'65 Ventures Mosrite Guitar Project

[Louie7]

This post will follow my efforts to restore my 1965 Ventures Mosrite guitar. There may be lapses of inactivity as the refinishing stage must wait for warmer weather, which means next summer. But I'm starting this thread now, in December 2012, because this project is currently active.

HISTORY:
1985 - purchased refinished guitar with OHSC.
1985 ~ 1999 set guitar up and played occasionally.
1999 - Had a rattling truss-rod issue and consequently disassembled the guitar.
2001 - Purchased a NOS Vibramute arm and NOS string-guide from Gene Moles, who also advised me on solving the rattling truss-rod problem.
2001 ~ 2012 Project on hold due to indecision on refinishing.
2012 - Decided to refinish guitar in CandyAppleRed...reactivated project.

OH! by the way, I welcome any and all comments, opinions, observations or suggestions no matter how obtuse or misdirected.

.....................................................

HERE IS THE GUITAR PRETTY MUCH AS I BOUGHT IT.


3/4 SHOT OF GUITAR TOP


KLUSONS and BACK OF HEADSTOCK


NECK TONGUE, FRETS and SERIAL NUMBER


VIBRAMUTE AND BRIDGE


UNDERSIDE OF GUARD, SHOWING COMPONANTS with 1977 TONE POT


TRUSS-ROD


INITIAL PAINT REMOVAL REVEALING WHITE REFIN PRIMER


CONTINUED PAINT REMOVAL AT BACK OF BODY


INKS STAMPS REVEALED AFTER REMOVAL OF PAINTS
(note inscribed "OK" at rear of pocket. Note odd tan spot that is not paint. Note remains of red paint at rear of pocket - almost certainly original factory color.


MORE TO FOLLOW AS WORK PROGRESSES. thank you

[rcblair]

Your guitar was built around the same time as my bass. I have an 8/25/65 body with a 10/2/65 neck. What did you do to fix the rattling trussrod? The nut on mine is loose so I figure it is either not screwed on at all or the end is broken off. I can't remove the nut without enlarging the hole although I have more tools now than I did the last time I tried - probably 20 years ago. I have heard that the rod can be slid out of the neck in this era instrument. Is that true?

Rick B.

[Louie7]

Your guitar was built around the same time as my bass. I have an 8/25/65 body with a 10/2/65 neck. What did you do to fix the rattling trussrod? The nut on mine is loose so I figure it is either not screwed on at all or the end is broken off. I can't remove the nut without enlarging the hole although I have more tools now than I did the last time I tried - probably 20 years ago. I have heard that the rod can be slid out of the neck in this era instrument. Is that true?

Rick B.

Rick ~ Truthfully, I haven't fixed it yet - that will happen when I'm ready to assemble the finished guitar.....but, what Gene Moles told me is to fit a bit of teflon tape between the rods pieces near the welded end. I presume the idea is to effectively dampen any noisy contact between the two parts. I've also read that you can coat the rod with a generous application of petroleum jelly to accomplish the same thing, but I didn't want to get that messy - and so I called Gene to see what he thought. He agreed with me that introducing petroleum jelly inside the neck was not such a great idea even if it works.

As far as the nut goes ... get a nutdriver like the one in this picture and back the nut off.

Then, go to the hardware store and get a 'barrel connector' (probably about 60 cents) which is basically just a 1" section of metal that is threaded inside at both ends, and a 6" piece of threaded rod (probably around 80 cents). Attach the threaded rod to one end of the barrel and then thread the other end of the barrel to the threads on your Truss-Rod and pull it out. Should come out smoothly unless there's some larger issue that we don't know about, but yeah, all of the rods that adjust near the body will slide right out. Don't be tempted to just grab it with vise-grips or something....you don't want to risk damaging the nut or the threads. The nut of course can be replaced, but rod thread damage would be a bummer. If the rod resists coming out by hand, you could try grabbing the threaded rod with vice-grip at a 90* angle and gently knocking the side of the vice-grip with a hammer, until the rod starts backing out. I Think that's what I did, but it was about 12 years ago. so.....

[Mr. Bill]

A couple of obtuse, misdirected questions for you.

Is the pickguard 3-ply or single ply?

The body appears to have been originally finished in a 3-color burst. When you look closely, does it appear to have been changed to a solid color finish at the factory before it was refinished in the color that you got it in?

I ask, because I don't think that I've ever seen a real factory sunburst guitar with a clear finished neck, or at least they weren't normally supplied that way back then. Or does the neck look like it was originally finished in a burst?

[Louie7]

Interesting.

A: the guard is single-ply.

Yeah, the more I uncover the finish the more I'm starting to think it began as a sunburst too.

Initially, I thought it was originally white. But that was merely a primer coat under the turquoise. Then I saw the transparent butterscotch...then I saw the black.

Then I found the red at the rear of the neck pocket, and I figured the guitar was originally CandyAppleRed.

Now, that being said...the neck does not appear to be refinished, but Perhaps it was. I don't know. The top side of the tongue does have a thin coat of what appears to be flat black - but I always assumed that was something the guy who applied the turquoise did, because when I first got the guitar, the Kluson tuners and the string guide were spray painted flat black. I removed the black from the hardware, but I have never tried to remove the black from the top of the neck tongue.

The dates on the body and neck are so close together, I doubt if anyone ever swapped out a sunburst neck for a clear neck. If they did, it must have been a long long time ago, and with either really good luck or an inside job involving someone with connections.

[Louie7]

Well, I must say...the idea the neck on my guitar had also been refinished had never really occured to me. But then, the idea of the body having been originally sunburst hadn't either.

Eitherway, I decided it was time to examine the neck a BIT more closely. What I found, together with the fact that the previous owner had removed the logo's from the headstock convinces me, now, that this guitar was indeed a sunburst from the factory.

Examine the two quick pictures I took and see if you agree.

There's also the faintest hint of black along the neck binding seams.
So...there's that.

I'm glad Mr. Bill offered his viewpoint.

P.S. > WHY DOES the edit feature on my posts keep disappearing?? Very odd.

[Mr. Bill]

To my eyes, the black paint at the end of the neck looks like the typical overspray on a sunburst neck, but that's just my opinion.

You never mentioned that the headstock logos were missing when you got the guitar. This would be another clue that the neck had been refinished.

I know that Fender would sometimes respray a burst body with a custom color for any number of reasons. I just wondered if Mosrite did the same with your body.

Now to figure out why it has a single ply pickguard.

[Louie7]

To my eyes, the black paint at the end of the neck looks like the typical overspray on a sunburst neck, but that's just my opinion.

You never mentioned that the headstock logos were missing when you got the guitar. This would be another clue that the neck had been refinished.

I know that Fender would sometimes respray a burst body with a custom color for any number of reasons. I just wondered if Mosrite did the same with your body.

Now to figure out why it has a single ply pickguard.

I detected some small indications of poor sanding work behind the head stock, near the 'M'-cut too. It's under the clear, and I don't think Mosrite would have left something that tacky on a production product. So, I think it's conclusive that the neck was refinished and was probably originally sunburst as well. Not that it matters now, of course... ...it's a done deal.

Aw Jeez....now I'm going to have to go over the pickguard with a fine-toothed magnifying glass. Sheesh.

Whuts the deal? Were one-ply guards specific to a certain model or era?

I see nothing about the guard that would indicate it being a replica or something homemade. It's the same thickness as the bass guard I have (.123) and the edges are rounded to perfection, just like the bass guard. BUT...it's not nitro, like the bass guard. It's not PVC plastic or vinyl like modern pickguards either. It's more rigid...quite stiff actually....it doesn't flex, like modern guard material and shows no sign of shrinkage.

So I don't know, but I've examined the guard thoroughly and it's a dead-ringer for Mosrite. Same precise Mosrite countersinks, same bullnose bevel, same thickness, same color. Shows no sign of being handmade or modified and every sign of being professionally created.

[Mr. Bill]

I'm not in any way, shape, or form an expert on Mosrite products, but I've never seen an original single ply white guard before on a guitar of that era before. That's not to say that it didn't happen, I just think that it would be extremely odd.

Just my 2 cents. Maybe one of the others has seen this before.

[Louie7]

I'm not in any way, shape, or form an expert on Mosrite products, but I've never seen an original single ply white guard before on a guitar of that era before. That's not to say that it didn't happen, I just think that it would be extremely odd.

Just my 2 cents. Maybe one of the others has seen this before.

Based on what I understand about Mosrite and Semie's tendency to not worry about standardization, and to use whatever was on hand at the moment, I'd say that it wouldn't be extremely odd at all. Unusual, perhaps, but not extremely odd.

Mosrite has always had a reputation for unconventional practices, substitiutions and mystifying products.

It's worth noting that the pickguard shows no attempts at refitting, and the pickguard mounting screw holes are untouched, unmoved and fit the guard letter perfect. Based on that, I'm sure that this guard is at least from the mid 60's era, and mostly likely the one that came with the guitar. If it didn't come with the guitar....no worries....the whole instrument was compromised long before I took it under my wing.

BTW.... I've seen many 'Ventures' Mosrite 3 ply pickguards with the thick white layer up and many with the thick white layer down. Typical Mosrite quality control.