1965 Ventures Double-Neck - Six and Twelve Strings…

1965 Mosrite The Ventures Mark 1 Double-Neck 6/12 String.

This 1965 custom-built double-neck (conventional six-string neck in the lower position combined with a twelve-string neck in the upper position) weighs 11.70 lbs. The regular six-string neck has a nut width of just over 1 9/16 inches, a very fast thin profile and a scale length of 24 3/4 inches; the twelve-string neck has a nut width of just over 1 5/8 inches, a very fast thin profile and a scale length of 24 3/4 inches. Two-piece maple body with scalloped edge (14 /1/2 inches wide and just under 1 3/4 inches deep). Two one-piece maple necks, both with single bound slab-rosewood fretboards, both secured by four screws. The conventional guitar has a zero fret + 22 original medium 'speed' frets, small inlaid single, double & triple white dot position markers and a white headstock decal "M MOSRITE / of California  The / Ventures Model". The twelve-string guitar has a zero fret + 22 original medium 'speed' frets and small inlaid single, double & triple white dot position markers and a white headstock decal "M MOSRITE / of California". Both necks with unique, black-faced Mosrite 'M' shaped headstocks, individual Kluson Deluxe 'double-line' tuners with oval metal buttons with "D-169400 / Patent No." stamped on the underside. Each headstock with a conical shaped single-layer black plastic truss-rod cover, both secured by two screws. Each fretboard has the serial number "2J 309" stamped into the twenty-second fret. The six-string guitar with two Mosrite single coil pickups with black plastic covers with "Mosrite of California" embossed on the lower edge and outputs of 4.58k and 4.28k, and  the twelve-string guitar also with two Mosrite single coil pickup with black plastic cover with "Mosrite of California" embossed on the lower edge with outputs of 10.90k and 10.56k. Black plastic pickup rings. Thee-layer cream over black and cream plastic pickguard with bevelled edges secured by seven screws. Two controls (one volume and one tone) plus a three-way pickup selector switch for the six-string neck and a three-way neck selector switch (all mounted on the pickguard together with the jack input). Two specially shaped covers in matching pickguard material between the two necks, each secured by two screws and a third specially shaped cover, also secured by two screws, on the bass horn with a three-way pickup selector switch for the twelve-string neck. The two Centralab potentiometers are stamped "134 6514" (Centralab, April 1965). Mosrite 'hat type' metal control knobs with "M" stamped on top, numbered from 1 to 5 with V and T (Volume & Tone). The six-string guitar with Mosrite bridge with six individually adjustable saddles and chrome-plated die-cast Mosely type vibrato tailpiece unit. The twelve-string guitar with Mosrite bridge (also with six individually adjustable saddles) and a rosewood and aluminium stop tailpiece secured by three screws. This amazing instrument is mint (9.50) condition. The three-tone sunburst finish is rich and unfaded and the both guitars play and sound quite wonderful… Housed in its original three-latch black hardshell case with black leather ends and red plush lining (9.25).

Six-String Guitar Neck measurements:
           1st fret    3rd fret    5th fret    7th fret    9th fret    12th fret    15th fret    21st fret
Width:  1.58        1.63        1.70         1.76        1.82         1.90          1.97        2.07
Profile: 0.81        0.79        0.82         0.81        0.81         0.80         0.88

Twelve-String Guitar Neck measurements:
           1st fret    3rd fret    5th fret    7th fret    9th fret    12th fret    15th fret    21st fret
Width:  1.65        1.69        1.75         1.80        1.84         1.89          1.96         2.06
Profile: 0.84        0.80        0.81         0.81        0.81         0.81          0.83

With over 110 million copies sold worldwide of well over 100 studio, live, compilation and box set album releases, The Ventures, founded in 1958 as The Versatones by Don Wilson and Bob Bogle, remain unsurpassed for their impact on music and musicians.

“The Ventures – the quintessential guitar combo of the pre-Beatles era -influenced not only styles, but also a generation’s choice of instruments” (Guitar Player, Jan. 1987).

Over thirty star guitarists have named The Ventures as an early influence. The list includes George Harrison, Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, Rory Gallagher, Joe Walsh, Stephen Stills, Jeff “Skunk” Baxter, Peter Frampton, Stevie Ray Vaughn, John Fogarty, Mark Knopfler, Roy Buchanan, Ted Nugent, Gene Simmons, Joe Perry, Tom Hamilton, Steve Howe, and even Elton John; they’ve all testified to the importance of Walk Don’t Run, amongst other Ventures hits, to their early musical education.

Walk Don’t Run, a rearrangement of Chet Atkins’ version of jazz guitar great Johnny Smith’s composition, was their first hit. They rerecorded it again in 1964, and it became a hit once more. The group remains the only act to win Top Ten spots for two different versions of the same song. After a few personnel changes in the very early 1960s, the classic lineup of Don Wilson on rhythm guitar, Nokie Edwards on lead guitar, Bob Bogle on bass, and Mel Taylor on drums was established. The guitarists would often switch roles.

Over the last forty-eight years, through various musical trends and changes in taste, the band has played non-stop and thirty-eight of the Ventures albums made it onto Billboard's Top 200