Epiphone Roy Orbison Signature 12-String Acoustic

This is an exacting reproduction of Roy’s original guitar — with a spruce top, mahogany body and rosewood fingerboard and bridge — but with some decidedly Orbison touches, among them Orbison’s signature and the first measure of the famous “(Oh) Pretty Woman” riff on the back of the headstock. The guitar also comes with a certificate of authenticity signed by Roy’s widow Barbara Orbison and his son Roy Orbison, Jr. “As a young, brilliant guitar player growing up in West Texas, Roy would have never dreamt that he would one day have his own Epiphone signature guitar named after him,” says Barbara Orbison. “I hope the next generation of artists will feel inspired to write another great rock and roll song thanks to the Epiphone signature Roy Orbison 12-string acoustic guitar.”

Body

	Species Each Roy Orbison 12-String is constructed of a solid spruce top that’s been book matched and reinforced with hand-scalloped bracing. The sides of the guitar are made of two pieces of 5-ply laminated mahogany that has been form bent, and the back is also made of two pieces of solid mahogany.
	Design This square shouldered dreadnought style acoustic is modeled exactly after the original Epiphone Bard. Its hearty combination of premium spruce and mahogany is married with exquisite multi-layer PVC binding along the top of the guitar, and it has a hollow body that is not chambered.
	Average Weight The average weight of the body of a Roy Orbison 12-String is 3.5 lbs.
	Tonal Characteristics This guitar’s spruce top provides a full range of tones, while the mahogany cranks out low and mid-range sounds. Both of these woods owe their exceptional tonal capabilities, in part, to the painstaking process of kiln drying. Dried to exactly a 6% moisture content for optimal tone, this guitar will come to you with the tone you need and the tone that kept Orbison picking it up over and over again.

Finish

	Color The Roy Orbison guitar comes in the classically beautiful Antique Natural gloss finish, just as Roy’s Epiphone “Bard” did. The urethane finish accentuates the beautiful grain patterns of the mahogany body and protects its spruce top.
	Surface Texture Several rounds of vigilant hand-finishing and hand-sanding yield a sleek surface that’s smooth to the touch.
	Process Each square inch of the Roy Orbison 12-String is treated to four coats of premium urethane clear-coat. The guitar gets it finish by hand in a process that demands several coats and many hours. First a sealer coat is applied to the body and neck and then the wood is hand-sanded. Next the body and neck are finished and sanded individually — four times each. Finally the last coat is hand-buffed, yielding a guitar that is structurally strong, sonically optimized and easy on the eyes.

Neck and Headstock

	Species The neck of the Roy Orbison 12-String is constructed from three pieces of mahogany, the hands-down best choice for guitarists who demand a strong but lightweight neck.
	Truss Rod Epiphone's traditional truss rod, found in most all of our guitars, is highly responsive to the individual adjustments you’ll want to make to personalize and optimize string action and sustain. In fact, each guitar comes with an Allen wrench for tweaking the truss rod — a counterclockwise turn loosens, while a clockwise turn tightens. The truss rod cover on this guitar is made of black plastic.
	Profile This acoustic is fitted with Epiphone’s classic 1960s SlimTaper neck for super-fast fretwork and a comfortable feel.
	Headstock Angle The Roy Orbison headstock is carefully angled at 14 degrees, which increases pressure on the strings and helps them stay in the nut slots. An increase in string pressure also means there is no loss of string vibration between the nut and the tuners, which equals better sustain.
	Headstock Design Epiphone is serious about strong headstocks. That’s why we’ve verified that it would take 52.5 lbs. of direct pressure on the headstock of this guitar to separate it from its body. (That’s the weight of four bowling balls!) This headstock honors the classic Epiphone headstock shape but gets added interest on its back with a replica of Roy Orbison’s signature and the notation for the first measure of the “Oh, Pretty Woman” introduction riff.
	Average Weight The average weight of the neck on a Roy Orbison 12-String is 6.6 ounces.

Fingerboard

	Species The Roy Orbison 12-String is equipped with a rosewood fingerboard, loved by guitarists the world over for its comfortable playability and mellow tone.
	Radius The 14-inch radius of the fingerboard provides smooth note bending capabilities and eliminates “dead” or “choked out” notes, common occurrences on fingerboards with lesser radiuses.
	Frets The Roy Orbison 12-String sports 20 frets.
	Inlays The pearloid dot inlays that decorate the fingerboard of this acoustic are made of white ABS plastic, giving these classic inlays the mother-of-pearl look you lust for. The neck is also accented by gorgeous antique binding.
	Average Weight The average weight of a rosewood fingerboard is approximately .24 lbs.
	Tonal Characteristics Rosewood is a very popular fingerboard material, known worldwide for its warm tone.

Nut

	Material The nut on the Roy Orbison 12-String is made from PVC plastic.
	Width The width of the nut on this guitar is approximately 1.75”.

Hardware

	Tuning Keys The headstock of this guitar is equipped with small vintage-style tuning keys that are made of die-cast zinc with hardened steel gears. These cream-colored keys are designed to withstand a lifetime of tunings.
	Bridge This guitar features a rosewood, reverse-belly 12-string bridge and a compensated saddle. Compensated saddles have a ridge that alternates between the front and back edge of the saddle; this allows for the different string tensions. This saddle is constructed of molded PVC plastic.
	Strap Buttons The die-cast steel strap buttons are plated in nickel and positioned on the upper horn and butt of the guitar body.

Accessories

	Hard Case Your Roy Orbison 12-String comes protected in a custom hard case with Roy Orbison’s signature and his iconic Ray Ban sunglasses outlined on the case.
	Certificate of Authenticity & Photo The COA for this guitar, which is displayed in a leatherette presentation binder, is hand-signed by Roy’s widow, Barbara Orbison, and Roy’s son, Roy Orbison, Jr. Included with your certificate is a black and white photo of Roy with his “Bard” Epiphone.
	Extras In addition, owners of this guitar get a “sunglasses” lapel pin and a copy of the sheet music for “(Oh) Pretty Woman.”