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Up for sale, a 1978 Mosrite Ventures Model featuring its original Candy Apple Red gloss nitro lacquer finish. Produced during a very narrow window when the Mosrite factory was in Yuba City, California from 1977-78, this is one of the rarest USA-made iterations of the Ventures Model, and marked its reintroduction into the Mosrite lineup after the dissolution of the Mosrite/Ventures partnership in the late '60s. Replicating a feature set first seen in 1965, this Ventures Model boasts an unbound body with deep German Carve, Moseley-embossed vibrato unit, M knobs, and Mosrite-embossed pickup covers. Semie Moseley simply never missed an opportunity to add his company name or signature "M" to his guitars.
The most popular and enduring instrument produced by the Mosrite company, the Ventures model was initially a joint venture between Mosrite founder Semie Moseley and the band The Ventures. While there have been a fair share of reissues and copies over the decades, nothing compares to the elegance and dynamic responsiveness of the original Mosrite Ventures Model. The pickups are particularly hot and detailed, with top end that is round and clear, and plenty of midrange warmth and punch to cut through any mix. The low end blooms and growls while retaining focus. The guitar weighs 8lbs 13oz, professionally setup here at Mike & Mike's Guitar Bar with 10-46 strings, low action, and spot-on intonation.
The maple neck has a very slender C profile carve that provides a fast, effortless playing experience, measuring .785" deep at the 1st fret and .805" at the 12th. The bound rosewood fretboard has a 7 1/4" radius, refretted with vintage-spec 6230-size fretwire that, while still slender, has a bit more width and crown than the stock frets. The frets play cleanly in all registers up the 24 3/4" scale with a straight neck and responsive, optimally adjusted truss rod. The fretboard measures 1 9/16" at the zero fret just forward of the aluminum nut. On the headstock, the original Mosrite and Ventures logos are present in addition to the original Kluson Deluxe double line tuning machines.
The wiring harness retains the original Switchcraft switch with milled aluminum tip as well as the pair of CTS pots which date to the 3rd week of '78. The knobs include the original skirted M-embossed Volume knob and a similar, slightly later Tone knob. The stock pickups feature their original windings with the clear sealant and braided pickup leads Semie was using in this era. The stock parchment three-ply pickguard contrasts nicely with the dark Candy Apple Red gloss finish, and the "Moseley" vibrato is one of the prominent features of the Ventures model, including the original chrome arm and working in concert with the roller saddle bridge. The vibrato also has a notably tall spring with ideal tension, allowing the arm to sit off the body at a height suitable for deep, expressive dives.
Cosmetically, this guitar has clearly been loved and played hard, with prominent horizontal lacquer checking and finish wear through the Candy Apple Red down to the gray primer coat particularly where the forearm crosses the top, at the bass-side waist and on the edges of the radically contoured body. The finish is stable in all areas and exhibiting no flaking, and there is light overspray on both sides of the headstock. The guitar did exhibit a seam separation visible on the inside edge of the treble side body horn, and a slender maple shim has been grafted in and color matched. The maple neck profile is remarkably clean, with broad flame figuring along its length.
A padded gigbag is included.
The most popular and enduring instrument produced by the Mosrite company, the Ventures model was initially a joint venture between Mosrite founder Semie Moseley and the band The Ventures. While there have been a fair share of reissues and copies over the decades, nothing compares to the elegance and dynamic responsiveness of the original Mosrite Ventures Model. The pickups are particularly hot and detailed, with top end that is round and clear, and plenty of midrange warmth and punch to cut through any mix. The low end blooms and growls while retaining focus. The guitar weighs 8lbs 13oz, professionally setup here at Mike & Mike's Guitar Bar with 10-46 strings, low action, and spot-on intonation.
The maple neck has a very slender C profile carve that provides a fast, effortless playing experience, measuring .785" deep at the 1st fret and .805" at the 12th. The bound rosewood fretboard has a 7 1/4" radius, refretted with vintage-spec 6230-size fretwire that, while still slender, has a bit more width and crown than the stock frets. The frets play cleanly in all registers up the 24 3/4" scale with a straight neck and responsive, optimally adjusted truss rod. The fretboard measures 1 9/16" at the zero fret just forward of the aluminum nut. On the headstock, the original Mosrite and Ventures logos are present in addition to the original Kluson Deluxe double line tuning machines.
The wiring harness retains the original Switchcraft switch with milled aluminum tip as well as the pair of CTS pots which date to the 3rd week of '78. The knobs include the original skirted M-embossed Volume knob and a similar, slightly later Tone knob. The stock pickups feature their original windings with the clear sealant and braided pickup leads Semie was using in this era. The stock parchment three-ply pickguard contrasts nicely with the dark Candy Apple Red gloss finish, and the "Moseley" vibrato is one of the prominent features of the Ventures model, including the original chrome arm and working in concert with the roller saddle bridge. The vibrato also has a notably tall spring with ideal tension, allowing the arm to sit off the body at a height suitable for deep, expressive dives.
Cosmetically, this guitar has clearly been loved and played hard, with prominent horizontal lacquer checking and finish wear through the Candy Apple Red down to the gray primer coat particularly where the forearm crosses the top, at the bass-side waist and on the edges of the radically contoured body. The finish is stable in all areas and exhibiting no flaking, and there is light overspray on both sides of the headstock. The guitar did exhibit a seam separation visible on the inside edge of the treble side body horn, and a slender maple shim has been grafted in and color matched. The maple neck profile is remarkably clean, with broad flame figuring along its length.
A padded gigbag is included.
