I had the chance to play a mid 60's Mosrite ...

[sumlin]

My brain has stored away that it was mandolin fretwire but you can get close now by filing a more regular wire down to size. As with all things Mosrite though - who knows?!

[mgeek]

aha! interesting...so presumably super narrow as well as low. Mad!

[will]

I don't think it is that narrow - I'll bust out my calipers when I get home.

[will]

This made me chuckle...
Mosrites are *crazy* guitars. On the same instrument you'll find detailing and design work that is impossibly complicated and simultaneously find things that are so shonky you question whether they are original to the guitar (they almost always are - beware the Mosrite that's 100% well-built!).

I think part of the Mosrite construction process was learning that the control cavity was too small after getting everything wired in the pickguard, and then hogging out some wood to make everything fit.

I'm amazed that Mosrite never outgrew their weirdness - I see pictures of Mosrites from the early 90's that have all sorts of funky details (though I suspect that evennntually, late in life, he started using a ruler to position the fret markers.

[carron]

Always bear in mind that if the frets are original then the fretwire to replace them is hard to come by. I'm not sure it's a standardised size - someone in the luthiery world would know better than me...

I've always understood that the difference in the frets was that they were ground down very low, after installation, rather than being unusual fretwire to start with, but happy to be schooled if I'm wrong. The details are fascinating!

These type of details are why I find this forum to be such an amazing place!

Narrow frets, weirdness and all, I still want a Mosrite. Probably more now.

[mgeek]

Narrow frets, weirdness and all, I still want a Mosrite. Probably more now.

me too! Characterful guitars are where it's at. Don't want everything to feel like a Fender. Or in the case of Eastwood, an Epiphone.

[sumlin]

Or in the case of Eastwood, an Epiphone.

Welcome onboard.

[DeathJag]

Why is no one mentioning or comparing Hallmark guitars as modern alternatives?

[Kinx]

I've never had a chance to play original Mosrite, but I've always wanted one because of the design and general weirdness. There is a Hallmark on sale locally for around 800e, I've read only nice things about those, but I still wonder how do they compare to the real thing. They are supposed to be "improved" over the originals in some things and have overall good qc.

[sumlin]

Why is no one mentioning or comparing Hallmark guitars as modern alternatives?

Never had chance to play one but heard good things and Bob Shade from Hallmark is always incredibly helpful with Mosrite info and sourcing spare parts.

[sumlin]

Here's mine btw







I had a Bluesbender until recently but traded it for a Gretsch and I also have a 60s Morales Mosrite Ventures copy from Japan that's pretty dead-on (apart from the fact it's easily twice as heavy as a real one).

[mgeek]

oooh cool- what eras are these?

[sumlin]

Top - 1966 MkV
Middle - 1976/7 Brass Rail
Bottom - early 70s Acoustic Black Widow

[mgeek]

Top - 1966 MkV
Middle - 1976/7 Brass Rail
Bottom - early 70s Acoustic Black Widow

Cool- thank you! particularly enjoying the massive black band on the top and the extreme break angle in the middle...loads of interest!

[PJazzmaster]

Here's mine btw

That's a really nice one How does it play?