Vintage Faves with Joe Bonamassa | 1959 Gibson EMS-1235

Check out our collection of vintage guitars: Guitarist and collector Joe Bonamassa shares another one of his “favorite finds“ from Guitar Center. This time it’s a rare “unicorn”—a blonde-finish 1959 Gibson EMS-1235 doubleneck that’s a combo plate of a 6-string guitar and mandolin. Gibson started making doublenecks in 1958, and they were available only as custom orders. Even the cases were produced on a one-by-one basis. It was also a time when Gibson would make almost any doubleneck you asked for—two basses, two 6-strings, a 12-string and a 6-string, a mandolin and a 6- or 12-string and so on. “You had to order this and wait for it,” explains Bonamassa. “It was not a product Gibson would make dealers stock just in case someone came in looking for a guitar and mandolin. This example is very rare, because it’s in a factory-blonde finish. Most EMS-1235s were white or sunburst—although the late, great Robbie Robertson’s EMS-1235 was cherry red.” Bonamassa remembers he walked into a Guitar Center about ten years ago and bought this EMS-1235 (“EMS“ stands for Electric Mandolin Spanish, by the way!)—along with a 1955 Fender Stratocaster hardtail that was part of a set from the same owner. “I’m a guitar collector, but I’m also a guitar player, so I have to serve both sides of the fence,” says Bonamassa. “The ones I play have new frets and stuff like that, and you’ll see them onstage. But for the ones I collect—I want to be a custodian to history. When I look down at this guitar, everything on it was made in America. It harkens back to the days when this country made everything. The craftsmanship and inventiveness involved in doing something like this—that’s why I collect these things. This is a big guitar to play, and it’s my job to preserve it, play it, enjoy it and treasure it.” Take a look at Joe’s 1939 Martin 000-42: Get up close and personal with Joe’s 1958 Gibson Flying V: Keep ups with Joe Bonamassa: Chapters 00:00 - Intro with Joe Bonamassa 00:41 - Overview and Features of Joe’s 1959 Gibson EMS-1235 02:52 - Playing the 1959 Gibson EMS-1235 03:54 - A Look Into Joe Bonamassa’s Guitar Collector Mentality 04:48 - Playing the 1959 Gibson EMS-1235 (Cont.) 06:07 - Outro