My Not-So-Pleasant Experience With A Eastwood Bass

[Univoxer]

I'm not a musician (but I play one on TV! ). I'm 70 and am an unfulfilled, frustrated bass player-wanna be. To that end I've owned 7 basses including 2 Mosrites, one a The Ventures Model. Never learned to play well enough to go onstage but I do fantasize it. If I could play I would either start or join a Top 40/100 band. I would call my band The Bill Board 100!

A few months ago, after watching many UNIVOX HI-FLYERs escalate in price on eBay (and forget buying a real Mosrite, The Ventures Model or not, for upwards of $1,500) I jumped at the offering of an Eastwood Univox Hi-Flyer for $259 or $299 Buy It Now plus $36 shipping. I didn't want to take the chance that if left to auction finish it might go over $299, I bought it Now. The eBay seller wrote it up with a lot of nice words especially that it was one of 100 made by Eastwood Guitars with a 34" neck. Plus a nice gig bag was included, a $30 value. What sold me on the bass was the Mosrite look-alike with a set neck. The pictures sealed my decision to get it.

I received the bass and strapped it on and the first disappointment: headstock dip. My heart sank 'cause even though I bought it to learn bass all over again and I would be learning while sitting, this fault sort of got to me. But I decided to overlook it, although if the seller had been honest he would have mentioned the headstock dip but he didn't want to cut his chances of selling it.

Since I didn't have a practice amp I stored the bass. Then I brought it out again to admire its looks so I strapped it on again and plucked the strings. But I heard the strings buzz and I thought I was going to have the neck adjusted. Another disappointment. But I noticed that the buzz didn't happen all of the time, only when I leaned forward tilting the body away from me. That's when I noticed the cause of the buzz: the upper or neck pickup slid out and in. When out, it touched the strings.

I got on the horn and wrote to the eBayseller and Mike Robinson, President of Eastwood Guitars. The seller didn't want to hear about it 'cause too much time had passed. Mike told me to take it to a repair person and I'd have to live with the headstock dip. He also told me that it was more of 160 similar basses, he wasn't sure and wasn't honest enough to tell me that the reason they stopped making 34" necks was because the body wasn't big enough to produce a balanced stance, my opinion. More aggravations and expenditures.

I happened to browse Craigslist and saw an ad from a person who does guitar setups for $48. I wrote to him asked for a lower price to fix my bass pickup problem. I took it to him and the reason the pickup slid out was because it had separated from a brass-looking rectangular plate under the pickup. This plate did not show any sign of adhesive. My guy added epoxy, let it dry and adjusted the pickup and tuned the strings and the bass sang.

I wrote to Mike about my experience and included part of a post at Harmony Central where a buyer of a similar bass also complained of a loose "PUP." I told Mike that they need to improve their quality control 'cause it had to be their fault that two of their instruments suffered a similar fate.

I decided to sell the bass and try to find a UNIVOX. A post on Craiglist and the bass PLUS the practice amp I had bought but not used (CRATE BX25) sold and I lost only $8 in the transaction which would have been more if I had listed it on eBay as I planned. eBay and PayPal fees eat up any profit. So it turned out very good for me, I was sort-of "forgiven."

Yesterday I ordered from a Florida guitar store a UNIVOX HI-FLYER in excellent condition, in a natural finish. It looks almost new! And best of all, it cost me $200 plus $35 for shipping.

I must say that on one level, I find it ridiculous that Eastwood Guitars makes clones and misnames them. They didn't make a UNIVOX clone of a Mosrite, they made a clone of a MOSRITE!

Univoxer

[oipunkguy]

hey Univoxer,

I never played a eastwood, but it doesn't surprise me of the problems considering the cost. However some companies make better guitars then others at this price range.
Unfortunately I have some bad news for ya, The Univox basses have the headstock dip down as well. It's simply cuz the weight on the body isn't heavy enough. I've never tried this before, but I'm sure you could fix this problem with a counter weight installed in the body under the pick guard possibly.
On my univox it never bothered me too much, so I never tried to correct this problem, but one thing that would help is to switch out the cheap Japanese electronics (which is smaller and lighter in weight) to the heavier, better quality American parts. at the very least this would improve the tone. hope this helps.

[Univoxer]

Now you've gone and ruined my day! The Hi-Flyer dips? darn! Well, since I'm not going to start buying and selling - I recently bought a Samick to sort-of pacify my need for a bass, and it was stored from day of receipt; next the Eastwood with the awful headstock dip and loose pup - fortunately I was able to sell the Samick on Craigslist for what I paid - it was a nice bass - and I also was able to sell the Eastwood and a CRATE BX25 for almost all of the money I spent on them.

Now you've "spoiled" it for me but it's better to know ahead of time than when I unpack it to find out it's starting with a fault. No one mentions its headstock dip.

Here's the thing. My Eastwood was a 34" scale and I thought that this was the reason for the dip. But I had other 34" that were beautifully balanced, my Aria Pro II, my J.K. Lado. The UNIVOX is a 30" scale and I thought the short length would not have a dip. I don't care, it's a keeper. When I had the Eastwood I though of various ways to add weight to the body near the bottom strap button, so I'll revive those thoughts again.

Thanks for mentioning that, I appreciate it. You lessened the disappointment that would have ensued when I found out for myself. Now I can expect it and be less aggravated. I'll learn to live with it.

hey Univoxer,

I never played a eastwood, but it doesn't surprise me of the problems considering the cost. However some companies make better guitars then others at this price range.
Unfortunately I have some bad news for ya, The Univox basses have the headstock dip down as well. It's simply cuz the weight on the body isn't heavy enough. I've never tried this before, but I'm sure you could fix this problem with a counter weight installed in the body under the pick guard possibly.
On my univox it never bothered me too much, so I never tried to correct this problem, but one thing that would help is to switch out the cheap Japanese electronics (which is smaller and lighter in weight) to the heavier, better quality American parts. at the very least this would improve the tone. hope this helps.

[oipunkguy]

hey,

sorry for the bad news, i just thought you should know. however from the pic I saw, it looks like the bridge ashtray cover is from an 60's style fender P-Bass, and maybe someone rigged it so it's more balanced. impossible to know until you pick it up and play it.
however, I took a closer look at my univox tonight, and I bet I could attach a weight to the body right below the bridge and underneath the ash tray bridge cover, so it wouldn't take the dip.
if I were you, ask the seller about the dipping issue and see what he says. at least then you could make a better judgment call.
another thing to consider. danelectro use to make mosrite copy in a bass and guitar version that's fairly cheap, but made pretty well. you could go for one of those. personally I love danelectros. for the right tone a 150 dollar dano will kick an 5000 les paul any day of the week.
DiPinto are cool mosrite copies too, but I think they are more expensive.
I hope this helps.

[oipunkguy]

here's mine:

note- the real mosrite toggle switch and the strap button








this is where I thought you might be able to attach a weight to the bass to get it more balanced. and like I mention before, you could do the same thing inside the cavity where the electronics are. it would be a fun to give it a try!

[Univoxer]

You've provided some important info because I wondered about that bridge cover since it rests on the pickguard, something I didn't see in any HI-FLYER and didn't think it was OE. I'm glad you pointed that out. Your suggestion to possibly attach a weight under the bridge cover is superb.

I don't think that the seller can do anything about the dip 'cause he may not know about it. If I mention the dip and he admits to knowing about it perhaps I can ask him for some kind of compensation for ignoring a very important issue and he should know since he's a musician. But the price he asked for the bass is too good to ask for a slight refund as an Aria just sold on eBay for $331+$30, and another one is on the block for $399 OBO. They're sunbursts but I'm liking the natural finish on mine more and more. It's due to arrive a few hours from now, in the afternoon.

I looked at the Danelectro Rumor Bass and it is a nice-looking Mosrite look-alike although you'd think that if they're going to go to the trouble of imitating the Mosrite they could have at least placed an angled neck pickup plus the 2 that they feature now. None are available since they're from 2000.

DiPinto are nice looking also but at $700AUS I'll put up with the UNIVOX's dip.

Thanks, oipunkguy, I appreciate you sharing your knowledge. Your black HI-FLYER is beautiful. I see where you added fret markers also. That switch is neat. My Eastwood was black also. Do you think UNIVOX HI-FLYER guitars dip also? Or is it just the bass?

BTW, do you strictly use a pick or are you a finger player also? I can't bring myself to use a pick. How do you get around the dip, seeing as how you'd have to support the neck when you stand? And does your bass have 4 separate bridge adjustments for the strings? If you don't have 4 separate adjustors, do you have problems tuning the strings? Is your bass a Phase II? Do you have any documentation for it?

hey,

sorry for the bad news, i just thought you should know. however from the pic I saw, it looks like the bridge ashtray cover is from an 60's style fender P-Bass, and maybe someone rigged it so it's more balanced. impossible to know until you pick it up and play it.
however, I took a closer look at my univox tonight, and I bet I could attach a weight to the body right below the bridge and underneath the ash tray bridge cover, so it wouldn't take the dip.
if I were you, ask the seller about the dipping issue and see what he says. at least then you could make a better judgment call.
another thing to consider. danelectro use to make mosrite copy in a bass and guitar version that's fairly cheap, but made pretty well. you could go for one of those. personally I love danelectros. for the right tone a 150 dollar dano will kick an 5000 les paul any day of the week.
DiPinto are cool mosrite copies too, but I think they are more expensive.
I hope this helps.

[oipunkguy]

Thanks, oipunkguy, I appreciate you sharing your knowledge. Your black HI-FLYER is beautiful. I see where you added fret markers also. That switch is neat. My Eastwood was black also. Do you think UNIVOX HI-FLYER guitars dip also? Or is it just the bass?

BTW, do you strictly use a pick or are you a finger player also? I can't bring myself to use a pick. How do you get around the dip, seeing as how you'd have to support the neck when you stand? And does your bass have 4 separate bridge adjustments for the strings? If you don't have 4 separate adjustors, do you have problems tuning the strings? Is your bass a Phase II? Do you have any documentation for it?

yes my fret markers are very ghetto, lol. I just painted on white out from office depot. it's been on there for years now, and once in a while I'd repaint them when I rub it off from playing. my guitar luthiering skills have improved quite a bit since then, and some day I'll get around to installing real dot inlays.

i usually play with a pick, but I can play with my fingers too. I prefer picking though. the only time I really like finger picking is on a classical guitar.

as for the bridge adjustment, I'm have a little of a brain fart here. if I remember right it has a set up similar to an old fender telecaster, one saddle for 2 strings, but individual screws to adjust each string height. a issue I had with my bridge was it rattled a bit so I removed the cover and added foam on the inside to help mute all the shaking and it's been working good every since.

I bought this bass used at a vintage guitar shop back in 1998. I paid 300 for it then, and it came with it's original chipboard case that has pretty much fallen apart. the bass was made in the early 70's I was told. the only other thing I did with this bass is switch old the cheapo japanese toggle to an american switchcraft brand after the old one quit working. the pickups have a very nice tone too.

the only thing I really don't like about this bass is someone that had it before tried to dress down the frets themselves and did a crappy job of it. so I gotta get it refretted. another project down the road.... despite the terrible fret dress it plays well with minimal buzzing.

also this bass is just a univox high-flyier, i don't know anything about a phase II. my brother owned a univox high flyier guitar, i'll ask him if it dipped as well. I seem to remember that it did.

oh, by the way, if possible I'd keep the bridge cover on, the bridge saddle screws are a little sharp, and I kept mine on more for my protection during playing.