The story of Hallmark Guitars, and its namesake Joe Hall, is an interesting, if obscure, tale in the history of the electric guitar.The story begins in Bakersfield, California, in the late 1950's. Semie Moseley of Mosrite guitars had just moved his operations to Bakersfield, after years of struggling in Los Angeles that included stints with Rickenbacker and Bigsby, as well as many years on his own building custom order guitars. Los Angeles hadn't worked out for him, and numerous attempts to turn Mosrite from a custom-order lutherie to a full-scale mass production factory had failed, although he did receive some notoriety from Joe Maphis and Larry Collins (of the Collins Kids) playing his flashy doubleneck guitars on the Town Hall Party television show.The year 1959 found Semie Moseley and his brother Andy working in a tin shed in Oildale, just outside Bakersfield. The guitars that Semie made were different, and original. They weren't copies of Fenders or Gibsons - Mosrite guitars had many unique features including ultra-slim necks, zero frets, high output handmade pickups, custom built aluminum hardware, and body shapes that were a combination of hillbilly flash and the Jetsons.Somehow, Bob tracked down Joe Hall, and learned the true story of the Hallmark legend. Bob secured the rights to use the Hallmark name, and Joe gave his blessing for the reissues.Since last year, the new Hallmark company has emerged as a genuine threat to the modern guitar market. The old saying what goes around comes around holds true, and the once-ridiculed Swept-Wing body shape is now hip again!Bob Shade has made his business plan a dual one, with custom-order Hallmark guitars available made on an individual basis in his Maryland shop; and mass-produced Hallmark SweptWings available for an incredibly reasonable price. They are all great guitars and have received rave reviews from everybody who has tried one! The SweptWings come in both a vintage reissue style, very exact to the original specifications of the legendary Arvin guitars, with vintage Hallmark hardware and Hallmark Hi-Fi pickups to get that Ventures meets Maphis Bakersfield sound. There is also a new custom style, with exciting modern finishes and hardware.A strange saga in the history of the electric guitar, to be sure, but a classic design that can't be denied, and the Hallmark Swept-Wing may have finally found its audience, almost 40 years after the fact!
Visit us on the web at Hallmarkguitars.com
