Univox Hi-Flier
1970's Mosrite Ventures copy
Univox was a musical instrument company that started in the 60’s. They manufactured guitars in Japan and imported them into the U.S. until about 1978. The Hi-Flier was one of the first solid body guitars that they made available in 1968. The design is based off of the Mosrite Ventures model.
Univox guitars are similar in quality to the higher end Ibanez guitars from the 70’s. Not quite Gibson or Fender quality, but typically better than brands like Teisco and Kent. The body on the Hi-Flier is small and thin which makes it look somewhat like a student model. That said, it feels well made and has good playability. The pickups sound fantastic. They produce punchy cleans with a vintage rockabilly type tone. When you push the volume on a good tube amp, the sound immediately goes into Link Wray territory.
This particular guitar is a Phase 1 version. Univox made 4 phases of the Hi-Flier available in Sunburst, Black and White finishes. Phase 4 guitars also came in Natural finish. It is a solid body guitar with a bolt on neck, plastic logo on the headstock (until about 73, then changed to a decal under the finish), 22-frets on a rosewood fretboard, white pickguard w/ volume tone and 3-way pickup select, two black covered single coil P-90 pickups in Phase 1 & 2. Phases 3 & 4 changed to humbuckers. The body is made of poplar and has a german carve.
The Hi-Flier was made famous by Kurt Cobain. They were one of his favorite pawnshop guitars. He referred to it as the plywood beast. Kurt played Hi-Fliers in the early days of Nirvana and even used one in the Heart Shaped Box video.
Both the single coil and humbuckers that Univox used in the Hi-Fliers were high output for vintage pickups. There were two types of single coils. Ones with flat pole pieces which you will see in the earlier Phase 1 versions and ones with adjustable pole pieces that were more common in Phase 2. I prefer the flat poles. They sound amazing and are very hard to find now.
I’ve played several Hi-Fliers over the years and every one has a small, hairline crack in the finish of the neck pocket where the neck meets the body. It’s likely due to the body being so thin. (Thinner than an SG!) The cracks are often just in the finish and typically don’t affect the playability. One thing that I don’t like is that the cable jack is mounted directly on the plastic pickguard. It can be easy to break the guard if you’re not careful.
This guitar has a replacement bridge. The original bridges have plastic roller saddles. This one also has had the tuners replaced. The originals had white plastic tuning pegs.
Univox Hi-Fliers are a lot of fun to play. If you’re looking for something different and vintage sounding without having to break the bank I recommend them. Production numbers were healthy in the 70’s and they’re not too hard to find.