Tag: Epiphone

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Univox Coily U1825 Electric Guitar

Univox Coily U1825 Casino

The Univox Coily Hollowbody Electric – A True 1970’s Sleeper

The Univox Coily is one example of a guitar that no one wanted in the 70’s, but would die for today. This thing just rocks!

Back in the 70’s, Univox was known as the U.S. distributor of Marshall amps… and… that’s about all they were known for! They did have their own line of guitars and amps, but most everyone wanted to rock a Les Paul with their Marshall, not a Univox, or even a Fender for that matter.

But the Coily has that Epiphone Casino-like mojo. It’s a full hollow body Maple thin line guitar, with a pair of P-90 type pickups, similar to John Lennon’s Casino. And these pickups are hot!

The 1975 Coily featured a flamed Maple body, fully bound, in a sunburst finish, P-90 type pickups, a ball-bearing Vibrato arm (Whammy Bar), Matsumoku’s three-piece Maple neck, Rosewood fingerboard with Pearloid “Box” inlays.

The Coily was based on the Epiphone Casino, made popular in the 1960’s by The Beatles. John Lennon was the first Beatle to get one; and later Paul and George each got their own. The Casino was the only guitar that was owned and played by all three. You can see John playing his Casino in several Beatles films and videos. But the Abbey Road Rooftop Concert might be the most famous, with John playing it during their recording of “Get Back.”

Specifications

  • 1975 Univox Coily
  • Model number U1825.
  • Full Hollow body thin line body (no center block), arch top, electric.
  • Maple ply top, back and sides.
  • Bound body with Flamed Maple finish.
  • Sunburst body in Orange, Red, and Jade Green (rare color).
  • P-90 Pickups (made to look like Humbuckers).
  • Separate volume and tone controls for each pickup.
  • Three-way pickup switch.
  • Black pick guard.
  • Ball-bearing Vibrato Tailpiece.
  • Made in Japan by Matsumoku, mid 1970’s.
  • Similar to Epiphone Casino, Epiphone EA250, Epiphone 5102T.
  • Original sale price: $122.50.
  • A bass guitar version of the Coily was also available.

Photos: The Univox Coily

 

Thanks!

Previous Comments

{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }

Michael Simpson April 19, 2017 at 11:57 am

I have the same model, but in green sunburst , serial#0166981 can you tell me how many were made in green?

REPLY

alex April 30, 2017 at 9:53 pm

Hi Michael,

The Japanese guitar factories didn’t maintain accurate records back then, so it’s hard to know. Sunbrust green does seem to be more rare. I would guess that they made about 1 green Coily for every three or four cherry sunburst.

~alex

REPLY

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Kalamazoo Model 1 Solid State Guitar Amp

Kalamazoo Model 1 Solid-State Guitar Amp


A great little clean tone amp with real vintage vibe. Why practice on a modern digital piece of (insert your favorite phrase here) when you can play a pure analog classic on the cheap!

Here’s a great little solid-state analog-powered practice amp for electric guitars. Around 5 to 10 watts of power into a vintage 10″ American speaker with Alnico magnet. These little Kalamazoo amps were produced in Kalamazoo, Michigan (of course!) in the 1970’s next to their larger Gibson siblings, and were very well built compared to other inexpensive amps of that era. All real plywood construction and baffle board; no pressed fiber board. This one gets plenty loud for practice, or small gigs. Like most solid-state amps of that era, it produces a clean tone all the way to up full volume. You will need to add a good pedal to get that tube-like distortion, like a BOSS DS-1, a Tube Screamer, or my personal analog preference a vintage DOD Overdrive.

VIDEO:

SPECS:

  • Built in 1971.
  • Somewhere between 5 and 10 solid-state watts.
  • One channel.
  • Two instrument inputs.
  • Volume, tone/on-off switch, red pilot light.
  • Black vinyl “tolex” covering.
  • Nice, vintage 10″ Alnico speaker.
  • No tremolo or reverb on this model.

COOL FACTORS:

  • Vintage, pure analog, solid-state guitar amplifier.
  • Made in Kalamazoo, Michigan – the home of Gibson at that time – where they took the art of building great guitars and amplifiers seriously.
  • Classic, made in USA, Alnico magnet speaker. Kalamazoo speakers always sounded great!
  • Not your modern mass-produced digital garbage manufactured off-shore by ???.

CONDITION:

  • I have gone thoroughly through this amp and played it for hours.
  • All wiring, components are original and in good condition.
  • Everything functions as it should, and this amp is very quiet when idling.
  • It still has the 2-prong power cord, but works just fine.
  • No major cosmetic damage.
  • Some slight separations of the tolex vinyl at some corners, but have to be up close to notice.
  • Some light surface scratches on the control panel, again, can only be seen up close.
  • There’s just a bit of looseness in the speaker fabric.

PHOTOS:

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