Newbie Mosrite History Question - my apologies

[SurferBill]

I spent a few hours today on various sites reading the history of Semie Moseley, his moves around the country and the amazing trail of guitars he left us (you all). But, I don't have a good handle on where we are today - 2010, um 2011. Did Ed Roman acquire Fillmore, or start Fillmore, which was making Mosrites in Japan, and now has exclusive rights and makes Mosrites in Vegas? He seems to enjoy lawsuits. And, some companies like Hallmark make really good clones... Googling Fillmore, as you all know, takes you to Ed Roman's site. Is Semie's crew still around making gutiars somewhere, and is his widow involved? I get the feeling Mosrite enthusiasts don't like Ed Roman. Looking at his mega-huge Vegas guitar showroom and custom shop on his website...kinda takes the boutique coolness away.

I'm guessing there is a thread on the site that covers this...

Thanks,

Bill

[dubtrub]

I'm sure there are more discussions here on the forum but here are a few that should bring you up to date.

viewtopic.php?f=8&t=65

viewtopic.php?f=8&t=547

viewtopic.php?f=8&t=1983

viewtopic.php?f=8&t=1867

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=25

[SurferBill]

Dubtrub,

Thanks much...found 1867 to be most interesting. What a nice post from ER...confirms my first impressions. The post from Artie at FrontPorch from Sept. 2009 creates more questions. Did Dana leave ER in Vegas and now making guitars in Bakersfield? If so, for who? The post says Front Porch is a Mosrite/Fillmore dealer, but isn't Ed Roman now Fillmore? His website says they make them in Vegas. Or, is Fillmore the Japanese manufacturer? Everything I find for Fillmore leads me to ER. Anyway, where does Artie get his product from? Who actually makes it? He seems to have a nice shop.

My drive for details drive me nuts sometimes...it's my OCD.

Thanks,

Bill

[Veenture]

Welcome Bill, there's still a lot of reading to do...and probably most of what you want/need to know is to be found somewhere here on the forum
Don't forget to use the "Search" option at the top of the page, good luck.

[SurferBill]

Will do. Thanks.

[MOSDAN]

Bill-Welcome to the greatest site in the world for Mosrite information. I'll give a shot at trying to answer your questions. If I make a mistake I apologize to anyone and everyone. First off Ed Roman use to be a licensed distributor for Fillmore and I think he no longer is a licensed distributor. The remaining Fillmore guitars that he has can still be sold by his business. Dana use to work for Ed Roman at his facility in Las Vegas but has left his operations and now is in business for herself(with her husband) in Bakersfield, Ca. under a contract she has with Fillmore guitars. She is selling Mosrite guitars that she has assembled using unfinished bodies and necks from Fillmore in Japan. Dana manufactures very high quality pickups she calls the Dana-Mo pickup and installs the pickups with very high quality components and wiriing. The finishing of the guitars are done to her specs and have some of the finest finishing you will ever see on a guitar. She calls these guitars Mosrite Originals and they truely are remarkable instruments. Some of her guitars are sold here in the United States and some are sold over seas including Japan. Arties business is a licensed distributor for Fillmore and sells the Japanese Fillmores and some of the Dana made Mosrite Originals and he is very helpful and well respected in the Mosrite community as a gentleman to work with. As additional information, Fillmore is the legal owner of the Mosrite name. Semie Moseley's widow(last wife) has challenged the right in court for ownership of the name but has gotten nothing out of several attempts. I have three Dana made guitars in my Mosrite collection and have found them to be excellent instruments.

[vjf1968]

Bill-Welcome to the greatest site in the world for Mosrite information. I'll give a shot at trying to answer your questions. If I make a mistake I apologize to anyone and everyone. First off Ed Roman use to be a licensed distributor for Fillmore and I think he no longer is a licensed distributor. The remaining Fillmore guitars that he has can still be sold by his business. Dana use to work for Ed Roman at his facility in Las Vegas but has left his operations and now is in business for herself(with her husband) in Bakersfield, Ca. under a contract she has with Fillmore guitars. She is selling Mosrite guitars that she has assembled using unfinished bodies and necks from Fillmore in Japan. Dana manufactures very high quality pickups she calls the Dana-Mo pickup and installs the pickups with very high quality components and wiriing. The finishing of the guitars are done to her specs and have some of the finest finishing you will ever see on a guitar. She calls these guitars Mosrite Originals and they truely are remarkable instruments. Some of her guitars are sold here in the United States and some are sold over seas including Japan. Arties business is a licensed distributor for Fillmore and sells the Japanese Fillmores and some of the Dana made Mosrite Originals and he is very helpful and well respected in the Mosrite community as a gentleman to work with. As additional information, Fillmore is the legal owner of the Mosrite name. Semie Moseley's widow(last wife) has challenged the right in court for ownership of the name but has gotten nothing out of several attempts. I have three Dana made guitars in my Mosrite collection and have found them to be excellent instruments.

So why when you go to www.mosriteguitars.com it shows Ed Roman as the sole distributer of Mosrite Guitars?
This is confusing.

[Veenture]

So why when you go to http://www.mosriteguitars.com it shows Ed Roman as the sole distributer of Mosrite Guitars?
This is confusing.

Do some web surfing and quickly find there's lots more that's 'confusing' about 'the guy from Vegas' Not everything that's in print is necessarily true...

[SurferBill]

Thanks Mosdan...and everyone else. It is all coming together...sort of.

I see Norman's is selling a beautiful blue Ventures on ebay for $7K. Ouch! It looks brand new, though. I also see Dr. Mike is selling a couple chiped ones for $4-5K. So, I guess that's what I'm looking at for a real one. I want to play it though, not put it on a wall, and then give it to Ellie someday to keep playing. We really do baby our guitars, so maybe paying the big bucks for a "9" out of 10 quality is the way to go. I'm in no rush, and will wait a while. Or, get Dana to make me one of those Originals. Too bad Bakersfield is so far away.

Bill

[LOSTVENTURE]

Welcome SurferBill,
I have decided to stop trying to figure out the Mosrite history (post 68 that is) and decided to just enjoy my Hallmark.
If you get this all figured out, we would all be interested in hearing your findings.
Don