Author Topic: Desert Surfer's Ventures guitars  (Read 4164 times)

Offline DesertSurfer

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Desert Surfer's Ventures guitars
« on: June 05, 2013, 10:18:14 am »
Atsushi Nakamura's "The Pink Mosrite" posting has inspired me that I would like to share my experience of collecting Ventures and Nokie Edwards guitars.  I am so pleased to meet with fan thousands miles away.  It is a small world after all.

Although I have been living in the US for 38 years, English is not my mother's language, I do not speak nor write English as perfect as you guys. Especially now all my children have grown up and left home, and I have retired from business, I have less chance practicing my English on daily basis.

Anyway, I will try my best to share my experiences and the joys of collecting these guitars in the next few months.  Hope you guys will find them interesting and informative.  And I hope my posting will help to attract more viewers (especially Ventures fans from other countries) to this forum.   

Hope you guys will find my posting interesting and informative and I hope they will help to attract more viewers (especially Ventures fans from other countries) to this forum.   

All the Ventures fans please chime in and share your thoughts and experiences for the band we all love.

Thanks for viewing.

 :)
« Last Edit: June 10, 2013, 07:16:22 am by DesertSurfer »
"Do I surf? I can't even swim!" ....Nokie Edwards
I can't either, so it's safer to surf in desert..

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Offline DesertSurfer

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Re: Desert Surfer's Ventures guitars
« Reply #1 on: June 05, 2013, 10:36:05 am »
Guitar collection of an old timer

My wife bought me a copy of Picasso's famous painting; "The old man with a guitar" for my birthday 10 years ago. Every time I look at this painting, I always wonder whether the old man was tired, or whether he was simply indulged with his guitar playing?



I love oldies music and vintage guitars. Maybe because I'm an old timer myself. I started collecting guitars about 20 some years ago; and every time I hold one of my beloved guitars in my hands, I feel the same enjoyment. Perhaps like that old man in the picture. As for "the double face" in the picture, maybe this could be the old man's wife yelling: "Hum? another new guitar?...."

I love Surf music, especially the 60's instrumentals by a group called The Ventures. The Ventures were inducted into the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame in December 2007 (the formal ceremony will be held in New York in March 2008).





The sound of the surf guitar is different and unique - you either love it or hate it. I just love it! I used to play Ventures surf hits when I was in my teens and still love to play them 40 years later. As you will see from my collection, many of my guitars are the same models used by the Ventures (Fender Jazzmaster, Mosrites, etc.).



One of my biggest guitar heroes is Nokie Edwards (the lead guitarist of The Ventures in the 60's). In 2006, Nokie was ranked 29th best guitarist in the world by Playboy Magazine. Congratulations, Nokie! I am very honored to know him in person, and am also fortunate to have collected a number of his personal guitars.



The red guitar Nokie played in this photo was the HitchHiker Prototype I got from him personally. Nokie used this guitar for local concerts sometimes. HitchHiker guitars are designed and marketed by Nokie.  I will talk a little more later about all my HitchHiker guitar collection (Electric, Acoustic and Classical)

Talk soon.

 :)
"Do I surf? I can't even swim!" ....Nokie Edwards
I can't either, so it's safer to surf in desert..

Offline tabalt11

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Re: Desert Surfer's Ventures guitars
« Reply #2 on: June 05, 2013, 10:40:16 am »
Desert Surfer- The PHOTOS really add to
the surrounding text.  Keep up the good work!

Offline DesertSurfer

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Re: Desert Surfer's Ventures guitars
« Reply #3 on: June 05, 2013, 12:32:45 pm »
Thanks, Tom for the good words.

"Pictures worth thousand words..."

Vincent

 :)
"Do I surf? I can't even swim!" ....Nokie Edwards
I can't either, so it's safer to surf in desert..

Offline Atsushi Nakamura

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Re: Desert Surfer's Ventures guitars
« Reply #4 on: June 05, 2013, 01:15:26 pm »
Atsushi Nakamura's "The Pink Mosrite" posting has inspired me that I would like to share my experience of collecting Ventures and Nokie Edwards guitars.  I am so pleased to meet with fan thousands miles away.  It is a small world after all.

Hope you guys will find them interesting and informative and I hope my posting will help to attract more viewers (especially Ventures fans from other countries) to this forum.   

All the Ventures fans please chime in and share your thoughts and experiences for the band we all love.

 :)

I love Nokie :)


Offline DesertSurfer

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Re: Desert Surfer's Ventures guitars
« Reply #5 on: June 05, 2013, 02:01:51 pm »
Thanks for reply. Nakamura San.

We all love Nokie! 

In the next few posts, I will share with forum friends here 15 Nokie's personal guitars that I have been collecting in the last few years.

Hope you will enjoy them.

 :)
« Last Edit: June 09, 2013, 09:11:46 am by DesertSurfer »
"Do I surf? I can't even swim!" ....Nokie Edwards
I can't either, so it's safer to surf in desert..

Offline DesertSurfer

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Re: Desert Surfer's Ventures guitars
« Reply #6 on: June 05, 2013, 02:07:28 pm »
[I am not an expert nor pretend to be one.  I just used information I gathered from internet or books when I collect these guitars]

Guitar models used by The Ventures

First of all, here is a brief history everyone is familiar with....

The Ventures was founded by Don Wilson and Bog Bogle in the late 1950's.  In their early years, The Ventures used Fender Stratocasters, Fender Jazzmasters and Fender Precision bass then switched to Mosrite guitars / bass in early 60's. They switched back to Fenders in 1966 after stopped endorsement of Mosrite. The lead guitarist; Nokie has used many types of guitars from Jazzmaster, Mosrite, Telecaster, Tony Hunt, Gibson etc. and finally his own brand HitchHiker.

(Stratocaster, Jazzmaster, Precision Bass)


(Jazzmaster)


During the 1960s, a California guitar manufacturer, Mosrite developed and marketed an uniquely styled futuristic-looking electric guitar.  The Ventures band utilized  "The Ventures Model Mosrite".  on Ventures in Space (1963), one of their most influential albums because of the unique guitar sounds.





Although The Ventures had stopped endorsing Mosrite guitars just a few years after, The Mosrite guitars have been extremely popular in Japan.



In the mid 1990s (1996), Fender issued a limited edition Ventures signature series of guitars consisting of a Jazzmaster, a Stratocaster, and a Jazz Bass, all with specifications determined by the band. Fender also released a Nokie Edwards Signature Telecaster in the same year.  All these guitars / bass were made and marketed in Japan.

Trio of 1996 Fender Ventures Tribute


1996 Fender Nokie Edwards Telecaster


Aria Guitars in Japan and Wilson Brothers Guitars have subsequently issued Ventures signature model instruments.

(Aria / Wilson Brothers Ventures Models)


Wilson Brothers Guitars have been marketing a few Mosrite inspired Ventures model (most of them are made in Korea & China):


Nokie Edwards also designed and have been marketing his own "HitchHiker" guitars


I will share with everyone how the above history have influenced my guitar collecting.

To be continued...

 :)
« Last Edit: June 07, 2013, 10:23:05 am by DesertSurfer »
"Do I surf? I can't even swim!" ....Nokie Edwards
I can't either, so it's safer to surf in desert..

Offline mosriteer

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Re: Desert Surfer's Ventures guitars
« Reply #7 on: June 05, 2013, 07:36:13 pm »
Great start, Vincent.  Looking forward to your following posts.  I actually have Nokie's own Tele (Nokie model Tele, that is), complete with an airline tag that came with the case - with Nokie's name on the tag.
Folks actually windsurf in the desert -on wheeled boards!
-Kanad

Offline DesertSurfer

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Re: Desert Surfer's Ventures guitars
« Reply #8 on: June 05, 2013, 10:34:19 pm »
Thanks, Kanad.  Glad to meet another Nokie guitars collector.

I will be showing and talking about Nokie's Signature Telecaster probably in the next few weeks,  please join in and show us your Nokie Telecaster.  I would very much like to see the photos and learn all the spec info. 

 :)
« Last Edit: June 10, 2013, 11:06:29 am by tabalt11 »
"Do I surf? I can't even swim!" ....Nokie Edwards
I can't either, so it's safer to surf in desert..

Offline DesertSurfer

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Re: Desert Surfer's Ventures guitars
« Reply #9 on: June 06, 2013, 08:13:31 am »
Ventures Fender Stratocaster

Almost every guitar player has a Stratocaster, many started with it as their first guitar.  Don Wilson played a few (both maple & rosewood fret, in sunburst body) when he and Bob Bogle started The Ventures in late '50.

Rosewood fretboard


Maple fretboard


So I got myself a Fender 50th anniversary Strat and a Fender 57 Vintage reissue.  I found that I really prefer maple fretboard to rosewood.  The Strats I bough later all come with maple fretboard.





I even got myself a vintage 1976 Fender Strat but did not care for the feel and tone.  Had also tried a few vintage 60's Strats. The ones I tried did not impress me much and I couldn't afford them anyway.



Sold all three of them eventually and upgraded to a Fender Custom Shop Strat



I was happy with the CS Strat until I saw a Custom Strat made by a boutique shop maker; Don Grosh in Bloomfield, CO.  I love the feel of it's specially treated neck (beautiful 1 pc 5A Birdseye neck too!) and the Fralin S/S/S pickups. This Strat will stay with me for a while.



In addition to The Ventures instrumentals, my band also play the tunes by The Shadows, so I bough an used Fender Hank Marvin Signature Strat from another guitar player. It was made in Japan but sounds and plays better than my previous American Strats.  I love that odd "Fiesta Red" color and the upgraded Kinman pickups.  This is my work horse and I take it to practice, jam, gig everywhere.  Many of my fellow players think that the only guitar I have.





The other lead guitarist of The Ventures; Gerry McGee loves to play Strats with Lace Sensor Pickups.  In addition to the Jazzmaster, Jazz bass, Fender also designed together with Gerry and issued a Tribute Strat in 1996.  In 2008 Gerry worked with Combat; a Japanese guitar maker to produce his own Gerry McGee Signature Telecaster. It is probably marketed in Japan only as I have not seen them in the US.  I was lucky to get one.  It looks and plays more like a Strat than a Telecaster .  We will talk about that guitar later.

Gerry with 1996 Ventures Tribute Strat


Gerry with his Combat Signature Telecaster


That's my story on Ventures Strat.  I will wait for a few days for viewers to chime in.... then move on to Jazzmaster.

 :)
« Last Edit: June 07, 2013, 10:29:28 am by DesertSurfer »
"Do I surf? I can't even swim!" ....Nokie Edwards
I can't either, so it's safer to surf in desert..

Offline DesertSurfer

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Re: Desert Surfer's Ventures guitars
« Reply #10 on: June 08, 2013, 09:17:43 am »
Gerry McGee Signature Telecaster made by Combat in Japan.

In 2008 Gerry worked with Combat; a Tokyo based guitar / bass maker to produce his own Gerry McGee Signature Telecaster. It is probably marketed in Japan only as I have not seen them in the US.  I think there were only 50 made in 2008.  It popped up at eBay once in awhile, here is one on eBay for sales now (this one was made in 2010).  A little pricey.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Combat-Gerry-McGee-Signature-/270816853535

Here are some discussion on Underground fire 2 forum: 

http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/undergroundfire2/message/23721

Gerry with his Combat Signature Telecaster


I was lucky to get one. (The seller told me it was Gerry's personal guitar, probably true but not documented)  It looks and plays more like a Strat than a Telecaster.  The quality is high and easy to play.  Because I am not used to Lace Sensor pickups, I rarely played it.  It is a good collectible item.

Why named a guitar / bass factory "Combat"?  "Combat" was one of the most popular TV series in Japan and other Asian countries, Sergeant Saunders was one of the biggest TV star there.  I watched that TV series every week when I was in high school years.  I was very sad when Vic Morrow who played Sergeant Saunders was killed by accident during outdoors filming.  :(



Here is the specs:

Body: Solid 1P Ash
Neck,Finger Board Maple on Maple Finger Board.
Scale: 24 3/4, 22 Fret
Machine Head(peg) Gotoh Pgs
Pickups: Fender "Lace Sensor" x3
Controls: 1V.,2T.,5way
Color: 2 tone sunburst (All lacquer paint)
Weight: 3250g
Case: Hard case

Here are some photos of my Combat:











Here is factory info:

Combat Guitars (Tokyo, Japan)
http://www.combat-guitars.com/english/top.html



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zdChNsVkJs&feature=player_embedded

Please ignore my poor playing, I recorded it long time ago. My band said the intro part was not played right.  Don't laugh, just listen to the tone of this guitar.  It plays and sounds pretty good to me.



 :)
« Last Edit: June 10, 2013, 08:37:53 am by DesertSurfer »
"Do I surf? I can't even swim!" ....Nokie Edwards
I can't either, so it's safer to surf in desert..

Offline wstagner

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Re: Desert Surfer's Ventures guitars
« Reply #11 on: June 08, 2013, 06:10:54 pm »
Very kewl info...i neva new all this. ;D

Offline DesertSurfer

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Re: Desert Surfer's Ventures guitars
« Reply #12 on: June 09, 2013, 08:03:17 am »
A side story of "Combat"



Sargent Sounders (played by Vic Morrow) in TV Series "Combat" was one of the biggest war heroes for many kids in the 60's.  Even 50 years later, I can vividly remember what he looked like in that TV series .  Vic Morrow, unfortunately was killed during a outdoor filming tragedy in 80's.   

About 5 years ago, I went into a local music store for guitar hunting.  A young man greeted me and asked politely if I needed any help.  I looked at him and was shocked!  He looks exactly like Sargent Sounders, my TV war hero!!



He was Mike R; the guitar manager of that store.  We became very good friends later on.  We chatted about our first meeting, I told him that I thought I saw the ghost of Vic Morrow.  Mike smiled and told me some old folk had asked him the same thing...

Mike is the Singer / Bassist of a popular guitar band; Alaya Conscious in Chicago.  They were recently signed with Sony Records.  Congratulations, Vic!  No, Sorry, Mike.



 :) 
"Do I surf? I can't even swim!" ....Nokie Edwards
I can't either, so it's safer to surf in desert..

Offline wstagner

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Re: Desert Surfer's Ventures guitars
« Reply #13 on: June 09, 2013, 09:17:23 am »
The worst part of Vic Morrow's death was the movie he was working on was worthless and there was never an investigation of what happened....at least not a public one.

I liked the guy!

Offline DesertSurfer

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Re: Desert Surfer's Ventures guitars
« Reply #14 on: June 09, 2013, 10:34:37 am »
Before he became a big TV star, Vic Morrow played a small role in Glen Ford's "Blackboard Jungle" as a worthless school rascal.  It is one of my favorite movies especially after my daughter became a JR High school teacher in Baltimore Urban area. (She teaches 7th & 8th grade)  One of my favorite stars; young Sidney Poitier was in that movies.  I am sure Poitier's later hit; "To Sir With Love" was strongly influenced by this movies.



Look closely at 2:40, you can see a glimpse of young Vic Morrow.  He looked exactly like my friend Mike.

 :)
"Do I surf? I can't even swim!" ....Nokie Edwards
I can't either, so it's safer to surf in desert..