Here is the Celebrity I'm looking at:

[dorkrockrecords]

I think you are being thrown off by the fact that these Celebrities have arched backs.

[bakeoboy]

That neck block may be unstable,as seen by the strain (curving of the neck pickup ring that is helping to keep the neck from collapsing into the body).
I would want to pull the neck and give the body a through inspection.

[Sarah93003]

Strain?? How do you see that?

Perhaps tention is a better word. It appears to me that the heel of the neck looks to be bolted down so tight that the wooden base of the body looks deformed. I was thinking about this possibly causing fretboard alignment/action issues... and together with the cramped up neck pickup it could also possibly point to the neck not being the original one. Unscrewing the neck could tell us more about screw holes (original and added ones) dates and other markings perhaps.

It seems to me it's just a little optical illusion from the glare of the flash from the camera. If you look at a previous photo of the back where there is no flash it doesn't appear to have any bow at all. The person taking the photo would be best to describe if there appeared to be anything odd there. The fact that there is a plate doesn't really bother me as it seems when times are hard people would grab anything and everything to put the product togther. It also could have been an attempt to correct something amiss with the neck which wouldn't surprise me considering the neck pickup surround seems to be really squished as if the neck was pushed down further than normal.

With all of that said, if the guitar plays well, sounds well, and things look straight, I would buy it in a heartbeat if the price is right. The missing pickguard can be replaced by an original or aftermarket. If you do get this guitar and can not locate an orginal pickguard let me know and I will put you in contact with Paul Setzer who makes custom pickguards at a very reasonable price. Provided with a pattern he can make an exact duplicate.

[Sarah93003]

Additonal note: There is a red Mosrite bass on eBay that shows the same plate on the back. FYI

[GTSP]

I've decided against purchasing this guitar. Although my wife may disagree with this next statement...I am not crazy! I know what I saw. This guitar had a different neck on it a few weeks ago. I had never seen a neck that said "The New Mosrite of California" before I saw this guitar. It was so different I went home & googled it. What I found from that search was that mostly brass rails were made in this brief period in Mosrite history. In my emails w/ the owner, I asked about this; about this being a Celebrity w/ this neck can I get some history. He responded w/ answers on the other stuff I asked, but ignored that part. I know it is the same body because I took note of the holes where the pick guard was missing. I find it weird too that there was no label inside. That means no cooresponding serial number (yummmm, cereal).

Anywho, there are just too many funky thangs about this axe. I have a lead on 2 other 6 stringers Celebritys. When I get it, I'll post some pics & maybe a video of me playing it.