For Sale: reverb.com/item/22450199-1970s-1980s-kay-univox-effector-single-cut-lp-tobacco-sunburst?_aid=growsumo&gs_partner=Trogly Not the best guitar in the world - but I would've forever been curious if I didn't try it! Mentioned Videos: Lotus Mini Les Paul: ua-cam.com/video/VHeX5_HQToI/v-deo.html Hondo D-18 : ua-cam.com/video/8_oOnytTkyY/v-deo.html Unboxing Video: ua-cam.com/video/hmIsXQXEWpU/v-deo.html Frank Zappa SG: ua-cam.com/video/kUD5Gzd4hKo/v-deo.html Episode Guide 0:14 - 70s/80s Knock Off Brands 1:09 - The Effector 1:52 - What it Copied 2:40 - Non-Original Parts 4:32 - Inside Look / Parts 7:05 - Tone Demo 14:11 - Final Thoughts 14:35 - Blacklight
And thank you for that. It's why I watch. I can look at online instrument ads and wonder about them, but your demos drive it home wonderfully. Again, you're a great combination of musician and technician.
My first electric guitar was one of these. Got it from Sears. Thanks for the memories.... Late at night, it would sometimes pick up a French- Canadian radio station. My later guitars never did that.
At one time some fuzz circuits were similar to simple radios. There are many stories about Fuzz Factory, Fuzz Face, and other pedals & their clones picking up AM Radio signals.
I’ve had one since new. My dad bought it in about 1979/80 when I was a baby, I got it when he died and I’ve always loved it. Mine plays better than any other electric I have ever played and I have been offered silly money for it. Must’ve gotten lucky with it because it’s the best guitar I’ve ever owned.
Are you sure you mean the GUITAR fuzz? He used his amp's distortion that first time and then later before demonstrating the built in fuzz he used his amp's dist again. It could actually BE a Marshall crunch channel. The guitar fuzz here sounds like the amp is under water. I wonder what fuzz circuit is in there. Perhaps germanium transistors? LOL
@@guitarbrad Yeah, I agree with Nobel and Vidar. I heard when he was using his amp distortion and the built in fuzz. Fuzz is just one of those funny effects that even when it's cheap, it's still cool. Although now that I think about it, I'm not so sure I agree with Nobel Failures about the boutique fuzz. Yes, traditional fuzz is a very simple circuit and it sounds good even with cheap parts but on the other hand, I love an EHX Big Muff. It's just a nicer, smoother fuzz. It's something one can use all the time and not just when you want that crazy vintage Hendrix sound. But, in general you have a point.
@Noble Failures @Paul TheSkeptic These are good points, when alluding to the guitar's fuzz effect. I only thought that Vidar might have been mistaken - as I was at first - confusing the amp's distortion for the guitar's built in fuzz. Regarding my second point, I personally think distortion & overdrive sound better than fuzz. (They certainly are different.) There ARE some good recorded examples of fuzz guitar of course.
The built in effects on this guitar really blew me away. In an age where everything is so crystal clear and obvious I actually find it refreshing to hear effects I can barely distinguish even after being told the name. Combined With other pedals I bet you could get some cool sounds NOBODY is using. (for better or worse) cool guitar. Play Authentic play original bois - Thomas Edison
I bought one of these brand new in 1976 out of my sister's Kay's catalogue. I had just left school at 15 and was getting a band together. This was my 1st electric guitar, which I played every day for 5 years as lead guitarist in my rock band. It is still hanging up on my wall in pride of place. It always got some funny looks from guys who were fascinated by the built-in effects. It still plays like a dream and is all original. The action is perfect. It is actually well finished, with inlays on the neck and piping around the body. The truss rod cover behind the nut displays the Kay logo.
Yeah well, did you see that soldering? It has that, thrown together look. It looks like it was made by a teenager with a kit and a $12 soldering iron. I can't imagine how that thing even plays without shorting out constantly. But, I must admit, it is kind of cool how the cheap effects interfere with each other like that. It does make for some _kind of_ interesting sounds. But ultimately, the thing looks too fragile to ever consider bringing on the road or bringing anywhere really.
Hey D Rosa-who do you think you are..... absolutely nailing what that sounds like Haaaaaa LoL it really does sound like telephone lines a very astute comparison. But I have to say that dirty out of phase tone wasn't half bad.
I see the comments about being a wall hanger...nonsense...its a relic that if in the right hands would definitely make you feel like you had a schlitz beer in your den with shag carpet underneath your partially covered in bell bottoms feet...its an amazing sounding guitar..quirky but beautiful
I agree...takes me back. I have the Electra MPC and the effects are modules and far superior to this guitar but I'd still like to have one. Id pay $50 for one
Kay _were_ the el cheapo company in the 70s, so yeah, the joke fits. They were still a cheap company in the 50s - 60s, but they were still their own thing with their own pickup designs until 1968. Even earlier, they were a more upscale company in the 1920s - 1930s.
ME TOO!!! mine was stolen in the early 90s. Maybe not the best guitar, but I think better than his opinion in the review - I think his was ruined by the guy trying to "fix" it 😀
@@CJGausvikI agree. I had one of these in the early 80s and the original neck wasn’t bad at all and the intonation could almost be set (better than a few cheaper Gibsons I’ve had). The frets were very low and the neck felt & played very similar to a Walnut 1972 LP Deluxe I own. After watching this video, I now know the origin of that 1 old, chrome covered, single-coil ‘humbucker’ in my collection of pickups. 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽 Once I realized how microphonic, buzzy & noisy the guitar’s original pickups were & that both neck & bridge seemed to be always running together, I replaced the bridge pickup in the Effector and disconnected the neck pickup (but didn’t remove it). I intended to, someday, route a circular cavity & install a selector switch for the 2 P.U.s but I was constantly acquiring better guitars & other equipment & was always so busy with gigs, rehearsals & practice that it became… ‘not so important’ to fuck around with anymore. Over time, I robbed the knobs from it and its tailpiece….. then it’s bridge…. then one time I needed 2 500k pots to replace the 2 I had just ruined by spraying the ‘wrong stuff’ in them, when I attempted to clean-up the scratchiness & dropouts when I’d turn them 🙄. As time went on, the thing kept losing parts and there were several other guitars that, same as this one, were only ‘good enough when I needed something’ & they all spent the remainders of their lives in the attics of 3 different places I lived & when there was nothing left to ‘borrow’ from them - I quietly buried them in all the other ‘junk’ I threw away when I did a major clean up of my attic & sadly (but gratefully) put the boxes on the sidewalk for the morning garbage truck.
My first guitar, for which I paid $10. Truly a piece of beautiful garbage! Effects eventually fried, so I pulled them out and replaced the bridge pickup with an actual humbucker and just left the neck disconnected. Still plays like crap and won't stay in tune, but I still have it hanging on the wall.
That "echo" effect sounds like a tremolo with a sawtooth lfo. I guess if you sustain a sound, it kinda does sound like an echo, but it's not really "repeating" anything. Guess, back then delay was pretty hard to do in a budget effect.
My onboard effects lasted less than a year but the guitar itself, which was a 15th birthday present from my mom in '84, has been to hell and back & forth. That so-called 'echo' WAS the tremolo while that wah was all whirlwind and that 'fuzz' was the only best thing of all to me! The so-called 'phase' switch was nothing but a 2-way pickup selector where 'in' was the bridge and 'out' was the neck. I just knew I had humbuckers until I took the covers off and discovered there were no humbuckers at all; there may have been dummy coils to those SC's but not with mine. Nearly 35yrs to now, only thing original is the neck, body, all the binding, clear finish on the headstock and the tailpiece studs which the original stop was replaced by a fine-tuning Gibson TP6 and everything else imaginable has been replaced on a guitar except for the frets. The body sides has construction gaps by the strap button screw holes. It's been a black top since '95 but otherwise stripped to bare wood (mahogany body/neck & maple back)...and for the record, I'd pay $60 for another one!
1:40, The headphone jack may no be broken. I had two of which I thought did not work. So I got 1/4 inch adapter and plug into a amp ans it works fine. But or headphones you a an amplified headphone.
Overjoyed to come across this 1988 and me n my best mate formed a band, me on vocals n jay on guitar, a not too shabby univox effector... These days when we get to remenicing we both say it was the best time of our young lives. Thank you friend
I always wanted one of these when I was a kid. I used to search through the new Sears catalogs we would get in the mail for the page that had these on it. Even though they were very inexpensive I just never had enough money to buy one. Did he say people are asking $600 for these now? A Danelectro would be a much better choice for the money. Damn, I remember back when I was in high school you could buy a real 70’s Les Paul for &500 or $600 and a mid 60’s Ford Mustang for $1000 to $1500 and a 60’s Camero, Chevelle, Malibu. Impala, etc for a couple grand. If I only knew then what I do now...
Thank you for doing this. You brought back so many happy memories of my youth. This was my first guitar. I was 11 years old in 1979 and I picked this guitar out of the Sears Catalog and my parents bought it for me for Christmas. I played that guitar for 5 years 😆 I gave it to a friend when I got my first real Les Paul. I kinda wish I still have it. Anyway you really brought back the memory of a wonderful time in my life. Thanks again friend.
Just so you know the Whirl/whirlwind setting is supposed to be a Leslie type sound. Prototype versions say leslie instead of whirl but that got shut down for some reason.
It's funny how "echo" and "tremolo" are quite similar...if not the absolute same. The distortion and auto-wha are pretty nice. It does sound like it needs a good intonation job, or a good turning, set of strings, etc. The finish is really nice. It looks better to me than most Gibson tobacco sunbursts I've seen. I don't recall ever seeing one of these before, but I'm familiar with the Univox era. From my experience with my brother's musician friends (in the day), either you got a good one...or didn't. My brother had a very nice Univox P-Bass copy, which was pretty good until he decided he wanted it intonated, perfectly, all the way up and down the neck. It got traded away at that point.
The echo did not echo. You can see it clear on the last chop he does during the echo demo. I think you'd need a chip to do the echo. I'd like to see a close up of the circuit board. It's neat how they used so many parts with such poor results. Love it.
I had an Electra MPC Les Paul style guitar with two built in effects-phase shifter and compressor. That was a fantastic guitar all the way around. The phaser was similar to a ehx small stone. The compressor was hands down the best compressor I ever used-totally noiseless until you hit a note. It did need a 9v battery.
Talk about memory lane....This was the first guitar I ever owned....my 15th birthday present...ordered out of the Sears catalog. Thanks for the great find. :)
My very first electric guitar that I actually bought from Sears for $115. Now I remember why I never used the effects. I ended up trading it for a black Gibson Sonex Deluxe in '82.
That's the only effect that's not coming from the guitar. It's on the amplifier. I'd be pretty stoked about a guitar that could get THAT sound just from an onboard switch!
I tried one of these at my local guitar center once, it played pretty nicely and was about $300. I didn’t have the money with me at the time or else I would’ve went for it
14:14, I bought another one due to it was the first guitar I bought with my own money. So it was all about nostalgia. I wish I could add a photo of mine. I replaced the Gibson Style tailpiece with a trapeze tailpiece.
It was the first one I bought with my own money too, back in 1981 from a pawn shop for $220. I bought a second because of a mishap attempting to swap out the pickups for Humbuckers and a neck/fret/nut problem. It's mostly just for fond memories of music from the 70s/80s and a good ol' "What the hell??!!" When friends see it for the first time.
I had a Columbus Les Paul copy from a catalogue. It had the "hollow top" like this, and the single coil "humbuckers". I put DiMarzio pickups in it and it became a decent guitar :-) The name of the catalogue company, in the UK, was "Kay" :-)
As a young boy, I dreamed of getting the similarly appointed, Strattier-shaped Cort Effector from the Sears Catalog in the mid to late '80s. I think it was around $180 and out of my price range. I was too young to effectively push a lawn mower at that point. Later, in junior high school, I knew a guy who owned one, and I thought it was pretty cool. But by that time, I'd learned a little and had moved on to wanting a little nicer, less gimicky gear. Now that I'm old as shit, I wouldn't mind running across one of those old Corts and buying it just for fun.
Dude those are the most microphonic pickups I've ever heard haha. So sick, I always wondered what these effects on those old univox guitars sounded like. Not going to lie man I was expecting jizz spots on the blacklight test.
I own an Aria Pro II LP Custom copy, and it's a really solid instrument. The only huge difference between it and the "real thing" is the bolt-on neck. Picked it up for $200.
For a guitar made in the 70’s on the cheap those effects are the best bang for your buck at the time especially if you had nothing else to but your dads stupid fender tweed amp from the early 60’s! Every generation has there learning guitars and amps. Mine was a 92’ peavey predator (made in the USA baby!) and the most awesome practice amp ever created and a staple of every garage sale on the planet at the time the little 6’ - 8’ gorilla practice amp. At the time grunge was the cool sound and this thing sure sounded “grungy” you should do an amp review on one!
I don't understand how one person can look at instrument pieces like this one and think "yea it's shit, it be bad, don't buy it don't play it, don't waste your time". Bro, it literally has more character and is more quirky and memorable than all your other guitars XD
Thanks for the great demo. I collect these old ‘vintage’ cheap guitars that were all that (us) working-class kids in the UK could afford. They got many on their way to fame, I guess. Been looking for an ‘Efector’ for ages and today - I’ve just bought one!
I had a few of them when I was 15 or so back in the 80s. I spray painted one black then in red painted AC/DC on the back. I thought it was so badass at the time
I'd absolutely LOVE to see you review one of these 1979-1982 Greco EG 600 Les Paul Customs. Some people say they're on the same level quality-wise if not better than the real deal and I thought as an expert (especially on Les Paul Customs) you should be able to tell.
Oh, man this takes me back... to about 1979. I had a basic Kay LP copy that set me back £50 *new* and it was all about the sound of those microphonic "not-buckers" into a Boss DS1 and a cheap transistor amp.
The king of 70s effect guitars and basses: peavey. The t40 and t60 are still leagues better than a ton of instruments out today. Won’t cost you an arm and a leg and we’re made in America. Weighed a ton and was basically a boat anchor too.
I owned one of these a couple years back. It took about 3 months in the shop but It came out sounding great! Some points that might help anyone who's looking at purchasing one of these... The intonation was probably the hardest part to fix. After a couple different set ups it still wasn't playing right. We ended up pushing the bridge back a few cms and that fixed like 90% of the issues, a few frets would be flat the higher up the neck youd go but still very playable and waay better than with the original placement of the bridge. The pickups are both always on. We were able to add two separate pick up switch (on/off) for both the neck and bridge. Adding a fresh battery solved a lot of the scratchy background noise from the built in effects. I'm not 100% sure on this part but I think he might've also cleaned the connections to the effects(?) In my opinion the only effects worth using are the fuzz, phase and occasionally the echo. I bought it for 350 and put about 150 in repairing and set ups. Ended up selling it to a friend who "plays it more than his real gibson." I got to hear this weekend at one of his gigs and It sounded great! If you want to put the time, money, and effort forward to fix it up the Effector can be a really great guitar!
I bought one of these in 1978 from the Montgomery Ward Catalogue. I was 14 and I saved up money from mowing lawns, babysitting, washing dishes at the local cafe, and anything else I could find for months to get this $130.00 guitar (hey, that was a lot of cash in 1978) I had it for maybe 12 or 13 years before it was stolen - heartbreaking, because it was my 1st guitar - I taught myself to play on it, and I took it with me to a LOT of shows, gigs, and one epic "Battle of the Bands" in Palm Springs playing for hundreds of people! Great memories!!! It was not the BEST guitar I ever owned, but it was the 1st. The pickups were indeed fake humbuckers with a dummy coil on each. Microphonics like crazy at high volumes, and some buzz... I ended up replacing the cheap black plastic rings with some brass rings, and I put some better pickups in it. The paper towels are weird! Someone must have put them in there - mine didn't have that. The "chambered wood... yeah, that always struck me as a bit odd too... even more so than the effects. The "effects" worked for a couple of years - and they DID at times "inspire" me when I was frustrated or unmotivated to play - then they died. BUT it was still a very playable guitar. The original neck was not great, but I didn't have any intonation issues on mine, nor any "playablity" issues - I mean I did make adjustments to to the neck like any other guitar. My biggest issue was the big chunky inlays kept popping up. I currently have a dozen other guitars that are "better" in every way now than that old one, but IF I could ever find it - I would absolutely pay to get it back - mostly for "sentimental" reasons. Worth $600 bucks? In this economy? Actually, yes, I think so - at least the one I had... the one you got was obviously "fixed" by someone who didn't do a particularly good job of it, so your mileage may vary.. THANKS for this AWESOME trip down memory lane!!! Your videos are always well done!!!
Ever thought of bringing and Electra on the show? They had Peter Frampton as an endorsee prior to Gibson picking him up. They have incredible necks and the Magnaflux pickups are to die for.
I remember finding one similar to this back in the mid nineties. It had an inlay on the headstock that was a copy of the Les Paul custom design but had no no actual name on it. As I recall though it was a set neck. The thing was pretty banged up so I passed on it. Pretty cool to see one here in action.
Agreed. The whole concept is more of a rip off of a Vox 'Special' than the Gibson with all the switches, imo. Effects nowhere near as good sounding tho
I remember these. In the UK we got these cheap copies branded as Avon, Kay and Columbus. The Les Paul style had the same plywood tops as your example. I had an SG copy. I think it had a plywood body and the fake humbucker looking single coils. As you said, they are not worth buy as a player. Today the beginners models are sooooo much better.
Man, that guitar had a lot of power in that in-phase distorted amp setting. I didn't even know guitars had built-in effects until last year when I bought a danelectro from around 2002. I sold it, but I think it had 5 effects from the placement when turning one knob. One button to turn them on/off and two output jacks (one was for effects). Hey Trogly, do you keep a database of your guitars and the ones you've reviewed?
Gotta admit, pretty cool for when it came out! By current day standards (2019), more of a collector's item/ toy. Almost any combo amp, digital fx or pedal far surpasses those built in effects. Paired with a decent guitar, now you're rockin babs.
I still have my first guitar from the 70s. It was a LP Custom copy called a Crestline. Looks like a black beauty style black with white binding all around the guitar. It was made in Japan by Ibanez. The guitar I really wanted back in the day was LP Recording you showed. Look forward to that review.
I know that guitar well, I had one as my first electric guitar, in the UK it was called the 'Kay Synth Effector' and it's a blatant copy of the Roland GR500 guitar synthesizer from 1977. The first guitar I know of with built-in effects was the Vox Phantom, it came with a row of push-in buttons and has very similar effects to the Kay.
Should have saved that one for next Halloween! I'd have a lot of fun with that guitar. Not rocking it, but messing with the electronics would be good fun.
The tops on the cheapest import copies of Les Pauls were usually heat pressed to form the "carved top". Same process as used by Gibson to form the ES series semi hollow tops. It's a cost efficient measure, not all Japanese imports used, but usually the bolt on neck LPs had this type of construction.
Got mine in 1977 brand new at Sears- still all original except Sperzel locking tuners (still have the originals) . Effects are just ok - only one I was really impressed with was the fuzz. He didn't say anything about the headphone jack which is pretty neat. Came with a molded heavy plastic case - still have that too, though the foam lining has deteriorated. Cool piece of history still. 😁
Very cool! I looked this up because I remember when I was a kid my grandma used to get Sears catalogs in the mail, and they always had guitars in there. They had these guitars with built-in effects and I used to dream about getting one. I actually used to have dreams at night about going to the Sears store, but it was a larger-then-life version of Sears and they had this special guitar section that was down some steps and the guitars were in an area that was like a stage with all these guitars sitting on stands. Thing is in my dreams I never picked up any of the guitars to play them. I guess it was probably because subconsciously they seemed out of reach. Cool video, man!
I have an 1978 Electra MPC - Dickie Betts model. It's awesome. neck-through. The effect modules died long ago, but it's still a really great playing guitar.
I once had a Japanese-made 'Yamato' Les Paul copy which also had chambers underneath the body's top, and it too had fake humbuckers, however there wasn't even a dummy coil! Possibly made in the same factory. It still was quite a nice guitar, especially after I'd upgraded it with some 'proper' pick-ups :-)
I had an Electra MPC with built in phaser and compressor and that guitar was a great,high quality guitar. The effects were fantastic. The compressor was dead quiet until you hit a note. With any box compressor you always get noise,so you need a noise gate. The phaser effect was great as well-it was like a small stone phaser -it had a small switch on the effect module that would give you a phase 90 sound as well. If you could find an Electra MPC model it would be worth getting. The guitar featured in this video is a hunk of junk and the effects sound like crap. The Electra is one guitar I truly regret selling-they're out there but the prices are high and are often missing the effects modules.
Dude I love your channel. Think it's great what you do with these guitars. I for some reason am just in love with this guitar. No idea why. Lol...that whirlwind setting sounded beautiful...could do some good things with it. If I had the money I'd definitely buy this off you. I hope someone else out there feels the love for this guitar like me and gives it a good home
@@N0-0n3 I will when I get it... Pretty sure they made Trogly one for giving the shout out... It would be really cool if he documents it... they are sick... half SG half LP
I had an Electra back in the mid to late 70s.it had effect modules that when into the back of the guitar.it was pretty heavy,11 lbs..didn't stay in tune.bought it new and grew not to like it.
I had a friend with a mid 1970s Electra Les Paul copy. He got it brand new for Christmas and for a couple of 15 year old kids it was amazing. I keep looking for another like it so I can purchase and gift it to him as a surprise. It was a Les Paul Custom style with flamed maple top and a maple fingerboard with black block inlays. Back then we didn't even notice or understand about it's bolt-on neck. When Electra came out with the Omega Series we thought that was the future of all guitars and the coolest thing EVER.
This was the first and only thing I ever bought on hp and I still have it although alas it no longer has the original neck. My nephew broke the head off and I put a neck off a similar cheap Les Paul copy on it. I wish I'd kept the original neck but I was pretty ignorant back then.
Not long had one of these passed down to me. So using it the learn how to play. Mixed feeling about it on the comments, but I’m liking mine, I understand I’m not experienced with guitars, but if ones playable and you can use it to learn, its all good!
I'd be interested in hearing it played more staccato with the Echo setting. Or with just one note or chord hit then muted. It was hard to tell if it was much different than the tremelo. Also maybe let a note ring out to see how the wah and whirlwind act? My two cents. Was interesting
@@jaxxonvaness8679 email me austin@troglysguitarshow.com You can read the terms under the 'review + demo" episode sponsor. I would waive the $150 fee. troglysguitarshow.com/shop/
For Sale: reverb.com/item/22450199-1970s-1980s-kay-univox-effector-single-cut-lp-tobacco-sunburst?_aid=growsumo&gs_partner=Trogly
Not the best guitar in the world - but I would've forever been curious if I didn't try it!
Mentioned Videos:
Lotus Mini Les Paul: ua-cam.com/video/VHeX5_HQToI/v-deo.html
Hondo D-18 : ua-cam.com/video/8_oOnytTkyY/v-deo.html
Unboxing Video: ua-cam.com/video/hmIsXQXEWpU/v-deo.html
Frank Zappa SG: ua-cam.com/video/kUD5Gzd4hKo/v-deo.html
Episode Guide
0:14 - 70s/80s Knock Off Brands
1:09 - The Effector
1:52 - What it Copied
2:40 - Non-Original Parts
4:32 - Inside Look / Parts
7:05 - Tone Demo
14:11 - Final Thoughts
14:35 - Blacklight
And thank you for that. It's why I watch. I can look at online instrument ads and wonder about them, but your demos drive it home wonderfully. Again, you're a great combination of musician and technician.
That thing sound good to me. I'd fix it myself and play it live. I'd like one with no FX even.
@Craig Brinker Wha
You should do the blacklight on the old neck,just for kicks.
@@TomTobin67 YES
My first electric guitar was one of these. Got it from Sears. Thanks for the memories.... Late at night, it would sometimes pick up a French- Canadian radio station. My later guitars never did that.
Now that is a guitar with versatility. If you could just send it to the station in reverse and put yourself on the air.
Holy shit it doubled as a radio, this guitar can do everything, microphone, radio, play guitar, can apply effects on all of these things.
Yeah, but the theme to "Parlez Moi", Kashtin, and Voivod get boring after so long...
At one time some fuzz circuits were similar to simple radios. There are many stories about Fuzz Factory, Fuzz Face, and other pedals & their clones picking up AM Radio signals.
LOL, must have been plugged into an old Peavey. lol
Built in wah ? Kirk Hammet would be intrigued.
Lol
Doesn't he just mic up a turkey and then zap it with a taser?
Steve Vai too
Noah Smith Dont encourage those wankers 😂
I’ve had one since new. My dad bought it in about 1979/80 when I was a baby, I got it when he died and I’ve always loved it. Mine plays better than any other electric I have ever played and I have been offered silly money for it. Must’ve gotten lucky with it because it’s the best guitar I’ve ever owned.
share some vids of it! looks sexy 🥰
Is it still all original?
LAST COMMENT: the clean tone is suprisingly good the effects are a joke.
I thought they sound like crap.
The bolt on neck. El cheapo.
I was going to say the same thing, lol. I was surprised when I heard the cleans, I was hopeful for about 30 seconds.
The effects sounded much better when the guitar was less than 10 years old. I had one and this one sounds much worse than mine did when i owned it.
The fuzz actually sounds pretty good
Sounds like the crunch channel on a Marshall
Are you sure you mean the GUITAR fuzz? He used his amp's distortion that first time and then later before demonstrating the built in fuzz he used his amp's dist again. It could actually BE a Marshall crunch channel. The guitar fuzz here sounds like the amp is under water. I wonder what fuzz circuit is in there. Perhaps germanium transistors? LOL
@@guitarbrad Yeah, I agree with Nobel and Vidar. I heard when he was using his amp distortion and the built in fuzz. Fuzz is just one of those funny effects that even when it's cheap, it's still cool.
Although now that I think about it, I'm not so sure I agree with Nobel Failures about the boutique fuzz. Yes, traditional fuzz is a very simple circuit and it sounds good even with cheap parts but on the other hand, I love an EHX Big Muff. It's just a nicer, smoother fuzz. It's something one can use all the time and not just when you want that crazy vintage Hendrix sound. But, in general you have a point.
@Noble Failures
@Paul TheSkeptic These are good points, when alluding to the guitar's fuzz effect. I only thought that Vidar might have been mistaken - as I was at first - confusing the amp's distortion for the guitar's built in fuzz.
Regarding my second point, I personally think distortion & overdrive sound better than fuzz. (They certainly are different.) There ARE some good recorded examples of fuzz guitar of course.
The built in effects on this guitar really blew me away. In an age where everything is so crystal clear and obvious I actually find it refreshing to hear effects I can barely distinguish even after being told the name. Combined With other pedals I bet you could get some cool sounds NOBODY is using. (for better or worse) cool guitar. Play Authentic play original bois - Thomas Edison
I bought one of these brand new in 1976 out of my sister's Kay's catalogue. I had just left school at 15 and was getting a band together. This was my 1st electric guitar, which I played every day for 5 years as lead guitarist in my rock band. It is still hanging up on my wall in pride of place. It always got some funny looks from guys who were fascinated by the built-in effects. It still plays like a dream and is all original. The action is perfect. It is actually well finished, with inlays on the neck and piping around the body. The truss rod cover behind the nut displays the Kay logo.
The effects sound like it's being sent through 10000 miles of phone lines:(
or a really shitty AM radio
Yeah well, did you see that soldering? It has that, thrown together look. It looks like it was made by a teenager with a kit and a $12 soldering iron. I can't imagine how that thing even plays without shorting out constantly. But, I must admit, it is kind of cool how the cheap effects interfere with each other like that. It does make for some _kind of_ interesting sounds. But ultimately, the thing looks too fragile to ever consider bringing on the road or bringing anywhere really.
That is almost true. I'm currently replacing old wiring in mine. It's a slow process because they used very thin wires.
Hey D Rosa-who do you think you are..... absolutely nailing what that sounds like Haaaaaa LoL it really does sound like telephone lines a very astute comparison. But I have to say that dirty out of phase tone wasn't half bad.
I see the comments about being a wall hanger...nonsense...its a relic that if in the right hands would definitely make you feel like you had a schlitz beer in your den with shag carpet underneath your partially covered in bell bottoms feet...its an amazing sounding guitar..quirky but beautiful
I agree...takes me back. I have the Electra MPC and the effects are modules and far superior to this guitar but I'd still like to have one. Id pay $50 for one
Me: Mom can we get a guitar?
Mom: No we have a guitar at home
Guitar at home:
Turgut Kartal hahaha true story. Or:
Friend: “yeah, I’m selling a burst Les Paul. Come on by if you want to see it.”
Me: “ooh!”
Guitar:
:
:..
:
@@chainlightning58 Lol!
Lol
Kay _were_ the el cheapo company in the 70s, so yeah, the joke fits. They were still a cheap company in the 50s - 60s, but they were still their own thing with their own pickup designs until 1968. Even earlier, they were a more upscale company in the 1920s - 1930s.
Always nice to hear Rumble by the late Link Wray regardless of what guitar its being played on.
I owned one of these back in the late 70s. It was a total blast, wish I had it back.
ME TOO!!! mine was stolen in the early 90s. Maybe not the best guitar, but I think better than his opinion in the review - I think his was ruined by the guy trying to "fix" it
😀
@@CJGausvikI agree. I had one of these in the early 80s and the original neck wasn’t bad at all and the intonation could almost be set (better than a few cheaper Gibsons I’ve had). The frets were very low and the neck felt & played very similar to a Walnut 1972 LP Deluxe I own.
After watching this video, I now know the origin of that 1 old, chrome covered, single-coil ‘humbucker’ in my collection of pickups. 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽 Once I realized how microphonic, buzzy & noisy the guitar’s original pickups were & that both neck & bridge seemed to be always running together, I replaced the bridge pickup in the Effector and disconnected the neck pickup (but didn’t remove it). I intended to, someday, route a circular cavity & install a selector switch for the 2 P.U.s but I was constantly acquiring better guitars & other equipment & was always so busy with gigs, rehearsals & practice that it became… ‘not so important’ to fuck around with anymore. Over time, I robbed the knobs from it and its tailpiece….. then it’s bridge…. then one time I needed 2 500k pots to replace the 2 I had just ruined by spraying the ‘wrong stuff’ in them, when I attempted to clean-up the scratchiness & dropouts when I’d turn them 🙄.
As time went on, the thing kept losing parts and there were several other guitars that, same as this one, were only ‘good enough when I needed something’ & they all spent the remainders of their lives in the attics of 3 different places I lived & when there was nothing left to ‘borrow’ from them - I quietly buried them in all the other ‘junk’ I threw away when I did a major clean up of my attic & sadly (but gratefully) put the boxes on the sidewalk for the morning garbage truck.
Love the plywood top with spacers used to fake a carved top with less effort 🤣
That's crazy !! LOL
Lol, The one I got off ebay , The plywood spacer have been replaced with plumber putty.
actually Greco did that too somehow?
its hidden resonance chambers, for tone, man. 😄
My first guitar, for which I paid $10. Truly a piece of beautiful garbage! Effects eventually fried, so I pulled them out and replaced the bridge pickup with an actual humbucker and just left the neck disconnected. Still plays like crap and won't stay in tune, but I still have it hanging on the wall.
It definitely looks like it would be a good wall hanger 🤣
That "echo" effect sounds like a tremolo with a sawtooth lfo. I guess if you sustain a sound, it kinda does sound like an echo, but it's not really "repeating" anything. Guess, back then delay was pretty hard to do in a budget effect.
My onboard effects lasted less than a year but the guitar itself, which was a 15th birthday present from my mom in '84, has been to hell and back & forth. That so-called 'echo' WAS the tremolo while that wah was all whirlwind and that 'fuzz' was the only best thing of all to me! The so-called 'phase' switch was nothing but a 2-way pickup selector where 'in' was the bridge and 'out' was the neck. I just knew I had humbuckers until I took the covers off and discovered there were no humbuckers at all; there may have been dummy coils to those SC's but not with mine. Nearly 35yrs to now, only thing original is the neck, body, all the binding, clear finish on the headstock and the tailpiece studs which the original stop was replaced by a fine-tuning Gibson TP6 and everything else imaginable has been replaced on a guitar except for the frets. The body sides has construction gaps by the strap button screw holes. It's been a black top since '95 but otherwise stripped to bare wood (mahogany body/neck & maple back)...and for the record, I'd pay $60 for another one!
These echo/tremolo sounds would've went well on a 90's 'grunge or alternative' type album.
Thank God I found your video. This is way better than I thought.Very detailed review...perfect for my needs.
1:40, The headphone jack may no be broken. I had two of which I thought did not work. So I got 1/4 inch adapter and plug into a amp ans it works fine. But or headphones you a an amplified headphone.
Overjoyed to come across this 1988 and me n my best mate formed a band, me on vocals n jay on guitar, a not too shabby univox effector... These days when we get to remenicing we both say it was the best time of our young lives.
Thank you friend
I always wanted one of these when I was a kid. I used to search through the new Sears catalogs we would get in the mail for the page that had these on it. Even though they were very inexpensive I just never had enough money to buy one. Did he say people are asking $600 for these now? A Danelectro would be a much better choice for the money. Damn, I remember back when I was in high school you could buy a real 70’s Les Paul for &500 or $600 and a mid 60’s Ford Mustang for $1000 to $1500 and a 60’s Camero, Chevelle, Malibu. Impala, etc for a couple grand. If I only knew then what I do now...
that fret job though.....what a horror!!!! gave me the chills
Thank you for doing this. You brought back so many happy memories of my youth. This was my first guitar. I was 11 years old in 1979 and I picked this guitar out of the Sears Catalog and my parents bought it for me for Christmas. I played that guitar for 5 years 😆 I gave it to a friend when I got my first real Les Paul. I kinda wish I still have it. Anyway you really brought back the memory of a wonderful time in my life. Thanks again friend.
Just so you know the Whirl/whirlwind setting is supposed to be a Leslie type sound. Prototype versions say leslie instead of whirl but that got shut down for some reason.
Im so glad that with every video you do a full review of everything. Like you are the best at these!
One of these has been haunting my local Craigslist for months, I’m so glad you removed 90% of my temptation to buy it
I noticed the perhaps unintended 420 reference...lol
I was just gonna comment on that ;) it can't be by accident he uploaded this on 4/20
kinda crazy that he could do a bong rip that way
7:46 WOW!!! YOU SURPRISE ME WITH THE DISTORTION! I LIKE THAT SOUND!!!
It's funny how "echo" and "tremolo" are quite similar...if not the absolute same. The distortion and auto-wha are pretty nice. It does sound like it needs a good intonation job, or a good turning, set of strings, etc. The finish is really nice. It looks better to me than most Gibson tobacco sunbursts I've seen. I don't recall ever seeing one of these before, but I'm familiar with the Univox era. From my experience with my brother's musician friends (in the day), either you got a good one...or didn't. My brother had a very nice Univox P-Bass copy, which was pretty good until he decided he wanted it intonated, perfectly, all the way up and down the neck. It got traded away at that point.
The echo did not echo. You can see it clear on the last chop he does during the echo demo. I think you'd need a chip to do the echo. I'd like to see a close up of the circuit board. It's neat how they used so many parts with such poor results. Love it.
I had an Electra MPC Les Paul style guitar with two built in effects-phase shifter and compressor. That was a fantastic guitar all the way around. The phaser was similar to a ehx small stone. The compressor was hands down the best compressor I ever used-totally noiseless until you hit a note. It did need a 9v battery.
Talk about memory lane....This was the first guitar I ever owned....my 15th birthday present...ordered out of the Sears catalog. Thanks for the great find. :)
Love it! My first guitar in 1983. $60 with 10 watt amp used.
My very first electric guitar that I actually bought from Sears for $115. Now I remember why I never used the effects. I ended up trading it for a black Gibson Sonex Deluxe in '82.
For 1970’s effects it’s pretty damn good. The distortion or overdrive, whatever it’s called was really cool.
It’s a cool piece of history
That's the only effect that's not coming from the guitar. It's on the amplifier. I'd be pretty stoked about a guitar that could get THAT sound just from an onboard switch!
The "Mesa" switch haha
I tried one of these at my local guitar center once, it played pretty nicely and was about $300. I didn’t have the money with me at the time or else I would’ve went for it
14:14, I bought another one due to it was the first guitar I bought with my own money. So it was all about nostalgia. I wish I could add a photo of mine. I replaced the Gibson Style tailpiece with a trapeze tailpiece.
It was the first one I bought with my own money too, back in 1981 from a pawn shop for $220. I bought a second because of a mishap attempting to swap out the pickups for Humbuckers and a neck/fret/nut problem. It's mostly just for fond memories of music from the 70s/80s and a good ol' "What the hell??!!" When friends see it for the first time.
@@cmonster67 I'm thinking of switching to Humbuckers too. $220.00,Not a bad price. That's the same reaction I get when friends see it.
4.20 kilos in the 420 day!
Smoke it up smoke it up
Nice
I had a Columbus Les Paul copy from a catalogue. It had the "hollow top" like this, and the single coil "humbuckers".
I put DiMarzio pickups in it and it became a decent guitar :-)
The name of the catalogue company, in the UK, was "Kay" :-)
You're listening "Troglio FM"!!! (8:02)
Funny
Dario Moreno do u know what 8:20 is ?
@@diegol2364 d'you can tell me, please???
As a young boy, I dreamed of getting the similarly appointed, Strattier-shaped Cort Effector from the Sears Catalog in the mid to late '80s. I think it was around $180 and out of my price range. I was too young to effectively push a lawn mower at that point. Later, in junior high school, I knew a guy who owned one, and I thought it was pretty cool. But by that time, I'd learned a little and had moved on to wanting a little nicer, less gimicky gear. Now that I'm old as shit, I wouldn't mind running across one of those old Corts and buying it just for fun.
Dude those are the most microphonic pickups I've ever heard haha. So sick, I always wondered what these effects on those old univox guitars sounded like. Not going to lie man I was expecting jizz spots on the blacklight test.
I own an Aria Pro II LP Custom copy, and it's a really solid instrument. The only huge difference between it and the "real thing" is the bolt-on neck. Picked it up for $200.
I have a 1984 Mint Collection Greco Les Paul Custom... If you put on the same level this cheap guitar and a Greco guitar I will become sad :(
That sounded bad. Aside from fuzz, which was ok.
I have what I believe is a D’Agostino les Paul recording copy and I gotta say it’s really pretty cool
For a guitar made in the 70’s on the cheap those effects are the best bang for your buck at the time especially if you had nothing else to but your dads stupid fender tweed amp from the early 60’s! Every generation has there learning guitars and amps. Mine was a 92’ peavey predator (made in the USA baby!) and the most awesome practice amp ever created and a staple of every garage sale on the planet at the time the little 6’ - 8’ gorilla practice amp. At the time grunge was the cool sound and this thing sure sounded “grungy” you should do an amp review on one!
I don't understand how one person can look at instrument pieces like this one and think "yea it's shit, it be bad, don't buy it don't play it, don't waste your time". Bro, it literally has more character and is more quirky and memorable than all your other guitars XD
memorable for all the wrong reasons haha. It is pretty, but thats about it
Thanks for the great demo.
I collect these old ‘vintage’ cheap guitars that were all that (us) working-class kids in the UK could afford. They got many on their way to fame, I guess.
Been looking for an ‘Efector’ for ages and today - I’ve just bought one!
I'm really in love with the way you review guitars, I wish someday I could buy many guitars as you.
Arguably, the coolest sound, is the voice through those microphonic pickups.
I had a few of them when I was 15 or so back in the 80s.
I spray painted one black then in red painted AC/DC on the back.
I thought it was so badass at the time
I'd absolutely LOVE to see you review one of these 1979-1982 Greco EG 600 Les Paul Customs. Some people say they're on the same level quality-wise if not better than the real deal and I thought as an expert (especially on Les Paul Customs) you should be able to tell.
Oh, man this takes me back... to about 1979. I had a basic Kay LP copy that set me back £50 *new* and it was all about the sound of those microphonic "not-buckers" into a Boss DS1 and a cheap transistor amp.
The king of 70s effect guitars and basses: peavey. The t40 and t60 are still leagues better than a ton of instruments out today. Won’t cost you an arm and a leg and we’re made in America. Weighed a ton and was basically a boat anchor too.
The Greco les Paul are Sick they was so Good Build
I owned one of these a couple years back. It took about 3 months in the shop but It came out sounding great! Some points that might help anyone who's looking at purchasing one of these... The intonation was probably the hardest part to fix. After a couple different set ups it still wasn't playing right. We ended up pushing the bridge back a few cms and that fixed like 90% of the issues, a few frets would be flat the higher up the neck youd go but still very playable and waay better than with the original placement of the bridge. The pickups are both always on. We were able to add two separate pick up switch (on/off) for both the neck and bridge. Adding a fresh battery solved a lot of the scratchy background noise from the built in effects. I'm not 100% sure on this part but I think he might've also cleaned the connections to the effects(?) In my opinion the only effects worth using are the fuzz, phase and occasionally the echo.
I bought it for 350 and put about 150 in repairing and set ups. Ended up selling it to a friend who "plays it more than his real gibson." I got to hear this weekend at one of his gigs and It sounded great! If you want to put the time, money, and effort forward to fix it up the Effector can be a really great guitar!
I bought one of these in 1978 from the Montgomery Ward Catalogue. I was 14 and I saved up money from mowing lawns, babysitting, washing dishes at the local cafe, and anything else I could find for months to get this $130.00 guitar (hey, that was a lot of cash in 1978)
I had it for maybe 12 or 13 years before it was stolen - heartbreaking, because it was my 1st guitar - I taught myself to play on it, and I took it with me to a LOT of shows, gigs, and one epic "Battle of the Bands" in Palm Springs playing for hundreds of people! Great memories!!!
It was not the BEST guitar I ever owned, but it was the 1st.
The pickups were indeed fake humbuckers with a dummy coil on each. Microphonics like crazy at high volumes, and some buzz... I ended up replacing the cheap black plastic rings with some brass rings, and I put some better pickups in it. The paper towels are weird! Someone must have put them in there - mine didn't have that.
The "chambered wood... yeah, that always struck me as a bit odd too... even more so than the effects.
The "effects" worked for a couple of years - and they DID at times "inspire" me when I was frustrated or unmotivated to play - then they died. BUT it was still a very playable guitar.
The original neck was not great, but I didn't have any intonation issues on mine, nor any "playablity" issues - I mean I did make adjustments to to the neck like any other guitar. My biggest issue was the big chunky inlays kept popping up.
I currently have a dozen other guitars that are "better" in every way now than that old one, but IF I could ever find it - I would absolutely pay to get it back - mostly for "sentimental" reasons.
Worth $600 bucks? In this economy? Actually, yes, I think so - at least the one I had... the one you got was obviously "fixed" by someone who didn't do a particularly good job of it, so your mileage may vary..
THANKS for this AWESOME trip down memory lane!!! Your videos are always well done!!!
I had a Global with the same fakebukcer pups. They sounded great to me at the time. BTW the Sears catalogue advertised them as Humbuckers.
Ever thought of bringing and Electra on the show? They had Peter Frampton as an endorsee prior to Gibson picking him up. They have incredible necks and the Magnaflux pickups are to die for.
I remember finding one similar to this back in the mid nineties. It had an inlay on the headstock that was a copy of the Les Paul custom design but had no no actual name on it. As I recall though it was a set neck. The thing was pretty banged up so I passed on it. Pretty cool to see one here in action.
The echo is a rip off of the Vox repeat percussion, a square wave tremolo with a mark/space offset.
Sounds more like a sawtooth
Agreed. The whole concept is more of a rip off of a Vox 'Special' than the Gibson with all the switches, imo. Effects nowhere near as good sounding tho
I remember these. In the UK we got these cheap copies branded as Avon, Kay and Columbus. The Les Paul style had the same plywood tops as your example. I had an SG copy. I think it had a plywood body and the fake humbucker looking single coils. As you said, they are not worth buy as a player. Today the beginners models are sooooo much better.
Man, that guitar had a lot of power in that in-phase distorted amp setting.
I didn't even know guitars had built-in effects until last year when I bought a danelectro from around 2002. I sold it, but I think it had 5 effects from the placement when turning one knob. One button to turn them on/off and two output jacks (one was for effects).
Hey Trogly, do you keep a database of your guitars and the ones you've reviewed?
pretty similar to the Paulverizer, Les designed and played for many years ( had unlimited overdub built-in).I WOULD PROBABLY ENJOY THIS.
I had a white explorer with gold hardware Sears version of the same git except the switches were all push button back in 1986. I still have the neck.
My first les Paul guitar was a Kay bolt on neck really sounded amazing wish I had kept it.
A video about a 4.20kg guitar posted on April, 20!!
Woha , can't believe one of these came your way. I was intrigued seeing this in the Sears catalog wah back then. Wish I had ordered one.
Oh my gosh… love that carved top! What they wouldn’t do to mimic more legit guitars back in the day, eh? Thanks for posting.
Gotta admit, pretty cool for when it came out! By current day standards (2019), more of a collector's item/ toy. Almost any combo amp, digital fx or pedal far surpasses those built in effects. Paired with a decent guitar, now you're rockin babs.
These are the Les Paul Live.
It’s like the oppisite of a studio.
I still have my first guitar from the 70s. It was a LP Custom copy called a Crestline. Looks like a black beauty style black with white binding all around the guitar. It was made in Japan by Ibanez. The guitar I really wanted back in the day was LP Recording you showed. Look forward to that review.
I know that guitar well, I had one as my first electric guitar, in the UK it was called the 'Kay Synth Effector' and it's a blatant copy of the Roland GR500 guitar synthesizer from 1977. The first guitar I know of with built-in effects was the Vox Phantom, it came with a row of push-in buttons and has very similar effects to the Kay.
Should have saved that one for next Halloween!
I'd have a lot of fun with that guitar. Not rocking it, but messing with the electronics would be good fun.
I'd love to have a Burny RLC 90S. It's a black LP copy with a Floyd Rose and a sustainer system.
The tops on the cheapest import copies of Les Pauls were usually heat pressed to form the "carved top". Same process as used by Gibson to form the ES series semi hollow tops. It's a cost efficient measure, not all Japanese imports used, but usually the bolt on neck LPs had this type of construction.
Got mine in 1977 brand new at Sears- still all original except Sperzel locking tuners (still have the originals) . Effects are just ok - only one I was really impressed with was the fuzz. He didn't say anything about the headphone jack which is pretty neat. Came with a molded heavy plastic case - still have that too, though the foam lining has deteriorated. Cool piece of history still. 😁
im glad you did this because ive always wondered what it could do.
Very cool! I looked this up because I remember when I was a kid my grandma used to get Sears catalogs in the mail, and they always had guitars in there. They had these guitars with built-in effects and I used to dream about getting one. I actually used to have dreams at night about going to the Sears store, but it was a larger-then-life version of Sears and they had this special guitar section that was down some steps and the guitars were in an area that was like a stage with all these guitars sitting on stands. Thing is in my dreams I never picked up any of the guitars to play them. I guess it was probably because subconsciously they seemed out of reach. Cool video, man!
11:29, From wht I remember about the instructions from 1983 ,when I bought my first one, Whirlwind is suppose to simulate a Leslie speaker sound .
I have an 1978 Electra MPC - Dickie Betts model. It's awesome. neck-through. The effect modules died long ago, but it's still a really great playing guitar.
The overdrive sucked, but the phaser module actually sounded good. Especially with the color switch turned on.
Interesting , thanks for sharing this amazing artefact ! I could play with that fuzz tone all day long ! 👍
I once had a Japanese-made 'Yamato' Les Paul copy which also had chambers underneath the body's top, and it too had fake humbuckers, however there wasn't even a dummy coil! Possibly made in the same factory. It still was quite a nice guitar, especially after I'd upgraded it with some 'proper' pick-ups :-)
My Peavey T-15 picks up radio signals and is very microphonic. Love weird stuff like this
It reminds me of the Cort Effector that I have mine is a Strat copy with some kind of Kaylor copy that I can't tune because it dives into the top.
Thank you for the info, I thought that was my only recourse
hell yeah, glad someone mentioned Hondo! i've got a Hondo fame series 760 strat and it's glorious!
I had an Electra MPC with built in phaser and compressor and that guitar was a great,high quality guitar. The effects were fantastic. The compressor was dead quiet until you hit a note. With any box compressor you always get noise,so you need a noise gate. The phaser effect was great as well-it was like a small stone phaser -it had a small switch on the effect module that would give you a phase 90 sound as well. If you could find an Electra MPC model it would be worth getting. The guitar featured in this video is a hunk of junk and the effects sound like crap. The Electra is one guitar I truly regret selling-they're out there but the prices are high and are often missing the effects modules.
Dude I love your channel. Think it's great what you do with these guitars. I for some reason am just in love with this guitar. No idea why. Lol...that whirlwind setting sounded beautiful...could do some good things with it. If I had the money I'd definitely buy this off you. I hope someone else out there feels the love for this guitar like me and gives it a good home
Hey Trogly, I just won a guitar from Scar-My-Guitar with a body shape you designed...!!!! Sick design brother!!! I am so excited to play it....
Make a video
@@N0-0n3 I will when I get it... Pretty sure they made Trogly one for giving the shout out... It would be really cool if he documents it... they are sick... half SG half LP
@@N0-0n3 check out their video: ua-cam.com/video/EsxBjqXGxT4/v-deo.html
Nice one! It did turn out pretty nice. I believe I will be getting sent one as well that we will see in the following weeks!
@@Trog Nice!!! Was following them building yours! Great design!!!
I had an Electra back in the mid to late 70s.it had effect modules that when into the back of the guitar.it was pretty heavy,11 lbs..didn't stay in tune.bought it new and grew not to like it.
I had a friend with a mid 1970s Electra Les Paul copy. He got it brand new for Christmas and for a couple of 15 year old kids it was amazing. I keep looking for another like it so I can purchase and gift it to him as a surprise. It was a Les Paul Custom style with flamed maple top and a maple fingerboard with black block inlays. Back then we didn't even notice or understand about it's bolt-on neck.
When Electra came out with the Omega Series we thought that was the future of all guitars and the coolest thing EVER.
your voice would make great samples through the amp distortion. i can just imagine a space station countdown with that voice.
This was the first and only thing I ever bought on hp and I still have it although alas it no longer has the original neck. My nephew broke the head off and I put a neck off a similar cheap Les Paul copy on it. I wish I'd kept the original neck but I was pretty ignorant back then.
Not long had one of these passed down to me.
So using it the learn how to play.
Mixed feeling about it on the comments, but I’m liking mine, I understand I’m not experienced with guitars, but if ones playable and you can use it to learn, its all good!
I'd be interested in hearing it played more staccato with the Echo setting. Or with just one note or chord hit then muted. It was hard to tell if it was much different than the tremelo. Also maybe let a note ring out to see how the wah and whirlwind act? My two cents. Was interesting
I acquired one of these recently, took the finish off and I’m doing a custom job on it. Are you interested in seeing it?
no
Yes. I had one of these in the 80s
I seem to recall Vox making something like this back in the 60's, named like the guit-organ.
I had the explorer copy with the effector wiring. Wasn't bad
Lemme send in my univox ripper
I'd be up for that
The Trogly's Guitar Show ooo what do I gotta do
@@jaxxonvaness8679 email me austin@troglysguitarshow.com You can read the terms under the 'review + demo" episode sponsor. I would waive the $150 fee. troglysguitarshow.com/shop/
Maxon pickups were great on them there Univox's. I dig my Hi Flyer that I got at goodwill for 60 bucks.
I found my effects sound way better after placing the main lead wire with a heavier gauge wire. Now the effects don't fade out while playing.