TWELVE-STRING GUITARS
76-8004 and 78-7957 Guild (new) F-512, #TL073006, in rosewood sides and back with natural Sitka spruce top, each with factory provided D-Tar pickup and hard shell plush lined case.
For each guitar, the Guild List is $2999 and the Guild MAP is $2250.
76-8234 Gibson (used, c. 1968) B25-12 twelve string guitar, #540679, natural top, marked “2” above the serial number but in very good condition with a period Guild black hard shell case that actually fits it fine even with its 9” long peghead.
Gibson debuted their small bodied acoustic 12-string guitar, the B25-12 in 1962. Similar in size to a Martin 00, it is only 14 ½”at the lower bout; it has a Sitka spruce top with a large single point pickguard which the factory provided four counter-sunk screws to hold down; it has mahogany sides, back and neck. The sides and back are bound in crème ivoroid; the tip in crème and black purfling, the soundhole in crème-black-crème purfling. The unbound Brazilian rosewood fingerboard displays 7 pearloid dotmarkers; the headstock has the famous Gibson gold decal postwar script logo at center top, below the Gibson indent, and then, nearly 6” below that, the bell shaped black plastic truss rod cover we have come to know and love. The bridge is a 7 ½” long Brazilian rosewood rectangle, with an adjustable (up and down) wooden saddle. The tailpiece is a chrome-plated short trapeze and it looks as clean as if new – with a spear-point shaped metal retainer on the bottom side. This guitar plays with an easy, low action; the truss rod works as it should and there is no top deflection; it shows more than normal top wear including at least 10 nicks in the finish on the bass side of the face, plus a fine collection of additional dings, scrapes, scuffs and scratches overall, and, well, finish checking too. There are incipient cracks on both sides, including both shallow cracks or deep finish checking that would like to eventually grow up to be an adult crack, but nothing that absolutely has to have immediate attention for the instrument to be played normally. These include some minor side cracks – ¾” to an inch long, all being fairly level; on the treble side we see an approximately 5” long tight top crack. All cracks are unrepaired. The frets are low and wide; the neck is straight, there’s no hump at the body joint. The angle of the neck to the body is not ideal – there is almost no break from the bridge saddle to the tailpiece, and ideally a neck reset would be a great improvement, but we ain’t doin’ it, and it plays just fine the way it is. So we offer you this guitar “as is,” a player with its 12 original Kluson Deluxe sealed-back tuners and an arched top, Naugahyde (Pleather)-type covered replacement case that actually fits it. We believe it’s a 1968 because 1968 was the year of the screwed down pickguard and 1969 the bridge changed to “belly below, with bridge pins – it lost its vestigial tailpiece and gained a three-piece neck. $1,129 or, at our cash discount price, $1,095.
76-8064 Rainsong (new) JM-3000, #10182, all graphite composite jumbo body 12-string, with hard shell case.
The RainSong List is $3195 and the RainSong MAP is $2399.
76-8010 Breedlove (new) SJ-25 Jumbo, soft cutaway tweve-string, #11121, Walnut back and sides, in Chocolate colored sunburst Sitka spruce top, with hard shell case.
An utterly superb sounding modern 12-string guitar in a gorgeous color and with that cutaway. It doesn’t get better than this. $3599 at our Discount Price, or $3491 at our Cash Discount Price.
15-5515 Breedlove (new) Focus 12-string cutaway, sunburst spruce top, sunburst curly maple back, sides & neck, with L. R. Baggs Dual Source pickup system and hard shell case.
We normally order Breedlove twelve string jumbo size, but when offered (by the Tumelo, Oregon builder) a Focus which is 15 3/16th in width at the lower bout, with a built-in factory L. R. Baggs Dual Source (with two little rotary controls hidden in the soundhole – one for volume and one for Mixing the soundboard transducer with the piezo element, we said “Wow! Yes! We want that.” We offer you a guitar that has black body bindings, an ebony headplate, fingerboard and wing-ed bridge, that has an abalone bordered soiundhole, “flying birdies” fingerboard inlay pattern in 7 fret positions, white-black-white three-ply top purfling and white single ply back purfling. It sound exceptional and it is easy to hold tightly to the body since it is not a huge instrument. Fun with the maple – an instrument staple. WAS $3769 but now ON SALE for $3699 or at our cash discount price, $3588.
78-7924 Breedlove (new) SJ25-12 cutaway twelve-string acoustic jumbo body guitar, in Striped Ebony sides and back (the best), with a Sitka spruce top, #11486, with plush lined hard shell case.
Using striped ebony to make a 12-string jumbo body guitar is the “best and highest use” of this material. It’s beautiful, it’s gorgeous, and it has the tintinnabulation that Edgar Allen Poe was talking about. It sustains seemingly forever. The brilliance and focus of its sound is legendary throughout the kingdom. Playing this makes you wonder how you could have spent the first part of your life without it. Breedlove 12-strings are thunderous and wondrous The Breedlove List is $4599 and normally we would provide you a great discounted price of $3795 or $3679 at the cash discount price, but in this one instance Breedlove gave us a generous further discount because, they felt, the striped ebony sides are slightly (very slightly) wavy – hardly noticeable, but visible if you look at the sides against the reflection of the light. Anyway, you reap the benefits. Your cost is greatly reduced (you’ll never know it’s a “second, it isn’t marked “second”) to $3415 or at our cash discount price $3312.
78-7912 C F Martin (new) J12-16TL, LEFTY acoustic jumbo body 12-string, #1286683, with hard shell case.
The Martin List is a bargain at only $1699 and the Martin MAP is $1249.
78-7554 Rickenbacker (used, 2006) Model 360/12C63 JG in JetGlo (black with matching headstock), 06-18284, semi-acoustic, near mint condition with original silver colored rectangular hard shell case “with original papers” in the case.
Rickenbacker succinctly says (partially paraphrased): The vintage series version of the world's most popular twelve string electric guitar, with the twin pointy cutaways (bass horn being longer) and a single cats-eye soundhole boasts nearly all of the deluxe features of its Model 360 cousin. A standard for recording for more than thirty years, its haunting, melodic chorus has continued to benefit from evolution. The slimmed and re-contoured neck now makes the 360/12 easier to play than ever. Features include a 24 fret neck with a short scale length of 24 ¾”. The nut width is 1.63”, neck width at 12th fret is 1.931”, the crown radius is 10”; the body and neck are each made from maple, the fingerboard of rosewood. The weight is approximately 7 to 8 pounds; the overall length is 40”, width is 15” and depth is 1.5”. It has yellowed white neck binding, crème body binding, triangular pearloid fret markers in 8 positions, a nearly rectangular tailpiece with an open rectangle at the middle, the bridge contains six saddle pieces, each handling two strings; the neck is “set-in,” it has twin Toaster-Top vintage style pickups, a Mono and a Stereo output, (Stereo requires an electronic accessory with which this does not come), a large white multi-stepped pickguard, and Schaller machine heads that replicate the earlier Kluson style tuner. The long, pointy white truss rod cover spells out “Rickenbacker” in black script letters. This twelve string interpretation in its vintage version serves up the sound that only a Rickenbacker twelve can provide, in a convenient small size. The neck makes for easy fingering, while the trapeze tailpiece makes string changing quick and easy. Two Vintage Single Coil Toaster Top™ pickups produce the crisp ring popularized by the British music invasion of the sixties. $2675 or at our cash discount price, $2595.
78-7625 Rickenbacker (used, 2008) Model 660-12JG (JetGlo) twelve-string, #08-03559, in near mint condition with original black semi-rectangular hard shell case.
This is the smaller bodied Ric 12-string, a solid body guitar with twin toaster-top vintage reissue pickups, a long gold two-tier pickguard hosting five rotary controls and a three-way toggle. The tailpiece is “n” shaped and the bridge is covered by a nickel-plated palm rest. The border of the solid black face is white-black checkerboard. It has no back binding but it does have white neck binding, 9 pearloid triangular fingerboard inlays in a rosewood board, a long spear-point “Rickenbacker” logo truss rod cover held in place by three screws, and Kluson style tuners, by Schaller, on a doubly-slotted Gumby-shaped headstock – three of which face outward and three of which are facing back to get 12 tuners in the smallest possible space. About this model, Rickenbacker says: “The Model 660 and 660/12 feature a charactered Maple cutaway body based on an innovative design from the 1950s. A rosewood fingerboard is punctuated beautifully with triangular pearloid inlay markers, while the maple double bound neck and body are solid through and through. Rickenbacker's trademark "checkered" black and white binding set off the body, while white binding graces the neck. The 660 is electronically engineered to the exacting standards of the vintage reissue series, complete with Rickenbacker's own Vintage Single Coil Toaster Top™ pickups.” This guitar sports 21 frets, a 24 ¾” scale, a 1 ¾” nut width, a 10” crown radius. It weighs approximately 8 pounds and measures 37” by 13 ¼” wide by 1 1/4” deep. The neck is “through-body” and the output is mono. The sound is memorable and extraordinary. New ones of these list for $3109. We make this available to you for only $2159 or at our cash discount price, $2095.
78-7753 Breedlove (new) SJ-25 twelve-string, soft cutaway, in beautiful walnut and Sitka, #11165, with hard shell case.
We consider Breedlove 12-strings as one of the best-of-kind in the world. $2,938 at our Discount Price, or $2,849 at our Cash Discount Price.
78-7826 C F Martin (new) D12-28, #1284520, East Indian Rosewood and Sitka spruce in a full dreadnought body shape, long scale, with hard shell case.
The C F Martin List Price is $3,049 and the C F Martin MAP $2,299.
78-7894 Veillette (new) Acoustic Baritone 12-string, 14-fret to the body guitar, #505, with zipper gigbag.
. As anyone who has ever played a Baritone guitar can tell you – they produce a colossal cosmic yelp, a sensual stentorian seizure of sound that is unmatched in the world of acoustic fretted instruments. Now imagine if that thunderous temblor, that triumphant trembler were doubled, with octaves courses on the four lowest strings? Could you even be in the same room without jumping to your feet and yelling “Hallelujah!” I know that we can’t. This guitar is not only a bounding B-to-B boomer but it is also equipped with the Rick Turner D-Tar pickup system, a system that requires two 9v batteries in series to power it – so you know, when played through a fine acoustic amp, it’s going to paddle your parts with palpable potency. This Salvador-Dalian style instrument is consummately crafted by one Joe Veillette (pronounced “Vay-ett” according to Joe, who should know), and signed in his hand on the back of the headstock along with “Woodstock, NY,” the legendary place of manufacture. The top of this instrument is comprised of a bookmatched expanse of extremely close-grained spruce and the sides and back are festive in quilted mahogany. The neck is a more regular mahogany and proffers an ebony nut measuring 1 15/16th” with a zero fret ahead of it for the lowest possible action. All of the above wooden parts are stained to a rich, dark reddish brown and the Gotoh sealed-gear tuners terminate in 12 buttons that appear to be almost exactly a matching color to the body and neck. Body bindings are glossy black, with a stripe at the bottom side and another between the heel of the neck and the strap pin on the back that doubles as the bolt that holds the neck to the body. The unique shape of the body is offset, rising a bit higher on the bass side than the treble, which obviates the need for a cutaway. The large, carved bridge and the 22 fret fingerboard are East Indian rosewood (the last fret is partial covering strings 1-4). Instead of having either a round or oval sound this guitar has twin boomerang-shaped soundholes in the upper bouts. On the bass side are twin black corrugated knobs – active electronics – for volume and tone, each with 11 detents to demark a particular balance. The double battery compartment resides at the bottom side and is quickly opened and closed again. This instrument produces breathtakingly strong power and punch – and both its appearance, ease of use and tonal resplendence make it an twelve-string to be treasured by the timid and the extroverted. $3,938 or at our cash discount price $3,820.
78-7462 C F Martin (new) J12-16GT, the jumbo body, matte finish back and sides, gloss top twelve-string with the really big voice #1262182, with hard shell case
. The Martin List is $1699 and the Martin MAP is $1249.
78-7714 R.Taylor (new) Style 1 twelve-string, East Indian rosewood and Adirondack spruce, #096-2008, with hard shell case.
When this young, yet august company sets its mind to making a brand new, never before built instrument, such as a twelve string, it does so at a level of panache and perfection seldom seen in our industry. Playing this instrument will awe you, visit and we’ll place it before you. The R. Taylor List is $7036 and your cost is just $5803 or at our cash discount price $5629.
15-6942 Taylor (new) T5C-12, twelve-string, #20070216503, in Black finish, with hard shell case.
The Taylor List is $4058. The Taylor MAP is $2399.
15-6541 Martin (used, 2007) Richie Sambora MC12-41 twelve-string, in light golden brown sunburst, Individual No. 26, Serial number 1136637, near mint plus condition
with a newer Martin Geib style deep reddish brown -lined hard shell case. The following description is quoted or paraphrased from the C F Martin “Sounding Board” magazine: As lead guitarist and principal songwriter for Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora has reached the pinnacle of rock and roll success. But beyond the stage lights, Richie Sambora has shown a more eclectic musical persona. His two solo albums are rich with emotion and introspection and range beyond rock to include blues and acoustic. Acoustic guitars are essential tools in his songwriting, and he usually reaches for one of the numerous Martins he owns. He also has a fondness for 12-string acoustics and often plays one in duet appearances with lead singer Jon Bon Jovi. While the Martin OMC-41 Richie Sambora (which we also have in stock) and MC12-41 Richie Sambora Signature Editions draw their inspiration from his vintage OM-45, these spectacular, stage-worthy guitars have a style all their own. The body size he selected -- M (0000) for the 12-string, with its rounded cutaway, offers balanced tone and outstanding access to the upper frets. The top is of Italian Alpine spruce (talk about pinnacle) for brilliance and richness, and back and sides are of Madagascar rosewood, the tone-wood considered by many to be closest in appearance, projection and clarity to now-rare Brazilian rosewood. Appointments include the Style -41 top inlay and Style -45 rosette whose select abalone stands out against the top’s unique vintage tobacco (yellow to brown) “Sambora” sunburst. The top, back, headplate and fingerboard are bound in grained ivoroid, and the last three sections mentioned feature inset black/white fine line inlays; he grained ivoroid end piece and heelcap have black/white fine line accents; the 1800s style distinctive pyramid belly bridge with Stauffer point is carved from black African ebony; a black polished and beveled pickguard protects the top. Unique outlined inlays highlight the black African ebony fingerboard and headplate. Beginning at the 1st fret and continuing to the 17th, small abalone hexagon position markers on the fingerboard are bordered with mother of pearl, which are in turn accented on both sides by delicate black line inlays. Richie Sambora’s inlaid signature appears between the 19th and 20th frets. The headplate showcases an exclusive “heart and cross” Martin torch inlay in abalone and mother of pearl inspired by a bracelet designed by Richie Sambora’s wife, actress Heather Locklear.A low profile neck – 1-11/16" for the 6-string and 1-13/16" for the 12-string – with diamond volutes at the base of the headstock and the Martin stamp on the back combines a modern feel with classic appearance. Gotoh gold tuning machines with small knobs, and a bone nut and compensated TUSQ saddle provide smooth tuning and precise intonation. The bridge pins and endpin are fashioned from fossilized ivory and topped by colorful pearl dots. The Richie Sambora Signature Editions are beautifully finished in polished gloss lacquer. Stage-ready, both the 6-string (which model we have in stock brand new) and the 12-string come factory-equipped with Martin Gold Plus Natural 1 electronics and a gold strap button. Each Martin OMC-41 and MC12-41 Richie Sambora Signature Edition guitar comes with an interior label personally signed by Richie Sambora and C. F. Martin IV. In addition, each guitar is individually numbered in sequence with the edition total. The edition size of either model will not exceed two hundred instruments. This virtually never played, but previously owned example, is $4119 or at our cash discount price, $3995.
15-5150 Taylor (new) LKSM Leo Kottke 12-string, #20060621149, with hard shell case.
The famous jumbo body cutaway that is designed to be played with medium gauge strings and tuned down to C#. It somehow makes every piece you play on it sound just like Leo Kottke is playing it. How do they do this? The Taylor List is $3298, and the Taylor MAP is $2449.
15-6205 Breedlove (used, 2003) Classic XII twelve-string in ebony and Sitka spruce, #6223, near mint condition, with original black Breedlove hard shell case.
Positioned at or near the top of the line Breedlove twelve-string guitar in a non-custom but high-end level, this 17” benevolent behemoth has the long sloping cutaway on the upper treble bout, the cutaway that one can put to use when playing with all of one’s marbles or small toy cars with functional wheels. Other than that graceful amputation it is a 17” jumbo with a 4 5/8” depth at bottom. It has a medium-width grained Sitka top which, like some of us, has turned a lovely shade of burnished orange, and is offset by a four-part abalone soundhole rosette buttressed by twin rings of black-white-black with white celluloid soundhole. The top is bordered in 5 plies of white and black with ivoroid outermost, the fretboard, sides and back in two-ply. The pointy headstock is polished ebony and just above its center it has the “Flying Stylized B” that flies for Breedlove. This Breedlove 12-string, being of the ebony persuasion, is not only mind-fryingly gorgeous but it also performs at a level of sonic precision, density of tone and outspoken warmth that one simply cannot secure from any other 12-string. We have always considered Breedlove jumbo 12s to be one of the premiere brands and models on the market. This example is the Fearless Leader of jumbo cutaway 12-strings and an asset to the professional musician like you can’t imagine. $4,072 or, at our cash discount price, $3,950
15-5515 Breedlove (new) Focus 12-string cutaway, #9228, sunburst top, back, sides & neck, with L. R. Baggs Dual Source pickup system and hard shell case.
Breedlove, one of our favorite 12-string guitar makers, has done it again – they’ve produced a smaller body, 15 5/16” wide, long scale, flame maple sides and back, Sitka spruce top, electric-acoustic 12-string at an elevated level of both timeless beauty and aural affluence. This tympanic timber will give any 12-string player the shivers. Breedlove is the company that builds most of their guitars with the patented JLS Bridge Truss System – called JLS because it makes other builders JeaLouS. In case you are not familiar with this system, which alleviates the tension on the top, here’s what Breedlove says about it: “Since 1990, Breedlove Guitar Co. has been using a unique device in our guitars that has allowed us to brace our tops in a very progressive way, concentrating primarily on the top’s acoustic properties. There is a synergy that results from a graduated top thickness, balanced scalloped bracing, a pinless bridge, and the JLD Bridge Truss System. This has given our guitars their own distinctive sound, one that is highly dynamic, bringing out a “piano like bass” that results in a remarkably well-balanced tone for application in a broad variety of musical styles.
This cantilevered truss counterbalances the string tension to create a relaxed top and guarantees structural integrity of our steel string guitars. A relaxed top maximizes wavelength response.” All of this sounds highly technical but the fact is that when you play a Breedlove 12-string it’s almost impossible to go back to that dowdy, aging-technology 12-string that you leave at home when you go out on those mysterious “business trips” or “hunting with your friends.” The Breedlove 12-string will do what Bob prophesied – it will soon shake your windows and rattle your walls, but in order to have this happen you must pick up the phone and say those three little words for which every picking person yearns: “I want one.” From its glorious abalone rosette – set against a deep three-tone sunburst that provides the onlooker a small glimpse of eternity (no, really, don’t take my word for it) to the 7 “rising bat” abalone fretboard inlays, and from the white-black-white top purfling to that precipitous “watch what happens to my marble when I do this” cutaway and, oh yes, the wing-ed bridge, this is a flight of more than just fancy – it’s a veritable rocket ride to rejuvenation. $3769 or at our cash discount price, $3664.
BREEDLOVE JUMBO 12-STRINGS (HOLD ONTO YOUR CHAIR WHEN YOU PLAY 'EM). The model SJ-25 is the soft cutaway version; the model SJ-20 is a non-cutaway. All are natural Sitka top unless specified otherwise. All of them (every one) is, we assure you, the best sounding twelve-string you will ever have played (each one consistently wonderful). We have the largest selection of Breedlove Jumbo 12-strings in the Acoustic Universe (and for good reason).
88-2612 Breedlove (new) SJ20-12 Walnut sides and back/spruce top jumbo twelve string, #7304, with the dark chocolate three-tone sunburst finish face, and hard shell case.
We have just received something uncommon – a non-cutaway, walnut sides & back, spruce top, fourteen-fret, wood-based behemoth with the deco pattern of five dots inlaid in the ebony board on the bass side and then five dots on the treble with two twin dots only at the 12th. This guitar is bursting with the full palette of sonic seasoning, a molecular montage of myth and melody.” To the mighty meticulous makers of what is, by anyone’s standard, one of the finest 12-string guitars in existence, we say: “Thank you for making one of the best sounding, most beautiful 12-strings in all the land, and thanks, too, for allowing us to advertise your products in order to sell them.” (What a concept!)
83-3297 Breedlove (new) SJ-25 cutaway jumbo bodied 12-String guitar in walnut and Sitka spruce, #4585, with hard shell case.
One look and listen to this instrument and you too will know why the Material Girl ordered 8 or 9 custom made Breedlove guitars to take with her on her “Drowned World” Tour. Forget modern styling - Breedlove thinks “future,” far into the future, like Star Trek. The Sitka spruce top (which has a book-matched stripe across lower belly where the wood got scared or something of that nature that year) has no pickguard and features a single, elegant abalone ring around the soundhole. The top & back are bound in black as is the heel cap. The mahogany neck is matte-finished with interesting wood figure - typical mahogany stripes to headstock and base, then dotted like some undiscovered creature on the headstock back and the heel. The tuning heads are closed chrome Grovers. The walnut back and sides look like a slow running stream, with occasional eyes that look out at you (our streams have eyes). The fingerboard is ebony, with single pearloid dot fret markers that “align left” until the twelfth fret: there are two dots and from there on, they continue singly and “align right.” The pinless bridge, which has a recessed cubby where the string ends hide, has an angular appeal similar to a Klingon hand weapon, or a techno-bat. The truss rod cover and headstock have a similar future-primitive look and the end pin is black as is the bottom stripe. Here’s your “Prime Directive:” Get this Material in your hands for your next musical Enterprise and let it take you where no one has gone before, Email or call for price. (This guitar is sold but we have more Breedlove 12-strings in stock – call or email us for current inventory!)
83-8274 Breedlove SJ-25 cutaway 12-string in walnut back and sides, #3535, with hard shell case.
One of the finest 12-string guitars we have in our inventory (and we have nearly 25 high end 12-strings on hand), this is the cutaway version of the noncutaway walnut SJ-20 on which Daniel Master performed his winning entry “No Place for Children” on stage at the Woody Guthrie Songwriting Competition in Okema, Oklahoma. Simple of appointment this guitar features a single-ply black bordered top and back, a highly colored abalone rosette bordered in thin black lines, an unbound ebony fingerboard with 5 small pearl dotmarkers on the bass edge, to fret 12, and then 4 small pearl dotmarkers on the treble from 12 through 19 (with 20 frets total). On its unbound ebony headplate the “Flying B” defies gravity. This Maccaferrian cutaway, 17” wide, full jumbo guitar, with neither flash nor flatulence ,facilitates fanciful fingering. Email or call for price. (This guitar is sold but we have more Breedlove 12-strings in stock – call or email us for current inventory!)
If you would like more information on MANDOLIN BROTHERS' products and services, please write, phone, fax or email to mandolin@mandoweb.com.
