1964 Epiphone FT85 Serenader (Gibson-made) 12-to-9-String Conversion Guitar

What... the... heck? I'd stepped-out to run some instruments to the post office one morning and when I came back this mysterious guitar had been left on one of my inlaws' enamel tables in the shop. The lone customer said a local had left it for me to sell. Contact info was not left and I had a feeling that I knew who left it but didn't find out for sure until later-on. What... the... heck?! A typical day in my life, folks...

It's a '64 Gibson-made Epiphone 12-string that's been retopped and converted into a 9-string. Why? Who cares? It's cool!

I'm assuming the top failed at some point. This replacement top was done in 1984 by Mr. Dale Fenn, I believe, and it was a good job -- cut well and with curious x-bracing with the tonebars below the main x running opposite of the direction you'd think. Unfortunately Dale must've put the bridge in the wrong place at first because there are extra filled pinholes from a previous bridge location that would have been way too flat intonation-wise. The top is functionally the equal of the original, though, as this guitar is loud and proud and saucy.

It arrived here needing some non-fussy work and after that was done and I got it cleaned-up a bit and restrung, I was shocked at how weirdly-enjoyable this setup is. You can get that 12-string chime for chordal strumming and a bouzouki-like quality when playing lead licks on the doubled strings. At the same time you can actually play bass runs without it sounding like Leadbelly and power-chord thumping works. It's weird and wonderful. The neck is still the huge 2" Gibson monstrosity, but I'll take it anyway.

Repairs included: fret level dress, new compensated bone saddle and bridge reprofiling, pinhole modification (from 9 holes to 6 with doubling-up on the trebles), cleats for a tight hairline crack repair on the back (4" in the middle, all good), cleaning, and setup.

Top wood: solid spruce

Back & sides wood: solid mahogany

Bracing type: x

Bridge: ebony

Fretboard: rosewood

Neck wood: mahogany

Action height at 12th fret: hair under 3/32” bass to 1/16” treble (fast, spot-on)
String gauges: custom 54w, 42w, 32w, 8/20w, 13/13, 10/10

Neck shape: medium-big C

Board radius: ~10"

Truss rod: adjustable

Neck relief: straight

Fret style: wide-low

Scale length: 24 5/8"

Nut width: 2"

Body width: 14 3/8"

Body depth: 4 1/2"

Weight: 4 lbs 9 oz

Condition notes: oh, boy, you're kidding me, right? Modified headstock, refinished sides (original finish only on neck and back), replaced top, filled wrong-area pinholes on top, new top binding with one repaired break in it, some gloppy discoloration at top binding on the sides, weirdo sculptural ebony bridge, wear and tear to the finish throughout, one small 4" hairline crack on the back (repaired, pictured), general craziness. The saddle is low but the bridge is about twice as tall as the original bridge would have been. It's also full-on-humidity season so any adjustment later in the year will be to adjust the height upwards in winter.