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Here's a photo progression of the Vibramute's Semie used from the beginning. We can add to it and discuss or share information as we go along. Maybe if someone has specific information we can establish a timeline when each version was used. It would be nice to have one topic we can always go back to. Post your photo's and information and maybe we can get a reference library to refer to here on the forum. Chime in with known dates of use if you have specific information and I'll edit the dates to the particualr Vibrato.

This is the mistake plate version that used the Fafnir aircraft bearings screwed directly into the guitar body seperate form the vibrato base plate. These were used on the very early Joe Maphis pre Ventures model.

Alledgedly Semie made up 25 of the units for Guild (Huh?) but they were never used, so he modified them for his own use.
Semie ground off the Guild embossed logo and used these on the early '63 sidejack Ventures models.
These were cast aluminum plate used late with chrome or nickle plated rocker & arm '63-'64.
'65 cast brass chrome plated Moseley plate rocker & arm. Next came patent numbers above the embossed Moseley. Painted black inserts we used sometime during the process. Anyone know specifics?

Thanks dubtrub for the great photos and info

Hey Danny--

You Bakersfield guys always call 1960 "the beginning!" Don't forget Semie was making some weird homemade vibratos for guitars a couple years before the first one you posted. Each one is an evolutionary step that led to the Vibramute and the Moseley vibratos.

The closest photo of an example I can grab to post here is my Epiphone Emperor, customized by Semie around 1957 or 1958. He used half of the original Epiphone "Frequesenator" (sp?) tailpiece, added a big brass block and some war surplus airplane bearings, and voila! A 1950's primitive precursor to the Vibramute.

And they're all cool! Semie's vibratos were all little works of art.

Deke

Excellent thread! ...the kind I like

Hey, Deke - The Epi Emperor was featured in an article you did in GP years ago, where you said some rocker made a remark about its "gaudiness". Was this rocker the one who went on to organize an orchestra and revive some of the big band music?

Dennis

Great thread, Danny. And Deke, that is guitar is fabulous. Sometimes gaudy's good. That's a fine example.

But we digress - wasn't there a bronze-cast Vibramute in there? The one I got from Curtis Muldoon - of course it was later, was cast bronze ...

Dennis

Excellent information! Thank you for posting.

GattonFan wrote:But we digress - wasn't there a bronze-cast Vibramute in there? The one I got from Curtis Muldoon - of course it was later, was cast bronze ...

Dennis

I think you mean brass. You may have just ended up with one that had never been chromed.

Correct - brass. I had it nickel plated when I got it.