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1939 Epiphone Broadway
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Serial #: 15698, New York label
Body size at lower bout: 17 3/8" Scale length: 25 1/2". Nut width: 1 11/16"
Materials: Solid handcarved highly figured tiger flame maple back and sides; solid bookmatched handcarved spruce top; solid cherry neck with 3-ply walnut/maple centerstripe; Brazilian rosewood fingerboard with mother of pearl inlay; ornate vine style mother-of-pearl peghead inlay and block fingerboard inlays, triple-bound body, bound fingerboard and headstock.
Hardware: All-original gold hardware includes Frequensator tailpiece and Epiphone 16x1 epsilon logo tuners, compensated adjustable Brazilian rosewood bridge, bound firestripe tortoise pickguard, adjustable truss rod.
Notes: Introduced in 1932, the Epiphone Broadway was a perennially popular model, and has remained in production in various versions on and off to this day. Built with the same body size and scale length as the Deluxe, the Broadway sports the same gold hardware, powerful voice and playable neck of its costlier cousin. Many feel the Broadway peghead vine is among the most graceful inlays ever designed, and this example is no exception. Upsized to 17 3/8" inches in 1935, the Broadway was first first fitted with this shorter center-dip headstock for only three model years, making it one of the rarest variants of this venerable model.
This handsome example is in wonderful 100% original condition, with a particularly striking figured maple back, and a finely graduated, bookmatched soundboard, with Adirondack type grain structure. The guitar is fitted with all gold hardware, including Epi 16x1 tuners, which made their debut in this model year, the "Patent Pending" Frequensator tailpiece, and the adjustable compensated Brazilian rosewood bridge, with the serial number stamped under the base. The neck is fitted with the earliest version of the Epi truss rod, which terminates in a square nipple under the fingerboard extension, and the tailpiece retainer has been soundly brazed under the bend. Finally, a delightful sight is the striking bound pickguard of true firestripe tortoise, so rare to survive in factory condition.
A carefully maintained instrument, the guitar is remarkably free of pick, buckle, or fingerboard wear, and shows the sort of smooth thumbwear that's a clue to the it's outstanding voice. Clear, even, and deeply resonant, the guitar has the open, played-in tone that only finely aged tonewood and years on the bandstand can convey. The multi-ply binding is all original and tight to the body, and the ornate mother of pearl and abalone inlay work is masterfully executed throughout. The action is smooth and low over a gentle C profile neck, very easy in the hand, with immaculate recent fretwork. A single nearly imperceptible hairline crack under the low E string has been soundly resealed, and apart from a tiny finish touch up on the side near the pickguard bracket, the guitar presents no other signs of repair.
All nestled in its original black Epiphone hardshell case, with the epsilon logo under the case lid. As versatile as it is eyecatching, this swing-era classic is a rare find, and a true power player. One only: call now.
Setup: The frets have been precision leveled, recrowned and polished
as necessary; trussrod tension and neck relief adjusted; bridge height adjusted;
bridge compensation set; string slots at nut and bridge inspected and recut
as necessary; bridge foot contour inspected and fit to top as necessary;
bridge radius inspected and recurved as necessary; bridgewheels and tuners
lubricated; fingerboard and bridge oiled; body and neck cleaned and hand
polished.
This instrument is strung with medium gauge bronze strings (.013-.057).
The guitar will accommodate lighter or heavier gauge strings, according
to preference. String action is set at 5/64" to 6/64" at the 12th
fret, with moderate relief for acoustic playing with medium strings. The
action may be lowered or raised to your requirements with the adjustable
bridge.
Case: Original black Epiphone deluxe arched lined hardshell case, with epsilon logo in case lid.
