Comments on: Univox 202R Guitar Amplifier

By: Carl M Holbrook

Carl M Holbrook — Fri, 28 Feb 2020 04:12:43 +0000

I just purchased a barn find Lafayette LA-100R amplifier made by Univox. 6973 output tubes, 3 12ax7s, 6CA4 rectifier tube, 6AV6, 7247. Two 12″ Jenson speakers. It is in the 1967 Lafayette catalog. Reverb and tremolo. 6 small tag boards with components on them. Chrome Univox chassis.

By: Brad McIntyre

Brad McIntyre — Mon, 23 Apr 2018 21:21:10 +0000

I have recently acquired a Univox amp that looks like your U202R but does not have reverb. It has 6AQ5 output tubes and 3 input jacks (Marked: Guitar Acc & Mic) and only 3 knobs (Volume, Tone, Tremolo) a footswitch jack, pilot light and a 3 position toggle switch for on, off and standby. Does anyone know anything about this model?

Thanks.

By: Mark

Mark — Thu, 08 Dec 2016 16:08:51 +0000

Thank you for the great article and information! A friend of mine just gave me an amp and some extra GE tubes for it. The amp brand was “Matusek”. I posted pics on the Gear Page as to what this amp was. An astute answer was given that the amp was a re-branded Univox U 202. A search on the internet led me to this page. A search for Matusek yielded nothing, but turns out, Matusek was an Accordian company based in Chicago. This amp is pretty amazing! I too have the Deerfield speaker in mine. I just bought a vintage Jensen P12Q. Looking forward to dropping it in, and checking the amp out.

By: Darrin Kobetich

Darrin Kobetich — Thu, 03 Nov 2016 17:21:05 +0000

My Dad gave me the Univox 202R when I was 13, back 1978. I didn’t work for very long and I remember using a Little Muff fuzz box with it. Three years ago, it cost $300 to completely refurbish it! I don’t need any distortion assistance now…. just turn it up full! What a tone! The best amp I’ve had, better than my Marshall JCM 800.

By: jay

jay — Tue, 24 May 2016 23:16:26 +0000

I have been playing in a band for the last five years with these amps after Solderhaus recapped one for me, I own two. One is a little different and the tolex peeled off so I replaced the piping and gave it a clear coat. It looks really cool and the other a two tone job with reverb, (doesn’y work) and tremelo,That does work. 6973 power tubes are the very best sound I have found after playing countless amps. Do keep it our little secret please!

By: justin

justin — Wed, 28 Oct 2015 04:16:48 +0000

I am a semi pro musician. I play about 16 or 18 gigs a year in bars and sat. markets. My wife of 31 years died about three years ago from ALS. While caring for her the only thing I could do while caring for her was to trade guitar amplifiers. While in my care I traded everything from champs to super reverbs and everything thing else in between. Including mesa boogies, vox amps,and marshall heads and combos.

While on my quest I also traded electric guitars. On one occaision a guy I was buying a guitar from had a univox guitar amp that he was willing to part with. I bought it for $175.00 bucks not really knowing what I had. After bring it home I found it to have the best tube tone I’ve had ever heard and had already had a cap’ job done. It was fully operational so I started useing it with the band.

Soon after another univox amp came up on craigslist for $150.00. and I bought it right away. This one was a U202R much like my first one but was a bit louder before breakup and like the one in the pictures.I had my amp tech re cap it for about $200 bucks and have been using it ever since with my band. It’s hard to explain the tone when you bridge it and turn it up to about 3/4 but I have never heard anything sound better.

Someone always comes up in clubs where we are playing and asks me what the #@@$ are you using and take pictures with their phones. I have since gotten rid of all other amps and currently own and use a U202R, a U202, and a U-45B for practice and am in amp hog heaven. All for only a few hundred dollars. The U 45 B was $120.00 bucks and is plenty loud enough for practice. Eat your heart out guitar players you can barely find a picture of these great early 60’s Japanese guitar amps let alone buy one. Good luck in your search though and Forget the Jimi Page thing. Thunderbolts and Silvertones are cool but not as cool as a U202R by a long shot.Listen for your self.

By: andy

andy — Sun, 04 Jan 2015 04:39:33 +0000

oops…
meant to type GEFCO not GEPCO as the OEM speaker manufacturer.
Thanks

By: andy

andy — Sun, 04 Jan 2015 04:26:40 +0000

I just picked up a Univox 202R that looks to be 100% except for an added grounded AC cord. The speaker is a 12″ 8 ohm Deerfield Alnico Speaker. Stamped on the underside of the magnet in red ink is 1056 244. I believe the number “1056” is the EIA manufacturers code for Gepco an OEM speaker company from Grayslake, Illinois, 15 miles from Deerfield, Illinois. The “244” would indicate the 44th week of 1962. I’m not really sure how these speakers ended up in these amps. There is a small sticker on the chassis of my amp that says MADE IN JAPAN!
Hope that helps…

By: Phildo

Phildo — Mon, 10 Feb 2014 02:05:08 +0000

I bought anp very much like this but with fewer 12AX7 tubes. Info on these old amps is hard to find. My amp has only 6 knobs: From the front, the 2 btns on the rt are Chan 1 volume and tome, 2 on the left are chan 2 vol and tone. The 2 in the center are tremelo-speed and intensity. on the left is a single jack for ftsw. Inputs on the right are chan 1 inputs bright and normal, and chan 2 stereo and normal.

Any one know which one I might have?

By: Trevor

Trevor — Wed, 16 Oct 2013 20:54:12 +0000

Just picked up a Lafayette off of craigslist the other day. Looks a lot like a 202R. Needs some work, but looking forward to digging into it. Good post here, thanks for sharing!

By: Neil

Neil — Sat, 11 May 2013 23:22:37 +0000

I own a Univox U-42 badged as Marathon and it has the only other DRC alnico speaker like yours that I have seen. Research provided no insight whatsoever about this speaker. I originally thought it was a cheap aftermarket replacement, with the agressive, modern lettering but I guess it’s more like circa 1960-1962…?

By: aaron

aaron — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 04:00:46 +0000

such a gorgeous univox! i just picked up a chassis for this amp and was wondering if you might be able to send me a little help in getting a new cab built – dimensions etc…maybe a couple hi-res pics of the wiring? all your help is really appreciated…i’m stoked for this piece…