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1973 Yamaha AE-12 Vintage Archtop Electric Guitar Sunburst, Near-Mint w/ Case

$1,799.99

+ shipping

Up for sale, a 1973 Yamaha AE-12 archtop in near-mint, 100% original condition and in perfect working order complete with the original hardshell case. Crafted at the Nippon Gakki factory in Japan, the AE-12 was the second highest tiered “Acoustic-Electric” archtop offering at the time of production, clearly designed to capture the finer points of Gibson’s L-5.

The 17” wide hollow body features a spruce top and maple back/sides, and this AE-12 has a full and rewarding acoustic response with exceptional projection and a detailed percussive chop. Plugged in, the humbuckers are rich and sparkling, with tight lows and sweet, round trebles that result in vocal-like lead passages and well-defined chording with even the most complex jazz voicings. This AE-12 weighs 7lbs 6oz, professionally setup here at Mike & Mike’s Guitar Bar with 11-49 roundwound strings, low action, and accurate intonation.

Neck Specs:

-Wood: Maple
-Shape: Medium C, measuring .860” 1st fret, .975” 9th fret
-Fretboard: Rosewood, rounded parallelogram inlay
-Frets: Slender, leveled and crowned, no wear
-Scale Length: 25.2” (640mm)
-Nut: 1 11/16”, bone
-Tuners: Yamaha-branded
-Serialization: Five-digit stamp at 22nd fret

Body Specs:

-Wood: Spruce (top), Maple
-Pickups: 48-12-18 date stamps on baseplates date to 48th year of the Showa period (1973)
-Controls: Volume x2, Tone x2, Three-way pickup selector
-Hardware: Adjustable bridge with plastic saddles, chrome-plated tailpiece with tooled leather insert
-Plastics: Chrome knobs with ridged grips, three-ply pickguard

The multi-ply binding is ambered and exhibits a bit of subtle checking, while cosmetic wear on the gloss Sunburst finish is limited to a few finish chips along the lower bout perimeter and just a few additional minor marks. The gloss finish on the neck profile is flawless.

The original black tolex hardshell case is included.