The Electra Forums

Ok guys. I bought a 22 fret Vantage VA(-)800 (on the truss cover it says "Artist 800") at a pawn shop yesterday. It was love at first sight! I saw it on Tuesday just casually looking around the shop with no real intent on buying a guitar, went back on Thursday to try it out, and showed up on Friday and bought it. It's a little dinged and scratched, but it's more like graceful aging than wasteful mistreatment. All it needed were brand new strings and a good polishing.

So, I'm naturally curious as to when it was made... And it seems you guys are "experts."

My serial # is 80240. I read through the discussion in hopes of understanding the dating method so I could come to a conclusion, but I ended just getting really confused haha. Anybody wanna take a stab at when it was made?

What you see here is probably the sum total of known info on these wonderful guitars - I have a VA 900 and know of only 2 others world-wide!!

have a browse around here...

http://www.matsumoku.org/ggboard/viewforum.php?f=13

...and see if any of the folk there know anymore.

As for date I would hazard a guess and say 1978; but it is a guess - my VA is a 1980 and I know that because I bought it brand new in 1980 and I also got the 1980 Australian catalogue with it!

Good luck, and give us a look at it, eh... oh, how much?!

_________________
"... and on the eighth day, God created New Zealanders.

Because even the Australians need heroes."

Thanks Corsair.

How sure are you of that guess? haha

I bought it for $320. The first thing I look for in a guitar is how well it plays, i.e. no buzzing frets, smooth/well-shaped neck, and stuff like that. This guitar plays better than a $320 guitar, so I'm happy. Plus, despite it's dings and scratches, It's a good looking guitar. I've always loved the neck-thru design.

Have any of you other VA800 owners noticed its sustain? Maybe it's just mine, but this thing will hold a note really nicely. Maybe it has something to do with the block they mounted the bridge on.

Here are a few pics (sorry they're pretty grainy and not very color-rich; I couldn't find my brother's camera, which is really the only decent camera in the house haha):

That's a neck-thru, isn't it so there's your sustain , right there!! the bridge is just rebated into the neck wood:D Well it is on mine! And for $320, you did very well indeed - good catch!!
I don't know about the 800, but the 900 just oozes class with brass backplates, wooden truss rod covers and an attention to detail that beggars belief - play it and enjoy it; to get something of equal quality would cost considerably more than $320, eh!!

_________________
"... and on the eighth day, God created New Zealanders.

Because even the Australians need heroes."