1. Mosrite Bass Serial Numbers
2. Mosrite Bass Serial Numbers And Dates

The Mosrite Story
The first Mosrite Ventures model prototypes were built here, as were several double-necks and more standard 'Tele'-shaped single-necks, still with mainly hand-made parts as in the beginning Semie did everything himself. He would later move to a cement block building on Kern Street in Oildale and then to Bakersfield, California. The Bakersfield location would give rise to his association with the now famous honky tonk, 'Bakersfield Sound', known for its country western twangers.

Like I said, I'd need some pics, but the desription (no of California) and the serial number point to it being Japanese. It is most probably a copy of a Mosrite Combo from your description, which wasn't made by Mosrite until 1965. Please feel free to e-mail questions and pics to me at tim@tymguitars.com.au See ya, Tim.

• Like I said, I'd need some pics, but the desription (no of California) and the serial number point to it being Japanese. It is most probably a copy of a Mosrite Combo from your description, which wasn't made by Mosrite until 1965. Please feel free to e-mail questions and pics to me at tim@tymguitars.com.au See ya.
• Mosrite is an American guitar manufacturing company, based in Bakersfield, California, from the late 1950s to the early 1990s.Founded by Semie Moseley, Mosrite guitars were played by many rock and roll and country artists. Mosrite guitars were known for innovative design, high-quality engineering, very thin, low-fretted and narrow necks, and extremely hot (high output) pickups.
• Mosrite Scroll Bass with Downturned Heads RARE '1' of a kind-NonProfit Org Up for sale is a RARE prototype Mosrite Stradette Bass. A unique and the only example in the world of a Mosrite Stradette Bass with a sculpted body design, unique gold tone, and heads from noted Luthier Bill Gruggett.

These were challenging times for Semie. In the winter is was bitterly cold and he would burn wood cuts and shavings from guitar remnants in a 44-gallon drum to keep warm. He had no money and wanted to start a guitar manufacturing company but could not get financed.
This is one of the Ventures prototypes from the late '50s with bound body and set neck. As you can see, the guitar is close to the final early 'production' model, but with a few small exceptions. The symmetrical headstock says 'Joe Maphis model by Mosrite of California' as the Ventures deal hadn't been worked out yet. This guitar also has what was to become known as the 'mistake plate' around the vibrato. Semie had set the neck too shallow and needed to recess the unit into the body, necessitating a plate to hide the mistake.

Enter the Ventures
Semie had built a guitar that he lent to Nokie Edwards of the Ventures to use on some recording sessions. This was to change everything! Nokie bought a guitar from Semie and, within a year, an endorsement deal with the Ventures would make Mosrite a household name, at least in the surf/instrumental guitar world.
It was probably Nokie who made the Mosrite name famous. Nokie was the lead guitarist for the Ventures, an instrumental group, and by 1962 the entire band was playing Mosrites on songs like 'Walk Don't Run' and the theme from 'Hawaii 5-O'. The back of one of their albums read, 'Guitars courtesy of Mosrite Distributing Corporation'. That was enough to start the ball rolling and soon Mosrite had substantial orders from dealers, which signaled the start of Mosrite's heyday. Initially building 20-30 guitars a month, the orders kept coming in and Mosrite was on its way to becoming a credible American guitar manufacturer.
At the peak of production in 1968, Semie, his brother Andy and their crew of 107 employees, were making about 600 guitars a month - acoustics, standard electrics, double-necks, triple-necks, and basses. They were also producing effects pedals, amplifiers, Dobros (which Mosrite bought in 1966), and Melobar slide guitars, which Semie was making for the Melobar company. The most popular Mosrites were the Ventures models and today, when guitarists talk about Mosrites, they are usually referring to the models shown on Ventures' albums.

The '60s and '70s
During 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. 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.
During 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. These 'combos' were released later as a Joe Maphis model, but without F-shaped sound holes.
Around this same time, guitarists began to use Mosrite's new Fuzzrite effects pedal designed by Semie's friend Ed Sanner and solid state amplifiers. Later, Jimi Hendrix would artistically craft his music using a Fuzzrite pedal.
By 1965, the Vibramute vibrato unit was modified to a die cast with the name Moseley embossed on it with a serial number. The mute mechanism had long since disappeared. 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.
In '66 the knobs were changed again to something very similar, but taller and without the V and T lettering embossed on them. Also around this time the string guide was changed to a 1/4 round unit.
Mosrite necks were very thin and made from two or three pieces of rock maple. Semie insisted on sanding down the frets to make them extremely small and low calling it 'speed fretting'. 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.
At this time, there were three different models. 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.
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. These had two distinct features seen only on that particular model (and a couple of crossover German carve guitars). 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. 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.
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. These guitars had less expensive appointments although most of the hardware was identical to the higher end Ventures model.
In 1967 the Ventures distribution deal ended and the Ventures logo disappeared from all headstocks. This was the first nail in the Mosrite coffin. 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.
Having turned down a deal with Sears and Roebuck, Co., Semie signed a deal with the Thomas Organ Company. Then everything seemed to fall apart, with Mosrite filing for bankruptcy on Valentine's day 1969 - things were never the same again.

Into the '70s
By the late '60s Mosrite was making many models including the Ventures model, the Ventures II and V, and a Ventures model bass. All of the models became 'Mark' series guitars after the endorsement deal with the Ventures terminated in 1967.
Mosrite also offered the semi-solid Combo and Joe Maphis models as a six-string and a bass, the semi-acoustic Celebrity in guitar and bass and the Joe Maphis twin neck model with 6/12 stringed configurations. After the deal with the Ventures collapsed in '67 the 'Mark' series was identical in construction to the Ventures guitars, except for the logo on the headstock and a serial number starting without a 'V' prefix soon after the Ventures logo stopped being applied. All six string guitars were offered in twelve string.
Other interesting guitars of the mid to late '60s included three different acoustic models and four different Dobro's that included a Celebrity semi-acoustic with a resonator cone called the Californian. Moseley lost the rights to the Californian name when he lost the company in 1969.
The late '60s and early '70s were bad times for the company compared to its heydays of the early and mid '60s. Misfortune resulted in Semie losing the Mosrite name and the rights to his guitars. Always driven, Semie began to make his guitars under the 'Gospel' name. In fact, in some cases Mosrites have turned up with Mosrite logos under the Gospel plate screwed to the headstock! Models that were available as Mosrites could be bought as Gospels.
Semie bought the name Mosrite back in late 1970 and started fresh with many new ideas and old favorites. Mosrites like the Bluesbender and 350 had been prototyped in the late '60s before Mosrite closed, but it wasn't until Semie opened back up in Bakersfield, California in early '71 that these models were produced.
The 1970s was an experimental era for Semie when he introduced models like the Brassrail which literally had a brass rail running down the fretboard from the nut connecting the frets together, all the way to the bridge. The brassrail idea was Semie's innovative attempt to make a guitar with superior sustain. A deluxe version was also offered and had a unique changeable electronics package that would alter the sound of the guitar, accessed through a brass plate on the back of the guitar.
The Bluesbender was similar to the Brassrail but had a bolt on neck without the rail. The models were very Les Paul in shape with a carved top and stop tailpiece. The Bluesbender is a remarkable guitar to play even today.
At this time, Semie also offered the 300 mono and 350 mono and stereo models. They had the same body shape, similar to the single cutaway Fender Telecaster, with the 300 mono a single pickup guitar and the 350 having two pickups and stereo outputs.
The Celebrity was still being made in the form of the Celebrity II and III with small numbers of Celebrity I full depth body guitars being made to order. The Combo was changed to the Joe Maphis model with no F-hole. Both guitars offered standard Mosrite hardware bought over from the '60s, except the firm now offered humbuckers on all models. The pickups were encased in the original single coil covers, but had two rows of pole pieces, one drilled right through the Mosrite of California embossing!
Also seen for the first time on production models was phase switching and very complicated electronics built into the Brassrail Deluxe.
In '73 Semie made some Acoustic Black Widows for the Acoustic guitar and amp company. Most were produced in Japan, except for the last 200 or so. The homegrown Black Widows are easy to identify as they're adorned with many Mosrite parts and very Mosrite-type necks. As the name suggests, the Black Widows were all black, except for a large red pad on the back. The Widows were offered as both six-strings and basses, but since Semie never kept detailed records, the number of Black Widows built is unknown.
As luck would have it, the 300 and 350 models sold reasonably well and Semie was able to recruit employees and begin to run a newer, yet smaller guitar company. Sales catalogues also show Celebrity guitars with flame maple tops and humbuckers and also Dobro style guitars available throughout the '70s.
Semie continued on through the '70s with innovative and brilliant designs, but people kept longing for the return of his popular Ventures model to make a comeback. Semie did make small numbers of Ventures shaped models, especially in the early '70s but was trying to make a name for himself as both a luthier and guitar designer who had more to offer the guitar world, and he did.
The 1970s were very lean years for Semie and Mosrite and he took some time off from guitar building to record and head out on gospel tours. It was a chance meeting in the early 1980s that would recharge Moseley and bring Mosrite back to the world of guitars.

Into the '80s
Mosrite at Jonas Ridge, NCAfter moving the factory from Oklahoma City in ’76 to Yuba City, California in ’77, then to Carson City, Nevada in ’79 and later to an old school building in Jonas Ridge, North Carolina in 1981, Mosrite production picked up again thanks to orders from Japan.
A chance meeting with a Japanese Mosrite enthusiast at a guitar show insured that owner of Mosrite guitars, Semie Moseley, could start making bigger production runs again, thanks to the financial input for (unofficial) Ventures model reproductions. However, after building 300 guitars of the 700 guitar order, in November 1983 the factory burned down. Semie had little insurance on the building, so production had to shut down yet again. Above is a photo of the Mosrite factory at Jonas Ridge, NC, as it stands today.
Details around this time are sketchy, but Semie continued to build Mosrites on a custom basis at a building in Morganton, North Carolina. Production was fairly small through the ‘80s until the new factory was eventually set up in an old Wal-Mart building in Boonville, Arkansas on March 9, 1991.
V88During this period in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s Semie made Venture model “reissues”, including copies of the early ’63 sidejack, set neck guitars and the new V88 and M88. The V88’s were Ventures reissues with Mosrite 1988 on the headstock and like most Mosrites throughout the ‘80s were signed by Semie either on the back of the headstock or the back of the neck – sometimes both. As was the M88 which was a Ventures model shape with no scratch plate or German carve. In 1987, Mosrite also built the 25th Anniversary Ventures model. This was a Ventures reproduction with a metallic silver body and “sunburst” black and silver scratchplate with an “M” embossed into it. Only 7 were finished of the originally planned 25 guitars.
Mosrite was back and the number of models were increasing quickly. Vibramute vibratos were back on most Ventures shaped models with a rarer Semie Moselely labeled Vibramute appearing on some guitars thoughout the ‘80s and ‘90s, as shown below.
During the 1980s, there were quite a few Ventures shaped guitars being made with and without German carves and scratch plates. The VII and VIII carve top models with no scratch plate were made around 1984 until the end of the ‘80s.
V88 VibramuteOne guitar was made in 1989 when the State of Arkansas helped Semie move to Leachville, Arkansas. But then political action by unbelievers in Arkansas failed to follow through with financing. Semie returned to Jonas Ridge, North Carolina.
In 1991 the State of Arkansas put money up for Semie to relocate Mosrite to Boonvile, Arkansas. There Semie would have been very successful, even though he had recently had a car accident that took his leg (It was reattached!), but things were looking up for the business. He had 15 employees that had built Gretsch guitars.
V88 HeadstockUnfortunately, tragedy struck again three months after the move when Semie was diagnosed with multiple myaloma cancer of the bone.
Andy Moselely, Semie’s brother, went to the factory to help out after Semie died, but Loretta (Semie’s widow) had already taken charge and informed Andy that she could keep things going by herself.
There were many “new” models in the works during the early ‘90s, including a slab body Ventures shape Mosrite with the timber and aluminum hard tailpiece aimed at a cheaper market.
Mosrite Ventures ModelAlso in full production were the ’63 sidejacks, as well as ’64 and ’64 reissues using the Ventures logos. A Nokie (Nokie Edwards – Lead Guitarist, Ventures) model was made in small numbers that has become quite collectible now due to the Ventures association and the very small production run.
The last Mosrite production run to be made was in 1993 and was made up of the 30th Anniversary Nokie models. These were set neck, fully bound Ventures re-issues based on the early ’63 sidejack models.
Semie had died in August 1992. His dreams were carried on for awhile with the help of his staff and Loretta, but in 1994 everything shut down for what was maybe – hopefully not! – the last time.
[Editor's Note: Fact or urban legend? Modern Guitars confirmed with John Rutledge, Semie's General Manager during the '50s and '60s and Noke Edwards, lead guitarist for the Ventures, the story that Semie flipped a Fender Stratocaster on to its back and outlined it to arrive at the signature Mosrite Ventures model guitar.]

by Tim Brennan and Rick Landers

The Ventures
Around mid-'60s, a marriage between 'mosrite', a Rolls-Royce of electric guitars, and The Ventures, the world's greatest instrumental group, swept the whole country of Japan.The long-time dream of 'electric guitar ('eleki')' kids who then were junior or senior high school boys now has come true and they are just having fun playing 'The Ventures' tunes with their 'mosrite'. It's a genuine 'mosrite' sound that 'Guyatone' or 'Teisco' back in those days or 'Japan mosrite' could not produce.

Ventures Trivia
The Ventures have written over 1000 tunes, and recorded over 3000 songs altogether! If they ever decide to play all of the songs that they've ever recorded, it would take almost 5 days - without a break - to play them all.
· The Ventures have released over 250 albums including compilations! 37 of these have hit the US charts. Over 150 albums have been released in Japan.
· Walk, Don't Run was kept from hitting #1 by several different records, including the immortal Itsy Bittsy Teeny Weeny Yellow Polka Dot Bikini. The Ventures became the first act in the history of the music industry to hit the top ten with two different versions of the same song when Walk Don’t Run '64 hit #8. (Neil Sedaka achieved it later with a second version of Breaking Up Is Hard To Do).
· The Ventures have been together as a group for 49 years and have never taken a year off from concerts or recording.
· In addition to recording the hit version of Hawaii Five-O, The Ventures also contributed some of the incidental music heard in the background of the TV show.
· In the early 60's, the band would record 4 to 6 albums a year. At one time, they had 5 albums in the top 100 simultaneously (1963).
· In 1993 the band received the coveted Lifetime Achievement Award from Guitar Player Magazine.
· Walk, Don't Run, had already been named one of 20 Essential Rock Albums for guitarists, by Guitar Player Magazine, in 1987.
· In 1970 and 1971, the Ventures were the #1 composers in Japan. Five of their compositions hit #1 on the Japanese charts. They usually released an instrumental version of the song, while a Japanese artist would release a vocal version.
· In 1958, The Ventures released their first single, Cookies and Coke/ The Real McCoy. Despite Don Wilson's superb imitation of Walter Brennan, the record flopped. There are only two copies of this record known to exist. It took Bob and Don four or five months to save up the money to record their next record, Walk, Don't Run.
· During the 60's, The Ventures outsold the Beatles in Japan two to one.
· For the year 1965, The Ventures had five of the top ten singles in Japan, per Billboard magazine (January 1966)
· The McCoys ( of Hang on Sloopy fame) got their name from The McCoy, a Ventures original tune on the Walk Don’t Run album, although their old name, Rick (Derringer) and the Raiders, was still on their bass drum when they recorded Sloopy.
· Artists who have publicly acknowledged their musical debt to The Ventures include John Fogerty, Jimmy Page, Stanley Clarke, Steve Miller, George Harrison, the Ramones, Jeff 'Skunk' Baxter, Larry Carleton, Dire Straits, Davie Allan, Aerosmith, Marshall Crenshaw, Sir Elton John and many more.
· In September, 1962, the band released their most controversial recording, Lolita Ya-Ya, the theme from the movie Lolita. It peaked at #61 in the US. Later that year, they released The 2,000 Pound Bee, the first single recording to use a fuzz-box guitar. This song was played at (Killer Bee) John Belushi's funeral.
· Primarily known for their album success, the band had 14 top 100 singles in the 60's.
· Every LP released by the Ventures from 1961-1972 sold at least 100,000 copies. Even though Liberty Records had many hit artists (including Ricky Nelson, Bobby Vee, Sandy Nelson, Johnny Rivers, the Fifth Dimension, Cher, the Hollies, Gary Lewis and the Playboys, the Chipmunks, Jan and Dean, and numerous others), the company publicized the fact that The Ventures were responsible for over 25% of their business throughout the 60's.
· The first release in the Play Guitar with the Ventures series was the first and perhaps only musical instrument instructional album to chart. Countless young guitarists learned to play by listening to this series of albums and by playing along with regular Ventures albums.
· After surpassing 40,000,000 in record sales there, the Ventures became the first foreign members of Japan's Conservatory of Music.
· The Ventures have also placed their handprints in the Hollywood Rock Walk.
· The drummer on Walk, Don't Run was Skip Moore, not Howie Johnson as many assume. Skip was given the choice of $25 or 1/4 of the money the record would make for playing on the session. He took the 25 bucks! Another early drummer, George Babbitt, retired as a 4-star Air Force general.
· Nokie Edwards real first name is Nole. He is from Lahoma, Oklahoma, hence the 'Nokie'. He turned professional at 11 and was on the radio at 13! That’s it . . . Nole from Okie.
· Keyboardist John Durrill, who joined the group in the late 60's, formerly played with The Five Americans. He later wrote three hits for Cher. Dark Lady went to #1 for him and Cher in 1974.
· Drummer Howie Johnson left the group after a bad auto accident made travel too painful. Howie passed away in 1989.
· Drummer Mel Taylor believed that he was the first drummer ever to play bluegrass music. He also played the Hollywood Bowl the first time Country music was played there. He did session work with Gary Paxton (Alley Oop, Cherry Pie, Monster Mash, etc.), Herb Alpert, Buck Owens and others before joining the Ventures.
· Don Wilson considers himself a 'guitar flogger'. He also played lead fire extinguisher on Telstar.
· Gerry McGee played on the first two Monkees albums. The opening guitar chords on the Monkees theme song are his, as is the famous intro on Last Train to Clarksville. He has also played with Bobby Darin, Delany and Bonnie, Kris Kristofferson, Elvis, the Everly Brothers, Linda Ronstadt, Ricky Nelson, Sandy Nelson, and Jerry Lee Lewis. His father, Denus, was a pioneering Cajun fiddle player. · Bob Bogle played lead guitar on Walk Don't Run, Perfidia, Lullaby of the Leaves, Blue Moon, and a number of cuts on the first several albums. He still plays some lead, especially in the studio. The first time Bob played bass guitar was live on stage!
· Bob Reisdorf, their first producer, was in such a hurry to get their first album out, that he used some Liberty Records stockroom employees in sunglasses on the first album cover. That cover was later parodied, using the actual band members, on Walk Don't Run, Vol. 2.

Mosrite

Mosrite of California
Private
Industry	Musical instruments
Genre	Music
Founded	Los Angeles, California (1956) Bakersfield, California, United States (current headquarters)
Founder	Semie Moseley and Andy Moseley
Headquarters	Los Angeles, California (1956-1959) Oildale, California (1959-1968) Pumpkin Center, Kern County, California (1971-?) Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (mid-1970s-?) Jonas Ridge, Burke County, North Carolina (1981-1993) Leachville, Arkansas (1991-1993) United States
Worldwide
Key people	Semie Moseley and Andy Moseley
Products	Electric guitars
Website	mosriteguitars.com

Coordinates: 33°38′46″N111°53′57″W / 33.6460322°N 111.899058°W

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Mosrite is an Americanguitar manufacturing company, based in Bakersfield, California, from the late 1950s to the early 1990s. Founded by Semie Moseley, Mosrite guitars were played by many rock and roll and country artists.

Mosrite guitars were known for innovative design, high-quality engineering, very thin, low-fretted and narrow necks, and extremely hot (high output) pickups. Moseley's design for The Ventures, known as the 'Ventures Model' (later known as the 'Mark I'), was generally considered to be the flagship of the line.

• 1History
• 2List of models

History[edit]

Apprenticeship[edit]

In Bakersfield, Semie Moseley started playing guitar in an evangelical group at age 13.^[1] Semie and his brother Andy experimented with guitars from their teen-age years, refinishing instruments and building new necks.^[2]

Semie Moseley began building guitars in the Los Angeles area around 1952 or 1953. He began by apprenticing at the Rickenbacker factory, where he learned much of his guitar making skills from Roger Rossmeisl, a German immigrant who brought old-world luthier techniques into the modern electric guitar manufacturing process. One of the most recognizable features on most Mosrite guitars is the 'German Carve' on the top that Moseley learned from Rossmeisl. During the same time, Moseley apprenticed with Paul Bigsby in Downey, California, the man who made the first modern solid-body guitar for Merle Travis in 1948, and who invented the Bigsby vibrato tailpiece, which is still used today.

Mosrite founded[edit]

In 1954, Semie built a triple-neck guitar in his garage (the longest neck was a standard guitar, the second-longest neck an octave higher, the shortest was an eight-string mandolin). He presented a double-neck to Joe Maphis, a Los Angeles-area TV performer. By 1956, with an investment from Ray Boatwright, a local Los Angeles minister, Semie and Andy started their company, Mosrite of California. In gratitude to Boatwright, Moseley named the company by combining his and Boatwright's last names; the name is properly pronounced MOZE-rite, based on the pronunciation Semie Moseley used for his own name.^[3] Semie, who built guitars for the L.A.-based Rickenbacker company, said to his co-workers that he was making his own product, and he was fired by Rickenbacker.^[2]

When they began, their production was all custom, handmade guitars, built in garages, tin storage sheds, wherever the Moseleys could put equipment.^[2]

In 1959, Andy moved to Nashville, Tennessee, for a year to popularize the Mosrite name and sold a few, including to Grand Ole Opry entertainers and road musicians. Andy said: 'And that’s how we kept the factory going at the time: custom guitars'.^[2]

Moseley made guitars in Los Angeles until 1959, when he moved to Oildale, California, just north of Bakersfield.

In 1962, he moved his shop to Panama Lane where he designed and produced the first Joe Maphis model guitars, one model of which would eventually evolve into the 'Ventures model' guitar and bass (Joe Maphis would later get a model of his own, similar to a Mosrite Combo model but without the F-hole). At this time, Mosrite made everything in-house, except for the tuners.^[4]

Mosrite pickups after the 50s usually came in several ways through Mosrite's history, none with metal casing; 1: the large single coil similar to (but not the same as) a P90, 2: a cheaper version of the first pickup that showed on cheaper models (Celebrity III, Mark V,) 3: a cheaper strat-width pickup only found on the first iteration of the Ventures II and 4: a Mosrite Humbucker mostly found on some 1970s models.

The full 'The Ventures' line consisted of the Mark I, Ventures II (of several versions,) Mark V, Mark X (bass) and Mark XII (12 string). 'The Ventures' line started in 1963 and ran through 1967 when the licensing agreement with The Ventures ended.

At the peak of production, in 1968, Mosrite was making around 600 guitars per month.^[3]

Bankruptcy and restart[edit]

Mosrite of California went bankrupt in late 1968 after they contracted with the Thomas Organ Company to market their guitars. After this, they tried to deal directly with stores, and they sold 280 guitars in 1969 before they came to the shop one day and found their doors pad-locked.^[2] Two years after his bankruptcy, Semie was able to get back the Mosrite name, and in 1970 he started making guitars again in Pumpkin Center near Bakersfield. He moved his factory three times in the next 20 years, to Oklahoma City in the mid-1970s, to the township of Jonas Ridge, in Burke County, North Carolina, in 1981 (where a factory fire destroyed the operation), and to Leachville, Arkansas, in 1991.^[2] Only one guitar was produced in Leachville and is now on display at the town's Melody Theater.

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Though an acknowledged genius at guitar design and construction, Moseley lacked many basic skills necessary to be a good businessman, and thus the company fell on hard times repeatedly in the late 1960s and 1970s, but continued to produce Mosrite guitars until 1993 in North Carolina and Arkansas. Most of them were exported to Japan, where their popularity remained very strong. The quality of the instruments always remained very respectable. Semie Moseley died in 1992. His wife Loretta continued to produce Mosrites a year or so after his death, and since 2008 has been selling custom Mosrites via their website.

The company now has recently^[when?] released the Semie Moseley Model ’63 and ’65, based on the Ventures models made in those two years. Both models are made to the exact specifications as the original models; they are 100 % hand-made and were created to commemorate Semie Moseley.

Semie's daughter, Dana Moseley, is also a luthier and continues to build Mosrite guitars.^[5] She also helps kick off the monthly 'Mosrite Jam' in Bakersfield.^[6]

List of models[edit]

Note that there are exceptions to this list of models where perhaps a 1960s model has white paint for the headstock logos or a 1970s 350 model has a basswood body and maple neck instead of a mahogany body and mahogany neck. Mosrite is a company where outliers aren't unheard of.

Mosrite also used other names occasionally; 'Gospel' was often a name associated with guitars given away to churches although it was also used during Mosrite's bankruptcy period when they didn't have their Mosrite name (1969-1970,) Semie also used his last name 'Moseley' for guitars built during the same period.

1950s[edit]

• One double neck guitar built for Joe Maphis,
• A triple-neck guitar built for Semie Moseley personally,

More various guitars though none in commercial production.

1960s[edit]

Pre-1963

• Joe Maphis model — Same general body shape as the later Ventures model; This was to be Joe Maphis' model before Semie Moseley and The Ventures settled on a contract and the body shape became the Ventures model. This is not the same as the later Joe Maphis model which is similar to the Combo model.

1963-1968

• The Ventures Model — Also came as a bass and later on, A 12-string. Post Ventures, 1968 and 1969 it was named the 'Mark I'.
  The first Ventures Models came with a set neck, bound body and a large Ventures and Mosrite logo, less than 250 of these were made before settling on the standard Ventures Model sometime in 1964, without body binding and the neck became bolt on. The Mosrite logo and Ventures model logo were slightly reduced.
• Ventures Bass (AKA 'Mark X')
• Mark XII Twelve-String Guitar — Most of these have stoptails although some have tremolos.

1965

• The Ventures II ('Slab Body' Type) Model — Only built as a six-string guitar in 1965. Production started in Mid-1965 and ended several months later with small production numbers. The Slab Body was replaced with the second Ventures II design, reportedly because Semie Moseley was disappointed in this original design, thinking it looked too cheap for Mosrite. This is the model that Johnny Ramone of the Ramones was mostly known to play.

1965-1966

• The Ventures II (German Carve Body Type) Model — Replaced the earlier Ventures II; Same body design as the Mark V model. Only came as a six-string guitar. Some of these, mostly earlier models with a few exceptions, have longer pickguards than later models; the neck pickup on the long pickguard models is slightly farther from the bridge, possibly to utilize older shorter Ventures II 'Slab Body' necks. Re-named the 'Ventures Mark V' in 1966.

1965-1968/1969

• Joe Maphis models — These are similar in body shape to the later Combo model without F-holes and are painted in a natural finish. Came as:
• Mark I Six-String Guitar
• Mark X Bass
• Mark XII Twelve-String Guitar

1966-?

• Joe Maphis Dual Neck model— Two-necked guitar based on the Ventures model. Has 6 string and 12 string necks. Variants may exist.

1966-1969

• The Ventures Mark V Model — Later just named 'Mark V' after the Ventures contract ended in 1967/1968. Only sold as a six-string guitar commercially though bass prototypes were made. A battered Ink Blue version of this model was used by the B-52s' Ricky Wilson with only four strings and a custom tuning for some of their distinctive sound and was featured on the inner sleeve of their debut 'yellow' album.

• Celebrity I, Celebrity II and Celebrity III Hollow-Body Guitars — came as:

• Mark I Six-String Guitar
• Mark X Bass
• Mark XII Twelve-String Guitar

• Combo Semi-Hollow Body Guitar; came as:

• Mark I Six-String Guitar
• Mark X Bass
• Mark XII Twelve-String Guitar

Acoustic Guitars:

• Balladere 6-String Guitar.
• Serenade 6-String Guitar.

1970s[edit]

Unlike 1960s models, the 1970s marked a departure from the skinny necks; Mosrite didn't always make thin necks in the 70s.

• 300 (Telecaster-Style Body Shape, One pickup in the neck position, no German Carve) — Came as both six-string guitar and four-string bass. Came with Mosrite Humbucker Pickups. Mahogany Body and Mahogany Neck.
• 350 (Telecaster-Style Body Shape, Two pickups, no German Carve) — Came in both 'Stereo' for two output jacks and 'Mono' for one output jack. Came as six-string guitar and four-string bass. Mostly came with Mosrite Humbucker Pickups though some may exist with Mosrite single coils. Mahogany Body and Mahogany Neck, mostly (with at least one exception.)
• Blues Bender — Six-String Guitar similar in shape to a Gibson Les Paul but with typical Mosrite features; German Carve, Basswood body, Maple neck and Rosewood fretboard. Unlike 1960s Mosrite models, this model has a wider neck then 60s Mosrites and features Mosrite Humbucker pickups not found on stock 60s models.
• Celebrity — Mosrite continued production of the Celebrity models into the 70s with Mosrite Humbucker pickups.
• Mark I — Similar design of guitar as the Ventures models, minus the Ventures logo.
• Mark X — Ventures bass minus the Ventures logo.
• V2 or V II — Same body style as a Mark I or Ventures model but with Mosrite Humbuckers and more electronics.
• S.M. (Semie Moseley) Model — Six-String Guitar similar in shape to the Blues Bender and Brass Rail models. 84 or fewer are estimated to have been built and these do not have a German Carve.

1976

• Brass Rail — Six-String Guitar similar in body shape to a Gibson Les Paul with frets attached to a brass rod in the neck for sustain. Has a German Carve.
• Brass Rail Deluxe — Came with passive and active circuits and two output jacks. Has a German Carve.

An estimate of 100 Brass Rail models are estimated to have been built with the Deluxe models being scarcer, an estimate of 12 being built.

Other 70s Guitars

• Acoustic Black Widow (Electric 6 String Guitar) — Some were built by Mosrite.
• Sooner model (Electric 6 String Guitar) — Although not under the Mosrite name, these are associated with Mosrite.

1980s[edit]

This era mostly consisted of Ventures reissues and Ventures shaped models including but not limited to:

• M88
• V88

Both similar to the Ventures guitar design.

• V63

1963 Ventures Model Reissue with a bound body and neck, output jack on the side and vibramute.

1990s[edit]

• The Nokie Model — Nokie Edwards Model; Similar to the Ventures model and with smooth pickup covers.
• The Ramones Model — Ramones Model; Similar to the 1960s Ventures model. Seen in the Ramones' 'I Don't Want To Grow Up' Music Video. Has a 'Sharkfin' Pickguard, stop tailpiece and one bridge pickup. Few of these were built.

Notable users[edit]

• Kurt Cobain (of Nirvana) - Had two MK V models, one with the 'Gospel' name on the headstock; the 'Gospel' branded one often being called a 'Mark IV' though no known official nomenclature seems to support this.
• Dave Alexander (of The Stooges)
• Jerry Cantrell (of Alice in Chains) on the music video 'What the Hell Have I'^[7]
• Davie Allan (American guitarist best known for his work on soundtracks to various teen and biker movies in the 1960s and contribution in the creation of the fuzz sound for electric guitar)
• Erik Brann (of Iron Butterfly)
• Toulouse Engelhardt (American Finger style Guitarist who records exclusively with Mosrite Guitars.)
• Glen Campbell (American country music singer, guitarist, television host, and occasional actor)
• Kevin Shields (of My Bloody Valentine)
• Brian Causey (of Man or Astro-man?)
• Larry Collins (of The Collins Kids)
• Lee Dorman (of Iron Butterfly)
• Art Greenhaw (American bassist, multi-instrumentalist and manager for The Light Crust Doughboys, recording artist, producer and mixing engineer)^[8]
• Susumu Hirasawa (Japanese music artist and composer)
• Johnny & The Hurricanes (American instrumental rock and roll band from Toledo, Ohio, 1957-2005)
• Koichi Kawasaki (Guitarist of the band apart. A big fun of Mosrite, who has Mark I, Mark IV and 4 other models^[9].)
• Yūzō Kayama (Japanese instrumental guitarist)
• Joe Maphis (one of the flashiest American country guitarists of the 1950s and 1960s)^[4]
• Efrim Menuck when playing with A Silver Mt. Zion
• C.J. Ramone (of Ramones)
• Johnny Ramone (of Ramones)^[4] (mostly known to play Ventures II Slab Body models though he had other Mosrite guitars)
• Fred 'Sonic' Smith (American guitarist, best known as a member of the band MC5)
• Takeshi Terauchi (Japanese instrumental guitarist)
• The Ventures (American instrumental rock & surf rock band formed in 1958)
• Love (American rock & folk-rock band which started playing in Los Angeles clubs in 1965. On the reverse of their 1966 album Da Capo, an endorsement statement appears: 'Love plays Mosrite guitars and uses Vox amplifiers')
• Robert Smith (of The Cure) - Robert occasionally uses a black Joe Maphis Model 1 Mosrite guitar during live performances, such as 'The Kiss'^[10]
• Ricky Wilson (of The B-52's) - known to have played Mosrite guitars in early recordings with unusual tunings, like 'Rock Lobster'^[11]
• Kevn Kenney (of Drivin N Cryin) - American singer-songwriter plays Mosrite guitars. He can be seen playing a Mosrite in the DnC video 'Can't Promise You the World'.^[12]

References[edit]

1. ^Thompson, Art, 'Mosrite 40th Anniversary', Guitar Player magazine, January 2007.
2. ^ ^abcdefPrice, Robert, 'The Man Behind the Mosrite' (archived 2008 copy), The Bakersfield Californian. Has biographical notes on Semie Moseley.
3. ^ ^abRoberts, James H. (2003). American basses: an illustrated history & player's guide. Hal Leonard. p. 128. ISBN978-0-87930-721-9.
4. ^ ^abcHunter, Dave (2006). The Electric Guitar Sourcebook: How to Find the Sounds You Like. Hal Leonard. pp. 67–68. ISBN978-0-87930-886-5.
5. ^Roman, Ed. 'Mosrite Guitars - Dana Moseley of Moseley Family'. Edroman.com. Retrieved 3 October 2018.
6. ^Munoz, Matt, 'Mos-rite-teous! Lovers of Bakersfield guitar ready to jam'Archived 2011-02-13 at the Wayback Machine, Bakotopia.com, Wednesday, Feb 17 2010
7. ^'Alice In Chains - What the Hell Have I'. YouTube. Retrieved May 3, 2018.
8. ^Album liner notes, Grammy Award winning album We Called Him Mr. Gospel Music: The James Blackwood Tribute Album, various credits to the Mosrite guitars of Art Greenhaw
9. ^https://asiangothic.org/diary/2017/08/03/857
10. ^'Equip Board'. Austin, TX: Equip Board. Retrieved 2019-07-14.
11. ^'Mosrite Guitars'. Las Vegas, NV: Mosrite Guitars. Retrieved 2014-07-29. Mosrite is an American guitar manufacturing company, Originally based in Bakersfield, California in 1952. .. Today it does all of its American Manufacturing in Las Vegas, NV. Imports are strictly Japanese by Japan's best guitar factory 'Tokai'. Founded by Semie Moseley, Mosrite guitars were played by many rock and roll and country artists such as ..
12. ^DrivinAndCryinVEVO (8 October 2009). 'Drivin' N' Cryin' - Can't Promise You The World'. YouTube. Retrieved 3 October 2018.

Further reading[edit]

• Landers, Rick; Brennan, Tim, 'The Story of Mosrite Guitars, Part One'. Modern Guitars magazine, January 18, 2005
• Price, Robert, 'The Man Behind the Mosrite' (archived 2008 copy), The Bakersfield Californian. Has biographical notes on Semie Moseley.

Mosrite Bass Serial Numbers

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mosrite.

• http://www.edroman.com/guitars/mosrite.htm Genuine Mosrite Guitars and parts
• The Mosrite Gospel guitar, North American Instruments, 2000. With some personal notes on its builder.
• 'Mosrite History', Tym Guitars, Australia.
• Mosrite Guitars, 'Mosrite Guitars at Front Porch Music', California
• 'Mosrite Forum' (Fan site for Mosrite enthusiasts)
• 'Mosrite Celebrity' (Fan site for the Mosrite Celebrity models)
• Andy Moseley Interview - NAMM Oral History Program, 2012

Mosrite Bass Serial Numbers And Dates