The Guitar Gallery Forums - The Guitar Legacy of Matsumoku

This will be a continuation of my teaser topic here:

viewtopic.php?f=36&t=7212

...which introduced the 455 that 'eyebulger' recently purchased. She's currently on a short holiday here, visiting with my 445, so of course photographs & inspections were in order. A couple of pics of them hanging in the stairwell of my house, then we're on to more detailed shots & descriptions.

je

_________________
...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

Body shots...

Visible here is the difference in binding- the 455 has binding around the f-holes & fretboard, the 445 does not. The 455 also has a nicely veneered headstock face, the 445 has a black face. Both have MMK61 pickups, the 455 having coil taps on the tone pots, the 445 has full-time humbuckers (haven't yet checked the pickup wiring to see if that's a possible add-on). Interesting note is that the 455 weighs in at ~9 pounds, the 445 at ~8 pounds (using my un-scientifical bathroom scale method). Both seem to have a maple block running down the center of the interior, with a shaped piece of darker wood (mahogany?) attached to the back to brace & shape the dished back. Unsure what technique is used inside the front, haven't checked inside with a mirror.

The 445 face & back seem to be one-piece each, the 455 obviously book-matched two-piece sets. The 445 has a three-piece neck, the 455 is one-piece* (you'll see this better in the headstock pics).

*edit: wrong! duh.

_________________
...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

Front of headstocks, nuts:

It's tough to illustrate, but the 445's nut is tapered back at about the same angle as the headstock tilt, while the 455 has a steeper angle on the nut. The 445's strings stay in the slot/guide for the length of the slot, while the 455's strings seem to mostly contact the nut only at the fretboard end, then run from there back to the tuners. This seems to cause some binding of the wound strings over this edge while tuning (especially with the current wound 'G'), and perhaps when bending notes aggressively. Minor issue, but interesting.

_________________
...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

Bridges:

In my mind, this is more likely to be a 1981 vs. 1982 issue rather than a 455 vs. 445 issue, but again I think it's an interesting note that might help folks know what to expect when looking to buy a VSH.

You'll see that the tune-o-matic is similar, but the mounting holes & height adjustment are different between these guitars. The '81 455 has smaller holes & a smaller height adjustment screw (hidden within the holes), plus the body of the adjuster is not chromed...there's a significant amount of fiction & binding when trying to adjust this bridge, especially under tension. Loosening the strings (and/or the stop tail) before adjusting is still not easy (or not possible) if the screws have deformed enough to tighten up against the interior of the the bridge's holes. This 455 has the screws only slightly buggered up, yet the bridge was stuck fast to the screws & needed to be pried off- adjustment in place was out of the question. The '82 455 seems to remedy this with much larger, stouter adjustment screws (plus a thumbwheel underneath) and a chrome-to-chrome interface with much less friction.

You might also note that my 445's bridge is located JUST within tolerance for intonation adjustment, if it was any further back I'd be unable to get the 'D' string to intonate.

_________________
...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

Back of the headstocks:

Easier to see the neck construction here- don't be fooled by the striations in the 455's graining near the serial # (Eleventy-'leven 176), it's a one-piece neck & headstock*.

*edit- wrong! duh.

_________________
...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

Neck joints:

Have I mentioned that this 455 also has gorgeous graining on the SIDES?

_________________
...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

The troublesome toggle switch:

Currently this 455 either offers silence, or muffled output, or rip-roaring full-blast...hopefully it's just a cleaning needed. Should be a relatively easy fix or replacement, this location near the f-hole makes service pretty painless.

_________________
...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

Enjoy.

_________________
...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

I've never liked Don....


God, that's nice!! Thanks, je, for taking the time to do this; most of us will never ever see two of these together in the flesh, so kudos to you!! Thanks, too, Don for buying it and letting us mere humans gaze upon it!!

Don's still hoping that HE gets to gaze upon it some day...it's still half a world away. Kind of like you & your Hollywood Avenger... Hmmm...I really seem to be playing this whole thing right, huh? Any other foreigners want to send me bunches of money for guitars I get to keep?



je

_________________
...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