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Is this guitar REALLY a Ventura Les Paul ???? PLEASE help me identify it.............

Bandit_One

New member
Joined
Oct 24, 2022
Messages
3
Hi all, around 10 years ago I stumbled upon this guitar at a car boot sale for a good price. I didn't know much about it, but took the chance on it since it was a good price, and I had never played a Les Paul style guitar before, never mind owning one.......

Upon getting it home, I began doing some research about the name on the headstock, and found out about the history of the lawsuit Ventura guitars (more info here http://theuglyguitartruth.blogspot.com/2015/08/the-ugly-truth-ventura-guitars.html). HOWEVER....... There was a couple of things about THIS particular guitar that didn't seem to fit. 1) The logo on the headstock. I have only ever seen one other guitar for sale with the EXACT same logo on the headstock as mine (I'm not talking about the NAME, I'm talking about the actual LOGO WRITING STYLE), and the seller couldn't identify the guitar either (Same as my situation........).

2) Unless the guitar I had just purchased had been hardly played, and kept in a case in a warm (damp free) environment all of its life, I found it hard to beleive that this was a 70's era guitar.......... So that leads me to my reasoning for reaching out to the vast knowledge and experience contained within the community of Les Paul Guitar players and enthusiasts....

I have attached 3 images of this guitar, and would greatly appreciate it if any of you could shed any light on where it was made / when it was made / why is the logo different, and anything else that would be helpful in properly identifying it...... Thanks in advance.

P.S. I have already looked inside both rear cavities, and found no identifying marks or features. Also, there are NO stickers or serial numbers or codes anywhere on the guitar that I can find......
 

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Wilko

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Mar 11, 2002
Messages
20,854
Typical later Ventura. Way after lawsuit era. Body/headstock shape changes in place. Possibly at the end of the brand circa 1980-82

I think I've only seen that logo on acoustics.
 
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Bandit_One

New member
Joined
Oct 24, 2022
Messages
3
Many thanks for the info, that makes sense.

I had almost begun to think there was another guitar maker using the Ventura name, hence the reason for the logo design being different.

If anyone else has anything to add it would be greatly appreciated, Thanks in advance.
 

foxbody2908

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Joined
Dec 18, 2022
Messages
1
I have almost identical guitar but has a set neck..
 

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Bandit_One

New member
Joined
Oct 24, 2022
Messages
3
Hi, Thanks for the info and pics. I always wondered why mine had a 'dot' neck though which is unusual, but yes the logo on yours is very similar. Looks to be in good condition, nice guitar.
 

c0wfunk

New member
Joined
Oct 2, 2023
Messages
2
I ended up grabbing it off of Reverb yesterday for $240 all in, should be here tomorrow. I figured at that price a few unknowns are OK.

From looking at the ads on vintaxe.com my best guess is that this is a later model perhaps right before the Ventura brand was discontinued in 1982.


x6oogyowzsddcziyai9t.jpg


I have questions though, because the ad says it has locking tuners, the seller says everything looks stock, but apparently locking tuners didn't come out until 1983.

The other question I have is about the pickups, I'm new to some of this but these don't look like humbuckers to me from underneath. Are they single coils? P-90s? If anyone knows, please let me know
:)

xggsqex5y0qiodamwnet.jpg



Edit for posterity and future searchers:

I found an ad on an old facebook group and it looks like what I have here is a Ventura LC-500TB (Tobacco burst) 'with "Alnico V" humbucking pick-ups' that 'project the firm sound with sharp response and powerful sustain'. :)
There's also detail on the tuners, they are Rotomatic MG-45

I love this copy:

"It is well known fact that the combination of humbucking pick-ups and a solidified hollowness body of maple-mahogany construction has no equal in projecting a hot rock sound with powerful sustain. The beautifully arched maple top of the LC-550 & LC-500 is the cream not only for appearance but also for sound-making"

Google and wayback machine deep dives are what I'm reduced to as I await its arrival tomorrow. It seems like at least as far as Ventura is concerned this is on the high end and hopefully it'll be a gem.

Edit 2: the plot thickens I realized this ad is for the Aria Pro II but it does look identical. Wondering why it was put on the ventura FB site along with 3 ventura ads. It does look identical, so It could be the same guitar with a different logo, perhaps Matsumoku origins


ventura-ad.jpeg
 
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