MOSRITE MARK I.....MISSING BACKPLATE

[warthog50]

I'm considering a Mosrite Mark I that's for sale and need some advice. It's represented to be a Ventures model that came out just after the Ventures severed their ties with Mosrite in the 60s, so no Ventures logo on the headstock. One thing that's bothering me is that the neck is attached to the body with 3 bolts and no metal backplate. Every other Mark I I've seen has 4 bolts and the metal backplate. Is this kosher or a sign that the guitar isn't what it's said to be???? Thanks for any help.

[dubtrub]

Mosrite Mark 1s commonly have the chromed neck plate, however starting around 1967 (after the Ventures model) you will find no neck plate with four screws and some with only three screws.

[oipunkguy]

hey,

I know which one you're talking about warthog, and it bothered me as well. I've seen the three bolt versions several times on celebrities and combo models, but this was the first time I remember seeing it on a ventures/mark 1 model.
one thing though, if you remove the neck pickup, some mosrites have additional screws under the pickup going into the body the other way. my mosrites have the 4 bolts and neckplate, but technically speaking the guitar is a 6 bolt neck.