If you have information on
Bruno / Kaman Ventura guitars
that is not on this site, and want
to share it, please let me know!
Contact me:
kingsx@swbell.net
However, If what you want is an
APPRAISIAL of your instrument,
due to the number of requests I
get for such service (often
several a day) I will no longer
do it for free. While I wouldn't
charge a $35 fee like many
guitar "experts" do... It does
take my time, some research,
and the use of my accumulated
specific knowledge of both
"vintage" Ventura guitars, and
Japanese import guitars in
general.
Consideration of requests for
an estimate of an instrument's
value will be judged on a few
criteria. #1 make a small
donation towards the upkeep of
this web site, via PayPal, to the
same email account (above)
used for contact. #2 give me
specific information to work
with. I'll need Model and Serial
numbers, and pictures. The
better the information I have to
work with, the better estimate I
can make of the instrument's
value. How long I'm willing to
spend researching for an
estimate may partly depend on
generousity of donations,
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Why this site is here
These pages are under development to help identify and chronicle the Ventura branded
guitars that were imported to the United States from Japan by C. Bruno and Company
during the period of late 1960's until early 1980's. Most of the guitars were copies of
popular models from the major American manufacturers of the day. They ranged in quality
from good to excellent. It is common knowledge among guitar gear junkies such as
myself that the 60's and 70's were rife with Japanese copy guitars that filled a need to
supply economical instruments to many aspiring young musicians, myself included
Accuracy of information
Every effort will be made to verify the information presented on these pages, so that they
may be relied upon for identifying the different models and options available under the
Ventura brand name. However, there is no guarantee that every factiod is absolutely
accurate, as I am only an amateur enthusiast and not a qualified guitar historian. If anyone
has well documented proof, (company catalogs / brochures), of any errors, I welcome
your participation in helping to keep this site as error free as possible. I also would
welcome access to good quality pictures, scans, catalogs or brochures that would be
invaluable in the quest to compile an accurate resource for everyone to enjoy.
At some point you may be subject to my opinions, conjecture, or assumptions, as I make
no claim to being an authority on any subject. However, I will try to give warning if I make
an assumption or have not verified the accuracy of any statements.
My personal observation and experience tell me that Ventura guitars were sometimes
feature by feature the same as the 60's to 70's Aria, Univox, Conrad, and many other
"house brand" guitars that were reputedly made in the Japanese Aria and Matsumoku
factories. They often share identical hardware and design, with the biggest difference
being the name on the headstock.
I surmise that most, if not all, Ventura models were manufactured by the Aria / Matsumoku
factories, who were also responsible for making other imported guitars such as: Aria,
Aria Pro II, Diamond, Maxitone, Univox, Lyle, Conrad, Electra, Epiphone-Japan, Westone,
Westbury, and many others.
Japanese Guitar Quality & Various Factories
Since this page is devoted to Ventura branded guitars, which were mostly made in the
1970's, the comments below apply to that era, but may also apply to earlier or later
Japanese guitars. The plain truth is that; most Japanese guitar manufacturers were
"contract houses" that made guitars to the specifications of the "trading companies"
(Japanese middlemen) that took orders from the American companies that were importing
them (such as C. Burno). This resulted in a wide variety of qualities in guitars shipped by
most of the "contract houses". What this means is that; Ibanez (Fuji Gen-Gakki), as well
as Aria (Matsumoku), and to a lesser extent Tokai (Kasuga), made both very high quality,
and very low budget guitars, and various qualities between, depending on what was
ordered by the trading company for the importer they represented. I've even seen
respectable quality guitars that came from Teisco (Kawai), though most of their product
was at the lower end of the scale.
Further complicating identification of origin; many of the parts Japanese guitars were
built from, (pickups, tailpieces, bridges, etc...) were sub-contracted to smaller "contract
houses" that specialized in making one part. Often, the companies bought their parts
from the same contractors, so... you may see similar or identical parts on guitars built in
different factories.
Something Different about Ventura Guitars
A label inside the soundhole of some Ventura acoustic guitars states: "Designed in
America - Crafted in Japan". I have never seen similar stickers in other Aria / Matsumoko
manufactured guitars. (Or any other Japanese made guitars for that matter).
Misinformation - Intentional or Otherwise
Time and again I see Ventura/Bruno guitars for sale (even at vintage dealers that should
know better) or at auction on eBay, claiming that a Ventura guitar was made in the
"Ibanez" factory. In my many years of interest in Japanese guitars (I got my first in 1968) I
have found no solid evidence that any Ventura branded guitar was ever made by
Ibanez/Hoshino/Fuji Gen-Gakki. If anyone has proof to the contrary, I welcome you to
share it. It is my contention that sales/auctions making such claims, are done either out of
ignorance, or are intentional deception, attempting to cash in on the misguided concept
that Hoshino/Ibanez / Fuji Gen-Gakki manufactured guitars are inherently superior to
guitars made in other Japanese factories. This is not necessarily the case.
How you can help
I will welcome any readers assistance in filling what I see as a shortfall in specific details
of model identification and business dealings that resulted in the manufacture and import
of some of my favorite pawnshop prizes. If you have nice pictures or reasonably verifiable
information, please share it with me to further the cause! The most useful information
would be catalogs, brochures, or slicks. Good quality, high-resolution pictures would be
welcomed and appreciated also.
Thanks!
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