Laminate

Eminence Portable Upright Bass

On April 16, 2022 /

Here’s something we see rarely – the Eminence Portable Upright Bass! This innovative instrument brings the tone and response of an upright bass into a foldable format, with the case not much bigger than a set of golf clubs. The Eminence Portable Upright is an acoustic / electric instrument, and takes lessons learned from the early days of electric guitar development when archtops were adapted with pickups. It was quickly discovered that electrifying traditional ‘solid wood’ construction has downsides, particularly in terms of feedback as volumes rise (as they will!).

Used

This instrument has sold

NO LONGER AVAILABLE‼ Gibson ES-175 Single Pickup Archtop Electric Sunburst, 1960

On March 31, 2022 /

Introduced in 1949 and until the introduction of Seth Lover’s humbucker in late 1957, the Gibson ES-175 Single pickup archtop electric sported a single P90 in the neck position. The Gibson ES-175 Single and Double pickup models went on to become a workhorse guitar, used on countless stages, studios and performances. It was discontinued in 2019 after a production run of 70 years.

Vintage

This instrument has sold

Eastman T59 V Thinline Archtop Electric Antique Varnish

On February 8, 2022 /

The Eastman T59 V is a take on one of the most successful and influential of Ted McCarty’s innovations, the thinline, semi-hollow archtop electric guitar. Around 1957, Gibson was looking to update its product line to address a number of issues, one of which was the rise in amplified stage volumes causing feedback. While the engineering team is credited with most of the design, it was apparently president Ted McCarty’s idea to put a solid Maple block through the center of the guitar.

New

Gibson Byrdland Thinline Archtop Electric Natural, 1976

On January 28, 2022 /

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

This instrument has sold

Dobro Style 27 Squareneck Sunburst, 1979

On January 28, 2022 /

The Dobro Style 27 Squareneck seen here was built during 1979 at the OMI (Original Musical Instrument) plant in Huntington Beach, before OMI’s sale to Gibson. Dobro had a long and somewhat complex history. Founded in 1928 by John, Rudy and Ed Dopyera – the Dopyera Brothers, shortened to DoBro – as John split from the recently formed National String Instrument Corporation.

Vintage

This instrument has sold

Guild X-500 Archtop Electric Sunburst, 1979

On January 22, 2022 /

The Guild X-500 archtop electric was a single-cutaway, fully hollow 17 inch wide archtop electric model built from 1953 to 1995, and again for a year or two until being discontinued in 2015. This example dates to 1979 and comes from the Westerly, Rhode Island plant. The Guild X-500 archtop is intended as an electric model, and Guild followed the proven pattern of using laminate woods for the body to reduce feedback.

Used

This instrument has sold

Laminate

Eminence Portable Upright Bass

NO LONGER AVAILABLE‼ Gibson ES-175 Single Pickup Archtop Electric Sunburst, 1960

Eastman T59 V Thinline Archtop Electric Antique Varnish

Gibson Byrdland Thinline Archtop Electric Natural, 1976

Dobro Style 27 Squareneck Sunburst, 1979

Guild X-500 Archtop Electric Sunburst, 1979

THE TWELFTH FRET

MORE SERVICES

STAY CONNECTED