1967 Gibson B-25 Flattop Guitar

There's not much to argue-with when you're talking a clean, classic-sunburst, '60s B-25. Like its precursor (they're the same guitar design, folks) the LG-2, the '60s B-25 is an 00-sized, x-braced guitar with a classical body outline but a 14-fret neck. In the '60s they're built a little lighter than their '50s forebears and so they tend to sound warmer and sweeter for folk-strummers and the like. This one has some pretty-dang good, punchy mids and upper-mids, though, which lend it a bit of the '50s touch. I like that, because I like to go back and forth between strumming and lead flatpicking and I like to have some oomph in the mids to make that juicy.

By '67, when this was made, the neck had thinned-down at the nut and as a result this one has a quick, fast feel and is only 1 9/16" at the nut compared to the older, 1 11/16" standard. It handles more like a 10" radius Strat neck than a traditional, late-'50s Gibson neck. I like that a lot for sliding, closed-position chords but fingerpickers and flatpickers needing more fretboard might consider it before thinking about this guitar. I don't have an issue with either but my "regular neck" is a 1 5/8" nut Strat-style shape. Old guys in the shop call these "lady necks." Ahem.

Post-repairs, this guy's playing fast and spot-on and is good to go for the long haul with plenty of saddle adjustment room and a clean bill of health.

Repairs included: a fret level/dress, new ebony saddle (original rosewood one was split), cleat for a tiny back crack repair, cleaning, setup.

Top wood: solid spruce

Back & sides wood: solid mahogany

Bracing type: x

Bridge: rosewood

Fretboard: rosewood

Neck wood: mahogany

Action height at 12th fret: 3/32” bass 1/16” treble (fast, spot-on)
String gauges: 54w, 40w, 28w, 22w, 16, 12 custom set

Neck shape: slim-medium C

Board radius: 10"

Truss rod: adjustable

Neck relief: straight

Fret style: wider/medium height

Scale length: 24 5/8"

Nut width: 1 9/16"

Body width: 14 3/8"

Body depth: 4 3/8"

Weight: 3 lbs 13 oz

Condition notes: it's fairly clean and all-original except for the replacement ebony saddle. There's scratching from pickwear on the upper bout and around the pickguard and the finish shows the usual weather-check throughout. The only crack is a 1" one on the back (nearly invisible) right next to the neck block and back seam, which I've cleated and had previously been sealed/glued-up before me. The frets have decent life left and it's all ready to go.

It comes with: a period hard case.