The Guitar Gallery Forums - The Guitar Legacy of Matsumoku

Hey everyone! Just got my first Vantage guitar. I'm not entirely sure of the model, but I looked at the catalog pages that Corsair uploaded and I think I have a VP795. I'll post a couple pics of it, and I'm not sure if it helps, but the serial number is 010024. I'm not sure what year it is, the fellow I bought it from said he thinks it's an early 80's model. Also, just out of curiousity I'm wondering what this thing would be worth after I fix it up. I bought it for a whopping $40 Cdn. Haha.





Just a couple things I wanted to mention about the last picture: the nut is missing, but it came with brass nut, and the truss rod cover was painted white, but it's originally black. I'm not sure if that's helpful at all, just thought I'd add that in.

Welcome!
The Vantage line isn't my strong point but that is a 1980 model. Others will be along that will know more but I'd say $40 is a steal.

Welcome aboard, OddOne!

If your guitar has a bolt-on neck it's a VS695. VP795s have set necks and (usually) quartersawn ash wings whereas yours has flatsawn ash wings.

In either case, ya done good, bro!

What they both said! Dude, ya done so-o-o-o good! $40?! Yer killin' me here.

She looks to be in great shape too. I see a few small dings in the body, but those can be repaired fairly easily.
Removing the white paint on the TRC may be a bit trickier, depending on what was used and how the plastic was "prepped". I'd avoid using a chemical stripper as that may damage any identification/lettering that is underneath. It could also melt the TRC itself.

You might alternately soak it in hot water/ice water to see if the paint will loosen enough to peel off with your fingers. A hair dryer might help too, just don't get it too hot!

Just a great guitar, you're gonna love it!

_________________
"A little song, a little dance. A little seltzer down your pants." -Chuckles the Clown
Guitars: https://legend.barryeames.com
Music/Pix/Videos: https://getback.barryeames.com

Yes, welcome OddOne! Great score indeed. Looks like the phase switch is broken off, and the selector switch too? How's the electronics? I just finished restoring a VS696-12 (same configuration as yours), so If you need any help with the wiring, just holler!

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I'm hoping the TRC wasn't sanded or anything, I'll try taking the paint off as carefully as possible.
As for the electronics, they're in pretty rough shape. The original owner of the guitar didn't take good care of it. I'm the third owner, the guy that had it before me said he cleaned it up a lot, the thing was covered with stickers, he said. I believe it, as there's still a Burger King sticker on the back of the head stock and a Harley Davidson sticker on the back of the neck. Anyone have any tips on taking those off without damaging the finish? And I think I might replace all/most of the electronics, depending on how much it'll cost me.

Some new pot meters, switches, capacitors and wire won't cost too much ... if the PU's are okay, you can rebuild the electronics fairly cheap. If the glue beneath the stickers isn't completely dried out, heating the sticker with a hairdryer, and simply pull them off carefully might work ...

_________________
http://www.GuitarDir.com has been hacked by some mindless fool, destroying years
of gathering info on guitars by non-commercial guitar lovers. Why?

I think the pick-ups and input jack are the only thing I'm going to keep. I've heard these old humbuckers before and I love them.
Also, I don't know how I haven't noticed this before, but one of the saddles is missing from the bridge. I want to keep the original bridge, do you think it'd be hard to track a saddle down, or would this be something I could easily get at a local guitar shop?
I'm new to repairing/restoring guitars, so I might have a lot of stupid questions on my path to finishing this guitar. Haha.

If not I've had success with simple vegetable oil. You'll need to (lightly) scuff the surface of the sticker to allow the oil to penetrate to the glue, then let it sit awhile. Should loosen it up nicely. (Works great on gum too!)
If you're pressed for time you can try a commercial goo remover but it may dull the finish.

I believe this modeled after a standard Gibson ABR-1 bridge, so getting a saddle shouldn't be hard. I recently replaced a saddle screw on my Vantage VE550 but I can't recall if the thread was metric. Should not be a problem however.

_________________
"A little song, a little dance. A little seltzer down your pants." -Chuckles the Clown
Guitars: https://legend.barryeames.com
Music/Pix/Videos: https://getback.barryeames.com

I agree- nice guitar, and welcome! As mentioned, I think the pickups would stay and all the rest is easy enough to replace.

Give us some close-ups of the bridge and an individual saddle & maybe post a "wanted" ad in the forum section for that sort of thing.

Good luck with it...

je (not much help with sticker removal...)

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...doing bad things to good Vantages since 1985...

1981 AV-320
1981 AV-320
1981 AV-325
1982 AV-320
1982 VS-695-12
1982 VSH-445
1983 AV-330
1995 VST 33 CE TBK