Guitar of the Day: 1965 Mosrite Ventures Model | Norman's Rare Guitars

[@Wheels_Unlimited]

Founding member of the Ventures, Don Wilson just died in January. RIP. Their influence on today's music is underrated and somewhat forgotten. Cool to see a relic of theirs still in good shape and sounding nice.

[@Imajica69]

I met him once about 2017, sad to hear he passed.

[@101Volts]

The Ventures are only "somewhat forgotten" everywhere _but_ Japan. Japan took to them VERY well, so I heard.

[@kelalamusic9258]

Yes, the Ventures were underrated. Perhaps because they left our shores for Japan. Out of sight, out of mind. Who know's what would have happened to them had they stayed in the US. We will never know. They might have faded away because instrumental bands sort of died off. Based on that, I can in a way understand their decision to go to Japan as they were extremely well accepted, and instrumental bands continued on in Japan long after they died off here. Don's passing was very sad for me, as well as others of the band who passed away. They were a huge influence on my playing as a boy. Yes, Don was a founding member along with Bob Bogle. The two of them started the ball rolling. Quite a few years ago, I was communicating with Nokie Edwards. He offered to sell me one of the guitars he used in the band. Along with the guitar, he would have autographed it for me. But, I was as poor as a church mouse back then and had to decline the offer. One of my life's "if only" moments.😞

[@ericr.7527]

Fantastic rendition of Heart Shaped Box. Thank you!

[@upstater1775]

Thank you for putting out so much content!! I love the knowledge and the raw not overly produced videos. Thank you and keep them rolling they are part of my daily routine!!

[@peterdebad1]

Love seeing the classic non Fender/Gibson models. Keep them coming! Peace!

[@101Volts]

Kinda wish Lemmo would play a Kay Vanguard for the sub-$1,000 videos, if they have one. Doesn't matter to me if it's a 1st gen boxy model, a "1.5 gen," or a pointy 2nd gen model. My only reason for asking is because hey, it's a unique "student" line of models from 1961 - 1968. Similar to a Danelectro, but not quite the same beast. Only thing is, they have necks that are _so_ chunky.

[@donaldscheer5206]

All Of The Original Venture Artist Have Left Us! But Also Left Us Awesome Tunes!

[@gerrysongs4170]

Instrumental surf is one of the best ways to learn guitar.

[@kramerskrib]

Wow! You guys always make me wish I could play. I watch every day. I am entranced by musicians and their extra limbs! You are blessed! Thank you for sharing. I especially loved today's sound...lol you give an old lady joy. Thank You Jesus and I love you.

[@shinitaisenpai9057]

well, start learning then! old lady or not, you're already on youtube so there's a plethora of beginner tutorials on here that'll get you started in no time. we only get this one ride so don't just wish to be able to play, do it! you'll love it ;)

[@denniskramer9657]

go ahead, buy yourself, treat yourself to a guitar.from one "Kramer" to another..

[@101Volts]

(Suggestions for any beginner:) Just use thin strings when you first start (they have less tension, and are easier for a beginner,) and don't have your guitar strings too high. Don't man-handle pressing the strings down, you need to press them as lightly as you can; not like vice grips. And at least get a string height measurement tool from StewMac, and know how high the strings ought to be. If it's too hard to press the strings down, it might actually not just be you. We guitarists don't tend to like wrestling with small-sized bridge cable here, maybe unless we use thick strings.

[@kevinhuber8723]

Thank You for this. Sometimes the hype makes me forget what is gone. Great melody. RIP

[@j.frankparnell.radiation]

I love my Mosrite Celebrity series guitar circa 66.

[@ricktuttle5393]

Wow Michael. That is just stellar. Loving it.

[@zenoslayer9618]

1965 or so got a how to play guitar by the ventures record lead bass and rhythm song like walk don't run and pipeline tequila. Still remember it and how to play those songs

[@sammyers4561]

I started watching this video with a salty tone. I could tell you weren’t going to riff any surf on it.. but, by the end, you took me by surprise. Nice playing. What a cool axe.

[@glenkepic3208]

Nice pick and demo, Michael !! I love these, going back to the mid '60s with the Ventures. Extra dose of 'cool' when i saw and bought Iron Butterfly's 'In A Gadda Da Vida" when i was 11 in '68 and Eric Brann had one on the cover. All these years and only saw one. So long ago, early '70s and just starting out. First thing i noticed was how thin the neck was (front to back). Amazed just to see and hold it,,,, sorta like when i saw a Messenger at Starving Musician in Santa Clara in the late '90s. GFR fan since '70 and so blown away, i hardly knew what to do with it at first. The only one of both. Rock ON, Lemmo !!

[@101Volts]

As owner of 2 Mosrite models (a 1966 model and a 1976 model,) their necks (counting the fretboards) are about 0.855" thick (give or take 5 thousandths) from frets 2 - 12. They just don't taper up in thickness in the way most guitars do. For someone like me, that's comfortable.

[@marzsit9833]

in the early 60's semie mosely was only building custom guitars, legend has it that nokie edwards of the ventures asked him to build him a guitar that was similar to a strat, because that was what he was playing at that time. semie took a strat body, traced it backwards and that became the basic shape for the ventures model, also leo fender always liked to angle his bridge pickups so semie angled the neck pickup also backwards for that reason.

[@alexmason6191]

Cool story, thanks

[@stuartglover1221]

Beautiful guitar 🎸 beautiful sound 🎸 beautiful playing 🎸🇬🇧❤️

[@josephtavares4169]

Michal Lemmo is one of my favorite guitarists of this millennium

[@pandorski35000]

You look younger than that

[@scottkidwellmusic9175]

The Ventures are part of what got me into wanting to play guitar. That and early 80s punk rock/ hardcore

[@calebfisher108]

I’m a huge lemmo fan! I remember watching your early GOTD videos when I just started picking up the guitar and trying to learn some of your neat tricks. I’m hoping to go to Berklee soon and pursue music!! Thanks for inspiring

[@EJohnDanton]

Kurt had a Mosrite Gospel Mark IV but sold it. All the others were Univox - a cheaper clone of the Mosrite

[@jasonaustin3270]

I came here to make this same comment

[@101Volts]

I'm not sure if there is an official word (from Mosrite) on Kurt's being a "Mark IV." If it was in the letter to the original owner that was left in the guitar case, then OK, but otherwise, maybe it's best to call it as it was known from 1966 - 1969; from 1966 - 1969, it was known as a Mark V model. And since Kurt's was so late in the serial # run, his was probably assembled in Feb / March 1969, during the bankruptcy period; when Mosrite didn't have their name, so the head of the company (Semie Moseley) bought back parts and still sold guitars, before he re-purchased the name. Kurt's was B1697, the last one numbered (known) is B1700. Those from B1689 - B1700 are all "Gospel" named ones. Maybe B1688 also is, but that's not accounted for at the serial # list I'm referencing. B1687 is not a Gospel, though. Models from B700 - B1687 are Mark V models. (The serial # list is hosted by Max Katzenberger, who has more than a few Mosrites. hang10.de/lists/mosrite-ventures-2-serial-numbers/ ) Also, Kurt had a second Mosrite in blue; it's the same model, but it's either a late 1965 - early 1966 Ventures II (the earlier name,) or an early to mid 1966 Mark V. (I can tell by the truss rod location being at the body.) It was played by Big John Duncan in Roseland Ballroom 93 for 4 songs (though most are just feedback, seemingly, except "Very Ape," where it's prominent.) The guitar was also played by Pat Smear on MTV 93, but I couldn't hear the guitar being played there.

[@decadentdevil]

Definitely need to rock a t shirt down here in Houston... Sending love to everyone 💗

[@stevepuskas9219]

Thanks Michael… you make anything sound good !

[@StealthParrot]

That is a different guitar, it looks and sounds amazing.

[@101Volts]

They're unique, not many are around, and they can overdrive an amp pretty darn good if pushed. Thing is, you better try one if you ever want to buy one. Some people can't get used to the narrow neck width, *if* it's a 1960s or 1960s-spec model. If it's a 1972 - 1994 model, there's a good chance of a wider fretboard. 1979 - 1994 is a bit hard to find information for. Neck depth should be about 0.855" thick from frets 2 - 12, it doesn't taper up in that fret range. (Measured from my 2 Mosrites, a 1966 model and a 1976 model.) The neck depth is a great feature if you're someone like me; I find that depth to be the most comfortable neck depth I've ever played. Oh, and 60s models came with very low frets as standard fare, to slide up and down the neck easily. They're _not_ a string-bending machine if you use mid gauge or thick strings, but bending should be manageable on sets of 9s. The company did start putting taller and wider frets on in the 70s.

[@michaelcraig9449]

These pickups are much hotter than P-90's. Surely there is much better guitarists tham Cobain to represent these guitars.

[@kirkwhitaker6422]

Had friend college who had one of these and it was fun to play.

[@user-tl3qi5uy9u]

Loved that song from it's release..... Nice

[@stewartking9653]

Great tunes to play on such an iconic guitar.🎸🎸🎼🎼🎸

[@TheChadPad]

Did not expect Something in the Way. That is awesome

[@GoodfaYou]

Always come back to this one video ..🤯

[@mickysaintcroos7653]

Waoooo este tipo si sabe tratar a una hermosa guitarra!!!

[@donaldscheer5206]

Interesting Guitar! Love To Add It To My Collection! Once Again Lemmo, Awesome Playing!!

[@leamanc]

Oh yes, it’s been way too long since you featured a Mosrite. Perfect for Wacky Wednesday!

[@howard5508]

Very cool 😎 today. Wow I had forgotten Mosrite guitars. Definitely wacky Wednesday. Keep up the good work

[@michaelclark4043]

YES SIR, You have a REAL GEM there!

[@Ivartshiva]

I used my Mosrite for my original hit 'Shiva' which in 14 years has 200 views, no likes or comments

[@garygoessler6449]

My Saturday routine is to watch all the videos that were posted during the week.

[@leelossi1257]

Fabulous sounding Mosrite! Great job Michael

[@user-bv9cr9zp4z]

My favourite one! Amazing guitar

[@greg7656]

When he mentioned Batman i was hoping he'd play the theme from the '60s TV show - that would suit the guitar, and I'm old

[@mattrogers1946]

Or Walk Don't Run...

[@mattrogers1946]

Cool guitar, wish the demo included some surf tunes.

[@michaelclark4043]

By the way Mr. Venture Don Wilson, GOD REST YOUR SOUL. If it wasn't for you and Bob Bogel the Ventures would have never existed. They were the greatest thing to have happened since the birth of rock and roll. They had a talent that was IRREPLACEABLE.

[@DNeil5]

Bottle that up! Send it my way! That was awesome..............again!!

[@toddflowers8052]

Oh yeah ,!!! Outstanding performance as always Lemmo !!! Thanks Jen !! 😎🎸👍

[@mattnunnelly6321]

All these dano, mosrite, univox etc guitars have that slanted neck pickup. David Eugene Edwards of wovenhand uses one a ton - definitely worth a listen if you want something a bit “out there.”

[@devoarepunk]

Probably the best guitar shape ive seen

[@freddaniel5099]

Very nice sound! I like this one! 😘🎶🎶🎶🎸😉👏👏

[@larryburrough3024]

That had me doing some soul searching. Very deep message in that music and Michael brought it out completely!

[@Kreln1221]

*_Gabba! Gabba! HEY!!!_*

[@tomdowd9160]

Hello Jen and Mike. Great Show. I would love to have a T-shirt to where with my 68 Maple cap Telecaster.

[@velvik]

One of the sexiest, best sounding guitars ever made

[@davidjones6218]

Top geezer lemmo.. Would love to be walking around the English/Scottish Borders with a Norman's t shirt!.. In all my years busking, I've never seen a Norman's t shirt here up north uk.. (here's hoping). 🤞 I love you all. 🙏💕

[@shadoweng15]

Nailed it Michael. Thanks, brother.

[@joelesko1419]

Wish you would have played some Ventures tines on the Mosrite! That guitar was designed formSurf Rock.

[@matteobailo]

heart breaking Nirvana vibes. Thanks Lemmo

[@michaelgoodhand2313]

Cool stuff Michael.

[@andreaskiellarson3716]

Gotd/Lemmo + Nirvana is a match made in heaven to me. Something in the way is my absolute favorite Nirvana song. Tuning to Drop D and just going back and forth on those two chords is my favorite pastime :) I started playing three years ago and every night I look forward to the new GOTD post..Would proudly wear a Norm’s t-shirt here in Sweden! (It’s been ages since you played a Jaguar on the show, please?)

[@diegoarevalo8119]

Dude you play so beautiful! Greetings from Chile.

[@waynehicks1969]

I am not really a Kurt Cobain fan, but I liked that. Very cool. The guitar reminds me of a Univox guitar that a friend of mine had back in the '70's.

[@stringlocker]

You have to love Cobain he killed the 80s.

[@101Volts]

Well, Univox's Hi Flyer was much inspired by this Mosrite Ventures Model.

[@oipunkguy]

This is a very early 1966 model. The spade shaped truss rod cover never appeared until 1966. Later in 1966 the knobs got a bit taller which was after when this model was built.

[@101Volts]

Yeah. I oversee a few Mosrite Serial Number Lists, and the truss rod switch-over (from the Body End to the Headstock) seems to have (mostly) taken place in March 1966.

[@kendallcovell9386]

Keep up the great playing Lemmo!! Always a huge inspiration to me! Any way we can see whats on your pedalboard?

[@williamknell864]

Nice something from outside of the empire of the Big 3.

[@andrewwatts970]

I saw The Batman as well and really enjoyed how the score written for the movie seemed to reference the two notes from the Nirvana track! It almost became like a leitmotif for Batman at times, it worked really well! Sounded just as good when Lemmo played it!

[@glarrymoreme]

Michael Loopmaster Lemmo

[@morbidagogo882]

If you’re looking for early real deal Mosrite Venture models hit up Front Porch Music in Bakersfield CA TRUST ME

[@101Volts]

Artie's store there is one of the only stores in the whole country who stock new ones, no joke...

[@rockdaddy2168]

Some of us went to the other Berkley music school and we played Pipline, (70s) well it was a little jazzed up. Exercise in improve.

[@yellowdrops5690]

Love it when Norm makes Lemmo play guitars he absolutely hates. 😂

[@pritchettdan]

Semi knew what he was doing!

[@robbyjohnson3424]

You the man Lemmo keep on picking brother.

[@johndogwater]

Great moody arrangements. I'm gon' have to see me the Batman now.

[@prime4sd32]

The truss rod adjustment at the headstock would make it more like a late ‘66 or ‘67 model. Great playing though.

[@tymstewart]

Does anyone know last song he played? Great playing in this video. Neat guitar. I like these non big brand vintage ones. There's some neat brands out there. Edit: all three are Nirvana 1. Something In The Way 2. Heart-Shaped Box 3. Come As You Are

[@bobstone8667]

I was wondering what the going price would be for a guitar the same model and year, maybe someone would know.

[@rockdaddy2168]

I love Mosrites. Macho Grande Vibe. Wrong guitar for Cobain. Lemo needs to change his edibles.

[@jackpeters9349]

Nnope

[@mattrogers1946]

Or film before 1620...

[@101Volts]

Mosrites also have a good chunk of the original Ramones sound, from 1974 - some point in 1979, when John changed the stock bridge pickup to a DiMarzio.

[@tedgoff4559]

Lemmo, you seem. to be bending just fine. Still don't understand where this idea of it being hard to bend on low frets. Been doing for almost 45 years. Now that the Itis brothers, Arthur and Bruce, have taken up residence in my hands, bending is a little more difficult.

[@davidprobus8470]

Yep I know the Arthur and Itus brothers well. Just showed up in my hands last year😞

[@101Volts]

Owning a 1966 Mosrite (not this model,) I know what they mean by the frets being difficult to bend notes on. However, I use a string set of .13s on mine, so I can only get 1 note bends on these except around frets 12 - 16. It wouldn't be so darn hard with a set of 8s or 9s. ... Measurements of the frets on my 66: 0.022 inches on the Low E side, and 0.015 on the High E. (They taper in height.)

[@anthonysclafani3963]

Nirvana yesssssss

[@jacobbailey6718]

Hey man great video!

[@allisonholmesmusic97]

I’ve never seen one of these before, cool guitar

[@barnowl4528]

Johnny Ramone played this guitar on all Ramones albums and thousands of live shows

[@101Volts]

@@barnowl4528 Close. John used the first version of the Mosrite Ventures II for most of his career. He did use the Ventures model for the first album, but it was a studio-owned guitar.

[@beercheersrccrawlers]

I believe Kirt composed that song with Mark Lanegan..both some of my heros.

[@f1re_4nd_w4t3r]

the only mosrite kurt played was the mark v gospel and the other ones were the mosrite copies (univox hi fliers)

[@peterburi2727]

It was even used by the Ventures!

[@ChrisDominey]

Isn't it a city ordinance somewhere that if you're holding a Mosrite, you are obligated to play a Ramones song?

[@mattrogers1946]

Or a Ventures tune...

[@101Volts]

No, it's just complementary. Though I'm hearing a significant lack of interest in Joe Maphis, who helped give Mosrite their start in the first place.

[@matthewjdouglas6471]

Somethings in the way

[@musicfan8253]

Thanks for the “ask Norm” video earlier.

[@elliot7265]

Hey guys what’s the first and second song?

[@thatduck6753]

Kurt used a univox but owned a mosrite but it was stolen before he could use it in the studio and for the acoustic parts on something in the way he used a stella 12 string

[@Buddy969]

Great job guys! As a teenager of the 90’s, I always appreciate the Nirvana content.

[@thrashercentral1792]

JOHNNEY RAMONE!!!

[@thebestlutz]

Classic Americana!

[@x2mars]

Cool

[@easyriderm13]

How about Eric Braun or Danny Weiss from Iron Butterfly?

[@EHCreative]

I need a shirt... Cant get into the grocery store without one!...

[@mtacoustic1]

Play some Ventures tunes!!

[@thethingsyasee...5112]

What a cool lookin guitar. 😎

[@clockwork914]

Dark indeed

[@robinmorris5416]

2 words......"Johnny Ramone!"

[@christianknobloch934]

Eighties!

[@marlborom2c829]

CMon how could anyone miss this and not mention Johnny Ramone is who is really the one made Mosrite so popular. Thats why Kurt used Mosrite knockoffs.

[@101Volts]

Many know that John played Mosrites a lot. Some (mostly Japanese folk these days) know that The Ventures made them popular in the first place. But few know about Joe Maphis' involvement in them very early on.

[@BrianLane]

Nice!

[@michaelclark4043]

As I've said in previous comments èlsewhere to me it has to look right AND sound right too. The Mosrite is just the ticket. Ìt has an incredibly awesome sound AND looks darn sexÿ to boot. What more can you ask?

[@shinitaisenpai9057]

it's really nice that you played a Damned song as well

[@tymstewart]

Was that the third/last song he played? I recognized the first two nirvana ones, but wasn't sure what the last song was. Really enjoyed his version of it.

[@shinitaisenpai9057]

@@tymstewart no, I was referring to come as you are which Nirvana ripped off of the Damned's song life goes on like one to one.

[@marzsit9833]

Kurt did play a mosrite (gospel mk iv) but didn't play it live, only on recordings. gospel was a brand that semie created for instruments that he donated to churches and he also used the name for a short time when mosrite of california went bankrupt.

[@101Volts]

He did play his Gospel *Mark V* live, there's enough footage of him playing it. It's only seen from July 1990 - February 1991, so far as I know, though. However, he *did* have a Blue Mark V that he didn't really play. It did show up for 2 live performances, but not played by Kurt.