Gibson started making acoustic 12-string guitars in 1961 in response to the Folk Boom, but there was no demand for an electric 12-string until 1965, when The Beatles’ George Harrison used one on “A Hard Day’s Night” and then The Byrds used a 12-string to bring folk and rock music together with “Mr. Tambourine Man”.

Gibson responded quickly with the semi-hollow ES-335, with it’s solid center block which made it better suited than a hollow archtop at supporting the extra string tension that came with having 12-strings.

The ES-335-12 debuted by the end of 1965. Sales of this model were respectable for two years, but despite the familiarity of the 12-string’s unique sound, the market was apparently driven almost entirely by The Byrds.

In 1968, The Byrds took a turn toward country music, and the era of the electric 12-string ended as suddenly as it started. Sales of the 335-12 dropped by more than two-thirds that year and then by an even greater amount in 1969.