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What are these guitars like? Are they any good? I get confused with the multitudes of Japanese copies..!

Max

MaxTib wrote:What are these guitars like? Are they any good? I get confused with the multitudes of Japanese copies..!

Max

Max, from what I heard, they are actually pretty good instruments
that are well built for the money. I believe there are 2 or 3 members
on this forum that are owners of the "Ranger Series."

From the information I was able to gather via the Fillmore catalog I got the other day,

1. The Fillmore 'Mosrite of California' are made in USA (yeah sure) and comes with the replica of the original deluxe brown alligator hardshell case of the 60's, pickups are listed as AS-1 for the 63-64, side jack, binding, set neck, and is offered in six different colors with matching headstock and 'of California' logo. They also have a slight less expensive version of the same guitar claiming made in USA that the only difference is the logo say 'of Classics"

2. Their USA made '65 model comes with the deluxe black tolex case, has AS-II pickups, top jack, no binding, and is offered in five colors, some with natural finish maple necks. They also have a slightly less expensive version that has the logo 'of Classics'.

3. The Fillmore 'Mosrite of Classics' is made in Japan and comes with a black tolex hardshell case, five different finishes, pickups wound to 'original specs', top jack, no binding.

4. The Fillmore 'Mosrite Ranger' is made in Japan and comes in five colors, with a gigbag, and the pickup specs just say 'original single coils.

Reading the specs, they are all made with basswood bodies and appear to be virtually identical except for the bags or cases they come in, the logo on the headstock and the pickups. Oh yeah, and those that are made in 'USA'.

I was under the impression that the Ranger had a "non-roller" bridge, but I may be totally wrong about that.

zak wrote:I was under the impression that the Ranger had a "non-roller" bridge, but I may be totally wrong about that.

Yeah, I thought that too. So rather than take the text in the catalog for granted, I broke out my trusty magnifying glass and sure enough, the photo of the Ranger Mark-1 has the Vibramute with roller bridge. But of course that could have been the case during the year this catalog was produced. Other production runs may have been different. If you look at Fillmore produced Mosrites over the years they have be serve different inconsistencies.

Yeah i got a candy apple ranger 2 or three months ago, it's a really good guitar even though it's a copy. You're right about the lack of roller bridge though but plays great.


oh and the man in the shop seemed to really want rid of it and knocked of £200

Considering the price difference between the Ranger and the other models, it seems like they would be cutting a lot of corners somewhere, not just the bridge. I am just speculating, never having played one myself. The photos I've seen of them (dealer websites, not catalog photos which are usually heavily retouched) made them look kinda cheap in some way. The bridge definitely looked like a string breaking design, sharp edges and all. But truth be told, I never tried a Fillmore that I actually liked, especially at the asking price. Everything always seems loose and flimsy on them.

I've had a Ranger 65 for about 3 months now.
The difference between the 65 and the 66 is the 65 has a roller bridge and a Vibramute as opposed to Moseley trem unit on the 66 and a non roller bridge.
The Vibramute has better sustain apparently, never A/B'd them, a friend in Japan got mine for me, they are not available at all in Australia.
The Vibramute trem is great, i like it better than the trems on my Jazzmasters and Jag.
The quality of my 65 ( black) is fantastic, can't fault it at all.
How authentic they are compared to an original i don't know, i've only ever played one 60's Mosrite and the sound was horrible.

Peter

Peter, would it be possible for you to post some good clear close-up photo's of your guitar? If anyone else has a Ranger and any other Japanese Mosrite models, could you provide some good photo's? It sure would make it nice for reference material.

Here's some photos of my Excellent '65 Ventures model reissue (Mosrite Japan), it's approximately 8 years old.

The pics are pretty huge, so I'm posting the thumbnails, click on 'em to see the full-size version.







Closeup of the tailpiece (with dog hair!):



Note the "incorrect" M knobs...



...and "incorrect" switch tip:



"Unauthorized" Ventures logo:



Neck plate says "Mosrite" - kinda blurry, sorry.



Kluson knock-offs also say 'Mosrite" on 'em:





Oh yeah, one more thing: I found this photo of a "Ranger" bridge on a Japanese website:
http://www.mosrite.co.jp/ranger_model/parts_02.jpg
That doesn't look like a very good saddle design to me...