mosriteforum.com

This one kinda builds on my last thread about Mosrite & their relationship w/ the Ventures. Here are two hypothetical questions that might be fun to ponder.

1) Where would the Mosrite company, guitar, name, business, etc. have gone had the Ventures and Mosrite stayed together for another 5 or 10 years?

This next one assumes everything in the Mosrite history is the same up until the 1980's when he started making Mosrites again (V88, M88, etc.)

2) What would've happened with Mosrite if Semie hadn't gotten sick & passed away?

Just a couple of questions to kind of get your heads thinking.

GTSP wrote:1) Where would the Mosrite company, guitar, name, business, etc. have gone had the Ventures and Mosrite stayed together for another 5 or 10 years?

IMO
The company would have prospered and become a major player like Fender and Gibson..............
And then been eaten in 2000 by FMIC just like all other vintage brands


Rich

Rich121 wrote:

GTSP wrote:1) Where would the Mosrite company, guitar, name, business, etc. have gone had the Ventures and Mosrite stayed together for another 5 or 10 years?

IMO
The company would have prospered and become a major player like Fender and Gibson..............
And then been eaten in 2000 by FMIC just like all other vintage brands


Rich

Call me a dummy, but I don't know what FMIC means.

Fender Musical Instruments Corporation of Scottsdale, Arizona

Ya know
Fender Gretsch
Fender Guild
Fender Jackson
Fender Charvel

and 16 other brands we came to know and love.

I think the reason that Gibson bought Kramer was that it was the only thing left that Fender didn't own

Seems they need a acoustic company now so Martin and Taylor better not hiccup.

Rich121 wrote:

GTSP wrote:1) Where would the Mosrite company, guitar, name, business, etc. have gone had the Ventures and Mosrite stayed together for another 5 or 10 years?

IMO
The company would have prospered and become a major player like Fender and Gibson..............
And then been eaten in 2000 by FMIC just like all other vintage brands


Rich

Agreed, provided Semie stayed away from the business end of things. No offense but designing guitars and building them was his 'thing'...and how!

Fender-Gretsch isn't exactly like the others you have listed. Fender owns the other company's but doesn't own the Gretsch company. Fender is in charge of production and distribution. Fred Gretsch still owns the Gretsch Company. Fender has put Gretsch back on the map though and was the best thing that could have happened to Gretsch at the time.


Jim

sleeperNY wrote:Fender-Gretsch isn't exactly like the others you have listed. Fender owns the other company's but doesn't own the Gretsch company. Fender is in charge of production and distribution. Fred Gretsch still owns the Gretsch Company. Fender has put Gretsch back on the map though and was the best thing that could have happened to Gretsch at the time.


Jim

Yepper, that is right!

Note that I didn't say FMIC ownership/total control was a bad thing. They have done well for most of their companies except for possibly Ovation.

Had Mosrite survived and been acquired they would be a player today although probably made in Japan. But you wouldn't have to be an expert on which copies are the good ones because it would be a strong brand with traditional roots. And a really Really stable distribution system.

As to question 2 SEE QUESTION 1.

Before I get the Gretsch guys ruffled. I agree that a FMIC/Gretsch is probably the best thing that could happen. I wouldn't own a Gretsch from Baldwin till Fender. But I'll keep my ancient Double Anniversary (green of course).

Rich

I would agree with you Rich and go a step further in saying that I think the guitars currently being produced by Gretsch are the best they have ever made.

Semie and the Ventures may have never patched things up -as Don was very influential on the others, and he was pissed at Semie.
However, Semie was a true innovator and a creative artist. He would have never stopped building guitars, and someone, somewhere along the line would have recognized his genius, and taken him under their wing and backed him with financing or marketing or whatever was needed. He would have still been a "player" in the guitar business, I'm certain. I can even see him working with Bob Shade, or someone similar. I even believe he would have eventually made a wider neck available to all us whiners.