Univox Ripper
1976 Univox Ripper Strat
If you’re a fan of 90’s grunge music and you play guitar you may have first discovered Univox’s by learning about the Hi-Flier. The guitar was famously used by Kurt Cobain in the early days of Nirvana. For those that lived through the 70’s you might remember seeing Univox guitars at your local music store. Univox was part of Unicord, a Japan based musical instrument company that started importing guitars into the U.S. in the late 60’s. The Hi-Flier was their first electric. The company had good success with it and began importing other models shortly after. They primarily made copies of popular original designs from American guitar makers. This period in history is know as the “lawsuit era” which spanned through the 70’s and into early 80’s. At the time Japanese companies were flooding the U.S. market with copies of Gibsons and Fenders and were eventually sued by those companies.
Univox was one of the more prominent Japanese brands at that time. They made good quality, moderately priced electric guitars, amplifiers and effects. The secret with Univox’s and one of the things that made them special were their pickups. The company’s approach to copying other guitars certainly wasn’t innovative, but they were actually pretty creative with their versions of humbuckers and single coils. These pickups aren’t considered high output by today’s standard, but they were pretty hot for the 70’s and have an awesome, lo-fi vintage tone. Known for producing a warm, naturally distorted sound that you just don’t get with modern pickups.
By the 90’s Univox guitars had disappeared from stores and were relatively unheard of. They were thought of as lower end Japanese instruments that faded away in the early 80’s. You could find them for next to nothing at local pawn shops.
Univox had some wacky names for their guitars like the Hi-Flier, Gimme, Badazz, Lucy and Coily. Of all the models that they made, the one featured here is my all time favorite. The Ripper! Everything about it is kind of big and obnoxious including their name. The Ripper was a Stratocaster copy, but instead of having 3 single coil pickups it came with three of their high output humbuckers. If this guitar had a theme song it would be Godzilla by the band Blue Oyster Cult.
Other than having three humbuckers, the Ripper is basically a close copy of a mid to late 70’s Stratocaster. Right down to the large headstock, maple neck and bullet truss rod. It has an alder body, one piece maple neck with a 10’ radius, 21 vintage frets and a 1 5/8’ nut width. The neck has a vintage feel and is just a bit more narrow than a modern neck profile. It has rounded feel with some depth to it and is very comfortable. Frets are low and wide. The guitar feels very sturdy. The Hi-Flier and other Univox models can be a little smaller and feel more student grade, but not the Ripper. Body thickness, neck joint, etc…is very much on par with the original Fenders from the 70’s. I’ve found that Rippers actually tend to be lighter than many of the Stratocasters from that era. Univox started making Rippers in 1976 and stopped the line in 1978. They were available in white which is the most common finish, natural wood and gloss black. Black is the rarest. All had maple necks with a thick coat of lacquer. One thing I don’t love about the Rippers is that they only came with a three position pickup selector vs. five which seems like a total miss. That can easily be fixed though. For one year in 1976 Univox also made the Eagle to celebrate the American Bicentennial. The Eagle was basically a natural wood finished Ripper, but with an eagle carved into the body and they are very rare.
The Ripper plays great and has a real vintage feel to it. There is a video on YouTube that gives you a good sense of how the pickups sound. They are often referred to as Phase III humbuckers since they are most famously known for being in the Phase III Hi-Flier. Besides the awesome sound they produce, the pickups look very cool. They have a chrome trim ring around them and clear bobbins that make the copper wire wrapped around the oversized magnets visible.
California based custom pickup maker Curtis Novak, does a great job of reproducing the Univox Phase III’s. His versions are excellent and can be used to upgrade any humbucker equipped guitar.
If you’re looking for a unique vintage guitar that plays well, sounds amazing and has tons of mojo the Ripper is a great find. If you can get your hands on one you’ll want to act quickly. Prices are going up. Wish I could have found mine when they were unpopular and around for $100!