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Epiphone FT-165 12 String


Aoresteen

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On Jan 7th I bought this Epi FT-165 tan lable off of eBay, circa 1976.

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=160707087387

 

ebay1.jpg

 

Turns out to be in worse shape than I expected. The end of the fretboard was loose and bent up with a couple of pieces of clear plastic keeping it from pushing into the top. It was a simple glue repair with a few clamps.

 

fretboardendreglue2.jpg

 

fretboardendreglue.jpg

 

Turned out well. The cheap tuners were replaced with a nice set of Grove Minis

 

 

Old Turners

 

ebay7.jpg

 

Removed, 10mm holes drilled and holes filled

 

rearheadstockscrewholesfilled.jpg

 

Grover Minis

 

groverminis.jpg

 

Front

 

groversminisfront.jpg

 

Fretboard was masked and frets polished. Took off 35 years of grime.

 

neckmasked.jpg

 

fixedneck.jpg

 

At this point I took the guitar to Bill at the Guitar Factory in Orlando FL and had him complete the repairs. The neckblock was re-glued, the metal adjustable bridge was removed and the bridge was filled with rosewood. Then a proper saddle slot was cut and a bone sadle installed and a new nut.

 

I had a Fishman Matrix Infinity under saddle pickup installed. A Schaller Straplock was installed under the neck. Tusq bridge pins were installed. The neck was reattched and set up. The action is a wee bit high but the guitar rings beautifully! I'll let it set for a few months then re-check the action.

 

I also got a new Roadrunner hardshell case for it. I spent WAY too money on this guitar but it matches my FT-135 (they make a great pair) and I'm happy with it.

 

I don't have my didgital camera with me so I can't take any 'after' pictures. T'll try to later on.

 

One more Epiphone Norlin acoustic guitar saved from the trash bin.

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If the action is high, can you have a shim installed under the point where the bolt-on-neck is attached?

 

Yes you can. The issues that can develop though is that some frets might be higher than others so lowering the action can cause fretting issues. Since the guitar has been unstrung for quite a while and the end of the fretboard was pulled up, I'm going to let it settle down under tension for at least 30 days maybe 60 and then have the action lowered. I hope I can get by with just having the frets dressed. I might end up having to have a new fret job which I'd like to avoid.

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Nice Save!

 

I too would like to acquire a 12 string twin to my FT145SB, as well as a FT130/135 with vintage cherry burst. That and a FT570 with or without burst.

 

I just have never been in a financial position to purchase one when it became available.

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So is the neck not strait or twisted? That would suck, but may explain the low price tag as a twisted/warped neck is a death mark. If the piece of wood the neck was cut from had a natural twist or warp, it will likely always want to stay twisted or warped. I've seen guitars like that, had them set up but they just kept going back twisted after a short time. [cursing]

 

It's still a good guitar regardless, I bet it sound's really good as my old FT-145 sounds real good, it's top and bridge are just wasted. Your 12 string looks a lot like my FT-145, besides the 12 string part and you re-did yours so yours looks nicer than mine. Where the tuner's striped? I would have kept the original machine's if it had been mine...if they still worked good that is.

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Very nice save in my opinion...I also bought mine off e-bay about 3-4 years ago for $175.00 and put about $200 into it for a bone nut & saddle, neck adjustment and setup. Also a Norlin tan label FT165 Bard 12. TommyK helped me date it to about the late 70s. With my saddle I went with a double wide bone saddle to fill the bridge slot. I'm not well versed in the mechanics of luthiering and my guy suggested the double wide saddle so I went with it and it seems to work fine.

 

Before:

100_3036.jpg

 

After:

DSCN1425.jpg

 

Before:

100_3027.jpg

 

After:

DSCN1428.jpg

 

DSCN1426.jpg

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The neck is straight and is not twisted. I think it will be fine when I lower the action. It's not all that high and is perfectly playable up to the 7th fret.

 

Both my FT-165 and FT-135 had to have the saddle moved back 1/8" to 3/16" of an inch for proper intonation. Just using a double thick saddle would not have worked as the guitar would have been very sharp.

 

I realize now that the Epiphone I had in 1971 was not an FT-135; it was a 6832.

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  • 4 months later...

Update.

 

The neck has settled in nicely and was re-shimed to lower the action some more. It sounds & plays great! The bridge pins are Tusq and hold well.

 

It's strung with D'Addario Acoustic Guitar Phosphor Bronze .010 to .047. I'm very happy with it.

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  • 2 years later...

Update:

 

I know that this is an old thread but I didn't want to start a new one.

 

My FT-165 12 string has developed a few problems :(

 

The bridge has pulled up a bit and the top has a belly bulge. I dropped it off at Dodson Guitars, Jackson Georgia and Tom will set her right. A couple of top braces have come loose and there are some small cracks in the neck block. I should have her back in a couple of weeks. All is not lost! So stand by!

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I dropped it off at Dodson Guitars, Jackson Georgia and Tom will set her right....

 

Good luck with her! My brother picked up a new FT-160 in Hong Kong back in the 70s, which I have appropriated. [smile] It probably has about one hour of playing time on it, otherwise it's been sitting in an unhumidified case in a closet for about 40 years. Took it to my tech for a setup and restringing (only 30 bucks "since it's a bolt-on neck"). Plays great, big sound! I can't capo it though - some of the high octave strings get muffled. I don't know if the action's too low for a capo or what. It's a 12-string capo. Still, a fun playin' guitar....

 

str167.jpg

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I'm not sure what the problem is...

 

After checking into this a little more, it's the capo! The Shubb capo is curved to match the curve of the fingerboard, as it should be, but the fingerboard on this 12-string may be more curved than normal. Or something. I can press down on the capo above the string that's otherwise deadened, and it sounds fine. This can't be because I also use this capo on my 6-strings, can it? (Works fine on them.)

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I stopped by Dodson Guitars to pickup my Guild that was ready. The FT-165 12 sting is almost done! Tom has installed a bridge truss (JLD Bridge Doctor) to keep the top from bellying up again:

 

http://www.stewmac.com/Luthier_Tools/Tools_by_Job/Bridges/JLD_Bridge_Doctor.html

 

http://www.jldguitar.net/warped_tops/fixtop.html

 

 

These are used in some Breedlove guitars. They also help improve the tone like a violin bridge post does. I dropped oft my '75 FT-135 which is having similar problems as well. If need be Tom will put one in the FT-135 as well. Tom showed me one on another 12 string and the guitar sounded great!

 

Looks like a lot of guitars could be saved with this device.

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I've got a old parlor guitar of indeterminate origin. I got it for under a hundred bucks in a junk store some years back. It was in pretty bad shape. I couldn't tune it to pitch, there was a rough looking crack on the top of the body, the neck was screwed, not bolted, but screwed with a wood screw through the heel to hold the neck on, the top was completely bowed, and the binding around the neck was loose and in some cases missing.

 

I brought the guitar into a great luthier I had worked with before in the Los Angeles area. He worked on it on and off for several months. The repair work cost me far more than the initial expense but he turned it into a perfectly fine working and very nice sounding guitar.

 

The secret to the repair work started with the same Bridge Doctor unit you refer to. That thing is a miracle of engineering. It not only saved the top of the guitar, it also clearly improved the tone and overall volume of the guitar.

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 1 year later...

I'm getting caught up. Sorry for the delay getting the photos up. Here's the FT-165:

 

Epi%20FT-165%20done%20front_zpsfmpsuwsf.jpg

 

Headstock:

 

Epi%20FT-165%20done%20headstock_zpskltqai1y.jpg

 

Bridge:

 

Epi%20FT-165%20done%20bridge_zps780vkmhq.jpg

 

The neck is near perfect. The Bridge Doctor has kept the top & bridge level. The Mini-Grovers work great. The Fishman Matrix Infinity under-saddle pick up sounds great amplified. I am so pleased with the way this Epiphone has turned out.

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