The Official Mosrite Appreciation Thread

[frippy]

Frippy,
Call Bob Shade and get a quote on the Black w. tort guard. There will be an upcharge, but they do that kind of stuff all the time.

Thanks! I'll do so. Great to know they do some customization of their guitars.

[djetz]

from what I hear Wosrites by Tym (Australian company) are pretty damn good too.
here's a link:
prices are in australian and look crazy, but I don't know the conversion so it might not be so bad.

http://www.tymguitars.com.au/pricelist_tymguitars.html

The Australian $ usually hovers around 75-80c US. That means if something is $1000 Australian, US $800 is a pretty safe ballpark guess.

I've seen the $AU as low as under 60c US and as high as over 90c US, so my 80% rule-of-thumb is only useful for a quick guess. If you need up-to-date conversions, there are plenty of online currency converters that'll do the sums for you at the current rates. For instance, right now $1AU will buy you 86c US.

[OffYourFace]

wow, you too Jonas? Yeah, I like them but you gotta search hard for a good one... then when you find one, they're expensive! They're not as easy to piece together like a vintage fender parts-guitar.

I've been looking at the Hallmarks & Eastwoods... but I think i'd go with Hallmark to have a more-true clone with their bridges, trems & pickups.

[toneclusters]

Here is my 70's Japan "black market " copy I've had since the 90's

[eggwheat]

My mosrite

[OffYourFace]

nice one Philip! japanese?

[frippy]

My mosrite

Very sweet

What year is it?

[Kawentzmann]

My mosrite

Very sweet

What year is it?

The bridge hasn’t go the nuts and no Ventures logo. With early japanese the neckplate was also an indicator, often being square, not the peanut shape of Mosrite.

[AWSchmit]

I've never seen a Mosrite in person, so it never occurred to me. but looking at the comparison pics, it looks like the strings are really really close together, is that the case? If so how does it effect playability? I would think that chording would be hard.

[eggwheat]

Hi it's been examined by quite a few mosrite experts..the consensus is its a late 60's Mosrite Avenger made in japan.

[Kawentzmann]

I've never seen a Mosrite in person, so it never occurred to me. but looking at the comparison pics, it looks like the strings are really really close together, is that the case? If so how does it effect playability? I would think that chording would be hard.

For people with small hands or fingertips it’s easier to play. Everything is small on Mosrite necks: the frets, the action, the string spacing, the width, the deepness. The scale is medium, the same as Gretsch (except the White Falcon which is long scale).

[frippy]

As the owner of a Hallmark 60 Custom (the model fashioned after The Ventures Mark 1 model Mosrite), I can vouch for the quality.

Might be the proverbially inept question but where do you adjust the truss rod on the 60 Custom? From the photos available online, I don't see a place to access the truss rod. I first I presumed you needed to take the neck off, as with many Mosrites, but then I noticed it was a set-neck.

Hi it's been examined by quite a few mosrite experts..the consensus is its a late 60's Mosrite Avenger made in japan.

Yours is a beauty

[CJay]

I remember I had heard a rumor once that Semie Moesley's widow was planning on doing a new line of Mosrite's. Anybody got a follow-up on that on whether it's true or not?

[mynameisjonas]

My mosrite

amazing

didn't you have that one up for sale a while back? or did you have another one?

[Strat-o-rama]

Frippy,
think of neck adjustments just like on your favorite offset

That Avenger is sweet!

Yes, Loretta Moseley (Semie Moseley's widow) has resurrected Mosrite, after 'sort of' winning a judgement in Japan. Basically, there are three companies allowed to use the Mosrite name: Kurokumo (Excellent, Super Custom and Royal lines), Fillmore, and her own company- Mosrite. Loretta's outfit is way smaller than the other two, who have been making Mosrite clones for some time--and they do make fine clones at that...what you would expect from Japanese manufacturers. Loretta's guitars are being made by hand by a gentleman who trained and worked under Semie Moseley in the N. Carolina and Arkansas days...when Mosrites were more of a handmade item again after the "mass production" years of the 1960s. So far, there are only two dealers for these "new" Semie Moseley Signature models in Japan, and no other outlets. They are very expensive, and it seems they are marketed to well-to-do collectors rather than players. From what I can tell, which admittedly isn't much, they seem to be fairly accurate repros of the instruments from the 1980s and early 90s.
Kurokumo Mosrites are hard to get in the US, but there are some distributors in Australia. The Fillmores are availalbe through Ed Roman, but if you want a good deal and friendly service, go to Front Porch Music in Bakersfield, California. Artie, the owner, worked in the Mosrite factory as a kid and has one of the finest collections of Mo's in the world. He is a foremost expert on all things Mosrite and he is the guy to go to to get a Mosrite in the USA. On certain models of the Fillmore, Artie has the pickups are hand wound by Dana Moseley, Semie Moseley's daughter who worked in Dad's shop and knows the trick to hand winding the pick-ups. she also assembles the hardware here in the US and does the set-ups...just the way Semie would have wanted them when ready for sale.
Anyway, there it is in a simplified nutshell. Again, Mosrites have a unique feel and sound. Yes, the string spacing is narrow, the necks are narrow and slim. It takes a little time to adjust to. But once you get into the Mosrite state of mind, other guitars feel kind of clunky. Everyone has a preference: as one Mosrite picker stated: you either get it or don't. It's more than large hands or small hands. Joe Maphis, Mosrite picker extrordinare, had hands like baseball mitts and he was a demon on the strings (even though he played double necks, the necks were still narrow and slim with the "speed frets").
and, in the looks department, the Mark 1 model (the Ventures) is sheer retro 60s cool.