Vintage Mosrites vs. new 'Mosrites'

[Dennisthe Menace]

......you would love my '88.....

Is an '88 just like Danny's customs?[/quote]

I'm not sure on what the DIMS are on Danny's guitar, but the DIMS on my
'88 were taken DIRECTLY off of my 1969 Dan Armstrong "Lucite Model" .

[dubtrub]

I'm not sure on what the DIMS are on Danny's guitar, but the DIMS on my
'88 were taken DIRECTLY off of my 1969 Dan Armstrong "Lucite Model" .

The guitars I build have the neck at the zero fret all the way up to the 22nd fret 1/8th inch wider but are very thin. Also I build my guitars with a 25 inch scale length. Every other dimension is the same as my 66 Mosrite. I get nothing but compliments on my necks by virtually everyone that try's them. But of course none of them are Mosrite player's.

[Strat-o-rama]

Danny,
Do you notice any increase in 'twang factor' due to your longer scale necks?
Interesting thread, btw.

[dubtrub]

Danny,
Do you notice any increase in 'twang factor' due to your longer scale necks?
Interesting thread, btw.

I really haven't noticed any difference in the sound between my clone and my originals. I play a lot above the 12th fret and that little extra space really helps.

Doesn't the Hallmark Custom 60 use the 25" scale length as well?

[Strat-o-rama]

The Hallmark 60 Custom is 24.75 scale. The nut is wider than a vintage Mosrite, and the frets are small, but filed to an apex, giving them a triangular profile. I find I can go from the 60 Custom to any of my Fenders without a problem. I got accustomed to the different "feel" quickly. There's more adjustment at the amp tonally than any difference between the slim fast neck of the Hallmark and the typical vintage style Fender necks.

[Hydra19]

I had a Hallmark, easy to play, but I noticed I was fretting the strings sharp at the first fret, eventually sold it when I get Mel's vintage '66. I've since got 3 reissues too...

I think the comparision of a vintage Fender to a reissue Fender applies to Mosrites as well. The vintage Mosrite is in a class of its own in terms of sound. It really does sound the best out of all my guitars. It's not very easy to fret, and sometimes I struggle, but sometimes I just feel like playing it warts and all and it doesn't end up bothering me too much. Especially when jamming along to the Ventures in Japan '65!

The reissue are beautiful looking, no scratches, binding on the body...When I first plugged them in, the sound was pure Mosrite, but having compared them to the vintage, it is a bit different, but you cannot mistake the sound for anything other than a Mosrite. I woul d say the vintage one has a hotter feel, it's smoother, rounder and warmer. The vintage one has a lot of punch to the sound and very little sustain which is great for Ventures stuff. The reissues on the other hand have frets so are easier to play, you can play bendy blues on them and are impressive. More "glassy" sound than the vintage, which is more twangy.

The reissues are made out of basswod, so not sure now much that contributes to the differences.
I love my vintage Mosrite, which it was the easiest to play, but am happy with it now, there is no feeling like taking if off a stand and playing it, and if you're up for that neck and frets, it's gonna give you a great sound.

When I'm not feeling up to that, I grab one of the reissues and jam away. I am happy with the reissues considering the price I've paid. They seem to demand compliments from people who walk in the room

That said, I am done with buying guitars for a while, but would only consider a vintage Mosrite from now on. I have toyed with the idea of selling the 63' and 64' reissue to get a nice vintage 1965 but not sure I could live without them!

I have never even heard of Mosrites before 2012, only 3 years later....

[Vance Directive]

Mel,
Do you think Japanese Mosrite copies from 2000 are good introduction to the Mosrite experience at a bargain price?
I see one for sale on Reverb for $1100 shipped.
A 1972 Mosrite sells for wl over twice that amount. Having played one of the latter, would the Y2K Japan copy disappoint? Is there a lot of variance in builds or are they consistently good? The 72 Mosrite was great but beyond my budget.

Thanks!

I think the biggest difference between the new and old Mosrites are the frets. My first Mosrite was an Japanese "Excellent", which, as billed, is an excellent guitar. Later I was lucky enough to get my hands on a '66 Ventures model. The Excellent is an accurate reproduction, with the sound, neck shape and vibrato feel very close to the vintage guitars. However, the old Mosrite frets are a thing unto themselves - barely there. Some people don't like this, but I do, and to me it makes a difference. On the bright side, the Excellents have small frets which could easily be filed down to speed fret size.

E

[MWaldorf]

Vance, the Japanese Mosrites I've played capture the essence of the vintage guitars. Unlike Hallmarks, the Japanese Mosrites are built with all the quirks of the originals. I had a Kurokumo "Excellent" model, and was very happy with it.

[Vance Directive]

Thanks, Mel. I see a couple Japan Mosrites on Reverb.com within my budget, and Hallmark Custom 60s keep popping up. I have to get back to IL to pick up my check so I will shop there.
I also see a Mark V with changed case for a good price on Rev. Any opinion on MkV vs. Ventures Mk I & II models? Bob Shade says the Mark I is the one with the characteristic 'honk' and his guitars capture that aspect of the originals very well.

[The AmpFibian]

Western Hills Music in Cincinnati has an older (80's?) Japanese Mosrite Combo. Black with Yellow sunburst. I don't know much about it but you should contact the store if anyone is interested.