Ventura guitars were made in Japan in the 1970's, and distributed to the US market by C. Bruno and Company of New York, New York. They were medium-to-good copies of other, more popular guitars. That one is a copy of an Epiphone FT120, which was a copy of a Gibson. Welcome to the official dealer web site for Ventura Musical Products. Our product is sold only by authorized independent music retailers, and this web site is intended for the sole use of our present and prospective music dealers, with controlled access. Click on for what’s new, product details and photos, and an opportunity to contribute to. Sadao guitars are legendary for their quality. Supposedly his access to tone woods was shrouded in mystery as well; as his family had a secret stash that was seasoned for decades. As for your guitar, who knows, but if it is a Yairi, Sadao usually used the Japanese Emperor Dating system. Add 28 years to the first 2 numbers of your guitar serial. 1960's Bruno Ventura 1583 Japanese Made Classical Guitar This Is A Wonderful Playing Bruno Ventura That Was Made In Japan. It Has Great Tone & Volume. These Are Very Well Made & This Particular One Has The Early Label & A Low Serial Number.
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- Some good info on PEG here but you might need to register:
http://www.patrickeggleguitars.org/smf/index.php0<=' span='>0 - edited October 2018Yep, 2x early Berlins there. The one with the BP prefix is a Berlin Pro (with trem) from Feb 1992. The B prefix is a hardtail Berlin from Feb 1993. If you a add pictures I can tell you more, but the Berlin Pro should have SD pickups and probably has no volute behind the nut - these early ones are reputed to have had hand carved necks. It should also have a rectangle case. The 93 Berlin probably has Kent Armstrongs and a Hiscox case .Good Traders Profile: http://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/58798/ ;0<=' span='>1
- tFB Traderyou are a star @RevMatt ; - not finalised the deal yet - but yes one is a stop tail with maple leaf inlays on an ebony board and appears to be a Berlin Plus - Berlin only on the headstock facia and Plus on the truss rod cover - With SD pick-ups and a Hiscox case
Not had info on the Berlin Pro yet but appears to have an oblong case
Thanks for your help0<=' span='>0
Interesting; must have changed their 'style' of serial numbers as my BP from '92 has following serial no: M92000528BPYep, 2x early Berlins there. The one with the BP prefix is a Berlin Pro (with trem) from Feb 1992. The B prefix is a hardtail Berlin from Feb 1993. If you a add pictures I can tell you more, but the Berlin Pro should have SD pickups and probably has no volute behind the nut - these early ones are reputed to have had hand carved necks. It should also have a rectangle case. The 93 Berlin probably has Kent Armstrongs and a Hiscox case .0<=' span='>0
Yes they did change the numbering system and this is the earlier version.Interesting; must have changed their 'style' of serial numbers as my BP from '92 has following serial no: M92000528BP
From memory:
M was the month (A to M with I omitted) so M =Dec, 92 is the year and BP being the model (Berlin Pro).0<=' span='>0- edited October 2018
The Necks were carved by hand in those days. Mark Bailey learnt his trade at Eggle back in the days when Patrick Eggle owned the company. Mark ended up being responsible for the Neck finishing.Yep, 2x early Berlins there. The one with the BP prefix is a Berlin Pro (with trem) from Feb 1992. The B prefix is a hardtail Berlin from Feb 1993. If you a add pictures I can tell you more, but the Berlin Pro should have SD pickups and probably has no volute behind the nut - these early ones are reputed to have had hand carved necks. It should also have a rectangle case. The 93 Berlin probably has Kent Armstrongs and a Hiscox case .
@guitars4you : Regarding the Serial Numbers, Patrick Eggle is still alive and kicking, and I imagine might well help if you contact him.0<=' span='>0
Interesting, as my BerlinPro made in December 92, has a lower serial number (528) than @guitars4you model (593) which was made in February the same year.
Yes they did change the numbering system and this is the earlier version.Interesting; must have changed their 'style' of serial numbers as my BP from '92 has following serial no: M92000528BP
From memory:
M was the month (A to M with I omitted) so M =Dec, 92 is the year and BP being the model (Berlin Pro).0<=' span='>0
This is all spot on, except there's probably a number wrong in one of the examples given as the later format (model/month/year/production number) didn't operate concurrent to the early system (month by letter/year/production number/model). In the examples given, AuldReekie's 528 is definitely some time earlier than Mark's 593. The number stamps can look a bit vague so it's easy to get a digit wrong.
Yes they did change the numbering system and this is the earlier version.Interesting; must have changed their 'style' of serial numbers as my BP from '92 has following serial no: M92000528BP
From memory:
M was the month (A to M with I omitted) so M =Dec, 92 is the year and BP being the model (Berlin Pro).Good Traders Profile: http://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/58798/ ;0<=' span='>0
Thanks for explanation. MY BP Pro is a superb example; fantastic neck. My tech has made a couple of mods - (a) replaced the Wilkinson trem with a standart strat trem; never liked the Wilkinson as I sometimes use open tunings and (b) added a Levinson Blade VSC giving options of passive along with mid/bass&treble boost options. Combine these with p/up selector and coil taps and there are 27 switching options and all of them useable!
This is all spot on, except there's probably a number wrong in one of the examples given as the later format (model/month/year/production number) didn't operate concurrent to the early system (month by letter/year/production number/model). In the examples given, AuldReekie's 528 is definitely some time earlier than Mark's 593. The number stamps can look a bit vague so it's easy to get a digit wrong.
Yes they did change the numbering system and this is the earlier version.Interesting; must have changed their 'style' of serial numbers as my BP from '92 has following serial no: M92000528BP
From memory:
M was the month (A to M with I omitted) so M =Dec, 92 is the year and BP being the model (Berlin Pro).1<=' span='>0- tFB Trader
will depend on factory to factory and/or maker to maker - But often serial numbers are either allocated at the point of order, but that doesn't mean the build takes place immediately for whatever reason - The order could be a number of guitars ordered by an international distributor, UK orders via various stockists/dealers, or even via the builder themselves for a forth coming guitar show/trade event etc -ie a number, or a batch of numbers allocated but build starts later
Interesting, as my BerlinPro made in December 92, has a lower serial number (528) than @guitars4you model (593) which was made in February the same year.
Yes they did change the numbering system and this is the earlier version.Interesting; must have changed their 'style' of serial numbers as my BP from '92 has following serial no: M92000528BP
From memory:
M was the month (A to M with I omitted) so M =Dec, 92 is the year and BP being the model (Berlin Pro).
Or the serial number is allocated at the point of 'build' but some guitars can be built quicker than others - Again for whatever reason0<=' span='>0
Ventura was a brand of stringed instruments imported from Japan by C. Bruno and Company during the 1960s and 1970s. C. Bruno was bought by Kaman (Ovation) in the early 1980s, after which the brand disappeared. Some of the Ventura guitars were knock-offs of the Martin line, such as the Ventura V-35 appearing similar to the Martin D-35, and the Ventura V-14 / Martin D-14.
Ventura Guitar Serial Numbers
The Ventura line included guitars (classical, western, folk, concert, electric, electro-acoustic), banjos, mandolins, and bass guitars.
Kaman Industries (parent company of Ovation) actually acquired C Bruno & Son in 1971. Although there isn't much in the way of records from this period, it is believed that Kaman contracted with manufacturers such as 'Matsumoku' (parent company of brands such as Aria) from '71 until the brand was discontinued in 1982. There is also evidence that C. Bruno contracted with other companies before the '71 Kaman acquisition such as 'Kasuga' and others.[1]
References[edit]
Ventura Acoustic Guitar Price
- ^https://web.archive.org/web/20150319013517/http://kaman.com/about-kaman/corporate-overview/acquisition-history/
External links[edit]
