'Walk Don't Run' Hawaii Five-O' 'Wipe Out'
Rare Custom Color "Ventures" Model

This rare, custom-color 'Turquoise Blue' "The Ventures Model" weighs just 8.00 lbs. and has a nut width of just over 1 9/16 inches and a scale length of 25 inches. Solid alder body, scalloped on top edge. Two-piece medium-profile rock-maple neck with a bound rosewood fretboard with metal nut, zero fret and 22 'speed' frets with small white dot position markers. Specially shaped "Ventures Model" headstock with "Mosrite of California", "The Ventures Model" and the Mosrite "M" logo decal in black. Individual "double-line" Kluson Deluxe tuners with oval metal buttons (stamped on the underside "D-169400 / Patent No."). The serial number "3835" is stamped into the twenty-second fret of the guitar. Four-bolt neck plate. The neck is stamped "Jun 1 1965 /0039" and the neck pocket is stamped "DEC 1 1965 / 0024" and also signed "Dee / 3762". Two Mosrite single coil pickups with black plastic covers with "Mosrite of California" embossed on the lower edge and outputs of 10.61k and 10.49k. Three-layer white/black/white plastic pickguard with seven screws. Two controls (one volume, one tone) plus three-way selector switch, all on pickguard. The potentiometers are stamped "134 6605 (CTS, February 1966). 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". Jack socket on pickguard on treble horn. Mosrite bridge with six individually adjustable saddles and chrome-plated die-cast Mosely type vibrato unit tailpiece. The Turquoise Blue finish is bright and vivid and shows none of the usual fade associated with this very rare color. There is some fine finish checking and a few small dings here and there, but overall this totally original "Ventures" guitar is in exceptionally fine (9.00) condition. Housed in it's original brown imitation Crocodile hardshell case with brown leather ends and red plush lining (8.50).

The Mosrite Venture model was created by “Semie” Mosrite, who designed the pickups and wound them himself, designed the “M” headstock, added the German carve, tilted the neck pickup, introduced “speed” frets, and bestowed upon the guitars splendid finishes of deeply saturated colors.

As Mosrite historian Tim Brennan wrote in Modern Guitar Magazine (Jan. 18 and August 31 2005):

“Semie had built a guitar that he lent to Nokie Edwards of the Ventures to use on some recording sessions. This was to change everything! Nokie bought a guitar from Semie and, within a year, an endorsement deal with the Ventures would make Mosrite a household name, at least in the surf/instrumental guitar world.

“It was probably Nokie who made the Mosrite name famous. Nokie was the lead guitarist for the Ventures, an instrumental group, and by 1962 the entire band was playing Mosrites on songs like "Walk Don't Run" and the theme from "Hawaii 5-O". The back of one of their albums read, "Guitars courtesy of Mosrite Distributing Corporation". That was enough to start the ball rolling and soon Mosrite had substantial orders from dealers, which signaled the start of Mosrite's heyday. Initially building 20-30 guitars a month, the orders kept coming in and Mosrite was on its way to becoming a credible American guitar manufacturer.

“Semie had been working with Bob Crooks of the Standel guitar company who wanted Semie to design a guitar for him "like a Fender". This guitar eventually became the basis for the Mosrite Ventures model. Early examples of these guitars have "Joe Maphis Model", or, simply, "Mosrite" on the headstock.

“Legend has it [confirmed by Nokie Edwards and Mosrite GM, John Rutledge] that Semie flipped over a Stratocaster and traced around it to produce the now-classic Mosrite body design. However, the shape of the Mosrite Ventures model is more elaborate, more curvaceous, and, in the opinion of many, more pleasing to the eye than an upside down Strat. In fact, Semie's innate talent for original guitar design would prove itself again and again over the years.

“After working on a prototype with guitar artisan Bill Gruggett, the first ‘official Ventures’ guitar became available in 1963. The first model had a set neck and a celluloid-bound body, with a large "The Ventures" logo on the headstock. They were available in red or sunburst only. The amplifier jack was on the side of the guitar and these are referred to as the "side jack models.

“The necks were very thin and had extremely low frets known at Mosrite as ‘speed frets.’ They had a zero fret and semi-circular-type metal string guide (nut). The vibrato unit on these early models was called a "Vibramute" and had a special muting mechanism near the bridge. All Mosrite production numbers are sketchy, but it's believed approximately 200 of these guitars were built. The Ventures used this model on their January, 1965, tour.

“In 1964, the amplifier jack was moved on to the pickguard and the body binding was dropped. The neck joint was changed to the bolt-on type but the screw heads were covered by a metal plate, which was subsequently changed to a more standard type bolt-on neckplate with exposed screw heads.

“All of these changes suggest economy in manufacturing as the ‘original’ design would have been very expensive to produce. The Ventures logo became smaller in mid '64 and the pickups changed to show the ‘Mosrite of California’ logo embossed on them, but with no "R" for registered trade mark.”