1965 Gibson Firebird V (5) 12 String Electric Guitar - RARE 1 of 270

Selling on behalf of a friend - All Profits of this sale will be donated to Suffolk Mind, a local mental health charity.

Currently collection only - Suffolk,UK. I have looked for a courier who can insure for a high value item and have not had any joy, due to this I am currently not prepared to post. Any recommendations though please let me know.

Serial Number - 512331 the 1965 manufacturer date was confirmed by Gibson with the owner.

Includes Tweed style Bass Case (To accommodate the larger head stock)

This incredibly rare guitar (only about 270 ever made) has belonged to the same owner  since 1970 and looks and sounds wonderful.  

“The pick-up selector was a little slider switch which I broke in the first week I had it (1970).  You couldn't just Google a replacement then, so a sturdier toggle was fitted.  Purists may not like it, but it's part of the guitar's story.” The original pickup selector is a known weak point and was often replaced.

The guitar has been used at gigs and the unaltered original finish shows some rubs, scrapes, and minor dings distributed over the instrument, I have tried to include photos that show these to the best degree. 

"This has the slimmest neck I've ever seen on a 12-string guitar, so I've always kept lightish strings on it (9's). The neck has remained stable"

• Years of Production: 1966 - 1967
• Body Style: Double cutaway solid body
• Wood Composition: Mahogany body, Mahogany neck, Rosewood fingerboard
• Design Elements: Two mini-humbucker pickups, 24 3/4-inch scale length, dot inlays, four control knobs, fixed tailpiece, glued neck, Firebird emblem
• Finish Specifications: Sunburst was the standard finish for the Firebird V 12-string.
• Notable Firebird Players: Johnny Winter, Allen Collins, Keith Richards, Eric Clapton
• Scale Spec found online - Overall length is 43 in. (109.2 cm.), 13 7/16 in. (34.1 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 1 1/8 in. (2.8 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 24 3/4 in. (629 mm.). Width of nut is 1 1/2 in. (38 mm.).

Some History - Gibson launched the Firebird design in 1963 with four main models: the Firebird I, II, V, and VII. Each was distinguished by different pickup and hardware configurations, though they all shared thru-body construction and a unique "reversed" body shape with a large lower horn.  By mid-1965, Gibson changed the Firebird (as well as its counterpart Thunderbird bass) to a more traditional "non-reversed" body shape.  In 1966 and 1967, Gibson issued a run of 12-string Firebird Vs. These featured two mini-humbuckers like the normal Firebird V, but had a fixed tailpiece instead of a vibrato.

I have only found two other previous listings for these online from some years back.