#Vega guitars serial numbers serial numbers
#Vega guitars serial numbers serial number
#Vega guitars serial numbers plus

However, the pickups, bridge saddle, tuners, tailpiece and knobs are all original.Vega Vegaphone C-75 Model Arch Top Acoustic Guitar, c. The output jack was changed from an obscure screw-on type to a conventional ВјвЂќ. The bridge bases were replaced to avoid a neck reset, and the wiring was replaced due to crumbling insulation (a common problem on вЂ50s Vegas). My Westerner was acquired as something of a project, needing wiring repairs, a new pickguard and truss rod cover, and having been stripped of a coat of green paint (which, fortunately, did not affect the original gold underneath). Many early off-brand solidbodies have a reputation for being cheaply built, but the Westerner is clearly a major step up from the Harmony, Kay and Danelectro guitars that sold for half as much.

#Vega guitars serial numbers plus

It was priced accordingly: $215 plus $39 for a case in 1954, compared with $235 for a Les Paul Standard, $189.50 for a Telecaster, and $197.50 for a National 1104. The overall package is constructed well, and it is something of a compromise between a Les Paul Standard and Special (even if the Special did not yet exist when the Westerner was introduced). While the pickups do look a lot like Gibson P-90s, they were made by Franz and are closer in design to most Fender pickups. The pickguard and neck are closer to those found on large Vega archtops, and the pickup selector is a rotary switch instead of a toggle. The bridge saddle floats on a pair of felt-lined feet, much like the bridge on a contemporary Guild M-75. The separate bridge and tailpiece are somewhere in between the trapeze of a вЂ™52 Les Paul and the stop tailpiece of a вЂ™54. Additionally, the WesternerвЂ™s body is flat on top. For one thing, it lacks a maple cap on the body (granted, so does the Les Paul Custom). Beneath these superficial similarities, however, the Westerner is actually a very different guitar.

The Les Paul comparison comes mainly from the gold top, control layout and access cavities.

#Vega guitars serial numbers serial number

Although the Westerner was probably intended to mark the beginning of a successful new product line at Vega вЂ“ they were given their own serial number format, for one thing вЂ“ Vega never built solidbodies in large numbers. Unconfirmed sources indicate that only approximately 40 were built before Gibson threatened a lawsuit Vega quickly started altering the design to avoid legal action, and they may have even destroyed some guitars that were not yet sold. While later Vega solidbodies would stray further from Gibson designs, the WesternerвЂ™s appearance remains faithful enough to fool a lot of people at first glance. The mahogany body was finished in natural except for the gold top, clearly showing inspiration by the Gibson Les Paul. Introduced by 1954, the Westerner was VegaвЂ™s first attempt to create a guitar with a solid body (excluding lap steels). This particular model, however, is easily the closest that Vega ever came to directly copying a competitorвЂ™s product. VegaвЂ™s engineers usually followed their own muses, even when building around bodies by Harmony. Still, some models betrayed more inspiration than others. Previously, guitar builders might have taken strong inspiration from others but they generally added their own twist for example, the Guild CE-100 was clearly based on the Gibson ES-175, but the pickups were very different and the guitar felt distinctly like a Guild. This вЂњcopy eraвЂќ began in the early 1970s when Japanese factories began producing guitars that rivaled Gibson and Fender instruments (among others) in appearance and quality. Guitars built today consist mainly of copies or near-copies of classic models this is so common that all the old brands are overtly recycling their own designs from decades past. It would have been a great addition to the Martin line. IMHO, Martin would have done well to keep the guitar production intact as purchased. The original Vega guitars were very nice guitars, well built, played well and sounded pretty good. I think it is kind of like the Sigma line.

The serial number is H417025 and I purchased it new in 1979. But it has a typical Vega engraved pearl star in peg head with the word вЂVegaвЂ™ engraved in the star. I have a Vega guitar with a serial number that would date it at 1919 according to the information above.

#Vega guitars serial numbers serial numbers

All the guitar sites IвЂ™ve checked seem to think the guitar serial numbers are a mystery, and that may be true.