MESSE10: Mosrite Rides Again!

First new Mosrite guitar for almost 20 Years!   29-Mar-10

You may have noticed we've quietly introduced a new guitar section to Sonicstate.com... which means we get to hang out in the Guitar halls at the music shows more than we used to... which has its ups & downs ;-)

You get to see some cool things, for sure... and the visitors tend to be a bit more, err... 'visually enhanced' than the denizens of our regular Midi & Hi-Tech haunts... but the volume levels are just plain silly! You have to shout to be heard, and personally I would start to wilt after just one day on the floor there, but I guess that's me just showing my age ;-)

And another example of me showing my age is when I came across the Mosrite Guitar stand... I remember the B52s using Mosrite guitars (see, told you I was getting old ;-) so having a bit of a soft spot for that really characterful guitar sound, I thought I'd see what was new...

Glad I did, too, 'cos they've had somewhat of a resurgence, and have released their first new guitar model for almost 20 years - the Danamite.
And there to present it was none other than the guitar's namesake; founder Semie Moseley's daughter Dana Moseley. She gave me a quick run down of the company's history and current models... and has a few great stories too ;-]

Unlike many (if not most) current pickup manufacturers, Dana actually winds each pickup by hand, and has been doing so since 1973 - and her special technique:- a sewing machine! Yep, true - and she controls the sound by adjusting the tightness of the winds; apparently Mosrite 'Gospel' guitar user Kurt Cobain of Nirvana, preferred the slightly 'muddier' sound of a looser wound pickup - so there you have it.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this brief look at the Mosrite range - great to see this venerable 1952 vintage brand still going strong and still retaining it's heritage of hand-made electric guitars.

Expect to see more of them...

Andy Mac

• Mosrite Guitars website