Bacchus BFV-58K

Black with 3 ply w/b/w pickguard. 6.5 lbs. Strings .010-.046
22 frets, solid 1 piece body, 2 vol, 1 tone, Neck pickup-Bacchus VH-59, bridge pickup-Gibson 57 Classic(had to go with the real deal.) Rosewood fingbd, Korina neck
Finish is satin Black, done in urethane, sturdy so far. Gotoh Tune-O-Matic style bridge, stop tailpiece, also Gotoh. Gotoh Keystone style tuners with opaque(non see thru)white buttons. C-shaped neck, not too thin, not too chunky(I have big hands, so it's probably on the big side). Medium size frets. Came with brown leather-looking vinyl gig bag, good quality(had to laugh, a form fitting Flying V gig bag :-)![7]
with Japanese or Korean elctronics[3]

Original Japanese Pickups engineered to make Korina body sound bassier, closer to mahogany sound.
Korina has less bass in its sound than Mahogany, there is a definite treble leaning with a pronounced midrange hump. Played thru a Marshall, the instrument sounded close to a Modded Strat with humbuckers. If eq'd correctly, you could use it live. Passive electronics(original Japanese electronics removed for poor sound quality, now contains all American pots and jacks, Gibson, Switchcraft, etc.).
With original pickups and American electronics, Japanese pickups were usable. With 57 Classic, much better. As long as you compensate for poor pots and input jack. Either setup is not noisy. Would not be afraid to gig with this guitar(I always use a backup-seen too many gigs explode when your one and only develops a hangnail, breaks its last string, gets it's neck snapped etc.)[7] with original electronics[4}

Urethane finish used. Gives body more shine, durable so far. This color was not available to customers, so this is either a special order or a refinished instrument that's hiding something.
I couldn't find anything though. Guitar is extremely light, but body is resonant, especially in midrange.
Seems to be 3 coats of paint applied very thick but stable. I heard second hand that this company normally makes basses, but also makes high quality clones of American guitars. I've seen Bacchus SG's, Teles, Explorers, and Firebirds on Ebay and they look like a lot of time was spent on getting details right in all of them. The person I bought this guitar from has a Bacchus Strat that he swears is authentic to every detail of 60's Pre CBS instruments. This guitar, out of the box after a trip overseas and into and through New York, came out of the box looking sparking. The finish really shined, no seams out of place, all hardware was placed perfectly including pickups. Action was low and smooth and easy to reset after numerous times taking guitar apart to change its contents.

I've played for 16 years. I'm a Flying V man, but I've played Teles(my other favorite), all Fenders, Gibsons, Gretschs, Guilds, Ovations, acoustic and electric. It seems to me this Flying V woud definitely be a good main gig guitar, especially since I pulled the Japanese(Korean)pots and jacks. If you buy an Oriental guitar, I would recommend you do that immediately, unless someone beats you to it. Finish has held up.(I changed the strap buttons-they were a little small). [8]

This company has changed hands a couple of times. I don't think there's much support available. The company website(http://www.deviser.co.jp) has an American website and a Japnaese language website. The Japanese site is much more extensive with many more instrument choices. The older guitars are on the Japanese side, but its hard to get to(look for an "Old Model" section ; it helps to be able to read Japanese). This may be by agreement with American companies to prevent what happened to the steel and automobile industries. I have not tried to contact them. If no one even lies about you, you don't have much going.[2]

Wish I could have asked someone to check under the finish under the pickups to see what kind of wood this was. Oh well. If it were lost or stolen, I would try to find a Mahogany '58 style V from Japan on Ebay. They will pop up from time to time(last one in early Oct. '03). It's not a Gibson but for this money, it is damn close. Again if you get any Japanese or Korean knockoff of an American guitar or bass, always check your pots, switches and input jack. I suggest you change them all immediately. And then judge the pickups. [7], with Japanese pickups[3]
PRICE PAID-
$760 American from an Ebay seller. He bought it from a "American" Ebayer in Japan(no confirmation on that) now named "isoldeandtristan". Never met this person. This person orginally misidentified this guitar as mahogany which it definitely is not. Oh well![8]
Japanesse price 200000 yen=$1800? American