1976 S.L. Mossman Flint Hills Natural

No sales tax for customers outside of California

This 1976 Mossman Flint Hills dreadnought just arrived, and it is heading off to the Mesquite Guitar Show in the Dallas, Texas area.  The show is on October 19th and 20th, but our truck departs the area on the evening of the 10th.  If by some chance you see this listing and want to grab it before the show, we can absolutely ship it out before I leave for the show myself next week.

Otherwise, orders  placed after 2 pm, California time on 10/10/24 will be shipped from Dallas or after the show when the guitars return to the shop.

This is a gorgeous piece that has seen very little use.  I'm not sure how someone could own such a fantastic sounding guitar for as long as the single owner did without playing it more!  The top is sweet, and look at the cool figuring in the rosewood on the back.

The guitar has a big voice with bright punch.  It has some Gibson and some Martin qualities to the voice - a killer strummer or bluegrass picking machine.

It is all original with no changes, cracks, repairs, overspray, etc.  The frets show little wear.  

One interesting feature of Mossman guitars is the truss rod adjustment nut.  It is easily visible when you look inside the guitar with a mirror, but accessibility is tough.  Plus, it requires a proprietary or customized tool.  It looks like your standard Gibson truss rod wrench would grab the nut, but the Gibson truss nut is smaller, and a top brace is too close to the nut to get there anyway.  So, we haven't been able to check the truss rod.  The neck could use just a slight bit less neck relief.  It does play very well, despite this.  I'll find a wrench or  make one if it sticks around a while.  I feel like it might not.

Comes with a somewhat recent Martin hardshell case.

Some history:
Stuart Mossman was one the country’s top luthiers in the 1970s and 80s– working in the tradition of the great American Dreadnought. According to an article in Vintage Guitar magazine: Stuart Mossman “…. began making guitars in 1965 and through his early efforts concentrated on experimenting with bracing of the tops. He spent four years building 40 or 50 prototypes in his garage at home. By the end of the decade, sensing a niche in the market for high quality handmade acoustics, he had incorporated S. L. Mossman Guitars in Winfield, Kansas and moved into facilities at Strother’s Field outside of town.

Mossman had noticed what was happening with major acoustic guitar manufacturers at the time. The folk music boom had pushed demand for acoustic instruments to an all-time high and while Gibson, Martin and Guild were increasing production, imports from the Pacific rim countries were beginning to exploit the lower end of the market. Mossman was concerned with what he saw as an erosion in materials, design, and craftsmanship in the construction of the traditional flattop acoustic guitar, particularly among the larger manufacturers as they rushed to meet the strong demand. Using only top-quality woods, a proprietary bracing structure, and old-world building techniques, Mossman guitars entered series production in 1970. ‘We were the first of the small manufacturers to make it as a larger company’, Stuart Mossman recalls…

The original 70’s Mossman dreadnoughts are very well built, with attention to detail, and craftsmanship unsurpassed in this period. One of the hallmarks of the Mossman guitar is that each instruments has a paper label inside, with the serial number (that included the year date) and model. And the label was always signed or initialed by the craftsmen building that guitar

Color: Natural
Weight: 4lbs 13.5ozs
Top: Spruce
Body: Indian Rosewood
Neck: Mahogany
Neck Profile: See picture
Fretboard: Ebony
Inlays: Mother of pearl dots
Frets: Original
Fret count: 20
Nut: Original
Nut width: 1 3/4"
Scale: 25.5"
Neck thickness at 1st Fret: 0.86"
Neck thickness at 10th Fret: 0.99"
Action 1st String at 12th Fret: 1/8"
Action 6th String at 12th Fret: 1/8"
Total length: 40 3/4"
Body length: 19 3/4"
Lower bout: 15 15/16"
Waist: 10 3/4"
Upper bout: 11 1/2"
Body depth/thickness: 4 5/8"
String gauge: .012-.054"
Electronics?: No
Pickguard: Original
Bridge: Original ebony
Tuners: Original
Case: HSC
Notes: 

Shipping policy:
There are two shipping cost options for purchases made on our site for these states and those to the east of them: Montana, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas.  Select Standard shipping at checkout and your item will be shipped via UPS three-day-air.  Select Economy shipping and your item will ship via UPS ground.  For Reverb purchases, there is one cost option for these Eastern states and shipment will be made by UPS three-day-air.  Shipments will require signature on delivery, no exceptions.  If there is damage, the buyer must retain all packing materials intact and picture them immediately and send them to sales@maharsvintageguitars.com.  Less than 1% of our shipments are damaged in transit, and we are committed to making sure your item arrives safely, but we are taking these additional measures to make sure you are happy with your purchase.