welp, the Universe series I`ve seen were certainly MIC.
I have seen Bacchus LPs without serials on the back of the headstock in local used gear shops. First time I saw one I asked to look under the control plate and found pots that were not Japanese...I own quite a few from the original series under the Bacchus name and all of them have Noble pots and serials on the neck plate or back of the headstock, so when I saw what looked like MIK electronics, I passed...after they stopped making original series, then started making them again a couple of years later, some things changed with the Bacchus guitars...originally the Brians were not MIJ and they said so with small sticker somewhere on the guitars. They made Jayros as well and those that I saw were not MIJ either...so just what is up with these Bacchus guitars that do not have Noble pots is a mystery to me. I know they outsource some Bacchus guitars now as well, so if I were interested in these guitars, I`d need to see pics of the pots, all of mine have MIA steel switches as well, so pics would be very important for me.