The Story of Mosrite Guitars, Part Two

by Tim Brennan

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.

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.

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.

In Part Three of the Mosrite Story we'll follow Semie through the '80s and the story's conclusion.

Related Articles
The Story of Mosrite Guitars, Part Three
The Story of Mosrite Guitars, Part One

Contact Information
Company: Tym's Guitars
Contact: Tim Brennan
Address and hours: 33 Fern Street, Buranda, QLD, Australia. 4102 Tues.-Fri., 9am-6pm
Telephone: +1 61 7 3891 2185 (Australia)
Website: www.tymguitars.com.au