Univox 1040 105 watt lead combo
A Twin Reverb Clone That Weighs More!
This was the heaviest guitar amp I've personally touched.
I bought this used for $125 in 1978 at Music
Mart in Smyrna, GA at their annual warehouse
clearance sale. They had two, and this one
sounded better in the store. At home, I cranked
it up, and it promptly blew up. I hauled it
down to Clark Music, where Bobby pointed out
that it had really cheesy speakers (about 15
watts apiece) in place of whatever had been in
it originally.
He sold me a pair of Fender Twin speakers at a
good price (Bobby was way too good to me!), and
it worked great after that.
The amp was gray with darker gray trim. It had funky
teardrop shaped knobs. It had two "ports" above the
speakers. You can get an idea of the controls and the
overall look and feel from the U1011 head shown here.
The reverb was decent, and the tone controls did a good job. It broke up reasonably early, but with a Big Muff Pi and a Cry Baby in front, I thought I was Jimi Hendrix. I don't recall much about the presence or tremolo. With a little work, it would probably have sounded as good as any Fender Twin. This was a loud amp. The clean sound was great, and the overdriven sound was wonderful.
I remember just sitting in the dark, watching the tubes glow for inspiration. And I remember having to carry the stupid thing. 88 pounds! At least it fit through the hatch of the Chevette. Barely.
I eventually sold it for something ludicrous like $75, to pay for a newer, used Lab L5 - a much lighter 2x12 combo!
Vital Statistics
Model: U1040
Serial number: unknown
Year manufactured: ~1971
other:
- 10 tubes with solid state rectifier
- four 6L6GC output stage
- 2x12 UNIVOX Heavy Duty w/ 20 oz ALNICO magnets
- 105 watts RMS
- 2 channels, 4 inputs (2 normal, 2 bright)
- per channel volume, plus bass, mid, treble, presence, reverb and tremolo
- two switch footswitch (reverb, tremolo)
- 29"W x 24.5"H x 11.5"D
- 88 pounds
Links
Images from Tim Patton's Univox pages (see "Links" section above).
Last updated: 30 May 2002
Copyright 2001, 2001 Miles O'Neal, Austin, TX. All rights reserved. Miles O'Neal <roadkills.r.us@XYZZY.gmail.com> [remove the "XYZZY." to make things work!] c/o RNN / 1705 Oak Forest Dr / Round Rock, TX / 78681-1514