My one of a kind Mosrite....
Posted: Tue Apr 17, 2012 1:23 pm
I have a metallic blue Mosrite serial # 0321. I bought it in Oceanside Music, Oceanside, CA, in 1967, when I was stationed at Camp Del Mar.
This guitar is a "hybrid" in that the body and neck are 1967 but the pots, trem, pickups and tuners are from about 1964. Here's how that happened.
When I bought the guitar used, it was sunburst. The neck had no volute (sp?) at the headstock. After several months I went back to the store and asked Bill the owner (Herbie Mandrel was a partner in this store at the time) if he could contact Mosrite in Bakersfield to find out how much it would cost to refinish it. The answer came back as $80. We sent the guitar, expecting a turnaround of about 4 weeks. To my surprise, it came back in about 2 weeks. When I went to the store with my buddy John Quarterman (of Quarterman cone fame), we discovered that the factory had just sent me a new body and neck with all of the original parts on it AND they stamped the same serial number on the fretboard. The new neck as a volute. I was not happy and asked the owner to get them to reverse the process and give me the original neck and body back. He called Mosrite many times to no avail. They just ignored his calls. He never charged me for the changes made nor did he pay the factory, as far as I know. Years later I learned that Mosrite would often do that and just throw the older bodies/necks in the trash.
Now, knowing all that, and the fact that this guitar has never left my possession and is about a 9.5 out of 10 on the condition, does anyone have an idea what this could be worth? I see that Mosrites are not selling for as much as they were 5 or 6 years ago. I don't play this guitar and have only had it out to a couple of open mic jams. Frankly, it's not a players guitar, at least not for me. I have a strong emotional attachment because of my original love for all things "The Ventures" but now I'm more interested in obtaining a Gibson Les Paul. I just might consider selling the Mosrite for the right price.
Any opinions?
This guitar is a "hybrid" in that the body and neck are 1967 but the pots, trem, pickups and tuners are from about 1964. Here's how that happened.
When I bought the guitar used, it was sunburst. The neck had no volute (sp?) at the headstock. After several months I went back to the store and asked Bill the owner (Herbie Mandrel was a partner in this store at the time) if he could contact Mosrite in Bakersfield to find out how much it would cost to refinish it. The answer came back as $80. We sent the guitar, expecting a turnaround of about 4 weeks. To my surprise, it came back in about 2 weeks. When I went to the store with my buddy John Quarterman (of Quarterman cone fame), we discovered that the factory had just sent me a new body and neck with all of the original parts on it AND they stamped the same serial number on the fretboard. The new neck as a volute. I was not happy and asked the owner to get them to reverse the process and give me the original neck and body back. He called Mosrite many times to no avail. They just ignored his calls. He never charged me for the changes made nor did he pay the factory, as far as I know. Years later I learned that Mosrite would often do that and just throw the older bodies/necks in the trash.
Now, knowing all that, and the fact that this guitar has never left my possession and is about a 9.5 out of 10 on the condition, does anyone have an idea what this could be worth? I see that Mosrites are not selling for as much as they were 5 or 6 years ago. I don't play this guitar and have only had it out to a couple of open mic jams. Frankly, it's not a players guitar, at least not for me. I have a strong emotional attachment because of my original love for all things "The Ventures" but now I'm more interested in obtaining a Gibson Les Paul. I just might consider selling the Mosrite for the right price.
Any opinions?