NGD....this time it's serious
NGD....this time it's serious
Well, my dream guitar has finally become a reality.
So far, best I can tell, it's a late 65/early 66....Mosrite Ventures Mark 1. The serial number puts it very very early 1966, but Semi Moseley was kind of goofy in how he numbered his guitars. I'm gonna have to take the neck off to know for sure. As far as I can tell it's all original with the original case. It's got some minor wear and some finish checking. The trem arm needs a new felt/leather washer. The pickups are a little microphonic....but I plugged it into a Super Reverb at the shop and holy shit....that's the sound. Holy shitting shit. Fat plonky surf tones effortlessly flew out of this thing. It needs a good cleaning. It's pretty grimy. The frets are in very good shape but they're so tiny it almost feels fretless. It just needs some TLC but the sound is there. I'm super excited about this one!
So far, best I can tell, it's a late 65/early 66....Mosrite Ventures Mark 1. The serial number puts it very very early 1966, but Semi Moseley was kind of goofy in how he numbered his guitars. I'm gonna have to take the neck off to know for sure. As far as I can tell it's all original with the original case. It's got some minor wear and some finish checking. The trem arm needs a new felt/leather washer. The pickups are a little microphonic....but I plugged it into a Super Reverb at the shop and holy shit....that's the sound. Holy shitting shit. Fat plonky surf tones effortlessly flew out of this thing. It needs a good cleaning. It's pretty grimy. The frets are in very good shape but they're so tiny it almost feels fretless. It just needs some TLC but the sound is there. I'm super excited about this one!
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Rebel Yell
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Re: NGD....this time it's serious
Congrats dude. Im speechless.
Welcome to the family little Mosrite!!! Well see more of you soon!!!!
Welcome to the family little Mosrite!!! Well see more of you soon!!!!
Re: NGD....this time it's serious
Congrats Greg, I know you like guitars & I'm gonna bet this one cost a pretty penny...I don't really know much about 'em, & I'm not into those myself, I think the only one I've recognized was a blue one (or similar...lol) Cantrell plays in an AIC video...
Again, congrats dude, clean it up, re-string it, & throw us some tones for us to hear...
Again, congrats dude, clean it up, re-string it, & throw us some tones for us to hear...
Gibson, Fender, Ibanez, Jackson
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Re: NGD....this time it's serious
SOOOOOooooooooo beautiful.
we need a drool emoticon.
oh man and such a good color!
I'm envious man, I really am ..... that's just amazing!
I'd be more than willing to deal with the various idiosyncrasies of that guitar to possess it!
What a find ...... how'd this come to be?
we need a drool emoticon.
oh man and such a good color!
I'm envious man, I really am ..... that's just amazing!
I'd be more than willing to deal with the various idiosyncrasies of that guitar to possess it!
What a find ...... how'd this come to be?
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Re: NGD....this time it's serious
Nice man! Congrats on the new axe!
Re: NGD....this time it's serious
Wow, seriously WOW.
LOOKS aren't everything but that has the look.
I was thinking about Mosrites this arvo as I restrung, fretboard oiled and generally cleaned my M copy Guyatone. I was looking at the clumsily inserted humbucker in the bridge position wishing it were a P90 and walk up stair to find the REALTHING @ TRR.
Well done and WELL DESERVED.
I LOVE the details on the thing...is that a brass nut & a zero fret?
LOOKS aren't everything but that has the look.
I was thinking about Mosrites this arvo as I restrung, fretboard oiled and generally cleaned my M copy Guyatone. I was looking at the clumsily inserted humbucker in the bridge position wishing it were a P90 and walk up stair to find the REALTHING @ TRR.
Well done and WELL DESERVED.
I LOVE the details on the thing...is that a brass nut & a zero fret?
Cheers
rayc
rayc
Re: NGD....this time it's serious
Greg, that's fucking awesome. Get it cleaned up and set up and give us some tones through the delux retard.
Re: NGD....this time it's serious
Thanks a lot dudes! I'm gonna get it all freshened up and I'll throw up some tones soon.
@[mention]Lt. Bob[/mention] The reason this came to be is...Tropical Storm Barry. Lol. I was supposed to take the wifey to New Orleans this weekend. That storm pummeling Louisiana changed our plans and we ended up doing a day trip to Austin. There's a guitar store in Austin that sometimes has actual 58-60 Les Paul "Bursts" and I really wanted to handle one just because if it's there, I wanna play one. They didn't have any Bursts, but they had four Mosrites. FOUR! I've seen four actual Mosrites in my whole life, and this place had four at once. There were two sunbursts, this red one, and a double neck sunburst. I'm not really a fan of sunbursts, so this red one was the one. As soon as I walked in my eyes darted to it immediately hanging way up high on the wall where they put the guitars you can't fuck with. It does need a little work, and I can pretend like I know what I'm talking about pretty good, so I offered them a stupid amount less than they were asking and we haggled a little and I left with it way closer to my price than theirs, so I'm happy.
[mention]rayc[/mention] It is a zero fret, but there is no nut. The very last fret is the zero fret, the round bar thing with the slots in it is just a string guide.
Few things I know I need to do...fix the trem arm, setup, intonation, etc, major clean up, and I am going to have to figure out something for the pickups. They sound awesome for cleans, but they're a little too howly for my more typical Marshall use. I think I might buy some more modern Mosrite replacements and save these originals.
@[mention]Lt. Bob[/mention] The reason this came to be is...Tropical Storm Barry. Lol. I was supposed to take the wifey to New Orleans this weekend. That storm pummeling Louisiana changed our plans and we ended up doing a day trip to Austin. There's a guitar store in Austin that sometimes has actual 58-60 Les Paul "Bursts" and I really wanted to handle one just because if it's there, I wanna play one. They didn't have any Bursts, but they had four Mosrites. FOUR! I've seen four actual Mosrites in my whole life, and this place had four at once. There were two sunbursts, this red one, and a double neck sunburst. I'm not really a fan of sunbursts, so this red one was the one. As soon as I walked in my eyes darted to it immediately hanging way up high on the wall where they put the guitars you can't fuck with. It does need a little work, and I can pretend like I know what I'm talking about pretty good, so I offered them a stupid amount less than they were asking and we haggled a little and I left with it way closer to my price than theirs, so I'm happy.
[mention]rayc[/mention] It is a zero fret, but there is no nut. The very last fret is the zero fret, the round bar thing with the slots in it is just a string guide.
Few things I know I need to do...fix the trem arm, setup, intonation, etc, major clean up, and I am going to have to figure out something for the pickups. They sound awesome for cleans, but they're a little too howly for my more typical Marshall use. I think I might buy some more modern Mosrite replacements and save these originals.
Rebel Yell
Re: NGD....this time it's serious
Freaking glorious, man! Nice find. I know you've had a major soft spot for these guitars for a long time, so it's nice that you got to add one to the stable.
Regarding the pickups, I'd say give them a while to grow on you. I went through the same thing with the pickups on my Jazzmaster, which is from early '65. I was ready to replace those pickups, but in the end I decided to keep them, warts and all. I'm sure that I won't be in such good shape when I turn 54
Unless, of course, they just can't deal with the volume that you're accustomed to. In which case, replace them guilt-free No sense in having anything less than a 100% functional guitar of that caliber!
Regarding the pickups, I'd say give them a while to grow on you. I went through the same thing with the pickups on my Jazzmaster, which is from early '65. I was ready to replace those pickups, but in the end I decided to keep them, warts and all. I'm sure that I won't be in such good shape when I turn 54
Unless, of course, they just can't deal with the volume that you're accustomed to. In which case, replace them guilt-free No sense in having anything less than a 100% functional guitar of that caliber!
Re: NGD....this time it's serious
[mention]Greg_L[/mention]
After reading some comments & finally realizing you found one of your grail guitars (this didn't fully register until today for some reason), just wanna say congrats again dude...
On the pickups, I think you should just give 'em some time, like Tad suggests...I'm sure they are a bit noisy, especially when used with the high-voltage, uber-decibel levels of power tube saturation you usually strive for, but just give 'em some time dude...If it were me, I'd like to keep it as original as possible, but that's just me...
But, after a while, if the pickups still don't do it for ya, I'm sure our modern-day Merlin, Sir Mutt can conjure up his voodoo wizardry to make a set from thin air that would more than satisfy your needs...And since this is such a special guitar, if you go that route, I might recommend sending the original pickups across the pond so our resident wizard could reverse-engineer 'em, & add his own special magical sprinkles that would give 'em a modern update as well...If there's anyone I'd trust to do something like this, give it 110%, & have no doubts about the outcome at all, it'd be Mutt...The p'ups he made for my strat turned it from just ok, into an unbelievably versatile guitar...Just a thought dude...
Congrats again...
After reading some comments & finally realizing you found one of your grail guitars (this didn't fully register until today for some reason), just wanna say congrats again dude...
On the pickups, I think you should just give 'em some time, like Tad suggests...I'm sure they are a bit noisy, especially when used with the high-voltage, uber-decibel levels of power tube saturation you usually strive for, but just give 'em some time dude...If it were me, I'd like to keep it as original as possible, but that's just me...
But, after a while, if the pickups still don't do it for ya, I'm sure our modern-day Merlin, Sir Mutt can conjure up his voodoo wizardry to make a set from thin air that would more than satisfy your needs...And since this is such a special guitar, if you go that route, I might recommend sending the original pickups across the pond so our resident wizard could reverse-engineer 'em, & add his own special magical sprinkles that would give 'em a modern update as well...If there's anyone I'd trust to do something like this, give it 110%, & have no doubts about the outcome at all, it'd be Mutt...The p'ups he made for my strat turned it from just ok, into an unbelievably versatile guitar...Just a thought dude...
Congrats again...
Gibson, Fender, Ibanez, Jackson
Ceriatone, Marshall, EVH
TC Electronic, MXR, Yamaha
My music @ Reverbnation
Re: NGD....this time it's serious
Awesome man. Can't wait to hear some clips.
Re: NGD....this time it's serious
Congrats! You're so rich!
Re: NGD....this time it's serious
Lol thank dudes. If I was ever rich, I'm not anymore!
[mention]Tadpui[/mention] [mention]Minerman[/mention] ...the pickup thing...it's not so much that I don't like the tone. It's more that they truly are a little microphonic. I can talk into them and hear it through the amp! Feedback might be a major problem. Maybe. I've yet to try it at my normal volumes. But the tone is there. I love the tone.
If these are like other Mosrite pickups, and they should be, they are sealed shut. Semi Moseley would goop the shit out of the underside and seal them closed forever. But we'll see once I get it apart. I'm pretty hesitant to try and fuck with these pickups. If they won't work for my needs I'll just get some different ones. Mosrite pickups were wound by Dana Moseley, the bossman's daughter, and she's still alive and still makes Mosrite pickups!
[mention]Tadpui[/mention] [mention]Minerman[/mention] ...the pickup thing...it's not so much that I don't like the tone. It's more that they truly are a little microphonic. I can talk into them and hear it through the amp! Feedback might be a major problem. Maybe. I've yet to try it at my normal volumes. But the tone is there. I love the tone.
If these are like other Mosrite pickups, and they should be, they are sealed shut. Semi Moseley would goop the shit out of the underside and seal them closed forever. But we'll see once I get it apart. I'm pretty hesitant to try and fuck with these pickups. If they won't work for my needs I'll just get some different ones. Mosrite pickups were wound by Dana Moseley, the bossman's daughter, and she's still alive and still makes Mosrite pickups!
Rebel Yell
Re: NGD....this time it's serious
Oh, I forgot to mention...of the four Mosrites at this shop, one of them was signed by Nokie Edwards. He was one of the top dogs of The Ventures. And he died recently. So that one was off the table right from the get go. I didn't even ask how much they wanted for that thing. A Mosrite Ventures model signed by a Venture himself? I don't even wanna know.
One of the others was a double neck. Lol. No. So it was this red one or another sunburst,and I'm not into sunbursts, so the red one was the one.
One of the others was a double neck. Lol. No. So it was this red one or another sunburst,and I'm not into sunbursts, so the red one was the one.
Rebel Yell
Re: NGD....this time it's serious
So... are you now gonna sell your clone? *vulture circling*
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Re: NGD....this time it's serious
Whenever i get my lazy ass motivated to get us some merch and tshirts this quote is getting it's own shirt. Or a sticker at the very least. It is my fucking most favorite one ever. Aside from "who the fuck is TK421 and why isn't he at his post"
Re: NGD....this time it's serious
Okay....a photo essay...
Took this thing apart today. All good news, one tiny bit of bad news.
First the good news, this bitch is all original! And it is a 1965.
The pots...the tone pot was pretty much frozen. A good douching with some contact cleaner and they're good as new. Pot codes...1346534. This means it's a CentraLab pot, made the 34th week of 1965. Original pots. Original jack and switch. Seemingly original wiring. Solders look untouched and consistent.
Now for the big moment - separating the neck and body. What that revealed was wonderful. Matched neck and body. Stamped "0023" whatever that means. What it really means is that this body and this neck were assembled together at the same time.
Neck - Dec 30, 1965
Body - Nov 22, 1965. Cleaned a ton of grimy gross gunk off the neck. The decades of build up around the frets was a real gross out. The frets are tiny enough as it is without a slope of filth leading up to them. This is actually after a cleaning. I need to do more.
Typical Kluson Deluxe tuners. They all move smoothly and feel good.
The vibrato. This thing needed some fine tuning...and intense cleaning. The leather washer between the arm and the housing was wasted so the arm just loosely spun around and around. And the arm was bent a little so there was very little range for cool surfy vibrowiggles. The range in perfect condition is maybe a step and a half at most. Not much. With the bent arm it was barely half a step. So I made a new pleather washer, bent the arm straight, and cleaned the whole thing up some. Look how fucking gross the bridge is. More on that later.
The "M" knobs. These things are like gold in the Mosrite world.
Now for the little bit of bad news - the bridge. This thing is a roller bridge, and it don't roll at all. It was so greasy and grimy and cruddy, I didn't know what to do. The rollers are crusted and frozen, and the intonation screws were pretty much the same. Just a sad mess that I really can't do too much with. I did my best to clean it gently, lube it up, soak it, finesse it, everything in my machinist bag of tricks, and I still broke one of the adjustment screws. Oh well. It's just a screw. I can easily replace that. I mean, the intonation adjustment has to be in good working order. No avoiding that. The bigger issue is that none of the rollers roll. The low E roller has rusted itself into the saddle body. I can either just replace the adjustment screw and roll with it - pun intended - or get a replacement bridge that actually rolls. So that's what I did. I ordered a knock-off replacement, pretty much the same thing that's on my Hallmark Mosrite clone. I'll clean and repair this original Mosrite bridge, and put it in the case for safe keeping. The new bridge is on the way.
So back to the good stuff. The pickups. Original. You can see the weird way Semie Moseley made these things. He filled them with foam and epoxy and that was that. I suppose a skilled pickup winder could get in there, but I aint risking it. Once I get the guitar back together and playing great I'll decide what to do with the pickups...if I'm gonna do anything at all.
Bridge meausres 11.8k
Neck measures 11.0k
These are some hot single coils.
And that's about it for now. Just waiting on the new bridge.
Took this thing apart today. All good news, one tiny bit of bad news.
First the good news, this bitch is all original! And it is a 1965.
The pots...the tone pot was pretty much frozen. A good douching with some contact cleaner and they're good as new. Pot codes...1346534. This means it's a CentraLab pot, made the 34th week of 1965. Original pots. Original jack and switch. Seemingly original wiring. Solders look untouched and consistent.
Now for the big moment - separating the neck and body. What that revealed was wonderful. Matched neck and body. Stamped "0023" whatever that means. What it really means is that this body and this neck were assembled together at the same time.
Neck - Dec 30, 1965
Body - Nov 22, 1965. Cleaned a ton of grimy gross gunk off the neck. The decades of build up around the frets was a real gross out. The frets are tiny enough as it is without a slope of filth leading up to them. This is actually after a cleaning. I need to do more.
Typical Kluson Deluxe tuners. They all move smoothly and feel good.
The vibrato. This thing needed some fine tuning...and intense cleaning. The leather washer between the arm and the housing was wasted so the arm just loosely spun around and around. And the arm was bent a little so there was very little range for cool surfy vibrowiggles. The range in perfect condition is maybe a step and a half at most. Not much. With the bent arm it was barely half a step. So I made a new pleather washer, bent the arm straight, and cleaned the whole thing up some. Look how fucking gross the bridge is. More on that later.
The "M" knobs. These things are like gold in the Mosrite world.
Now for the little bit of bad news - the bridge. This thing is a roller bridge, and it don't roll at all. It was so greasy and grimy and cruddy, I didn't know what to do. The rollers are crusted and frozen, and the intonation screws were pretty much the same. Just a sad mess that I really can't do too much with. I did my best to clean it gently, lube it up, soak it, finesse it, everything in my machinist bag of tricks, and I still broke one of the adjustment screws. Oh well. It's just a screw. I can easily replace that. I mean, the intonation adjustment has to be in good working order. No avoiding that. The bigger issue is that none of the rollers roll. The low E roller has rusted itself into the saddle body. I can either just replace the adjustment screw and roll with it - pun intended - or get a replacement bridge that actually rolls. So that's what I did. I ordered a knock-off replacement, pretty much the same thing that's on my Hallmark Mosrite clone. I'll clean and repair this original Mosrite bridge, and put it in the case for safe keeping. The new bridge is on the way.
So back to the good stuff. The pickups. Original. You can see the weird way Semie Moseley made these things. He filled them with foam and epoxy and that was that. I suppose a skilled pickup winder could get in there, but I aint risking it. Once I get the guitar back together and playing great I'll decide what to do with the pickups...if I'm gonna do anything at all.
Bridge meausres 11.8k
Neck measures 11.0k
These are some hot single coils.
And that's about it for now. Just waiting on the new bridge.
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Rebel Yell
Re: NGD....this time it's serious
Great that the little bridge is the only part you'll have to replace, especially since that thing is 5 years older than I am...
Those are some hot single coils indeed at 11k, that's wild, I never thought they'd be that hot, but that may be a good thing...The only way to figure out if those p'ups are gonna be a problem/noisy is to use 'em...
Cool stuff dude, I had no idea about the roller bridge thing, to be honest, I've never really batted an eye over one of those guitars...I remember one guy in another band that played one (or something similar) at one of the bars I gigged back in the day, but back then if it didn't say "Jackson", "Kramer" or similar, nobody noticed...This was during the time that I wouldn't have ever considered even owning a Les Paul, much less played one at a gig...
Keep us updated on the progress man...
Those are some hot single coils indeed at 11k, that's wild, I never thought they'd be that hot, but that may be a good thing...The only way to figure out if those p'ups are gonna be a problem/noisy is to use 'em...
Cool stuff dude, I had no idea about the roller bridge thing, to be honest, I've never really batted an eye over one of those guitars...I remember one guy in another band that played one (or something similar) at one of the bars I gigged back in the day, but back then if it didn't say "Jackson", "Kramer" or similar, nobody noticed...This was during the time that I wouldn't have ever considered even owning a Les Paul, much less played one at a gig...
Keep us updated on the progress man...
Gibson, Fender, Ibanez, Jackson
Ceriatone, Marshall, EVH
TC Electronic, MXR, Yamaha
My music @ Reverbnation
Re: NGD....this time it's serious
on the bridge .... two words .... electrolysis tank .... they JUST has an article in this most recent Premier Guitar on how to make a home made one and said it was useful for this very thing .... to free up and clean to mobility rusted parts ..... it doesn't make them shiny .... they're still worn .... but supposedly the stuff that makes them stick gets removed.
If you can't find it on their website lemme know and I'll scan it for ya
If you can't find it on their website lemme know and I'll scan it for ya