A 12-String From Britain's Premier '60s Custom Builder | Find of the Week

This week's Find of the Week is the stuff of British rock royalty: it's a 1971 Zemaitis 12-string acoustic built by the late luthier Tony Zemaitis.

After a five-year apprenticeship as a cabinet maker, Zemaitis came out of the woodwork and began building and restoring guitars. It wasn't long before the fruits of his labor caught the attention of the likes of Eric Clapton, George Harrison, and Ronnie Wood—the builder would become particularly known for placing a metal shield on top of his electrics to eliminate noise through the pickups.

In a now famous professionally filmed performance, Jimi Hendrix is seen playing a Zemaitis-built 12-string much like the one pictured below.

This is a 1971 Zemaitis 12-string acoustic guitar.
1971 Zemaitis 12-string acoustic.

Among other stunning features, this particular instrument employed a Brazilian rosewood back and sides, an Ebony fingerboard with turquoise inlays, and a sound chamber inside the guitar that serves as another back. It's set up with a pickup of unknown origin and a quarter-inch jack above the strap pin. As the Maryland-based seller Garrett Park Guitars indicates, "Everywhere you look on this guitar there are signs of Tony's careful attention to detail."

Be sure to check out the full listing for more photos, and make an offer on this gorgeous guitar today.

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