UNIVOX lover's club

[Pilgrim]

NICE clean job of removing that fretboard! I think you're well positioned to save that neck.

 

[itmeyaboi]

Thanks! There's only one spot I kinda nicked on the neck, but it's not too bad. I'm planning on grinding down some of the material around the end of the truss rod with my dremel, and then I'll put that spacer back and either install a new nut, or re-install the old one. I'll have to tap the piece of truss rod that broke off in the nut and back it out if I wanna use it though, but I don't know the exact thread size anyways, so that may be my only option. Thanks for the encouragement to try to save the neck, I think it's gonna work!

 

[Pilgrim]

I believe you can buy truss rod material through StewMac, and I'd incline to get a new one if that is practical. Whatever you use, you'll want to get a bit of synthetic lube on the threads when installing.

 

[itmeyaboi]

Well I'd have to remove a lot of wood to get that truss rod out and install a new one. Ideally that's what I'd do, but idk if its possible. Do you have any suggestions on removing that truss rod without cutting any of the wood that's over the top of it?

 

[Pilgrim]

Not something I'm familiar with...I wouldn't know unless you can just turn the rod out of the brace at the base and slide it outthrough the adjustment hole.

You might take this to the Luthier forum or the Hardware, Setup and Repair forum. There are some mighty smart people there.

 

[itmeyaboi]

Update on the bass neck I’ve been repairing:

I got in contact with a local (to west Texas) luthier, and he was nice enough to guide me through the whole repair! So I fabricated a new truss rod and got the fretboard glued back on. Then I sanded back all the lacquer on the neck since I had to break through all of it to get the fretboard off, and I finished the back of the neck with tung oil. I wanted to leave the lacquer on the headstock, so I went for a kinda relic’d look. I like how it turned out!

 

[Pilgrim]

Looks fantastic. Nice work!

 

[itmeyaboi]

I have brought this bass back from the dead! After I repaired the neck I had to replace all the electronics, so I installed a pickup blend knob instead of a regular switch. I love the way it looks, and I love the way it sounds even more!

 

[Pilgrim]

Great looking bass! Those are light and nice to play.

 

[mb94952]

I'm glad there's a club. I've always loved the 70's necks on Univox Pbasses. Their Ric copies are better than the real deal. Univox is spectacular !

 

[SteveMDallas]

Back in early 2015 I came across this appealing fretless violin bass, a Univox 'Lectra U1970, hanging on the used guitar wall at my local GC. As far as I can tell it has all its original parts, and the original case too (which isn't terribly protective -- the Japanese makers don't seem to have believed in padded cases or hard shells back then). I gave it a try out of curiosity and found that I rather liked it.

Although it's seemingly a copy of the old Gibson EB/EB-1, it's hollow. It needed a little cleaning and adjustment; someone had raised the pickup so high that it was actually above the fingerboard, so the string would hit the pickup if you played very far up the neck. Once I lowered it, the instrument became much more playable and its tone more pleasant. It sounds more like a standup bass than most fretless bass guitars I've played. I replaced the strings with a La Bella DTB 760FS-S set; the neck is handling the tension fine, but I may switch to 760FL-S to make the strings just a little easier to bend, or I might even try 760FX-S.

From what I've seen online, nobody seems sure who actually made these bases, though Matsumoku is a common guess. It's certainly well-enough made to be one of theirs.

I'm intermittently tempted to go looking for a U1970F (the same bass with frets) in as good condition as this one (and hopefully at a similar price -- GC only wanted $349, but I've seen optimists asking double or more online for the same model in much worse shape, often with the bridge cover missing), but so far I have successfully resisted.

View attachment 2862376

If someone's handing out member numbers, I'll take one, please.

Any chance of emailing a copy of the pick guard for the U 1970
I’m trying to fabricate a template [email protected]

 

[Craig4003]

Any chance of emailing a copy of the pick guard for the U 1970
I’m trying to fabricate a template [email protected]

I can take a close-up photo of it with a ruler next to it. Will that do?

 

[erik_ghoulet]

I have a U1970F. It’s cool.

 

[SteveMDallas]

I can take a close-up photo of it with a ruler next to it. Will that do?

Outstanding, your the man.
I’ve been going nuts trying to find one.
I did one freehand that’s not bad but a copy is over the top

 

[SteveMDallas]

I have a U1970F. It’s cool.

I love it.
Found one in outstanding shape all original but no pickguard
Plan to fabricate one once I can perfect the template

 

[Craig4003]

Outstanding, your the man.
I’ve been going nuts trying to find one.
I did one freehand that’s not bad but a copy is over the top

Sent by email.

 

[covermego]

Meanwhile, 3 short years later........ Another posting in this thread!!
I had reached out to @Pilgrim a couple hours ago and asked if he knew anyone that had interest in this case. Wouldn't it be nice to get this case to someone who owns a Precisely or other standard scale Univox! As I told Pilgrim, I am most willing to consider haggling, bartering, trading, etc. to get this case into the right hands! Just PM me and we can figure something out. Hope someone in the TB community can use this! Thanks! - Lenny

https://www.talkbass.com/threads/obo-1970s-univox-bass-case-89-shipped.1645322/

 

[Pilgrim]

^^The interior color of that case (see the ad) and the graphic on the case tell me that's an original 60's or early 70's case made by the California Case Co. A nice find for a Univox owner.