Mosrite Mark I

Some history. My father-in-law retired in the early '80s in Boone County, North Carolina. As a long time bass-player and fine craftsmen himself, somehow he met Semie Moseley and decided to work part-time in his guitar shop/factory. The operation was very small, only several workers which included Semie himself. According to my father-in-law, Semie's mother helped to wind some of the pickups! As part of his pay, he decided to take one bass and two guitars. In 1986, during a visit there, he offered one of the guitars as an anniversary present. I selected the Mark I Ventures Model. We took the guitar to Semie's shop where I got to meet Semie as he checked the guitar's setup. He seemed like a very nice man. Unfortunately, he was battling cancer at the time. That was the only time I met him or visited the NC location.
Comparing the pictures of the early Mark I's, this one is almost identical. It is sun burst with a bolt on neck, however there is no back plate, the four screws are inset. BTW, the finish is absolutely beautiful, even the back of the neck has a bright burst near the middle. It has the Vibraphone and roller tailpiece, the high-hat knobs with the Mosrite imprints, the pickups are black also with the 'Mosrite of California' imprint. The head-stock has 'The Ventures Model' near the top. The absolute best thing about the guitar is that behind the head stock between the tunning keys, there is a hand-written inscription under the lacquer which reads: "Mosrite Forever, Semie Moseley '84". Also just before the last fret on the fret board it is imprinted with "NC 0056", and just after the last fret "56". As you can imagine, this guitar is a real treasure.

The guitar was srung with at light gauge set (.09) which were too 'floppy' for my taste. When I changed them to med-light (.10) it was perfect. I am not sure what type of pick ups are used, perhaps someone could tell me. They are very quiet compared to my Fender American Strat. The neck pickup with the tone almost totally cut has is soft and fat almost like a Jazz tone. As I don't play the guitar alot due to its 'value', I can't say much about the tone but it seems adequate.

The Action is very low, almost too low. With the med-light strings, the necks bows slightly which actually helps the action from being buzzy. The poles of the pickups line up pretty well and all hardware seems to be okay. Again, the finish is absolutely beatiful.
It is amazing however, that the truss rod is not at the end of the neck, but at the bottom near the body. You have to remove the pickup to tighten the rod.

Seems like a sold guitar. I have never played it out so I cannot really comment.

What can I say. The only time I need it, I got it from Semie himself. Howver, now I am not sure where I would go.

This guitar is more of a collector's guitar. It is a real treasure, not only because it's ties with Semie Moseley, but because it was a gift from my father-in-law. However, if I played it out, I would probably give it an 8 rating. As nice as it is, my American made Strat is still a better quitar.