I am a longtime fan of indo-asian guitars from the 60s and 70s
There was a lot of craftsmanship and detail going into the products.
The best thing to me tho was the wood they were using during this period.

Think about the old guitars of that time Yamahas, Ibanez, Teisco and Electras; I still have and X420, Sigh..
Even off beat makes like Ventura, Castilla (also Bruno,) Melody, as well as American
companies paying to have theirs made overseas, Kay, Sigma, Kent, Norma, Silvertone etc; they just had
a great feel and tone and they were playable, good setups and they were bulletproof.
I had an old Ventura, one of my first guitars, wonderful sound, great
action and durable,,, I was young.

Ventura/Bruno has ties to Aria, Yamaha and their V-14 and V-35 were direct
knockoffs of the Martin 14 and 35s. They were never a big name product
but most will tell you if they had one, they loved it or still have it.

They made all sorts of guitars and other stringed instruments including
electrics. They were eventually purchased and retained allegedly by the Ovation
parent company in the early 80s

Great time for guitars, something about the wood and the craftsmanship…
Isn’t it always

Hi all, I just picked up this Ventura Bruno 1586 at a thrift store and paid $15.00 for it. It came with a case and a Korg GA-1 tuner. Never played guitar and was hoping this is a good beginner level guitar and did I get a good deal? Thanks.

I have the wide body blonde Ventura and it us indeed a thing of beauty and the sound is imho unparalleled. Many have picked it up to play and say the same. The older Ventura’s are definitely where it is at.

I own a gorgeous wide body blond Ventura I won on a bet from my brother. Anyone who plays it? Instant love. Easy play and most melodic of sound you’ve ever heard. Go by your heart. Not just experts. Just like anything, beauty is in the beholder, does it fit you? Sing to you? Buy it. Treasure it.

I have a Ventura Bruno V4 which I purchased new for about $60 in 1970. Does anyone out there know anything about this particular model? Thanks.

I own many classical guitars, most from the 60’s, to the 2016’s. I have 5 Ventura Brono’s. Even tho they are laminate they were made in Japan back in the day when the quality was better. For the price you cannot find a better guitar. The sustain is excellent on the ones I own. I bought my first acoustic Bruno ventura V6 for $100 in 1972, I still own it. Before you buy any vintage guitar check it over throughly, if you can take it to a luthier and pay a few dollars to have it inspected may save you time and dollars in the future. I have paid to much for some and got a great deal on others.

Had a relative pick up a ventuta v14 dred at a garage sale for cheeep. she just started playing and has a decent taylor mini, so she gave it to me. My estimate is if found in good original playing condition is its a good buy at the $150 to $200 street price. The closet relic was like this: missing inside label, original grover open style tuners. adjustable bridge. no dings or breaks. sound is very much like the better vintage red label yamahas fg180, fg300, etc. Strong volume, Clear string timbre with clarity when strumming. treble strings are balanced with added middle. ive played (and sold)the 70s and 80s ventra brunos and they are way lacking in sound quality unlike the older ones.. Ifl

It’s long past when this question was asked but these threads can go on for years. The Ventura CF-100 is a concert (or grand auditorium) sized guitar with laminate back and sides (rosewood) and spruce solid wood top. They sold for $65 new in the ’60’s and are an incredible guitar for the money. I bought mine from a friend in 1975 and have played many a concert with it before starting to purchase dreadnoughts. Because of the sound and the beautiful aesthetics of the instrument it is still in my collection and is my main travel guitar and camping guitar. To have an instrument in that price range with the tones that it can produce is always a winner. For it’s size it has a strong bass and the rest of the tone spectrum is quite balanced. So, if you can get one under $150 and you get to play it to make sure the intonation and playability is good, I don’t think you can do better. I’m writing this for those who have the opportunity to get one and are doing a search on the instrument. Happy pickin’.

Guitars have been my passion for years now. Bruno ventura is one of the classic in the store. I recommend you to buy it after playing it. Anyways, I have already bookmarked this site for future references as well. check here

Bought a Ventura Bruno CF 80 in 1965. I was 8 yo and still own it to this day. My freinds have gone through several guitars since. I still own mine. As I loked at Gibsons, Martins or Fenders, mine is still a higher quality instrument. Take your time and learn to play. Don’t push it, it’ll take time and practice, practice, practice.

: Hey everyone- : i’ve never played a note in my life but have always wanted to. i just came from a garage sale where they were selling a Ventura Bruno guitar V-1585 (missing one string but otherwise good shape) for $49. : Is this a good guitar? : I’m totally new to the guitar scene, so i can’t thank you so much for your time! : p.s. i’m a girl with small hands… anything i should look for in a "learner" guitar? : hugs- : greta Hey Greta, I have a ventura i bought at a pawn shop in San Antonio. I don’t know anything about it and have not been able to find anything on the web about these guitars. Most of my friends that play guitar love it. It has a great sound. It looks to be a model made in the late 60’s. I heard the company went out of business a few years ago (20). I paid 50 dollars for mine and i love it. I hope you bought the one you found. If you have small hands, i hope the neck is not to wide for you, use nylon strings if you can because the metal ones will tear up your fingers. LEARN THEM CHORDS, and practice on old country music. (waylon, willie, merle etc…). Good luck with your git-tar…

Greta – I bought my Bruno Ventura guitar in 1966 or ’67 in a suburb of Gary, IN called Miller, in a local music shop there, and as I recall I paid $65.00 for it, which for a 14 year old was a bunch of money. I still have it, and have often wondered if it was worth much, so I finally started nosing around the web today, and your message was the first one I ran across. I have the model V-1586. Frankly, it never was much of a guitar. compared to the Martin’s and Gibson’s that my friends owned. But they don’t have theirs anymore, and I still have mine. The strings buzz more than they should, but I still enjoy playing it on rare occasion, and it’s a great campfire guitar. So I hope you bought the one you found, and enjoy it. Hey everyone- : i’ve never played a note in my life but have always wanted to. i just came from a garage sale where they were selling a Ventura Bruno guitar V-1585 (missing one string but otherwise good shape) for $49. : Is this a good guitar? : I’m totally new to the guitar scene, so i can’t thank you so much for your time! : p.s. i’m a girl with small hands… anything i should look for in a "learner" guitar? : hugs- : greta

I looked around for a while at guitars I saw at resale shops, etc. I used to check ebay and search on google to get an idea as to whether the guitar was a good one or a cheapo. Last weekend I found a Yamaha FG-140 for $50. Finally, a decent guitar instead of a crappy one… But yes, the best way to learn is with anything……make sure if fits you well, though. hth, vince : Hey everyone- : i’ve never played a note in my life but have always wanted to. i just came from a garage sale where they were selling a Ventura Bruno guitar V-1585 (missing one string but otherwise good shape) for $49. : Is this a good guitar? : I’m totally new to the guitar scene, so i can’t thank you so much for your time! : p.s. i’m a girl with small hands… anything i should look for in a "learner" guitar? : hugs- : greta

never heard of that brand but if the neck is straight and it looks like it is in good condition its probly worth it…everybody starts somewhere and eventually you learn more and more about the way a good guitar should sound and perform like.sometimes people sell guitars that are worth 10 times as much but they have no clue and you get a good deal and at 50$ just the parts are probly worth that much…..its an electric right?