Which one is the real Mosrite?

[Dimeman]

I have seen "official made" new Mosrite guitars with
1. Mosrite Original on the headstock,
2. Mosrite of USA on the headstock and
3. Mosrite of California on the headstock
4. Mosrite with the Fillmore name also on the headstock logo


Which one of these is made as close as possible to the way Semie Moseley made them?

[dorkrockrecords]

A vintage one.

[BRRanger]

'nuff said!

[Dimeman]

A vintage one.

I know that....but which modern made guitar is the closest to the vintage Mosrite???

[Hydra19]

that would mean that a person would have to have an original mosrite and all the reissues.....well, I was close!

I have an original one, a Fillmore Made in California Logo, a Fillmore Made in USA standard model and a Kurokumo Super Excellent that I recently sold.

I'm not sure how close my original '66 is to the rest but that is my reference. The vintage one has a slighty smaller neck and them low speed frets. Even though it is not the easiest to play the sound is in a league of its own both plugged and unplugged, the resonance and smoothness of the tremolo is second to none.

The Fillmore made in california was just recently setup and it's very sweet, almost better than the real Mosrite cause the frets make it more playable, plus it's a looker, 1963 sidejack in Ink Blue. Vintage one wins by sound and vibrato feel.

Fillmore made in USA, this one came setup perfectly, I almost did nothing to it, it sounds great, and plays great, looks great but the vintage one beats it.

The Kurokumo felt great to play but I found some parts to not be vintage correct, they were improved and that was a great playing guitar, felt good, neck was a little bigger and sold it off as I had too many Mosrites

Nothing can compare to a vintage one I feel.
The metal used for vibrato is different, the original pickups are much better and I noticed the vintage one has a sound that just pops out of it.

First time I plugged the reissues in, however, the sound that came out was pure Mosrite, couldn't mistake it.
Considering the vintages are just a little bit more, I'd go for that but you got to know where you stand with those frets!!!!

[Nokie]

In my experience, a good original Mosrite is great but hard to find. Most often, there is an increasing delta in the action that gets fairly high by the 15th fret. The Fillmore and Kurokumo's have consistently better action across the length of the fretboard. Being that there is likely more machine involvement in their manufacture and using modern tolerances, they just fit together so nicely. I find the tone of the Kurokomo's to be spot on with the originals I've had and have. I'm guessing the Fillmores are purdy much the same deal. Everyone's opinion, including my own, on this so far is anecdotal and subjective. It would be great if we had a true blindfold comparison comparing the sounds of the different versions. -Marty

[Hydra19]

I find that too, my original Mosrite is unbeatable in sound, but it's tough to play, and there's no chance of bending above the 14th fret, frets too low, action to high and no frets. It's slightly easier to play up to the 12th fret but the guitar has an amplified warmness and sustain that the copies don't have. Don't know if it's all the old parts or mojo or what, but the guitar has that X factor.

Only problem is that if I'm not precise with my fingering of notes, there can be a dead note due to the low speed frets, although strings are bendable up to the 12th fret. Whilst the copies don't sound exactly the same to my ear, they are so close a lot of people wouldn't be able to tell the difference and they are easier to play due to slightly higher frets. They're still low but there's enough to dig in and make a bend.

I now need to sell one and I can't decide which one to sell, so they're pretty close. So do I sell the one that plays the best, looks the best, or sounds the best?

[Nokie]

I now need to sell one and I can't decide which one to sell, so they're pretty close. So do I sell the one that plays the best, looks the best, or sounds the best?

While everyone knows it is better to look good than to be good, I'd say sell the one that looks the best - especially if looking best means it appears closest to new. I'd much rather have a nice worn Strat that has that old brown shoe feeling and great playability, for example, than a shiny new one. -Marty

[Hydra19]

this is the one that looks the best, I'd miss it

[Nokie]

this is the one that looks the best, I'd miss it

Wow!! That's about as nice as it gets. Indeed, I can see your dilemma. -Marty