I realize this post is a little outdated, but I have a black Univox LP that I believe it to be a U1885 Custom from 1969 or 1970. I have spent the past few years trying to dig up anything I can about it, including attempting to determine if it was made by Matsumoku. Some identifying characteristics set this apart from the usual stuff you find on-line about the "average" Univox LP copies like the Gimme/Mother/R&B.
The headstock is definitely lawsuit-era open-book shaped. The logo is a horizontal gold decal under the finish, with curved letters along top of the head -- not the more 70s-looking vertical logo in the center -- but it is not the real old, thin script-looking logo either. The trapezoid-shaped tuners look like all the others from the 1970-era Univox LPs. It has a thin, low-fret rosewood neck, with MOP inlays that have slightly rounded corners, the usual rounded bottom edge of the fingerboard, side binding (that do not cover the fret edges), and the usual cheap plastic nut.
The neck plate says STEEL ADJUSTABLE NECK (but no MIJ imprint), and the serial # is 44724xx. The pups are not the common double-row pole piece jobs, nor do the rings have the 3 height adjustment screws (just 2). I replaced the bridge HB around 1978 with a genuine Gibs*n T-bucker, along with a genuine ABR-1 TOM bridge. The other pup has cream-colored bobbins, is not wax potted (rather microphonic), and measures about 7K.
One of the unusual items is the pick guard: a W/B/W/B 4-ply unit that covers the bottom edges of both pup rings. This style only seems to show up on photos of Univox Customs, with most of the other Univox LPs having the more standard Gibs*n cutout. The hardware is gold.
I bought it from the original owner in 1975, who told me he bought it in the winter of 69-70. I have done a lot of work to it since then, especially in the last 2 years, and maybe I’ll post info on what I’ve done if there is any interest. I’ll try to put up some photos, too (showing both old and new parts).
Tricky was asking about where he might find replacements for the oversized rings. They are indeed slightly larger than Gibs*n-style rings (even with mine only having 2 adjustment screws). Not only did the mounting holes for LP standard rings not line up, but the old ones left an indentation in the lacquer finish. So I had black satin aluminum custom rings made by fretsonthenet.com for $50. I did the full CAD drawings for them, and would be glad to share them with Tricky or anyone else to verify size.
I don’t want to ramble on (at least for this posting), except to say I love this guitar. It plays well and sounds good -- thanks in part to all the work I’ve done -- and it looks great too. I can't afford a real LP, especially anything vintage, but this baby seems close enough for me. I still don’t know if it’s a real Uncle Mat model, but the quality sure feels like it. Again, I’ll post more info and photos if there’s interest…
Jay Walworth, NY
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