ES-335 12 String

[Victory Pete]

I see these for sale all over the net but I don't see it listed on Gibson's website.

[j45nick]

Gibson's website is never complete. In any case, I think the new ES 335-12 is produced in fairly low numbers, although not strictly speaking a limited edition.

 

The nice thing about the new ES 335-12 is that it has a wider nut than the originals, which had the narrow 1 9/16" nut of the late 1960's. Despite that, the originals are still really nice guitars.

 

Here's my 1968 ES 335-12. It's in near-pristine condition, except for one binding ding on the back.

 

[Victory Pete]

That is a beauty. I have the LP 12 sting now, it has a 1.75" nut, my other LP's have 1 11/16" nuts. Were all Gibsons narrow like yours back then?

[charlie brown]

Gibson's website is never complete. In any case, I think the new ES 335-12 is produced in fairly low numbers, although not strictly speaking a limited edition.

 

The nice thing about the new ES 335-12 is that it has a wider nut than the originals, which had the narrow 1 9/16" nut of the late 1960's. Despite that, the originals are still really nice guitars.

 

Here's my 1968 ES 335-12. It's in near-pristine condition, except for one binding ding on the back.

 

 

I had one, of the same year, in "cherry!" It was a really great guitar! But, I sold it,

for something else...damned if I can remember "what," now. LOL

 

CB

[j45nick]

That is a beauty. I have the LP 12 sting now, it has a 1.75" nut, my other LP's have 1 11/16" nuts. Were all Gibsons narrow like yours back then?

 

Most were narrow, but not all. Certainly ES 335 models (6 and 12-string) from about 1965 on had the narrow nut. Not sure when they switched back to 1 11/16, but it may not have been until the dot re-issue, which I believe was 1981. Pretty sure it went to the current (and previous) 1 11/16" in 1981.

 

A lot of Gibson acoustics in the same period had the 1 9/16" nut.

[Victory Pete]

Most were narrow, but not all. Certainly ES 335 models (6 and 12-string) from about 1965 on had the narrow nut. Not sure when they switched back to 1 11/16, but it may not have been until the dot re-issue, which I believe was 1981. Pretty sure it went to the current (and previous) 1 11/16" in 1981.

 

A lot of Gibson acoustics in the same period had the 1 9/16" nut.

 

Thanks for the info, I would like to try out one of those old necks just to see how narrow they really were. I had a RIC 360/12 4 years ago and it had a very narrow neck, seemed too narrow to me, I don't know why they would make them so narrow, especially on a 12 string.

[j45nick]

Thanks for the info, I would like to try out one of those old necks just to see how narrow they really were. I had a RIC 360/12 4 years ago and it had a very narrow neck, seemed too narrow to me, I don't know why they would make them so narrow, especially on a 12 string.

 

 

Ironically, Gibson 12-string acoustics at that time had very wide nuts--something over 1 3/4", I believe--although most of the six-string acoustics were 1 9/16".

 

Playability depends as much on the neck shape and neck depth as it does the nut width, in my experience. If you play mostly first-position chords, you will notice the narrow nut. Higher up the board, it is barely noticeable, as the pin spacing did not get narrower on the narrow-nut guitars.