The Ventures Mark l in Maroon.

1966 Mosrite The Ventures Mark 1.

This exceptionally rare, custom-color 'Maroon' Ventures Mark 1, weighs 9.20 lbs. and has a nut width of just under 1 5/8 inches and a scale length of 25 inches. Solid alder body with 'German' carved top. Two-piece medium-profile rock-maple neck with a bound rosewood fretboard with metal nut, zero fret and 22 thin 'speed' frets and small white dot position markers. Specially shaped "Ventures Model" headstock with "Mosrite of California" and the Mosrite "M" logo decal in black. Single-layer black plastic truss-rod cover with two screws. Individual "double-line" Kluson Deluxe tuners with oval metal buttons (stamped on the underside "D-169400 / Patent No."). The serial number "V 5405" is stamped into the twenty-second fret of the guitar. Four-bolt neck plate (stamp dated November 1965 on the neck heel and in the pocket). Two Mosrite single coil pickups with black plastic covers with "Mosrite of California" embossed on the lower edge and outputs of 11.70k and 11.01k. Three-layer (white/black/white) plastic pickguard with seven screws. Two controls (one volume, one tone) plus three-way 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 "134 6647" (Centralab November 1966) and the neck pocket is stamped in black "OCT 13 1966". Mosrite bridge with six individually adjustable saddles and chrome-plated die-cast Mosely type vibrato unit tailpiece. The Maroon finish is bright and fresh and shows none of the usual fade associated with this very rare color. There are just a couple of very small surface marks but this super rare guitar is still in near mint (9.25) condition. Housed in it's original three-latch black & brown imitation Crocodile hardshell case with brown leather ends and red plush lining (8.50).

With over 110 million copies sold worldwide of well over 100 studio, live, compilation and box set album releases, The Ventures, founded in 1958 as The Versatones by Don Wilson and Bob Bogle, remain unsurpassed for their impact on music and musicians.

“The Ventures – the quintessential guitar combo of the pre-Beatles era -influenced not only styles, but also a generation’s choice of instruments” (Guitar Player, Jan. 1987).

Over thirty star guitarists have named The Ventures as an early influence. The list includes George Harrison, Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, Rory Gallagher, Joe Walsh, Stephen Stills, Jeff “Skunk” Baxter, Peter Frampton, Stevie Ray Vaughn, John Fogarty, Mark Knopfler, Roy Buchanan, Ted Nugent, Gene Simmons, Joe Perry, Tom Hamilton, Steve Howe, and even Elton John; they’ve all testified to the importance of Walk Don’t Run, amongst other Ventures hits, to their early musical education.

Walk Don’t Run, a rearrangement of Chet Atkins’ version of jazz guitar great Johnny Smith’s composition, was their first hit. They rerecorded it again in 1964, and it became a hit once more. The group remains the only act to win Top Ten spots for two different versions of the same song. After a few personnel changes in the very early 1960s, the classic lineup of Don Wilson on rhythm guitar, Nokie Edwards on lead guitar, Bob Bogle on bass, and Mel Taylor on drums was established. The guitarists would often switch roles.

Over the last forty-eight years, through various musical trends and changes in taste, the band has played non-stop and thirty-eight of the Ventures albums made it onto Billboard's Top 200.