information about Excellent model requested

[Tsunami Tom]

Hi everybody. A couple of years ago, I sold a really nice blue Ventures Model Mosrite made in Japan with a Vibramute tailpiece and have regretted it ever since. So, I just bought this "Excellent" model:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/ws/eBayISAPI.dl ... SA:US:1123

I haven't received it, yet. So, I've got my fingers crossed, but I have a couple of questions that I'm hoping somebody can help me with. First of all, this one says "Excellent" on the tailpiece and it says "Made in California" on the headstock. The ebay add says that this was made at the Gakki factory; however, in other posts in the Mosrite Forum, I've seen Kurokumo mentioned for similar guitars. I'm just curious about which this is? Also, the blue Mosrite that I sold two years ago had pickups that were sharper with more treble than vintage Mosrite pickups that I've heard. Can anybody tell me what to expect with these pickups. Any other information will be appreciated.

Thanks a lot for your help!
Tom

[Tsunami Tom]

Oh; I just thought of something else. I love the thin and narrow Mosrite necks. For me, the narrower the better. I've read that the necks on some Japanese reissues are not as narrow on others. Any idea what I can expect with this one? Thanks again!

[Veenture]

Hey Tom, Congratulations! Isn't the Gakki factory in the same camp as Kurokumo?
I had my eye on this one too and was hoping a Forum member got it. Nice!
You did very well. I just went into the deep end myself by snagging a Kurokumo "Super Excellent" on the bay.
(My first Mosrite!) It is presently being held up at Dutch Customs
You can read all about it here: viewtopic.php?f=8&t=4514&hilit=kurokumo+super+excellent

[Tsunami Tom]

Thanks Paul,

That's a beautiful Mosrite! I learned a lot from reading those posts. I suspect that my blue Mosrite was a Super Excellent. It was the nicest guitar I've ever owned. I'm sure that you're going to like yours and I hope that my new one really is from the same factory!

[Veenture]

I suspect that my blue Mosrite was a Super Excellent. I hope that my new one really is from the same factory!

Most probably...I wish I could read Japanese to understand the relation between Gakki and Kurokumo but be assured that whatever the story, the Japanese manufacture quality instruments.

You may want to take a peek here http://shop.taniguchi-gakki.jp/products ... search.y=0

[MWaldorf]

Tom,
Congrats on the new guitar. My first Mosrite was an Excellent like yours and the necks are very similar to vintage Mosrites. The main exception is the vintage speed frets, but a little bit of time with a big flat file and you can do a speed fret job on an excellent too. The pickups are fine but you can get more authentic vintage style ones from either Ed Elliott or M3 Guitars (raygun85) both of whom are are the forum.
Mel

[FritzCat]

I thought Kurokumo was the name of the company that made the Excellents, but I don't know where their factory is. I bought my Excellent from Mel, and other than the slightly higher frets it's nearly indistinguishable from an original Mosrite.

[Dennisthe Menace]

Congrats Tom!

[Tsunami Tom]

Hi, I never posted anything after I received this guitar. It's beautiful and it sounds and plays fantastic! I just love it. Buying something off eBay is always scary for me, but this turned out better than I hoped!

Anyway, there is only one very small and easy to fix imperfection with the guitar, which is really why I'm posting this follow up. The D string tuner is a bit funky. The other 5 strings tune and stay in tune fine; however, I have to turn the D string tuner a couple of times before it even starts to work. Then, when I use the tremolo, the D string is the string that goes out of tune.

So, not such a big deal, considering that the rest of the guitar is so nice. I would like to replace just the one tuner, but, of course, buying a set of 6 would be fine, because then I'd have some backups. I went to the Kluson site and they show one set of tuners for the Mosrites: SD9005MNS. This tuner looks like it has letters or something down the center. The ones on my Mosrite just have the lines with no writing. Then, I looked on eBay. The SD9005MNS is also listed there; however, in the add it says that it's for 1962-1964 Mosrites. Then, there is another set that's not at the Kluson site and with a slightly different serial number, SD9005MNS DR, and it says that it's for 1965-1981 Mosrites. Again, this one also has letters or numbers on the cover.

So, my question is, will these fit my Mosrite? I don't care that the covers aren't a 100% match. I just don't want to have to drill any holes. Or, even better, can anybody tell me where I can get exact replacements?

Thanks a lot for your help!
Tom

[dubtrub]

Are you sure it's not the string slipping on the tuner post?

I can't answer about tuners being interchangeable for certain, but it's been my experience that the replica Kluson tuners will fit with one of the same style between different brands. Sometimes the bushing is oversized, which would be trial and error.