Newbie

[tunnelrat]

hi all,

I've been reading these forums for a little while, but finally now just figured out how to register. My name is Chris, I'm 25 and I live in LA, and up until a few months ago, had been searching desperately for the 'perfect' guitar, something that strikes a compromise between a 335 and a Jazzmaster...then I had the opportunity to play a 60's Mosrite Combo, and it was love at first sight.

I don't own one yet, but with my limited financial resources I'm hoping to score a Firstman or something else I can get as close to $1k as possible in the next few months. I actually e-mailed the guys at Hallmark to see if there were any plans for a Combo soon and they said no.

grew up on my parent's surf/phil spector collection, then eventually became obsessed with 80s/90s noise pop, and all sorts of other weird experimental genres...finding it funny that those two things are now being married together by so many bands.

oh and for the record i play a 50s Strat reissue through a 70s Pro Reverb, with a few fun vintage/boutique pedals

[olrocknroller]

Welcome! You will find this forum to be a wealth of information.

[tunnelrat]

Welcome! You will find this forum to be a wealth of information.

Already have! You guys are ridiculous (in the good way) with all the collective information/experience with Mosrites that is here

[JimPage]

Hey, Chris--

Have you looked at the Mosrite Celebrity site that Sarah runs? I just tried to go to it and hit some kind of snag, but the URL is:
http://www.mosritecelebrity.com/

I found out about the Celebrity from her and Bob Shade of Hallmark, and now have a couple of them.

They are much like a 335 in form, yet feel more like a really nice Rickenbacker in your hands. You might find them more common or available than a Combo. Bob showed me a Combo body a couple of weeks ago, as I had been bugging him about them, and I have to say the flat back struck me as rather crude.

The Celebrities play and sound great. I can't predict the future any more reliably than anyone else can, but I suspect they are about to become more expensive than they have been. They were a top-of-the-line guitar back in Semie's day.

--Jim

[tunnelrat]

yes, I have thought of a Celebrity, too and I'd love one...but for now, I'm looking for that "main guitar" and I know that a true 335 style guitar is still not exactly what I want...once I played the Combo, there was no going back. If I eventually have some money etc, I'd love to have a normal Mark 1, a Combo, and a Celebrity...but for now, I want to acquire a combo and have that be the "Big Man on Campus" amongst my gear

[MWaldorf]

Welcome to the forum, Chris. Combos do come up for sale now and again and command less of a price than the Ventures models, so with some time and patience I think you'll find one.

Mel

[101Volts]

Welcome to the forum. FYI, There are 12 string Combos. They're rarer than the regular Combos though.

Austin

[Sarah93003]

Hey, welcome to the forum. I also keep an eye on Combo's so I'll be happy to let you know if I come across a deal. They do seem to command a higher price than the Celebrities. The Celebrities come in a variety of flavors so the price does reflect that as well. My goal is to get a Celebrity-I from 1973-74 or a Gospel Celebrity about that same time. Unless of course I talk Adam out of his Brass Rail Gospel.

If you have $1,000 socked away for your Combo, I would wholeheartedly try to convince you to add a little to that each payday and you will be rewarded with a geniune Mosrite Combo. I think it would be worth the wait.

Apologies if my site is down. I think my host is doing maintenance or migrating files. It was down a day or two a week or so ago.

[jtr654]

Hallmark Custom 60 is a great guitar and $1000 new. Less likely to feedback can be used for any type of music.

[FritzCat]

Consider also a Joe Maphis model, same shape as a Combo but without the f-hole and usually in a natural finish.