The Twelfth Fret ~ Since 1977 ~

Florentine

SOLD Gibson Byrdland Thinline Archtop Electric Natural, 1976

SOLD Gibson Byrdland Thinline Archtop Electric Natural, 1976

The Gibson Byrdland appeared in 1955 as a custom order for Billy Byrd and Hank Garland. These two were top Nashville session guitarists who wanted full archtop tone, but in a more comfortable thinner body and a shorter scale length – 23.5 inches, rather than Gibson’s standard 24.75 inches – to allow easier access to complex chords fingerings. The Byrdland was the first of Gibson’s thinline archtop guitars, with many more to follow. The design was so successful that it was quickly promoted to production status.

Vintage
Price: $8,500.00 CAD

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❌SOLD❌ Gibson Custom Le Grand Archtop Electric Natural, 2008

❌SOLD❌ Gibson Custom Le Grand Archtop Electric Natural, 2008

Here is a rare beauty – a Gibson Custom Le Grand archtop electric model from 2008, the successor to the classic Johnny Smith model built from 1961 to 1989. The Le Grand made its debut in 1993 and while it hasn’t appeared on Gibson’s website or catalog since around 2010, is still available on special order. The ‘stock’ finish is a Vintage Sunburst, with the Natural finish seen here as an extra-cost option. Always intended for the serious professional guitarist and never in mass production, the Gibson Custom Le Grand features a 17 inch wide body with carved, solid Sitka Spruce top, carved solid and highly figured Maple back and figured maple sides.

Used
Price: $13,999.00 CAD $14,999.99 CAD

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❌SOLD❌ Marc Beneteau Cutaway Steel String Guitar 1988

❌SOLD❌ Marc Beneteau Cutaway Steel String Guitar 1988

Here we have a Marc Beneteau Cutaway steel string acoustic guitar combining Spruce and Mahogany, built during 1988 in St. Thomas, Ontario. Marc Beneteau has been building guitars since 1974 and his instruments are well built and well respected,  and used by stellar players like Don Ross.  This Marc Beneteau Cutaway pairs a Sitka Spruce top with Tropical Mahogany for the sides, back, body blocks and neck. and uses Indian Rosewood for the bridge and unbound fingerboard. The body binding is Satinwood and the cutaway style is Florentine.   

Used
Price: $950.00 CAD

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❌SOLD❌ Gibson ES350 Electric Archtop Sunburst 1951

❌SOLD❌ Gibson ES350 Electric Archtop Sunburst 1951

Here’s a real beauty – a Gibson ES350 Electric Archtop built during 1951 at the historic Parsons Street shop in Kalamazoo, Michigan. The ES-350 was built from 1947 to 1956, and for 1957 received a thinner body and new name – the ES-350T, the T standing for Thinline.   This model was played extensively by top artists like Barney Kessel, Chuck Berry, B B King and Tal Farlow. At its 1947 introduction, the Gibson ES350 was named the ‘ES-350 Premiere’ and was a full body, single cutaway archtop with a single P-90 pickup in the neck position. For 1949, it received a second pickup. Construction was typical of Gibson’s electric archtop production, with Laminate Maple for the top, sides and back, part of an attempt to reduce feedback at stage volumes.

Vintage
Price: $7,995.00 CAD $8,995.00 CAD

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❌SOLD❌ Gibson ES135 Cutaway Thinline Archtop Sunburst, 1996

❌SOLD❌ Gibson ES135 Cutaway Thinline Archtop Sunburst, 1996

The single cutaway, thinline Gibson ES135, built from 1991 to 2004 started out as a quite different guitar – the 1954 ES-130 non-cutaway archtop electric, renamed the ES-135 in 1956 and discontinued in 1958.  For 1991, Gibson blended the ES-334 concept with the ES-175 body shape and added a pair of P-90 or humbucking pickups  and either a trapeze or stop tailpiece.  The model was discontinued in 2004. The Gibson ES135 shares many construction features with other ES (Electric Spanish) thinline models. 

Used
Price: $1,999.99 CAD

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❌SOLD❌ Gibson Les Paul Florentine Korina, 1996

❌SOLD❌ Gibson Les Paul Florentine Korina, 1996

Here is another rarity, a Gibson Les Paul Florentine Korina, Custom Shop built and with two features making it most unusual – the Korina top and the lack of F holes. This limited edition model, which later became the Les Paul ES, featured a heavily rooted Mahogany body and separate top, in this case Korina or Black Limba though many had heavily figured Maple tops. Most of the production had F holes, making sense given the nearly hollow body, but a few like this one have closed tops.

Used
Price: $4,750.00 CAD

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THE TWELFTH FRET

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2132 Danforth Avenue
Toronto, Ontario  M4C 1J9 CANADA
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