Vantage X-88

All normal features, 2 humbuckers that you can split in phase or not so there is 15 possibilities for sound. What variety. Heavy double cut body, made of alder I believe. Hardware is okay, not fantastic; I got the guitar with the tuners changed, so I can't comment.

Pickups sound nice and warm, the sound is versatile. The pickup coil switches make for a lot of different possibilities and interesting sound combinations. The pickups are good, but they're not terrific, I just don't see the need right now to put some new in. It would need some shielding though.

Superb craftsmanship, great neck (better than a lot of american-made guitars I've had or tried). The neck is slim and seems to hold well its bow, so you don't have to continually adjust it. The neck is the reason I like and keep this guitar, it could have only one pickup and I'd still keep it. One point off because the body at the neck pocket has cracked, doesn't do anything, but it's still cracked.

This is one tough guitar and I would gig it without a problem. The guitar is probably 25-30 years old, so I think it can withstand some abuse. Although I've had to screw back in one of my strap buttons.

Nil, but a lot of sites have information on Matsumoku Vantage guitars.

Great guitar, with a lot of variety, and a craftsmanship that put to shame most of the big manufacturers today. The fundamentals of this guitar make it a great instrument. The neck is to die for. Hey, I've had a bargain as the store was selling it 190$ and I got it for 75$ because it had been sitting there for a couple of months, and at that price I can't really say anything bad about my buy.

It's a Vantage X-88 in red sunburst finish. Looks pretty good to me. It has a cut that reminds of a strat but looks more individual to me than most of the strat copies. Some relationship to a SG maybe. I can`t say much about the hardware, cause it`s not my business. But everything works fine to me. You can read below. It has a lot variation in the technics. Split Humbuckers so far. I don`t need that range of variation.

The most important point. This guitar belongs to my drummer, who bought it 10 years ago from a guy, who didn't seem to need money. He paid 50 Marks (! Makes round about 30 $) for it with a good case.
So far, I always thought, it would be a crappy one- for that price. But when I wanted to bay a guitar with Humbuckers, I gave it a try. And wow - thats what I was looking for. It has a lot of gain and can do the 80s metalsound real good. Pure fun. The bridge pickup sounds really awsome, give a lot of distortion without going swimming. The neck one is much warmer and not that kicking. More bluesy I think. But if I compare it with my Ibanez Talman with three lipsticks in it, i miss som of the warmth and a deeper punch. Maybe I should change the strings. But with a 09 set it sounds a bit thin in the low end. But for this needs I can change guitars. This is the real deal for the people who like the old Motorheadsound - like I do.
But maybe your a bit disappointes when you look for a Kyuss/Slo Burn/ Unida/Fu Man Chu -sound.

The clean sound - not my business.

The action is pretty fast and I like it. It's an invention to soloing and it's fun. Your fingers will fly on their own. The strings are set very low and there is no snarring. Good.
One thing is the weight. I don't have a big problem with that. Not as heavy as an old Les Paul ore something. But it is well balanced.
The smaller players should first have a try. It may be that after an hour of playing your back will hurt.
The finish is beautiful and all the parts are fixed well. Japan-made-guitar. I like them.

I can't say much about that. But it remained in it's case for ten years and just feels und looks like new. It looks very very well made to me. No problems till now, and I think there will never be. Solid as a rock!

It' too old for that. Don't think, they're still alive.

That guitar for that price?!?
The best deal you can make. The guitar is nearly perfect sounding fun that feels like a good performing rock in your hands. If someone stole it from me, I would find out where that motherf+++er lives and burn his house down. And afertwards I would try to get a new one. And some icecream maybe.
The missing lower bottom gives me a good reason to change guitars during playing a set. And that's perfect, cause I also like my Ibanez.

Born in 1982 at the Matsumuko Factory in Japan, the same place where Aria, Westone, Electra, and even the much laughed at Univoxs were made. 22 frets on a rosewood fretboard, which is attached to the most perfect bolt on maple neck ever made. The body is made from 2 piece bookmatched ash and cut in an offset double cutaway with a nice round feel. (No veneer here!) 3+3 Schaller type tuners, brass nut, brass saddles on a tun-a-matic styled bridge and a stop tailpiece. 2 MMK humbuckers (Matsumuko's house brand) 2 volume, 2 tone and a 3 way selector switch. Also included are 2 3 way switches for turning each humbucker into a single coil,with either coil being on/off, very much like the PRS 5 way rotary switch.

First off, every Matsumuko guitar I've ever owned or worked on, the first thing I've done is to trash the MMK's. At best, they're lame. These however are quite possibly the nicest sounding stock pickups I've ever heard! Gibsonish warmth, tele like twang, even the quack tones from a strat are possible WITHOUT an effects pedal! With a pedal, it's the most perfect guitar for live or recording! Even with the coil taps, the pickups are impressively quiet. The tone controls, which I forgot to mention have solid brass knobs, woprk well. I can even do jazz, and no one is the wiser. I've used it with a 10 watt transi amp, a 50 watt tuber, and my friends 120 watt Roland amp, thru a digitech array of pedals, and it's so versital, it's scary!
My only complaint, and it's a minor one, is that it's a hair bit lacking on the bass end. That's normal of an ash body, and I can easily deal with it.

It's 23 years old, so factory specs don't apply. Everything is near perfect, minus a bit of beat up finish.

It's survived 23 years, so. yea, it's solid. I've had it less that 2 weeks, and I've already done 5 gigs with it! I'm seriously considering getting rid of a few guitars, and just using this for my main giging axe. Of course I always have a backup or two.

the Vantage name is now being used by Samick, so the days of the real Matsumukos are long gone. The most help for any Matsumuko is at www.therathole.org. Most helpful bunch of guitar psychos out there!

25 years of playig and rebuilding, I've palyed them all. This guitar has the feel of the old 50's Gibsons, and all the sound and soul that you can put into it! If you're an ok player, it's an ok guitar. If you're a person looking for that ultimate expressive intrument, then this is the guitar for you.

I bought this used and have no clue as to the age but was told atleast 10 years old. It was made in Japan. 22 frets on top of a beautiful neck. This guitar is very heavy and is made of solid wood of what kind I do not know. It has no pick guard. Wood grain colour with gold pots and sealed Vantage tuners. Two humbucker pickups with volume, tone, and a three way switch for each. It has all the components of an Les Paul including the sound. Mid-sized neck but very playable. Was not played for 5 years when I bought it and the strings were still tight to the neck.

It has the capability to make any electric or acoustic sound possibe with over 27 sound configurations not including volume and tone adjustment. I play post-grunge, mixed with punk and rock. I play it through a Zoom GFX 707 pedal, then through a mixer to a Peavey guitar amp and a Traynor bass amp. The sound is amazing!!

The action was beautiful, and stayed beautiful. Everything was adjusted to perfection at the factoey.

This guitar has withstood many gigs with no problems not even a broken string, and sometimes my punk can get a little wild!! Everything is very solid and dependable. Even with no pick guard, there are no noticeable scratches to the face.

No

This guitar is amazing especially considering the price paid. I have been playing for a couple of years and have been involved in a couple of gigging bands already and this guitar has been wonderful! The only problem I have is the weight, it ways a ton and after an hour on stage it would begin to hurt my back. But, after the the purchase of a wide leather strap the problem has been remedied.