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Q&A, discussion, and information for the labels covered by The Guitar Gallery (Specifically and exclusively guitars made by Matsumoku up to 1987)
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 Post subject: Vantage X-33TDR
PostPosted: Thu 12 Sep 2019 07:25 PM 
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Virtuoso
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Location: Mount Hunter, NSW, Australia.
John has a new toy, courtesy of Big Dons' Home of Wayward guitars... Vantage X-33TDR.

https://imgur.com/HJfF0YJ

Pretty, eh!! But why would you put a string bar BEHIND the stringlock?!?!

https://imgur.com/7RwDWNs

Pickups are 5.75kΩ, 5.95kΩ and 6.02kΩ and ring like bells!!

https://imgur.com/GMrSwdv

https://imgur.com/Tbv1dtv

https://imgur.com/gRvTF5X

https://imgur.com/0teyY5w

https://imgur.com/ZVvmEq7

https://imgur.com/yo0pQPC

https://imgur.com/RdsPxoU

https://imgur.com/XR2YAWM

https://imgur.com/c8IvmK9

https://imgur.com/v1HxenL

https://imgur.com/TsfJ01r

No doubt now as to the manufacturer - Chushin Gakki!! Weird-arse orphan bridge with stringlock; remarkably similar to the X-99 I have, but not exactly the same!!

Yes, Dorothy; I DID play it before breaking it down to fettle it and while the action was far too low for this kiwi, and the bridge wasn't floating and the strings were deader than mutton, it played very well as it stands, so with some work, it's gonna be a great wee player!

Avengers rock!


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 Post subject: Re: Vantage X-33TDR
PostPosted: Sun 15 Sep 2019 01:10 PM 
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Defo Chushin Gakki . I had one a while ago. Nice guitars

if you take off the chunky jack-plate, it has "Chushin" cast into the underside....


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 Post subject: Re: Vantage X-33TDR
PostPosted: Sun 15 Sep 2019 08:01 PM 
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splodger wrote:
...if you take off the chunky jack-plate, it has "Chushin" cast into the underside....
(Um, the last pic above shows exactly this.)

Hey Johnny, nice little rocker there. Any idea of the year of manufacture?

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 Post subject: Re: Vantage X-33TDR
PostPosted: Mon 16 Sep 2019 03:57 AM 
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It most certainly is, Barry - it's a strat with a floating bridge and it makes all the stratty noises, so I now have an 80s Japanese guitar with every pickup configuration I'll ever need!

Of course, I had to grab this one from Don as I have never seen a s/s/s Mat of any stripe down here, so a Chushin Avenger will do just nicely!

I don't know what I'll do if one of the Electra lads finds a Phoenix X175 for me.... :D


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 Post subject: Re: Vantage X-33TDR
PostPosted: Mon 16 Sep 2019 08:01 AM 
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Quote:
...I now have an 80s Japanese guitar with every pickup configuration I'll ever need!

Oh yeah, I'd forgotten that you were wishing for an S-S-S Mats. Nice!

BTW, how is Don? Haven't seen him on the boards in a long time.

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 Post subject: Re: Vantage X-33TDR
PostPosted: Mon 16 Sep 2019 10:35 AM 
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Barry wrote:
splodger wrote:
...if you take off the chunky jack-plate, it has "Chushin" cast into the underside....
(Um, the last pic above shows exactly this.



Ooops. Missed that! :loon:


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 Post subject: Re: Vantage X-33TDR
PostPosted: Mon 16 Sep 2019 11:00 PM 
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Location: Mount Hunter, NSW, Australia.
Barry wrote:
BTW, how is Don? Haven't seen him on the boards in a long time.


He is good! Just retired and finding plenty to do at the moment; I just spent a few days down there with him and had a ball! I'm selling his Silverstone Concord H-III, blueburst Spectrum III and black Thunder 1 if you're interested?!

He doesn't actively acquire any longer and is, in fact, looking to unload a fair number...


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 Post subject: Re: Vantage X-33TDR
PostPosted: Tue 17 Sep 2019 09:32 AM 
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Happy to hear he's doing well! Please give him my regards when next you see him.

Wish I had some discretionary dough, but as usual, I'm broke. This "retired" thing sucks!

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 Post subject: Re: Vantage X-33TDR
PostPosted: Tue 17 Sep 2019 10:10 AM 
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I do like those Thunder I's but I have a lot of double humbucker guitars. He's not looking to get rid of any hollowbodies, huh? :devil2:

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 Post subject: Re: Vantage X-33TDR
PostPosted: Wed 18 Sep 2019 05:41 AM 
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No, mate - he's not!! :D

Ok.. to the subject at hand. When I stripped it out, I noticed that the high E string anchor had broken the thin fillet of wood between it and the control cavity, so I glued it in with white glue and moved on.

Fast forward to setting it up - probably for the first time in decades! - and under string tension, the little bit of wood just popped straight out.... bugger!!

I stood there and thought about this for a while, and realised that the string tension on that anchor was phenominal and plain glue just wasn't going to cut it... so I came up with this, a mechanical solution which - as we speak, is holding up quite nicely, thanks for asking! I cut and shaped a small piece of aluminium, then epoxied it into place, having pre-drilled a couple of holes for small wood screws, which were a bastard to screw in!! However, it's done now, and, as stated, seems to be working - the bridge is floating like a good 'un and I'll give it some time to settle down, re-check all the appropriate things, adjust where necessary and we're off to a flyer!

https://imgur.com/0dwlljN

Once I'd sorted that out, I nailed it all back together and went through the conniptions of set-up on a single locking, floating bridge - it took forever and was as fiddly as all hell! - took it upstairs and plugged it into the virtual amps, played the neck pickup, whacko! - the middle and neck, whacko! - middle, whacko - middle and bridge, hang on... there's something awry here?! and bridge, dead as mutton! And the tone controls weren't working either.... it never rains, but it pours, eh!

Back downstairs, take the bridge off and then the scratchplate and upturn it.... eventually find two wires that were broken at the solder join - both earths, so re-soldered, banged it back together, tuned, re-tuned, re-tuned again.... and then re-tuned just for good measure and we have a have a winner!! All good, firing on all cylinders, as it were, and quite delightful to play, to boot.

Has a wider fingerboard than any other Avenger I've got - including the X-99! - with a flatter profile; 15" if I had to guess. Has all the right noises and once I've balanced the pickup heights, it'll be an absolute belter!! Well pleased!


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