Univox Gimmie U-1988 – Japan 1974-75 ?
by Univox
$1,195.00 19110Univox was a musical instrument brand of Japan’s Unicord Corporation from the early 1960s. They purchased the Amplifier Corporation of America of Westbury, New York and marketed a line of guitar amplifiers. Univox also distributed guitars branded by Matsumoku, effects units by Shin-Ei, and synthesizers by Crumar and Korg.
In 1985, Unicord Corporation was purchased by Korg, and the Univox brand was phased out.
This is a very nice Univox U1988 or “Gimmie” model in a natural finish, with a particularly attractive figured maple top. These guitars were made at the legendary Matsumoku plant in Japan and were one of dozens of “lawsuit era”Les Paul copies from various brands at the time. These quirky clones have since developed a reputation of their own based on build quality and unique tonality. This U1988 features a lovely flamed shallow curve maple top on a maple body with “pancake” construction – same as Gibson Les Pauls from the same years. The pickups are signature Univox plastic covered and resin filled humbuckers which are sometimes referred to as Univox Rippers. It features a snug fitting bolt-on neck with a slim “D” profile that’s very comfortable to play in all positions.
Features –
Maple body
24 3/4″ Scale length
1 11/16″ Nut width
Slim “D” profile maple neck
Rosewood fingerboard
Pearloid fretboard inlays
Univox humbucker neck 7.01k
Univox humbucker bridge 7.3k
2 volume 2 tone pots
3 way selector switch
Original closed back Univox tuners
Tune-O-Matic style bridge with stoptail
Weight is 8.5 lbs
This one is in great condition for a 40 year old guitar. It shows minimal player wear including some light marks and tiny dents on the back. But the top is amazingly clean – hard to find a mark anywhere. Same for the neck, front and back. Plenty of life left on the original frets. Truss rod works fine & tuners are good.
These Univox Les Pauls are becoming harder to find, mainly because their owners rarely part with them. Their quirky design elements combined with easy playability, great sounding pickups and high build quality add up to an appealing formula for players and collectors of these lawsuit guitars.
Comes in its original Univox branded hard shell case in very good condition.
