Mosrite 500 Blues Bender model Serial Numbers List (1970s, Les Paul-ish Shape.)

User avatar
LoveyX
Top Producer
Posts: 322
Joined: Thu Jul 16, 2009 6:46 pm
Location: Webster, New York
Contact:

Re: Bluesbender serial numbers

Postby LoveyX » Thu Mar 16, 2017 11:07 am

bking,
In case you haven't figured it out already, if a Mosrite guitar has a serial number it is usually stamped between the two highest frets on the fretboard. :D
Most will have s/n's, some will not...

User avatar
Sarah93003
Master Contributor
Posts: 3810
Joined: Tue Mar 10, 2009 4:26 pm
Location: Westlake Village, CA
Contact:

Re: Bluesbender serial numbers

Postby Sarah93003 » Thu Mar 16, 2017 11:13 am

It's also a good idea to take off the neck at a convenient string change and check the neck pocket and the neck for stampings of mfg dates and serial numbers.
____________________
1965 Mosrite Celebrity Prototype with Vibramute
1972 Mosrite Celebrity-III
1977 Gibson MK-53
1982 Fender Bullet
1994 Gretsch Streamliner G3155 Custom
2005 Gibson Les Paul Standard Plus
2006 Jude Les Paul 12 String

bking
New Member
Posts: 3
Joined: Wed Mar 15, 2017 3:30 pm
Contact:

Re: Bluesbender serial numbers

Postby bking » Thu Mar 16, 2017 1:19 pm

I'll pull the neck off & have a look when I change the strings. I don't see anything stamped between the frets and the area between the highest fret & the end of the fretboard is scalloped with no apparent markings. Thanks for the help! - Ben.

User avatar
kalanpala
Regular Member
Posts: 21
Joined: Tue Feb 17, 2009 5:03 am
Location: Finland
Contact:

Re: Bluesbender serial numbers

Postby kalanpala » Fri Mar 17, 2017 4:13 am

I have NO 140 - white.

User avatar
101Volts
Master Contributor
Posts: 2486
Joined: Sun Mar 01, 2009 10:33 pm
Location: Pennsylvania, USA
Contact:

Re: Bluesbender serial numbers

Postby 101Volts » Wed Apr 11, 2018 9:29 pm

Here are two more.

N0068 (Black.) Doesn't have its original electronics or knobs. Seller says this is a 72:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Rare-M ... SwknJXxKsg

NO119 (Black.) Neck, body, neck plate, screws and strap buttons are available on eBay. Seller says this is a 70:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Mosrite-1970-B ... SwuoxanXpS

- Austin
1966 Ventures II (German Carved, B670.)
1970s "Not a Blues Bender" Bodies: 2.
1976 Brass Rail Deluxe #10.
2013 Fender Pawn Shop Bass VI.

User avatar
101Volts
Master Contributor
Posts: 2486
Joined: Sun Mar 01, 2009 10:33 pm
Location: Pennsylvania, USA
Contact:

Re: Bluesbender serial numbers

Postby 101Volts » Sun Apr 22, 2018 7:09 am

??119, Brown: Probably the same guitar in my post above. I'm not sure if it has anything before the numbers though it seems to:

https://reverb.com/item/2852359-brown-c ... del-guitar

NO135, Black:

https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/ ... -278833881

No180 ; it's brown or a natural finish so I have no idea if it's factory or not:

https://reverb.com/item/3369670-mosrite-bluesbender

Here's a red body and neck, no number:

https://reverb.com/nz/item/6282103-mosr ... ck-vintage

A brown one, no number:

https://www.blackbookguitars.com/collec ... esbender-1

I've updated the list. Bold text = new addition.

-- ---: TimR's. No number.
-- ---: Red body and neck.
Source: https://reverb.com/nz/item/6282103-mosr ... ck-vintage
-- ---: Brown.
Source: https://www.blackbookguitars.com/collec ... esbender-1
NO 003
NO 028: "Dark Burgundy."
Source: http://www.ne.jp/asahi/mochizuki/kiyosh ... rlist.html
NO 031: Color: ?; Owned by Tim Brennan (Tym)
NO 039
NO 041
NO 045
NO 049: Black, heavy weather checking
NO 068: Black; Missing original pups and knobs. Seller said it's a 1972 model.
NO 071: Black
Source: http://home.insightbb.com/~marksma/wsb/ ... ip-35.html
NO 083: Red
?? 119: Brown (Called Black in the previous post.) Seems to have been parted out on eBay.
Sources:
https://reverb.com/item/2852359-brown-c ... del-guitar
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Mosrite-1970-B ... SwuoxanXpS
NO 133
NO 135: Black
NO 140: White
NO 153
NO 153 Deluxe: Black - "Made in 1969. It is black with a red tortoise shell pick guard. The scale is 1/8" shorter than the Gibson scale. After taking this picture, it has since been completely restored by my father, the master luthier Bill Gruggett, an original member of the Mosrite Guitars team. Original Mosrite parts were used from his personal stock, except for new high-quality PC-USA pickups, which I requested."
Source: http://www.ne.jp/asahi/mochizuki/kiyosh ... rlist.html
NO 160
NO 162: Black (owned by Sumlin.)
NO 170
NO 172: Sunburst
NO 180: Brown or Natural.
Source: https://reverb.com/item/3369670-mosrite-bluesbender
NO 190: Cherry Burst
NO 195: Pad on back
NO 196 - Black, Signed by Nokie Edwards
NO 203

Unknown serial numbers:

NO 03x/04x (White, Owned by Adam for a time)

This list is up to 29 individual guitars now, 3 without numbers. I'd be interested in seeing if any numbers go to 300.

- Austin
1966 Ventures II (German Carved, B670.)
1970s "Not a Blues Bender" Bodies: 2.
1976 Brass Rail Deluxe #10.
2013 Fender Pawn Shop Bass VI.

User avatar
101Volts
Master Contributor
Posts: 2486
Joined: Sun Mar 01, 2009 10:33 pm
Location: Pennsylvania, USA
Contact:

Re: Bluesbender serial numbers

Postby 101Volts » Tue Apr 24, 2018 1:10 pm

Numbers 32 and 87 added.

-- ---: TimR's. No number.
-- ---: Red body and neck. https://reverb.com/nz/item/6282103-mosr ... ck-vintage
-- ---: Brown. https://www.blackbookguitars.com/collec ... esbender-1
NO 003
NO 028: "Dark Burgundy."
Source: http://www.ne.jp/asahi/mochizuki/kiyosh ... rlist.html
NO 031: Color: ?; Owned by Tim Brennan (Tym)
NO 032: Refretted and modified. Seen on eBay in October 2010. viewtopic.php?f=27&t=3676
NO 039
NO 041
NO 045
NO 049: Black, heavy weather checking
NO 068: Black; Missing original pups and knobs. Seller said it's a 1972 model.
NO 071: Black
Source: http://home.insightbb.com/~marksma/wsb/ ... ip-35.html
NO 083: Red
NO 087: Finished in Red, had a neck repair that wasn't touched up. (Not sure if this is refinished or not.) Seen on eBay in October 2010. viewtopic.php?f=27&t=3663
?? 119: Brown - Seems to have been parted out on eBay. Sources:
https://reverb.com/item/2852359-brown-c ... del-guitar
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Mosrite-1970-B ... SwuoxanXpS
NO 133
NO 135: Black
NO 140: White
NO 153
NO 153 Deluxe: Black - "Made in 1969. It is black with a red tortoise shell pick guard. The scale is 1/8" shorter than the Gibson scale. After taking this picture, it has since been completely restored by my father, the master luthier Bill Gruggett, an original member of the Mosrite Guitars team. Original Mosrite parts were used from his personal stock, except for new high-quality PC-USA pickups, which I requested."
Source: http://www.ne.jp/asahi/mochizuki/kiyosh ... rlist.html
NO 160
NO 162: Black (owned by Sumlin.)
NO 170
NO 172: Sunburst
NO 180: Brown or Natural.
Source: https://reverb.com/item/3369670-mosrite-bluesbender
NO 190: Cherry Burst
NO 195: Pad on back
NO 196 - Black, Signed by Nokie Edwards
NO 203

Unknown serial numbers:

NO 03x/04x (White, Owned by Adam for a time)

This list is up to 31 individual guitars now, 3 without numbers.

- Austin
1966 Ventures II (German Carved, B670.)
1970s "Not a Blues Bender" Bodies: 2.
1976 Brass Rail Deluxe #10.
2013 Fender Pawn Shop Bass VI.

User avatar
101Volts
Master Contributor
Posts: 2486
Joined: Sun Mar 01, 2009 10:33 pm
Location: Pennsylvania, USA
Contact:

Re: Bluesbender serial numbers

Postby 101Volts » Mon Apr 30, 2018 4:45 am

3 more to the no numbers section.

-- ---: TimR's. No number.
-- ---: Red body and neck. https://reverb.com/nz/item/6282103-mosr ... ck-vintage
-- ---: Brown. https://www.blackbookguitars.com/collec ... esbender-1
-- ---: Red, Neck's stripped and neck pickup cavity routed so the bottom end could be closer to the bridge. Available from Gonkulator on Reverb Late April 2018: https://reverb.com/item/11837350-mosrit ... er-project
-- ---: Black Body, no neck, large rout you could fit 3 pickups into and start routing a Stratocaster vibrato unit into (?) so maybe this was going to become a bass prototype but they didn't get around to it? Avalable from Gonkulator, Late April 2018: https://reverb.com/item/11837375-mosrit ... y-in-black
-- ---: Not Finished Body, Not Routed except for the electronics section. Available from Gonkulator late April 2018: https://reverb.com/item/11837362-mosrit ... ender-body
NO 003
NO 028: "Dark Burgundy."
Source: http://www.ne.jp/asahi/mochizuki/kiyosh ... rlist.html
NO 031: Color: ?; Owned by Tim Brennan (Tym)
NO 032: Refretted and modified. Seen on eBay in October 2010. viewtopic.php?f=27&t=3676
NO 039
NO 041
NO 045
NO 049: Black, heavy weather checking
NO 068: Black; Missing original pups and knobs. Seller said it's a 1972 model.
NO 071: Black
Source: http://home.insightbb.com/~marksma/wsb/ ... ip-35.html
NO 083: Red
NO 087: Finished in Red, had a neck repair that wasn't touched up. (Not sure if this is refinished or not.) Seen on eBay in October 2010. viewtopic.php?f=27&t=3663
?? 119: Brown - Seems to have been parted out on eBay. Sources:
https://reverb.com/item/2852359-brown-c ... del-guitar
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Mosrite-1970-B ... SwuoxanXpS
NO 133
NO 135: Black
NO 140: White
NO 153
NO 153 Deluxe: Black - "Made in 1969. It is black with a red tortoise shell pick guard. The scale is 1/8" shorter than the Gibson scale. After taking this picture, it has since been completely restored by my father, the master luthier Bill Gruggett, an original member of the Mosrite Guitars team. Original Mosrite parts were used from his personal stock, except for new high-quality PC-USA pickups, which I requested."
Source: http://www.ne.jp/asahi/mochizuki/kiyosh ... rlist.html
NO 160
NO 162: Black (owned by Sumlin.)
NO 170
NO 172: Sunburst
NO 180: Brown or Natural.
Source: https://reverb.com/item/3369670-mosrite-bluesbender
NO 190: Cherry Burst
NO 195: Pad on back
NO 196 - Black, Signed by Nokie Edwards
NO 203

Unknown serial numbers:

NO 03x/04x (White, Owned by Adam for a time)

This list is up to 32 individual guitars and 2 bodies now, 4 guitars without numbers.

- Austin[
1966 Ventures II (German Carved, B670.)
1970s "Not a Blues Bender" Bodies: 2.
1976 Brass Rail Deluxe #10.
2013 Fender Pawn Shop Bass VI.

sumlin
Senior Member
Posts: 103
Joined: Mon Feb 04, 2013 8:38 am
Location: United Kingdom
Contact:

Re: Bluesbender serial numbers

Postby sumlin » Tue May 08, 2018 6:47 am

A few Bluesbenders in action (not sure of the serial #s)

John Reis in the studio with Hot Snakes last year:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BQwF5hQhgXj ... =otisserie

Image



Eric Erlandson from Hole in 1990 - this one looks almost exactly like mine (#162) in terms of the marks and dings you can see but the seller never mentioned it so...

Image

Image

Image

Image


Jim Diamond (Detroit garage rock producer) had a black Bluesbender he was playing as a sort-of-bass in the band Bantam Rooster when they toured with the Dirtbombs in the early 2000s. They stayed at my house in the UK and he showed me it - said it wasn't really a Mosrite, it was kind of their 'budget' model if I recall correctly. Can't find a pic though...


Lastly, I remember seeing a Bluesbender in the UK magazine The Guitar Magazine in the collection of Ross Godfrey who plays with the band Morcheeba, it's a red-burst one:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BeB0nfLFtI6 ... lesgodfrey

Image
Brass Rail #43
Acoustic Black Widow #BC1092
MkV #B735
Univox Hi Fliers, Tele Deluxes, Harmony Bobkats

User avatar
101Volts
Master Contributor
Posts: 2486
Joined: Sun Mar 01, 2009 10:33 pm
Location: Pennsylvania, USA
Contact:

Re: Bluesbender serial numbers

Postby 101Volts » Fri Nov 30, 2018 7:05 pm

sumlin wrote:A few Bluesbenders in action (not sure of the serial #s)

John Reis in the studio with Hot Snakes last year:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BQwF5hQhgXj ... =otisserie

Eric Erlandson from Hole in 1990 - this one looks almost exactly like mine (#162) in terms of the marks and dings you can see but the seller never mentioned it so...

Jim Diamond (Detroit garage rock producer) had a black Bluesbender he was playing as a sort-of-bass in the band Bantam Rooster when they toured with the Dirtbombs in the early 2000s. They stayed at my house in the UK and he showed me it - said it wasn't really a Mosrite, it was kind of their 'budget' model if I recall correctly. Can't find a pic though...

Lastly, I remember seeing a Bluesbender in the UK magazine The Guitar Magazine in the collection of Ross Godfrey who plays with the band Morcheeba, it's a red-burst one:


(images snipped from quote.)

Wow Sumlin, I wasn't expecting a Mosrite in the band Hole? Thanks, I added those 3 to the list. Also, as a note I purchased the two bodies that Gonkulator had for sale on Reverb. (The red one had already sold and I wasn't interested in it.)

Unknown (or no numbers stamped) Section:

-- ---: Redburst Guitar seen "in the UK magazine The Guitar Magazine in the collection of Ross Godfrey who plays with the band Morcheeba." - Sumlin
-- ---: Black Guitar, may not really be a BLuesbender (or a Mosrite at all) but may be a Mosrite S.M. model. Played by Jim Diamond (Detroit garage rock producer) in the early 2000s.
-- ---: Black Guitar played by John Reis in 2017. Link: https://www.instagram.com/p/BQwF5hQhgXj ... =otisserie
-- ---: used in the band Hole in 1990. May or may not be Sumlin's Black B162 listed below.
-- ---: TimR's. No number.
-- ---: Red body and neck. https://reverb.com/nz/item/6282103-mosr ... ck-vintage
-- ---: Brown. https://www.blackbookguitars.com/collec ... esbender-1
-- ---: Red, Neck's stripped and neck pickup cavity routed so the bottom end could be closer to the bridge. Available from Gonkulator on Reverb Late April 2018, sold later: https://reverb.com/item/11837350-mosrit ... er-project
-- ---: Black Body, no neck, large rout you could fit 3 pickups into and start routing a Stratocaster vibrato unit into (?) so maybe this was going to become a bass prototype but they didn't get around to it? Avalable from Gonkulator, Late April 2018 - Update, November 30; I bought it: https://reverb.com/item/11837375-mosrit ... y-in-black
-- ---: Not Finished Body, Not Routed except for the electronics section. Available from Gonkulator late April 2018 - Update, November 30; I bought it: https://reverb.com/item/11837362-mosrit ... ender-body

Known Numbers:

NO 003
NO 028: "Dark Burgundy."
Source: http://www.ne.jp/asahi/mochizuki/kiyosh ... rlist.html
NO 031: Color: ?; Owned by Tim Brennan (Tym)
NO 032: Refretted and modified. Seen on eBay in October 2010. viewtopic.php?f=27&t=3676
NO 039
NO 041
NO 045
NO 049: Black, heavy weather checking
NO 068: Black; Missing original pups and knobs. Seller said it's a 1972 model.
NO 071: Black
Source: http://home.insightbb.com/~marksma/wsb/ ... ip-35.html
NO 083: Red
NO 087: Finished in Red, had a neck repair that wasn't touched up. (Not sure if this is refinished or not.) Seen on eBay in October 2010. viewtopic.php?f=27&t=3663
?? 119: Brown - Seems to have been parted out on eBay. Sources:
https://reverb.com/item/2852359-brown-c ... del-guitar
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Mosrite-1970-B ... SwuoxanXpS
NO 133
NO 135: Black
NO 140: White
NO 153
NO 153 Deluxe: Black - "Made in 1969. It is black with a red tortoise shell pick guard. The scale is 1/8" shorter than the Gibson scale. After taking this picture, it has since been completely restored by my father, the master luthier Bill Gruggett, an original member of the Mosrite Guitars team. Original Mosrite parts were used from his personal stock, except for new high-quality PC-USA pickups, which I requested."
Source: http://www.ne.jp/asahi/mochizuki/kiyosh ... rlist.html
NO 160
NO 162: Black (owned by Sumlin.)
NO 170
NO 172: Sunburst
NO 180: Brown or Natural.
Source: https://reverb.com/item/3369670-mosrite-bluesbender
NO 190: Cherry Burst
NO 195: Pad on back
NO 196: Black, Signed by Nokie Edwards
NO 203

Unknown serial numbers:

NO 03x/04x (White, Owned by Adam for a time)

This list is up to 35 individual guitars (maybe give or take, depending on those in the unknown numbers section) and 2 bodies now, 4 guitars without numbers.

- Austin
1966 Ventures II (German Carved, B670.)
1970s "Not a Blues Bender" Bodies: 2.
1976 Brass Rail Deluxe #10.
2013 Fender Pawn Shop Bass VI.


Return to “Mosrite Guitars & Basses Vintage USA”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 123 guests