#Mosrite celebrity serial numbers series#

All of the models became 'Mark' series guitars after the endorsement deal with the Ventures terminated in 1967. Then everything seemed to fall apart, with Mosrite filing for bankruptcy on Valentine's day 1969 - things were never the same again.īy the late '60s Mosrite was making many models including the Ventures model, the Ventures II and V, and a Ventures model bass. Having turned down a deal with Sears and Roebuck, Co., Semie signed a deal with the Thomas Organ Company. Although their guitars were selling well in both America and Japan, things started to go wrong and within two years Mosrite would suffer the first of many closures. This was the first nail in the Mosrite coffin. In 1967 the Ventures distribution deal ended and the Ventures logo disappeared from all headstocks. These guitars had less expensive appointments although most of the hardware was identical to the higher end Ventures model. The German carve Mark II and Mark V are identical guitars that were offered at the same time, although the serial numbering up to around B700 seem to be Mark IIs and after that Mark Vs. After the slab body Mark II was dropped (apparently Semie thought it looked too cheap) the Mark V with the German carve was offered as a Mark II with the later headstock decal applied. One was the tremolo unit of folded chrome steel with the arm coming out between the D and G strings and the other was the use of thinner pickups with no pole pieces. These had two distinct features seen only on that particular model (and a couple of crossover German carve guitars). The slab body Mark II was a very short lived model with production figures estimated at somewhere between 140 and 180 being made in mid-1965. The original and most collectable Ventures model, the Ventures model II, like the one Johnny Ramone played with a slab body and no German carve, and the Mark V. Most early Mosrites have a truss rod adjustment at the headstock, but by late '66 all models featured this trait, along with a plastic truss rod cover.Īt this time, there were three different models. Semie insisted on sanding down the frets to make them extremely small and low calling it 'speed fretting'. Mosrite necks were very thin and made from two or three pieces of rock maple. Also around this time the string guide was changed to a 1/4 round unit. In '66 the knobs were changed again to something very similar, but taller and without the V and T lettering embossed on them. Volume and tone knobs were changed to a 'hat type' with an 'M' stamped on top and are numbered from 1 to 5 and lettered with a T and V, for tone and volume, respectively. The mute mechanism had long since disappeared. Later, Jimi Hendrix would artistically craft his music using a Fuzzrite pedal.īy 1965, the Vibramute vibrato unit was modified to a die cast with the name Moseley embossed on it with a serial number. These 'combos' were released later as a Joe Maphis model, but without F-shaped sound holes.Īround this same time, guitarists began to use Mosrite's new Fuzzrite effects pedal designed by Semie's friend Ed Sanner and solid state amplifiers. One owner Semie Moseley's experiments included: reintroducing twin neck guitars, known as the Joe Maphis twin neck model, although it differed considerably from the original '50s Joe Maphis double-neck.ĭuring the '60s, Mosrite built various Ventures model guitars and basses, semi-acoustic Celebrity models in three different versions, a bass model, and a 'fake' semi-solid body known as a 'combo.' The body of the guitar was made from solid wood and had the front hollowed out and another piece of wood glued on, like a Rickenbacker guitar. Riding the wave of surf music popularity and a marketing boost from an endorsement by the then wildly popular instrumental group, The Ventures, Moseley would find a measure of success and offer guitarists some of the most beautiful instruments on the market at the time until subsequent business ills would eventually force him to close shop.ĭuring the early to mid '60s, the Mosrite company began to do extremely well and started experimenting with different types of guitars, effects pedals and amps. Part Two of Modern Guitars Magazine's coverage of the history of the Mosrite guitar company highlights the many models Mosrite owner Semie Moseley created in the '60s and '70s, along with his entry into amplifiers and special effects.

Mosrite celebrity serial numbers