Odd Celebrity Mosrite- Info needed please!

[DJWhitehair]

Hi folks,
I recently inherited what appears to be a Mosrite Celebrity III guitar, which my Dad played on gigs for about 30 years. But, it is a weird bird...no Mosrite decal on the headstock, the pearl inlay on the 7th fret is dark (almost invisible) and it doesn't have a pick guard like most of the Celebrity models with a similar serial number. Also, in my research, I've yet to see a Celebrity with this pearl inlay design. The serial number is K0508. I had it refretted and set up and it is a sweet instrument and fun to play. Anybody have any ideas or thoughts about this "Celebrity"? I can email a photo of it for anyone interested. Is there a way to attach photos to posts on this forum?
Thanks!
DJWhitehair
djwhitehair@gmail.com

[Sarah93003]

I'd be happy to look it over and offer any opinions. I've emailed you from my: Sarah@MosriteCelebrity.com email account. You can also post pics in this forum, as folks really appreciate that.

[DJWhitehair]

Thanks Sarah. I mailed you some photos of my odd duck Celebrity. I tried posting photos to the forum but because my photos are from my PC, it is not allowing me to attach or insert photos (maybe I am doing something wrong). Feel free to post the photos I sent you if you can.

[Sarah93003]

Thank you for the photos. I'll offer the following opinions and thoughts. This guitar is definitely a Celebrity-III as indicated by the serial number being from the K series, K0508, as well as the single binding, smooth pick up covers, etc.



The first thing that grabs your eye are the fret markers. At some point someone decided to add additional fret markers. You can see the tiny little dot in the photo above. These tiny dots are the original fret markers. Later, someone decided to add Gretsch like markers. These remind me a bit of the fret markers of my Gretsch G400.



Secondly, the truss rod cover looks significantly bigger than you usually find on Mosrites and again, it reminds me of the TRC's you find on Gretsch's.



Without seeing this guitar in person and looking closely at the finish, my first thought is that it has been refinished. That would explain the lack of Mosrite logo and the color. I don't think I've seen a natural finish Celebrity-III of this era. Most of them were Sunburst, followed by red, and occasionally green, blue, etc. The natural finish celebrities I believe came later in the 1973-74 era. I'll have to go back through all of my photos to verify that.



This one is kinda blurry, but I find it curious that the 7th fret is a different color. Usually you see that at the 12th fret.



The Kluson "butter bean" tuners are indicative of a Celebrity-III.



The smooth pickups are also indicative of a Celebrity-III.



The Bisgby tremolo is not standard issue on a Mosrite and I think it was added for a more Gretsch like appeal.

So, I think you have a nice guitar that has been refinished and modified to suit someones tastes.

[panther]

Sarah, Are the fret markers original ?
Dan

[Sarah93003]

Dan,

Only the tiny little white dots are original. Someone added the split block inlays to the existing Mosrite fretboard.

[Sarah93003]

I forgot to mention that the knobs do not look like original Mosrite hat knobs. The images are a bit blurred so I'm not 100% sure of that. I'd like to see more photos, especially up close. The normal crazing we are used to seeing on the older Mosrites is not there as well which is another indicator that it is likely a refin.

[Sarah93003]

DJ, I sent you an email requesting further photos if you don't mind.

[DJWhitehair]

Sarah,
Thanks for the great, detailed detective work. You know your stuff! No wonder I could not find an example of this Celebrity model.
I wonder why someone would put so much time and effort into customizing this thing? My Dad bought it from another musician friend in the late 70s or early eighties and he did nothing to it for all those years. He played nothing but Gibsons and Epis before he fell in love with this one.
I will send you more pics. The knobs actually have the "M" Mosrite symbol (I will send you these) and I doubt my Dad ever replaced them. I will send the pics to your email, since I still have issues posting on the forum.
Again, thanks for your insight.
DJ