GRUGGETT GUITARS

Luthier Bill Gruggett originally worked at the Mosrite plant for Semie Moseley beginning in 1962. Gruggett worked his way up to a management position at Mosrite, but when he returned from a vacation in 1966, he found that he had been replaced. Gruggett then went to work for another ex-Mosrite employee named Joe Hall, who produced a limited amount of Hallmark "Sweptwing" guitars.
In 1967, Gruggett started his own Gruggett Guitars. He built the first forty models of the "Stradette" guitar in his garage, and then moved to a factory in downtown Bakersfield and hired four employees. Between 1967 and 1968, the company started around 300 guitars but only finished 120 of them.
During that same year, Gruggett built thirty-five ES-335-style guitars for Ed Pregor of Hollywood (which carried Pregor's Epcore label). From 1969 to 1974, Gruggett ran the family's pipe and cable business. Two years later, when Semie Moseley returned to Bakersfield to reopen Mosrite, he called on Gruggett to manage the plant. Unfortunately, Semie's venture ran out of operating capital four months later - and Gruggett was back to building his own models again.
Bill Gruggett built a variety of designs from traditional solid body to handcarved custom guitars. Gruggett passed away in October, 2012. Source: Peter Jacobson, Jacobson's Service, and Hal Hammer.