Vintage 1971 Mosrite Celebrity III hollowbody Short Scale Bass 24.5" w/case

Maker: Mosrite

Model: Celebrity III 

Condition: excellent

Description: 

From the collection of former Mosrite employee Artie Niesen. 

Artie Niesen, who worked for both Mosrite and Rosac Amplifiers in the 1970s, started Front Porch Music on the front porch of his home in 1978. He eventually purchased three storefronts on 19th Street in downtown Bakersfield, where he operated Front Porch Music for almost fifty years. The store was a thriving retail center, but also served as a place for Artie to house his very large collection of vintage and rare musical instruments. The “Mosrite Museum” on the wall and the mind-boggling number of unusual and Bakersfield-made guitars strewn about the store were the stuff of legend.

The 1971 Mosrite Celebrity III Bass is an exceptionally rare, short-scale hollowbody electric bass built by Semie Moseley’s iconic brand, Mosrite of California. Produced during a highly turbulent era for the company following its 1969 bankruptcy and prior to its official 1972 relaunch, 1971-era Celebrity models are prized by collectors for their scarce production numbers and unique specifications.

Ultra-Short Scale Length: Unlike the 30.25-inch scale found on Celebrity I and II basses, the Celebrity III bass is famous for its unusually short 24.5-inch scale length. This makes it feel incredibly compact, akin to playing a standard electric guitar neck.

Hollowbody Construction: It features a thin, double-cutaway hollow body with bound F-holes, capturing a distinct look reminiscent of a Gibson 335 style.

Signature Hardware: True to the era, 1971 models were typically equipped with a trapeze tailpiece, a metal bridge cover, "duckfoot" or plastic-button tuners, a metal nut, and dual stamped "Mosrite of California" single-coil pickups.

Because Mosrite collapsed into bankruptcy in the late 1960s, Semie Moseley only produced scattered, small batches of instruments between 1970 and 1971 before stabilizing production between 1972 and 1974. As a result, finding an authentic 1971-stamped Celebrity III bass is a rarity on the vintage market.

This particular example of this Mosrite rarity remains in excellent, all-original condition and seems to have gone mostly un-played despite it's 55 years of age. Also, adding to the rarity of this model, this is actually #001 in the "3CB" serial numbering. A very unique playing experience as these have very thin necks, fully hollow and very compact. Overall an extremely clean example of a rare instrument from Mosrite's storied history.

 Has been fully inspected and set up by our tech and ready for a new home. Includes hard case.