Nokie Edwards

Nokie Edwards, renowned for his influence on surf rock and his work with The Ventures, owned the Nokie Edwards Aria Hitchhiker Guitar. I had the honor of meeting him in 2007 at his 72nd birthday party in Florence, Oregon, which sparked my interest in collecting some of his personal guitars. Further details can be found on the Mosriteforum under "Nokie Edwards Personal Guitars."

Nokie Edwards of The Ventures used an Aria Mosrite Clone, specifically a Rock Creek prototype modeled after the 1960 Mosrite, minus the whammy bar. This detail is discussed on Steelguitarforum.

Telecasters and Mosrite guitars were what Edwards used when he's playing. He even designed one called the Nokie Edwards Custom Signature Model Telecaster for Fender using gold and ebony for parts.

His old Silvertone Model 1474 which was signed by him was sold in an online auction.

(Nokie can be seen with a Ventures Mosrite) Who are the Ventures? They're arguably the most famous band to never sing a note, but while they became synonymous with the surf music that started to overtake America at the same time, their signature style applies to all different types of songs, making them the one band that can cover just about anything and make it their own

Where you might have heard them If you've heard the original version of TV's "Hawaii Five-O" theme, you're familiar with them, though their sound is usually more spare and rock-oriented. "Walk -- Don't Run" remains a surf-era classic,

Mosrite The Nokie Edwards 30th Anniversary Blue Sparkle, Electric Guitar. As seen on the 1991 Live @ Yakult Hall Album.