Jim Olson enjoys a reputation unlike any other one-man custom shop: he has built many, many guitars, each one to exacting standards which yield an instrument that’s anything but standard. However, of that multitude of guitars, only a handful have ever been Jumbos, and an even smaller handful have been 12-strings–and the Indian–Rosewood-and-Sitka–Spruce Olson we’re offering here is both. To make this 2000 Olson even more unique, Jim is no longer taking orders for either 12-strings or Jumbos! And that’s not even taking into account the Celtic knot and cross inlay work with which famed inlay artist Larry Robinson (of Martin’s D-100 fame) has adorned the fretboard and headstock.

As if all of that wasn’t enough to put this guitar at the top of your list, the playability and tone of this 12-string Jumbo isn’t like any 12-string you’ve played before. The balance is surgical, the string-to-string articulation pronounced, the voice simultaneously complex and controlled. Set up to play like butter on a hot iron skillet, this Olson 12-string has an immense projection that manages to avoid the wall of sound pitfall of a lesser 12-string guitar, instead remaining clear and well-defined even when driven hard with a flatpick. Rigged with an undersaddle pickup and Calton flight case, this rare Jumbo gem of a Jim Olson is ready to soar.