New member

[zarfnober]

Hello everyone, finally found a forum for my favorite guitar. Quick note about myself: I wanted a Mosrite ever since I first heard/saw the Ramones. First Mosrite is a SB 66 Ventures, original except for new frets, purchased from Semies widow, nice guitar, #2 is another SB 66 Ventures, very nice guitar and completely original, #3 is a Celebrity short scale bass, not sure of year, nice but missing a few parts, #4 is a red Ventures II, serial # B003, flat slab body, refretted with proper frets, solid Mosely talpiece, yes I have the original tailpiece, tuners were changed. I got the pickguard signed by all of the Ramones. It took me 20 years to find this guitar, I found it a little over a mile from my house. Absolutely never for sale! guitar #6 is a Filmore Johnny Ramone signature model in gold, have all the paperwork, hang tags, pick with it. founf by a friend in SF, Ca. #7 is a 1965 Ventures model, interesting story on this one: A kid contacted me through a Ramones website(another long story, more on it later) and started asking me what this guitar might be worth, he contacted several people but, no one gave him any real answers other than to sell it to them cheap! It had been refinished , very poorly. He sent me some pictures and I gave him what I felt was an honest opinion on the value as is, and restored. He decided he no longer wanted it and offered it to me for sale at a very reasonable price. He did not want to part it out or see it go staright to ebay in parts. So, I bought it. This thing had the WORST white paint on it that you've ever seen, runs, lumps, even smelled wierd. So, every thing else is in real nice shape and complete. I let it sit for a year or so and decide to try sanding off some of the finish to see whats underneath. I do see some green primer in a couple spots before sanding. I was wet sanding when I see what looks like some clear, I rub it out and sure enough, clear over white, looks like a white Mosrite to me, cool! So, it sits for another year. I take it to a shop for refinishing, big mistake, color is wrong twice and very poorly painted, and I take it home with me. So, I decide to remove his awful finish, which he started to remove anyway, and get to the body cavities. I carefully take a heat gun to that area and peel away this god awful white paint. It is coming off in a rather thick layer, with the green primer still attached to the white and what do I find underneath? Pearl white. I'm happy again. I find more in picup pocket and a couple spots at the tip of the upper and lower bouts. I will leave the original pearl in the cavities and take the rest of it down to bare wood. I've got a lot of experience with woodwork and used to work in a body shop, my brother is an excellent painter so, we're going to do what we should have from the beginning. I'm taking detailed pics of every step, including the peeled away paint for proof of original color, even saving paint chips.

What about #6, you ask? I contacted Loretta Mosely in 1997 about having a Ramones model built and, would she sell them to me at dealer price, as I felt there was a market for these. We made an agreement and she recieved a $500.00 deposit, mistake number 1. I went to a few Ramones websites and made a "little" announcement and started getting more than a few inquiries, at one point I was getting at least 1 a day. I'd call Loretta and get the same lie over and over again, but I was foolish and patient. Even went to visit her once and saw everything she had, hundreds of bodies and necks, parts, you name it, it was there. Still no guitar. She calls me one day and says she has a guitar for me, and ships it out. Avery ugly blue, nothing like the color we agreed on and the frets are very poorly dressed. You can see a picture of this on Jarris ramones page, has Ramones Model on the headstock in the same script as a Ventures model, pretty cool. So, I send it back. Finally, in december 2001, she says my OTHER guitar is ready, the candy apple red one. About this time, I was going to visit a friend in N.C. so, I pay her a visit and pick it up. An absolute mess: color is a wierd metallic pink, pickguard is wrong, pickups are wrong color, knobs don't fit the pots, even worse fret job(some are actually too short!) is thinner on one side than the other, pickus are wired wrong and to top it off, the case smells like puke, seriously. Guitar still smells funny. Anyway, now I'm stuck with this thing. Oh yeah, the neck finish is smoother than anything you've ever seen and, it's got the cool looking(but wrong) logo on the headstock. If I don't take this one, I know I'm out $500, cause she has no money to refund me, so I take it after they try making a few fixes. She even has the audacity to remind me I didn't like the color on the other one. I remind her that it is sitting in the unopened box over in the corner! She never even looked at it. I have the frets off this one, have reworked the board as good as I can and, will refinish it properly, in the right color. Oh yeah, forgot to mention the chips in the paint too!

Let this be a warning to anyone who may consider doing any business with Semies widow, do not send her any money, under any circumstance. A friend went to her new website a couple months back and she asked for a deposit before she could give him a price!

As for anyone on this list who may have contacted me in the past about buying a new Ramones Model Mosrite, all I can say is I'm sorry I ever got involved with her in any way. Sorry about such a longwinded intro, I felt this last part of the story was important.

I'll post some photos of all my toys soon and, I'm working on a website http://www.rockometeramp.com Don't bother trying to access it yet, it is not up. I will be offering part time amp repairs, kit building and possibly selling some small single ended combos. Can also do Valve jr mods on an exchange basis. And, I actually enjoy restoring old point to point bargain basement amps, so if you have a silvertone, dano,airline, supro, etc, I'm happy to work on them. Can also get very nicely done combo cabs, and heads. Anything from Marshall/Fender style to custom stuff. Thanks for the great forum, looking forward to hearing from anyone out there, take care,

Rocco Egizio

[Brian]

Um, photos please...

[zarfnober]

What about #6, you ask?

Sorry, I meant to say #5, oops. I'll try and post photos by monday

[oipunkguy]

hey zarf,

I'd like to be the first to welcome you to this site. awesome, but disappointing story. please post pics soon.
as for your finishing issue on the ventures, many of us on here finish guitars, (I'm one of them) and would be happy to help you out.
I would be trilled to refinish your ventures model for ya, if your project hits a dead end again, although we might have to have a fist fight for me to return the guitar to ya, lol.
also if it helps, there's plenty of posts on here with guys that have done projects finishing mosrites.
check out my post, Bringing an ORIGINAL 1964 Fender Mustang back to life in the Projects, Parts, Q&A Section (shameless self-promotion)
love to talk to ya again soon, and I hope this helps.
cheers,
Aaron

[Veenture]

Fascinating reading zarfnober!

Welcome and good luck with your projects
Paul

[Dennisthe Menace]

Very interesting story zarfnober......Welcome .

[MWaldorf]

Welcome to the forum. What a story!!

[GattonFan]

Great reading! ANd we do appreciate the insight. Welcome aboard.

Dennis

[Texasbob]

Welcome aboard! I thought I was the only one that smelled guitars haha Most of mine actually smell like vanilla. Mus t be the glue in the case.

[mosman]

I love the smell that comes out of an old guitar case when it's opened. I have a 71 Mosrite in an old case, and when I open it the smell is just like the other one I had a few years ago. I guess that's why I prefer going into guitar shops that only deal in vintage guitars—they smell better than the new ones.