"A museum-quality guitar that was reportedly on display at the Nam Museum for 10 years"

MOSSMAN / 1988 Super Custom by Baxendale

Stuart Mossman

　American master luthier "Stuart Mossman (1942–1999)." His guitar-making career began in 1961 in a garage in Winfield, Kansas. It is said that he built 40 to 50 prototypes over several years, starting with nylon-string guitars.
　A major turning point came when he met the legendary folk singer Doc Watson. Mossman took a guitar to him, received rigorous feedback, and reportedly applied that insight to his next guitar.
Then, in 1969, he brought another guitar to Watson at the Philadelphia Folk Festival and succeeded in impressing him so much that Watson exclaimed, “This is the second-best guitar I’ve ever played.”

　

　His business took off, and the list of musicians who have used Mossman guitars includes legends such as John Denver and Eric Clapton. A famous model is the “Great Plains” model, named after the masterful Dan Clarey.
His astonishing technique and light, airy sound captivated audiences.
　In 1985, partly due to health reasons, Mossman sold the brand to Scott Baxendale, who had previously worked at Mossman Guitars.

John “Scott” Baxendale b)
May 28, 1954

　Scott Baxendale dropped out of the University of Kansas in October 1974 and began working at Mossman Guitars in Winfield, Kansas. Winfield, Kansas, is home to the “Walnut Valley Festival,” known for the National Flatpicking Championship, and is a region with a thriving music scene.By late 1976, when he left the company, he had risen to the position of shop foreman in the finishing, final assembly, and setup department at the Mosman guitar factory. He then moved to Kansas City and began working at Swift Music Repair; after leaving there, he joined Gruhn Guitars in Nashville in 1978, where he worked on restoring vintage guitars.He later described his experience at Gruhn as “wonderful,” having worked on guitars belonging to Elvis Costello, George Harrison, and Billy Gibbons, as well as the herringbone D-28 (now owned by Neil Young) on which Hank Williams recorded his hit songs.He currently runs Baxendale Guitar in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where he is dedicated to teaching guitar building and remanufacturing.

Experience at Gruhn Guitars

　While working at Gruhn Guitars, Scott Baxendale spent a great deal of time studying the bracing designs of pre-war masterpieces by Martin, Gibson, and the Larson Brothers, and devised his own uniquely tuned scalloped bracing design.This bracing design has been used in every guitar he has built since then, and even today, with slight modifications, it is incorporated into new custom guitars and “the new remanufactured vintage guitars,” which constitute a significant portion of the Baxendale Guitar business.

Scott Baxendale and Mossman Guitars

　After leaving Gruhn Guitars in 1983, Baxendale returned to Winfield, Kansas, and began working again under Stuart Mossman. Upon seeing Baxendale’s new bracing design, Mossman incorporated it into the final batch of guitars he built just before his retirement in 1985.
　In August 1985, with the support of his family, Baxendale acquired Mossman Guitars from Stuart Mossman. He moved the guitar workshop from Winfield, Kansas, to Dallas, Texas, and began guitar production. Over the next five years (1985–1990), he crafted approximately 250 Mossman Guitars.
　Later, the Mosman brand name was sold to a man named John Kenzie in Texas, but the guitar featured here is one that Baxendale crafted in 1988 for a man named Danny Davenport.

　Advance Guitars successfully contacted Scott Baxendale himself and was able to hear the story behind the guitar’s creation and the passion he poured into it.

Mossman Custom Superlative WB guitar by Scott Baxendale

　Shortly after he began crafting Mossman guitars in Dallas, Texas, Baxendale was commissioned by the Hard Rock Cafe—an American restaurant chain famous even in Japan—to build two 34-foot (approximately 10-meter) guitar-shaped bar counters.One was a Stratocaster, and the other was a Les Paul. Both were ten times the actual size, and all hardware—including pickups, knobs, and frets—was machined from solid brass.

 

　Going back a bit to the early 1980s, Danny Davenport, a Warner Bros. promotions and A&R executive,
met Travis Tritt at a club in Atlanta and produced his first record at his home studio. Danny signed Tritt to Warner Bros. and later commissioned Baxendale to build the Mossman Custom Superlative WB guitar, which was used in the music video for “Country Club”—a song that would become Travis Tritt’s first number-one hit.

　The “Superlative” designed by Baxendale was a slim-profile dreadnought with a cutaway.
The first “Superlative” was a guitar built for Carl Perkins, featuring a black-finished (lacquer) spruce top with rosewood sides and back.

 

　

　This Warner Bros. custom model is the second “Superlative” he built in 1988.
Although this guitar combines a spruce top with maple sides and back, it is said that when the commission was first received, the plan was for it to be quite different from the final product. From there, Baxendale and Danny spent several months discussing the design and inlays, eventually arriving at the design they envisioned for this guitar.

 

　

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

　Drawing inspiration from this, the team at Buxendale incorporated this aesthetic into the design of the guitar’s top. However, considering the possibility that leather might interfere with the sound quality, they decided to hand-paint the design beneath the top lacquer to avoid this issue. By not using leather, they have achieved the retro style of the 1950s while preserving the natural resonance of an acoustic guitar.

 

　"Bugs Bunny," Warner Bros.' iconic character depicted within the pattern, has been loved around the world for over 80 years, and the short animated film in which he starred, "Knighty Knight Bugs" (1958), won an Academy Award. On this instrument, he is depicted in his familiar pose holding a carrot in one hand, adding a touch of whimsy.In addition, all of the engravings—including the rose on the pickguard and headstock—are meticulously hand-carved.

　

　The fingerboard inlays were designed by John McGowan. A local artist from Dallas, he joined this project because he was deeply interested in assisting with guitar inlays and graphic design. The cutting and inlay work was then performed by Buxendale. This guitar features approximately 1,000 pearl and abalone inlays.This is the very definition of opulence. Meanwhile, a “hidden” Bugs Bunny can be spotted on the fingerboard, adding a touch of “chic.” It is not just the grandeur but also this kind of delicacy that breathes life into the guitar.

 

 

The body thickness is approximately 65 mm at the neck, and the bracing design devised by Scott Buxendale has been adopted in this guitar as well, producing a rich, full-bodied sound.

 

 

The guitar case was also custom-made specifically for this instrument. An old mink coat purchased from a thrift store was repurposed, and the case’s original lining was replaced with mink fur. The exterior of the case is covered in leather and has also been finished by hand.

 

 

It took over 400 hours to complete. The Mossman Custom Superlative WB guitar is a handmade instrument that shines with craftsmanship in every detail, embodying the spirit of the Texas music scene of that era and the vision of Warner Bros.

 

 

You can actually see this guitar being used in Travis Tritt’s “Country Club” music video and at his concerts.

 

　

　Given its historical significance, it was once on display at The Museum of Making Music in California. As this museum is a division of NAMM, it is also known as the NAMM Museum; it is a veritable mecca for musical instruments, housing over 450 vintage instruments and artifacts related to the history of American popular music. This instrument can truly be described as a masterpiece that transcends the realm of the guitar.

　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 the extraordinary 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

Author: Inoue (Manager, Advance Guitars)

He was in charge of electric and acoustic guitars at TCGAKKI. He then joined the launch of Advance Guitars, a specialty store for acoustic guitars, in 2023. As store manager, he has experience dealing with collectors and musicians both domestically and internationally. He was instrumental in the publication of the world’s first SJ reference book, “GIBSON KING OF THE FLAT-TOPS.” He also writes numerous columns.

A Few Words: “ The legend of Kansas, Mosman. Crafted by Scott Baxendale, who carries on the legacy of Stuart Mosman, this instrument is a drama in itself, transcending the boundaries of a mere musical instrument. Though the brand has followed a tumultuous path, the craftsmanship and sound embedded within are undeniably authentic. I hope you can feel the passionate story hidden behind the history of American guitars.”

Qualifications & Experience: 8 years as a musical instrument appraiser; contributor and consultant for Acoustic Guitar Magazine and other publications

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