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help me with my 1980 vintage VANTAGE

T

themajorrager

Jun 17, 2005
476
1
44
Melb. Australia
#1
Hi Everyone,

heres a challenge for you all. here are some pics of a VANTAGE bass i recently bought of ebay.
the little info i have of the bass is as follows: brand - Vantage; year - 1980?; features - 18volt active EQ, DiMarzio Pickups, 5 piece maple&mahagony neck, ash body, neck-thru, 24 frets; controls - active/passive switch, phase switch bridge puckups?, phase switch neck pickups?,(active)bass/treble boost knob, tone knob, master volume knob, three way pickup selector. "?" denotes uncertainty

i dont know if it will help but the serial no. is 108001. does that mean that this is the first one built?
. on a personal note i'd just like to add that this bass is awesome to play and sounds amazing. i had to spend 10 hours stripping it down, cleaning and polishing it, then reassembling it after i bought it as i dont think it had ever been cleaned or cared for in it previous 25years of exsitance.
but it was worth every minute. it even sounds better than both my Yamaha TRB and Spector Legend and i only paid AU$500 for it.
anyway any help would be greatly appreciated. :cool:



th_e17_DSCN0275.jpg


th_69a_DSCN0276.jpg


:bassist:
 
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#2
Congrats on the new bass! I have a VS600B (bolt-on, single P, passive) and it's my favorite bass to play.

I haven't seen one like yours before. It does say 'Made in Japan' somewhere on it, right? The Japanese basses produced in the Matsumoku factory usually had six- or seven-digit serial numbers, with the first digit or two denoting the year. I'd say yours is an '81 (same as mine :D ).

For more info, check out http://www.therathole.org. Also, it would be awesome if you'd submit some info/pics to the site.
 
#3
Hurley000 said:
Congrats on the new bass! I have a VS600B (bolt-on, single P, passive) and it's my favorite bass to play.

I haven't seen one like yours before. It does say 'Made in Japan' somewhere on it, right? The Japanese basses produced in the Matsumoku factory usually had six- or seven-digit serial numbers, with the first digit or two denoting the year. I'd say yours is an '81 (same as mine :D ).

For more info, check out http://www.therathole.org. Also, it would be awesome if you'd submit some info/pics to the site.
Click to expand...

thanks Hurley,
i checked out therathole but they didnt have any pics of mine. i have emailed whoever runs the site and sent him a link to this thread so he can check out the pics and (limited) info i have on it.
 
#7
That's a sweet bass! It's a combination of:

1. Alembic body shape
2. Aria neck/headstock
3. SD Curlee pickup configuration

Vantage is one of those brands that received very little respect originally (simply because they were made in Japan and were considered "knock-offs"), but that have held up quite well over time and are now being appreciated. Tokai was another such brand.

Beautiful bass, man - I would LOVE to have one of those!
 
#13
No way bro you got a Vantage that weigh's 5lbs...you talking some weirdo UK "pounds" or something?? I bet that sucker is a min of 10 US pounds.

Look for a vintage "Fret Sling" strap...it's "S" shaped and cures all neck divers...I have one for my Oakland...works great!!

DCP_0911.jpg
 
#15
Dude said:
No way bro you got a Vantage that weigh's 5lbs...you talking some weirdo UK "pounds" or something?? I bet that sucker is a min of 10 US pounds.

Look for a vintage "Fret Sling" strap...it's "S" shaped and cures all neck divers...I have one for my Oakland...works great!!

DCP_0911.jpg
Click to expand...


***? last time i checked there was only one type of lb weight!!! and its funny but America seems to be the only country that is still stuck using imperial measurements - the rest of the world is now using this fantastic thing called the metric system - a system that wasnt designed in the dark ages!lol
as for the issue of the actual weight of my bass it is pretty light. it weighs the same as my spector legend5 but a lot less than my yamaha trb4II.
also i cant see those pics of that strap you posted
thanks for your help :hyper:
 
#16
Heya,
My name's Josh; first time poster. Nice Bass!
I too own a Vantage I scored off ebay for $200US including shipping! Yours is quite a bit nicer, though. It's the same body style. Mine has a single, passive, split-pickup. While mine is a VS series from what I could find on www.therathole.org, the bridge is that of the X-series and looks almost identical to the Gibson EB style bass bridges and does not allow for individual string height adjustment. It is also arched, not flat. Anyway, the bridge is cracked and I'm looking for a suitable replacement. I would like to get something nicer but there's a 1/4" recess under the bridge to deal with. I was looking at a Musicman style bridge which looks to be large enough to cover the recess whether or not I decide to fill it in. I would need something 105mm x 60mm. I do not want to screw up the looks of my bass. Should I simply go with a direct replacement? Will the EB style bridge match up? I've been unable to find measurements for one. Here tis:
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=21299&stc=1

Later!
 

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#17
Rats! I was going to bid high on this bass but the auction ended before I realized.

It's definitely a 1981 based on the SN and was made in the Matsumoku plant. This looks like a limited edition model VSB series bass. Most of the higher end VSB series basses had set necks. Yours is neck through. Also, even the highest end VSB's were passive. Your's seems to borrow technology from the Aria SB-1000 line (made at the same factory) based on teh LED light, the neck through body design and the switches.

Amazing basses, these vantages are. I have our sam ebass ut with passive electronics and a set neck (the VSB795), the VSB695 (one P pickup) and an unknown VSB model which is almost identcal to my VSB795 except it has a 3-point bridge. These play and sound amazing. The only complaint I have is that they tend to lay flat (neck dive) due to the symetrical body shape so they are easier to play sitting down.

If you ever want to unload this, let me know!
 
#18
rogerbmiller said:
Rats! I was going to bid high on this bass but the auction ended before I realized.

It's definitely a 1981 based on the SN and was made in the Matsumoku plant. This looks like a limited edition model VSB series bass. Most of the higher end VSB series basses had set necks. Yours is neck through. Also, even the highest end VSB's were passive. Your's seems to borrow technology from the Aria SB-1000 line (made at the same factory) based on teh LED light, the neck through body design and the switches.

Amazing basses, these vantages are. I have our sam ebass ut with passive electronics and a set neck (the VSB795), the VSB695 (one P pickup) and an unknown VSB model which is almost identcal to my VSB795 except it has a 3-point bridge. These play and sound amazing. The only complaint I have is that they tend to lay flat (neck dive) due to the symetrical body shape so they are easier to play sitting down.

If you ever want to unload this, let me know!
Click to expand...

hi roger, thanks for your input. it is a great bass but yes it is a neck diver! i am also getting frustrated by the active electronics. there is an active bass OR treble boost - but i usually like both and a mid boost would be great.
im thinking about dropping an Aguilar OPB-3 in there to solve this dilema.
what would you offer me for it though?
 
#20
Dude said:
No way bro you got a Vantage that weigh's 5lbs...you talking some weirdo UK "pounds" or something?? I bet that sucker is a min of 10 US pounds.
Click to expand...

Excellent humour !!! :cool:

You're right Dude - 5 proper, good ol US of A LBs is actually only 2 LBS in weirdo UK weight :D
 

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