I believe this to be Mosrite Super Custom ’65, made by Kurokumo in Japan sometime in the ‘90s. My understanding is the upper-tier reissues have a Vibramute tailpiece instead of a Moseley tailpiece or some other. This is also a particularly desirable example with The Ventures’ logo on the matching headstock, made before The Ventures threatened legal action against Kurokumo for using their trademark without authorization.

I purchased this guitar a few years ago from a broker in Tokyo, and as received it was not in great playing condition because it had not been well maintained and was quite filthy; it simply would not stay in tune. I completely disassembled the entire vibrato tailpiece and bridge assembly, and gave all of the parts a deep cleaning. I discovered that the roller bearings in the sides of the tailpiece’s base were badly worn, so I polished them smooth and packed them with fresh grease, for easy-glide action. (Please see the before and after images.) I also disassembled and cleaned all six of the roller saddles and lubricated the wheels so that they spin freely without resistance. I also cleaned and polished the slots in the metal string guide at the nut, and added some lubrication there as well. The vibrato unit now has wonderful sensitivity and the guitar has superb tuning stability, even after being subjected to a session of aggressive whammy bar action!

I have also cleaned the gorgeous rosewood fretboard and frets, and rubbed in some oil before treating it to a proper set-up and adjustment. From what I can gather, the original Mosrites of the 1960s came from the factory with pure nickel Ernie Ball Rock’n’Roll Slinky strings, .009-.042, which are still available today, so that is what is on the guitar. The neck is very straight with minimal relief, and the action is wonderfully low and fast, with no dead spots or other funny stuff.

The original Kurokumo-made pickups were underwhelming, to say the least; cheaply made and underwound, with none of the gnarly growl that one associates with Mosrites. To remedy this, I have installed on the guitar a set of Ed Elliott’s superb handmade Mosrite pickups, which cost me $299. For those unfamiliar with Ed Elliott, he was an apprentice at Mosrite in the ‘70s, working directly under Semie Moseley. His hand-wound pickups are pretty much perfect repros of vintage Mosrite pickups, and even come housed in vintage new-old-stock, genuine Mosrite plastic covers, with the embossed Mosrite logo and everything! With all of the careful restorative work I have done, it is now truly a fantastic playing and sounding instrument that totally nails Nokie Edwards’ hairy tone heard on The Ventures’ classic records!

You might be wondering why I am selling it, if it’s such a great guitar… I recently had the opportunity to purchase a genuine 1966 Mosrite Ventures MK1 at a very reasonable price, so I need to recoup some of what I paid for it. To tell you the truth, I am quite impressed by how close the Kurokumo-made Mosrite is to the vintage US Mosrite. The primary differences are the ‘60s Mosrite has the infamous “Speed Frets” - extremely low and flat, which some players have trouble with - and the Kurokumo has more conventional vintage-style frets that are a lot easier to bend strings on. Also, the ‘60s Mosrite is finished in nitro and the Kurokumo is finished in poly. Oh, and the vintage guitar has either 350k or 500k pots (I couldn’t tell which) and the Kurokumo has 250k pots, so it’s a little brighter. Aside from that, the carve of the body and neck is virtually identical and both guitars weigh approximately the same. The Kurokumo provides a very convincing Mosrite playing experience; there is a heckuva lot of Semie Mosely’s DNA in the Japanese reissue! Please take a look at the side-by-side image comparison.

An interesting note about the finish… The front of the body and headstock is black and the rear of the body, neck and headstock are sunburst. This was done as an homage to the refinished ‘60s Mosrite played by the late Takeshi Terauchi for many years. If you are unfamiliar with his Ventures-influenced music, I suggest checking it out. His music is very cool and he’s considered a legend in Japan!

Lastly, the guitar comes with an aftermarket hardshell case that fits the guitar beautifully. I put some fun stickers on the case, which I will gladly remove prior to shipping upon request.

Please be advised that this guitar is approximately 30 years old, and it had been played hard during its previous life in Japan. (It seems that the best guitars are always played hard!) There are a few chips and scrapes here and there (which I have tried to capture in the photos), and there is patina on the metal parts (which I find visually appealing), but its integrity overall is solid. It needs nothing and will be totally ready for the stage or studio straight from the shipping carton.

Please see the images on the Reverb listing:
https://reverb.com/item/84105349-90s-mosrite-super-custom-65-w-ed-elliott-mosrite-pickups-read-description

I have it listed on Reverb for $1399 + $80 shipping...
SG101 price: $1350 including shipping, payable by Paypal or Venmo.

DISCLAIMER: Everything I sell is guaranteed to be as described. If there is a problem (which there won’t be), I will gladly work towards a fair resolution, but please do not ask for a refund because you don’t like the shape of the neck or something like that, so please ask questions prior to purchase.

THE HYDRONAUTS…Surf Music from the shores of old Cape Cod.

Last edited: Aug 07, 2024 15:30:30