johnny's guitars (was johnny's white mosrite)
carbona
i had to change the thread as the one started by ian and titled "johnny's
white mosrite" had somehow transformed itself into an argument about how
long rick nielsen's arms were.
johnny's original white mosrite would have had its serial number stamped on
the 21st or 22nd fret (most likely) although it is very possible that it
could have been worn down due to player wear. his 2 custom mosrite guitars
probably did not have serial numbers, i know that his 2 white hamers did
not. one (or perhaps both) of the newer mosritesi believe had "to johnny
ramone from semie moseley" on the headstock written in semie's hand. also,
john did not have 30 mosrites over the course of their career as someone
posted but probably closer to half a dozen and never owned more than 2 or 3
at the same time. as a matter of fact he took precautions to always have
one in their storage space in case the white one got stolen. a couple of
his mosrites went thru various stages of colors and pickguard
configurations which probably owes to some of the confusion about the
actual number he owned.
guitars john owned as a ramone were:
blue ventures II, #1 stage guitar-stolen 70's. this was the first one
($50). you can see it in pictures and videos of early appearances.
white ventures II, #1 stage guitar, this was his second mosrite and the one
that he played as his #1 stage guitar up until the end-daniel rey
supposedly owns it now.
natural 1960 rickenbacker 450, #2 stage guitar-stolen 70's. he also used
this guitar on "don kirshner's rock concert" which is floating around on
video.
white 50's maple neck strat, #2 stage guitar-stolen 70's. he did not own
this one too long before it was crooked...
white hamer custom endorsement guitar, 1 single coil/1 dbl coil. this
hamer was used in the shan na na episode the raomes were in and traded to
friend in mid 80's (most likely) for the dark brown ventures II below:
brown ventures II, #2 stage guitar, later maybe black (pet semitary video?)
then sparkle (substitute video) , where abouts unknown. ramones
photographer/expert extraordinaire ian harper heard this guitar was perhaps
painted green for the last shows. maybe john sold it. after the breakup
some of his guitars ended up in a music store in california along with a
pair of his jeans!
white hamer custom endorsement guitar, #2 stage guitar, 2 dbl coils, also
used in "psychotherapy" video and hamer endorsement ads/posters-traded to
friend in mid 80's with below:
fireglo rickenbacker 450, #2 stage guitar, then kept by john in his
apartment-traded traded to same friend in mid 80's with above for blue
ventures II below:
mint condition blue ventures II-eventually sold in early 90's to fan/friend
of mark's. this guitar was kept in storage just in case one of the stage
mosrites went missing. it was a variation model II with scalloped edges on
the body. it was in original 1960's mint condition and never played
onstage. the pickguard was autographed to the person who purchased it from
john.
ventures or mark 1/ V1 with scalloped/contoured edges. this guitar went
thru a few transformations as various 1 and maybe 2 pickup models and of
various colors. i know it was sunburst at one time and than later maroon.
it was used on club mtv show and in the "time has come today" video. don't
know what happened to this guitar...
white 1 pickup new style mosrite, #2 stage guitar. i think it was
autographed to johnny from semie on back of headstock ... he uses this
guitar in "merry christmas" video and i think the "i don't want to grow up"
video.
black 1 pickup new style mosrite, #2 stage guitar. also autographed to
johnny from semie on back of headstock, i think...
johnny ramone was no stickler for original equipment and finishes on his
guitars. mosrite lead pickups in some cases were replaced with dimarzio
"fat strats". on his white mosrite a chrome gibson firebird minihumbucker
pickup replaced the original pickup in the neck position. a fender strat
pickup adorned one of the rickenbackers complete with a hunk of fender
pickguard to cover the larger hole left by the original lead rick pickup.
he kept the newer mosrite pickups on the new style mosrites. mosrite
vibratos and sometimes bridge assemblies were also taken off and replaced
with gibson style stop tailpieces and bridges. kluson tuning machines were
replaced with schalers on the mosrites. pickguards were machined and
knobs replaced as needed. on one of the rickenbackers the bridge was
actually nailed into position to keep it from moving. all of this was done
for utilitarian reasons, and according to johnny, "to accomodate today's
rock and roll sound". while original mosrites and ricks are in some cases
sought after by collectors, any modifiations which he (his techs) made
(that may have "marred" an original) have certainly increased the value of
the guitars to ramones fans. he sold his long time white mosrite for much
more than its current market value would have been had it been kept
original and not owned by him.
oh yeah...during the slow song in the "r n r hs" film john plays a rick 450
12 string and an acoustic guitar. i'm pretty sure i heard way back that he
did not own those guitars and only used them as props. if i have missed
anything ian will be good enough to point it out...
carbona
Ian Harper
carbona wrote:
> guitars john owned as a ramone were:
>
> brown ventures II, #2 stage guitar, later maybe black (pet sematary video?)
> then sparkle (substitute video) , where abouts unknown. ramones
> photographer/expert extraordinaire ian harper heard this guitar was perhaps
> painted green for the last shows. maybe john sold it. after the
>breakup if i have missed
> anything ian will be good enough to point it out...
> carbona
Hey Dude- thanks for the compliment... The Gold sparkle guitar was
never painted green. (It was consigned in LA after the last show) It
just LOOKS green in various lighting situations. The brown one LOOKS
black in most lighting situations. I don't know for sure that the brown
one was painted gold, but for these reasons I beleive the two are the
same guitar:
1. I never saw the two of them (guitars) together
2. Gold Sparkle was not an original Mosrite finish in the '60's
3. No one has come forward with other information to the contrary
4. That model is SO rare, it is unlikely he found another one
5. John hated the color brown :)
EXTRA: Daniel Rey recently used THE white Mosrite in New York.
He is now the Keeper of the Grail.
QUESTION: Are the guy in Cheap Trick's arms LONG enough to have
stolen the fireglow Rickenbacker? :)
Many of Johnny's past guitars are shown in parts of my web site.
The Ramones.com website already stole half of my photos so you all might
as well know where they came from.
-Ian
___________________________________________________________
http://www2.ucsc.edu/~ianh/
ShiraBeth1
Hey, Do either of you mind that I ask how you know so much about Johns Guitars?
JBullotta
.What Mosrite model/year/style was Johnny's favorite/..which did he use most
often??.....and what modifications were made to his favorite/prefered model??
JIM JBul...@aol.com
FuryGeo
Shira wrote:
"Hey, Do either of you mind that I ask how you know so much about Johns
Guitars?"
They slept with them, Shira.
I, on the other hand, only fondeled them!
Love,
George
Bone Machine
carbona
> "Hey, Do either of you mind that I ask how you know so much about Johns
> Guitars?"
>
> They slept with them, Shira.
>
> I, on the other hand, only fondeled them!
> Love,
> George
alas it is true. the pillow talk was incredible. especially the racey
stories about the short lived guitar techs with the fumbling hands!
carbona
FuryGeo
Hi Ian!
Chicken Farts!
Love,
George
Ian Leslie Harper
In article <19971119051...@ladder01.news.aol.com>,
FuryGeo <fur...@aol.com> wrote:
>Shira wrote:
>
>
>"Hey, Do either of you mind that I ask how you know so much about Johns
> Guitars?"
>
>They slept with them, Shira.
>
>I, on the other hand, only fondeled them!
>Love,
>George
Wow glad someone else who knows what's going on posted. (Hi George)
:) To reply verify the above you can see George during his brief stint
as guitar tech on my web page, and if you look hard enough you can find
me pretending to play one. I won't name names, but one of the other guys
who posted owns two of them. My Ventures II was "previously owned
by Captain Crunch" :) and NO I DON'T KNOW WHERE YOU CAN GET ONE LIKE IT
Ian :)
--
___________________________________________________________
http://www2.ucsc.edu/~ianh/