Gear: WESTBURY GUITARS

Westbury Guitars were only manufactured for four years during the 1970s and 80s

I was lucky enough to be given one as a gift when I was a kid. It had beautiful sunburst colouring, a solid, heavy body, and a deep warm tone. It was my first guitar, and is still my favourite instrument.

A BIT OF HISTORY: Westbury Guitars was part of the Unicord Corporation, which also produced Univox amplifiers and guitars.

‘Guitar making operations moved to Japan in 1975 where they continued making guitars until 1982. Production under the Univox name was halted after a fire at the Matsumoku factory. After this time instruments were made in Korea under the name Westbury. The Unicord Corporation was purchased by Korg in 1985, effectively ending the line for good.’ [Wikipedia]

Univox was known for making quality copies of other instruments from Gibson, Fender, Rickenbacker, Epiphone, and other popular brands. The craftsmanship put into a Westbury guitar is obvious if you have ever picked one up. You might have to do a bit of searching in order to find one, though.

Mine is a Westbury Deluxe (W2212) in tobacco sunburst. It’s got a solid maple body, ebony fretboard, and two DeMarzio pickups. The clean sound is just gorgeous; it rings true and clear in a way that I can only describe by playing it for you. And it sounds great dirty too. This guitar has even got a lot of tone while unplugged. There’s not much information on these online, and there doesn’t appear to be too many of us who own them. Consider yourself lucky if you do.

More info on specs can be found here: http://www.univox.org/guitars/

January 27, 2011 in: Audio Gear, Music  | ADD COMMENT