Gibson ES-335, Sunburst (1968)

If you took a quick glance at this 1968 Gibson ES-335, you'd be hard pressed to assume it was ever a factory-built 12-string. That's because it was converted by luthier Laurent Brondel, who has a distinct knack for restoring vintage guitars with incredible finesse and attention to detail.

With some crafty headstock and neck work along with some minor hardware changes and a conversion from a trapeze style tailpiece to a stopbar tailpiece, this ES-335 now joins the ranks of its fellow 6-string counterparts in both form and function.

Curious about the playability? Rest assured, this is about as good as it gets! Laurent's impeccable refret skills along with a new nut now provide years of high-level performance. It's one of the things we love most about Mr. Brondel's work - his ability to marry modern playability with vintage tone and feel is nearly unparalleled.

The Patent Number pickups are original to the guitar along with the wiring harness. Laurent carefully went through the electronics and cleaned them up, restoring properly functionality as needed, and everything sounds great!

With clean original examples climbing the vintage market at a steady clip, a quality conversion like this proves itself as a fantastic option for the player who can appreciate the execution and see/hear the value.