Hello - I joined because I own a REALLY Early Combo model

[JMO444]

Hello! just joined the forum
Locally a Morsite Combo pop up on Facebook marketplace and I went to purchase it. I didn’t know what it was whe originally listed but after a web search I eventually stumbled upon 101Volt’s serial # list. I realized it was a Mark One.

Its serial Number is H0003!!!

[101Volts]

Hello! just joined the forum
Locally a Morsite Combo pop up on Facebook marketplace and I went to purchase it. I didn’t know what it was whe originally listed but after a web search I eventually stumbled upon 101Volt’s serial # list. I realized it was a Mark One.

Its serial Number is H0003!!!

Welcome. I'm guessing that your Combo is Red? It seems as though all of the earliest ones are Red. Combo H0010 just showed up on Reverb, too, and now it sold:

https://reverb.com/item/86377695-red-mo ... _sold=true

Have you gotten used to the neck size on a 60s Mosrite? I don't think I got used to mine very early or easily. I have to hold the guitar differently than I expected, slightly to the right of my stomach. But my model's an early Mark V.

- Austin

[JMO444]

Well it was red, but the finish has completely faded to almost natural. The pickguard managed to shrink as well which I’ve never seen on a mosrite. There’s only a tiny amount of red at the bottom of the top, and at the bottom of the sides. (Confusing I know) I presume it was a shop window guitar as I can only imagine it’s sun damage. From what I heard from the previous owner it would’ve been at Modern Music Center in Crowley, Louisiana. (It’s got a sticker of the store on the headstock)

It also had this strange sand-esque powder all over the electronics when I first opened it up. I think the pots are still full of it as they are extremely stiff. All original though.

(Might inquire for some advice on fixing the electronics up, that input jack barely works)

I’ll send some pictures in another post.

As for playing, I love the profile of the neck but it does feel extremely close to my body. Although It grows on me each day I have it.

[JMO444]

Here’s some photos of the guitar and its electronics. https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/ ... abUhs6EgTw

[101Volts]

Well it was red, but the finish has completely faded to almost natural. The pickguard managed to shrink as well which I’ve never seen on a mosrite. There’s only a tiny amount of red at the bottom of the top, and at the bottom of the sides. (Confusing I know) I presume it was a shop window guitar as I can only imagine it’s sun damage. From what I heard from the previous owner it would’ve been at Modern Music Center in Crowley, Louisiana. (It’s got a sticker of the store on the headstock)

I've seen similar Red fading on Mosrites before, but it's usually a Celebrity III model that went from Red to more of a Gretsch Orange. Sometimes the red remains under the pickguard like you see on your Combo, and sometimes it remains in other spots.



I'm not sure how many Mosrites had their pickguards shrink, that's not something I've paid much attention to.

It also had this strange sand-esque powder all over the electronics when I first opened it up. I think the pots are still full of it as they are extremely stiff. All original though.

(Might inquire for some advice on fixing the electronics up, that input jack barely works)

The white powder sounds vaguely familiar. Do you have any cans of DeOxIt? I don't have experience using that, but it's supposed to be something that can get rid of corrosion well, and there are a few types of DeOxIt but I never got any. Maybe soaking the pots in it for a few days will help free up things. I do have a pot from an old Kay that was near impossible to turn, then I started putting penetrating oil in it since I can just flush that all out later if need be, anyhow. It started turning.

I’ll send some pictures in another post.

As for playing, I love the profile of the neck but it does feel extremely close to my body. Although It grows on me each day I have it.

I took a hint from Ricky from The B-52s when it came to how to hold a Mosrite. This helps.



When I first got the same model he held here, I wasn't holding it that way, and it was more up front. Keeping the body slightly on the side and with my fretting hand extended more as he had here? That helped reduce fretting hand fatigue.

Here’s some photos of the guitar and its electronics. https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/ ... abUhs6EgTw

I'm not seeing any parts on it that were replaced. However, could you add 1 more photo? I can't see the back of the body here.

Assuming the CentraLab Pots are original, then the pot code is from the 47th week of 1966 (November 1966,) so the Combo model isn't quite as old as I previously thought. This makes sense if the model was first manufactured in late 1966, which is after Mosrite switched the truss rod location from the Body end to the Headstock end. No Combo models I've ever seen had the truss rod adjustment at the body end, and yours is the 3rd one.

The Joe Maphis model (which has the same body shape) did start manufacture in January 1966, and early models do have the truss rod located at the body end. That changed pretty early, though.



- Austin

[JMO444]

I’ve just added some more pictures to the same drive link, It’s got a more orangey tint on the back, the grain is more gorgeous in person though it’s slightly figured.

I've seen similar Red fading on Mosrites before, but it's usually a Celebrity III model that went from Red to more of a Gretsch Orange. Sometimes the red remains under the pickguard like you see on your Combo, and sometimes it remains in other spots.

As for the repairs, I don’t have DeOxIt or many supplies available on hand unfortunately. I would take it to a local shop but it’s probably a bit too precious to trust in someone else’s hands. The pots still turn though, honestly the input jack is more concerning to me, as I really don’t want to touch its originality to replace it. Though it buzzes depending on the way the instrument is held.

A video of the intermittent jack:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/190gMOu ... p=drivesdk

That being said I’m lucky that it has no other issues, it doesn’t even need a setup. The action is really low and there’s no fret buzzing. Also the intonation is pretty good. Definitely more hardy than the 60s’ Gibsons I have experience with.

[101Volts]

I’ve just added some more pictures to the same drive link, It’s got a more orangey tint on the back, the grain is more gorgeous in person though it’s slightly figured.

So it has the neck plate, and it looks as though the first few hundred Combo models were mostly the same as yours.

As for the repairs, I don’t have DeOxIt or many supplies available on hand unfortunately. I would take it to a local shop but it’s probably a bit too precious to trust in someone else’s hands. The pots still turn though, honestly the input jack is more concerning to me, as I really don’t want to touch its originality to replace it. Though it buzzes depending on the way the instrument is held.

A video of the intermittent jack:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/190gMOu ... p=drivesdk

That might be a real easy fix, it could just be a grounding issue. The signal's coming through, and I had to fix a Telecaster Copy in May when I picked it up from Facebook Marketplace. The signal wasn't coming through easily, but all I had to do was re-solder everything back together. I hit all of the solder joints at the same time, though, since it was already opened up.

That being said I’m lucky that it has no other issues, it doesn’t even need a setup. The action is really low and there’s no fret buzzing. Also the intonation is pretty good. Definitely more hardy than the 60s’ Gibsons I have experience with.

Mosrites in the 60s had what were called "Speed Frets." I measured mine, and they're strange - aside from the width being 0.070" (which I have a guide for how to get if you want that width, since the width was discontinued long ago) the height is 0.022" on the Low E side, tapering down to 0.015" on the High E side. That was to make them easy to slide up and down the neck with, but it does make it hard to bend notes with if you're not using light strings. The frets also can wear out sooner than taller frets.

Mosrite switched fretwire sizes by 1972. They used wider and taller frets then.

How is the bridge? Also, one more thing - if you have a Soldering Iron, then I'd recommend you solder the string wraps of all of the unwound strings because your Combo has a Moseley Vibrato Tailpiece. I always solder my strings because it makes them last longer, and it makes them more tuning stable.

- Austin

[JMO444]

So it has the neck plate, and it looks as though the first few hundred Combo models were mostly the same as yours.

Right, it’s not too different from the others, I imagine they made a lot of combos extremely quickly for one reason or another. It also makes it interesting how it has a normal pickguard because H0010 doesn’t have the screw above the neck pickup.

Mosrites in the 60s had what were called "Speed Frets." I measured mine, and they're strange - aside from the width being 0.070" (which I have a guide for how to get if you want that width, since the width was discontinued long ago) the height is 0.022" on the Low E side, tapering down to 0.015" on the High E side. That was to make them easy to slide up and down the neck with, but it does make it hard to bend notes with if you're not using light strings. The frets also can wear out sooner than taller frets.

The frets are quite tiny, that being said I don’t have trouble bending with 10s, although I would like to throw some elevens on for the bass response. Normally I play extremely rough, but this guitar rewards a bit more nuance as the strings are fairly high in relation to the body. I’m not too worried about them though I love fret less wonders.

That might be a real easy fix, it could just be a grounding issue. The signal's coming through, and I had to fix a Telecaster Copy in May when I picked it up from Facebook Marketplace. The signal wasn't coming through easily, but all I had to do was re-solder everything back together. I hit all of the solder joints at the same time, though, since it was already opened up.

I’ve had guitars with grounding issues before, I’m hoping that’s the case because I want to keep it almost untouched. I’d like to think it’s a very special instrument considering H0010 sold in only a few hours.

I did forget to mention that it doesn’t have the original case. It’s in some MIJ-esque 1970s Ibanez case, I’d imagine that’s not too important though.

How is the bridge? Also, one more thing - if you have a Soldering Iron, then I'd recommend you solder the string wraps of all of the unwound strings because your Combo has a Moseley Vibrato Tailpiece. I always solder my strings because it makes them last longer, and it makes them more tuning stable.

So far it holds tune great, I just restrung so I don’t know have long the strings will last. The bridge has a very industrial appearance but it works well under string tension and palm mutes very well. Although the bridge and trem spring shift a lot when restringing which is quite annoying. If you want close pictures of it I’ll take some.

[101Volts]

Right, it’s not too different from the others, I imagine they made a lot of combos extremely quickly for one reason or another. It also makes it interesting how it has a normal pickguard because H0010 doesn’t have the screw above the neck pickup.

I hadn't noticed that about H0100 before. H0014 does have the screw in that location.

The frets are quite tiny, that being said I don’t have trouble bending with 10s, although I would like to throw some elevens on for the bass response. Normally I play extremely rough, but this guitar rewards a bit more nuance as the strings are fairly high in relation to the body. I’m not too worried about them though I love fret less wonders.

I also tend to strum hard, but my main focus with my "Mark V" was to imitate early B-52s tone. Hard strumming with thick 1.14mm picks and thick strings (usually with .13s on the bottom end) is required.

I’ve had guitars with grounding issues before, I’m hoping that’s the case because I want to keep it almost untouched. I’d like to think it’s a very special instrument considering H0010 sold in only a few hours.

I did forget to mention that it doesn’t have the original case. It’s in some MIJ-esque 1970s Ibanez case, I’d imagine that’s not too important though.

I'd guess that's the most likely candidate, is some grounding issue. I'm not sure if it has anything to do with that powder on the pots or not.

Ah, oh well. I've been curious about which cases came with these originally, but I've not looked into them a whole lot.

So far it holds tune great, I just restrung so I don’t know have long the strings will last. The bridge has a very industrial appearance but it works well under string tension and palm mutes very well. Although the bridge and trem spring shift a lot when restringing which is quite annoying. If you want close pictures of it I’ll take some.

Maybe take one string off at a time when re-stringing, unless you're cleaning the fretboard at the same time.

Come to think of it, yes, a photo of the "Moseley" logo would help. I'm curious to see if there's a patent number next to it.

- Austin

[JMO444]

I hadn't noticed that about H0100 before. H0014 does have the screw in that location.

I've revisited the H0100 listing a few times as it strikes me as an odd guitar. The Picture of the F-hole indicates the body serial number as H0010(Assuming it is four digits like all the others), but the neck is H0100. Perhaps a factory mistake, or maybe a re-neck? Although the odds of H0010 getting H0100 as a neck would be low being that it's an odd coincidence.

Come to think of it, yes, a photo of the "Moseley" logo would help. I'm curious to see if there's a patent number next to it.

I added a photo to the drive link. It does have a pat. # bridge. That would be a later addition to the Joe Maphis, Correct? It also would put the Combo Model's development at a later date.

Also, I'll be working on getting a new soldering iron and maybe some deoxit so I can hopefully get it sounding properly. Maybe I'll put some sort of demo up when it's ready. The handful of Combo demos on Youtube kinda suck, as they don't show any variety of playing styles, it's clean only. There are some good performances, but they don't show off everything the Combo could do.