Mosrite edumecation...

[Veenture]

Gentlemen, here’s a guy still needing a lot of catching-up to do on Mosrite matters, so please allow for some, perhaps amateurish questions…

I’m still very content with the Hallmark 60 Custom that I recently bought and the honeymoon isn’t over yet! I keep on admiring it all the time and find the differences compared to my Stratocaster very interesting (yeah, been playin’ Fender for the last umpteen years now but also finally have my very first ever “Mosrite guitar” now!). Yes, two different animals and both very desirable!

One particular point of interest I find on the Hallmark is the fact that the 6 holes in which the strings are anchored in the trem unit, aren't drilled in a straight line but seemingly at random. I say seemingly because I believe this must be part of the design but I’m very interested to know the reason behind it… and if it occurs on the original Mosrite parts also.
FritzCat, oipunkguy, you guys have been helpful before…do you know this one?

Hey moderator(s)!
I’ve noticed you’ve succeeded in halling (misspelling intended) Bob Shade of Hallmark over to the forum, good job!
(Welcome Bob too from this customer from Holland, if you remember)

Cheers!
Paul

[dubtrub]

Yes the original Mosrites had this same arrangement on the vibrato. Semie believed the offset of the holes allowed different tensions of the strings in order to keep them in tune while strumming a chord and using the vibrato.

Bob did join the forum. He does read here regularly but probably won't be real active for the simple reason he just doesn't have the time to get bombard with questions and answers. His assistant, Johnny aka moriteforever, is here on the forum regularly and will try to answer question when he can.

[Deke Dickerson]

And I'll second that....the original intention was to keep the strings in tune while depressing the vibrato. Does it work? Ummm....no. It might have worked on Semie's prototype but as far as I can tell it doesn't really work. But it looks cool!

And remember, if you're playing Mosrite guitars, there are a lot of mysterious things you will find where it doesn't make any sense....BUT IT LOOKS COOL! ha ha

Deke

[Veenture]

Hey Danny and Deke,
'appreciate your kind words and thanks for shedding some light on this matter for me and yes, certainly, all those "Mosrite offsets" and "-mysteries" make this instrument so appealing!

[oipunkguy]

hey veenture,

this sound correct. keep in mind the more of an angle the string goes from the bridge to the stopbar or trem unit, the tighter the string is when tuned to pitch. this is why on a les paul usually the stopbar is higher on the treble end to give more bend for soloing, lower on the bass strings to keep them from being to loose while playing chords.
I guess this could also be part of semie's idea behind the placement of the holes on the trem. however, I don't have any issues keeping my mosrite in tune. they actually stay in tune better then my Les pauls and fenders. maybe cuz I replace my tuners with grovers like johnny ramone's. I personally hate mosrite style klusons.

[Veenture]

oipunkguy wrote: keep in mind the more of an angle the string goes from the bridge to the stopbar or trem unit, the tighter the string is when tuned to pitch.

What a bright observation oipunkguy! It makes scientific sense and is actually a very clever idea. Perhaps one could say Semie's design (if it was his) caters for each string's individual tention when a movement of the trem unit is made by which of course, all the strings bend simultaneously but now more 'musically correct' ...no wonder the Mosrite sound is so unique also in this department!

Not meaning to sound like a professor and whatever the reason for any aspect, the Mosrite stays ...COOOL
Thanks for taking the trouble!

[FritzCat]

I wonder if the idea behind this design was aimed at a particular type/size of strings? I don't suppose this info would be on the patent blueprints?

[oipunkguy]

who knows.... but again the principal still remains the same with different string gauges. Gibson sets all there guitar up from the factory with 10's, fender uses 9's. my guess since the mosrite scale was usually 24.5, or somewhere in that range, I'm guessing Semie used 10's at the factory. can anyone else back up my theory?

[zarfnober]

From the files of "take this for what it's worth, because this is what Loretta told me", Semie came up with this idea in a dream, woke up and went to work on it. He kept trying to make a whammy bar stay in tune and this is what he came up with. Sound far fetched? Thomas Edison kept marbles in his hand with a tin pan underneath on the floor when he took a nap. As he dozed off, ideas would pop into his head. So, he put the marbles in his hand, as he dozes off, he drops the marbles, wakes up, and remembers his ideas. Paul McCartney came up with Yesterday in his sleep, except the words were a little different. Scrambled Eggs. True story. Kieth Richards used to sleep with his guitar, kept a tape recorder around too. Wakes up one morning, or whenever a Kieth richards wakes up, and there on the tape is Satisfaction. Brian Wilson put his piano in a sandbox to feel like he was at the beach writing songs, but he was awake. Creative people do some very strange things sometimes.

Rocco

[oipunkguy]

my favorite creative story i heard was from Joey Ramone. He said he wrote his best lyrics late at night at 2am, home alone, while taking a sh*t.

I carry a tape recorder with me, cuz I'll come up with song ideas all the time, usually when I'm stuck in traffic, and I'll hum the tune until I can get home to translate it to guitar.