1964 Gibson B45-12

Capture the shimmering sounds of the sixties with this 1964 Gibson 12 string.

Everyone wanted a twelve string in the sixties, the charts were alive with the jangle of these multi string instruments. Sounds of Mr Tambourine Man by the Byrds (1965),  No Substitute by The Who (1966), Ticket to Ride by the Beatles (1965),  As Tears Go By’ by The Rolling Stones (1965)  to name a few emanated from the speakers of portable transistor radios across the country.

Hailing from the middle the ‘swinging sixties’ this 1964 Gibson B45-12 has arrived for sale in our 5th March Musical Instrument auction, and it is truly a beauty. The spruce soundboard of this instrument is finished in a slightly orange tinted lacquer hinting to the warm tones the guitar so effortlessly produces afforded by the mahogany back and sides. The 50mm nut and the 630mm scale length allow easy chord changes and picking runs whilst at the same time demonstrating that this guitar is a properly designed 12 string rather than simply a six string with added tuners.  We have played many twelve strings over the years and this has got to be one of the best low actions we have seen.

If 1970’s are more your thing, the B45 handles Bowie’s Space Oddity (late 1969!), Rod Stewart’s Maggie May (1971), The Eagles Hotel California (1976), Bob Dylan’s Hurricane (1976), and of course the ubiquitous Stairway to Heaven by Led Zeppelin (1971) with an abundance of tone that reflects the original recordings.

The Gibson B45 is estimated to sell for £600-800 and will appear alongside many other interesting instruments in our 5th March sale.

Entries are now accepted for our 5th March sale. Should you have any musical instruments you are considering selling we would be pleased to hear from you. Please contact Chris Large on 01270 623878 or email chris@peterwilson.co.uk