The Mosrite Acoustic Black Widow

The Mosrite-made Black Widows were very few in number, probably less than 200. While from a distance they could be mistaken for a Japanese Black Widow, there are several fundamental differences in the 2 models. The table below illustrates those differences. Also, if you are familiar with Mosrite guitars you can recognize the Mosrite hardware instantly.

Critical differences of the Black Widow versions

Item	Japanese	Mosrite
Neck Mounting	3-bolt with 2 on back, 1 in front of bridge	4-bolt in back
Pickups	Black and chrome with 6 polepieces	Black and chrome with 12 polepieces
Bridge	2 stud mount, similar in appearance to strat bridge	Standard Mosrite adjustable bridge
Binding	Triple-ply on body and headstock, single-ply on back of body, none on neck	Single-ply on neck, body, and headstock
Serial Number	Stamped on plate on back, may also be imprinted on fretboard	Imprinted on fretboard below 24th fret
Nut	Zero Fret w/ drilled metal bar for spacing	Zero fret w/ standard Mosrite metal nut
Click on descriptions for pics

Note that these are not written in stone. There have been instances of mixed features such as a 3-bolt neck and Mosrite nut or imprinted serial numbers on Japanese fretboards. Probably the most definitive way to determine origin is by the neck joint. Japanese and Bartell instruments should all have the 3-bolt neck attachment (2 in back and 1 in front below the bridge pickup). The Mosrite models will have a 4 bolt attachment on the back.