Any interest in Mosrites?

Hydra19

I used to have a few Mosrites, mostly bought from Japan or USA as I've never seen or heard of them among UK forums and magazines.

They have high output pickups, very thin and narrow necks, small vintage frets and a great vibrato that works very well. Playing one is a different experience than my usual Les Pauls and Fenders. 

Do you remember seeing one for sale anywhere here? I'm thinking of maybe selling a vintage '66 I have but not sure if there would be any interest.

Mosrites were mostly made famous by the 60's instrumental group, the Ventures, of which Britain had their own version in the Shadows. Other notable users were Johnny Ramone, B52's, Kurt Cobain and a few others

FatPete

I've always liked the look of them, but never had a chance to play one (and am not in a position to buy, sorry).

I think I read somewhere that the pickups have the same magnet set-up as P90s(?)

DrBob

I know that @lamf68 of this very parish speaks highly of the one he used to own 

punchesjudy

I love them to look at.. Never had the chance to play one. 
Not really seen any originals for sale but the reissues pop up occasionally. 

I'd like to see pics of your 66 though. So like, post pics  

Hydra19

Here is one of my reissues, a rare one, as it says Mosrite, Made in USA on the headstock, rather than Made in California but it comes with the Fillmore reissue case, 10 packs of Mosrite King Lead strings and guitar tags/ certificate 







Another reissue I used to have but sold:





All 3 of them

Hydra19

And the 1966:

punchesjudy

I bloody love those I do

JerkMoans

Never played one, but they LOOK epic. 

And that is so, so important.

guitars4you

JerkMoans said:

Never played one, but they LOOK epic. 

And that is so, so important.

agree they look so cool - Played a couple in the past and somewhat of a 'bitch' to play - The more simple you keep the licks etc the easier they are to handle but try anything elaborate and they offer little support - I sometimes think it is like driving an old 60's car then get into your modern car - Yes the old one has character and you can generally work on them, but for most of us they are not practical on a day to day basis - But yes they look mighty cool

Koa

Great to see that ‘66 and a nice change from the usual 

Hydra19

guitars4you said:

JerkMoans said:

Never played one, but they LOOK epic. 

And that is so, so important.

agree they look so cool - Played a couple in the past and somewhat of a 'bitch' to play - The more simple you keep the licks etc the easier they are to handle but try anything elaborate and they offer little support - I sometimes think it is like driving an old 60's car then get into your modern car - Yes the old one has character and you can generally work on them, but for most of us they are not practical on a day to day basis - But yes they look mighty cool

yes, the 66' has the 'speed frets' which are so low, as to be fretless. It took me a while to get used to it, but I did. I was a Ventures freak back then and playing the Ventures lead stuff comes pretty easy on them. They are not shredder style guitars, but they are for playing fast; thin neck, low frets, and tight string spacing. 
Playing chords is a bit harder but I must say the red reissue Mosrite has normal frets and it makes it much better to play. Pair one with an overdrive or fuzz and they are even better.

I found that I really like them both clean and distorted, whereas I prefer my Les Pauls with overdrive and Fenders for clean. 
I wish they were more available here. I bought most of the reissues from Japan, and have sold one locally, tried to buy it back, but the guy says it's his favorite guitar!
~

clarkefan

KRRRAAAAANNNNNG  
"WAIT!!"
"Hey we're the Ramones and this is Rockaway Beach"
"1234!!"

Sorry, I don't know anything about Mosrites, except that Johnny Ramones made one sound like God on that live album

proggy

Not for me.

Hydra19

clarkefan said:

KRRRAAAAANNNNNG  
"WAIT!!"
"Hey we're the Ramones and this is Rockaway Beach"
"1234!!"

Sorry, I don't know anything about Mosrites, except that Johnny Ramones made one sound like God on that live album

I know that all too well as I've had great great times playing along to the Ramones New Year's show in London.
But the coup the grace for these guitars is playing along to the Ventures Live in Japan 1965

Actually, if you haven't heard the Ventures Live In Japan, check it out on youtube. What do the Ramones and the Ventures have in common other than the Mosrites? They both play at break-neck speed live!

Seriously, I have never been as impressed with a live album as the Ventures Live in Japan. They play so fast, the drums are way up and the drummer, other than being a human dynamo, must be playing with baseball bats. Hearing that started me being interested in mosrites and buying 4 of them. I love all the playing on the album, but the sound of Nokie's Mosrite, overdriving his Showman amp is glorious,  Had they been playing Jacksons with Marshalls, they would have invented speed metal right there!

Man, I'm gonna go home after work, bust out the 66' and play along!

clarkefan

Thanks for the heads up, I'll check this out later, sounds epic

DannyP

Eastwood do something similar called a Sidejack, but with a jag/JM trem and they cost slightly more than you'd want to pay out of curiosity.

UnclePsychosis

Add me to the long list of admirers who love the aesthetic but have never played one :-(

Hydra19

Here is a powerhouse rendition of Besame Mucho, that drummer doesn't quit

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ssk6XBrCBjU

guitars4you

DannyP said:

Eastwood do something similar called a Sidejack, but with a jag/JM trem and they cost slightly more than you'd want to pay out of curiosity.

I sold a used one a few months ago and it was more than handy regarding how it played - Part of me nearly kept it to hot rod accordingly - Lots of character in a £300 box

guitars4you

clarkefan said:

KRRRAAAAANNNNNG  
"WAIT!!"
"Hey we're the Ramones and this is Rockaway Beach"
"1234!!"

Sorry, I don't know anything about Mosrites, except that Johnny Ramones made one sound like God on that live album

There is a story about Johnny Ramone in that when he purchased his blue Mosrite they were dirt cheap and no wanted them - Then he had it nicked in 1977 and had to replace it - Because of him values had gone up so he was p'eed of about having to pay more for a guitar that had gone up because of him - Some irony there

Hydra19

guitars4you said:

clarkefan said:

KRRRAAAAANNNNNG  
"WAIT!!"
"Hey we're the Ramones and this is Rockaway Beach"
"1234!!"

Sorry, I don't know anything about Mosrites, except that Johnny Ramones made one sound like God on that live album

There is a story about Johnny Ramone in that when he purchased his blue Mosrite they were dirt cheap and no wanted them - Then he had it nicked in 1977 and had to replace it - Because of him values had gone up so he was p'eed of about having to pay more for a guitar that had gone up because of him - Some irony there

It was very ironic about the Ramones and Mosrites. The Ventures were the ones selling Mosrite guitars, they were all about playing, Nokie in particular was one of those country guitar gods that could do anything, and they had great tone. Then the Ramones came along, on the other side of the spectrum; don't know how to play, don't know what tone is, and will use any crappy guitar.

Johhny Ramone walked into Manny's and bought his Mosrite for $50 although it wasn't an Mk1. Carried it out in a shopping bag But he has said that he used so much gain that it doesn't matter what guitar he used, but I think he liked the necks on the Mosrites. There is a pic of him in the studio, wearing headphones and playing a Mosrite Ventures Mk1....high class guitar. Mosrites were always pretty expensive, even in the 60's they cost more than a Stratocaster