Matsumoku-made Univox semi-hollowbody in dazzling white finish

guitarz.blogspot.com:

I may well have said elsewhere that I find myself increasingly drawn towards semi-hollowbody or thinline designs these days. Earlier this year I bought myself a Korean-built Aria TA-40 with the Welsh flag on it (see this post), a rather modest example of this type of guitar, and my reaction was, "Wow! Why have I been playing solidbodies all these years?"

So, I'm always on the lookout for other semis; at the back of my mind I'm thinking that I could replace one of my other guitars with such an instrument. This Univox Custom semi-hollowbody definitely appeals to me; if I didn't have to pay the shipping from the USA plus the inevitable customs charges that would be incurred, then I could well see myself bidding on this.

The white finish brings to mind Gretsch's White Falcon, whilst the asymmetrical 3-on-a-side headstock design is bold and attractive. I like how the headstock facing, pickguard, truss rod cover, switch plate and pickup surrounds are all made from the same patterned material (what would you call that design? It's not quite tortoiseshell, is it?).

The vibrato arm is supplied, but needs re-assembly which hopefully shouldn't be too difficult. Pickups would appear to be a pair of singlecoils which I admit wouldn't be my first choice of pickup on a guitar like this, but of course the proof would be in the tones available when one actually gets to play the guitar.

This guitar is currently listed on eBay with a starting price of $390. There are no bids at the time of writing, and the auction finishes in less than 12 hours. Someone could get themselves a very nice Matsumoku-made Japanese guitar at a very nice price here!

G L Wilson

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