 | |
| Formerly | Mosrite of California |
|---|---|
| Company type | Private |
| Industry | Musical instruments |
| Founded | Los Angeles, California (1956) |
| Founder | Semie Moseley and Andy Moseley |
| Headquarters | List
United States |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | Semie Moseley and Andy Moseley |
| Products | Electric guitars |
33°38′46″N 111°53′57″W / 33.6460322°N 111.899058°W / 33.6460322; -111.899058
Mosrite was an American guitar manufacturing company, established in Bakersfield, California, from the late 1950s[1] to the early 1990s. Founded by Semie Moseley,[1] Mosrite guitars were played by many artists, most notably country stars Joe Maphis and Buck Owens, surf rocker Nokie Edwards of the Ventures, and punk rocker Johnny Ramone of the Ramones.[2]
Mosrite guitars were known for innovative design, high-quality engineering, very thin, low-fretted and narrow necks (though Mosrite used taller frets and wider necks after the 1960s), and hot (high output) pickups. Moseley's design for the Ventures, known as "the Ventures model" (later known as the "Mark I") was generally considered to be the flagship of the line. Mosrite also made a small number of acoustic guitars including a 12-string.
History
Apprenticeship
Semie Moseley started playing guitar in an evangelical music group in Bakersfield, California, at age 13.[3] He and his brother Andy experimented with guitars from their teenage years, refinishing instruments and building new necks.[4]
Moseley began building guitars in the Los Angeles area around 1952 or 1953, apprenticing at the Rickenbacker factory. There he learned much of his guitar making skills from Roger Rossmeisl, a German immigrant who brought old-world luthier techniques into the modern electric guitar manufacturing process. One of the most recognizable features on most Mosrite guitars is the "German Carve" on the top that Moseley learned from Rossmeisl. During the same time, Moseley apprenticed with Paul Bigsby in Downey, California, the man who made the first modern solid-body guitar for Merle Travis in 1948, and who invented the Bigsby vibrato tailpiece, which is still used today.
Mosrite founded
In 1954, Moseley built a triple-neck guitar in his garage (the longest neck was a standard guitar, the second-longest neck an octave higher, the shortest was an eight-string mandolin). He presented a double-neck to Joe Maphis, a Los Angeles-area TV performer of country music. He also made several similar twin-neck guitars (with the performer's name inlaid into the neck) for Maphis' protegé, the child prodigy guitarist Larry Collins, who still owns his three Mosrite twin-necks. By 1956, with an investment from Ray Boatright, a local Los Angeles Foursquare Gospel minister, Semie and Andy Moseley started their company, Mosrite of California. In gratitude to Reverend Boatright, they named the company by combining their last names; the name is properly pronounced MOZE-rite, based on the pronunciation of Moseley.[5] Moseley, who built guitars for the L.A.-based Rickenbacker company, told his co-workers that he was making his own product and was fired by Rickenbacker.[4]
When they began, their production was all custom, handmade guitars, built in garages, tin storage sheds, wherever the Moseleys could put equipment.[4]
In 1959, Andy moved to Nashville, Tennessee, for a year to popularize the Mosrite name and sold a few, including to Grand Ole Opry entertainers and road musicians. Andy said: "And that’s how we kept the factory going at the time: custom guitars".[4]
Moseley made guitars in Los Angeles until 1959, when he moved to Oildale, California, just north of Bakersfield. In 1962, he moved his shop to Panama Lane where he designed and produced the first Joe Maphis model guitars, one model of which would eventually evolve into the "Ventures model" guitar and bass (Joe Maphis would later get a model of his own, similar to a Mosrite Combo model but without the F-hole). At this time, Mosrite made everything in-house, except for the tuners.[2]
Mosrite pickups after the 50s usually came in several ways through Mosrite's history, none with metal casing; 1: the large single coil similar to (but not as long as) a P-90, 2: a cheaper version of the first pickup that showed on cheaper models (Celebrity III, Mark V), 3: a cheaper pickup only found on the first iteration of the Ventures II and 4: a Mosrite Humbucker mostly found on some 1970s models.
The full Ventures line consisted of "the Ventures model" (as several versions: a 6-string guitar, 4-string bass, and 12-string guitar - the "Mark I", "Mark X", and "Mark XII" versions, respectively), "the Ventures II model" (of several versions), and "the Ventures Mark V model". "The Ventures" line started in 1963 and ran through 1967 or 1968 when the licensing agreement with the Ventures ended.
At the peak of production, in 1968, Mosrite was making around 600 guitars per month.[5]
Bankruptcy and restart
Mosrite of California went bankrupt in late 1968 after they contracted with the Thomas Organ Company to market their guitars. After this, they tried to deal directly with stores, and they sold 280 guitars in 1969 before they came to the shop one day in February and found their doors pad-locked.[4] Two years after his bankruptcy, Moseley was able to get back the Mosrite name, and in 1970 he started making guitars again in Pumpkin Center near Bakersfield. He moved his factory three times in the next 20 years, to Oklahoma City in the mid-1970s, to the township of Jonas Ridge, in Burke County, North Carolina, in 1981 (where a factory fire destroyed the operation), and to Leachville, Arkansas, in 1991.[4] Only one guitar was produced in Leachville and is now on display at the town's Melody Theater.
Though an acknowledged genius at guitar design and construction, Moseley lacked many basic skills necessary to be a good businessman, and thus the company fell on hard times repeatedly in the late 1960s and 1970s, but continued to produce Mosrite guitars until 1993 in North Carolina and Arkansas. Most of them were exported to Japan, where their popularity remained very strong. The quality of the instruments always remained very respectable. Semie Moseley died in 1992. His wife Loretta continued to produce Mosrites a year or so after his death, and since 2008 has been selling custom Mosrites via their website.
The company now has recently[when?] released the Semie Moseley Model '63 and '65, based on the Ventures models made in those two years. Both models are made to the exact specifications as the original models; they are 100% hand-made and were created to commemorate Moseley.
Moseley's daughter, Dana Moseley, is also a luthier and continues to build Mosrite guitars.[6] She also helps kick off the monthly "Mosrite Jam" in Bakersfield.[7]
Notable players
- Leroy "Sugarfoot" Bonner of the Ohio Players is known for his double-necked Joe Maphis model.[2]
- Kurt Cobain of Nirvana[2]
- Merle Haggard[2]
- Koichi Kawasaki of the Band Apart, who owns Mark I, Mark IV and four other models.[8]
- Joe Maphis[2]
- Buck Owens[2]
- Johnny Ramone of the Ramones[2]
- Nokie Edwards of the Ventures[2]
- Ricky Wilson of the B-52's who played Mosrite guitars in early recordings with unusual tunings on songs such as "Rock Lobster".[9]
References
- ^ a b "A Brief History of Mosrite Guitars". Guitar.com | All Things Guitar. Retrieved 2025-11-17.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Hunter, Dave (2006). The Electric Guitar Sourcebook: How to Find the Sounds You Like. Hal Leonard. pp. 67–68. ISBN 978-0-87930-886-5.
- ^ Thompson, Art, "Mosrite 40th Anniversary", Guitar Player magazine, January 2007.
- ^ a b c d e f Price, Robert, "The Man Behind the Mosrite" (archived 2008 copy), The Bakersfield Californian. Has biographical notes on Semie Moseley.
- ^ a b Roberts, James H. (2003). American basses: an illustrated history & player's guide. Hal Leonard. p. 128. ISBN 978-0-87930-721-9.
- ^ Roman, Ed. "Mosrite Guitars - Dana Moseley of Moseley Family". Edroman.com. Retrieved 3 October 2018.
- ^ Munoz, Matt, "Mos-rite-teous! Lovers of Bakersfield guitar ready to jam" Archived 2011-02-13 at the Wayback Machine, Bakotopia.com, Wednesday, Feb 17 2010
- ^ ""Memories to Go"リリース・インタビュー No.02 川崎亘". Asianmgothic.org.
- ^ "Mosrite Guitars". Las Vegas, NV: Mosrite Guitars. Archived from the original on 2008-12-16. Retrieved 2014-07-29.
Mosrite is an American guitar manufacturing company, Originally based in Bakersfield, California in 1952. ... Today it does all of its American Manufacturing in Las Vegas, NV. Imports are strictly Japanese by Japan's best guitar factory "Tokai". Founded by Semie Moseley, Mosrite guitars were played by many rock and roll and country artists such as ...
Further reading
- Landers, Rick; Brennan, Tim, "The Story of Mosrite Guitars, Part One". Modern Guitars magazine, January 18, 2005
- Price, Robert, "The Man Behind the Mosrite" (archived 2008 copy), The Bakersfield Californian. Has biographical notes on Semie Moseley.
External links
- Official website (archived, March 12, 2013)
- Mosrite guitars on Ed Roman website
- The Mosrite Gospel guitar, North American Instruments, 2000. With some personal notes on its builder.
- "Mosrite History", Tym Guitars, Australia.
- "Mosrite Forum" (Fan site for Mosrite enthusiasts)
- "Mosrite Celebrity" (Fan site for the Mosrite Celebrity models)
- Andy Moseley Interview at NAMM Oral History Collection (2012)
