Here’s a rare bird… a 12-string Gibson ES-345
A friend asked if I would come over and give her an idea of the value of some of her late husband’s musical instruments. She said he was in a band back in the ‘60s, then just stopped playing and put his instruments away in a closet. How many times have you hear the same kinds of stories… a widow selling the guitars her husband had kept under the bed for decades, and they turn out to be Nocasters or ‘59 ‘Bursts. No Nocasters or ‘59 ‘Bursts here, but a damn cool find, and a great story all the same.
I knew ahead of time that he had a Jaguar as I had seen pictures of him and his band. It turned out to be 1964 (pre-CBS), and in really good condition but refinished to a clear natural color sometime in the ‘60. Still, it was in great condition and even close to being in tune after about 40 years!
I also knew he had encouraged her to play and given her an acoustic back in the day. It was a 1968 Martin D-18. She never learned to play, so it sat in the case for nearly 40 years. Wow. Just… wow. It needs a minor setup, but this is one good-sounding acoustic! Now I “get” what the Martin thing is all about, even if I don’t find it in their new instruments.
The other guitar was a Gibson, but she didn’t remember what kind. A Les Paul, perhaps??? No, something stranger by far—a 1965 12-string Gibson ES-345. Yes, you read that right—a 12-string ES-345 TD. Not a 6 string. Not a ES-335. A 12-string ES-345. Gibson also played around with stereo output on some of the ES-345, called the “TD,” and I think this is one of them. The sticker inside the case was difficult to read and I didn’t try to plug it in, so I can’t be sure. I’ve been looking all over Google for such a guitar and can’t find a thing about them. My friend said her husband had the guitar custom made for him which helps explain why I can’t find any info about these guitars.
In addition to the guitars, he had a blackface Fender Twin Reverb in damn-near mint condition, and a matching Fender 6G15 stand-alone reverb unit (also in damn-near mint condition). Then there was a Gibson Maestro Fuzz Tone FZ-1A and Uniwah UW-2, both still in their original boxes. The Uniwah still had the original batteries!!!
I’m working on tracking down information her. Prices, too, as she’s expressed an interest in selling everything but she’s in no particular hurry. Most of it is easy, but the 12-string ES-345 is turning out to be somewhat unique. I’ll take some pictures next time I see her, and post them here.