Mossman Guitars?
Bob
his guitars. Then after Stu sold the company, I visited Scott
Baxendale's shop in Dallas and looked at his guitars after he bought
Mossman. Now I understand another Texas company is making them.
Unfortunately, Stu is no longer with us. Now I am in the position to
finally get another guitar, and am thinking about a Mossman, preferably
from the Stuart era (late '60s-early '80s). Anyone own one of these
and what do you think of them, strengths and weaknesses, etc?
Bob
Rick Ruskin
Original Mossmans are excellent guitars. Their only possible downside
is that they haven't as yet attained the sex-appeal (collector value)
of other maker - (Martins, Gibsons; etc.) For those in the market
for a lifetime musical instrument, this is a non-issue. Those seeking
bragging rights see it quite differently.
If you want to see a truly unique Stuart Era guitar, go to:
http://liondogmusic.com/instruments.htm. I can personally attest as
to the quality of this example. And yes, it's for sale.
Rick Ruskin
Lion Dog Music - Seattle WA
http://liondogmusic.com
Tony Weber
Rick Ruskin wrote:
I can't go into the stregnths/weakesses of these guitars, there are far more
knowledgeable people on the subject around here than I. But I did get to
play this guitar a while back, and it is truly a sweet little beast (and I
got to listen to Rick playing it, a far more impressive affair). Truly a
lifetime players guitar, for someone in a position to snag it.
TW
Conrad Shiba
I own a Great Plains model, serial no. 76-4374, which I believe was an
unfinished body which Stuart bought back from Conn and added a neck and
finished. He sold it to me for quite a bit less than the going price at
that time (1979). The label has 17 sets of initials of people who worked on
it. The headstock has the "S. L. Mossman" gold decal in Gothic script, not
the later "Mossman" logo adopted around that time.
This guitar does not have any extensive weather checking of the finish,
unlike others of that era; the lacquer is very slightly sunken over the two
back seams, a fact which can only be ascertained by touch. Also, unlike
many other Mossmans, this guitar has never needed a neck reset. I lowered
the action very slightly at the saddle and replaced the plastic bridge pins
with ebony ones. The guitar has wonderful tone and playability. I have
received many compliments on it. If you can get your hands on one in good
shape, I would say go for it.
There is an interesting history of Mossman guitars at the following web
site:
http://mossman-guitars.com/History101.htm
Conrad Shiba
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
*** Usenet.com - The #1 Usenet Newsgroup Service on The Planet! ***
http://www.usenet.com
Unlimited Download - 19 Seperate Servers - 90,000 groups - Uncensored
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Hojo2x
>Many years ago, I spoke with Stu Mossman at Winfield about buying one of
>his guitars. Then after Stu sold the company, I visited Scott>Baxendale's
shop in Dallas and looked at his guitars after he bought>Mossman. Now I
understand another Texas company is making them.
Bob, for years I played a Winfield factory Mossman rosewood dreadnought, which
I more or less stopped playing once I talked Scott Baxendale into making me a
Triple O. So, technically, my Triple O is a Mossman as well.
Scott lost the company due to some rather flamboyant personal problems, and the
gentlemen who have it now bought the brand name and the specialized machinery
required to make the guitars.
Bob continues:
>Now I am in the position to>finally get another guitar, and am thinking about
a Mossman, preferably>from the Stuart era (late '60s-early '80s). Anyone own
one of these>and what do you think of them, strengths and weaknesses, etc?
In terms of workmanship, the Baxendale-era Mossmans are considered the most
impressive, but Mossmans from all three eras are considered good,
professional-quality instruments. They're all solid wood, and with the
exception of the Triple O that Rick Ruskin has for sale, mine and one other
that I'm aware of, they're all dreadnoughts.
The one major failing that most Mossmans have is their necks: the truss rod
adjustment system Stuart chose was pretty inadequate, and sooner or later most
Mossmans have their necks fail.
At least through Scott Baxendale's era: Scott was still using that funky neck
attachment system, and the neck on mine had to be reset, just like every other
Mossman I've ever heard of. (I don't whether the new owners have stuck with
this old system or have improved it....)
The good news is that by this point, twenty to thirty years down the road, most
Mossmans have already had their necks FIXED, and once fixed they tend to stay
fixed. So I wouldn't worry too much about it, just be aware that it's been a
common problem with those insturments.
Anyway, my suggestion is that you keep an eye peeled for a Winfield-era
Mossman, as those are the majority of the ones in circulation and the prices on
them are the most reasonable.
Hope this helps.
Wade Hampton Miller
Chugiak, Alaska
Kevin Hall
found them to be pretty inconsistent. They are big, powerful guitars as a
rule with some of that power coming from the longish scale length.
Unfortunately that length also makes them feel 'stiff' to play. They can be
unresponsive to a light touch, often requiring you to beat the bejabbers
out of 'em in order to get the voice to come to life.
They had a number of quality control and durability problems which proved
especially evident in the dry climate in Canada in winter.
Stu made me the top of his line, a 'Golden Era Custom' in about '74 or
'75. It was a very impressive thing at first glance, but I remember being
very disappointed when I found a splint in the top, perhaps 2" long.
Presumably this was a repair which had been done even before the thing left
the plant, as it was shipped directly from there to our shop in Toronto.
That just ain't on with an instrument that fancy and that expensive.
By and large, most of us who remember when those things were current are
pretty leary of them on the used market, and prices reflect that. That
being said if you do find a good one, and you are a flat-picker with a
heavy right hand, it can be a very good choice for considerably less money
than an equivalent model Martin.
If you pick one up that is in need of a neck reset, remember those early
Mossmans did not have compound dovetail neck joints. They are sort of
reverse-tapered mortise and tennons, with a pair of screws through the
block. Those are hidden underneath the label on the neckblock. Make sure
your tech is aware of this system before you let him or her try to wangle
the handle off.
Hope this helps somewhat.
KH
Timberline Guitars,
Canada.
Bob <pionee...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:3CFE2432...@yahoo.com...
Jay & Robin Lowe
For a while I had a '76 model Great Plains. It was built very similarly to a
D-35 and had the same rich sound, only LOUDER!!
It came through the local shop in dire need of a neck reset and the owner
gave the guy $100 in a trade toward a new Seagull. Neither the seller nor
owner had any idea of the guitars potential value or history of the company.
The neck reset was quite a challenge since there was nothing to suggest what
we would find in terms of dovetailing (which is best described a shallow,
twin dovetails) although the screws in the neck block were easy to find (one
large, one small).
I put it back together exactly the same way it came apart but used a Martin
style truss rod system rather than the original one.
Did a lot of finish buffing on the top, replaced the nut and saddle - the
originals appeared to be bone and I replaced them with the same.
The guitar was a joy to play. Did I mention that it was LOUD!!! This one may
have been the exception rather than the rule but the only guitar I've found
to compare it to volume wise is an HD-28VS.
Since then the store has seen one other old Mossman come through, this one a
good bit fancier but same wood and dreadnaught design. It's owner traded it
on a Les Paul and said he'd just bought a new Mossman and liked it just as
well, but that is the only word I've heard on the newer guitars, and it was
second hand from someone I do not know.
The Mossman story is a bit of a sad one and I'd like to think that the newer
ones are being built to the same specs as the older ones but I can't tell
yet. They are currently built in Sulphur Springs and I hope to get up there
with enough time on my hands to have a look around some day.
Jay Lowe
Hojo2x
>For a while I had a '76 model GreatPlains. It was built very similarly to
a>D-35 and had the same rich sound, only LOUDER!!
Whaddja say?
>LOUDER!!
Oh, that's what I THOUGHT you said.
No need to shout.....
>It came through the local shop in dire need of a neck reset and the owner
>gave the guy $100 in a trade toward a new Seagull. Neither the seller
nor>owner had any idea of the guitars potential value or history of the
company.
Oh, MAN! He stole it!!
>The guitar was a joy to play. Did I mention that it was LOUD!!!
What's that? Speak up!
>it was LOUD!!!
Oh, right. You already SAID that....
>This one may>have been the exception rather than the rule but the only guitar
I've found>to compare it to volume wise is an HD-28VS.
No, it was NOT an exception, most Mossmans out there are cannons.
They tend to have problems with their necks, as both you, Kevin Hall and I have
now stated, and as Kevin mentioned they reward a strong right hand as opposed
to a light touch.
But they're great guitars once you get the neck problems resolved and if you
have the right touch for them.
One thing about Mossmans that I've never quite understood is that they have an
exceptionally good TREBLE response for a dreadnought.
Why this should be, I have no idea, but I've found it in virtually every
Mossman I've played, so it's a consistent feature.
And, yeah, they are LOUD guitars. I used to play one in the Irish bars of
Chicago with no pickup on it, just an instrument mic, and it could be heard
just FINE.....
Hojo2x
>>Now I am in the position to>> finally get another guitar, and am thinking
about a Mossman,
Noah in Darkest Johnson County, Kansas wrote:
>If you have trouble finding one, I'd just mention that here in Kansas>City
these come up for sale not that infrequently.
Which makes sense. I lived in KC when I got mine - they were definitely the
"guitar du jour" in the Seventies back there in Cowtown.
Wichita, Tulsa and Oklahoma City would also be good places to go
Mossman-hunting.
Among those of us who played at the Winfield festival the Mossmans were a very
fashionable instrument: if you couldn't afford a prewar Martin (and none of us
could) then the Mossman was the next best thing.
The fact that they were made by a bunch of long-haired, cowboy-shirt-wearing
stoners out on the High Prairie made them all the more attractive to us!
Wade Hampton "Ki Yi Yippie Yi, Eh?" Miller
Josh Pincus
flatpicking on Alison Krauss's "I've Got That Old Feeling" album. According
to 1998 AG Gear Box article, Jeff is a faithful Mossman player:
"Jeff White has played the same Mossman Great Plains dreadnought since he
bought it new in 1977 (Mossman Guitars, 1813 Main St., Sulphur Springs, TX
75482; [903] 885-4992). He's one of those musicians who finds an instrument
that defines his sound and stays with it. "I heard Dan Crary playing a
Mossman on Lady's Fancy," he recalls, "and the music store I was teaching at
got a couple in, so I bought one. The reason I liked it so much is that I
was playing in a band with a loud banjo player, and I really needed to cut
through and be heard. I can hear each individual note ring distinctly on the
Mossman, but it doesn't have that bass rumble on the low strings, so it's
very effective over a mic."
Mike Rickard
Hill, Darcie Deaville, and cowboy/western singer Grady Lee, and all are big,
bright, powerful guitars. Wish I had one, but they'd wipe out my fading
hearing.
Mike
Bob wrote in message <3CFE2432...@yahoo.com>...
Hojo2x
>I've played the pre-76 Mossmans...>and all are big,>bright, powerful guitars.
Wish I had one, but they'd wipe out my fading
>hearing.
Ah, no, Mike, they'd strengthen your vocal cords!
Owning one was truly a godsend when I was working the Irish bars in the late
70s and early 80s. I never needed to install one of the crappy-sounding guitar
transducers of the day on my instrument: I just played into a mic, even in the
noisiest, rowdiest bars.
They're nice guitars. If only they didn't have such problems with their necks
- those funky neck joints and the finish problems that were created when the
distributor stored them in an unheated warehouse were really what killed them
on the marketplace.
But they sound GREAT.
Mike Rickard
Hojo2x wrote in message <20020608192732...@mb-cl.aol.com>...
>
>They're nice guitars. If only they didn't have such problems with their
necks
>- those funky neck joints and the finish problems that were created when
the
>distributor stored them in an unheated warehouse were really what killed
them
>on the marketplace.
I looked at several over the years at the Arlington guitar show and they all
seemed to be made in '76 and have the finish problems you refer to so never
bought one.
Mike
Robt. Miller
>
> I own a Great Plains model, serial no. 76-4374, which I believe was an
> unfinished body which Stuart bought back from Conn and added a neck and
> finished. He sold it to me for quite a bit less than the going price at
> that time (1979). The label has 17 sets of initials of people who worked on
> it. The headstock has the "S. L. Mossman" gold decal in Gothic script, not
> the later "Mossman" logo adopted around that time.
I have 76-3692 and it was finished. Our guitars are close relatives.
--
(o< Powered by SuSE Linux
//\ Virusproof. Crashproof.
V_/_ No MS products were used
in the creation of this message..
10:47pm up 8 days, 7:07, 23 users, load average: 1.12, 1.06, 1.01
processes 223049