Mosrite Venture Reissue

Okay everybidy I came here to give a review of a 1991 '63 Mosrite Ventures Reissue built be Semie in Jonas Ridge, North Carolina. I have seen and played some of the Japanese repros ( Fillmore and Mosrite Japan). While each of the 2 companies has their distinctions in logos and hardware neither of them are able to nail it dead on. Thsi guitar has a bound body, set neck, Vibramute tailpiece, smooth knobs, unmarked pickups with rounded edges, correct pickguard shape with 3 pickguard screws. Large "The Ventures" logo as well as larger "Mosrite of California" logos. Semie really nailed it. If you put it beside an original 63 you cannot tell the difference. Thsi one has serial number starting with 01XX and has SM under the number at end of fretboard. I live about 2.5 hours from Jonas Ridge and purchased the guitar from an individual in the area.

Bought my first Venture II in 1982 and have always owned at least one Mosrite at all times. Went thru phases with Strats and Teles but always back to Mosrites. I have 5 now. I love the Ventures and the Ramones. I got into the Ventures after I bought my first Mosrite and was already into the Ramones. Didn't realize when I bought the Ventures II that Johnny played the same one. You generally don't notice a guitar unless your a player. So that also helped fuel the Mosrite mystique. In those days nobody played a Mosrite and they were looked upon as crap. I went to a Ramones show in Atlanta in 1983 and took mine to show Johnny. He allowed me to hang out for the sound check and I was able to go back and look at his 3 Mosrites that he toured with. Use a soldano atomic with this guitar at higher premap settings. I have heard it through a clean Fender and it had a fatter sound than a Jazzmaster. These pickups must have been wound to the early specs as they scream. The set neck also contributes to the rich sound. It does not sound as clean as my original 65 but it is also louder. If you could have Leo Fender custom build an early start or tele you would have one nice guitar and investment. If you had Semie Moeseley do the same it would be a Mosrite dream. This is the best playing and sounding Mosrite I have owned new or vintage. They are out there and this is my 2nd one so keep your eyes open

This is one that Semie must have put his heart and soul into. I cannot find a single flaw. It's frets and biniding on neck and body are amazing craftsmanship. The attention to detail-even the correct number of pickguard screws-is amazing. I had an 1987 63 reissue that I sold on ebay several years ago and while they both have the same body/neck and pickups-this one has all the little details correct-pickguard/knobs/headstock color/binding all the way around base of neck.

I did not originally start collecting guitars. It's just now they are worth so much I have become a collector by default. This one is too nice to take out and risk theft or damage. If I ever open for the Stones I would probably use it though!! finish is not poly but appears to be nitro and not plasticky

Semie passed away in 1993 in Booneville, Arkansas. He was very helpful to me when he built my guitar and did some restorations for me and I will forever be grateful for having the chance to meet Semie.

I thinks I've summed up this guitar pretty well up to now.

This is a pear white Filmore Mosrite '65 Ventures reissue made in Japan -- not to be confused with the Mosrite Japan reissues which actually say "the Ventures" --this guitar says "Mosrite of Classics". This guitar has much more authentic looking hardware than the "Mosrite Japan" reissue. The vibrato tailpiece is sandcast, and the knobs, strap buttons, nut and switch tip look really close to the real thing. My only beef is that the smooth pickup covers and rings are awfully rough looking (you can see raised ridges where the mold was sanded).

I play surf and garage music, and have used Mosrites since day one. I bought this instrument simply because I thought it was so cool to be able to walk into a store and get a brand new one! Because of the brass tailpiece, the guitar sounds an awful lot like a real vibramute Mosrite. That said, the pickups are considerably brighter than an old Mosrite, and a touch weaker. Part of the brightness is due to 500K pots being used instead of the vintage correct 250K. Even with the pots replaced, the guitar has more high end than the real thing. Honestly, I don't mind -- some of my old Ventures models can be a touch muddy -- but the sound is about 80% there in reference to an old one.

The set up was quite good. The frets are a touch taller than a vintage Mosrite (a good thing) and are set into a really nice piece of rosewood. The neck is fatter than an old Mosrite (probably a good thing for most players) but still retains the 1 1/2 inch nut width. The pearl white finish is a respectable attempt at the color, but the guitar falls short of my expectations for a $1700.00 instrument because the quality of the wood prep and buffing out are pretty poor. Because of the pearl in the finish, every rough spot in the wood is amplified. There are a few raised spots in the clear coat where it has shrunken around dust, etc. There's a nice big blob of finish dried around a hair on the top of the headstock, and finally some obvious wet sanding scratches on the back of the body. You have to look for these flaws pretty carefully, but they're there. By way of comparison, I just bought a new Japanese Jazzmaster for 400 bucks and the finish is flawless...

I have used this guitar at gigs without backup with no problem. It seems as sturdy as any other Mosrite, and I can honestly say I've never seen a Mosrite with a busted headstock or anything that wasn't inflicted on it deliberately by the owner. The pickups appear to be constructed the same as the old ones (glued together, wood bobbins, etc.) and that flimsy construction does leave some room for malfunction.

Hah! I wouldn't even try to deal with the company! I'd fix anything minor myself, and for a major disaster like a warped neck I'd try to go through the dealer I purchased it from. It came with a warranty form that had to be sent to a distributor that I believe is no longer involved...

I've been playing for 25 years, and used almost exclusively Mosrites during my (semi) professional career. I love the way they look, play, and sound through a cranked brownface amp. Over the years I've had a dozen or so vintage Mosrites, and this guitar is pretty darn close. However, the price tag is really, really steep and, I think, unwarranted. I'd be really curious to know what the production cost of one is. If Fender Japan can make the same type of instrument (bolt on neck, single coils, poly finish) better and cheaper, what gives? The guys at Filmore need to recognize that the market isn't the same for Mosrites in the U.S as it is in Japan. I think if they were more resonably priced, a lot more players would get one just for the cool looks alone, but as it is only the hardcore fans like myself are gonna part with some well earned scratch to get one. I'm still happy with the purchase, but there's a lot of room for cosmetic improvement on the Filmore Mosrites.

This is a brand new "Custom '65" model, which has the vibramute tailpiece and the smooth "spun" knobs, which would make it a copy of a very early '65. It is an incredibly accurate reproduction, with the basic Ventures model layout; 2 very hot single coil pickups, roller bridge w/ floating "vibramute" vibrato, 3 way switch, top mounted jack, thin/ skinny neck, (bolt on), with extremely low action and very small frets (although these seem a bit taller than the originals -which I think is a good thing), plus the famous "Bart Simpson" headstock with Ventures logo. Body is alder/ neck is maple w/ rosewood fretboard. Finish is gorgeous 3 color sunburst (including back of neck). Tuners are Deluxe Kluson re-issues that say mosrite on them (if you have a magnifying glass)

I play rock, blues & surf. I also have a '63 Jazzmaster, a '57 re-issue Strat, a Taylor acoustic/ electric, and have owned many "real" Mosrites over the yrs. I play through a Fender Vibroverb Re-issue, with an old Fender Reverb Tank, for the surf stuff, a Carvin Vintage Tube series Belair, for the blues stuff. I also use a POD a lot, plus an assortment of other effects. This Mosrite will be used on certain surf songs, primarily. The sound doesn't match the Jazzmaster for that deep full rounded bass sound, but it has a unique sound, all its' own. The hot Mosrite pickups distort very easily when cranked (just like the originals) -This can be fun, though. It responds very well to added distortion effects (better than the Jazzmaster). Plus, with the bridge pickup only, you can get that biting, peel the paint off the walls, country twang of a Tele. It is not the most versatile guitar in the world, but it does what it does well. I do believe it sounds better than any originals I've played.

Here is where the Japanese excell. I doubt that Semie Moseley ever produced a guitar that left the factory as perfect as this. Action, fit & finish are absolutely flawless. If this guitar were a 36 yr.old original, with reasonable wear & tear & dinged up a little, it would bring $5-6,000.00. I know, I recently sold one. This one blows it away, in every aspect. But, this is not a cheap guitar. Retail is around $2500.00 and you will be hard pressed to find one for much less than $1700.00. Also, bear in mind, the ones you see for around $1,000.00 are the "Excellent '65". They are nice, but you get what you pay for. There was apparently a problem with obtaining the rights to Semie Moseley's name -although they hold rights to "Mosrite". On the re-issue "Moseley" tailpiece, on the "Excellent '65's", it says, "EXCELLENT", where the originals said, "MOSELEY". To me, that's pretty cheesey. There are other subtle differences, too. Then, if you do want to shell out $4-5,000.00, the Japanese will oblige you with their "Royal '63", complete with body binding, set neck, side jack, etc. Try finding an original one of these for under $20,000.00!

It seems tough enough to gig with. These mosrite vibratos are very sensitive, and you will be doing a lot of fine tuning. They are set up for very light gauge strings -you might be able to abuse it a little more with heavier strings -but remember, the neck is very skinny -if you have fat "sausage" fingers, you probably won't like this neck. But it's still worth having, just to look at.

There is an American distributor or two, that may be able to deal with warranty problems, but I don't know how you would find someone at the factory who could speak English. Replacement parts are becoming available, but bear in mind -everything is metric, so stuff won't always be interchangeable with your US made Mosrite.

I've always loved the Mosrites, ever since as a kid in the 60's, I drooled over those gorgeous pictures of them on the Ventures' albums.
I've also, always loved British sports cars. To me the Mosrite is a lot like the Jag XKE I used to own, it's beautiful to look at -a true work of art. But it's not an every day driver. The Jag would overheat easily & required a lot of fiddling to keep in tune. The Mosrite Ventures model is the XKE of guitars. Sensitive, peculiar, yet who can resist just admiring it. If you're only going to own one guitar, get a Strat. But if you've already got a roomful of guitars, & love the looks of the Mosrite -check out the Japanese re-issues. You won't have to sell off the rest of your guitars to pay for it.