Ventura Acoustic Guitar Serial Numbers

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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

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]

  1. I just bought a Ventura V-17. The serial number is 69343. It is the best 12-string I have played in 35 years of trying to sound like Leo Kottke. It was in the window of a thrift store for $50. After reading this thread I love the story of this rogue company. I just am curious of the year it was made. It is in near-perfect condition.
  2. As seen in the pics the serial number is in the 300's and corresponding neck date of 15th April 1982, only days after manufacture of these guitars started. The JV is loaded with three Fender X-1 pickups which read in the region of 7 ohms, it was quite common with early JVs to install X-1 pickups and this can be verified on the 21frets website.
Ventura acoustic guitar model v-10

References[edit]

Acoustic

Fernandes created faithful recreations of Fender instruments; and Takamine and Suzuki both made acoustic guitars nearly identical to certain Martin models. Interestingly, most Japanese copies of the time didn’t have serial numbers — a great way to tell if an instrument is truly a “lawsuit” guitar, even today. One theory is that this is the 977th V-25 built in 1973, but there is no official data on serial numbers. Ventura/Bruno guitars of this era are not super common. They are increasingly sought after, due to the good quality of the C. Bruno era Ventura's. This guitar is truly a treasure. ID Method 1: Production/Serial Number Check to see if there is a number printed inside the guitar body. This number seems to be linked to a production code rather than an actual serial number, but it still may be useful for identification.

1970's Ventura Acoustic Guitars

  1. ^https://web.archive.org/web/20150319013517/http://kaman.com/about-kaman/corporate-overview/acquisition-history/

External links[edit]


Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ventura_(Japanese_guitars)&oldid=876276580'

Ventura Acoustic Guitar Serial Numbers Dating

Comments

Ventura Acoustic Guitar Model V-10

  • Trading feedback
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  • Some good info on PEG here but you might need to register:
    http://www.patrickeggleguitars.org/smf/index.php
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  • edited October 2018
    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 .
    Good Traders Profile: http://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/58798/ ;
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  • tFB Trader
    you 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 help
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  • 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 .
    Interesting; must have changed their 'style' of serial numbers as my BP from '92 has following serial no: M92000528BP
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  • Interesting; must have changed their 'style' of serial numbers as my BP from '92 has following serial no: M92000528BP
    Yes they did change the numbering system and this is the earlier version.
    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).
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  • edited October 2018
    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 .
    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.
    @guitars4you : Regarding the Serial Numbers, Patrick Eggle is still alive and kicking, and I imagine might well help if you contact him.
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  • Interesting; must have changed their 'style' of serial numbers as my BP from '92 has following serial no: M92000528BP
    Yes they did change the numbering system and this is the earlier version.
    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).
    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.
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  • Interesting; must have changed their 'style' of serial numbers as my BP from '92 has following serial no: M92000528BP
    Yes they did change the numbering system and this is the earlier version.
    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).
    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.
    Good Traders Profile: http://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/58798/ ;
    0<=' span='>0
  • Interesting; must have changed their 'style' of serial numbers as my BP from '92 has following serial no: M92000528BP
    Yes they did change the numbering system and this is the earlier version.
    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).
    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.
    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!
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  • tFB Trader
    Interesting; must have changed their 'style' of serial numbers as my BP from '92 has following serial no: M92000528BP
    Yes they did change the numbering system and this is the earlier version.
    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).
    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.
    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
    Or the serial number is allocated at the point of 'build' but some guitars can be built quicker than others - Again for whatever reason
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