Sharing a great life with Mosrite and The Ventures
Posted: Wed Jan 21, 2009 6:05 pm
Greetings to all and a belated Happy New Mosrite Year! 
I'm 70 years old
and since the early '70s my life has been intertwined with Mosrite and The Ventures. 
In the 1960s I was enjoying the music of The Ventures on vinyl and I fell in love with Mosrite guitars as used by The Ventures. 
In 1970 I was turned on to THE STOOGES by a friend and noticed that the bassist, Dave Alexander, was using a beautiful blue Mosrite The Ventures model. I was fortunate to see them in 1970 at a place called "UNGANO'S" here in NYC and I couldn't take my eyes off Dave's bass and the sound it produced.
Living in NYC I would see once in a while a Mosrite The Ventures model bass in various pawn shops but even then I couldn't afford them. Being sort of ignorant I passed on a beauty because it was hanging in the window of a pawn shop with the strings loosened and I thought it be a problem instrument.
Later on I was on famed 48th Street, known as "guitar alley," and saw a Mosrite bass, single pickup, in the window with a price tag of $200. I figured it's now or never. The catch was that the bass had been painted a shocking pink and "dog" scrawled on the body. I bought it, brought it home and proceeded to the basement with a stripping liquid. Got the bass back to natural wood and painted it red.
I bought a copy of the LP "PLAY ELECTRIC BASS with the VENTURES" in the 4-LP series "PLAY GUITAR WITH THE VENTURES," the bass LP was Volume 4. Using the GUITAR PHONICS SYSTEM I taught myself how to play 'cause my desire was to learn mostly TOP 40 hits and songs with easy bass lines such as found on some reggae songs which had influenced me after having seen a '60s reggae concert with a variety of Jamaican artists. I bought an LP titled "THIS IS REGGAE MUSIC" and I just had to learn the bass to "I Shot The Sheriff" by The Wailers (Peter Tosh, Bunny Wailer, Bob Marley), and "Concrete Jungle" (also by The Wailers) with a very emotional guitar solo that almost makes me levitate!
I learned to play a few tunes but I never played with anyone. But I did drag my big Fender bass amp with 4 speaker cabinet to a friend's apartment to celebrate my 40th birthday in 1978. I played for my friends "Birthday," by The Beatles, and The Bee Gees' "Night Fever." I picked "Night Fever" 'cause I like the song but the bass lines were hard to discern so it was more of a challenge to learn them.
Next stop: my wife and I moved to L.A. in '78 but I don't remember what I did with the Mosrite, I must have sold it. I started acquiring basses again including another Mosrite model, the Joe Maphis one. I sold that one to a member of The Angry Samoans and acquired a J.K. Lado and, finally, a beauty, an ARIA PRO II Black 'n' Gold.
In 1981 I went to a lounge I thought was called The Westwood but I'm not sure, to see The Ventures. Finally, a fantasy come true. Prior to going I had drawn a bass drum head with The Ventures logo. I took photos of the concert and found my way backstage which took the members by surprise. I whipped out the sketch and they all autographed it.
I got a job working for a music publication and one day we got the mail belonging to another business in the building next to us. I was asked to take it to them and when the office door opened my jaw dropped 'cause it was The Ventures' drummer, Mel Taylor! I lost my speech and finally called him by the guitarist's name (Nokie Edwards)! I brought them the mail another day and, again, he opened the door and I called him by another member's name!
Finally, one day while shopping at Robinson's, the department store, I went to the cashier's line and lo and behold in front of me was Mel! We had a good laugh when I explained my shocking surprise when he opened the office door, etc.
Last year, I saw that The Ventures were going to play in NYC and I had acquired a copy of the above bass LP and the photos I took of their 1981 gig and waited at the entrance to the venue as I wasn't really going to attend since Mel had died and The Ventures were no longer playing Mosrites. I was fortunate that I asked a woman going in if she was connected to the band and she told me that she was Nokie's wife. I asked her to have Bob Bogle autograph my LP and I gave her the photos to show them how they looked back in 1981. Unfortunately, she told me, Bob wasn't with them 
but she took the LP and photos and had Nokie and rhythm guitarist Don Wilson autograph the LP which I later sold on eBay.
Yesterday, still with the Mosrite blood in me and this time not really able to afford a Mosrite The Ventures Model bass , even on eBay, I found a UNIVOX HI-FLYER bass (natural) in excellent condition for $200+s&h. On the completed listings on eBay a similar model was sold and a previous owner had applied the appropriate decals to make it look like a The Ventures model and in another thread here I found the decal seller and I may buy the decals and give my bass that distinctive Mosrite The Ventures model look and I'm on my way again! I may not live to fully learn to play, but this time I'm serious since time is of the essence!
Long live Mosrite! Long live The Ventures!
Univoxer
I'm 70 years old
and since the early '70s my life has been intertwined with Mosrite and The Ventures. In the 1960s I was enjoying the music of The Ventures on vinyl and I fell in love with Mosrite guitars as used by The Ventures. In 1970 I was turned on to THE STOOGES by a friend and noticed that the bassist, Dave Alexander, was using a beautiful blue Mosrite The Ventures model. I was fortunate to see them in 1970 at a place called "UNGANO'S" here in NYC and I couldn't take my eyes off Dave's bass and the sound it produced.Living in NYC I would see once in a while a Mosrite The Ventures model bass in various pawn shops but even then I couldn't afford them. Being sort of ignorant I passed on a beauty because it was hanging in the window of a pawn shop with the strings loosened and I thought it be a problem instrument.
Later on I was on famed 48th Street, known as "guitar alley," and saw a Mosrite bass, single pickup, in the window with a price tag of $200. I figured it's now or never. The catch was that the bass had been painted a shocking pink and "dog" scrawled on the body. I bought it, brought it home and proceeded to the basement with a stripping liquid. Got the bass back to natural wood and painted it red.I bought a copy of the LP "PLAY ELECTRIC BASS with the VENTURES" in the 4-LP series "PLAY GUITAR WITH THE VENTURES," the bass LP was Volume 4. Using the GUITAR PHONICS SYSTEM I taught myself how to play 'cause my desire was to learn mostly TOP 40 hits and songs with easy bass lines such as found on some reggae songs which had influenced me after having seen a '60s reggae concert with a variety of Jamaican artists. I bought an LP titled "THIS IS REGGAE MUSIC" and I just had to learn the bass to "I Shot The Sheriff" by The Wailers (Peter Tosh, Bunny Wailer, Bob Marley), and "Concrete Jungle" (also by The Wailers) with a very emotional guitar solo that almost makes me levitate!
I learned to play a few tunes but I never played with anyone. But I did drag my big Fender bass amp with 4 speaker cabinet to a friend's apartment to celebrate my 40th birthday in 1978. I played for my friends "Birthday," by The Beatles, and The Bee Gees' "Night Fever." I picked "Night Fever" 'cause I like the song but the bass lines were hard to discern so it was more of a challenge to learn them.
Next stop: my wife and I moved to L.A. in '78 but I don't remember what I did with the Mosrite, I must have sold it. I started acquiring basses again including another Mosrite model, the Joe Maphis one. I sold that one to a member of The Angry Samoans and acquired a J.K. Lado and, finally, a beauty, an ARIA PRO II Black 'n' Gold.
In 1981 I went to a lounge I thought was called The Westwood but I'm not sure, to see The Ventures. Finally, a fantasy come true. Prior to going I had drawn a bass drum head with The Ventures logo. I took photos of the concert and found my way backstage which took the members by surprise. I whipped out the sketch and they all autographed it.
I got a job working for a music publication and one day we got the mail belonging to another business in the building next to us. I was asked to take it to them and when the office door opened my jaw dropped 'cause it was The Ventures' drummer, Mel Taylor! I lost my speech and finally called him by the guitarist's name (Nokie Edwards)!
I brought them the mail another day and, again, he opened the door and I called him by another member's name! Finally, one day while shopping at Robinson's, the department store, I went to the cashier's line and lo and behold in front of me was Mel! We had a good laugh when I explained my shocking surprise when he opened the office door, etc.
Last year, I saw that The Ventures were going to play in NYC and I had acquired a copy of the above bass LP and the photos I took of their 1981 gig and waited at the entrance to the venue as I wasn't really going to attend since Mel had died and The Ventures were no longer playing Mosrites.
I was fortunate that I asked a woman going in if she was connected to the band and she told me that she was Nokie's wife. I asked her to have Bob Bogle autograph my LP and I gave her the photos to show them how they looked back in 1981. Unfortunately, she told me, Bob wasn't with them but she took the LP and photos and had Nokie and rhythm guitarist Don Wilson autograph the LP which I later sold on eBay. Yesterday, still with the Mosrite blood in me and this time not really able to afford a Mosrite The Ventures Model bass
, even on eBay, I found a UNIVOX HI-FLYER bass (natural) in excellent condition for $200+s&h. On the completed listings on eBay a similar model was sold and a previous owner had applied the appropriate decals to make it look like a The Ventures model and in another thread here I found the decal seller and I may buy the decals and give my bass that distinctive Mosrite The Ventures model look and I'm on my way again! I may not live to fully learn to play, but this time I'm serious since time is of the essence! Long live Mosrite! Long live The Ventures!
Univoxer
You were the guy that was hiding behind the pillar I wanted because when The Stooges walked in and stood along the wall before they went on, they exuded this "dangerous" image with their sullen look and you didn't want to approach them for fear of your life! My friend commented on how we'd better stay away from them and I looked for a place to "hide"! 
I tried to find out what happened to his beautiful Mosrite and it's probably out there somewhere with its provenance lost. Unless the owner knows its history. Anyone here know:?: