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I see these guitars pop up on eBay quite frequently. I do not know a thing about them but I am curious. I think they are also a hollow body guitar, so I'm wondering how they compare to a Celebrity. Does anyone have any idea if Mosrite made more or less of these than the Celebrity guitars?

The construction of the Combo was more like a Gibson ES-335 with solid sections through the body. The Celebrity's were more like the ES-330, all hollow on the inside.

I think the Combo is the pinnacle of Mosrite. But I'm a little bias

brutus wrote:I think the Combo is the pinnacle of Mosrite. But I'm a little bias

I've never played one. What do you like about it?

Well first is the Maphis shape, nice and big, then the there is the full vibrato on the early ones and lastly the tones! The chambered body gives a nice full bottom not found on a Ventures. But you do get the high end sizzle that you would expect from a Ventures model. So, all told you can get all the Ventures style tone we know and love plus a whole new pallet of tones. Mine has Univox Barney Kessle pups in it, they are low output compared to Mosrite pups so I can avoid the feedback at high gain that you can get with a standard Combo.

Are they just Joe Maphis models with an f hole cut out?

GTSP wrote:Are they just Joe Maphis models with an f hole cut out?

Nope. The construction is different.

I LOVE my Combo!

Supremely versatile, awesome full sound, and wonderful comfortable styling. I've been playing my Combo more than any of my others lately. It's currently the gitbox I've been going to first.
I admit I'm generally more of a hollowbody/archtop player, and I haven't owned a solidbody Mosrite in years, so my Combo fixation isn't as much a preference over Mosrite solids as merely an appreciation of the Combo itself. I do prefer the neck being farther set-off from the body than as on my Celebrity III, but the Celebrity is such a different beast anyway with it's own qualities and uniqueness....and sometimes the relative compactness of the Celebrity design is just what is required.

It makes a huge difference if you put another strap button behind the neck heel, the guitar hangs infinitely better and the neck balances. Hanging the guitar off the horn is frankly uncomfortable and un-ergonomic. Sorry purists...at least I've had my mods professionally installed.

Combos sound woodier to me than the Joe Maphis hollowbody, a bit mushier (within the Mosrite realm, I'm not talking Gibson-humbucker-mush) and the Maphis sounds more focused and has a sharper attack. I play my combo not plugged in quite often, and while quiet as an acoustic instrument it still puts out a nice round tone and the notes ring out.

Sure I'd love to have a 60's solid too but the prices on those are stratospheric...Combos are generally a great deal by comparison.

I never thought of the Combo model much before but is it fair to compare it to a Ventures model much like one would compare a Gibson ES-335 to a Gibson Les Paul?

Austin

from my understanding the body was not glued together (back, sides, and top) like the celebrity or an acoustic guitar; rather the body (typically walnut) was carved from the inside. think of something like a canoe. then the top is glued on (typically spruce) . I would think this would be a preferred method to give added strength in it's design, but this is just a guess.

I've played a few, although it's been a while, and I've always favored these over the celebrities myself. no offense sarah . The first time these caught my eye was when I saw robert smith from the Cure play one.

It's ironic you mention the 335 and les paul comparison 101, since the bassist in this video is playing an old 70's Les Paul signature bass. these were exactly a gibson love child of the 335 and the LP