Ventura V-696, Spruce Rosewood Martin 'D35' copy; vintage '70s Japan:

Marin Guitars is proud to present this classic Ventura acoustic dreadnought from the ‘golden years’ of Japanese guitar making...

Its in great shape - with very minimal play wear; new strings; and a fresh set up... There are only a few very small scratches on the soundboard (but the camera wouldn’t pick them up)... You can check the close ups.

This is a solid spruce topped instrument (as listed in Ventura’s catalog); and likely a laminated rosewood body - with a stunning three piece back... The swirled ‘mahogany flame’ neck is topped by an eye catching, art deco mother-of-pearl inlay; which is set into a rosewood fretboard... The ‘vintage Martin’ style peghead features accurate 'Grover style’ fully enclosed chrome tuners... Everything works well - and the 50 year old guitar feels (and pretty well looks) like it just came from the factory! It has either had exceptional care, or just didn’t see much playing time over its life.

But the decades have produced some discoloration of the binding - some at the sides; and a bit at the heel cap - most of which is showing in the photos. This is about it for aging...

The frets still have plenty of life in them, and the neck-set is easily as good as new... Playing action has been lowered a bit- and the guitar is wearing a brand new set of Elixir 80/20 53-12 strings!

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=> Here is a great chance to pick up a graduation gift, or a nice guitar for the studio.

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About “Ventura” musical instruments:

They were originally built under contract for C. Bruno and Sons importers (in Southern California), way back in the nineteen sixties... Part of a wave of Japanese guitars that suddenly hit the US market, Venturas were conceived to offer stateside players their favorite US brand features at much lower prices.. When compared with Gibson or CF Martin - there were occasionally compromises on materials (ie., laminate vs solid timbers). But overall - quality was good to very good - and often consistent beyond US production standards...In fact - competition from these imports helped to push legacy brands, Harmony and Kay - right into insolvency... Survivor Kaman (parent of Ovation Guitars, Connecticut), then bought the C. Bruno Company (during this ‘shake out’)... So from 1971, until production ceased in 1982 - the Kaman Group became the U.S. importer of all ‘Ventura’ badged musical gear...

And this ownership change saw some new and different paper labels - featuring the disclosure: “designed in USA”; “built in Japan”... Not uncommon in today’s ‘global marketplace’ - such ‘consumer friendly’ labeling would have been nearly unknown back then (ie, “Epiphone, Chicago, Illinois!!?)... Maybe credit the young Ovation company’s’ ‘cutting edge’ culture of innovation...

But whatever the reason - this East-West collaboration produced a steady flow of well crafted, but ‘cost conscious’ instruments... Over the decade that followed, many budget minded artists found instruments that at the very least, looked a whole lot like their ‘dream guitars’ (or basses!)...

This finely crafted instrument (and many others) remain - as a testament to the durability and fine execution of Japanese guitar making... It is still a ‘respectable budget alternative’, all these years later!

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Why buy a Japanese vintage guitar instead of a new import?

This ‘50 years young’ ‘head turner’ is a very well made acoustic instrument - packing good looks, and responsiveness at a very accessible price point! For these numbers, you get a ‘balanced’ frequency response, decent volume, gorgeous woods, quality hardware, and an adjustable saddle... Note separation is very good and the intonation is dead on. Much better than many of today’s ‘consumer brands’ - Venturas compare well to the vintage Sigma or Takamine Japanese made guitars (from the same era).

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=> There’s a nearly new, high quality gig bag for this one, and of course, your guitar will be packed and shipped with loving care (as always!)! All of our instruments arrive with new strings - and this time they have been installed for you in advance. However - if you prefer ‘heavier’ or 'lighter’ than what’s listed in the ad - then please say the word - and we will come as close as we can at no extra charge.

* * California residents please ask about our tax rebate.

* * * SF Bay Area residents please ask about our ‘local delivery’ rebate.

Thanks for stopping by!
- MG.

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