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Guitarist and producer Chris Turpin of Ida Mae and his Jake Kiszka collab Mirador has an enviable selection of vintage guitars to work with, but one of his most frequently used instruments proves that buying vintage can be quite affordable.
His prized acoustic is a Gibson B-25 12-string, which began life as a budget instrument when it was first introduced in 1962. Glen Campbell used one and it appeared on the cover of his 1964 Capitol Records album The Astounding 12-String Guitar Of Glen Campbell.
It was clear, however, that when Chris bought his own B-25, it had seen a lot of action over the years.
“I really like Fanny’s House of Music In Nashville,” Chris says. “They have great stuff to play and they’re very friendly – good, honest folks. I went in and they had this particular 12-string, which had clearly lived a life.
“It’s had the back panel smashed in, and I felt it just had the energy, like it had been to a bunch of political protests or something in the ’60s and someone had played Simon & Garfunkel covers on it. I got it for not very much at all, 800 bucks or something, and it became quite an important guitar.
“I took it over to Jake [Kiszka’s] house, and he whipped out a case and he had the same one. I was like, ‘Oh my god, aren’t these the coolest 12-strings, or the best recording 12-strings?’ and it’s been on records ever since.”
- This article first appeared in Guitarist. Subscribe and save.
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