Vintage Mosrite?

[Oildalian]

Hi All,

I'm a native of Bakersfield/Oildale and recently inherited a possible vintage Mosrite. My grandfather passed many years ago, however his "prized" guitar was kept in the family and recently given to me, the only musician in the family (and I play bass...so i don't know much about these 6 string jobbies).

I do recall him playing the guitar back in the early 70's, but I have a feeling he had it before my time (born in '68). It looks to be missing a tailpiece behind the trem. I can see the outline of something that was once there, but it wasn't with the guitar or in the case.

The case is violin shaped, not square and looks to be original as well. It's a hardcase. Happy to post pics if it will help.

My grandfather lived a few blocks away from Buck Ownen's studio and was known to hang around and play there from time to time. Evidently, this guitar was his favorite and last one he ever purchased.

Here's what I know: It's at least from the early 70's, probably earlier based on what I see.
The paint is somewhat uneven and the cavity under the pickguard looks almost like it was hand carved. The tuners are Kluson Deluxe. The trem and jack plate are cast, not stamped. The neck is super narrow (makes one of my Ibanez 4 string basses feel like a P-bass in comparison). The frets are very thin and the action is like butter. The single coil pickup sounds like a super hot Strat.

The guitar sounds beautiful. I only lifted the pick guard, didn't remove any strings or anything else...almost afraid to do it. It has a stacked pot, the top (inner) is volume, the outer almost acts as a tone but that really doesn't describe what it does. It rolls off the highs, but seems to bump the midrange. It has a three position toggle, with one position mute. The other two positions have differences, but I haven't explored it enough to determine what it's doing.

Here are some pictures.

Can any of you with expertise on Mosrite determine what this is? Is it a 50's or early 60's one off? Any information is appreciated and I know this isn't much to go on. As I have more time with it, I'll try to extract more info from inside the control cavity. There are no serial numbers or other markings external on the body.

http://www.creekstudios.com/download/mosrite/headstock.jpg
http://www.creekstudios.com/download/mosrite/body1.jpg
http://www.creekstudios.com/download/mosrite/body2.jpg


Much appreciated!
Oildalian

[dubtrub]

That appears to the type of guitar Semie was building when he had his little shanty of a shop on Miner Street on the north side of Standard school back around 1959. I watched him build guitars of that design which he usually painted a two tone sun burst of dark maroon red center with a black burst shading around the edges. Take it down to Artie at Front Porch Music on 19th Street and he should be able to tell you everything you want to know about it

[Bob Shade]

I agree with Danny. I would like to point out though that it has the same shape jack plate and bridge as my early 60's Semie Moseley made Standel. Just an observation. The plate could have been added later, the acrylic jack plates broke fairly easily.

What a cool and rare Mosrite! Thanks for sharing the story and images.

Bob

[zarfnober]

Great story, and guard it with your life Get is a sound sample if you can.

Rocco

[Oildalian]

Thank you so much for the great information. I bought my first trumpet from Front Porch...wow...

I'll pack it up and take it with me the next time in Bako during a week day or a Saturday, I'll take it up and see if Artie happens to be around. It's great to hear he's still kicking.

And I will get some sound clips. I've already asked a buddy of mine who can play skinny strings to use it on some of our next recordings. Maybe even a Ventures tune

Thanks again for the information and warm welcome to the boards.

Oildalian