Mosrite Combo's

[dorkrockrecords]

You're describing the construction of the Joe Maphis model, not the combo.

[oipunkguy]

ahh, so the combo was more like the traditional construction? I generally considered the combo and maphis was one in the same, just without the maphis name on it. shows how much i know about these guitars....

[MWaldorf]

I was under the impression that the Combo and Maphis were constructed the same way (two carved pieces glued together like a Rickenbacker) but the wood was different - Walnut and Spruce for the Maphis, "regular" wood for the Combo (basswood? alder?)

[pechalfant]

I can't get into all of the specs on a combo. However, I played one for many years and I owned a celebrity. Both were approximately 66 models. The Combo I would have to admit was a superior instrument to the celebrity. The combo had superior pickups as compared to the celebrity in my opinion. The pickups just had a wider range and were more potent. I personally came to the conclusion that it was just a slightly better instrument. If I remember correctly the Combo had about a hundered dollar higher price tag as well. Actually quite expensive in those days. I believe around 450 retail.

[Sarah93003]

No offense taken, Aaron. I am constantly surprised where Mosrite's pop up next! That video is totally cool. As I was working on my Celebrity website tonight and guessing I've got 20-30 more hours to put in and I can finally publish it, my mind was drifting a bit about "what's next"? Afterall, once it's published it will be a maintenance task to update it periodically with photos and information as I find it. I began to think about the Combo. To me, this is the other "red headed stepchild" in the Mosrite lineup. I'm thinking of another full scale project to research and collate. Perhaps I should take on the Combo or the Dobro next. That could be fun!

I know ya'll are probably thinking, "Jeez Sarah, when are you going to launch that website"! I was doing a little inventory of the webiste so far. At this point it is about 300 MB in size and about 1,500 photographs on about 30 separate pages. Yeah, it's that big!

[connie_mack]

hey sarah,
don't forget the melobar....that's a wacky instrument that's got mosrite intertwined in it's history. wish i had the $ to buy one.

i'll expect a website from you by this afternoon.

[Sarah93003]

hey sarah,
don't forget the melobar....that's a wacky instrument that's got mosrite intertwined in it's history. wish i had the $ to buy one.

i'll expect a website from you by this afternoon.

Oh yeah! That's another one. Here's your opportunity: http://cgi.ebay.com/1960s-Smith-Mel-o-B ... 3a5b75ce12

There are four of them on eBay right now.

And, I'll get right on that website....chop, chop!

[Dennisthe Menace]

.....an interview with Semie Moseley.....

......<"After the success of the Ventures models there was a demand for acoustic-electric guitars, so we designed the double-cutaway hollow-body Celebrity series. Other interesting guitars were the Combo and the Joe Maphis; for them we took a solid slab of walnut and routed out the body from behind, and then affixed a flat back after the electronics were installed.">......<"You'll notice a similarity between Acoustic's Black Widow and my Combo. The man who designed Acoustic's Black Widow---I can't remember his name ---came up to me one time and said, 'Well, I guess you can see where we got the design.' He had taken the idea from the Combo. Later on Acoustic asked me to make some of the Black Widows, and I made about 200 of them. These guitars were among the last Black Widows that Acoustic sold.">......

Exerpt from AMERICAN GUITARS an Illustrated History by Tom Wheeler

[Sarah93003]

Cool find!

[eltuce]

I saw an awesome Combo yesterday at a place in Rhode Island, with the full trem piece, but alas, they were asking too much at 2 grand. It was good to see some Mosrites in a store though. They also had a Celebrity bass that was a cool turquoise color. It was an older Japanese knock off and I meant to take a picture of the logo as I've only seen it a few times before. Chances are I'll be back there again somewhat soon so I'll be sure to get a picture.