The New Mosrite of California

[mosriteforever]

Gentleman, I haven't posted in a while, but I have been lurking. Let me see if I can remember how to post pix so I can show y'all the 1st Mosrite I ever bought. I got it about 11 years ago and Bill Gruggett called it the SM model. It is from 1977 and is a killer playing guitar. It has a sidejack, setneck, slab body, and single coil pickups with clear silicone on the back. One of the pickups they must have run out of silicone and you can see inside the pickup that at this point, they were using alnico bar magnets (rather than the alnico breakaway magnets of the 60's) and a bobbinless coil. Underneath the tailpiece is engraved Mosrite 1977 and the pots date to 1977 as well. I bought it locally from the original owner who purchased it new in 1977 from Manny's in New York. Even the string guide is original to the guitar, though some had the metal ones. The original owner said he had some Mosrite literature from this period, but he didn't know where he put it. I have never seen any to this day. I know Adam is a big fan of the New Mosrite period which lasted from about 1976 to 1978. I really love all the 70's guitars as Semie started developing new designs, wider necks and bigger frets, as well as Humbuckers that sound great!
Let me try to get some pix going before I get ahead of myself.


The front shot

http://i654.photobucket.com/albums/uu26 ... G_4981.jpg
New Mosrite headstock

http://i654.photobucket.com/albums/uu26 ... G_4982.jpg
Body front showing cast and plated tailpiece from 1977 as opposed to the aluminum tailpiece on the 1976 Brass Rails

http://i654.photobucket.com/albums/uu26 ... G_4983.jpg
Sidejack showing the plastic similar to the mistake plates of the early days. The pickguard and rear cover are the same material which is very thin.

http://i654.photobucket.com/albums/uu26 ... G_4984.jpg
The set neck which extends underneath the neck pickup, but stops near the bridge pickup.

http://i654.photobucket.com/albums/uu26 ... G_4986.jpg
Back of the body showing the cover over the rear routing for the switch and pots.

http://i654.photobucket.com/albums/uu26 ... G_4987.jpg
Back of the headstock showing double line Klusons

Now to the Brass Rail, probably the most advanced and unique design Semie ever came up with...............

http://i654.photobucket.com/albums/uu26 ... G_4988.jpg
1978 Brass Rail with Set neck and a beautiful Burst

http://i654.photobucket.com/albums/uu26 ... G_4989.jpg
Body close up showing the cast tailpiece from 1977 with a small mistake plate in the rear. This is the only Brass Rail I have seen with this tailpiece. Most had the aluminum plate we'll get to shortly, but there is that one in England with the Moseley tremelo.......

http://i654.photobucket.com/albums/uu26 ... G_4990.jpg
The Rosewood Headstock. This is also the only one I have seen without the 1976 at the top, but the pots date it to 1978.

http://i654.photobucket.com/albums/uu26 ... G_4991.jpg
Set neck. Usually, only the Brass Rail Deluxe' had the set neck. I want Adam to inform us about the Deluxe. I have one, but Adam is more knowledgeable and I can't have all the fun!

http://i654.photobucket.com/albums/uu26 ... G_4992.jpg
Back shot of the Burst Rail

I no longer own the following one, but the pictures should be of interest. 1976 Brass Rail

http://i654.photobucket.com/albums/uu26 ... G_4992.jpg
Body shot showing the aluminum tailpiece on the majority of Brass Rails

http://i654.photobucket.com/albums/uu26 ... rassm3.jpg
Here you can see they used pickup covers from the early 70's Humbuckers and filled the holes with something black. Not all Brass Rails have these filled holes, but I believe Adam has one and Bill Gruggett just smiled when I asked about these filled holes, and said they used what they had at the time. He also told me he gets asked about the Ventures Models with natural necks and white logo's all the time as if they were a special guitar. He said they just ran out of black ink that day and Semie said just use the white.

http://i654.photobucket.com/albums/uu26 ... rassm4.jpg
The neck bolted on from the inside and extended well into the body. Everything Semie did in this period seemed to be for more sustain and these things play and sound beautiful!

http://i654.photobucket.com/albums/uu26 ... rassm5.jpg
Headstock shot showing the Rosewood and the 1976 typical of Brass Rails.

http://i654.photobucket.com/albums/uu26 ... rassm7.jpg
Here is how the neck joint looks from the back when bolted on from the inside. No 2 of these guitars ever seem to be the same as Adam can attest to. Bill Gruggett made a lot of them as Semie was out trying to drum up business but this is another great period from Mosrite that is little known, but deserves some more recognition. Mosrite always built high quality guitars that were outside of the norm, but killer high end axes. I hope y'all enjoy!

Mosriteforever!!!

[Veenture]

Boy, this post is gonna entertain us for a while!
thanx mosriteforever!

BTW The "New Mosrite of California" reminds me of a Ventures' album titled "Rocky Road, -The New Ventures" [United Artists LA 586-G] released in March of 1976....coincidence?
Interesting fact for us Ventures fans: this album contains COMPLETELY non-ventures material. More perhaps later in a new post in order not to hijack Johnny's thread.

[dorkrockrecords]

Great post, John. You know the New Mosrite period is my absolute favorite, and I've always loved your sunburst Rail. I've seen a few Brass Rails with the SM/Barbara Mandrell doubleneck style tailpieces, but they all seem to share similar German carves and a two volume, two tone wiring scheme. I can't say that this is a distinct model, but just one of the several variations that occurred over the short run.

[mosriteforever]

Good Call Adam, I forgot about your green one. What year is it from? Also, since all these style tail pieces I have removed say Mosrite 1977 on the bottom, I am curious if your says 1976 on the head. With all the action and guitars at the geek fest, I couldn't take in all the details! GEEK OVERLOAD! Detail the Deluxe when you get a chance. I know that is an undertaking

New Mosrite Forever!!

[Dennisthe Menace]

Johnny posted:

Here you can see they used pickup covers from the early 70's Humbuckers and filled the holes with something black. Not all Brass Rails have these filled holes, but I believe Adam has one and Bill Gruggett just smiled when I asked about these filled holes, and said they used what they had at the time. He also told me he gets asked about the Ventures Models with natural necks and white logo's all the time as if they were a special guitar. He said they just ran out of black ink that day and Semie said just use the white.

Johnny, am I looking at this pic correctly? Do these p'ups look as though they both were
intended for the angled neck position like on a MARK I, Combo, Maphis??

[dorkrockrecords]

Good Call Adam, I forgot about your green one. What year is it from? Also, since all these style tail pieces I have removed say Mosrite 1977 on the bottom, I am curious if your says 1976 on the head. With all the action and guitars at the geek fest, I couldn't take in all the details! GEEK OVERLOAD! Detail the Deluxe when you get a chance. I know that is an undertaking

New Mosrite Forever!!

Indeed you are correct, sir. My greenburst has no year on the headstock (although I have seen Brass Rail headstocks dated both 1976 and 1977), but the tailpiece is marked "Mosrite 1977."

One of my Deluxes came with a vintage-looking note diagramming the controls, so I'll see if I can dig that out...

Adam

[mosriteforever]

Hey Dennis,
You are correct, both pickup covers were drilled for the angled neck pickup. Bill Gruggett told me it doesn't mean a thing as they used what they had then. I believe Adam has a white Brass Rail with the drilled holes filled in, but I don't remember if they are angled or not. That is what is great about this forum, we will get into the details!!

Adam, thanks for the info on your Green Brass Rail! Now one more question, is it a set neck or the bolt on version? If bolt on, is it bolted from the top or the bottom. We have to set the record straight here, on the premiere Mosrite information desimination site!!


If any of you more knowledgable members know where it is, we should get some pix of our British friends Brass Rail with the Moseley tailpiece on this thread for posterity!!

Thanks for your kind indulgence!
New Mosrite Forever!!

[dorkrockrecords]

The green Brass Rail is a true set-neck, not a bolt in sight. However, during this period Bill and Semie seemed to try just about every combination of bolts and glue possible: bolt-on necks fastened to the body from inside underneath the pickups, true set-necks, and hybrid set-necks that have been glued AND bolted. All share basically the same construction, but the bolt-ons tend to feel slapped together and usually have noticeable gaps between the neck and body at the neck joint.

Adam

[mosriteforever]

Hey Adam,
Do you know what the deal with this guitar is and/or have you seen it in your travels? And don't forget to dig out the Deluxe details...........

[dorkrockrecords]

When I bought the above Deluxe years ago, it came with the above old, handwritten note in the case (sorry, I don't have a scanner so a blurry digital photo will have to do). Since it is mostly illegible, I'll explain:

The Mosrite Brass Rail Deluxe contains two circuits - one active and one passive - wired in stereo. The toggle is not a pickup switch, but rather it selects between the active and passive circuits, or both at the same time. The two knobs closest to the pickguard are master volume and master tone. The next four knobs are push-pull on-off volume pots - two for the neck pickup (one active and one passive) and two for the bridge pickup (one active and one passive). The two push buttons are to switch the phase of each circuit respectively. Finally, with only the left output in use, both signals (active and passive) are carried. With both output jacks in use, the left carries the passive signal and the right the active. If you look under the hood, you will see (as expected) a rat's nest of wires as well as the active pre-amp and a battery (but it's best not to look back there).

Note: The Deluxe was not the only model to offer active electronics. Some of the Standards also have active electronics, and the battery is hidden underneath the pickguard in a little smuggler's cavity. Even some of the Standards with passive electronics have this secret cavity as well, but the lack of a 9 volt frees it up for your favorite contraband. But that would be wrong.