Mosrite and KAPA Guitars

[Sarah93003]

This is an interesting blog that talks about KAPA guitars and mentions that all of the assets were sold to Mosrite in 1970. Does anyone know anything about this?

http://uniqueguitar.blogspot.com/2010/0 ... itars.html

[JimPage]

Hey--

Those guitars were built about a mile from where I now live:
5416 46th Avenue
Hyattsville, MD 20781

They were built in a factory owned by Kobe Veneman, who had a few music stores in this area. Bob Shade and I were having lunch a few weeks ago with an old-time salesman at Veneman's rival, Chuck Levin's Washington Music Center, and he told us a funny story about Old Man Veneman.

The salesman from Chuck's was in Veneman's Rockville, MD, store (now the Guitar Center on Twinbrook Parkway) and a young man was approached by Mr. Veneman, who asked, "Hey, I recognize you. I sold you a Les Paul a few years ago. Do you still have it?"

The kid replied, "Why, yes, Mr. Veneman. I still have it and I love it."

And Old Man Veneman replied, "Well, I still have your $800 and I love that!"

--Jim

[juan_10]

I noticed that the guitars all looked very similar to other makers models .. especially the 12 string 'fender' and the vox lookalike teardrop shaped model ... there's even a lookalike 335 in there ... It was tough back then just after the 'British invasion' and the guitar boom evidently. No disrespect , just saying

[Bob Shade]

Hey Sarah!

Yes, I was around at the time about 2 miles away from the Kapa factory here in MD too like Jim is now. I know the Kapa brand well as my very first band I was in when I was 14 years young ( The American Cheese Band ) we had 2 Kapa guitars and we played everything from the Beatles to Hendrix. A Kapa was only $40.00 brand new, and they were a value in sound and play.

Both Mosrite and Microfret Guitars also here in Md. purchased some items from Kapa's ultimate demise.

Semie Moseley purchased a pickup winding machine so the Mosrite pickups could be wound in a more automated fashion. This was when the pickups started getting wound to lower resistance at Mosrite. Most between 8+10K.

Semie also purchased all of the fretwire on hand as Kapa also used very small wire. This was about it from what I know of the Mosrite/ Kappa purchase. Semie told Kube Veneman that he was crazy for not continuing in the electric guitar biz as he could get rich. Kube decided to start over with a Japanese import line under the name of Bradley. These were faithful copies of Strat's and Les Pauls mostly.

A Hallmark factoid, Joe Hall contacted Kapa, as a possible source of bridges and tailpieces for the upstart of the Swept-Wing while working with Bob Bogel from The Ventures on the new Hallmark venture. ( no pun intended ) I have a picture of a Hallmark Swept-Wing prototype with Kapa hardware. I also have a Kapa catalog from the Joe Hall archive with a letter from Kapa stating they would be more than happy to provide Hallmark with any parts they were interested in. Joe declined ultimately, and used Mosrite bridge parts and other vibratos which some were Japanese and some were made here in the US.

Bob

[JimPage]

Hey--

I had a Bradley clone of an '80s Jazz Bass and it was a wonderful instrument. Wish that I had kept it.

Veneman's also had a line of Japanese copies of Martin acoustics under the Nagoya label. These, too, were fairly high-quality instruments and you still see them around from time to time. Most folks who have them seem to realize they are good guitars and they keep them. Others, like yours truly, sell or trade them and regret it later.

My Nagoya was a 12-string, and, like with every other 12-string I've ever had, I couldn't live without it till I got it and then I never played it.

So it goes . . .

--Jim

[juan_10]

my first guitar was a Japanese twelve string .. go figure ! That should tell you how sensible I was back then ! Talk about making work for yourself Jim ! Twice as many strings to go out of tune , and it must have taken me ages till I could hold down that first F chord ... Heavy too . . Loud

[JimPage]

Hey, Juan!

My first decent-- notice I didn't say "good"-- acoustic was a new EKO Ranger 12-string back around 1967. Heavy as lead and SO hard to chord.

Traded that on a black Univox Beatle-bass copy at Ace Music in Miami a year later. Didn't get much for that EKO but it was one guitar I never regretting getting rid of.

My best friend (still is) John had a Ranger 12-string, too. We'd say to each other, "Boy, do our guitars suck or WHAT?!?!?!" He also had a red Fender Mustang, and that was a nice guitar except for the switches. He was playing through a Silvertone 12" combo amp and he let me play my bass through his Fender PA. My first "amp" was a table radio I found that had a 1/4" jack input. VERY high tech.

Oh, we were tearing them up down in Naples, Florida, back in those olden days!!! Between John and me, we've probably had every guitar, bass, and amp made since then. Lots of fun and we still enjoy discussing guitars and amps, though it's via email mostly since he lives down in Atlanta now.

--Jim

[Sarah93003]

Great information Bob! I sure wish someone would write the "Semie Moseley Story". It would be such a great book to read with so many twists and turns.