I'm basing this on second hand info, but from what I've heard (mostly from the Hypnotic IV fellas), the Tym guitar ones are shite. They are heavy as a ton of bricks and don't stay in tune for more than a song or two. I have never laid hands on one, so I can't say for sure, but I figure I'd save people a bit of mental gymnastics over that one.

~B~

drumuitar

JakeDobner
The Hi-Flyer I've played is one of the worst guitars of all-time. I've never played the Sidejack though. I really hate the carve on the top of the guitar though. Its repulsive.

None of these are Mosrites. They are just cheap copies that don't look right.

As for the Wilson Brothers. Why do we consider these Mosrite copies? Even if flipped upside down they don't look right. Reminds me more of a strat copy save for the hardware.

The best looking copy is the Excellent which everybody considers a Mosrite. The next best in my opinion is the Dillion. Which still isn't a Mosrite no matter how much you want it to be.

The Hi-Flyer is a copy of the Univox Hi-Flyer, not a Mosrite. You can say that the Univox is a Mosrite knockoff but there are several differences that lend itself to being a totally different guitar. I have a Wilson Bros and they are EXCELLENT guitars. The body shape is more symmetrical and the necks aren't like pencils, so it also isn't meant to be a direct copy of the Mosrites. Considering that Don Wilson and Nokie Edwards didn't care for Mosrites, you shouldn't expect them to be exact copies.

Your'e HALF right.. Don Wilson didn't care for Mosrites. Nokie Edwards MOST DEFINITELY DID! He got the Ventures/Mosrite endorsement going.. Nokie played a Mosrite well into the 90s - it's there on video... He was at Moseleys's bedside when he passed away.

FlowmasterG_
Marty is my bandmate and the first to recognize that Mosrites are generally difficult to play, unfriendly guitars. It's one thing to collect the things because they have "The Ventures" logo on the headstock, another to actually do regular paying gigs with them.

It has nothing to do with price/value. I have giged-out many times with my $6,000 1962 Gretsch 6120 without any remorse. Guitars are made to be played.

Also..since when are Mosrites in ANY WAY related to trad surf? We have very serious trad surf bands in LA, none play Mosrites maybe because Mosrites were never really connected with first-wave surf music in the first place. If The Ventures (not even a "surf" band themselves...certainly not in their "Mosrite" period) had not endorsed them for a tiny fraction of their late career, we would not even be having this conversation, now would we?

I really don't want to be bashing a guitar. All guitars are fantastic; I just think there's a lot of cult-like hype about this particular "holy grail" which to me is more like "the emperor has no clothes". I own one, I can actually really play guitar, and this is my personal experience.
g

Hey Flowmaster,
I'm not trying to knock your opinion, or say that Mosrites are the be-all and end-all guitars for surf. I know a lot of people think they're crap. I will also agree with you 100% that pretty much all of the really trad. sounding surf bands do NOT use Mosrites. Hell, also wholeheartedly agree that The Ventures are not a surf band. I was just bringing to light the fact that there are some of us out here that are really into them, and really like the way they play and sound. Id' say all the bands I associate with Mosrites (Hypnotic IV, The Lava Rats, The Infrareds, CHUM, The Nebulas) are far from trad. sounding. They just work for us.
I for one really like them, but think that the prices that they are going for are absolutley insane. Hell, I wish that people didn't like them as much, maybe then I could possibly afford a vintage one someday on a subsitute teacher's joke of a salary. But right now, because of that "holy grail" stigma that goes with Mosrites, I have to content with my Excellent, which I happen to like very much.

Still serious about selling yours? I've been running through a mental list of gear that I could sell to offset the cost, and I think I can swing it. Shoot me a PM if you are indeed interested, and we can get a deal going.

Thanks,
~B~

JakeDobner
The next best in my opinion is the Dillion. Which still isn't a Mosrite no matter how much you want it to be.

True, dat. But it's a pretty decent guitar, standing on it's own two feet. I just picked one up, here's my review:

Well, kiddies, I've been jonesing for a Mosrite "The Ventures" guitar since I was 17 and bought the B-52's debut album...and on the inner sleeve (they came with vinyl records, for you youngsters out there...the record came in an inner sleeve that was stuck inside the outer sleeve) was a pic of a beat up Mosrite "The Ventures" guitar with a strap crudely duct-taped to it.

I looked for one for years, and by the time I actually found one, the value on them had climbed into the stratosphere. Just check out Ebay for an ORIGINAL 60's Mosrite guitar...not a Jap reissue, which is as good as a copy, but one made by Semie Moseley's Mosrite factory or Semie himself.

Apart from the Ventures and the B-52's and others, the Ramones were also fond of Mosrite guitars. It's signature looks sort of inspired every kooky looking Saturday Morning Cartoon guitar to ever grace the airwaves.

Knockoffs of this guitar have been around as long as the guitar has. Probably most famous was the Univox Hi-Flyer, one of many japocasters that Kurt Cobain was known to sling around his neck. Unfortunately, the Hi-Flyer is a piece of crap, and cracks at the neck joint are common.

In recent years, several other guitar mfg's have had a whack at this including Guitar Punk, Wosrite, Jay Turser, Eastwood (two models), Robin, probably more. But none have been as accurate looking and have gotten the reviews from players such as the Dillion DMG-75.

I ordered up a very lightly used one off of Ebay and paid $300, plus it came with a Coffin gig bag. The dood said "case" so I was kinda excited...and only minorly disappointed when it turned out to be a gig bag. Anyone want a Coffin gig bag?

Mine is the limited edition Gold Top model, and the body and pickguard are dead ringers for the Mosrite. So is the shape of the headstock.

The DMG-75 now has a much different tremelo than the Bigsby style pictured and the one on mine, apparently Bigsby got a little bothered by the likeness. Earlier DMG-75's had a non-tailpiece style Bigsby.

Fit and finish is excellent, the guitar seems to be very well built and is quite heavy. I mean, Les Paul heavy. Which is great if you like some heft around your neck (I do).

It comes with some P-90 style pickups that just plain RAWK. GREAT sounds from all three pickup switch positions. This is one of the few guitars I have ever played where I've found use in using any other than the bridge position.

The tailpiece style tremelo rides a little high, i.e. the angle of the strings from the bridge to the trem rod is pretty shallow. I'd like that angle to be a little sharper, so the action could be set lower without buzzing, but as is, it plays very nicely. People who like super low action might be put off with the tailpiece bigsby style. Finding a used one with the earlier "Tele" style Bigsby, or a later one with their new trem, probably wont have an issue. I will probably try to reverse-engineer this one to bring the strings around the other way, or perhaps come up with something similar to the "Buzz Stop" (as used on Jazzmasters) to increase this angle...or not. Like I said, it plays nice the way it is...for me.

Else, no worries with this geet. Tuning machines are smooth and have a feel of quality, it stays in tune wonderfully and just kicks butt in the looks department.

I've done two things to mine...one, I installed a set of reproduction Mosrite "M" knobs instead of the plastic knobs that it came with, and I also will change out the soapbar pickup covers from cream to black, so it really has that Mosrite look.

I even went so far as to order a set of Mosrite of California headstock decals, but I dont think I can bring myself to actually put them on!