Bass Gear Review

Reviewer	Doug Wray
Experience	31
Email	Dougjwray@aol.com
Review date	December 10 2001
Manufacturer	Univox
Model	P-Bass copy (early-mid 70s)
Price	$199.95 (used)
Item owned for	2-5 years

Bass type	4 string fretted
Neck join	Bolt-On
Neck construction	Maple (?)
Fignerboard	Rosewood, standard P-Bass scale and frets
Body	Alder, 2 pieces (top and bottom), with ultrathin layer in between
Finish	Clear; may have been stripped of paint
Pickups	Seymour Duncan Antiquities
Hardware	Univox hardware (copy of Fender style)
Electronics	Volume & tone, passive

I discovered this bass in a music store a few years ago, and played it unplugged to listen to the sound of the wood. To my ears, it was more resonant and full than any "vintage model" Fender P-Bass I'd ever tried (that is to say, one of Fender's copies of its early basses). I had been using a 1983 P-Bass Elite II with Bartolini pickups and active (Fender) electronics, and while that has a great C-width neck and maple fingerboard, and happens to have a pretty nice acoustic sound, I had been lusting for a more Jamersonian sound in my arsenal (like millions of other bassists, it seems, lately). The Univox also had a very straight neck with vintage (small) frets and a "baseball bat" shape in back, which I love. There was some fret buzz at the 1st and 2nd frets on the E string, and when I plugged it in, the pickups hummed a bit. Nonetheless, I snapped it up. The salesman was a bit sad to see it go, and told me he would've bought it if not for the fact that replacing the pickups would've required some modification. That didn't deter me. As soon as I could, I bought the Seymour Duncan pickups, and had my favorite repair guy, Jim Mouradian in Cambridge, Mass. (mini-commercial there), install them and work on the set-up. As it turned out, the only cutting necessary involved the pickguard, not the wood, so I purchased an official Fender imitation-1962 tortoiseshell pickguard and had Jim put it on. (By the way, this bass also came with a chrome bridge cover and black plastic thumb rest, both exact copies of the Fender ones.) I chose GHS Precision Flatwounds for the strings (regular gauge: 55-105). Now the payoff of this long review: This bass is now quiet, the neck is perfect everywhere, and the tone closely resembles an early-60s Fender P-Bass. For anyone who cares about these things, the neck joint is tighter than tight. I've used it regularly on recording projects, along with a 5-string Musicman (with roundwounds, active electronics, etc.), and often feel that it holds its place in the mix AND sounds fatter than the Musicman. It's loud, too (a combination of the resonant wood and the excellent pickups). When I first played gigs with this bass, I half-jokingly kidded around with my wife about covering the "Univox" decal with duct tape or something, to spare myself the embarassment. Now I don't care. The moral of the story: in this case, the Japanese copied an American product of iconic proportions, and did a fantastic job. Don't let an unsexy brandname keep you from finding a great instrument. (By the way, there might be some really poor Univoxes out there, too, so focus on each individual specimen!)

Construction	98%
Appearance	85%
Playability	100%
Sound	98%
Value	100%
Overall	98%