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1964 Phil Buss 12 String
Back & Sides:
Rosewood
Top:
Spruce
Lower Bout:
17.5"
Scale Length:
26.25"
Nut Width:
2.0"
A very interesting and rare piece! Phil Buss was a respected Madison, Wisconsin based luthier at the time this guitar was built in 1964. Buss had a shop called P. Buss Luthier Fretted String Instrument Shop. By the late 1980s Mr. Buss had a business called Reno Instrument Co. and made mandolins in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Mr. Buss seems to have been a renaissance many of many talents including being thought of as an excellent guitar and mandolin player. It is believed that he made three 12 strings and it appears this may be the only surviving example.
Guitar has a spruce top, rosewood back/sides, an interestingly shaped rosewood bridge, beautiful 5 piece mahogany and maple neck, rosewood and maple faceplate, and a striped ebony fingerboard. Being very large bodied and 26.25" scale length this guitar rumbles!
This guitar has had significant restoration/rebuild work including: re-glue of some internal braces, a new bridgeplate, bridge was re-glued, original saddle slot filled and a new compensated saddle slot made, new bone saddle made, a neck reset, a new non-adjustable carbon rod added for neck reinforcement, new striped ebony fingerboard, new frets, new bone nut, multiple crack repairs.
