January Birthdays 
I just yesterday received this stunning 2008 Hallmark 60 Custom finished in Fire Sparkle Burst. I’ve owned vintage USA and Japanese Mosrites, as well as a couple of Hallmarks, so I am pretty familiar with Mosrite-style guitars.
There are some interesting differences between early Hallmarks and the ones being produced today.
The pick-up covers didn’t yet have a molded Hallmark logo in 2008. Note also that the vibrato tailpiece is further back towards the end-pin and the bridge pickup is positioned slightly forward of the bridge.
The pots in these older Hallmarks were 250k ohms, not 500k. Most seem to prefer the brighter sound from 500k pots, and Bob Shade of Hallmark made that change due to consumer demand. Bob told me, "I always loved the sound of the 250K pots and thought they nailed the Nokie tone, but everyone kept saying they wanted the 500K pots, so I changed them as standard. I think there was a thread of a guy who changed out his pots to 500K and liked them, and then EVERYONE started asking me why I didn't use them. Original Mosrite amd Hallmark guitars used 250K pots. I thought they sounded great so why change?"
Having also owned a 2020 65C with 500k pots, I can evaluate the difference and I think I agree with Bob. For me, the benchmark Mosrite tone is "The Ventures Live in Japan 1965,” which is most definitely NOT bright. This 60C, which I have strung with pure nickel, round core Pyramid roundwound .010s, totally nails the full-throated, hairy Nokie Edwards tone.
On early Hallmarks, the German carve on the lower horn is more pronounced and rather pointy.
The spray pattern on the rear is different compared to newer Hallmarks I’ve seen, which usually have more of a teardrop shape in the center. I like the way this one follows the contours of the body.
Bob wasn’t yet signing the headstocks in 2008, and they had a 10-digit serial number on the rear. There wasn’t a number embossed in the fretboard yet.
Hallmark’s stock case in 2008 was made by TKL, and didn’t have a Hallmark logo printed on the exterior (which looks much better).
The TKL case is perhaps slightly more rugged than the current Hallmark case, but it is not form-fitting like the current ones.
Going just by memory, I think it might be slightly lighter than the 65C I had. This one weighs 9lbs, 1.5oz.
—THE HYDRONAUTS…Surf Music from the shores of old Cape Cod.
CLICK HERE to check out our first album, Interstallar Clambake!
Last edited: Nov 03, 2023 09:33:35
