Ventura V-6

This is an early '60s Ventura V6 "Jumbo" acoustic flat top guitar: all plywood, mahogany body and neck, enclosed tuners, 20 frets. No electronics, no case included. I bought mine used for $35.

It sounded terrible. It was my first guitar, and its plywood top was braced in a "floor-joist" pattern. Some prior owner had installed flat wound strings in an attempt to improve its playability, to little avail.

The guitar is very attractive: the mahogany is stained walnut brown, and has a nice figure in the outer veneer on the back. The spruce veneer on the top was not bad, not a tight grain, but it hid Phillipine mahogany underneath. Action was high, with little hope of getting it lower. The neck is narrow. The neck needed a reset. It is astonishing, at this juncture in time, to reflect on the junk that attracted buyers back in the '60s. Ventura was distributed all over the US, and their models mimicked more popular varieties. They were clearly "price-line" guitars, built down to a price point rather than up to a standard.

The "jumbo" body shape is unlike the usual J-200 round-bottom, and looks more like a pudgy dreadnought.

Built like a tank, rather than like a guitar. Too durable.

Never dealt with the distributor, but I managed to find a Ventura-made fitted hard case, which cost what I paid for the guitar ($35).

This was my first guitar, the one learned my first chords and songs and runs and finger picking patterns on. I thought it was beautiful. Later, as I acquired better instruments, I put it aside.

I still have it, and I still play it, but it's no longer the guitar I bought many years ago (1971). I used it as a guinea pig to teach myself inlay (stripped the black plastic veneer off the peghead, inlaid my initial in rosewood in the natural finish mahogany that I exposed; carved a new heel cap out of cherry wood and replaced the white plastic original; added a pickup and a Dobro nut and used it as a steel guitar). Eventually, after 20 years of playing electric, I decided I needed a beater acoustic, so I had a luthier friend replace the plywood top (which a friend still has, hanging on the wall in his garage) with an AA spruce top with proper X bracing, with a Guild style bridge that featured an intonated saddle. He reset the neck, and later I replaced the tuners with Gotohs and added a Fishman pickup.

It sounds like a piano. I was careful to retain the original Ventura label inside the body, to astonish those who pick it up.

I have owned 32 guitars, including a pedal steel, several Gibson, Gretsch and Fender electrics, at least three other Venturas and lots of amps and things. I play bass, harp, electric and acoustic guitar and Dobro and do a lot of recording. This is an instrument I can't sell. It's been with me through two marriages, three kids, and who knows how many other benchmarks. With the help of the luthier, it became the guitar I thought it was when I bought it.

This was one of the most plentiful and cheapest of the Ventura line imported in the 70's. Plywood all around. Nice looks. Tuneamatic bridge usually sucks on these guitars. I have had or do own over 30 Venturas. This guitar is a nice cheap guitar but save your money as they are going on ebay for crazy numbers. For $200 you could buy a much better guitar.

At best this guitar is a five. I wouldn't want to play a four. With new strings it sounds adequate but almost every other Ventura acoustic steel sounds better. This was the second cheapest out of 30 in their line and sounds better than that would indicate but you get what you pay for. Save your money and look for a deal on a better Ventura (just about any)

Well made for the price except for the bridge

I would never play this at a campfire or a gig. I have much better low end guitars.

No
longer in business. Name sold to another company which imports them...not the same thing

I have been playing for over 40 years and play styles from folk, bluegrass, Gypsy, Latin, rock. I own too many guitars. If this guitar was stolen and they left the others, I would cheer.