The Guitar Gallery Forums - The Guitar Legacy of Matsumoku

So last Sunday in Craigslist Inland Empire I found a Red label Yamaha FG180 with hardshell case for $60 looking very good in the fine pics.

It looks like it's been in a closet for 40 years and It had been listed for less than an hour. My heart's pounding. I email they guy, he emails back that he has someone coming over later that evening to check it out. Email has his number so I text him offering $100 and will pick it up within the hour (it's 90 miles away). He emails back that that he promised to hold for that guy. Later he emails that he sold to the guy.

Sigh a seller with scruples.

Now on to the Vantage story

A few weeks before I check Craigslist here in San Diego and spot "Vantage guitar $175" . I click on it and see nice pics of a Vantage I had never seen/heard of. In ebay I found someone selling a magazine ad of this guitar, and it's a VP-790.

I call and we set up a time for the next day because it's late. Anyway I bought it from a very nice guy who is leaving California. He said several other guitar snobs had looked at and decided it was not worthy.

It's in very good shape, little fret wear, plays/sounds great. The pup selector switch doesn't hold in the bridge position so he knocked off $25. I smiled all the way home. I will try to post some pics.

This one has a plastic/bone nut....I thought they had metal nuts.

Clearly a man of his word. Pitty for you, but I whished more sellers would have that attitude! You can always try with good people like that, but you'll be second in line. That's good.
I'd like to see that magazine ad, 'cause as far as we know now this model was addressed as 'Vantage 790' (without 'VP'). Good catch anyway! The nut on the 790 usually was, if I recall correctly, a brass one. But ... the Vantage motto: 'specifications are subject to change without notice'

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

Yes there are still good people on this planet and that's reassuring.

Here's the ad...it just says 790. Someone here gave me the idea it was VP...or maybe it was VS....dunno?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/320900847813?ss ... 1423.l2649 I cannot read the small print on my 4 year old 28" monitor... maybe you can.

It has a very sleek feel even tho it is a slab body (mahogany?) with no contouring. Played unplugged It moves my gut and my left hand. Probably has 45's? I will check when I do some cleanup on it.

My 790 has a brass nut and 45's. The nut may be a replacement. An old school tech may not have wanted to mess with a brass nut if the player was going for heavier gauge strings. Mine pings if I put anything heavier than 10's on it.