Translucent 'California Grape' 'Set-Neck' "Double Axe" - From Semie Moseley's Personal Collection.

1984 Mosrite "Double Axe" 'set-neck' solid body with double 'German' carve.

This exceptionally rare, most probably unique, custom-color 'Translucent California Grape' "Double Axe" weighs 9.10 lbs. Two-piece 'flamed' maple "Axe" shaped body (14 1/4 inches wide, 1 3/34 inches deep) with scalloped (German carved) top and back. One-piece thin-profile rock-maple set-neck with a metal nut, zero fret and 22 'jumbo' frets with small double and triple inlaid brass dot position markers. The neck has a nut width of 1 5/8 inches, a scale length of 24 3/4 inches and a wonderful and very fast medium-to-thin profile. The 'slab' rosewood fretboard is multi-bound in maple and mahogany. Mosrite shaped headstock with "Mosrite of California" and the Mosrite "M" logo decal in white. individual (three-a-side) 'Kluson Deluxe' tuners with oval metal buttons. Three Mosrite single coil pickups with white plastic covers with "Mosrite of California" embossed on the lower edge, white plastic surrounds, and outputs of 8.23k, 9.69 and 10.17k respectively. One volume control and three, three-way 'mini' pickup selector switches (one for each pickup). Mosrite 'hat type' control knob with "M" stamped on top, numbered from "T to 5". The potentiometer is stamped "137 7343" (CTS, October 1973). Top mounted jack input. Mosrite bridge with six individually adjustable saddles on chrome-plated die-cast Moseley type vibrato/tailpiece unit. Matching 'flamed' maple control cavity cover secured by two screws. This most probably one-of-a-kind unique guitar from Semie Moseley's personal collection is in mint (9.50) condition. As is often the case with his own personal instruments there is no serial number. Housed in it's original three-latch rectangular 'camouflage' cloth hardshell case with black leather ends and black plush lining (9.25). This is one amazing sounding guitar…

We have had one other "Double-Axe" - a flourescent pink sparkle, with 'German' carve on the top only, bolt-on neck example which Semie had built especially for his daughter Dana. That guitar had the usual "Axe" style headstock with all six tuners in a line, a maple fretboard with black dot position markers and two controls (one volume, one tone) + a three-way 'mini' pickup selector switch. This guitar has a unique (for a Double Axe) earlier style headstock with three-per-side tuners. The 'Double German' carve, the specially bound rosewood fretboard with brass dot position markers and the electrics on this guitar are identical to the 1984 'Prototype' (serial # "AFC 01") in burnt orange which is owned by Adam Tober of Expat Guitars in Tokyo. However that guitar has 24 frets - this one and the flourescent pink sparkle guitar have the more usual 22 frets. We believe that our guitar was built around the same time in 1984 although the headstock decal states "Mosrite of California" which suggest possibly before 1981 (and the potentiometer dates from 1973!!!!).

It is clear from all of our exhaustive research that Semie was continually experimenting and made many 'one-off' instruments. We have never seen nor heard of another similar example similar to this one.