Mosrite Ventures Mark V

I bought my Mark V in 1980 for $350. This Mark V has a Gibson 24 1/2" scale and is not a short scale as so many others must be. I think theses were Maple bodies and necks with Rosewood fingerboard. This guitar was so worn on the neck that there were ruts between the frets. I had it refretted and it was not a good job. Still, it has the thin neck Mosrites are known for. The Mark V have covered pick ups and this one had the tuners changed to Yamaha. Moserites excellent white finish was sanded off and then varnished with a 3" brush. This was a well used work horse, your basic 2 pu / wammy bar guitar.

I always thought the covered pick ups did not get full bright sound of the regular Mosrites with exposed poles. The big single coils are loud and overdrive well. With a good distortion pedal, there is nothing this guitar can't do. Played clean it's really sweat. I just think it's a little muddy compared to the better exposed pole pickups. I played surf and punk through a Fender Vibrolux at that time and it was perfect for either style.

Fit and finish were pretty well gone when I got it. The grain on the two halves do not match well at all, but it was made to be painted, so I can't blame the factory. I blame the Pennsyvania Cowboy who sanded off the paint and varnished it with a really big brush. Actually, thet varnished the fretboard too. It was over 10 years old when I got it and it was still quiet all electronics were fine. The action was was still good also.

This workhorse was rode hard and put away wet, and still sounded great. The fingerboard was rutted like a bad road. I good fret job would have fixed that. The crappy fret job I got was good enough to make it very playable, but at that time, no one made fretwire that thin anymore. I still have it and play it, and I have nothing to besides the fret job since 1980. I'd say it's fairly reliable. Not having the original finish, I'm not worried about beating up my collectable either.

No support, but with collectors and e-bay, parts can be found. Be prepared to mortgage the farm. In other words, don't lose or break anything!

This was my second guitar. My first was Teisco Harmany bought new in 1977-8. The Mosrite was my first real guitar. I was a Ventures and Ramones fan. The purchase was a natural. I have had guitars since that played better and sounded better ( mostly my 68 SG with P-90's, but it was ucly! ) but no other guitar has such an emotional effect as this one. Not just on me but almost everyone who sees it, hears it or plays it. If it were stolen, I could not possibly buy it back because of the current value, but if I could, I would buy the better Ventures model, for the pick-ups.

Three way selector switch, volume and tone controls. Three color sunburst, with quite a number of nicks on the back, nice sunburst effect all the way up the neck. Fretboard is rosewood. This guitar more or less has no frets, making any movement on the neck absolutely smooth. Screw all this business about "not being able to find where you are without frets". If you can't tell by the sound, quit playing guitar. You can tell that this guitar was built by people who care. The weight, look, and feel are incomparable. Unfortunately, the reason that I got it so cheap is that it doesn't have a case (and try to find a case that fits this guitar), and the pickups are vintage '59 fenders, rather than the P-90-like Mosrite pickups originally put in the guitar. I bought this guitar from a guy who wasn't sure what guitar I was pointing to, and believe me, I was so excited to even find this guitar, I would have paid twice what I did for it.

I use this guitar for everything. Yes, it is a bit hard to do bending on the neck, because the damn frets are so close and short, but for the most part, that is not a problem. I play surf rock, and early Kinks/ Rolling Stones rock and roll, with a punk edge. This guitar is absolutely necessary for any kind of surf (hell, it is a Ventures model, after all-- what are you gonna do, shell out four or five times this much for a Gretsch?). The major selling point of this guitar is its sound, a kind of airy dry sound that is unique to "cheap" guitars of the sixties, the sound that all good guitarists love. Just plain raunchy under distortion (Fuzzrite, of course), though I have only been able to get my hands on a Fuzzwrong, and amazing when coupled with a nice reverb tank (Fender, once again-- no Venture would use anything else, right?). The tremolo arm is absolutely without peer-- not as extreme as a Fender, but with a real personal touch that cannot be duplicated by anything else but a Gretsch or vintage Gibson Bigsby; the tremolo is so easy and rich-sounding that if you have any need for it, it will make you think twice about buying anything else, ever. This is the same sort of guitar that Johnny Ramone used, not to mention any number of surf artists. Next time you go to your local guitar shop and think about buying that Jazzmaster, think again. This guitar sounds tons better, and is so easy to play, it should be a sin. Absolutely amazing. I replaced the Fenders with two P-90s, and I have never heard a more nasty tone through my Deluxe Reverb. No guitar can compare to this one.

The bridge takes a little getting used to (don't remove all the strings at once, or risk having to reset the spring in the tremolo arm, which can be a pain in the ass). Other than that, I have never had any trouble with this guitar, other than replacing the PUs and the wiring (the contacts were rusted). The action is amazing, just playing once on a Mosrite is a religious experience. This guitar looks beautiful, slung around your waist or sitting in a corner, it is instantly recognizable. The sunburst finish is absolutely the most beautiful available anywhere, and somehow this guitar fits me like a glove, no matter how low I set the strap.

When I bought this guitar, the neck was loose (I could bend a note by bending the neck), but it will not break. I would never let anything hurt this guitar, but I play very hard, and still I have had no problems. I would never play a gig without a backup, simply because I break strings at an incredible rate, but with this guitar, it is almost impossible. When I played with my Les Paul Custom, I broke a set of tens about once a week. Somehow, with this guitar, I haven't broken a string that hadn't had to be replaced before the gig anyway.

Um... Mosrite doesn't exist anymore. If you have to get this guitar fixed in any way, do it yourself, or find someone you really trust. Like many of the other postings, I would say that generally speaking, most people have no idea what to do with this guitar, don't even know where to start, and you definitely don't want anyone messing with this guitar unless you can sue them.

This is THE guitar for me. When I first played it, I had been playing for two years, in a punk band, on a Les Paul. I still use the Paul for more bluesy stuff, but for Rock and Roll, nothing even comes close. Somewhere inbetween classic Strats and classic LPs, this guitar manages to capture all the rebellion of Rock and Roll, all the nastiness that made you want to play guitar in the first place, and still manages to be the most playable guitar out there, short of the above guitars. If for some reason this guitar was lost, stolen or broken, I would beg, borrow and steal to get another one. There is no replacement for this guitar, and no substitute.

This is a 1967 Ventures Mark V. This is a short scale guitar, kinda like playing a Jaguar, seems a little like a PRS neck, (I mean a LITTLE). Maple neck, with some flame, rosewood fingerboard. 2 covered Mosrite pickups, without exposed pole pieces. 3 way toggle switch, volume and tone controls. Like all Mosrites, it is a "fretless wonder". It is sunburst in color, with a finished neck, though not painted to match like the Ventures Mark I model. This guitar has the "Mosley" tail piece, like a Bigsby in design. It has a metal slotted nut and a zero fret. The tuning pegs are Klusons like on a Les Paul Standard but with white plastic buttons, they work just as well as on a paul. The pickgaurd is white 3 ply that has aged to a lovely green like Fenders of that era. The action is lower than on any guitar I've ever played (and still be quite useable)This guitar came with its original "alligator" case.

I had never played a Mosrite until I picked this one up, so I didn't know what to expect. I was very plesently surprised. I play mostly blues (Clapton, SRV, Peter Green, Neil Young, etc...)The pickups sounded like a more trebly Les Paul, less bass reposnes. The bridge pickup is really bright. I love the way the tone control actually does something on this guitar. The pickups hum when held close to the amp, but that's quite normal. The Mosley Tailpiece blows me away. It really works well with this guitar and enhances it sonic capabilities enormously. I have never been a fan of tremelos, leaning more towards hardtail strats and Les Pauls, but while playing old Neil Young I can't help but yank on this bar. I own about 15 guitars, this sounds as good as any of them.

For being older than me, 32 years (for the guitar), it looks terrific. For a neck this thin and frets this low I did not expect this guitar to be playable when I picked it up at the store. My '89 Strat Plus Deluxe neck is already tweaked way worse than this. Its straight as an arrow and with exception of the 22nd fret, the guitar is playable and in tune all the way up. This neck is as thin as any new Ibanez, pretty amazing for 1967. The finish is great, old Mosrite ads claim they use 12 coats of hand applied laquer, and I can believe it, a nice 3 color sunburst. The neck finish is similar to that of Fenders of that era, glossy but not too much like a 70's Fender. The pickups are tight and there were no electrical problems. This was I guess a student model being of short scale, yet the fit finish and components are truly first class for the period.

I haven't owned the guitar long, but its held up great for 32 years, I probably won't gig with it. I have plenty of "throw around" guitars I could live with being damaged, not this one though. Everything fits, works and sounds like it should.

Getting info on Mosrites, since Semi died, is pretty non-existent. The only help I got was from some Japanese Ventures fan sights. Best bet if you need repair or info is try your local vintage guitar shop. The guy at the mall will probably have no idea wht this guitar is about. Mosrites are like the enigma of the vintage guitar world. Everybody's heard of 'em but nobody really knows anything about 'em. this is due partly to the fact that the models, production facilites, and features changed all the time, also financial difficulties didn't help.

This guitar was love at first strum. The only thing I would change is the neck scale and that means getting a Ventures Mark I model and shelling out around $4,000. I have small hands anyway and the short scale really is easy to play chords on, it just looks alittle strange, its a smaller guitar than most. Considering the price of the Mark I, and the fact that the share the same body style, same Mosley tail piece, (and pretty much everything else) I think this guitar is great. Its kinda like owining a cheap Ferrari, its still a Ferrari. If it were stolen and I could find another one for around a grand I would consider it, if it played as luciously as this one, and it sure is pretty. Don't even think of buying a Mosrite to play Van Halen or Metallica, you'll kill yourself trying. These guitars are unique but perform there duty admirably.