Stephen Mosher is a designer, innovator, and musician who consistently leads the music industry with high-tech products and instruments that feature a warm tone with full and rich harmonic content. As president of Moses Carbon Graphite, Steve Mosher produced his first carbon graphite neck for his own electric instrument, a ’64 Fender Precision bass. His motivation was to design and build an electric instrument having sound qualities pleasing to his ear. In 1980, Steve showed his first handmade fretless teardrop bass to a young bassist, Brian Bromberg, when they met at the Blue Parrot nightclub in La Jolla, California. The response was positive and Steve has been building, showing and sharing his musical inventions ever since.
After continuing to develop composite necks during the 1980’s, Steve received a U.S. patent for his invention covering construction of carbon graphite necks. Moses, Inc. was incorporated in 1989. That year, Moses Graphite exhibited at their first National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) trade show, an international showcase for the music industry held in Anaheim, California. Moses has consistently exhibited at NAMM shows since that time, along with periodic attendance and exhibition at other regional and international shows, such as GAL, Marylhurst, ASIA, and Musik Messe in Frankfurt, Germany.
In the years since the founding of Moses, Inc., Steve has designed, built, and sold numerous carbon graphite musical instruments and component parts to musicians around the world. His products include custom and standard necks for electric guitars, basses, banjos, violins, and mandolins. Moses, Inc. produces unique instruments that have won national attention and acclaim. His KP series electric upright bass is in the permanent collection of the Experience Music Project (EMP) in Seattle, Washington. The EMP curators state that these basses “represent the cutting edge in creative thinking.” Moses, Inc. innovations have become industry standards, used by Gibson Guitar and others. His work has been exhibited at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and the National Music Museum.
Based on his extensive knowledge of materials and design, in 2010 Steve launched Sound Composites, a new business devoted to using carbon composite materials to advance the acoustic properties of classical instruments. The Company has produced bridges, tailpieces, shoulder rests, violin bodies, fingerboards and many other parts. These new product developments are sparking innovative production methods for his company. The methods are suitable for a broad range of industrial applications while continuing to provide astonishingly high-quality sound in musical instruments. To continue his pursuit of excellence in sound, Steve has a new style of acoustic instrument pick up currently in the prototyping and product testing phase.
Through 2010, under Steve’s leadership, Moses has produced parts for many famous musicians, as well as leading music industry companies. These include Gibson, Steinberger, Fodera Basses, Zon Basses, Rainsong Guitars, Chrysalis Guitars, Soloette Travel Guitar, Palm Guitar, Goldtone Banjo, Ned Steinberger Design, Stick Enterprises, Breedlove Guitar, Tacoma Guitar, Steven Grimes Guitars, Alvarez/Yairi Guitars, Lemur Music, Spyro Gyra bassist/builder Scott Ambush and numerous mid-size and individual luthiers. Steve has also been a contractor and consultant for Fender Musical Instruments, Yamaha, and Story and Clark pianos.
Originally growing up in the sun and surf of Southern California, Steve studied architecture at Arizona State University and landscape architecture at the University of Oregon. He received his bachelor’s in landscape architecture from the UO in 1974. While owning a full service landscape design and construction firm from 1976 to 2000 and Moses, Inc. from 1989 through the present, Steve has continued to play music. Steve has played with such notables as Curtis Salgado, Robert Cray and jazz saxophonists John Zorn and Sonny King. Steve was a member of the blues band Three Fingered Jack ( Nighthawks, Crayhawks, R. Cray Band), the progressive-rock band, Elfhouse, as well as performing jazz and Latin music with First View, The Bitterroot Sextet, Transception, The Bill Sabol Trio, Extra Texture, and Kokobolo.
Firmly grounded in the integrated unfolding process of life, Steve likes to stay receptive to the muse. “Keep your mind and heart open”.
