Mosrite of the past, Hallmark of the future--newbie from GA
Posted: Sat Jan 05, 2013 7:50 pm
My first Mosrite—my first electric guitar: Post-Ventures Mark I, in sunburst. Black headstock, truss rod access under headstock plate, Kluson Deluxe tuners with white plastic knobs (faded to ivory), bolt-on neck (can’t remember if it was three-bolt or four-bolt), white pickguard, logo-stamped pickup covers, M knobs, Moseley vibrato. Maybe a ’68 or so, maybe a Parts-rite? I remember the serial no. (at bottom of fingerboard between last two frets?) seeming very low, three digits or four digits with a zero in first place; there may have been a letter preceding the number but I’m not certain. Purchased early in 1976 from Central Sales, a big music pawnshop on Central Square in Cambridge, Mass.—can’t remember what I paid for it, but with a trade-in of a beater Hofner bass I’m pretty sure the cash difference was much less than $100. The Klusons were replaced by Schallers, I think, in ’79 when I sold it to a friend for a few months—that was more of a collateral-for-loan deal than a permanent sale, and I had the modded guitar back again by early 1980. Sold in March 1981 to Keith Roscoe (now a high-end luthier) in Greensboro, NC, for $85.00… What can I say, I was an utterly broke grad student with a temporarily misplaced set of priorities. I wish I had that serial number, maybe someone on the Forum is the current owner. Either that or it’s in Japan…just hope it’s still around and in good hands, somewhere.
My next several electric guitars: Guild, Epiphone (Kalamazoo), Hagstrom, Rickenbacker, Gibson, Danelectro, Fender, Epiphone (Korea), Fender, Gibson—pretty much in that order, with multiple models of same brands at some intervals. I liked every other guitar for anywhere from three months to three years, but eventually grew restless with them all. I realized the problem early on: that Mosrite was imprinted on me, quirks (and it had many) and all. My understanding of what an electric guitar should look, feel, and sound like was completely rooted in my dear old Mark I. But by the time I realized this, Mosrites had magically migrated from the rack of cheapies in the back of the pawn shop to the rack of costly rarities in the front of the vintage guitar boutique. They were still out there, but out of reach.
My next Mosrite: IDK when, if ever, I’ll be buying another original Mark I, or a latter-day Mosrite from the workshops of Fillmore and/or Dana. But thanks to all the informative posts on this forum, I’ve been able to steer towards Hallmark. I have never read such nearly unanimous praise for any other guitar I’ve ever had. So there was nothing for it but to sell my last (disappointing) Gibson and order a 60 Custom (3 tone). That was shortly after Christmas, and I’ve been quoted a 6-8 week delivery window. No complaints, having waited this long. I’ll just sit on my front steps till then, with my laptop, so I can hang out on the forum while listening for the FedEx truck. All Mosrite knowledge and info in this post courtesy of you Bakersfiends—thanks!
Richard
My next several electric guitars: Guild, Epiphone (Kalamazoo), Hagstrom, Rickenbacker, Gibson, Danelectro, Fender, Epiphone (Korea), Fender, Gibson—pretty much in that order, with multiple models of same brands at some intervals. I liked every other guitar for anywhere from three months to three years, but eventually grew restless with them all. I realized the problem early on: that Mosrite was imprinted on me, quirks (and it had many) and all. My understanding of what an electric guitar should look, feel, and sound like was completely rooted in my dear old Mark I. But by the time I realized this, Mosrites had magically migrated from the rack of cheapies in the back of the pawn shop to the rack of costly rarities in the front of the vintage guitar boutique. They were still out there, but out of reach.
My next Mosrite: IDK when, if ever, I’ll be buying another original Mark I, or a latter-day Mosrite from the workshops of Fillmore and/or Dana. But thanks to all the informative posts on this forum, I’ve been able to steer towards Hallmark. I have never read such nearly unanimous praise for any other guitar I’ve ever had. So there was nothing for it but to sell my last (disappointing) Gibson and order a 60 Custom (3 tone). That was shortly after Christmas, and I’ve been quoted a 6-8 week delivery window. No complaints, having waited this long. I’ll just sit on my front steps till then, with my laptop, so I can hang out on the forum while listening for the FedEx truck. All Mosrite knowledge and info in this post courtesy of you Bakersfiends—thanks!
Richard
