UNIVOX - Trash or Treasure?

Kodawari

Kodawari

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J

jonc

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57
i bought one of these new in the early 70's. still have the manual and ad copy from it. it was a pretty good amp, but i traded it off in favor of a blond tremolux, which for what i was doing at the time, was much better.

i guess if you're doing "that 70's thing," they're really cool. in fact my first amp was a univox. a solid state 1x12 combo that my mom bought me along with a Sekova "Tele."

i guess a lot of these amps have been under the radar, but with vintage amps fetching so much, many 2nd and 3rd tier units are now getting recognition.

jonc
 
C

carlygtr56

Originally posted by BrewBeck
I remember Jeff Beck sneaking out from behind a stack or two back in the day.
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Ray using BBA's gear.
I remember JB having Sunn heads on top of those Univox cabs.
 
F

frank52

some are trash, some are treasures. the b group amps are the best ones. they sound great. very much a marshall/fender sound. univox did own marshall for a time and marshall later adopted their transformers. i have a b group 1011 head. 100w reverb and trem. i will be keeping it. also have a model U155R combo that is like a poor man's deluxe reverb. they are true vintage bargins. most had jensens and mullards in them.
 
M

Mario A

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Loud and clean!! The B series of amps have as much headroom as anything I have ever heard. I have been playing them for years and they are good at what they do.

There is always confusion regarding these amps (the B group) and the association with Beck, Page, Chamber Brothers etc. The truth is that the endorsees used the C group (UX 1501) which is quite different from the B group. The C group heads were made on Long Island, NY (not Japan like the B group). They are point to point wired, have HUGE transformers and sound like "timid" Marshalls. Great amps, but hard to find.

The UX 1501 looks slightly different from the much more common B group heads. I often wonder if this confusion was intentional or not (the "true" endorsed amps were much more expensive and less common - but I bet people at the time bought the B group stuff "thinking" that they were the rock star amps!)

Best I can tell, the use of these amps (the C group ie UX 1501) by Page, Beck et. al. was short lived and limited.

Cool amps nonetheless.
 
uncle looie

uncle looie

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I bought one out of the local classifieds several years ago for $150 (don't remember the model number) that came with a 6x12 cabinet loaded with pre-Rola Celestion greenbacks. The head never worked properly, but the 6 greenbacks were worth the price of admission for me. :dude

It looked just about like the one in that eBay auction for the U-1246, but it had a 6x12 cabinet and the head was a 200 watter, IIRC...
 
uncle looie

uncle looie

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Originally posted by Mario A
Hey Looie,

Do you still have the head or the cabinet?

Regards
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Nope, I moved it to buy something else not too long after I bought it. Glad I pulled the back off the cab to check what speakers it was loaded with first.
 
George H

George H

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1,283
I've been trying to find out trash or treasure myself.
I recently picked up a 6X10 Univox guitar cabinet. (model#U410)
It's a black tolex cabinet w/ Mag-Series ceramic magnet speakers in it.
It sounds really sweet but I have no use for it. Anyone have an idea of it's worth? (best I can find out is, it's probably from 1974)

I have pics if anyone wants to see it.

George H:)
http://community.webshots.com/user/strat62555
 
Red Planet

Red Planet

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4,347
frank52 said:
some are trash, some are treasures. the b group amps are the best ones. they sound great. very much a marshall/fender sound. univox did own marshall for a time and marshall later adopted their transformers. i have a b group 1011 head. 100w reverb and trem. i will be keeping it. also have a model U155R combo that is like a poor man's deluxe reverb. they are true vintage bargins. most had jensens and mullards in them.
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Unicord Owned the Rights to sole distrabution of Marshall Products for 15 years but Marshall was never owned by Anyone other than Jim Marshall.
 
T

Trout

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Messages
7,543
I have a 1972 U1511 "B" Group.

Quad of 6550's cranking out a solid 150W. This amp pound per pound has the best clean headroom of anything I have ever owned. I would compare the tone very close to a Hiwatt. The punch out of this thing will knock down walls.

My gal grabbed it for 5 bucks minus the output tubes at a garage sale. What a steal! I re-capped it, Put in new tubes, cleaned it good and its in great working order.

I have even used it 6 times in 2 years. Its just to damn loud to be of much use especially for a home amp. Even most gig's you'll never get close to the awesome overdrive when cranked to around 9. haha

Trout
 
billyguitar

billyguitar

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I had a 2x12 combo and a separate 4x12 box that I bought in a pawnshop for $250, the whole rig. It had a quad of 6L6s and sounded VERY Marshally. Doing a favor for a nephew I sold it him for what I paid. The jackass pawned or sold it dirt cheap later. He also had a refinned 1974 Tele that he bought for $800 and then sold later to a pawn shop for the same price. I told him what he did wrong on both counts but to no effect. I don't help him anymore.
 
T

tdu

Member
Messages
256
The only Univox I have owned was a solid state model that I believe was from 1970. It was a great sounding amp though. Quite light, and pretty loud.
 
Red Planet

Red Planet

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Messages
4,347
frank52 said:
some are trash, some are treasures. the b group amps are the best ones. they sound great. very much a marshall/fender sound. univox did own marshall for a time and marshall later adopted their transformers. i have a b group 1011 head. 100w reverb and trem. i will be keeping it. also have a model U155R combo that is like a poor man's deluxe reverb. they are true vintage bargins. most had jensens and mullards in them.
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Trannys would that be Radio Spares (which was not a Brand Name just WWII Surplus), Drake or Dagnall or Other?
 
epluribus

epluribus

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9,169
xhavepatiencex said:
i found this old thread but im gonna post in it anyway. i have a u1246 univox head, which im in love with. you can listen to it at http://www.myspace.com/roboteyes
its all the guitars on the left, woo.. univox!
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Great tracks, thanks for posting 'em.

Not surprised you like this amp. Wondered when the indie rock movement would re-discover these things. They love pedals, fabulously articulate, the mid scoop can be cavernous if you so dial it, and in any trim you feel the low end all the way down in your feet.

Trout said:
I have a 1972 U1511 "B" Group.
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Hey Trout! Just checked into the Univox page the other day.

Quad of 6550's cranking out a solid 150W. This amp pound per pound has the best clean headroom of anything I have ever owned. I would compare the tone very close to a Hiwatt. The punch out of this thing will knock down walls.
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+1, no question.

I have a '69 1221 stack, "100"W head over 2x12 Jensen stuffed closed back cab. Two 6L6GC's that actually bench closer to 40W, and it's a rather quiet 40 at that--but the power goes to the intense detail and bottomless low end definition, I think. That said, with a mid boost these'll go deep into Marshall turf with ease. Great touch too. The quiet part has always been a big plus, IMHO--very easy to mix, lots of room to put it out front with a boost. It's everything you said about your 1511 only in a more manageable package.

My gal grabbed it for 5 bucks minus the output tubes at a garage sale. What a steal! I re-capped it, Put in new tubes, cleaned it good and its in great working order.

I have even used it 6 times in 2 years. Its just to damn loud to be of much use especially for a home amp. Even most gig's you'll never get close to the awesome overdrive when cranked to around 9. haha

Trout
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Didn't know the story about how you got it--great stuff.

--Ray
 
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