In the history of vintage guitars, Gretsch and Mosrite are sometimes linked, and often associated with ’50s hot-country pickers and ’60s rockers. One guitar takes that connection to a new level.

This custom Mosrite hollowbody has the chassis of an early Gretsch Country Gentleman and was likely built between 1959 and ’62 for a hotshot hillbilly player in Southern California.

It’s an unusual story, and though some of it may be lost, the guitar provides a lot of evidence including unique design elements that point to a collaboration between Semie Moseley and its mystery player.

From the late 1950s into the early ’60s, Moseley worked alone or with an assistant or two in a small shop in Bakersfield. His early claim to fame was two spectacular doubleneck instruments made for local hot pickers Joe Maphis and the teenaged Larry Collins, of the Collins Kids. Both stars made regular appearances on the local “Town Hall Party” TV show, showing their flashy Mosrites to good advantage.

While Moseley is known to have fitted custom necks to a number of acoustic flat-tops, his electric instruments are generally hand-made originals, not hybrids. This “Gretsch-Rite” (or would that be “Mos-Gretsch”?) is one of only two known examples; Moseley had replaced the neck on an earlier ’50s Gretsch for a local player named Gary Lambert some time before. While this guitar could also be a customization of an existing Country Gent, close examination suggests otherwise. Holes for the controls and pickups are not drilled in typical Gretsch positions, and the area covered by the neck heel is smaller than the Gretsch heel pattern. These would have had to be plugged and re-drilled for the layout if the guitar had been completed, which is not the case. The only logical explanation is someone was able to procure an unfinished Gent body from the Gretsch factory in Brooklyn and had this guitar built from it. How that happened is a mystery, as companies like Gretsch were not particularly prone to allowing customers (and certainly not custom builders) access to unfinished components unless it was for a warranty repair. But, someone managed it!

This wasn’t just any body, either. At the time, the Country Gentleman was Gretsch’s recently introduced high-end Chet Atkins signature model, a star of their line. The thin-rim (21/4″ deep), 17″-wide laminated flame-maple body has a closed top (sans sound hole) and is four-ply bound, top and back. The most-unique elements are simulated f holes (with the earlier plastic inserts) and heavy internal bracing – features specified by Atkins, who wanted a more-solid, feedback resistant instrument. The concept likely appealed to the player who commissioned this instrument, with design elements that are pure Bakersfield.

The hand-carved neck is beautiful flame maple, typical of Moseley’s period work – very slim – and joins the body way out at the 17th fret. The 241\2″ scale is the same as the Gretsch Atkins, and the most-important alteration is the heel placement that offers extended upper fret access with 23 frets total, perhaps the idea that sparked this creation in the first place.

The neck has very neat binding and inlay work, and the rosewood fretboard has typical tiny Mosrite dots on the bass side. The carved headstock is ornamented with Moseley’s trademark M at the crown and decorative plastic trim. The inlaid plastic logo (not hyphenated “Mos-Rite” but with random larger and smaller letters) appears typical of Moseley’s work in 1960-’61. The back of the neck is made to look like it has a center laminate strip (a feature of the Gent) but is actually just painted on!

The pickups are a bit of a mystery, being neither typical Gretsch or a Mosrite fitting. The guitar may have been assembled with different pickups, as there are crude routs under the pickguard, along with extra screw holes. And, they’re mounted directly to the back-painted plastic pickguard, which is raised slightly off the body, similar to the style Moseley used in 1961-’62 on early prototypes built for Bob Crooks at Standel.

The pickups are unusual, with individual poles (similar to Fender) surrounded by slim, flat coils. The molded-plastic covers suggest production items, though hobbyist tools in the ’60s could have been used to fabricate them. Regardless, they sound great, similar to the Carvin single-coils Moseley used in the ’50s, with a brighter twang than Filter’trons or typical Mosrites. Pickup expert Tom Brantley, who re-wound one of them, had never seen one.

The wiring scheme is Gretsch-like, with Volume controls for each pickup and a master Volume on the lower cutaway. Instead of the contemporary Gretsch Tone switch, there’s a master Tone knob, which for some reason is wired backward, giving full treble when rolled down. A pickup selector is mounted in the typical location on the upper bout.

The Bigsby tailpiece dates to around 1959, with a Phillips-head screw securing the arm. It’s handle had to be hand-made because the original would have been too short with the bridge positioned so far up the guitar’s face! The angled metal-bar bridge on a wooden base is period Gretsch, not one of Moseley’s Bigsby-like aluminum pieces.

The lacquer finish was originally a deep red sunburst showcasing the flamed maple body to good advantage. The face has faded to a rich amber, giving a subtler effect; the original color is better-preserved on the back and under the tailpiece and pickguard.

The milled metal knobs look like they’re from an old hi-fi set – not standard for Gretsch or Mosrite. Other unique touches include hand-made/oversized milled aluminum strap buttons, a textured gold-metal truss cover, and an unusually large rosewood nut. In an odd mix of high-end and low-rent, the gold-plated Kluson Deluxe tuners are mounted with unplated flat-head screws, which means they may be replacements. Also, it was re-fretted at some point; the current wire, while still fairly small, is larger than the tiny flat frets typically installed by Moseley. Based on the body routs, there may have been a different electronics layout, but these pickups and guard have been in place for most of the guitar’s life.

The original single-cut Country Gent is a rare guitar partly because it was very expensive, listing at $595 (plus case) in ’59. This Semie creation would have been another level, considering the hand-carved/extended-range neck, finish, and brighter pickups.

A true California-hillbilly hotrod guitar with Brooklyn roots, this is a great piece of fretted history – and a flat-out cool instrument. History hasn’t revealed who commissioned it, but a photo on page 96 of Bakersfield Guitars: The Illustrated History, by VG contributor Willie G. Moseley, portrays the instrument being shown to Semie at a 1992 guitar show; he seems to be regarding it thoughtfully! It then spent time in Randy Bachman’s extensive collection of Gretsch guitars, and was sold at auction from the Gretsch company collection in ’21. If you have info about who A.H.V. was, we’d love to hear it!

This article originally appeared in VG’s January 2024 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.