The original Vantage brand guitars were produced in Japan (by Matsumoku?) during the 1970s: The Avenger and Invader series had the most unusual body styles. Double cut-away VP, VS and VSH modesl were more conventional. All these models had great features with multiwood natural finish bodies fashionable in the late 1970s.  The Vantage brand name reappeared on lower quality guitars produced by Music Industries (Jay Turser) in the 1990's up until 1998.

There are three distinct periods in Valley Arts history: the original period, the Samick era and the Gibson era.

Original Valley Arts era

The Valley Arts brand began in a music shop run by Duke Miller. Miller was a guitar teacher, and when he went off to music teaching position at the University of Southern California, two of his students Mike McGuire and Al Carness bought the music store business. Around In 1973, they moved from the shop's original location on Laurel Canyon Blvd. to Ventura Blvd.

Although they specialised in teaching, McGuire also began learning how to repair guitars quickly building a good reputation. An important watershed in the Valley Arts story was when Larry Carlton ordered a refret of his old Gibson S.G.The Valley Arts did repairs for an impressive client list including Tommy Tedesco, Steve Lukather, Robben Ford, Mitch Holder, Mundell Lowe, Al Viola and Duane Eddy.

James Trussart is a musician-turned-luthier. His career began in the 1970s as a violin player in his native Paris. He turned his attention to making violins and then guitars in the 1980s. He is now a resident of southern California, where he makes custom steel-bodied guitars, basses and violins out of metal.

Instruments come in a variety of finishes: from shiny chrome to weathered and rusty. Trussart's "Rust-o-matic" technique involves leaving the guitar body exposed to the elements for several weeks, allowing it to corrode, then sanding it to replicate years of distress, and then finishing it with a clear satin coat. The metal construction leads to a distinctive tone: and many leading players have a Trussart metal guitar in their collection.

To date your Trussart guitar look at the serial number: the first two digits are the year the guitar was made, and the rest are the number of guitars produced to that date.

Leon Cox conceived and built the  first Traveler Guitar in his garage workshop in Redlands, California in October of 1992. He used tuning machines from an old acoustic guitar, spare conduit left over from a home improvement project, and wood salvaged from a discarded bar top. Cox, whose wife worked as a nurse, was inspired to install the diaphragm of a stethoscope in the body of his prototype to provide the player with a battery-free, private listening experience. During the next three years, more than three hundred of “The Traveler” guitars were produced, both in Cox’s garage and at an outside shop. Then, in the summer of 1995, Corey Oliver walked into Redlands Guitar Shop and was fascinated by the unique instruments and offered to take the entire inventory on a sales road trip. Cox agreed. So, Oliver and then-partner Carey Nordstrand (of Nordstrand Basses fame).

Trace Elliot originated in 1979 in the Soundwave music shop in Romford, Essex. The Soundwave owner, Fred Friedlein, and staff which included Alan Morgan (sales) and Stuart Watson (design engineer) were building and hiring out PA systems. Musicians began using these amplifiers for basses and the Soundwave staff went on to developed range of products that using MOSFET output stages driving large cabinets, including 15” drivers, and a 4 x 10” cabinet, now an industry standard for bass amps. The brand became Trace Elliot: by 1989 they were also making acoustic amplifiers. The company was bought by Kaman in 1992. It was sold again in 1997 as a management buy-out and again in 1998 to the Gibson Guitar Corp. By 2002 UK manufacturing had stopped & Gibson moved production of any remaining products elsewhere. By 2015 Peavey had aquired the rights to the brand.

Source: Trace Elliot website (14 January 2021)

Michael Tobias founded Tobias Guitars in 1977 in Orlando, Florida. Tobias were best known for their neck-through bass guitars and were one of the first manufacturers to use an assymetrical neck profile (thinner on the lower side). Combinations of exotic tone woods gave bassists a wide range of natural tonalities to choose from, so that each instrument could be tailored for the individual player. Ergonomic improvements, such as the deeply sculpted body and the asymmetrical neck, enhanced the fit to the individual player. Tobias relocated to California in 1980 and eventually settled in the Hollywood area. By 1990, with demand for Tobias basses growing far faster than production capability, Gibson bought the company and moved production to their Nashville factory. Michael Tobias left in 1992 to establish Michael Tobias Design (MTD).  In 2003 Gibson launched a new generation of Tobais basses made in Conway, Arkansas.

Timton Custom Guitars was established in 1993 by Tim Diebert in Grand Forks, British Columbia. Diebert built his first stringed instrument in 1974, but did not make his full time living at it until 1993. In between those times he made his living building many things out of wood: boats, movie props, staircases, yacht interiors, airplane and sports car parts, fine contemporary and period furniture etc. Every Timtone instrument was designed and custom made for the end user or owner. Tim stopped making guitars in 2007, and went on to develop a fine woodworking program hosted by Okanagan College in Kelowna BC.

Source: Timtone website (12 February 2021)

The Tanara brand appeared in the 1980s on a series of asian made guitars - with designs similar to Ibanez models. The brand is still active today on a range of budget eletric and acoustic guitars.

Switch Music was established around 2002 - the company sold guitars and basses made from Vibracell. They described Vibracell as follows on their website:

"Why Switch to a Vibracell® Guitar?

Simple to radical ideas throughout time have inspired passion to develop new and better technology. It has been our vision and passion to bring to the market stringed musical instruments that are not only superior in quality but to produce these instruments in an efficient and environmentally friendly way. After more than ten years in development this vision has become a reality with the creation of Vibracell Technology.

In order to understand this exclusive patented technology one must have a basic understanding of how traditional stringed instruments are currently designed and manufactured.

Stephen J Sukop founded Sukop Basses in 1986. Sukop is a custom-order luthier of high quality handmade stringed instruments. Standard configurations include 4 through 9 string basses as well as 6 string electric guitars.

Source: Sukop Basses website (4 December 2020)