawsuit" copies discussion
- Matsumoku: Guitars Made in Japan