In another thread we discussed a Mosrite clone being auctioned on eBay and the seller states it was put together by Gene Moles, built from left over parts when the Bakersfield Mosrite factory went bankrupt. I was checking one of the links in this auction that showed some excellent photo's of a Gene Moles Custom Mosrite. I will post these photo's here for future reference as I doubt you will ever see many of these guitars floating around. http://dam.10.forumer.com/a/semie-mosle ... st665.html
I recall that in 1969-70 Gene had a shop on Niles St. here in Bakersfield where he had a showroom full of his 'Mosrite parts guitars' on display. Gene, as with Semie, struggled to make a living building and repairing guitars. He moved around Bakersfield over the years and his shops kept getting smaller and smaller, but he kept it up until the end. His last shop was about the size of an average bedroom. He was a super nice guy to talk to and was an outstanding musician.
In these photo's we see that he retained the 'M' shaped headstock, used the Gibson style volume and tone layout and apparently Fender amp knobs. What puzzles me is the fretboard. Using Mosrite left over stock the fretboard would have the overall length for a 24 3/4" scale, but on this guitar there appears to be plenty of room left to add a 23rd fret. This would indicate to me that he reduced the scale length to 24 1/2". Also I think the white dots on the body near the bridge would indicate that this guitar originally had a vibrato and the was removed and the holes plugged after it was finished.
Gene Moles Mosrite's
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Gene Moles Mosrite's
Danny Ellison
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Re: Gene Moles Mosrite's
Hehehe it's a Molesrite
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Re: Gene Moles Mosrite's
KRamone27 wrote:Hehehe it's a Molesrite
Molesrite that's great. Speaking of which, I can't believe that the one on auction we were watching that was being parted out, was reassembled and sold with the 'Buy it Now' option of $3200. white Molesrite
Danny Ellison
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Yeah I emailed him about the other parts and he wanted an obscene amount for them, I think he wanted $850 just for the pickups and pickguard so I backed down from that. I guess I'll have to settle for home made parts.
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Re: Gene Moles Mosrite's
Wow - the guy with that ebay auction was willing to sell it to me locally for $1200 but I didn't bite. Good for him, eh?
The neck on that black one is odd. My first thought was that the neck appears longer since the Mosrite necks have a rounded end on the fret board, but it still looks too long. Strange.
The neck on that black one is odd. My first thought was that the neck appears longer since the Mosrite necks have a rounded end on the fret board, but it still looks too long. Strange.
Oy vey - it's MESHUGGA BEACH PARTY - The world's premier Jewish Surf Music Band!
What? Couldn't tell the logo is a link? So click here, what's the hold up? http://www.meshuggabeachparty.com
What? Couldn't tell the logo is a link? So click here, what's the hold up? http://www.meshuggabeachparty.com
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Re: Gene Moles Mosrite's
I found another one!
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Re: Gene Moles Mosrite's
KRamone27 wrote:I found another one!
So, which one is this? A JM or a GM.....or a JMGM????
make the Mos' of it, choose the 'rite stuff.
.........Owner of 9 Mosrites...
.....proud owner and documented:
1963 "the Ventures" Model s/n #0038
http://www.thevintagerockproject.com/
.........Owner of 9 Mosrites...
.....proud owner and documented:
1963 "the Ventures" Model s/n #0038
http://www.thevintagerockproject.com/
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Re: Gene Moles Mosrite's
Here are a couple (err, five? six?) more. I'm sure you all saw the first one up on eBay.
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Re: Gene Moles Mosrite's
Adam,
All this time I had thought Semie had not come out with a Maple Fretboard until the 80s, but these look like they are from the 70s.....and I know he's done Special Custom Orders over the years......but....... did these all belong to one owner.....or was it you???!!??
make the Mos' of it, choose the 'rite stuff.
.........Owner of 9 Mosrites...
.....proud owner and documented:
1963 "the Ventures" Model s/n #0038
http://www.thevintagerockproject.com/
.........Owner of 9 Mosrites...
.....proud owner and documented:
1963 "the Ventures" Model s/n #0038
http://www.thevintagerockproject.com/
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Re: Gene Moles Mosrite's
I believe Semie's first foray into maple boards was in 1976 on the Brass Rail model, followed by the Nokie and M88 models in the late 1980s. These four Maphis models, however, were not built by Semie, but by Gene Moles with leftover parts in his shop probably in the '80s. Note the '70s style headstock on the Maphis bass and the black binding on the sunburst six-string (body and neck). Gene assembled them (maple fretboards and all) for the same collector (not me) who still owns them today. They all have the GM Custom logo on the reverse side of the headstock. They are also all wired volume-volume-tone instead of just volume-tone.
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