A museum-class guitar that had been on display for 10 years at the NAM Museum."

MOSSMAN / 1988 Super Custom by Baxendale

Stuart Mossman

Stuart Mossman (1942-1999) was an American master craftsman. He began making guitars in a garage in Winfield, Kansas, in 1961. It is said that 40 to 50 prototypes were made over several years, starting with a nylon-string guitar.
A major turning point came when Mossman met the legendary folk singer Doc Watson. Mossman took his guitar to him and received his strict advice, which he applied to the next guitar he made.
In 1969, he took another guitar to Watson at the Philadelphia Folk Festival, and he was surprised when Watson said, "This is the second best guitar I've ever played.

　

The business has been riding a wave, and legends such as John Denver and Eric Clapton are among the musicians who have used Mossman. The most famous model is "Dan Cleary's" "Great Plane" model, which was made by the famous "Dan Cleary".
His amazing technique and nimble sound were a great hit with listeners.
In 1985, due to health reasons, Mossman sold the brand to Scott Baxendale, a former member of Mossman Guitars.

John "Scott" Baxendale b)
5-28-1954

Scott Baxendale dropped out of the University of Kansas in October 1974 and began working at Mossman Guitars in Winfield, Kansas. Winfield, Kansas, is a music town and home to the "Walnut Valley Festival," known for its national flatpicking championships. When he left the workplace in late 1976, he was a field supervisor in the finishing and final assembly and setup departments of Mossman's guitar factory. He then moved to Kansas City and began working at Swift Music Repair, but left there to work at Gruhn Guitars in Nashville, where he began restoring vintage guitars in 1978. He later described his experience at Gruhn as "amazing," and he has restored guitars for Elvis Costello, George Harrison, and Billy Gibbons, as well as a herringbone D-28 (now owned by Neil Young) on which Hank Williams recorded a hit song. (now owned by Neil Young). He currently operates Baxendale Guitar in Santa Fe, New Mexico. He teaches guitar making and remanufacturing.

Experience at Gruhn Guitars

During Scott Baxendale's time at Gruhn Guitars, he spent much of his time studying the bracing designs of classic guitars such as pre-war Martin, Gibson, and Larson Brothers, and he has developed his own tuned He developed a unique tuned scalloped bracing design. This bracing design has been used on all guitars he has made since then, and is still used onBassand is still used in new custom guitars and in "the new remanufactured vintage guitars" (a large part of Baxendale Guitar's business). a big part of Baxendale Guitar's business.

Scott Baxendale and Mossman Guitars

After leaving Gruhn Guitars in 1983, Baxendale returned to Winfield, Kansas, to work again for Stuart Mossman. Baxendale showed Mossman his new bracing design, and Mossman adopted it for the final set of guitars he built just before his retirement in 1985.
In August 1985, Baxendale, with the help of his family, purchased 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 (1985-1990), he built approximately 250 guitars for Mossman Guitars.
The Mossman brand name was later sold to a Texan named John Kenzie, and the guitar introduced here is one that Baxendale made in 1988 for a man named Danny Davenport.

Advance Guitars was able to contact Scott Baxendale himself and ask him about the history of the guitar and his thoughts on its creation.

Mossman Custom Superlative WB guitar by Scott Baxendale

Shortly after he began building Mossman guitars in Dallas, Texas, Baxendale was commissioned by the Hard Rock Cafe, a famous American restaurant in Japan, to build two 34-foot guitar-shaped bar counters, one for a Stratocaster and the other for a Les Paul. Les Paul. Both were 10 times the actual size, and all hardware such as pickups, knobs, and frets were machined from solid brass.

 

Back in the early 1980s, Danny Davenport, a promotions and A&R man for Warner Bros,
Danny Davenport, a promotions and A&R man for the Warner Brothers, met Travis Tritt in an Atlanta club and produced his first record in his home studio. Danny signed Tritt to a WB contract and commissioned Baxendale to build him a Mossman Custom Superlative WB guitar for use in the music video for "Country Club," which later became Travis Tritt's first number one hit.

Baxendale designed the "Superlative", a thin dreadnought with a cutaway.
The first "Superlative" was built for Carl Perkins and featured a black-finished (lacquered) spruce top with rosewood sides and back.

 

　

This Warner Bros. Custom model is the second "Superlative" that Perkins built in 1988.
This guitar has a spruce top and maple sides and back, but when he was first asked to build this guitar, it was going to be very different from what it actually was. From there, Baxendale and Danny discussed the design and inlay for several months before finally arriving at their ideal design.

 

　

In the mid-1980s, there was a movement in the Texas music scene that was returning to the retro style of the 1950s, along with fashion and music trends. One example of this is the revival of rockabilly and blues.
In the 1950s, Elvis Presley used a Martin D-28 with a leather cover, and Buddy Holly also had a hand-stamped leather cover on his beloved 1943 Gibson J-45. Such guitars were one of the most iconic designs of the era.

Baxendale and his colleagues took inspiration from this and incorporated it into the design of the body top. However, considering 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, we have achieved a retro 1950s style while still allowing the acoustic guitar to sound as it should.

 

The "Bugs Bunny," Warner's iconic character depicted in the design, has been a worldwide favorite for over 80 years, and starred in the 1958 animated short "Knighty Knight Bugs," which won an Academy Award. This instrument features the familiar carrot in one hand for a playful touch. All other engravings, including the rose engraved on the pickguard and headstock, are done by hand.

　

The fingerboard inlay was designed by John McGowan. He is a local Dallas artist who was very interested in helping with the inlay and graphic design of the guitar and was brought on board for this project. It was then cut out and inlaid by Baxendale. This guitar has approximately 1,000 pearl and Avalon inlays. The guitar is a gorgeous and luxurious piece of work. On the other hand, the "hidden" Bugs Bunny can also be seen on the fingerboard, which is very "chic". Not only the splendor, but also the delicacy of the guitar is the reason why it comes to life.

 

 

The thickness of the body is about 65 mm at the neck side, but the bracing design invented by Scott Backsendale is also used on this guitar, which produces a big, rich sound.

 

 

The guitar case is also custom made for this guitar. An old mink coat purchased at a thrift store was reused, and the original lining of the case was replaced with mink fur. The outside of the case is covered with leather, also hand finished.

 

 

The production process took more than 400 hours. The Mossman Custom Superlative WB guitar is a handmade guitar that shows the craftsmanship of the Texas music scene and Warner Bros.

 

 

You can actually see this guitar used in Travis Tritt's "Country Club" music video and in concert.

 

　

Because of its historical value, this guitar was at one time on display at The Museum of Making Music in California. This museum, also known as the NAMM Museum because it is a division of NAMM, is a mecca for musical instruments, so to speak, with over 450 vintage instruments and documents related to the history of American popular music on display. This instrument is truly a gem that goes beyond the realm of guitars.

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. especially thankful for the extraordinary craftsmanship you have demonstrated throughout your career, which has resulted in the creation and Your legacy continues to inspire and enrich the world of luthiery.

-Yosuke Inoue