Elaine Frizzell

[mosriteforever]

Here is a link to Elaine Frizzell's website with some interesting Mosrite stuff on it. I met her last year on a trip to Tennessee and she is quite a picker as well as an interesting person.

http://www.elainefrizzell.com
Check it out.
Mosriteforever!!!

[Desert Surfer]

Yeah! I had the pleasure meeting her at CAAS in Nashville in 2007. She had a booth across from Nokie/Judy's. Great Travis finger picker!

[Veenture]

"Elaine playing Gene Moles' historic 1957 Mosrite."

When I visited Elaine Frizzell’s website just the other day (thanks Johnny), I found this photograph grabbing my attention in particular.
I thought, what?! …but this guitar has that same familiar offset body shape as the Ventures Model which was only introduced a good six years later, in 1963 and moreover, resulting from Nokie Edwards’ request that Semie build him a Fender-like guitar…

Now my feeble brain must’ve picked up in error somewhere that the famous "flipped-over-Strat-story" was specifically linked to Semie’s idea while he was designing 'that' guitar which was destined to become the now so famous "Ventures model". Not so, time for me to revise!
______________________________________________________________
Where I live most guitar vendors don’t pronounce the Mosrite name correctly; I usually get to hear Moswhat when I ask if they sell any…(tsk tsk)

[Deke Dickerson]

The guitar is not a 1957. It is a 1961 at the earliest, probably 1962.

Not sure where they were getting that date. These guitars did not appear until Semie had moved to Bakersfield. We went through this on a previous thread if you look back on the forum.

Some personal memories may throw out dates from the 50's but the vintage photographic evidence proves that these Ventures-style body guitars did not appear before 1961 or 1962.

Deke

[dubtrub]

1959 Joe Maphis Model

[Veenture]

Hey Deke, Danny,
thanks guys for taking the time and effort of putting me back on the same page with the rest. I know I should've paid more attention in class when this topic was addressed in a previous thread.
I feel this design thing is a rather significant Mosrite matter and so feel sufficiently 'rehabilitated' now again, especially because of learning about the date mix-up!

[Deke Dickerson]

Ha! I guess Danny and I will have to agree to disagree. But I would give somebody a free Hallmark Deke Dickerson model guitar ($1500 value) if they can get me a photograph from 1959 showing one of these guitars. I honestly don't think they showed up until '61 or '62, there is just no evidence out there to prove they were made any earlier. Yes, some of them have 1959 pots in them, and the one Elaine is playing may very well have 1957 pots in it, but that still doesn't mean the guitar was made that year, it only means that's the date on the pots that Semie grabbed to make that particular guitar.

Deke

[Veenture]

...//... I honestly don't think they showed up until '61 or '62, there is just no evidence out there to prove they were made any earlier...//...Deke

I'm inclined to agree with your view Deke. I love this discussion!
The Ventures started playing (endorsing) the Ventures model in 1963 (not ruling out that Nokie might've possibly had his a year earlier) and this fits in perfectly with the story of the famous offset body-shape originating from the Ventures' custom order for a Fender-like guitar from Semie!
The truth should always prevail of course but as a Ventures fan in the first instance, I would be very disappointed if the Ventures-link to the flipover-Strat story were to be proven untrue.

Having said that, I should nonetheless dearly wish that I can come up with a pic proving the offset body-shape originating in 1959 or earlier so's I can claim that free Hallmark...but I'm afraid I feel quite confident now that I won't ...
Johnny, ...guess you never can tell how a post will develop ...I certainly enjoyed this one you started off!
Thanks again guys!

[EFElliott]

Hey Deke,

I'm pretty darn sure all those reverse strat Maphis guitars were built between late 61 to mid 63. But dose'nt a 57 or 59 model have a better ring to it than a 61-62?
I think part of the confusion on these guitars is Andy Moseley adentified these guitars as 59s
I think Andy and a lot of others suffers from the samething I do from time to time, OGMS (Old Guy Memorie Sendrom).
And if Semie bought a box of 50 or 100 pots in Grandna Hills in 59, I'm sure he was still pulling them out of the same box in 62.

But are'nt those 59 Maphis Guitars the Coolest!
Eddy

[Veenture]

Re: REVERSE STRAT design.
Whatever the case may eventually turn out to be, I personally prefer to believe that it was for The Ventures -through Nokie Edwards, who was befriended with him- that Semie came up with this idea to reverse a strat, trace it's outline and further add his own mod to it. Not that I begrudge Joe Maphis or any other fine artist of having the honour but attributing it to the Ventures seems just right. After all, it was the Ventures who got me so interested in the Mosrite guitar and for a number of reasons, this being one of them.

Now I think I'll stop talking and do some more drooling over those ULTRA COOL Mosrites pics in the link Danny so kindly dug up for me