Super Rare 1966 Metallic Blue Floral Ventures Bass

1966 Mosrite 'Custom' Ventures Bass

This exceptionally rare, custom-color 'Metallic Blue Floral' Ventures Mark Bass, weighs just 8.80 lbs. Solid alder body with 'German' carved top. Two-piece rock-maple neck secured by specific shaped four-bolt neck-plate, with  a nut width of just over 1 9/16 inches, a scale length of 30.50 inches and a wonderful thick profile that extends oh so gently from 0.93 inches at the third fret to 0.95 at the twelfth fret. Single-bound rosewood fretboard with metal nut, zero fret and 20 medium frets with small double clay dot position markers (triple at the twelfth fret) and black side-dot position markers. Specially shaped [Ventures] headstock with "Custom" in inlaid white script. Individual closed-back Mosrite 'Duck Feet' tuners with specific shaped metal buttons. The serial number "6287" is blind-stamped into the twentieth fret of the guitar. The inside of the neck-pocket is stamped in black "APR 4 1966 / 0008". Two Mosrite single coil pickups with four individually adjustable pole-pieces and black plastic covers with "Mosrite of California" embossed on the lower edge and outputs of 9.16k and 9.26k. Three-layer 'minty' white over black plastic pickguard with eight screws. Two controls (one volume, one tone) plus three-way pickup selector switch, all on pickguard. Mosrite metal 'hat type' knobs with "M" stamped on top, numbered from 1 to 5 (one with a "V" and the other with a "T". The potentiometers are both stamped "013446 0632" (Centralab, August 1966). Mosrite bridge with four individually adjustable saddles and aluminum and rosewood tailpiece secured by three screws. Housed in it's original three-latch, rectangular brown faux aligator hardshell case with brown leather ends and red plush lining (9.00).

This is a very interesting guitar… as we all know Fender introduced their Blue Floral and Pink Paisley Telecasters and Telecaster Basses following the 1967 "Summer of Love". The first example that we know, of the Pink Paisley Telecaster guitar appeared in May of 1968 and the first example that we know of the Blue Floral version in October 1968. As to the Basses, the earliest example of the Pink Paisley Bass that we know of was in October 1968 and the Blue Floral version in November of 1968. By the end of 1969 these finishes were no longer offered…

"Fender’s original solidbody, the Telecaster, was picked to receive the “Flower Power” treatment with two new finishes: Paisley Red and Blue Flower. These finishes were accomplished by sticking patterned wallpaper to the bodies and spraying clear polyester over the top. The original Fender ad copy for these models was also given a hippie-esque tone: “Paisley Red Pulsates with every beat and swirls in a blinding carousel of color forms and tones.” (premierguitar.com).

What is so interesting here is that it would appear that Semie Mosely came up with the 'floral' design some two years before Fender… "Semie and his brother Andy experimented with guitars since teen-age years, refinishing instruments and building new necks… During the early to mid '60s, the Mosrite company began to do extremely well and started experimenting with different types of guitars, effects pedals and amps."

The blue floral design on this "Custom" bass is much more subtle than the Fender 'wallpaper' but it has certainly lasted better with no signs of the usual 'cracking' that is invariably found on all of the Fender Blue Floral and ink Paisley guitars and basses.