Mosrite on pawn stars

BluesGuitarman71
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Re: Mosrite on pawn stars

Postby BluesGuitarman71 » Sat Apr 25, 2015 9:08 am

If you guys are going to gossip about people . . . At least take the time to get it right. Check the facts before you make a profound statement. Yes . . . I am the guy from Pawn Stars - Dr. Hal. I appeared with Semi Moseley's PERSONAL Blue Gospel Prototype. I claimed to be the leading expert on that ONE Mosrite guitar ONLY. Semie was a friend of mine. He made this particular Gospel prototype as an experiment, for his own use. After playing it on Gospel tour for several years, and recording, and some movies, etc., he gave it to me in December of 1969. I have had it ever since. Semie Moseley was a great man. The ONLY reason I appeared on Pawn Stars, and display the Blue Gospel in shows across the nation, is to tell Semie's story to all who will listen and keep alive the great legend of a wonderful man. [b][/b]

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Re: Mosrite on pawn stars

Postby StevieSTL » Sat Apr 25, 2015 2:04 pm

Thread resurrection! Ha.

BluesGuitarman71 wrote:The ONLY reason I appeared on Pawn Stars, and display the Blue Gospel in shows across the nation, is to tell Semie's story to all who will listen and keep alive the great legend of a wonderful man. [b][/b]



viewtopic.php?f=27&t=6337

-- So is that also why you were trying to sell it for $107,500 on Reverb.com? It's a cool guitar, uncool asking price. But hey, it's a free country, any one can ask any price for an item. Whether they'll get it or not is another story. Seems to me what you got is a lot of folks calling it as they see it. Your appearance on Pawn Stars was far from positively sharing Semie's memory or legacy. I would think that if it was actually your intention to do so, it could have been done in a much more respectful way. Like maybe you ask for 20 grand or some number that's at least within the realm of possibility, purposefully don't come to a deal, but cordially share his story or a personal experience you had with the man. The way you went about it made you and the show look bad, and I think that is obvious by the responses in this thread. Or maybe instead of choosing a huge font and denying the obvious, maybe just come out and say that you need the money, and/or the attention. I have one or two Mosrites in my collection that I could put up for sale with astronomical asking prices, but I will not, a.) because I love them, and b.) because that just wouldn't be a classy move. My apologies if this is offensive or tough to hear, I'm just saying what's on my mind. Thanks. -SG
The gangster looks so frightening, with his luger in his hand
When he gets home to his children, he's a family man
But when it comes to the nitty-gritty, he can shove in his knife
Yes he really looks quite religious, he's been an outlaw all his life

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Re: Mosrite on pawn stars

Postby Bob Shade » Sat Apr 25, 2015 2:55 pm

Yea, I have a 60's Hallmark Swept-Wing that was used by Jimi Hendrix for the feedback recorded in Foxy Lady. No images, no documentation, but what customer needs that to spend over $100K?

Incidentally, that guitar was not an experiment. That is a common Mosrite production model guitar. It is numbered as such. Do you have anything other than the story to back up the 100K price?

There is a Mosrite Gospel model on Ebay today that is the same size and configuration as yours, listed for $1499.00. What is different about your experimental model?

You claim folks on the forum here need to get it right, so please help us "get it right" with some prototypical information about the guitar that we can base an educated opinion on. With years of Semie touring with the instrument and him being your friend, I would imagine you have pictures, or video, or a hand written letter?

Respectfully,

Bob Shade/ Gospel Guitars USA
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BRRanger
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Re: Mosrite on pawn stars

Postby BRRanger » Sat Apr 25, 2015 7:14 pm

Dr. Hal,
I thought the forum was doing an excellent job in keeping the Mosrite name and Legacy of Semie Moseley alive. Now that you have just found the Mosrite forum, pick just about any subject to peruse and you will find post after post extolling the Mosrite guitar and the man behind it. I wonder why you are just now finding the forum? Out of curiosity, I Googled "Mosrite on Pawn Stars" and found the post on the Mosrite Forum came up #1. What were you searching for and why?
I hope you are not in financial distress, and don't want a response...but were I in possession of a Mosrite guitar of prominence, especially if Semie had given the guitar to me, it would not be for sale. I bought a '66 Gretsch "Monkees Rock n' Roll" model in '73 and brought it to several concerts and eventually had the signatures of all 4 Monkees on it. I had it specifically autographed to "Scott," so that if I ever needed money, the guitar would be virtually worthless to anyone other than myself, eliminating the dilemma of whether to sell it or not. After my passing, it will go to my son or daughter to hold on to it, unless of course they find another Monkees fan named Scott. (please spare us the Monkees jokes)
I find the forum a pleasant place to visit, with the occasional disagreement on if the Ventures were a "Surf" band or not...is this or that guitar a "partsrite" or original etc., but enjoy sharing with others that admire the craftsmanship and the many incarnations that have from the Pacific Rim, U.S., around the world proving that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.
My opinion.
Scott

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StevieSTL
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Re: Mosrite on pawn stars

Postby StevieSTL » Sat Apr 25, 2015 7:25 pm

BRRanger wrote:Dr. Hal,
I thought the forum was doing an excellent job in keeping the Mosrite name and Legacy of Semie Moseley alive. Now that you have just found the Mosrite forum, pick just about any subject to peruse and you will find post after post extolling the Mosrite guitar and the man behind it. I wonder why you are just now finding the forum?
Scott


--Amen. My thoughts exactly!
The gangster looks so frightening, with his luger in his hand
When he gets home to his children, he's a family man
But when it comes to the nitty-gritty, he can shove in his knife
Yes he really looks quite religious, he's been an outlaw all his life

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Dennisthe Menace
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Re: Mosrite on pawn stars

Postby Dennisthe Menace » Sun Apr 26, 2015 5:38 pm

Heads Up and a BIG salute to StevieSTL, Bob Shade and BRRanger for a Professional Courtesy response to the Dr......Very nice guys..... ;)
make the Mos' of it, choose the 'rite stuff.
.........Owner of 9 Mosrites...
.....proud owner and documented:
1963 "the Ventures" Model s/n #0038
http://www.thevintagerockproject.com/

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Greg_L
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Re: Mosrite on pawn stars

Postby Greg_L » Mon Apr 27, 2015 4:15 am

Maybe if you use a bigger font your point will be better made.

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Sarah93003
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Re: Mosrite on pawn stars

Postby Sarah93003 » Wed Jul 08, 2015 10:22 am

I am a little late to the party but thought I'd offer some thoughts and perhaps insight.

I have seen this guitar pop up many times over the years. Whether or not it belonged to Semie, I can't say. I would like to know the exact details and circumstances in how it came to be in Dr. Hal's possession. If Semie gave it to him personally, that is awesome. It would be a great story. It is not unique however. Semie gave away many guitars and quite commonly to churches and gospel singers. Quite often, they were Gospel guitars.

I do not profess to be an expert on the Celebrity based guitars, including the Gospels. With that said, I have not yet met anyone who has studied them as much as I have. My website is way overdue for an update, but that does not mean I have stopped collecting information. I have at least twice as much information to be added to the site and hope to do that in the coming year. A lot of this information as to do with the Gospels as well as the prototypes.

There is a lot of misinformation out there on the Gospel hollow bodied guitars. In my opinion the word "prototype" is grossly overused and misrepresented. Every time there is a slight variation on a guitar someone wants to call it a "prototype". Semie Moseley was a genius guitar builder, in my humble opinion. He was also a "tinkerer". He could not leave a guitar alone and would always, "make it better". I have communicated with many people who crossed his path and he would always make changes or enhancements to their guitar. That does not make it a prototype. That is a modification or customization.

This Gospel guitar has a normal production serial number. The only thing unusual about it is the color. I would not doubt that Semie painted this guitar for his personal use. I would not doubt that he would then give it away. He was a generous man. There is absolutely nothing about this guitar to lead me to believe it is a prototype and to represent it as such is not being honest.

I am quite certain that there were no Gospel prototypes ever built. In my telephone conversations and email correspondence with Andy Moseley I am certain that he and Semie made five prototype Celebrities. That is all. Two are known to still exist.

When I am able I will create a thread on this forum dedicated to what I have learned about the Celebrity based Gospels, including Gospel basses, Gospel Dobros, Gospel 12 strings, the Gospel "plates", Gospel serial numbering, etc.
____________________
1965 Mosrite Celebrity Prototype with Vibramute
1972 Mosrite Celebrity-III
1977 Gibson MK-53
1982 Fender Bullet
1994 Gretsch Streamliner G3155 Custom
2005 Gibson Les Paul Standard Plus
2006 Jude Les Paul 12 String

Bob Shade
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Re: Mosrite on pawn stars

Postby Bob Shade » Wed Jul 08, 2015 12:17 pm

Hey Sarah!, nicely done. I have seen another blue Gospel several years ago and it was not this one. The thing continues to come to my mind about this guitar in question is:

1. Any guitar Semie made for his own personal use was always top of the line, with special features with either special laminated woods, fancy pick guards, inlays, etc. Anytime you saw him in a picture with a guitar that he made for himself it was always very fancy. This Dr.'s guitar has standard production features with none of the special features Semie was known for when making a guitar for himself or Joe Maphis, Larry Collins, Barbara Mandrel, the list goes on.

2. The serial number does not match something Semie would have made special for himself. The special and personal Mosrite models usually had a special number or an added couple of letters in the number so the guitar was branded as a special piece. This is a typical production number and not even close to number 1 or any prototypical point of view.

3. The tuning keys on this Gospel are the cheapo Japanese tuners. These were installed only on the giveaway guitars. Semie would never have put these on a guitar he was going to use personally and be seen with as he viewed his guitars as "Top Of The Line". Any of the special guitars he made usually had Grovers or Schallers or at the very least Klusons. The Dr.'s has those low-fi Japanese gears and that does not add up.

With all this in mind, and having studied Mosrite and Gospel guitars for many years, I am having a very hard time accepting that it is indeed a guitar Semie made for his own personal use, and keeping the guitar for many years, using it for live performances and studio use etc. It could have been a guitar that never sold and was in storage and was given away later, but that is not the story the Dr. is telling.

To ask 6 figures for a guitar that would normally sell for about $950.00? I think the customer would need some solid artifacts or documents that prove the story he seems to have no problem beating his drum and telling the world about. I doubt an auction house would touch it with a 10 foot pole.

I think he is going to own this guitar the rest of his life.

Bob

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Re: Mosrite on pawn stars

Postby Sarah93003 » Wed Jul 08, 2015 2:17 pm

Thank you Bob! I regret not visiting you while I was on the east coast. I thought there would be time but it just slipped through my fingers. I will have to make a special trip to make up for it. ;)

I agree with everything that you stated. The fact is, I have seen Gospels with better appointments than this one and they did not profess to have belonged to Semie. We have seen many guitars signed by Semie and of course this one is not. I think it is simply a beautiful example of a Gospel, albeit with the cheap tuners. I would value the guitar between $1,200 and $1,500; similar to a Celebrity-I.

Since we are digging deeper into this particular guitar I guess I would have to challenge Dr. Hal in his claim of being the leading expert on this ONE Mosrite guitar ONLY. There are many flaws in his story.

From the link that Adam posted: http://www.northamericanguitars.com/gtrs/gospel.html

"Semie Moseley was a much better Gospel musician than he was a businessman" - this is often quoted and may very well be his opinion but I will disagree. I think Semie gets a bum rap when it comes to his business acumen. The ill fated Ventures Award amps are in my opinion, what really doomed Mosrite. Even though Semie did not build these amps he took the honorable stand, to defend the company name, and covered the expense of repairs, etc. It cost him dearly.

"together with Reverend Ray Boatright they founded the Mosrite Guitar Company" - I've always heard that Reverend Boatright fronted some money so young Semie could buy tools to get started, but that does not make him a co-founder of Mosrite. Andy Moseley would deserve more credit here.

"he was so impressed with a Spanish Luthiers design of building guitars with violin joints...that he decided to build Gospel instruments that way." - this is a totally incorrect statement. The mortise and tenon joint found on the early Celebrities disappeared after about 800 guitars in favor of the Fender style neck joint. To my knowledge there has never been a Gospel with a mortise and tenon joint including this guitar GA009. It has the standard Fender style neck joint with four screws.

"Sometime in the late 60's, he began a group of 10 instruments, as Gospel prototype instruments. A few were less than a perfect fit so he cut them down and made them into conventional guitars." - What? That makes no sense to me. How do you cut down a guitar? The earliest Gospels are same bout as a Celebrity-I, the same neck except for the scalloped headstock and logo. The same hardware and so on. They are basically "flashy" Celebrity-I's. If you look at the 1967 Mosrite catalog you will see the first documentation of a Gospel. Even that unit looks better than this on in its appointments. It goes on to say that out of the ten so called prototypes he scrapped them all but two. I've read that Reverend Boatright had GA002 but have yet to confirm that. If Semie had GA009 then those should be the only survivors of the first ten. yet, I have photos of GA001 and GA007 and more GA series beyond that.

From the one and only post in this forum from Dr. Hal he states that Semie gave it to him in December of 1969 and he has had it ever since. If that is true, then I would assume that the link that Adam posted that goes into such great detail must also be from a website owned by Dr. Hal, copyright 2000. If that is the case, then paragraph two contradicts this story because it says that "Semie either sold or gave away the Blue Gospel guitar and it found it's way into a St. Louis County music store, wherein I acquired it in the early 70's.". I've gotta call BS on this one.

"Research has shown that this was hand-built by Luthier Semie Mosely as his own personal instrument" - I would like to see evidence of that. If I could see the pot codes on this guitar I would expect that it was built during the "Hay Day" of Mosrite when they were cranking out hundreds or thousands of guitars per month. Semie was running a business and I doubt he had time to hand build this guitar. Just my speculation.

It would be great if Dr. Hal would mention the names of the family members who supposedly authenticated this particular guitar.
____________________
1965 Mosrite Celebrity Prototype with Vibramute
1972 Mosrite Celebrity-III
1977 Gibson MK-53
1982 Fender Bullet
1994 Gretsch Streamliner G3155 Custom
2005 Gibson Les Paul Standard Plus
2006 Jude Les Paul 12 String


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