The Guitar Gallery Forums - The Guitar Legacy of Matsumoku

Hey guys , I just acquired a brown 1980 600vs (original japan case) SN 058435 with cream pickups , knobs,and truss cover completely original untouched except for the tuners . I don't have to tell anyone here but this guitar produces some excellent tones , I will be putting down the Mat Paul (the black one) for while and using this for my main axe for a bit . The tuners were replaced with equivalent replacement tuners so there are no extra holes . These new tuners are fine and have no issues but they are not Vantage tuners . What I am looking for is chrome tuners , 3 left , 3 right , with a "V" printed on the back cover . Since I have nothing to compare to I had to grab the shot of the tuners off the web . Same colored headstock as mine but this has gold instead of chrome tuners . I can swap a set of tuners with someone or buy if the price is right . If worse come to worse , I will just find a cheap Vantage acoustic with proper tuners and swap them out .

Hey Lurchin, pretty sure your tuners are original.
A bit hard to tell from the pick.
I've owned a few of the pre 1980 models & the original Tuners were a Black plastic Hex bodied jobby with chrome knobs.
Looks like what you have there.
No "V" on the pre 1980 models.
Have a bit of a search, I recall I put up a thread somewhere on the differences between the VS600 & 600VS.
Also your 05 neckplate is not dateable, all pre 1980 bolt ons had 05 neckplates.
79 to early 80, somewhere there is all we currently know.
I'm a big fan of those early pickups, they have a very full creamy tone hey.
You will notice they have a small T marked in the top of the bobbin covers & FS underneath.
Beautiful Guitar.

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My Guitars- http://matsumokuguitars.com/

spot on Trev.
I still have a few spares of the old black jobs.

Thanks for the info Trevor , everything you said is right on the money , I thought the indent under the tuners looked too perfect , I wasn't aware pre '80s were un branded, but we are here to learn . Thanks for saving me a hunt . The pick ups are exactly as you described as well , sweet tone , and I can't believe I am saying this because I'm not a single coil guy but even when these are coil split they sound nice . So verdict is completely original

I guess I dont need Vantage branded tuners - Do what you will with this thread then , Thanks guys !

here is a pic of "the old Vantage tuners", taken from one of GDK9's guitars, a VP-750 "Ghost":
http://www.guitardir.com/img/4510-8-ghost6.JPG

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All vantage-branded guitars were lower-priced instruments aimed at the beginner-to-intermediate market. It has no interest to collectors and very little demand among players! (www.allexperts.com)

yes mozart , those are the ones that are on it , sorry guys as you can tell by now my photography skills aren't the greatest , I think a better camera wouldn't hurt either .

I have some tuners like those, with the hex (?) plastic body. Got them from a smashed Japanese Ventura acoustic that someone left for the trashman. I think the little black squiggles on mine are the Gotoh logo.

-Steve W.

Yup- I've got some of them around here, too...and, I remember something like "LSI" printed on them in a logo format. Most likely from an old Vantage that my friend modified with banjo-style tuners (don't ask).

je

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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

Found my tuners, from a Japanese Ventura acoustic. They have the Gotoh logo, a stylized "G"...




I guess you could get "LIS" if you rotated them 90 degrees, but nobody here would be silly enough to do this, so you must have some different tuners.

- Steve W.

I'm certainly silly enough to do that...

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