Mosrite Ventures Royal '63

The '63 Royal is an authentic Japanese grey-market copy of the very rare original Ventures Model Mosrite. I imagine the Royal '63 is rare in itself. It was over-priced and the manufacturer was given the legal cease and desist within a couple of years of production. I'm sure they sold many more of the more reasonably priced "Excellent" and "Super Custom" models.

The Mosrite Ventures Model of the '60's was a beautifully made guitar but poorly designed IMHO. What Semi Mosely considered features, I consider faults. This Japanese copy perfectly reproduces the too-thin neck, the too-low frets, the not-so reliable Vibromute whammy (no actual mute). It also features super-hot pick-ups. I have A/B'd the Royal '63 to a Super Custom and Excellent that I also have. The Royal '63 is significantly louder and brighter. The previous reviewer has more details on the pick-ups.

Other technical specs: Medium to light weight solid Body (I don't know the wood), side jack with white jack plate, spun knobs, large logo on headstock, nice rosewood on fret board, micro-dot fret markers, Mosrite is written on the Kluson style tuners, no logo on the pick-up covers, 3-ply binding on body, single ply binding on neck, extremely low action without buzz.

The only inaccuracies with this copy that I can find are the fact that it reads "Mosrite" embossed in the black space of the Vibromute bridge plate. It also reads "Mosrite" on the shell cases of the tuners. I'm not sure, but I suspect that was not on the originals when Mosely didn't even have the name on the pick-up covers nor the bridge plate. They gave it a bit too much yellow in the center of the burst pattern. Originals were not this bright. But overall, the Royal '63 is closer to an original Mosrite '63 than any recent production guitar.

Because the focus of the Royal '63 is so close a duplication of an original '63 Mosrite and that in most ways the quality is better that an original, I'll give it high marks even if the Mosrite design is not particularly playable in my opinion. This is to say that for the "feature" of duplication, it's awesome.

I play it through Fender amps. The pick-ups are extremely hot. The switching is virtually noiseless, there is none of the buzz common to roller bridges. I don't have a '63 Mosrite with which to compare but I do have a '66 and a late '80's. The Royal has the same sound but a little louder. The sound of a Mosrite is it's best feature .

The finish on the Royal '63 is wonderfull. I think I've only been more impressed by the finish of PRS guitars. The finish is way too good if you wanna look like your playing an original. For that, the Royal would need a "relic" make-over! But I wouldn't dream of doing that to this glassy finish.
It appears to have very durable binding. I understand this was not the case with original bound Mosrites. The action is very low. It's strung with .009's.

I'm not a thrasher so the guitar withstands my live performances. Every component is snuggly fitted. One would feel little anxietly using this guitar without a back-up. It is very dependable.

I'm a 35+ years experienced player and teacher and know solid body guitars well. The Fender strat is my preference in solid body guitar design but for tone, I really like this Mosrite.

I can't account for the better than $1000- price leap for the Royal '63 over the "Excellent" and the "Super Custom" models. Maybe it had to do with limited production. But it's nice to have a '63 style sidejack Mosrite for less than 1/10th of what an original would cost.

This is a 2001 Japanese re-issue of what I gues you would call the "Holy Grail" of all Mosrites -the '63 Sidejack. A lot of details make this guitar a lot different from the other Japanese re-issues you see reviewed here. Starting with the body, which (as with real '63's), is shaped slightly different than normal Ventures models, as is the carving on the top. Then comes the 3 ply body binding, the 3 screw pickguard, the side mounted jack, set neck, vibramute vibrato (which incidentally is a lot better made than the normal vibramute on the cheaper models), spun, ring type smooth knobs, and a much larger "Ventures" logo on the headstock rounds out the unique "63 features. In addition, the Japanese have 3 levels of pickups on the re-issues, the 2000 series on the "Excellent '65's", the 3000 series on the rest of the more expensive models, and the 4000 series, which is unique to the Royal '63. The difference is quite noticeable, with the 4000's being much hotter & more sensitive. They also have no logo, as on the originals. The neck appears to be the same in size & dimension as the other 1 piece maple necks, however, the fretboard is Brazilian rosewood. All in all this is a custom, pretty much handmade instrument, that is a tribute to Semie Moseley's best work. This is like the guitar you see pictured on those early Ventures albums.

It sounds like a Mosrite. Very versatile and sensitive, yet limited too. See the other reviews. This one sounds better than any of the other 50 or so Mosrites I have owned. The Japs did a great job on these pickups.

Had a little buzzing and required some tinkering to get it just right. The frets may be a tad bigger than the originals, but this is good in my book. Overall fit & finish is incredible -as it should be, this is an expensive guitar. Retail in Japan was about 10 zillion yen ($3700.00) This one is sunburst. (Semie Mosely could do sunburst better than anyone) It's very tastefully done, with 3 color sunburst on the back of the neck & front AND back of the headstock, as well as the body.

An elegant, classy guitar that deserves to be treated with respect. Not designed for wild "rock star", uninhibited abuse. Mosrite vibratos are notoriously sensitive, and get out of tune if overused.
If you're going to get crazy with a Mosrite, get a Johnny Ramone model -it should be a crime to trash this one. But I suppose it would hold up as good as anything else.

Flavio at Guitar Punk in Seattle is a great guy, but I think distributors like him are having trouble getting these nowadays. Plus the Ventures, who never authorized use of their name/ logo on these have finally succeeded in bringing this flagrant plagarism to a halt. I understand that no more Mosrites will be sold with the Ventures logo. Warranties are for weanies, anyway -either fix it yourself or get a good luthier. I understand someone is now making American re-issues, but I haven't seen one yet. Semie Moseley was an American treasure and a true genius, but he's dead.

I've played for over 35 yrs & have owned many Mosrites. I also have several Fenders, a few other Jap Mosrite copies, and a Taylor acoustic. My favorite amp is a slightly souped up Vibroverb re-issue. I have a POD for fun, but really don't go in a lot for effects. I always wanted a '63 sidejack Mosrite. Real ones are virtually non-existent, as I was told only about 75 were made. I've seen a couple go for well over $20,000.00. Semie himself made a few re-issues in the late 80's, but these have all been pretty much snatched up by now. The Royal '63 is a compromise,only in the fact that it's a copy, but a compromise I can live with. In reality, it's probably better made than an original. I seriously doubt that very many of these will be available for long. If you're not hung up on flag waving, made in USA patriotism, and just want a stunningly beautiful guitar, that plays great, check it out -if you can find one.