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UNIVOX lover's club
- Thread starter Pilgrim
- Start date
My 1971 Naked. When I got it it looked like it'd been in its case for the last 30 years. Probably will eventually put new pots in as the current ones go from 0 to LOUD in no time at all, and have bent shafts. The pickups are sweet though, and the body and neck are absolutely fantabulous. This guy plays itself.
Sweet! Your Naked is the first I've seen with identical parts to mine. I did a complete rewire recently.
Interesting - the silks on those strings are the same color as those on my 1963 P (it has a 1972 neck...). They've been on mine since at least 1972. Do you know what brand of strings they are?
I'm pretty sure they're DRs. Not quite sure though, they could be GHS. My memory isn't what it used to be.
Interesting, yours has the truss rod adjustment at the heel, don't think I've seen that on a Precisely before. I just love vintage MIJ character, no two instruments exactly alike!
Wowwy wow wow!!! Is that a custom job? If I had the chance I would probably trade my first born for that bass. Absolutely beee-yoo-ti-ful!
Nope, it's a Univox factory model! From 1976 or possibly earlier. They did a matching strat as well. Sounds great, and very nice to play. Although I had to replace the knobs on mine as the paint inexplicably flaked off the originals when it was just sitting in the case.
Some of the other comparable Japanese builders at the time did similar instruments, including one where the eagle carving is replaced with a dragon. All super rare from what I can tell!
Yup, every Hi-Flyer bass and every clone I have seen is 30". This is also true of the Aria Diamond series, which looked identical but was the predecessor of the Hi-Flyer. The Mosrite basses that the Hi-Flyer copied are all 30's.
BTW, nice to see someone posting in here.....
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Wilkommen to the club! Those are nice looking instruments. I'll bet the guitar is an easy one to play. Looks to me like the P-bass copy has a replaced bridge; looks like a late model Fender bridge that replaced the bent-metal style. Should be a good bridge, and it doesn't look out of place at all. You have a couple of nice pieces of history there!
I had a Coily ES and a Lectra violin, but they both flipped. The violin was an excellent fiddle bass.
I would really like to find one of these solid bodies, to add to my ( small ) 60's MIJ collection . There are about a gazillion violin basses out there, but very few were solid, and I like the unusual-ness of them.
I would really like to find one of these solid bodies, to add to my ( small ) 60's MIJ collection . There are about a gazillion violin basses out there, but very few were solid, and I like the unusual-ness of them.
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Yes, I replaced the bridge with a Kickass bridge because the old one was too tarnished and corroded to adjust. I also replaced the pickguard, pickups (with SD SPB-1), pots, and input plug. The bass sounds awesome and is my favorite to play. I did save all the old parts, though, in case I want to put it back to stock.
That's clearly a copy of the 1953-58 Gibson EB-1. You're right, those are rare chickens.
See: 25 Most Valuable Basses
The model was called the "Precisely." The natural finish version was called the "Naked." My Naked is from about '69.
Thanks, good info. Not sure what year mine is. Attaching a picture of what the pickguard, pickups, and knobs looked like before I replaced them all. The original pickups look different than yours, so mine is probably a later year. Maybe mid 70's? Extremely heavy guitar, also. Don't know what the wood is, but you need to have a comfy strap if you intend on standing with it for a couple of hours.The model was called the "Precisely." The natural finish version was called the "Naked." My Naked is from about '69.
What a great thread! After being inspired by some of the basses represented here, I started searching for one myself. As of yesterday, I have a UNIVOX Custom 335 coming to me from a GC in El Paso. I'm real glad this club is here, because I am going to have questions about mine, and probably will need some parts as well, as some my pictures below indicate.
First of all, can anyone identify what year this Custom 335 is? The pickups are different that those shown on Page 1 by the OP. They appear to be single coil, rather than the staple-type "humbuckers". My research on these shows that this model should have had a pickguard, which is missing.
Also, the tailpiece is corroded, and the bridge does not look original so I may need to replace them as well. Has anyone found a good source for some of these items?
I am wondering if the serial number tells us anything as far as year of manufacture. Looking closely at the number on the neck plate, mine is # 2113645
Is THIS the neck that some people call the "Gumby Neck"?
I'm a big fan of flat wound strings, so I'm thinking that an older model like this would do better with a "low tension" string like TI Jazz Flats or maybe the La Bella "Low Tensions". Has anyone here used either of these strings on one of these Customs?
Sorry for all the questions. I'm very excited to be getting a "vintage" 70s Japanese hollowbody. I already have an Epiphone Jack Casady, but have always wanted to explore the original "thump" that these basses were known for. TIA for any information!
First of all, can anyone identify what year this Custom 335 is? The pickups are different that those shown on Page 1 by the OP. They appear to be single coil, rather than the staple-type "humbuckers". My research on these shows that this model should have had a pickguard, which is missing.
Also, the tailpiece is corroded, and the bridge does not look original so I may need to replace them as well. Has anyone found a good source for some of these items?
I am wondering if the serial number tells us anything as far as year of manufacture. Looking closely at the number on the neck plate, mine is # 2113645
Is THIS the neck that some people call the "Gumby Neck"?
I'm a big fan of flat wound strings, so I'm thinking that an older model like this would do better with a "low tension" string like TI Jazz Flats or maybe the La Bella "Low Tensions". Has anyone here used either of these strings on one of these Customs?
Sorry for all the questions. I'm very excited to be getting a "vintage" 70s Japanese hollowbody. I already have an Epiphone Jack Casady, but have always wanted to explore the original "thump" that these basses were known for. TIA for any information!
