I'm kind of surprised at how many people chose Mosrites. I wonder how many of them play Mosrites, and of them how many are a non-reissue/copy of a Mosrite. I'm curious because I hear they are notoriously poorly made and the playability is hard to get used to. Also, I cannot readily pick out a Mosrite on any recordings. Perhaps because I've never played one of actual vintage or decent reissue. I rarely see Mosrites out there these days in surf bands. I can think of our own Lava Rat Bill and Mike of the Nebulas. Granted it is a little early to be thinking of such things.

JakeDobner
I'm kind of surprised at how many people chose Mosrites. I wonder how many of them play Mosrites, and of them how many are a non-reissue/copy of a Mosrite. I'm curious because I hear they are notoriously poorly made and the playability is hard to get used to. Also, I cannot readily pick out a Mosrite on any recordings. Perhaps because I've never played one of actual vintage or decent reissue. I rarely see Mosrites out there these days in surf bands. I can think of our own Lava Rat Bill and Mike of the Nebulas. Granted it is a little early to be thinking of such things.

Jake,
Speaking solely for myself, I chose a Mosrite for the tone alone. I have a Jag and a JM along with a bevvy of other guitars that are very surf-friendly, but I've found a few things, so I'll try to address point-by-point rather than a long ramble...

• On the Mosrite tone -- there's something about the tight wound "hot" sounding pickups on a Mosrite. I've found that when I play a Mosrite, I get a bit more guitar in the mix, yet still maintain all my reverb sound as well. It just seems to "bite" more than fenders.
  

• On the choice of a Mosrite as my primary axe -- as you said, there aren't a ton of other bands out there playing Mosrites these days, and I find that when I play my Fenders strung with flats through my tank and my Showman, I tended to sound a bit more like a lot of the other bands out there. There's a distinctive sound, a slightly less... polite tone with the Mosrite that I love.
  

• On Mosrite quality -- I love mine. LOOOOVE it. I have played it almost non stop for the last three years (first public show with it was Halloween of '03). I have never had a single technical problem with the guitar at all. Granted, I do a little more work to keep the roller bridge rolling when I change strings, but I sweat like a monkey on stage (not to mention smelling like one), and all that sweat on the bridge causes a decent amount of corrosion. Not to mention the fact that even when stored, my guitars are in the salt air of SF, about 10 min from the Pacific Ocean. I will also say that my Fender bridges get corroded too; oddly, the American corrodes much more than the Jap. Don't ask me why.
  

• On vintage vs. reissue -- Mine is a reissue. Japanese. Grey market - meaning they were not completely "illegal" per se, but they do say "Ventures of California" on the headstock without and express written consent. It's part of the "excellent" line that was available through Zamm, though I got mine on ebay. I've played a handful of vintage ones, and even had one pass my workbench back when I worked at a music shop. Those ones are FAR more unreliable. The necks are thinner -- almost uncomfortably so -- and they are somewhat "inconsistent" in tone, meaning no single one sounds just like the other. If given the choice, at the same price, I'd take a reissue over a vintage one (except for the re-sale aspect, of course).
  

• On playability -- I've never played a smoother, more comfortable guitar. I find the carved German top gives me a much more natural feel when resting my arm on the guitar. With my JM in particular, I feel at times like I'm reaching around the guitar, rather than having it in a natural area. They're thin guitars as well, much moreso than Fenders, and there's the whole neck issue. Also, the trem systems, more or less a bastardized Bigsby, works great for me, though due to the spring strength and thinness of the neck, I have had to stick with lighter gauge strings (10s, round), but I'm sure if I really desired it, I could get it set up for heavier strings. I just don't want to because the damn thing plays so well the way it is set right now.
  

Marty Tippens knows WAAAAAY more about Mosrites than I ever could hope to, so he's really the one to talk to, but I know when I told my guitar tech that I was getting a Mosrite, he asked me "what in the hell for?", and gave reasons similar to the points you'd brought up. But in my opinion, they're fine guitars. You just have to find the right one for your needs.

~B~

Any time,
Just give me a cup of coffee and a laptop, and I'll tap away like Fred Astaire.

~B~

stupid question.......
is mosrite pronounced 'moss' rite or 'mose' rite?

www.surfintheeye.com

Johnny,

Here's the '65 Ventures model Mosrite (s/n 2700) I sold a couple months back. Pearl white with tortoise guard, near mint condition:

http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j211/jackb911/DSCN0322.jpg
http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j211/jackb911/Mosrite1.jpg

It was one of those "someone made me an offer I couldn't refuse" deals. And it didn't go to Japan, thankfully!

Jack Booth
(aka WoodyJ)

The Mariners (1964-68, 1996-2005)
The Hula Hounds (1996-current)
The X-Rays (1997-2004)
The Surge! (2004, 2011-2012)
Various non-surf bands that actually made money (1978-1990)

Last edited: Nov 03, 2006 09:34:53

WaimeaBay..
that feeling is well understood.. I use to be able to pick up Ventures models for well under a grand.. those days are long gone.. it's just that I've been collecting these things over "many centuries"

I redid the photos, but now you have to click on a Photobucket link. Also added a shot that shows the tortoise guard a little bit better.

The tortoise guard on mine was so dark that it often looked black in photos.

Jack Booth
(aka WoodyJ)

The Mariners (1964-68, 1996-2005)
The Hula Hounds (1996-current)
The X-Rays (1997-2004)
The Surge! (2004, 2011-2012)
Various non-surf bands that actually made money (1978-1990)

What about the Dearmond MT-77? It's a Guild Bluebird copy with an LP-like single cut chambered body, Dearmond Dynasonic-like single coil PU's and a Bigsby. It has amazing tone, very "gretsch" sounding. Out of production since Fender bought Dearmond. picked one up in Tennessee orange just after they stop producing them about 4 years ago.

Anyone seen any surf player using the Dearmond/Guild MT-77?

g

We played a show with the Two Timin' Three a few weeks ago and their guitarist has a Dearmond M75, which I believe isa pretty cheap instrument, and he made it sound like a million bucks. I could not believe how good this guitar sounded in this guys hands.

"as he stepped into the stealthy night air... little did he know the fire escape was not there"

https://www.facebook.com/reluctantaquanauts/
https://www.facebook.com/TheDragstripVipers/

krupanut

BillAqua
We played a show with the Two Timin' Three a few weeks ago and their guitarist has a Dearmond M75, which I believe isa pretty cheap instrument, and he made it sound like a million bucks. I could not believe how good this guitar sounded in this guys hands.

Yeah Bill, I think you could put a cigar box with a couple nails a broom stick and twine in Jeffs hands and it would sound killer!

Bobby Horton has one and it sounds great too.
Jeff was just telling me last night that he's not happy with the dynasonic in the neck position.
He says it's mushey with no bass punch.
He's thinking of trying a p-90.

Btw, those guys are all raving about the Aquanauts

Well Two Timin' Three about one of the best "newer" bands I've heard.
I couldn't believe that Jeff's had the stock pickups in it, I guess he said he had tried a few of those out and not all of them were so great. I'm thinking if the Starfire copy is put together as well as that model it might make a decent Frat rock guitar.

"as he stepped into the stealthy night air... little did he know the fire escape was not there"

https://www.facebook.com/reluctantaquanauts/
https://www.facebook.com/TheDragstripVipers/