303-665-7733
Epiphone
Serial Number: #156534
Wildwoodians, if you read our site regularly, you'll know that I (Trevor, Wildwood's resident copywriter) learned to play on a twelve-string, so they hold a special place in my heart. Within a couple chords, this Kalamazoo-made Epiphone (Epiphones were made with the same materials in the same factory as Gibsons at the time) immediately made my Mount Rushmore of 12ers, and it may even claim the top spot--I'm trying hard not to succumb to recency bias! Read More...
Epiphone
Nitrocellulose Lacquer
.950 1st - 1.010 9th
Natural
Wildwoodians, if you read our site regularly, you'll know that I (Trevor, Wildwood's resident copywriter) learned to play on a twelve-string, so they hold a special place in my heart. Within a couple chords, this Kalamazoo-made Epiphone (Epiphones were made with the same materials in the same factory as Gibsons at the time) immediately made my Mount Rushmore of 12ers, and it may even claim the top spot--I'm trying hard not to succumb to recency bias!
You don't see concert-bodied 12-strings like this one every day, which is a shame, because they present a whole different set out strengths from their jumbo and dreadnought brethren. What they lose in volume, they gain in crispness, balancem clarity, articulation, and string separation.
This serial has those strengths in spades! The combination of spruce and mahogany produces a a warm, woody, midrange-forward sound with punchy bass response and just the right amount of sparkle and shimmer. The woody clarity is UNREAL! Basically, this guitar is a recording engineer or producer's dream 12-string, because it would record and sit in a mix beautifully.
To my ears, it sounds an awful lot like the capoed 12-string on "Here Comes a Regular" by my favorite band, the Replacements. This guitar is waiting for someone to make an equally-iconic record with it, and I have no doubt some other lucky 12-string enthusiast will love it as much as I do.
This Epiphone Serenader has accumulated some war wounds over the years, but it's a great player still and it sounds amazing. It shows the typical nicks, dings, scratches we expect to see on a well-loved vintage instrument, with one bigger on the butt-end of the guitar by the back binding edge. There's also tons of checking, and it looks AWESOME. The frets look original, although they've like been re-crowned at some point, and they show extremely light wear, measuring .101 inches by .032 inches. The tuners, nut, and bridge pins look original, too.
The top shows a little bit of rotation, but all the bracing is intact and it's structurally sound. The bridge also shows a tiny bit of lift, but is still solidly attached and stable. A previous owner was kind enough to install an LR Baggs Lyric pickup and a strap button on the neck heel, so it's stage-ready! It comes with a modern Gibson hardshell case, too.
Epiphone
Vintage 1964 FT85 Serenader 12-String
Natural
Nitrocellulose Lacquer
Spruce
X-Bracing
White
Mahogany
.950 1st - 1.010 9th
Mahogany
Gloss
Rosewood
12"
Mother-of-Pearl Dots
20
24.75"
Bone
2.010”
2.260”
L.R. Baggs Lyric Pickup System Installed
Rosewood Adjustable
3-ply
Nickel
Kluson Deluxe
Rosewood
Tortoloid
Modern Gibson Black Hardshell Case
An instrument from Wildwood isn't just an ordinary guitar. It's your guitar. Each and every instrument we sell includes a full, point by point setup, an exhaustive evaluation, and expert shipping procedures, with first class, industry leading standards from start to finish. Why? Because you deserve it.
Wildwoodians, if you read our site regularly, you'll know that I (Trevor, Wildwood's resident copywriter) learned to play on a twelve-string, so they hold a special place in my heart. Within a couple chords, this Kalamazoo-made Epiphone (Epiphones were made with the same materials in the same factory as Gibsons at the time) immediately made my Mount Rushmore of 12ers, and it may even claim the top spot--I'm trying hard not to succumb to recency bias!
You don't see concert-bodied 12-strings like this one every day, which is a shame, because they present a whole different set out strengths from their jumbo and dreadnought brethren. What they lose in volume, they gain in crispness, balancem clarity, articulation, and string separation.
This serial has those strengths in spades! The combination of spruce and mahogany produces a a warm, woody, midrange-forward sound with punchy bass response and just the right amount of sparkle and shimmer. The woody clarity is UNREAL! Basically, this guitar is a recording engineer or producer's dream 12-string, because it would record and sit in a mix beautifully.
To my ears, it sounds an awful lot like the capoed 12-string on "Here Comes a Regular" by my favorite band, the Replacements. This guitar is waiting for someone to make an equally-iconic record with it, and I have no doubt some other lucky 12-string enthusiast will love it as much as I do.
This Epiphone Serenader has accumulated some war wounds over the years, but it's a great player still and it sounds amazing. It shows the typical nicks, dings, scratches we expect to see on a well-loved vintage instrument, with one bigger on the butt-end of the guitar by the back binding edge. There's also tons of checking, and it looks AWESOME. The frets look original, although they've like been re-crowned at some point, and they show extremely light wear, measuring .101 inches by .032 inches. The tuners, nut, and bridge pins look original, too.
The top shows a little bit of rotation, but all the bracing is intact and it's structurally sound. The bridge also shows a tiny bit of lift, but is still solidly attached and stable. A previous owner was kind enough to install an LR Baggs Lyric pickup and a strap button on the neck heel, so it's stage-ready! It comes with a modern Gibson hardshell case, too.
156534
Epiphone
Vintage 1964 FT85 Serenader 12-String
Natural
Nitrocellulose Lacquer
Spruce
X-Bracing
White
Mahogany
.950 1st - 1.010 9th
Mahogany
Gloss
Rosewood
12"
Mother-of-Pearl Dots
20
24.75"
Bone
2.010”
2.260”
L.R. Baggs Lyric Pickup System Installed
Rosewood Adjustable
3-ply
Nickel
Kluson Deluxe
Rosewood
Tortoloid
Modern Gibson Black Hardshell Case
