can anyone help me ID this Victoria guitar?

[r4wr89]

hi all, i guess this is my first official post. i recently came upon a REALLY trashed japanese model guitar with the word "VICTORIA" stamped boldly on the pickups, so i will assume that victoria is some sort of japanese guitar brand, although i have seen pictures of models that closely resemble mine made by a company called guyatone.

anyways, it is a jag-stang/mustang lookalike, with tobacco burst/dark color burst finish, a dark, very full and wide neck, dual pickups with 3 switches which read "mic 1," "mic 2" and "r'thm-solo." it also has 2 tone and a master volume knob that appear to be made of bronze or some other form of dense, dull colored metal.

anyways, i was wondering if anyone might be able to ID it for me, tell me a little bit about it if possible, and also, if possible, tell me if it is worth repairing to its old form. i am thinking about simply stripping the paint and reworking it as a mustang lookalike with real fender neck and upgraded pickups as a side project.

regardless, i received it free from a friend so i guess no loss there! it's a real beater there, so i'm not sure what to do with it. there are literally...holes drilled clean through the wood for no purpose, and, before i removed it, there was a washer superglued to the body just underneath the high frets of the neck.

thanks for all your help!
-ant
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[VintAxe]

Hey r4wr89,

From your description it sounds like you have a Victoria basically like this with a different pickup configuration:



If so, it was built by Zen-On in the mid 1960's. The value of a Zen-On in Excellent condition is probably in the $200-$250 range. Given the condition you describe, I think you can do whatever modifications you want to do with the guitar. It's value as a vintage instrument is lost but someone may be interested in the parts you replace if they are in good working order.

[r4wr89]

vintaxe,

wow thanks for all the help! yea i've just finished stripping all the electronics off of it. unfortunately most of the wiring was messed up so i could never hear how it should've sounded, so i don't know if i should clean up the old pickups or if i should simply invest in some new ones. does anyone happen to have sound demos or can maybe try to explain how the pups sound ?

thanks again !
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[cheepaxes]

No idea what the pickups sound like but if it were me I'd try them out when you put the guitar back together. They could be very cool. If you absolutely hate them, then you can replace them.

-Scott