The univox website provides some information about its history and designs. Also around 1968, the famous hiflier line was started, which. Theres a certain mystique surrounding those funky univox hifliers part of it due to the iconic guitar it was created to mimic and some due to the famous guitarists who have slung one across their shoulder, like kurt cobain. May 25, 2016 univox only lasted a few years after the end of the hiflier. This is the big list with all the guitars on the site.
Kurt cobains guitars, amps, gear listed chronologically. The univox hiflier is an electric guitar marketed and sold by univox from roughly 1967 to 1977. The book is an historical horror novel about a perfumers apprentice born with no body odor of his own but with a highly developed sense of smell, and who attempts to create the. Based on the famous mosrite ventures model, the univox hiflier electric guitar is a vintage sixstring with a checkered past. I believe the switch to hum buckers with these guitars happened even later, like 19756. Unfollow eastwood fender to stop getting updates on your ebay feed. Get the best deals on univox guitar when you shop the largest online selection at. Get great deals on classic solid body electric guitars from fender, gibson, prs, ibanez, and more all on reverb. Used univox 70s hiflyer 4 string electric short scale bass with hard shell cas. Univox hi flier phase 1 late 60s sonic blue tortoise shellcustom made guitar. People use wrong allen wrenches to adjust, chewing out the head. The companys end was solidified by the 1987 fire in the matsumoku factory. Kurt cobain was the lead guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter for nirvana. An oral history of grunge, a time magazine book of the year.
The frets are clean just professionally set up with action of 564 at the 12th fret low e. Univox news newspapers books scholar jstor july 2015. The first drawings were done by kurt himself these were later published in the book journals, with the. Way better stuff now than in the mid 70s when i started. But it was my first guitar, and just like your first love, theres a lifelong connection there. As a part of univox community, each contribution makes you earn reward points that you can claim as multiple reward options available, paypal, virtual master, and amazon. Get an adfree experience with special benefits, and directly support reddit. Its a great time to upgrade your home music studio gear with the largest selection at. While most think of the history of american guitars in terms of. Kurt cobains guitars now bringing you up close to kurt cobains guitars. Univox hi flier phase 1 late 60s sunburst tortoise shell guitar. It was the sg it was displayed on loan from sluggo at the experience music project seattle, wa until he decided to sell it in 2008.
There were many hifliers made that had all the same characteristics as the hiflier custom, but were fitted with a standardunivox badge, with no customtag. Univox hi flier the hi flier was a copy of the mosrite guitar and debuted around 1968. A lot of the garage and punk bands i liked then were using cheap guitars, too. Copy of the hoffner that paul mccartney played in the early years of the beatles siclooking at this solidbody violin bass, id say it was more likely a copy of the gibson violin bass, and a more accurate copy than hofners version. Nirvanas kurt cobain helped popularise these old univox mosrite copies, injecting them with the cool factor.
I was told it was a univox with natural finish that had been painted because of the ugly color that the finish had yellowed to over time. In 1989, when i saw a thenunknown nirvana in hoboken, new jersey, i was amazed to see kurt cobain playing an old univox hiflier. Review the history of the production, meet the cast, and more. The guitar in question is a univox hiflier, which is essentially a 1970s japanesemade copy of the mosrite ventures model.
Stays in tune well, even playing the bigbys hard, book face headstock. The history of univox i guess about the best place to begin the history of univox is in the early 60s, with the company unicord purchased the amplifier corporation of america aca in westbury, ny and marketed a series of tube amps under the name univox. You will have no problem with sufficient output, as anything higher than 6 on the dial can overload my amp. The intonation was off, and every electrical connection was scratchy and quirky. Mar 21, 2017 a brief history of the univox hiflier guitar. There is no case included, but we pack for safe arrival as well as insure in full. In the early 1960s the unicord corporation, a manufacturer of electronic transformers purchased the amplifier corporation of america of westbury, new york. Right now i have a 1973 univox hi flier phase 3 sunburst when i bought it from portland, oregon someone added an extra switch to the guitar so there is 2 switchs to switch between pickups and in the bridge the humbucker is some unknown black humbucker from the 1970s and the neck was an original baige p90 humbucker thats in univox s, but.
Univox ripper, 1970s matsumokomade japanese stratalike. Lr harmony bobkat, univox hi flier phase iii, gordon smith gs1, antoria sg, silvertone colorkat covered in velvet, univox hi flier phase iii, acoustic black widow mosrite built, mosrite brass rail, univox hi flier phase iii, mystery mij guitar possibly a princess, squier silver series tele, telecaster deluxe, mij strat, mij jaguar. Dec 19, 2009 this was the second sunburst univox hi flier photographed for the cobain unseen book. White univox hi flier used on the heart shaped box. The blog is run by the author, freelance writereditor mark yarm. He played a few of these hifliers in his early days, including a sunburst model decorated with stickers, and a white one, given to him by his.
This is the one that started it all for read more 1971 univox hi flier japanese guitar. The seller of this 1960s univox lectra violin bass currently listed on ebay tells us that it is a. Feb 21, 2017 find this guitar, and more great vintage gear for good people on sale at. But it was great to come across this natural or clearcoat finish version of the coveted phase 3 iteration of the hi flier. Nov 19, 20 if you like those guitars but cant find a vintage one, eastwood guitars is currently reissuing several of these designs. So here it is, one of my first vintage electric guitars. Univox hiflier reissue sunburst eastwood guitars mosrite. The univox hi flier is an electric guitar marketed and sold by univox later unicord from roughly 1967 to 1977. It had a thin body, with reverse strat style,a bolt on neck, plastic logo until about 73, then changed to a decal under the finish, 22frets on a rosewood fretboard, white pickguard w volume tone and 3way pickup select, two black covered single coil p90. When it comes to the hiflier, univox set out to imitate the american made mosrite ventures model. He played a few of these hifliers in his early days, including a sunburst model decorated with stickers, and a white one, given to him by his girlfriend at the time, tracy. Cobain was considered the spokesman of a generation and spearheaded the grunge movement in the usa, though he often felt that the public misunderstood the lyrics and meanings of his songs. He sometimes played a clear lucite, electra or ventura, japanese budget copy of the expensive originals designed by dan armstrong and produced by ampeg.
In the early 1960s the unicord corporation, a manufacturer of electric. Before that unicord was a manufacturer of electronic transformers. In fact, one could argue that the quality of these eastwood hiflier. Full sizecustoms services and international tracking provided. If you like those guitars but cant find a vintage one, eastwood guitars is currently reissuing several of these designs. This was the highest line and one of the most desirable guitars ever offered by univox. Online surveys for cash earn money online univox community. Japanese electrics 1969 apollo red baron guitar 1966 aria diamond 1402t guitar 1967 arai diamond 1532t guitar 1969 aria kf190 guitar 1960s astrotone guitar 1960s super astrotone guitar 1960s audition zenon guitar 1966 audition kawai guitar 1968 avalon av2t shaggs model 1960s conquerer. Kurt started first started playing on a univox hiflier guitar which is a cheap replica of the more expensive mosrite gospel model.
Matsumokus products enjoy a strong following among devoted enthusiasts. A brief history of the univox hiflier guitar reverb news. Also joining the univox amp line in 71 illustrated in a 72 flyer was the univox u4100 minimax amplifier, already showing a different style, with dark tolex covering but still the oval logo plate on the upper left of the grille, now covered in black with vertical dotted lines surrounded by a white vinyl strip. Univox ripper, 1970s matsumokomade japanese strat alike. Man, i really loved that guitar, even though it was tough to play. Kurt cobain with mudhoney univox hiflier grunge tour south of sanity grunge tour south of sanity see more. This is your chance to get your hands on a very special piece of univox japan history the 1970s hiflier bass. Kurt cobain with mudhoney univox hiflier grunge tour south of sanity. This was a simple matter at the factory because the hi flier custom was created simply to use leftover stock badges from the previous univox custom model. Early bird gets the cool guitars that should have disappeared within minutes of being set out for sale very lucky find. Univox hiflier electric guitar, phase 3 model no serial no. Kurt started first started playing on a univox hiflier guitar which is a cheap replica of the more. Of course cobain played that and gave it some cachet years later. I remember christmas of 76 i wanted a gibson les paul but what i got was a univox hiflier strung up left handed.
The univox hiflier was based loosely on the distinctive mosrite reverse. He and nirvana tore up maxwells that night, and it only reinforced my teenage resolve to shun highpriced guitars. Vintage freak show the seed for my guitar obsession was planted way back in the mid 80s, when my mom got me an old, used japanese guitar. Its obviously a stratocasterderived guitar, and whilst ive seen other similar univox strattype guitars complete with triple humbuckers, one angled at the bridge the others i have seen have always had strattype necks too.
Trosper played several kinds of odd guitars, including the univox hiflier made famous by kurt cobain, generally preferring guitars with p90 pickups. Jun 23, 2012 so here it is, one of my first vintage electric guitars. All s are by the author and vintage guitar magazine. Kurt traded it him for either a white univox hi flier pic 1, 2, 3 or a gibson sg pic 1, 2 update.
Kurt cobain of nirvana, univox hi flier, epiphone et270, aria pro ii cardinal series cs250, washburn force 31. The appeal comes from the nice strat style body and the 3 proprietary humbucking pickups that were wound for ultra high output. If youve ever read my stories you probably know that. Univox hiflier from 1976 japanesemade mosrite copy. Guitar univox hi flier mosrite copy maple phase iv. While unichord and merson split up in 1975, it was the purchase of what remained of univox by korg in 1985 that truly did the brand in. The univox hiflier is an electric guitar marketed and sold by univox later unicord from roughly 1967 to 1977. Dec 21, 2019 the univox hi flier is an electric guitar marketed and sold by univox from roughly 1967 to 1977.
Heres a 1970s univox ripper, made at the now legendary matsumoko factory in japan. This was the second sunburst univox hi flier photographed for the cobain unseen book. One version was famously used by kurt cobain in the nirvana video for heart shaped box. See newly acquired artifacts like the kurt cobains univox hiflier phase 3 guitar at mopops updated. In the photograph we can see a replacement humbucker in the neck position. Influenced by the beatles particularly by john lennon, led zeppelin, acdc. Apr 01, 2012 i believe the switch to hum buckers with these guitars happened even later, like 19756. Flickr photos, groups, and tags related to the mosrite flickr tag. This is the vintage 1970s univox japan hi flier electric bass guitar. Right now i have a 1973 univox hiflier phase 3 sunburst when i bought it from portland, oregon someone added an extra switch to the guitar so there is 2 switchs to switch between pickups and in the bridge the humbucker is some unknown black humbucker from the 1970s and the neck was an original baige p90 humbucker thats in univoxs, but. Virtual master rewards are powerful reward incentives with universal.
Fender bass vi wikimili, the best wikipedia reader. Kurt cobain of nirvana, univox hiflier, epiphone et270, aria pro ii cardinal series cs250, washburn force 31. First made famous by the group for which it is named and again years later by grunge god, kurt cobain, different details about univox and its hiflier are a bit sparse. Univox hiflier phase 3 guitar, played by kurt cobain, 1989. Univox also distributed guitars by matsumoku, effects units by shinei companion, and synthesizers by crumar and korg. With its reversed offset body, the hiflier has an intentional resemblance to the mosrite ventures guitar. Also included is a letter from earnie bailey, kurts guitar tech, detailing the complete history of the amp during the recording session and has signed photos of this amp ensuring its authenticity. The univox hi flier is an electric guitar marketed and sold by univox from roughly 1967 to 1977. Unlike the first one see other entry this one was published in the book. This was a simple matter at the factory because the hiflier custom was created simply to use leftover stock.
Media in category univox hiflier the following 9 files are in this category, out of 9 total. There were many hi fliers made that had all the same characteristics as the hi flier custom, but were fitted with a standard univox badge, with no customtag. Theres a certain mystique surrounding those funky univox hifliers part of it due to the iconic guitar it was created to mimic and some due to. They began marketing a line of amplifiers under the name of univox. Vintage 1970s univox japan hi flier flyer electric bass guitarsunburst finish vintage 1970s univox japan hi flier flyer electric bass guitarsunburst finish welcome to musicdungeon. Univox was a musical instrument brand of unicord corporation from the early 1960s, when they purchased the amplifier corporation of america of westbury, new york and began to market a line of guitar amplifiers. Univox is a defunct american musical instrument, effects unit and amplifier manufacturer. Refretted with stainless fret wire likely will never need another refret. Someone just gave me a 1970s univox guitar made in japan with the serial number 035576. The hiflier, first manufactured by univox in 1968, was an inexpensive reproduction by a company with a reputation for making copy guitars, based on other highly successful industry favorites.
The flyer for this amp was still in the 1980 unicord book, but a 79 price list no longer. In 1985, unicord corporation was purchased by korg, and the univox brand was phased out. Although identical spec wise, this one had absolutely no stickers on it and the pickguard wasnt painted pink so it appears to be a different guitar. The hiflier guitars were introduced around 1968 and were listed simply as 1800 univox solid body electric guitar. Vintage 1960s kawai teisco guyatone solidbody electric guitar. Early 70s univox hi flier flyer phase 2 guitar, wcase. Trosper played several kinds of odd guitars, including the univox hi flier made famous by kurt cobain, generally preferring guitars with p90 pickups. Information about matsumokus contribution to guitar making is better known now due in large part to the internet. But it was great to come across this natural or clearcoat finish version of the coveted phase 3 iteration of the hiflier. Univox only lasted a few years after the end of the hiflier. Univox is a defunct american musical instrument, effects unit and amplifier manufacturer in the early 1960s the unicord corporation, a manufacturer of electronic transformers purchased the amplifier corporation of america of westbury, new york. With its reversed offset body, the hi flier has an intentional resemblance to the mosrite ventures guitar. Eastwood univox hiflyer electric guitar for sale online ebay.
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