1969 Silvertone 1227 (Harmony) 12-String Guitar

A local fella had me fix this up for him. It's in fantastic shape with nearly-new finish that hasn't UV-darkened like most of these. It's crisp and clean with only a few pickwear-scratches here and there. It did need the usual neck reset, fret level/dress, and setup work, though. Now that the work is behind it, it's playing spot-on and fast and has a big, chunky, woody, Leadbelly-esque vibe to it.

The bodies on these are ladder-braced and solid birch throughout while the neck is poplar (with a truss rod) and the fretboard and bridge are ebonized maple (or someseuch). The saddle and nut are plastic and I fully-compensated the original saddle so it would play in tune up the neck, too. The guitar is roughly "000-size" with a 15" lower bout and shallower depth and narrower waist than a dreadnought. The nut is 2" wide and the neck profile is a medium D-shape with a flattish fretboard.

The owner wanted this in step-down (D) tuning, so that's what you're hearing it strung for in the clip. I used gauges 24w/50w, 17/38w, 12/28w, 9/22w, 15/15, 11/11 rather than the 10s set I usually use for tuning E-to-E standard.

Repairs included: a neck reset, fret level/dress, setup, bridge saddle compensation, etc.

Weight: 4 lbs 11 oz

Scale length: 25 1/8"

Nut width: 2"

Neck shape: medium-bigger D

Board radius: 10"

Body width: 15 1/8"

Body depth: 3 7/8"

Top wood: solid birch

Back & sides wood: solid birch

Bracing type: ladder

Bridge: ebonized maple

Fretboard: ebonized maple

Neck wood: poplar

Action height at 12th fret: hair-under 3/32” bass 1/16” treble (fast, spot-on)
String gauges: 50w-11

Truss rod: adjustable

Neck relief: straight

Fret style: medium-lower

Condition notes: it's very clean for its age and model and original throughout -- no cracks, no fuss, just ready to roll. There are some light scratches here and there in the finish.

It comes with: a nice hard case, actually.

Consignor tag: JB