Celebrity Status

[wombat]

After receiving my '72 Celebrity, I took it straight to my guitar tech, and had him set it up to my liking. When I picked it up from it, he gave it high compliments, telling me that I'd made a nice score. He also told me an interesting Mosrite story that I can share in another thread.

For about the past year, I've mainly been playing a guitar with Dimarzio Super Distortions, so these Mosrite pickups seemed pretty quiet to me. After getting used to the quietness, I noticed how that quietness offered more subtle aspects of the guitar's tone that the S.D.s would have just bulldozed right over. The tones are very sweet sounding, and with the right amp settings I can get my crunch without sacrificing that sweetness. The clean sounds are flawless. While providing some twang, not so much as a Fender.

I love the full, rich sound of the hollow body. It's a refreshing difference from the solid-bodies that predominately make up my guitar collection.

The neck and fingerboard alone are a thing of beauty. As soon as I grabbed the neck to pull it out of the box, my hands recognized the quality craftsmanship. Comfortably wide and very flat. I love the speed frets.

There is a certain thing about it that I've tried to put into words when talking about my old Gretsch. It sharply contrasts with my Les Paul. The Les Paul is like a Caddillac on the highway. So smooth that it almost operates itself. This Mosrite on the other hand, makes you work to produce the sounds, the pull-offs, and bends. I think that with this guitar I hear more of the player coming through the speakers, as opposed to the Gibson, which I hear more of the guitar.

For a guitar of this quality, it was not a value, but absolutely nothing short of a complete steal for the $500 which I traded for it!

[JimPage]

Did you see what Wombat said here?:
>>The neck and fingerboard alone are a thing of beauty. As soon as I grabbed the neck to
>>pull it out of the box, my hands recognized the quality craftsmanship. Comfortably wide
>>and very flat. I love the speed frets.

Kerry put his finger on a point that flashes across my mind every time I pick up my Celebrity and HC60, and, to a somewhat lesser extent, my Hallmark Stradette.

I think that Semie had some sort of cosmic connection when it came to SHAPES, and the volute or back of the headstock shape on a Mosrite is just lovely. Your hands just click into place.

And the shape of the neck up the fretboard feels way different, to me, than any other guitar.

And I do love the speed frets. I have a very light touch, so maybe that is why I prefer them.

Cool.

--Jim

[Sarah93003]

Did you see what Wombat said here?:
>>The neck and fingerboard alone are a thing of beauty. As soon as I grabbed the neck to
>>pull it out of the box, my hands recognized the quality craftsmanship. Comfortably wide
>>and very flat. I love the speed frets.

Kerry put his finger on a point that flashes across my mind every time I pick up my Celebrity and HC60, and, to a somewhat lesser extent, my Hallmark Stradette.

I think that Semie had some sort of cosmic connection when it came to SHAPES, and the volute or back of the headstock shape on a Mosrite is just lovely. Your hands just click into place.

And the shape of the neck up the fretboard feels way different, to me, than any other guitar.

And I do love the speed frets. I have a very light touch, so maybe that is why I prefer them.

Cool.

--Jim

I think you both are right on. I agree that the shape of the neck is an instant fit which is quite interesting considering I am sure our hands are all of different sizes. The most striking thing to me when I play my Celebrity, keep in mind I am a rhythm player, is the comfort while I am playing. It is the only guitar that allows me to play non stop for four hours, playing barre chords, and not being totally fatigued. Even my pro line Gretsch is only good for about an hour and then I ache. So yeah, the neck is truly a masterpiece.

Secondly, the Celebrity guitar is actually quite light as a whole. I have not weighed mine but I would guess that it weighs a pound less than my other hollow bodied guitars.

Thirdly, it is very well balanced on the strap. My shoulders and neck never get tired. I can not say the same for any other guitar I've owned.

Lastly, I love the tone of the Celebrity but the critical piece is the amp that it goes through. Even though it has single coil pickups I really was not happy with it through my Fender Hot Rod Deluxe. It was just "okay". However, through my Vox AD15VT it sounds awesome. This is an amp with a tube preamp and solid state afterward. I am guessing that these guitars sound their best through a solid state amp. I have not tested that yet though. I should spend a day at Guitar Center or elsewhere and see just how it performs through various amps. That story is yet to come!

[wombat]

I've not yet performed with it. I'm interested now, to see how I feel about the balance & weight hanging from my neck and shoulders. Also the comfort of playing for an extended period of time.