Vega Guitars Serial Numbers
1954 Vega Westerner
Vega Guitars Serial Numbers By this point, they were closely associated with singer Carmen Miranda, accompanying her in the studio and in a number of films produced in the US. A 1950 Vega brochure reproduces a of Bando da Lua with Carmen Miranda taken to promote the film Nancy Goes to Rio, released that year. Fernandes created faithful recreations of Fender instruments; and Takamine and Suzuki both made acoustic guitars nearly identical to certain Martin models. Interestingly, most Japanese copies of the time didn’t have serial numbers — a great way to tell if an instrument is truly a “lawsuit” guitar, even today. Doug, I seriously doubt that this Dutch-made Vega dreadnought has any Brazilian rosewood anywhere on it. The story on that is that Martin was in a period where they were expanding and acquiring other brand names. They bought the Vega brand name, and made Vega banjos for a few years; shortly thereafter they gained control of a guitar factory in the Netherlands and attempted to introduce a less.
Guitars built today consist mainly of copies or near-copies of classic models; this is so common that all the old brands are overtly recycling their own designs from decades past. This “copy era” began in the early 1970s when Japanese factories began producing guitars that rivaled Gibson and Fender instruments (among others) in appearance and quality. Previously, guitar builders might have taken strong inspiration from others but they generally added their own twist; for example, the Guild CE-100 was clearly based on the Gibson ES-175, but the pickups were very different and the guitar felt distinctly like a Guild.
Still, some models betrayed more inspiration than others. Vega’s engineers usually followed their own muses, even when building around bodies by Harmony. This particular model, however, is easily the closest that Vega ever came to directly copying a competitor’s product. Introduced by 1954, the Westerner was Vega’s first attempt to create a guitar with a solid body (excluding lap steels). The mahogany body was finished in natural except for the gold top, clearly showing inspiration by the Gibson Les Paul. While later Vega solidbodies would stray further from Gibson designs, the Westerner’s appearance remains faithful enough to fool a lot of people at first glance. Unconfirmed sources indicate that only approximately 40 were built before Gibson threatened a lawsuit; Vega quickly started altering the design to avoid legal action, and they may have even destroyed some guitars that were not yet sold. Although the Westerner was probably intended to mark the beginning of a successful new product line at Vega – they were given their own serial number format, for one thing – Vega never built solidbodies in large numbers.
The Les Paul comparison comes mainly from the gold top, control layout and access cavities. Beneath these superficial similarities, however, the Westerner is actually a very different guitar. For one thing, it lacks a maple cap on the body (granted, so does the Les Paul Custom). Additionally, the Westerner’s body is flat on top. The separate bridge and tailpiece are somewhere in between the trapeze of a ’52 Les Paul and the stop tailpiece of a ’54. The bridge saddle floats on a pair of felt-lined feet, much like the bridge on a contemporary Guild M-75. The pickguard and neck are closer to those found on large Vega archtops, and the pickup selector is a rotary switch instead of a toggle. While the pickups do look a lot like Gibson P-90s, they were made by Franz and are closer in design to most Fender pickups.
The overall package is constructed well, and it is something of a compromise between a Les Paul Standard and Special (even if the Special did not yet exist when the Westerner was introduced). It was priced accordingly: $215 plus $39 for a case in 1954, compared with $235 for a Les Paul Standard, $189.50 for a Telecaster, and $197.50 for a National 1104. Many early off-brand solidbodies have a reputation for being cheaply built, but the Westerner is clearly a major step up from the Harmony, Kay and Danelectro guitars that sold for half as much.
My Westerner was acquired as something of a project, needing wiring repairs, a new pickguard and truss rod cover, and having been stripped of a coat of green paint (which, fortunately, did not affect the original gold underneath). The bridge bases were replaced to avoid a neck reset, and the wiring was replaced due to crumbling insulation (a common problem on ‘50s Vegas). The output jack was changed from an obscure screw-on type to a conventional ¼”. However, the pickups, bridge saddle, tuners, tailpiece and knobs are all original.
A Fairbanks Banjo Project
Stretcher bands, ferrules, rim thickness, hooks, nameplatesCopyright © by Michael I. Holmes - 08/15/2001
This article is the result of years of research, accumulating data, and finally bringing it all together in one place. It has grown beyond the very narrow purposes of identifying certain changes in the Vega made banjo models, especially the Whyte Laydie and Tubaphone, to include when the name stamps changed. I haven't tried to match a date to the serial numbers, but that information -- although at best speculative and approximate -- is available elsewhere, including Mugwumps Online. For the collector/scholar, it is important just to know when changes occured. For the buyer, it is critical to know that an instrument being sold as 'all original' probably is. Some of the information here will help.
First, it is important to know a few facts. Virtually all the metal parts for nearly all the East coast banjo makers were supplied by one company -- Waverly Music Products of New York, NY, in business from before the turn of the century until the 1970s when they were acquired by Stewart-MacDonald of Athens, OH. I interviewed Waverly's then owner, a Mr. Lomb -- son and grandson of the founders, early in 1970 when he had put the company up for sale. He told me that Waverly, for whom he had worked since his pre-teens, had provided most of the metal parts and accessories to the banjo makers. In his workshop he showed me many patterns, cutters, tools, and dies used in making the nuts for Vega, Gibson, Bacon, Paramount and all the standard nuts we associate with the large makers. Waverly also made many, varied, stretcher bands, the simple brass hoops used for tone rings on the less expensive instruments, and some of the components that went into the more sophisticated tone rings. They also made the various shoes and hooks, from the Cobra hooks used on early Fairbanks to the modern flat and round hooks. Most of the tailpieces and many of the tuners also came from Waverly. That there were others making some hardware is indisputed, but Waverly made most of it. I don't know if they made the Whyte Laydie and Tubaphone assemblies or if some of the parts were made locally and then assembled at Vega -- the most likely scenario.
Serial Number Vegas 13
It is likely that Vega did not stamp the serial number on a rim until final assembly, just before it was ready to be shipped. Since the rims were assembled separately from the necks, and since Vega made & sold a variety of styles (5 string, tenor, guitar, mandolin, plectrum, etc.) it stands to reason that the serial number wasn't afixed until the neck and rim were mated. This would explain why some rims have hardware and specifications after the time when some parts were disountinued. It seems especially true for the earlier Vega #7's and #9's which clearly sold in smaller quantities, and the assembled rims might sit around for a while. It does not explain the apparent anomolies of name stamps appearing with serial numbers earlier than expected. Two possible explanations occur to me -- there may be others. First is simply a reporting error, but I have seen some personally, and been sent photos of others. The other possible explanation might be that the banjo was returned to the factory, given a new neck with new logo stamp, but numbered with the old serial number. Your thoughts on this and any other factor relevant to this study are welcomed.
Be sure to visit the article Fairbanks & Vega Dating for more information about this project and a summary of my conclusions based on the instruments listed below.
If you have information about:
- Any Whyte Laydie banjo with serial number lower then 20343 or
- Any Whyte Laydie banjo with serial number between 24939 and 24945, or
- Any Tubaphone banjo with serial number lower than 25052, or
- A WL#7 with number above, but close to 24956, but especially around 25000
- Instruments with serial #s between 26019 and 26023, when the switch from Fairbanks plate to F-V stamp seems to have occurred.
- Serial #s for WL or Regent models with left (reversed) facing Gryphons all seem to be in the 24000 serial numbers.
- Any model F-V or Vega banjo with serial #s between 52669 and 52684 (a 15 number range), when the switch from 'Fairbanks Banjo, Made by Vega' stamp to the 'Made by Vega' stamp seems to have occurred.
- Vega serial #s between 99369 and 99686, when the switch from the Vega stamp to printed yellow labels seems to have occured.
- Serial numbers from the 'Made by Martin' era.
Please send any information directly to me. Mike Holmes. Thanks.
| ID | Model | Serial | SB | Fer'l | Rim | Hooks | F-B |
| F&C | - | 1000 | Earliest reported Cobra hooks. | ||||
| F | -- | c15000 | Introduction of A.C. Fairbanks metal plate. | ||||
| F | SE5 | 17607 | Earliest reported Special Electric #5. | ||||
| F | SE5 | 17609 | G | Long | FS | Cobra | Ebony |
| F | WL2 | 20343 | Earliest reported Whyte Laydie. | ||||
| F | WL2 | 20788 | G | Long | Thin | Round | Ebony |
| F | WL2 | 20803 | -- | Thin | Round | ||
| F | WL7 | 20827 | G | Long | Thin | Cobra | |
| F | WL2 | 21101 | Standard WL#2, curly maple neck, red line under ph & fb, unusual Gryphon. 2 known | ||||
| F | WL2 | 21630 | G | Long | Thin | Round | Replaced ebony fb |
| F | EL-0 | 21972 | G | - | Thin | Round | Ebony |
| F | WL7 | 22743 | G | - | Thin | New | Ebony |
| F | WL7 | 22891 | G | - | Thin | New | Ebony |
| F | WL2 | 22924 | G | Long | Thin | Round | Ebony |
| F | WL7 | 23344 | G | Long | Thin | New | Ebony |
| F | WL2 | 23581 | G | - | Thin | Round | |
| F | WL7 | 23721 | G | Long | -- | -- | |
| F | WL2 | 23800 | G | Short | -- | Round | Dyed |
| F | WL7 | 23891 | G | Short | Thin | Cobra | Ebony |
| F | WL2 | 24189 | G | Short | Thin | Round | Ebony |
| F | WL2 | 24392 | G | Short | Thin | New | Ebony |
| F | WL2 | 24491 | G | Short | Thin | Round | Ebony |
| F | WL7 | 24543 | G | Short | Thin | Cobra | Ebony |
| F | WL2 | 24559 | G | None | Round | Dyed | |
| F | Elec | 24567 | N | Earliest appearance of notched SB, but on a custom Electric | |||
| F | WL2 | 24607 | G | Round | |||
| F | WL2 | 24615 | G | Short | Thick | Round | Ebony |
| F | WL2 | 24655 | G | Round | |||
| F | WL2 | 24690 | N | Short | Thick | Round | Dyed |
| F | WL2 | 24790 | N | Short | Thick | Round | Dyed |
| F | WL2 | 24848 | N | -- | Thin | Round | Dyed |
| F | WL2 | 24860 | N | -- | Thick | -- | -- |
| F | WL2 | 24923 | N | Round | |||
| F | WL7 | 24925 | G | -- | -- | Cobra | |
| F | WL7 | 24926 | G | Short | Thin | Cobra | Ebony |
| F | WL2-7 | 24927 | G | Short | Thin | New | |
| F | WL7 | 24935 | -- | -- | -- | -- | |
| F | WL | 24938 | -- | -- | -- | -- | |
| F | WL7 | 24939 | G | Short | Thick | Cobra | |
| F | WL2 | 24945 | N | Thin | Round | Ebony | |
| F | WL2 | 24956 | N | Short | Thick | Round | Ebony |
| F | WL/TU | 24992 | N | -- | Thin | Round | Dyed |
| F | TU3 | 25052 | N | Short | Thick | Round | Ebony |
| F | TU3 | 25060 | N | Short | Thick | Round | -- |
| F | TU3 | 25083 | N | Short | -- | Round | |
| F | TU3 | 25230 | N | Short | -- | Round | |
| F | TU9 | 25241 | G | Short | Thick | Cobra | Ebony |
| F-V | TU3 | 25269 | Unexplained anomoly, confirmed, perhaps returned to factory? | ||||
| F | TU3 | 25362 | N | Short | Round | ||
| F | TU3 | 25390 | N | Short | -- | Round | |
| F | WL2 | 25459 | N | Short | Thick | Round | Ebony |
| F | WL2 | 25513 | N | Short | -- | Round | |
| F | WL | 25646 | N | Short | -- | Round | Dyed |
| F | WL7 | 25647 | N | Short | Thick | Round | Ebony |
| F | TU3 | 25677 | N | Short | Thick | Round | Ebony |
| F | TU3 | 25733 | N | Short | Thick | Round | Ebony |
| F | TU-BM | 25841 | N | Short | Thin | Round | |
| F | WL-BM | 25842 | N | Short | Thin | Round | Ebony |
| F | WL7 | 25844 | N | Short | Thick | Round | Ebony |
| F | R | 25980 | From this point, the WL &TU specifications remain unchanged. | ||||
| F | TU3 | 26019 | Latest reported Fairbanks plate. | ||||
| F-V | Elec | 26023 | Earliest reported F-V stamp except anomolous #25269. | ||||
| F-V | WL2 | 26484 | Orig 5 string w/A.C.F. plate & stamp. | ||||
| F-V | TU9 | 30441 | Latest reported style 3. Flowerpot peghead inlay. | ||||
| F-V | TU9 | 52669 | Latest reported F-V stamp. | ||||
| V | Senator | 52684 | Earliest reported Vega stamp. | ||||
| V | WL2 | 91892 | Earliest bracket band drilled with bolts through rim. | ||||
| V | Vox1 | 99369 | Highest Vega name stamp, pre-yellow labels. | ||||
| V | Vox4 | A99610 | Coordinator rods, lowest yellow label, wood strut, A = adjustable truss rod. | ||||
| V | PS | A99686 | Yellow label, coordinator rods. | ||||
| V | WL | A99815 | Yellow label, wood strut. | ||||
| V | WL | A128923 | Needham address, Osborne mdl, carving, etc. post factory | ||||
| Legend | ||
|---|---|---|
| SB | Stretcher Band | Grooved/Slotted, Notched |
| Fer'l | Ferrule | Long=2.5', Short=1' |
| FB | Fingerboard | Ebony, Dyed |
| Rim | Full Spun, Thin=3/8', Thick=7/16'-1/2' | |