A Rare Brass Rail guitar

[The Jester]

I have a Mosrite Brass Rail, 100% genuine, with a Moseley tailpiece, the New Mosrite of 1976 headtock and humbuckers. I have never seen any other example with a Moseley bridge. Does anyone else know if this was genuine? I also mentioned this guitar in a separate new post (viewtopic.php?f=6&t=403&p=4406#p4406).The guitar has checked paint, vintage, aged parts, and has been authenticated by a reputable London guitar shop, there is no doubt about it being a real Mosrite.
The question, of course, is whether the bridge was added later, or if it is the orignal piece. In the photograph featuring the above collection on the other post (viewtopic.php?f=6&t=403&p=4406#p4406), there are similar models and it does look like the one of the black guitars on the right. However, its pickup selector and button to engage the electronics is situated between the volume/tone controls, unlike any of the examples above. The guitar shop from where I bought it consider it to be 100% original. However, as there are hardly any pictures or information on the model, it is very hard to find out if Semie built them with the Moseley bridge? Does anyone have an opinion on the tailpiece, or another example. This is not a semi-electric guitar, so any examples of semi electric brass rail guitars guitars with a Moseley bridge do not concern me.
Any help, advice or history would be greatly appreciated. I have found very little on Mosrite guitars on the internet anyway, and a lot of it is useless, information.

[dorkrockrecords]

The Jester -

The Brass Rail that I believe came from Music Ground certainly is genuine - there were so few produced and at such a high cost that an impostor really wouldn't be feasible. That being said, your Brass Rail was one of many assembled post The New Mosrite era with remaindered parts (since The New Mosrite operation only lasted for several months). In fact, a few months back when I first saw this example, Ed Elliott mentioned to me that he remembered building that one. I have seen a few examples of Brass Rails with Moseley trems (Artie at Front Porch has at least one) and I believe they all came out of this Ed Elliott post-production batch, probably around 1978. It is interesting to note that the body on yours was originally routed for Deluxe electronics but then repurposed for Standard electronics (which was also relatively common).

Cheers,
Adam

[The Jester]

Hi,

Yes, you are indeed correct, it did come from Music Ground, and is a wonderful playing guitar. Cool that you know so much about it. So you played it? Did you like the sound?
Why do you think the electrics were re-routed? So Moseley didn't work on that one? Actually it is funny you should say that this guitar was made from leftover parts since there are a few curious little things about it. The pickguard is cut in an unusual way from where it meets the bridge - it looks as if it wasn't exactly designed for a Moseley bridge but as that was the only pickguard they had, they just used what they had. I like the fact that this may be the only one of its kind. It is numbered 49.
Anyway, thank you for all your advice. If I get some time later tonight, I may post some pictures. I paid £1599 for it, do you reckon that was a reasonable price for that guitar? Do let me know.
Take it easy.

[The Jester]

Here is a link to some photos I took:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/13674283@N05/

[dorkrockrecords]

Your guitar wasn't "re-routed" but rather installed with a simpler electronics package than it was originally routed for. You may notice the extensive amount of pickguard material on the guitar, both front and back, and underneath you will find an equally extensive amount of routes. The giveaway is the circular plate on the back which allowed for battery and active electronics access on the Deluxe model, but serves no purpose on a Standard model which would require no rear access. This plate would be black plastic on a Deluxe model, but since I believe Ed ended up with a good amount of the tortoise shell material, yours is tortoise shell. Also, the Deluxe model would be drilled for six knobs on the front (which tears up an awful lot of real estate), hence the large cover-up guard on the front. In fact, I would bet that if you looked underneath the guard you might even see a couple of these pot holes remaining. No need to fret, though, every Brass Rail is different and every one tells a story. I'm always glad to welcome another member into the Brotherhood.

[The Jester]

Brilliant. Thanks for all the history and technical information on this Mosrite Brass Rail (this one is numbered 49 and was purchased from the Music Ground shop (formerly Andy's Guitar Workshop) on Denmark Street, London about a week ago). I am very grateful for all the information supplied. It is cool that you guys have some links and connections with the dudes who originally built these things). I will spend the next few weeks playing this awesome guitar (I am still a learner, with very limited skill), and hope to become more acquainted with its idiosyncrasies. It is great to have a guitar that is just super playable and well-built. I think I will use this as my main instrument from this point onwards. Good to find a genuine vintage, with all the original parts. The thing I like abou it is that it has a natural reverb, when playing clean, without effects. It has a lovely woody sound and can produce a great springy-reverby sound, and the bridge pickup is actually quite bright, which makes it ideal for a lot of different kinds of sounds. I think Fenders generally don't do jazz that well (it is not impossible, though), but this one has a wonderful warmth, and can also crank out those shrill, hot leads (at least that's what I feel when I play it). I wonder why these guitars did not sell that well. If some of my comments sound ignorant, I have little experience of playing genuine Mosrites so if some of what I have said sounds unlike a Mosrite guitar, it is probably due to my inexperience than anything else.

Oh yes, one thing, when I press the black button on the pickguard (the one for the electrics), when the pickup selector is lowered down, there is no difference in the sound when I depress it (although on all other positions, the sound does change). Does anyone know why this is. I don't think there is a fault, but it is just unusual. Is there a subtle change that maybe I can't hear? If what I have just said is unclear I can try to rephrase it so it is more comprehensible!

I will write again, rest assured. For now, adios muchachos!

[The Jester]

Hi,

The more I play this guitar the less I want to touch the Fenders and the Gibson. I could play virtually any kind of music on this, and the it is real fun experimenting with the electrics to get different sounds. With a decent reverb unit the sound can be made punchy or brittle. One problem is that when I use the Moseley Vibrato, the G string can get out of tune.

There was one other thing. There are a few spots from where the original Nitro finish has come off. I have never owned a guitar with a nitocellulose finish and this Mosrite is in beautiful condition. I want to have the finish repaired from the parts from where it has come off so it looks cool. I am not going to have it refinished or ask someone to strip the original paint, but rather just fill in the bits from where the paint has come off. Is this a sensible idea. Anyone ever do this? And could the results turn out good. If anyone has any answers, please do let me know as I am a little curious. I feel I have even entrusted with a little piece of history and I want to enjoy playing this guitar but keep it preserved too.

Does anyone know why Mosrite discontinued the manufacture of these guitars? I mean they did sound quite amazing.

[Dennisthe Menace]

Maybe Adam will chime in again. He's your guy who knows a lot about the "Brass Rails."

[dorkrockrecords]

I'd say the short answer on why Mosrite "discontinued" the Brass Rail is: money.

Essentially, the production of the Brass Rail wasn't cost effective - it cost a lot to make (in both time and materials) and nobody wanted one. Also, Semie was absent most of the time (raising money, losing money, chasing skirts, etc), leaving Bill Gruggett alone to the guitar building (which was extremely time consuming). While the production line instruments of the '60s utilized templates for ease and consistency, the production of each Brass Rail was a painstaking progress. There was also a lot of waste; no adjustable truss means no margin for error (and error means a junked neck). I've even heard Semie attempted a bass version using aluminum instead of brass (to reduce weight) and the necks just crumpled under string tension. Anyway, the New Mosrite era only lasted for several months from 1976-77, and then Mosrite was gone (again). Mosrite returned in the early '80s. The Brass Rail did not.

[The Jester]

Hi dockrockrecords, this is fascinating stuff. I mean, I feel a little worried owning one now since if I do not maintain the instrument well (we all make mistakes right?) I may be damaging something that is very precious to the Mosrite community.
I would definitely take good care of it and try to make most of it. I only have to see what is it that keeps causing it to detune. I cannot see any defect. Maybe the grovers are loose. I will take this to Graham Noden at Music Ground and hopefully he would be able to advise me. I will also correspond with other users on this forum. Thanks for the history though. PErsonally having played Gibson and Fenders for most of my life (and the occasional Rickenbacker), this Mosrite is a delightful instument to play.
It is heavier, but man, it does have the woodiest sound. I mean these instrumenets deserved to have been recognised by the guitar playing community.
Anyway, dockrockrecords, thank you very much!