SURFRITE

Al Hartel created the Surfrite "surfboard" prototype guitars for Mosrite in early 1967, but were built outside the plant in Hartel's garage. There are at least five identified prototypes (two basses, two guitars, and one twelve-string), but it is possible that others exist. The rounded body design featured two outside arms that run parallel to the neck and join back behind/part of the headstock. The band Strawberry Alarm Clock took a few guitars on tour to Japan in the late 1960s, and later on, one appeared in the Smithsonian museum. Hartel never put these guitars into production because many rock groups were choosing hollowbodied electrics over solidbodied guitars at the time. Sources: Teisco Del Rey, Guitar Player Magazine, December 1991, and Donna Albrecht, 2007.