1959/60? Gibson duble Mandolin & Tenor - Alpine White!

[brandtkronholm]

Sooooo very cooool.... :wow

A Reverb.com listing from our very good friend and classic era EDS expert, Eric Ernest -- no affiliation! (If I had affiliation I'd own own of these by now! ...wait, that's no excuse...why don't I own one of these?)

https://reverb.com/item/32334116-circa-1959-gibson-ems-1235-one-off-one-of-a-kind-insane-custom-ordered-double-mandolin-neck-guitar

 

[Rich R]

Now THAT's gonna be a tough sell...However, for the collector that has everything...

 

[brandtkronholm]

As I revisit this remarkable rarity I notice that the neck lengths are pretty much identical. It makes me wonder about why Gibson positioned the necks off-set on the body in this case. The necks could have been placed so that the nuts and bridges were parallel. (I don't think Gibson was worried about how it might look, these things are over the top to begin with!) Perhaps the template for the 1235 made more sense for the construction of the instrument? Perhaps the customer asked for the off-set necks? Could Gibson have even built this on a 1275 body so that the necks were in line with each other?

...so many questions...

What about the switches? They must be on/off toggles. There is no third switch to toggle between necks...but then, the instruments built with this body shape don't have a third switch...

 

[Scott L]

As I revisit this remarkable rarity I notice that the neck lengths are pretty much identical. It makes me wonder about why Gibson positioned the necks off-set on the body in this case. The necks could have been placed so that the nuts and bridges were parallel. (I don't think Gibson was worried about how it might look, these things are over the top to begin with!) Perhaps the template for the 1235 made more sense for the construction of the instrument? Perhaps the customer asked for the off-set necks? Could Gibson have even built this on a 1275 body so that the necks were in line with each other?

...so many questions...

What about the switches? They must be on/off toggles. There is no third switch to toggle between necks...but then, the instruments built with this body shape don't have a third switch...

Looks to me the necks were offset vertically to be able access the tuning pegs. It appears to me that if they were set at the same point like a 1235 you would not be able to get to the tuners in the middle. I agree that the 2 switches look to be individual on/off toggles

 

[brandtkronholm]

Looks to me the necks were offset vertically to be able access the tuning pegs. It appears to me that if they were set at the same point like a 1235 you would not be able to get to the tuners in the middle. I agree that the 2 switches look to be individual on/off toggles

An interesting thought on the necks/tuning pegs. Here's a picture of the instrument from another angle. It looks like the tuning pegs would have room for access just like the tuning pegs of the 1275s which were also quite close and not off-set. It is a fascinating instrument! In fact, it looks like the headstocks are identical in size and shape.

It's really the mandolin version of the 1275~6 & 12 vs 4 & 8! Crazy!