Mosrite Avenger, black sparkle, made in Japan circa 1975. Mosrite ha a storied history. The original mastermind behind the brand was one Semie Moseley, who was hand crafting guitars in California in the 50s and 60s. The company blew up in a huge way when they landed in the hands of surf rock royalty The Ventures, quickly becoming the most sought after boutique guitar in the world. From the mid sixties things got complex, with production moving to Japan, sometimes in a licensed and official capacity, sometimes less so. This one seems to date to the Firstman era, from the early 70s into the mid 80s, and going on the particular combo of hardware and logos I've estimated the birthday to be around 1975. You get a headstock with both the Avenger and The Ventures logos, embossed pickup covers, the second version of the top hat knobs and the 'Moseley' stamped vibrato bridge, which all point the mid 70s, as well as the small dot inlays, zero fret and very slim neck typical of most Ventures style models. It's a comfy player, with a neck that's marginally thicker than some other Ventures we've had through making for a pretty intuitive feel. The pickups are excellent: similar to a P-90, with a fat and immediate low end balanced by an open, expansive treble and plenty of nuance and airiness through the mids. You can dial sludgy doomy dirges on the neck pickup, perfect snappy punk chuggs on the bridge and all manner of things in between; it sounds unreal. The bridge has had the trem arm shortened (not sure why!) and all works, albeit not as reliably as a modern example under heavy handed vibrato use. The finish has a subtle sparkle through it, so I'm guessing it's been refinished at some point and has had a guard cut to match. It looks awesome, the black-on-black with the subtle shimmer and all those classic Dali-eqsue curves make for one hell of a look. These seldom last long on the wall, so if you're looking for you next ad-Ventures... heck, sorry for that one guys.

Model: Mosrite Avenger
Made: Japan, 1975 approx, Firstman factory
Serial: none
Finish: black, gloss poly
Body: solid basswood
Neck: maple, rosewood fretboard, 24.75" scale, 16" radius, 40mm nut, slim C shape
Weight: 4.240kg
Mods: pickguard replaced, trem arm shortened, likely refinished
Pickups: Firstman Original High Power single coil x2
Accessories: new Xtreme gig bag

Cosmetic condition notes: minor finish wear. The headstock has some dimples on the end and edges and some scuffs on the back near the top and front around the posts. The neck is clean and smooth in the hands, minor dimples and some rub wear on the back only. The back has some scuffs on the top horn, middle of the body, elbow area and bottom corner, no major marks. The sides have scuffs in the elbow area and bottom horn and some dimples near the jack. The front has a scratch behind the tailpiece, dimples near the knobs and in the elbow area and some play wear on the guard and horns.
Overall: very good condition (8/10)

Playing condition notes: Action is low, neck is straight, intonation is good, truss rod works. All electronics tested and working properly. Wearing fresh 11/49 strings.
Fret life: 6/10, normal wear including some pitting, but playing evenly with no major buzz issues