The following is a letter

"It was my dream, too, you know. I was an investor before the fire, and loaned Stu some seed money to start the new factory. I like to say, as well, that I taught him how to make a 12 string. Sounds unlikely, I know; but, I took his first try at a 12 off his hands (for $210). It was a smaller bodied thing, probably mahogany, a shorter scale, and not a lot of oomph, but it did good service for several years, until it warped. Unfortunately, it was not in my hands when that happened, or I would have taken it back to Stu, and he would have set it straight again. It probably ended in a trash can. Pity. Anyway, I told him in detail, the shortcomings of the axe (there were a few), and together we probed deeply into the build-flaws of the various name-brand 12's. ie: Gibson's tailpiece, which strangled the sound, Martin's stiff upper lip action, Guild's huge sacrifices in fluidity to produce the excellently sturdy and consistent big, loud box it admittedly is; none of them cutting the mustard for us. I told Stu that a 12 string wasn't worth owning unless you could play lead on it. What we needed was a classic acoustic dreadnaught with a big, lush sound that was as easy to play as a Rickenbacker, or a Gibson double-neck. But it had to be a tough enough build to withstand tuning it up to concert. The result of those sessions was the Mossman 12, as we have come to know it. Four of them passed through my hands, not counting the little prototype. I still have the one that Stu made for me after he closed the factory, and it's a killer. A better instrument, really, than the one I'm looking for, but it was a damn good guitar, and had some real heart and soul that transcended any kind of quality you could measure. The only reason I know the new one is "better" is because I remember so well the sound and feel of the original. That says something right there for the guitar: memorable! After 18 years that sound is still ringing in my ears. I know it's going to come back to me. That's just the way it's supposed to be; and I'm not going to give up on it until it's in my hands. The total lack of dots should insure that not many shit guitar players have handled it for very long. It's probably spent most of its life in its case, so it should be in good shape; not that it would matter much if it weren't.
P.S. By the way, a friend of mine picked up an old Mossman, with not only a very early serial number (something like P-for prototype #4, I'm not sure). Anyway, I called Stu about it, and he identified it as the first!!! of the S. L. Mossmans, the one he passed around to Doc Watson and others at that festival, which generated enough sales to get the factory going. The "4" was a fooler number, to make people think he was actually in production, when the truth was, this was the only guitar there was. Stu hadn't expected it to last. Well, it's in pretty good shape. The intonation is precise, the box is straight, with a great patina, a really fine looking thing, and the sound is big enough and rich, earthy. It could use a fret job, and a little work on the action, but the owner won't think of letting anyone's hands on it. He gets around its shortcomings beautifully, occasionally using the buzzes and twangs to his advantage. I could get you more information about the guitar if you're interested. P.P.S. Feel free to publish this letter, or any part of it on the site. I'd be honored."

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