Vantage VSH-445

All the features I need. Splittable humbuckers is the special thing about this.

I bought this gem new in 1981, i think. Paid what was then the equivalent of $600, I believe. The guy who helped me pick it said it was a bargain, and he sure was right. I suppose it was manufactured before I bought it, so it must have been made before 1981.

I don't really know that much about it's construction. It's a hollow body double cut-away with 22 frets. Dark mahogany with stained maple centre-piece. Rosewood fretboard. Brass nut.

Made in Japan, according to the label inside. Serial number 109020 on the back of the head.

For some reason that escapes me I changed the bridge and tail-piece to brass gear, from the original chrome plated.

Two splittable humbuckers, controlled by pulling out their respective tone control knobs.

Tuners are fairly standard marked with a Vantage logo, but works excellently.

Creme bindings on body and neck; round markers on frets 3, 5, 7, 9, 12 15, 17, 19 and 21.

I have a rather soft style, mainly inspired by Mark Knopfler, Al Stewart and the Beatles. It's definitely up to that task. I'm quite sure it can be used with a shredder sound as well, but that's not my cup of tea. And shredding with a semi-acoustic? How weird would that look?

No hum whatsoever, at least not when humbucking. I use it with a Digitech RPx400 and either through an old Peavey Artist (bought at the same time) or lined through my electric piano.

I particularly like it with single coil neck pickup and humbucking bridge pickup. Rich, almost creamy sound but still with a bite.

As if I remember. I do recall the slits in the nut being a little too shallow for the B and E strings, so I made them a little deeper with a fine saw.

Finish was impeccable, insofar as I can recall.

As far as playability, I've not played anything that beats it.
Certainly not on this budget.

It's built to last. For sure! The neck looks like it's new. Not that I play everyday anymore, but I used to. I've banged it about a bit, and the varnish has som marks, but those were definitely my doing.

It's been on countless gigs with no backup. Think I had a string go on me once, but that's all that's happened live. The pickup swtich has gone wonky a few times, but I just took it out, cleaned it and bent the contacts and Bob was my uncle.

Huh?

Been playing since 1978. Got a Peavey Artist 120w tube/solid hybrid, a Digitech RPx400 effects processor, an Epiphone 6-string acoustic and a K Yairi 12-string acoustic. Plus a Korg electric piano and an Aria Pro II electric bass.

Not sure of the year but at least 2o yrs old. 22 fret rosewood fretboard with BRASS nut. Semi-hollow style double cutaway with center block and set neck. BRASS bridge also. Two volume and two tone pots with the tone pots being push/pull to split the two humbuckers into single coils. Mine is the Natural finish with the alt. dark light wood center block. Standard covered tuners from Vantage which are actually pretty good. Original plywood case.

"Dude, this thing is a tone machine!" So speaketh my instructor. Perfect for just about any music style. The ability to split the coils and the Brass nut give this thing an unbelievable versatility. I play Blues Classic Rock and Jazz. Easily does all of those. Great Reggae sound with the Brass nut. Metal too. Tone and Volume pots actually attenuate the sound rather than acting as quiet-loud switches as alot of cheap guitars tend to do.

Pickups were set up weird when I first bought it. The neck pup was really close to the strings. After I balanced the pickups though I realized the previous owner had balanced the neck pup while it was in single-coil inn order to balance the sound out when splitting. I put back to the way it was When I bought it. No flaws despite being more than 20yrs old other than someonehad changed the strap peg from the back of the guitar to the upper horn, a move I woudl have made myself having dropped more than one guitar that has it's strap on the back. Only thing I don't like is that the brass nut is cut for maybe 9-46 possibly 10-46 gauge strings and I am used to heavier gauges. I am learning to live with it though.

I love this thing. It has lasted this long and I believe it will keep on going.

I love this thing. Have since sold all of my other electrics as this replaces all the others I had. Kinda regret selling my Danelectro U2 but made enough of a profit that I am not going to cry about it. this thing is full of potential and play alot more than I have before. I can change my sound at the flick of a switch or with the pull of a knob without having to change effects or amps

I wouldn't really say TONS of features, but its got its fair share. I just bought this at a Guitar Center in Langhorne, PA. This makes my 7th guitar, others include Gibsons, Alvarez 12-strings, et. al. This is pretty damn nice, and is perfect for those who cant afford the 1000+ bucks for a Gibson 335

Great sound, crisp when clean, crunchy and mean when distorted.

I started playing it and loved the action. The finish on this one is a translucent red finish with a rosewood fret board. Damn, asians can make one hell of a gibson copy. damn close to the real thing

dependability is easily a 9. I can't say that I'd use it at a gig without a backup...just cuz i'm a paramedic and religiously believe in murphy's law. But, if i had to...i would.

from the website i saw, they dont make it anymore...and i hadnt heard much about them before i started researching. thank god for the WWW. I got a pretty good warranty from GC though, so its not all that bad

Year??? I called up a Samick representative about this guitar after I purchased it from a friend at a local music shop...it was a trade in. The Samick rep told me that my guitar was a pre-Samick guitar made by the old company who made the epiphones for Gibson after they left Kalamazoo. In other words, Samick bought out the Vantage name and the etire manufacturing company (who also made Ventura, etc.) in 1972 and moved it to Korea...since mine was made in Japan it had to be a pre 1972 model. The rep offered to buy t from me during the phone call. Anyway, I got this guitar a couple of years back and am more pleased with it than I can say. I have an epi dot..a Washburn 335 style...a Springfield 335 style...and this Vantage smokes them all. It is a sort of mahogany burst with a wide lite maple colored stripe down the middle in the front, bound with normal sized f holes. Has the distinctive Vantage headstockm w/ V logo and good quality chrome tuners with V on the backside. Has a couple of DiMarizo creme pickups in it-, stop tail piece and push/pull pots on the tone knobs, Has the old style 335 neck and fret spacings as mentioned in the previous review and the paperwork down in the f hole "Sound by Design" Vantage Vsh445. Serial number is stamped on back of headstock just like a Gibson. I once owned a real Gibson 335 back in the early 70's and this guitar is better in my opinion. Of course, I can barely remember those particular years, but that Gibson did have good sustain and a fast neck,,,,,but nothing like this Vantage. My guitar will put an amp in overdrive in the blink of an eye and will hold a note until you finish off your smoke. Again, I love this guitar..and I have been playing a long time.

Did I mention that my guitar has sustain?? :) The neck pickup is very warm and full and powerful as I need it to be....it will do the Clapton riffs as smooth as butter. The bridge position will rock the house and is down right hasty with just a tad of reverb/distortion. It will do the Stones sound to the tee. I play many different music styles from Blues to Surf Music and even Country Music. This guitar will fir into any style of music you care to play....'cept probably this death metal Seattle Suicide Music...don't play that. I like to have fun and see people dance..not cut their wrists or beat each other up out in the audience. Nope...I like to leave em smiling not dying. The sound on this guitar is versitile and will smoke em.

Everything is just where it should be. The only thing I have noticed is that my Vantage seems to have a wider lower bout than a normal 335. It would not fit into a couple of cases desinged for a 335...finally found one. It came in an old Hammer straight case that the owner modified for the Vantage...but I didn't like it so I got a 335 case.

Hey.....it's been around 30 years now and it still plays like the day it came off the line. I was lucky in that this guitar has seen little useage....probably sat in a closet for 20 years before I got it. Lucky me........love this guitar. I never play without a backup....I change guitars maybe three time during a normal gig.....different songs require different sounds. But I know this guitar would hold up by itself without a glitch.

Ha...Ha,,,Ha,,,,,,Dust in the Wind.

I have been playing since I was 12.....got interested listening to Chuck Berry and seeing how what he did made people dance like crazy. I wanted to be able to do that so the rest is my story....I thought Keith Richards was a god and started playing his style....then I evolved into my own thing........playing everybody elses hit songs while never having one of my own. :) I have everything I need to play froma living room party to a full sized arena gig.....I have about thirty guitars...three full stacks and all the processors and pedal boards a man could want. I have ben in this thing all of my life and you tend to pick up things over the years.....but I rate this Vantage as high as I would a Gibson 335.

late 70's--acquired in the mid 80's for $100. Use it as my stage guitar and never fails to get a comment on full, clean sound.
Single coil switch great for dynamic shifts.
Play mainly country tinged rock and blues w/ a Bromberg/Garcia influence. Guitar is perfect for style and blows away other 335 knock- offs, including top o the line epiphones.
Very pretty cherry sunburst w/ solid center light brown block.
Neck and action great with lite to med strings--would not use slinkys though.

As above, amazing tonal/sonic range. Great "hot" spots for harmonics and natural sustain.
Play it through a Fender blues d'ville tube w/ 2 12s. Use a touch of delay from Alesis nano verb and occasional fuzz from old stomp box.
Have played with a variety of "jam" bands and quasi-acoustic (no drums) trios (jazzier, bluesy, soft rock stuff). It screams when needed and whispers when asked.

Had it set up twice in 18 years or so. Have some dust noise from the pods and replaced the toggle switch. Overall, very solid.

Fantastic. Has taken a lot of stage abuse over the years without a problem. Hardware and finish very durable. This is my #1 guitar on stage andin recording studio.

No clue. No body ever heard of the brand and I take it to a fine luthier for upkeep.

playing for over 25 years. Would buy again in a heartbeat ---but I've never seen another.

GUITAR WAS BOUGHT IN OTTAWA ABOUT 1983....BRAND NEW AT THE TIME
STAINED MAHOGANY OVER MAPLE CAP....GUITAR WAS PASSED DOWN TO ME WHEN HE DIED...MINT CONDITION FOR A GUITAR 20 YEARS OLD....THE ONE THING I HAVE NOTICE WHEN READING THESE REVIEWS.....NO ONE HAS MENTIONED SPLITTING THE COILS BY PULLING OUT ONE OR BOTH TONE KNOBS[PULL UP]...ACTUALLY THE GUITAR IS MORE LIKE THE ONE USED BY SMASH MOUTH MASSON LEAD SINGER AN ES336 IF YOU WERE TO LOOK AT THE HEAD STOCK...SAME CONFIG

GREAT FOR BLUES JAZZ AND COUNTRY....NOT REALLY BUILT FOR THRASHING IF THATS YOUR THING WOULD LIKE TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THE PICKUPS ALNICO??

AFTER 20 YEARS OF USE THE FINISH AND NECK ARE IN GREAT SHAPE...HAS JUST BEEN SENT IN FOR SET UP.....MORE BECAUSE I PREFER "9S" AND WHAT A PRO TO SET THE INTONATION

WHAT CAN I SAY AFTER 20 YEARS OF USE STILL LOOKS AND PLAYS LIKE NEW.....CLICK THE SWITCH AND HEAR FOR YOURSELF!!

NO IDEA BUT IF THERE LIKE WASHBURN WATSON OR SAMICK FORGET IT THERE IS NONE.....THIS IS WHERE YOU REALLY APPRECIATE THE NAMES LIKE FENDER AND GIBSON ETC!!!!HAVE CONTACTED SAMICK ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS NO REPLY LIKE WASHBURN AND WATSON......YOU D THINK THEY HAD A NAME!!!!

AT THE PRICE OF ARCHTOPS TODAY THESE ARE TRULY APPRECIATING IN VALUE....AS ARE THE ORIGNINAL JAPANESE FENDERS ETC....YOU JUST DON T GET THE QUALITY AND CRAFTSMANSHIP IN TODAYS KNOCK OFFS NEVER MIND THE LOW END BRAND NAMES.....

Quality Japan made (in the old Aria factory)in the early 80's Gibson 335 copy with laminated maple double cutaway thinline f-hole body, solid center block (mahogany instead of maple like on the Gibson) brass nut, low-wide frets like on the old Gibson 335's of 50's through 70's, rosewood board, stop-bar tail piece, bound body and fretboard, gotoh tuners, and what appears to be 2 Dimarzio humbuckers. Finished in a beautiful sunburst. 24 3/4 inch set-neck.

Great old 60's 335 tone. The Japanese new how to copy American guitars very well. This will smoke any Korean made Epiphone Dot, Dearmond Starfire, Ibanez Artstar 120, Hamer 335, and all others made in the Samick factory in Korea. If a Gibson 335 is a 10, this is an 8 1/2 and the Dearmond/Epiphone (which I've played) is a 7. Awesome blues machine when run through a Peavey Delta Blues or Fender Blues Junior. Warm bright sound perfect for jazz/ blues. You'd need a real Gibson 335 to sound better and the cheapest I've seen those is $1000 on ebay and I picked this one up for $279 with a new hardshell case.

Awesome fit, finish and action. Blew away a brand new Dearmond Starfire and Epiphone Dot in head to head action. These old Japanese guitars are real sleepers. Set-neck is perfectly straight after 20 years.

Almost new condition after 20 years. I look to have it another 20. I would play without a backup. This is a pro quality instrument on a shoe string budget. I had the opportunity to buy the Dearmond Starfire during their dumping on the market by various music stores for $299 and passed for this guitar and I am so glad I made the right decision. This guitar is a keeper and for only $279 I can gig with out worrying about having a Lloyd's of London insurance policy.

Don't know.

I would rate this guitar a 9 overall just because the Gibson 335 is a 10. I would buy again if something happened to it and I didn't have a $1000+ for a Gibson 335. Find these while you can. They are sleepers and probably worth paying $450 if in great shape.

Have no idea when this one was made, I bought it in a pawn shop about ten years ago for $125, three weeks later in another pawn shop I saw the exact same model and color but in way worse condition for $400.
Ive seached high and low to find out more about this guitar and havent been able to turn anything up really. All I know is its been my favorite guitar since day one. And Ive have them all, and this one is one I will not let go of. Its beautiful, and plays better than it looks. Its cherry stained red with a neck through body. Its a hollow body with a fix trem. The tuners are also vantage and are high quality. Ive been offered eight hundred dollars for it, but its not about the money, this guitar plays its self almost. I dont play it to much though, I keep it in the closet out of harms way. I sure would love to find another one, I heard they have them in blue and clear finish. Does anyone have any idea how old this thing is ? Im guessing
80's or so.....Anyway, great guitar, and the price was even better.
This thing isnt going anywhere.

Sound? Hum, thats easy. I was into death metal an grunge at one time, and this guitar has two humbucking pickups that do the job better than a bc rich warlock and les paul I had at the time. Id lay dwon a deadly riff on stage and people would do a double take amazied that this oldie looking guitar could be sooooo heavy. No need to down tune, it sounded DEEP with out having to do that. But I played all kinds of music though. Rock, jazz etc and this guitar plays the best out of all the ones Ive owned.

When I got the guitar it play soooo easily. The action was the best Ive ever seen, and all it needed was a good clean up, and new strings.

Durability? I would say I havent seen anything that shows wear on it yet, and when I used it for fast paced playing, I had heavy wrist action, but naw none of the finished has shown signs of thinning.
Its still factory perfect.

Ive never had any problems with this guitar.

Over all rating is a great big TEN.
None of my other guitars compare to this one so far.
But Im still looking.