Bacchus BSG-68V SG Standard 1998 - Vintage Series - White - Made In Japan MIJ

Used 1998 Bacchus BSG-68V from the Bacchus Vintage Series - Big Guard SG Standard - In rarely seen White (cream) Finish - Made in the renowned Deviser factory in Japan - MIJ.

• Serial Number: None
• Body: Mahogany (possibly 1 piece)
• Neck: Mahogany - likely 1 piece (with glue on headstock wings, no heel cap)
• Fretboard: Rosewood
• Fretboard Radius: Compound - starting at 10" at the 1st fret and 14" at the last fret
• Fret Edge Binding: No
• Inlays: Acrylic celluloid looking trapezoid inlays
• Frets: 22 x Medium Jumbo (1.1mm tall x 2.7mm wide)
• Nut Width: 42.9mm
• Width at 1st Fret: 44.5mm
• Width at 12th Fret: 53.0mm
• Thickness at 1st Fret: 21.5mm
• Thickness at 12th Fret: 22.3mm
• Nut: Bone
• Tuners: Non original gold plated Gotoh sealed tuners
• Bridge & Tailpiece: Non original gold Japanese made SG 8107 F bridge & SG tailpiece
• Pickups: Non original gold covered History/Cool Z Louis BH-1n and BH-1b humbuckers
• Neck Pickup Resistance: 7.88K ohm
• Bridge Pickup Resistance: 7.94K ohm
• Pots: Original Made in Japan 500K linear taper volume pots, 500K audio taper neck tone pot, and a new 500K audio taper Alpha pot for bridge tone - original capacitors
• Strings: Ernie Ball Regular Slinky 2221 10-46 strings - E Standard tuning
• Weight: 7.26lbs
• Non Original Parts: Almost everything
• Case: New quality made Profile G05TX gig bag
• Truss Rod: Works as expected with lots of room to tighten, but at the limit of loose

This is what appears to be a 1998 (or close to that) Bacchus BSG-68V big guard SG Standard model from their early Vintage Series of guitars. This is from the earliest run of these guitars - the first SG model from Bacchus - before they had serial numbers.

Since there is no serial number, and there are no date codes on the pots, I don't know for certain the age of this guitar - I'm basing it on when the earliest Bacchus catalog shows a BSG model. I did reach out to Deviser (the head company of Bacchus), and they have always been helpful - they confirmed it looks like an early BSG-68V, but they can't confirm the age since there is no serial number and there are many replaced parts.

From the 1998 Bacchus catalog, the colours available for this model were Cherry, Black and Brown Oil - so this might have been a custom order, or a small store order colour. I have never seen another white Bacchus BSG-68V before. But this is almost certainly the original colour that left the factory - there's lots of chips in the finish on this guitar, and nothing would give the impression there was any other colour underneath this white.

Speaking of white - this thing has faded to an incredibly creamy yellow all over. More so on the top of the body, and a little less on the back of the guitar. Although the pickguard looks bright white, it has also faded - which can be seen when the bridge thumbwheels are removed. It just looks awesome from every angle.

This one arrived to me in rough shape, covered in stickers on the back, with mostly chrome and black hardware, and almost no original parts. The only parts that appears to be original on this guitar, apart from anything glued down (i.e. the neck, body, inlays, nut, etc...) are the pickguard, 3 of the 4 pots, capacitors, switch and possibly poker chip, jack, some of the wiring, the bridge studs and tailpiece inserts. That's it.

The bridge studs and tailpiece inserts on this guitar are gold. Although it's possible the bridge studs and tailpiece inserts are not original and could have been replaced - it's not common for a DIY'er to replace these (it's not easy to do) - so I assume this guitar originally had gold hardware when it left the factory based on these. So I tried to bring it back to original, by replacing all of the hardware with gold Japanese made parts, including a set of gold Gotoh tuners, gold Japanese made bridge and tailpiece, gold screws for the pickguard, control panel, and truss rod cover, a new set of gold witch hat knobs from Japan, and a pair of gold covered humbuckers.

And well - it looks pretty awesome! (at least I think so).

But it's by far, without question, not a case queen - it's the opposite of a case queen - this thing looks like it's been beaten half to death, and has had a rock 'n' roll life, with dings, dents, scratches, chips, cracks, stains, fading, sticker fading, all over it. Everywhere. Everything.

But it sets up perfectly, plays, and sounds great.

Every time I get a Bacchus in my shop, I am always impressed by the build quality of these guitars. They are some of the best I've had from Japan from any era - to me, they are on par, if not better, than the best vintage MIJ guitars I have owned from Greco, Aria, Burny and Tokai, etc...

Although I can't tell for certain under the white paint, it appears to be made of a 1 piece mahogany body (I can't see a seam) and a 1 piece mahogany neck, with a nice medium brown rosewood fretboard, and really nice yellowed acrylic celluloid looking inlays (they look like proper vintage Gibson inlays) with 22 medium jumbo frets.

All of gold hardware (except for the screws) is not new, so it looks the part on this guitar. Everything, including the pickup covers & pole pieces, bridge, tailpiece, tuners, and screws all have varying degrees of corrosion, tarnish, pitting, peeling, and/or rust, but for the most part they all still have lots of shine left and everything works as expected.

I was able to source a pair of History or Cool Z brand Louis BH-1n and BH-2b pickups that were made in Japan, likely by Fujigen. These are what pretty much all early Cool Z branded guitars came installed with, as well as some of the History models. They use a standard thickness ceramic magnet, to give them lots of power, they are wax potted to keep the nose and squeal down, with a 7.88K to 7.94K ohm wind, which is a typical hot PAF range, to keep clarity and openness. They remind me a lot of the early Greco SCREAMN 1982 pickups - almost the same specs. They sound fantastic, and can handle every genre well. They work great at full volume, and response well when you roll down the volume. You'll love them.

The neck on this is a joy to play on - it's wide with a thin and comfortable D neck carve - starting out at 21.5mm at the 1st fret and making its way up to only 22.3mm by the 12th fret, with a 43mm nut width. This is one of the thinnest and widest SG necks I have had from Japan - much thinner than the later Bacchus BSG models.

As you would expect from a guitar that looks like this, the 22 medium jumbo frets that have been played a lot, with play wear across the entire neck, with the heaviest being from the 1st to 12th frets, but overall the guitar plays well up and down the entire fretboard.

All the guitars I sell, I test, thoroughly clean, and setup completely before I list them. Anything that is missing, damaged, or non original is mentioned in the listing.

I setup all my Gibson style guitars to Gibson factory specs - including neck relief, action, pickup height, intonation, and tailpiece height. So this guitar will be ready to play out of the box (after you tune it up - I ship my guitars with the strings loosened).

Comes with a new quality made Profile G05TX gig bag.

Overall, this is a high quality professional grade guitar made by one of the best guitar factories in the world.

If you're looking for a rare vintage Japanese made SG of the highest calibre, that looks, play, and sounds incredible, grab this one today!

CONDITION ------------

Overall it's in fair player grade shape.

I've tried to capture all of the flaws in the photos and in the description - but there are lots so look at the pictures closely and feel free to ask any questions.

Most of the parts are not original on this guitar, including the pickups, tuners, bridge, tailpiece, knobs, switch tip, bridge tone pot, truss rod cover, and screws.

Over the entire body of the guitar, top, back, sides, neck and headstock, there are a many significant dents, dings, scratches, chips in the original white finish. Everywhere.

The original white finish has faded significantly to a creamy yellow all over this guitar, more so on the front.

There is a outline/ghosting of a square sticker on the front of the body under the bridge.

There are many outline/ghosting of multiple stickers on the back of the body.

Around the heel joint, the finish/paint is cracked - more so on the low E side of the neck. The finish is raised and chipped on that side. It does not appear to have been repaired, and the joint itself is stable with no movement.

There is a crack in the finish between the low E and D string tuners.

There is remnants of extra tuner holes on the back of the headstock - partially underneath the current tuners.

The black paint on the headstock face is cloudy (typical for this era Bacchus).

All of gold hardware including the pickup covers & pole pieces, bridge, tailpiece, tuners, and screws all have varying degrees of corrosion, tarnish, pitting, peeling, and/or rust, but for the most part they all still have lots of shine left and everything works as expected.

All of the screws are new, but have been aged to fit in with the rest of the hardware.

The white pickguard has heavy pick marks and scratches, and has faded.

All of the non original Gotoh tuners work well.

The 22 medium jumbo frets have been played a lot, with lots of play wear across the fretboard, with the most significant play wear between the 1st and 12th frets, but overall the guitar plays well up and down the entire fretboard.

The truss rod works as expected, with lots of room to tighten, but it's almost at the limit of loose. Right now, tuned in E standard with 10-46 strings, there is 0.010" of relief measured between the bottom of the low E string and the top of the 8th fret, with the 1st fret capoed and the 17th fret depressed. This is the ideal amount of relief. If you want less relief, there is lots of room to tighten the rod to do so. If you want more, than you'd need heavier gauge strings.

There no signs of a headstock repairs.

SHIPPING ------------  

Every shipment is expertly packed with great care and includes tracking, signature required on delivery, and full insurance coverage for both the purchase price and shipping.

Every guitar is fully wrapped in bubble wrap, in a cardboard box meant for guitars, with proper support inside. To reduce environmental impact, the packing material (paper, newsprint, gift wrap, bubble wrap, air packets, foam, carboard boxes and/or tube supports, etc...) used may be recycled.

Package dimensions are 118cm x 47cm x 17cm

Note: if you want an exact shipping quote, just send me a note with your postal/zip code, and I'll get a proper quote for your address. 

Note: If you're buying from outside of Canada, you as the Buyer may be required to pay import duties, tariffs, taxes and/or VAT upon delivery, depending on your location and the purchase price.

QUESTIONS ------------

Any questions? Want more photos or detailed shots? Measurements? Shoot me a message, and I'll be happy to answer them, or send more pics, or take any measurements you want/need.

Thanks for looking!