For the sake of simplifying any mixup on Ventures II"s and Mark V's, can we now refer to flat slab bodied guitars as early and german carved bodies as late? And, Mark V's as what they are, Mark V's? Reading some of the posts on either of these 3 models seems pretty confusing at times and just adds to people being misinformed. Aren't we all here to help?
The early Ventures II's had the lathed, or smooth knobs, cheaper vibrato assembly, although some probably had a Moseley(have seen photos) and possibly some may have even had a Vibramute(haven't seen one), Klusons with white knobs and the smooth, narrow pickups that were not used on any other Mosrite and, a rectangular neckplate. I have never seen one or heard of one with a 1964 date. the knobs are probably why someone may mistake it for a '64. And I've never seen one with a 1966 date. They were all made in 1965 however, some may have been assembled at a later date with no serial number. I've heard at least one story of a guy that had several of them that his dad acquired from Semie in the late 60's that sat for another 25 years or so. I can't confirm this story as true, I got it from a music store in Long Beach( I think) that had a Johhny Ramone model guitar for sale back in 96-97. Ad was in vintage guitar, called and it was sold. He described the guitar to me, answered all of my questions and told me that he got it from a guy that came to the store, with this story. the guy told him he had 6 or 7 more and would sell them to him over time. I made several calls over the next few months, but nothing ever came of this, so who knows.
As anyone here knows, this is one of the hardest, if not the hardest, Mosrite to find in any condition. I searched for mine for 21 years, have contacted most of the people that have one that I know of and done as much research as possible. My guess would be that most of them probably disappeared or are still sitting in a closet somewhere. If you ever see one, you'll see that it was not exactly the high end guitar that most Mosrites are, it was built on the cheap. It is a pretty flimsy guitar and would probably disintegrate quickly if you treated it like Pete Townsend treated a Les Paul! But to me, it is the Holy Grail of guitars.
And if you want to see a sunburst one, go to
http://www.rockometer.com Ians website is great, one of these days I'll get him to join this group. Photos of mine coming soon,
Rocco