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One for the Freaks - The Mosrite Thread

Three13

Member
Joined
May 7, 2011
Messages
852
I have a funny feeling that I'm just about the only person here who loves Mosrites. If not, here is one of the classics, a late 1963 Mosrite Ventures.

Originally, this design was made as the Joe Maphis Model, but in 1963, a session player named Gene Moles lent his new Mosrite Joe Maphis Model to Nokie Edwards of the Ventures. The Ventures had decided that they wanted to have signature instruments made by someone, and Nokie loved Gene's guitar, so he approached Semie Moseley at the Mosrite "factory", which was actually a tin shack in Bakersfield.

Semie took the endorsement. The Ventures invested a tremendous amount of capital into Mosrite, allowing him to build a real factory, and the Mosrite Joe Maphis Model became the Mosrite Ventures Model. The first 30 or so guitars shipped in late 1963 and, like 1954 Strats, have somewhat inconsistent features.

This example (Serial #0025) is fairly late in the run and has a set neck (normal for the model until spring of '64) with a metal plate bolted on a la Fender, perhaps to strengthen the neck joint. This particular arrangement is only seen on a few guitars in the 002X series, from what I can tell...

Mosrite1_zps1353e2a8.jpg

Mosrite2_zpsb791e2bb.jpg

Mosrite3_zpsb384e333.jpg

Mosrite4_zps5993c652.jpg

Mosrite5_zpsca9b7ffb.jpg

Mosrite6_zps9687af2a.jpg

Mosrite7_zps1ffb61b1.jpg
 

renderit

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 19, 2009
Messages
10,951
Were the tops on those really Masonite™? That was always the rumor.
 

Texas Blues

Active member
Joined
Apr 13, 2008
Messages
4,641
Oh damn that brings back memories!

Just out of high school I started playing guitar and had a POS Victoria with the strings about an inch off the fretboard.

I was hot after this gal that my family knew and went to church with.

She was dating a dude that had a blue burst Mossy just like that.

After she saw what I was playing vs. that Mosrite I went down in flames.

Too cool guitar.



True story.
 

ppgf

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 11, 2014
Messages
688
absolutely beautiful guitar.

on my short list.
I have a funny feeling that I'm just about the only person here who loves Mosrites. If not, here is one of the classics, a late 1963 Mosrite Ventures.

Originally, this design was made as the Joe Maphis Model, but in 1963, a session player named Gene Moles lent his new Mosrite Joe Maphis Model to Nokie Edwards of the Ventures. The Ventures had decided that they wanted to have signature instruments made by someone, and Nokie loved Gene's guitar, so he approached Semie Moseley at the Mosrite "factory", which was actually a tin shack in Bakersfield.

Semie took the endorsement. The Ventures invested a tremendous amount of capital into Mosrite, allowing him to build a real factory, and the Mosrite Joe Maphis Model became the Mosrite Ventures Model. The first 30 or so guitars shipped in late 1963 and, like 1954 Strats, have somewhat inconsistent features.

This example (Serial #0025) is fairly late in the run and has a set neck (normal for the model until spring of '64) with a metal plate bolted on a la Fender, perhaps to strengthen the neck joint. This particular arrangement is only seen on a few guitars in the 002X series, from what I can tell...

Mosrite1_zps1353e2a8.jpg

Mosrite2_zpsb791e2bb.jpg

Mosrite3_zpsb384e333.jpg

Mosrite4_zps5993c652.jpg

Mosrite5_zpsca9b7ffb.jpg

Mosrite6_zps9687af2a.jpg

Mosrite7_zps1ffb61b1.jpg
 

Three13

Member
Joined
May 7, 2011
Messages
852
Here's a rare one - a Joe Maphis Model II. I think there are two or three of these known.

mosfull_zps9c9fd074.jpg

mosbodya_zps5ddfe2df.jpg

mosbackfull_zps71a8465b.jpg

moshstock_zps01693a37.jpg
 

mingus

Active member
Joined
Apr 3, 2006
Messages
4,243
I have very little direct experience with these and only handled/played a handful at guitar shows and Sunset Strip vintage shops over the years. They are definitely cool looking and having grown up in Southern Ca, they've always seemed to be around. What other electric guitar do they most sound like?
 

Russ

Member
Joined
May 11, 2004
Messages
311
What a coincidence...this just found me yesterday!
’68 Joe Maphis model
64f8dd7bf82461f3ce7a8346103bbb0c_zps192e76e0.jpg

5811436e54824b351b5d2842c0b6f5d5_zps836c4d55.jpg
 

chuckNC

New member
Joined
Apr 24, 2012
Messages
1,261
What a coincidence...this just found me yesterday!
’68 Joe Maphis model
64f8dd7bf82461f3ce7a8346103bbb0c_zps192e76e0.jpg

5811436e54824b351b5d2842c0b6f5d5_zps836c4d55.jpg
That's a nice, even top on that one, Russ! They're almost always 2-piece, and often very noticeably so. Are you having fun with it?



What other electric guitar do they most sound like?
I will be corrected by someone with different ears, perhaps, but I'd say they sound like P90 guitars but with some extra high-end harmonic zing. They have a woody sound to me but with a lot of harmonic "hair" to the note. I'm fishing around for words here, as you can see. The bridge pickup is capable of some really gnarly tones when overdriving an amp.

I always want to rock out on these guitars but you can't get too carried away in the string-bending department unless you refret 'em. And still, the necks are thin and narrow, as you probably already know.
 
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