1968 Gibson B-25-12 00-Size 12-String Guitar

Overview: I'm a fan of Gibson 12-strings from the '60s. They're adequately weird and woody-sounding to suit my Leadbelly leanings, tonewise, but have a higher build quality compared to Harmony/Stella 12-strings and so "feel" good. If Guild is after the chimey/clean, jangle-pop, folk-thumper sound, the Gibson sound is more suited to the country-blues, alt-country, Americana vibe. This version of the B-25-12 model is also my favorite version of this guitar as it has the thin-bridge, adjustable-saddle thing going on as well as a good, proprietary tailpiece design.

Tone: It's dark, woody-sounding, mids-focused, and chunky. Still, lead and fill work on the treble side can really ring-out and it's got a punchy, dense sound when played as a chordal thumper.

Feel: The neck is wide and has a medium-heft, C- shape to it. It can be a lot to handle but is certainly about as fast as a contemporary Guild and faster than your average (nice-grade) Harmony/Harmony Stella model

Interesting features: I rather like the tailpiece/adjustable saddle setup on this because it affords a more retro sound while also being easy to keep it playing spot-on as the seasons change and the guitar shifts. We fully-compensated 12-string saddles and, of course, match the radius of the fretboard and so this plays in-tune up and down the neck on every string within pretty close tolerances. That requires us to modify the (original) rosewood saddle but that's a good thing!

Repairs included: I reset the neck on this and helped with saddle compensation and then Jose did a great job giving it a level/dress of the frets, cleating cracks, and setting it up. It's playing spot-on, low and fast, and is ready to serve.

• Weight: 5 lbs 2 oz
• Scale length: 24 5/8"
• Nut width: 2"
• Neck shape: medium C
• Board radius: 10"
• Body width: 14 3/8"
• Body depth: 4 3/8"
• Top wood: solid spruce
• Back & sides wood: solid mahogany
• Bracing type: x
• Bridge: rosewood
• Fretboard: rosewood
• Neck wood: mahogany
• Action height at 12th fret: hair-under 3/32” bass 1/16” treble (fast, spot-on)
• String gauges: 48w-10
• Truss rod: adjustable
• Neck relief: straight
• Fret style: lower/wide

Condition notes: It has weather-check throughout the finish as well as light scratches, scuffs, nicks, and dings here and there all over. There are several repaired top cracks that are longer but all are good to go.

It comes with: It does not officially have a case but I will include something if I have anything spare that fits (the long headstock means options may not be available or may be limited).

Consignor tag: DDNL