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I did a fair amount of research today and now all the info is free-flowing in my brain. I got this guitar in 1982. It looks like it was barely played (not much fret wear) and only has a couple of age nicks. There are a couple of features that are throwing me for a loop. I'd love to get and share the serial number information but I'm not really sure where to look for it. Assuming it's either on the neck or under the pickguard somewhere. I remember reading that sometimes dates are on the sides of the pots. If someone can point me on where to look for the serial first, that would be cool. I really don't want to pull the neck unless I have to. I took a few good pictures and should I be able to figure out how to upload them, you'll see them in this post as well! Anyhow, In looking at the parts of the guitar (hopefully you'll see my pics), these are the features that give me some confusion:

- Starting at the headstock, I don't have a "The Ventures" decal and when I look really close, it doesn't look like there was ever a decal there. It also doesn't say "By Semie Moseley" or anything.

- The tuners are different than I see on a lot of Mosrite guitars but I did stumble across them on a picture of a reddish vintage Mosrite on this site so I know they are factory. They might be a good clue to the age of the guitar.

- No serial on fretboard

- No (r) embossed on the pickups.

- Chrome tailpiece/tremolo

- Jack on pickguard with 8 screws

Now for the pics. I'll try and just upload them but I also put them on a free hosting site as a backup. Apologies in advance if you see two sets of photos. Here goes...

Oh yeah....another feature that had me confused were the knobs. I don't think I've seen another Mosrite with those types of knobs but they really fit the guitar nicely and am inclined to think they are original.

SD

The serial number is usually on the neck between the bottom two frets. Can you post some better images of the knobs from above as well as from the side? If you take up the pickguard/control plate, flip it over, you will get access to the pot codes. They will be a seven digit number beginning with either 134 or 137. That will help us date the guitar. The rear photo shows the neck mounting screws and they don't look like what I am used to with Mosrites. What is the back story on this guitar?

Here are a couple pictures of the knobs. They are affixed with a small regular head screw.





Here's my history on the guitar. Grew up in Las Vegas. Had a single, hermit kind of neighbor that knew I played guitar in bands and stuff after seeing me load and unload my gig trailer all the time. Waved me over one day in 1982 and said "Hey, I haven't touched this in years... why don't you take it?"

I'd grown up in a household where the Ventures were on the turntable quite a bit so I knew about the guitar. Old neighbor passed away a couple of years later.

I'll try and take the pickguard off tonight and see what I can find out!

I've never seen knobs like that on Mosrite. They could have been replaced or a Radio Shack purchase if Mosrite inventory was depleted. Does the tremolo have the patent number on it?

It may be an older made in Japan model judging by the neck screws and the vibrato not saying California on it.

Gonkulator wrote:It may be an older made in Japan model judging by the neck screws and the vibrato not saying California on it.

I agree.

Back to Sarah's question...No, the tremolo does not have a patent number on it. However, I've just made a huge discovery! As I was getting ready to pull the pickguard, I started cleaning the guitar and as I cleaned the fretboard, voila! The serial number revealed itself!

image hoster

"D644"

I quickly checked the post in this forum regarding serial numbers but only see references of "B" "V" or "T"

So maybe someone has some insight as to where my guitar fits into history.

I'll post again when I take the pickguard off!

Alright, got inside the cavity. Not a lot of information from my perspective. Only things that was apparent to me was:

- Doesn't look like it had been opened up before
- Some wires were really thin compared to wires I see in my 1961 Strat.
- Now I know what old masking tape looks like
- No writing on the pots. Maybe brand will be significant to someone.
- I removed the neck pickup and was able to see the neck attachment.
- Took picture of tuners from back.

I took a bunch of pictures of the adventure and will post them now...


















Where we stand right now:

- D644 is the serial. Surely that is helpful to someone, right?
- Couple guys say possible old MIJ. Would love to see examples of other MIJ to see where that assumption came from. I can't seem to find any info in that department.


Hopefully these will spark more info from other Mosrite collectors!

None of the electronics are correct for an authentic American made Mosrite including the pickups. The pickguard laminations are not correct, the neck bolt pattern is incorrect, even the grooved trussrod channel is incorrect. Definitely not made by Semie Moseley. All signs point to a Japanese Mosrite copy which was common during 70s and 80s.