Ventura 6/12 Doubleneck

1972-75 Ventura 6 - 12 string doubleneck, made in Japan. It was an SG style, white with rosewood fingerboard, a very good copy of a Gibson, same style of inlays. Two humbuckers each neck, 2 volume and 2 tone controls at bottom; one 3-way switch between necks to select 6, 12 or both; one 3-way switch in front of bottom pick guard to select pickups. Heads as on a Gibson, with tuners, pearlish plastic. One big problem: it weighed a ton! It had a really thick body with not much scalloping and would kill you back after awhile.

You could get a pretty bright sound; the 12 string really sounded great. The pickups were adequate, they didn't stand out. It was not a great, full sound, and it didn't have much snarl. If you left the selector in the middle, you could pick up the harmonics from the open neck while playing the other. When I had it I played it though an Acoustic 150 amp.

I bought it used and it was set up well. It had great action on the 6 string, actually better than the 1970 Les Paul deluxe I also owned. The tuners were good, also, and held well, particularly on the 12 string. It had a good white finish, no flaws. The inlays and heads were nicely done. It really didn't look cheap at all.

Don't know here; I didn't have it for more than a few years and used it only once in a while. It wasn't built as a main guitar, more of a specialty axe, and probably would be fine for that.

Never dealt with them.

I was very happy with the guitar; I only sold it because I needed cash. I still think it was the steal of the century for $175 (even in 1976). It had better action than the 1970 Gibson LP I had. It was versatile, but the weight was a real pain.