Bacchus BSG-68 1990's - Hand rubbed oil

MEMORIAL DAY SALE I bought this guitar August or so of 2025. I broke my shoulder in July of 2025 and holding a 10lb Les Paul just wasn't going to be happening for awhile. I wasn't really shopping but this popped up into my email from Reverb and it was gorgeous. I guess I had been previously looing at early 70's Walnut SG's, OR those algorithms are following me and, apparently even to the ER. "He just broke his shoulder! He's going to need a lighter guitar!" So this fit the bill. It weighs in at 6.2 lbs. I took it to my guitar tech and he set it up. I had him put chrome covers on the pups to give it that classic late 60's SG look. You can see the original pups in the pictures. It looks great, it plays great, it sounds great! The frets have little wear. The reason I am selling is because (1) my "Holy Grail" guitar fell into my lap shortly after buying this and (2) I just retired and could use the cash back to help pay for that Holy Grail guitar :D. Here are the specs as provided by an Ai search: The Bacchus BSG-68 is a highly regarded model from Deviser’s "Vintage Series," produced in Japan during the late 1990s (roughly 1995–2005). These guitars were built at the Aska plant in Matsumoto, known for its exceptional craftsmanship and lack of CNC machinery in the early days. 

The "98" in the model name originally referred to its retail price (98,000 Yen). It was positioned as a premium "Gibson-killer," often outperforming the standard production lines of its American counterparts.

Original Specifications: Body: 2-Piece African Mahogany (solid, usually very resonant).

Neck: 1-Piece solid African Mahogany with very straight, consistent lines, a Long Tenon joint (the neck wood extends deep into the body under the neck pickup, a feature typically found only on high-end or "Custom Shop" builds).

Fretboard: Indian Rosewood with a 12" radius and vintage-style frets.

Pickups: Bacchus original BHV-A5 (Alnico 5) humbuckers. These are designed to mimic late 50s PAFs, leaning toward a vintage, warm output.

Hardware: Gotoh tuners and bridge (typically in nickel or chrome).

Electronics: CTS pots and high-quality Japanese switches/jacks.

The Deviser family, shares a lineage with Momose and Headway. The Vintage Series was eventually discontinued around 2005 when Deviser shifted away from "exact replicas" of Gibson and Fender shapes. This has made the BSG-68 a sought-after collector's item for those who want Japanese handmade quality at a fraction of the cost of a vintage or custom-shop Gibson. 

The "68" designation refers to the 1968 Gibson SG specification, which moved away from the smaller pickguard of the early 60s. Based on the photos it looks like the BSG-STD (from the Live Road or Vintage series) in a Walnut Oil or Brown Oil finish.

Key Specs for the BSG-68 / BSG-STD

The Finish: Matte, open-pore, Bacchus’s famous oil finish. The oil finish is applied by hand and rubbed into the wood. It doesn't "choke" the resonance of the mahogany and feels very fast to the touch.

Pickguard: The "Batwing" multi-ply guard.

Bacchus did a fantastic job capturing the chunkier, more aggressive aesthetic of the late 60s. The combination of that specific mahogany grain with the dark oil finish makes these look incredibly "boutique" compared to a standard gloss finish.

"Vintage Series" model, likely produced between the mid-90s and the early 2000s.

The Truss Rod Cover: It has the distinct two-screw "bell" shape. Interestingly, later Bacchus models often moved to a three-screw design or a different shape to avoid legal friction, so the two-screw version is always a treat for fans of "lawsuit-era" styling.

The Tuners: Those are vintage-style "Kluson" type tuners with the aged plastic tulip buttons. They look period-correct for a '68 reissue.

Headstock Shape:  "Ears" at the top of the headstock. Bacchus was very meticulous about getting the proportions of the "open book" style right, which is why these are so often compared favorably to high-end Gibson Reissues.

Model Confirmation

BSG-STD (Standard) or BSG-68. Since it has the oil finish (which was a premium option), the catalog price would have been around 95,000 to 100,000 Yen back in the day, which fits the "98" or "100" series designations often used.

Gig Bag: During the late 90s and early 2000s, Bacchus (under Deviser) produced a limited run of high-end, genuine leather gig bags specifically for their "Vintage Series" and early "Live Road" models.

The red padded interior is the signature look for high-end Japanese gig bags from that era (similar to the way high-end Gibson cases have pink or red shrouds). While modern Bacchus guitars come with standard black nylon bags, the "Vintage Series" ones were designed to feel as premium as the guitar itself—thick, slightly heavy, and meant to age like a piece of luggage.

Rarity: You can't really buy those original Bacchus leather bags separately anymore.

The "Case Study": A high-end Japanese SG in its original, era-correct leather bag is a much more attractive "collector" package than the same guitar in a generic modern hardshell case.