Mistake plates

[MWaldorf]

Dennis, quit holding out and share some pictures of this infamous 88!

[oipunkguy]

That's a '73 at best. Semie had gone back to Klusons by then, and this Gtr seems to have the correct ones
without any 'molestation' screw holes for the ones used anywhere from late '69-'73. It also seems to come with
an early '90s case that's suppose to be close to the original case...but isn't...and the MISTAKE PLATE??
....well...it AIN'T SUPPOSE TO BE ON THERE ...so, let's just say THAT'S...a Mistake in itself....


I think I can shed light on this topic. Like many of you all know that are true mosrite fans, mistake plates were primarily used on the earliest of the ventures models and pre-ventures models to cover up the "mistake" routing the tremolo unit. However this is not the case with this guitar. This guitar I feel is a prototype model of the Mark VII (mark V two) . I own two of these, and on the VII models, the electrics were upgraded to independent volume and tone controls for each pickup. (just like your typical les paul) When semie made this change from the standard mark I design, the pickguard and guitar body cavity had to be widen slightly to accommodate the extra electrics. To me this is the most obvious reason for this mistake plate. For whatever reason, semie (or someone) switched this guitar to a mark I design after the body cavity was already cut. I've seen only one mark VII with a matching headstock, and it was a 1971 model, and since the VII's were not an official mosrite product line until 72, I would put this guitar to be made between 1970 and 1971.
One more thing, the VII models also had larger dot inlays then the typical mark I and other 60's models, (all the 70's mosrites were like this, brass rail, mono/stereo models, etc.) but this guitar has the smaller dot inlays, which also is a good indicator that it is an early 70's prototype.
If anyone wants to see pics of my mark VII's, email me at oipunkguy@aol.com, I couldn't get the pics to upload onto this forum for some reason.
Cheers, All

[moaimen]

I have another question concerning "mistake plates". I can understand if a certain run had been routed and later it was decided to put different parts on for some reason but we've seen these plates on numerous models at different times. I find it hard to believe that Semie was making that many mistakes?

[dubtrub]

I have another question concerning "mistake plates". I can understand if a certain run had been routed and later it was decided to put different parts on for some reason but we've seen these plates on numerous models at different times. I find it hard to believe that Semie was making that many mistakes?

I'm unaware of any mistake plates being used after the first batch in the early '60s. This was described in detail on another thread last year, in a nut shell, the mistake plate was necessary because Semie had made the newly designed guitar with the neck horizontal with the body. Subsequent guitars had the neck angled downward. By making the neck horizontal, the vibrato assembly set too high on top of the body and the strings could not get close to finger board. The only way to compensate for this error was to sink the vibrato into the guitar body leaving an unfinished edge, hence a mistake plate was made to cover the unsightly edge. Here's a good example showing the level neck in the top photo and the angled neck in the second photo.

Notice how the headstock is about the case in the photo?


You can see the headstock touches the case on this one. There's about a 2-3 degree downward angle which allows the vibrato to sit on top of the body.

[Veenture]

Moaimen, thanks for bumping this subject again because Danny has just showed me a very poignant aspect of the development of the Joe Maphis “Mistake Plate” guitar which eventually became known as the Ventures Model.

I think I now understand why and how the DOWNWARD ANGLE OF THE NECK came to be in the Ventures Model. Knowing this, I'll be looking at Semie later models more closely to see if any have the neck horizontal with the body.

I have always wondered about this feature ever since I noticed the difference between my trusty old ‘horizontal’ Strat and the new ‘angled’ Hallmark 60 Custom I bought early this year. It was one of the first things that caught my eye!

I need to dust off my gold digging equipment once again and do some digging and uncover some more treasures that lie in this here forum-goldmine