Morales

[slapshot]

i have no idea as to their story and I'd like to know.
All I do know is they sound great , play good and it was cheap

[rynaro]

All I do know is they sound great , play good and it was cheap

that's what a GREAT guitar is

[JohnnySonic]

All I do know is they sound great , play good and it was cheap

that's what a GREAT guitar is

Haha! Spot on.

[slapshot]

dunno if I'd pay 100,000yen for one though

[slapshot]

8 screw neck joint

6 on the back

[Bilbo15]

Hello!

Does anyone have one of these guitars?
I would like to have more infos.

I saw some were sold on yahoo Japan auction for 40000Y in mint conditions and some for less than 10000Y (!!!!) in a more worn state.

For me (that doesn't know a lot on real Mosrite), they seem very close for the shape.
But what about the sound and the playability?
Can they be use for rock or blues or just surf music?

Thanks!

[Veenture]

Does anyone have one of these guitars?
I would like to have more infos.

Welcome on board Bilbo15. Here are some previous topics where the Morales is discussed --->

viewtopic.php?f=11&t=4223&hilit=morales
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=207&hilit=morales
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=4006&hilit=morales

There are other fine Mosrite copies too, from Japanese makers such as Fillmore and Kurokumo.
And then there is also the USA Company http://hallmarkguitars.com/guitars/60-custom.htm that sells fine copies at a very reasonable price: US$ 999.- including guitar case!

[Bilbo15]

Thanks, I already saw the 3 topics for the Morales.
But there ain't much more infos...

[Bigwave]

Well this is what I've gleamed over time, feel free to correct any misconceptions.
The Morales is one of many Mosrite inspired Guitars produced in the mid to late 1960s. Japan was crazy about the Ventures during the 60's and just about all the guitar makers of the time in Japan produced a Mosrite "inspired" guitar model. As time went on, several of the makers started to produce "clones" that actually used the mosrite name and Ventures logo. Most of us have heard about the lawsuit era of Japanese guitars. They started putting out clones that many felt was as good or better than what was made in the US at the time. Many great Fender, Gibson and Mosrite copies came out during that period.
The Morales predates the Lawsuit era, and is more of a Mosrite "inspired" Guitar. I believe the Firstman guitars were the first to go beyond the "mosrite inspired" stage and build a more exact replica of the Mosrite Ventures guitar. They used "Mosrite" on the headstock and on the pickup covers. (they even had the "moseley" on the trem). Firstman was started by former employees of TEISCO after Teisco was absorbed by Kawai. They produced what is thought to be the first Japanese "clone" of the Ventures style Mosrite. It was still easy to distinguish the clone from the real thing, but to the buying public in Japan it was close enough. I don't believe Firstman lasted very long, and Mosrite Ventures models were later produced by Kurokomo and Fillmore. I've heard the Firstman mosrite clones were very good guitars, as are the Kurokomo and Fillmore versions. I've heard the Morales mosrite inspired guitars are neck heavy, but play fairly nice, but are not of the same level of quality as the Firstman, Kurokomo or Fillmore guitars.

Whenever I see a good Mosrite inspired Japanese guitar for sale, I'm tempted to buy. Some are much Higher Quality than others. As a matter of fact, I just pulled the trigger on a Guyatone LG 250, which is inspired by a combo of the Maphis model and Mark V.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/140649652784?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649

I've actually seen a Guyatone LG250T with "The Ventures Copy" on the headstock


Here's a list of some of the better quality Mosrite inspired Japanese guitars produced before the Firstman guitars.
Tokai Hummingbird
Guyatone LG 250T
Guyatone LG 150
Teisco Vamper

Lower quality copies:
Teisco and Silvertone(Sears) copies
Univox Hiflyer

[slapshot]

recently got outbid on this one for auction



Morales stuff I've learnt after having a few:
they were made in the late 60s/early 70s.Early ones had a metal stamp logo then later they went to a decal & started stamping the fretboard with a serial number
they're a mahogany body and the necks are maple laminate with maybe a somewhat bigger profile than a Mosrite but still with low frets & zero fret.
the trem & bridge are spot on.
the Mosrite looking pickups are single bar magnet with some slotted screws.i think they sound fine as is but also a magnet swap and new polepieces opens them up.they're quite hot 10k+. wound on a larger tall plastic bobbin.
available in white,blue,sunburst,black and a maroon/red.
there was a zes-500 with a bound neck &pearl pick guard but the rest was the same