Mosrite Celebrity - Help with ID

[DeleteDelete]

Greetings,

I just acquired what I believe is a Celebrity model that used to belong to my grandfather. I have been unable to ID the guitar and it has a couple of features I can’t seem to reconcile (serial # 0070 with a 2 stamped below, wood cover on trapeze tailpiece). This was my grandfather’s first electric and I believe he acquired it in the late 60’s or early 70’s, but I am not 100% certain. I would like to know what specific model it is, and what year it may have been manufactured - and if it may be a “Partsrite”. I think the case is original, although it has no markings on it. It has been with the guitar as long as I can remember. I will post some pics, any help or info is much appreciated. Thanks!!

[101Volts]

As far as I can tell, it's a 1960s model, and it's either a Celebrity I or a Celebrity II model. I think it's probably a II model, since it has no Vibrato Tailpiece. Ultimately, the depth of the body will determine if it's a I or a II.

I forgot the depth differences. I tried looking them up again, but the Wayback Machine wasn't working for Sarah's old pages of MosriteCelebrity.com.

I think the Celebrity I Model is 2 and a fraction of inches thick (2 and 3/8ths, maybe?)

Comparatively, the Celebrity II model (if I remember correctly) is 1 3/4 inches thick; or maybe it's 1 7/8ths.

I highly doubt you have a III model, which has the same depth as the II model. The III models had smooth top pickups with no adjustable pole pieces (unlike yours,) and they usually had cheaper finishes.

Also, I note that yours has original frets. That width hasn't been made for decades, and Mosrite sanded it down to a very low height, to slide up and down the neck easily.

- Austin

[DeleteDelete]

Wow, thank you for the info Austin. Have you ever seen a tailpiece before with the wood cover on it? I have looked everywhere online and can’t find one that looks exactly like the one on mine. It looks to be original, I can’t find any sign that it was added later or modified.

One other note, my guitar does not have a label inside the body (but does have the serial #). Does this mean it’s a parts guitar or did Mosrite not always label the inside of the body? Just curious. It also has the “diamond” tuners instead of Klusons (if that makes a difference). I am going to see if I can measure the thickness of the body. Thanks again for the info.

[101Volts]

Honestly, I missed in the photo that the tailpiece is wooden. That's something I've never seen on Mosrite Celebrity Models, and I don't know if it's original or not. Mosrite did use wood for some tailpieces, but the tailpiece was attached to metal, too.

Mosrite is an unusual company, at times. They sometimes just used what they had on hand, and sometimes they paid employees in guitar parts. An example of the first case is: there are some guitars that were just pieced together with what was available out of old re-purchased parts (post-bankruptcy period) in 1969 - 1973. I can't see anything that would indicate that your guitar is among those, though.

Since your guitar has the "Diamond" Tuners, I'd expect it's a 1968 or very early 1969 model. I could be wrong, though. I don't know if the Celebrity models always got a label on the inside, or not. Sarah's much more knowledgeable about the Celebrity models than I am. I specialize in a few other models, she focuses on all of the Celebrity models and variants.

Here's Sarah's Profile here, linked. Your best bet is to send her a message.

memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=359

- Austin

[Sarah93003]

Welcome Eric and congratulations on having your Grandfather's guitars. What a treasure!!

If you would, please measure the thickness of the bout. I'm taking a guess it is about 1 7/8" thick. This guitar has the Japanese tuners we see often on a Celebrity-III. It also has no binding on the neck which indicates Celebrity-III. The bout appears to have a single layer of binding which indicates a Celebrity-III. The pickups however are the "deluxe" versions we see on Celebrity-I's and -II's. The four screw neck attachment came later in the runs and prior to the 1969 plant shutdown. The serial number is not standard to Mosrite. I am going to take a guess this is a Partsrite guitar made by Semie, Andy, or one of the better builders which were made after the bankruptcy and prior to 1972 for the restart of Mosrite. The mix of parts from CE-I, -II, and -III makes me think it is a Partsrite. There is nothing wrong with that at all.

This one is very nicely made which makes me lean toward a Semie Moseley build (he made many Partsrite guitars), especially with the wood adhered to the trapeze tailpiece. That is something Semie would do to make it "special", especially if he actually built this for your Grandfather. The number 2 on the fretboard I have seen before on another guitar that was a Partsrite.

[DeleteDelete]

Thank you for the information Sarah, that was very helpful and I feel satisfied. My goal now is to get it cleaned up so I can play it properly. The last time I actually played it through an amp was probably around 1998 or 1999, when my grandfather still had it. I do have one other question - the nut is loose, how were they originally secured to the neck? Were they glued on?? How would you suggest repairing it? Thanks again for the info. I’m very excited to have this guitar in my care now.

[101Volts]

Yes, you can just glue it on. Use a bit of sandpaper to clean off the old glue, and the string guide, before re-attaching it.

There are some guitars which have the nut / string guide screwed on, but Mosrites are not among those in stock form.

- Austin

[Sarah93003]

Yes, just what Austin said. I use Superglue.

[101Volts]

Make sure that you put the string guide on in just the correct place. The strings need to be at even distances from the edges of the fretboard.

- Austin

[DeleteDelete]

Today my son and I spent the afternoon deep cleaning and making some minor repairs to the Mosrite. I did use superglue on the nut (sanded and scuffed the nut and the nut slot first) and it worked out just fine. I took the control panel off because one of the pots was super stiff - I was a little surprised to find sealed pots. Was this typical? I managed to get some Deoxit in there anyway and the pots both work great now. Got to actually hear it again today for the first time in years (had not plugged into an amp yet). I was pleasantly surprised at how strong the pickups sounded. I did do some adjusting with the pickup heights and pole pieces, I got them fairly well balanced. It was a lot of work, but it came out well. I think my grandfather would be very pleased.