Museum-class rarity:
MOSSMAN 1988 Super Custom by Baxendale

Legendary master craftsman Stuart Mossman

American master craftsman Stuart Mossman (1942-1999) began making guitars in 1961 in a garage in Winfield, Kansas. It is said that he started with nylon-string guitars and created 40 to 50 prototypes over several years.
A major turning point was his encounter with the legendary folk singer Doc Watson. Mossman took his guitar to him, received some tough advice, and used it to improve his next guitar-making projects.
Then, in 1969, at the Philadelphia Folk Festival, he brought another guitar to Watson and succeeded in impressing him, saying, "This is the second best guitar I've ever played."

　

The business has gained momentum, and among the musicians who have used Mossman guitars are legends such as John Denver and Eric Clapton. A famous model is the "Great Plane" model used by master guitarist Dan Cleary.
His incredible technique and lively sound captivated listeners.
In 1985, due to health reasons, Mossman sold the brand to Scott Baxendale, a former member of Mossman Guitars.

The rightful successor: John “Scott” Baxendale

Scott Baxendale dropped out of the University of Kansas in October 1974 and began working at Mossman Guitars in Winfield, Kansas. Winfield, Kansas, is a music-oriented area and home to the Walnut Valley Festival, known for the National Flatpicking Championship. By late 1976, when he left Mossman, he was the site supervisor for the finishing, final assembly, and setup departments at the Mossman guitar factory. He later moved to Kansas City and began working at Swift Music Repair, but after leaving there, in 1978 he began working on vintage guitar restoration at Gruhn Guitars in Nashville. He later described his experience at Gruhn as "fantastic," and worked on guitars for Elvis Costello, George Harrison, Billy Gibbons, and a herringbone D-28 (now owned by Neil Young) that Hank Williams used to record his hit songs. He currently runs Baxendale Guitar in Santa Fe, New Mexico. I am involved in teaching guitar making and remanufacturing.

Experience at Gruhn Guitars

While Scott Baxendale worked at Gruhn Guitars, he spent much of his time studying the bracing designs of classic pre-war Martin, Gibson, and Larson Brothers guitars, and devised his own tuned scalloped bracing design. This bracing design was incorporated into all the guitars he has made since.RecruitThis design is still used today.BassWe've made some slight changes to it and incorporated them into our new custom guitars and "the new remanufactured vintage guitars," which make up a large part of Baxendale Guitars' business.

Scott Baxendale and Mossman Guitars

After leaving Gruhn Guitars in 1983, Baxendale returned to Winfield, Kansas, and began working again under Stuart Mossman. Mossman, having seen Baxendale's new bracing design, incorporated it into the final batch of guitars he made just before his retirement in 1985.RecruitI did.
In August 1985, with the help of his family, Baxendale acquired Mossman Guitars from Stuart Mossman. He moved the guitar factory from Winfield, Kansas to Dallas, Texas, and began making guitars. Over the next five years (1985 to 1990), he produced approximately 250 guitars for Mossman Guitars.
Later, the Mossman brand name was sold to a man named John Kensey in Texas, but the guitar I'm introducing today was made by Baxendale in 1988 for a man named Danny Davenport.

Advance Guitars successfully made contact with Scott Baxendale himself and was able to hear about the history leading up to the creation of his guitars and the thoughts he puts into them.

Masterpiece Mossman Custom Superlative WB guitar

Shortly after starting to make Mossman guitars in Dallas, Texas, Baxendale was commissioned by Hard Rock Cafe, a well-known American restaurant in Japan, to create two 34-foot (approximately 10-meter) guitar-shaped bar counters. One was a Stratocaster, the other a Les Paul. Both were ten times their actual size, and all the hardware, such as pickups, knobs, and frets, was machined from solid brass.

 

Going back in time a bit to the early 1980s, Danny Davenport, who was a promotion and A&R man at Warner Bros.,
Danny met Travis Tritt at a club in Atlanta and produced his first record at his home studio. Danny signed Tritt to WB Records and later commissioned Baxendale to build the Mossman Custom Superlative WB guitar used in the music video for "Country Club," which would become Travis Tritt's first number one hit.

The "Superlative," designed by Baxendale, is a slim dreadnought with a cutaway.
The first "Superlative" was a guitar made for Carl Perkins, featuring a black-finished (lacquered) spruce top with rosewood sides and back.RecruitIt was done.

 

　

And this Warner Bros. custom model is the second "Superlative" he made in 1988.
This guitar features a spruce top and maple sides and back, but when they first received the commission, the plan was for something quite different from the final product. Baxendale and Danny then spent several months discussing the design and inlays, finally arriving at the design they envisioned.

 

　

In the mid-1980s, the Texas music scene saw a movement to return to 1950s retro styles, along with fashion and music trends. One example of this was the revival of rockabilly and blues.
In the 1950s, Elvis Presley favored a Martin D-28 with a leather cover, and Buddy Holly also fitted his beloved 1943 Gibson J-45 with a hand-embossed leather cover. Such guitars were one of the defining designs of that era.

Baxendale and his team drew inspiration from this and incorporated it into the design of the body top. However, considering the possibility that leather could interfere with sound quality, they decided to hand-paint the inside of the top lacquer to avoid this. By not using leather, they were able to achieve a retro 1950s style while allowing the natural resonance of an acoustic guitar to shine through.

 

The iconic Warner Bros. character Bugs Bunny, depicted within the pattern, has been loved worldwide for over 80 years, and his short animated film "Knighty Knight Bugs" (1958) won an Academy Award. On this instrument, he is depicted in his familiar style, holding a carrot in one hand, adding a playful touch. In addition, the roses and other engravings on the pickguard and headstock are all done by hand.

　

The fretboard inlays were designed by John McGowan, a local Dallas artist who was very interested in helping with guitar inlays and graphic design and took part in this project. The cutting and inlay work was then done by Baxendale. This guitar features approximately 1000 pearl and abalone inlays. It is truly magnificent. Meanwhile, a "hidden" Bugs Bunny can be found on the fretboard, which is quite stylish. It is not just the splendor but also such delicate details that breathe life into the guitar.

 

 

The body thickness is approximately 65mm at the neck end, and this guitar also features the bracing design devised by Scott Backsendale.RecruitIt is designed to produce a large and rich sound.

 

 

The guitar case was also custom-made for this guitar. An old mink coat purchased from a vintage clothing store was reused, and the case's original lining was replaced with mink fur. The outside of the case is covered in leather, and this too was finished by hand.

 

 

The creation process took over 400 hours. The Mossman Custom Superlative WB guitar is a handmade guitar that showcases the craftsmanship and passion of the Texas music scene at the time, as well as the vision of Warner Bros.

 

 

You can actually see Travis Tritt using this guitar in the music video for "Country Club" and in his concerts.

 

　

Given its historical value, it was once on display at The Museum of Making Music in California. This museum, also known as the NAMM Museum because it is part of NAMM, is a kind of mecca for musical instruments, exhibiting over 450 vintage instruments and documents related to the history of American popular music. This instrument can truly be described as a masterpiece that transcends the realm of ordinary guitars.

And it also graces the cover of Shinko Music Mook/Acoustic Guitar Book 9.

 

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Scott Baxendale,
I would like to express my deepest gratitude for your generous contribution of information and resources regarding guitar making for this project. I am especially thankful for extraordinary the craftsmanship you have demonstrated throughout your career, which has resulted in the creation and preservation of truly remarkable instruments. Your legacy continues to inspire and enrich the world of luthiery.

-Yosuke Inoue

one thing: "The legend of Kansas, Mossman. This particular instrument, crafted by Scott Baxendale, who carries on the legacy of Stuart Mossman, is a drama in itself, transcending the boundaries of a musical instrument. It's a brand that has followed a remarkable destiny, but the craftsmanship and sound it embodies are undoubtedly authentic. We want you to feel the passionate story behind the scenes of American guitar history."

Author of this article:Advance Guitars Store Manager Inoue - Vintage Guitar Researcher

Having been involved with musical instruments since childhood, he is an expert who has been involved in the appraisal and sale of thousands of vintage guitars. He has strong connections with collectors and dealers overseas. Believing that "the history of a guitar changes with even a single color or stamp," he strives to provide detailed and passionate explanations.

Qualifications and experience: Eight years of experience as a musical instrument appraiser, contributing articles and supervision to Guitar Magazine and other publications.

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