This summer I got to play a 68 Mosrite!

[Jupiter]

And I was AMAZED at what tiny frets it had. It was really clean (closet-classic level), and the frets were very even and crowned, so they didn't seem to be worn down, but man, sliding your hand up and down the neck you could hardly feel the frets.

I couldn't really play it. I'm sort of a heavy picker and bender, and it buzzed a lot for me, and the strings felt like they were lying right on the board, but the friend who brought it over for me to see said that you get used to it pretty quick. I didn't get to plug it in, but he also said a lot of the fret buzz is inaudible when it's amped anyway.

It was a beautiful burgundy metallic, in great condition, but man, it felt weird to play.

He also brought over a very cool Hallmark Sweptwing that had a neck like the Mosrite, but more typical frets. Are vintage Mosrites known for these tiny frets? Are they necessarily fiddlier to set up?

[Blazer]

I played a sixties Mosrite at the Vintage fair last year, like you said, the frets are very tiny, amplified, it sounded rather shrill and it didn't really like overdrive that much. No wonder Johnny Ramone changed the pickups of his.

[tele salivas]

I got to play a 60's Venture's Mosrite a couple years ago. They are a different animal! Your friend is right. You get used to the action and feel pretty easily. I found mysef using my wrist more than doin the arm-strum type of play. I liked the trebly highs and funky lows. Perfect for a real edgy, older country sound. I understand that the Hallmark 60's are a great sounding rendition, and actually play a little less fussy than the originals. Though I like it a little funky.

[mickmac]

Johnny Ramone!

[beep.click]

I'm getting a lot of mileage out of my Easwood Sidejack, but I'd sure like to get my hands on one of those Hallmarks!

[RockerDuck]

I owned a Mosrite in the 70's. Stayed in tune great, but the worst playing. I met Nokie Edwards of the Ventures and he said the same thing. He said he preferred the telecaster. He was playing a Les Paul when I met him though.

[Jupiter]

My friend has several Hallmarks (Wing Bat, Delta Wing, and I think the Johnny Ramone sig model), and he swears by 'em. He was pretty jazzed about picking up that Mosrite, though!

[LOSTVENTURE]

Slim necks, zero frets and those speed frets were not for everybody I guess.
I had just started to get serious on the guitar around 64, and when I got my little hands on the Ventures model, I was in heaven. Consider that I was playing a Silvertone copy of a Jaguar at that time. By the time I could afford one, I had mover on to Teles and Les Pauls. By the way, the original Les Paul Custom had those same "fretless wonder" frets.
I now have the Hallmark 60 Custom, which is a clone of the 64 Ventures Model, with very small frets and an unusually slim neck. Very nice guitar, and those big potted pick-ups actually offer a lot more tone than the originals.

[KRamone27]

Mosrite FTW!