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1946 Epiphone Deluxe
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Serial # 54119, Blue NY label
Body size at lower bout:17 3/8" Scale length: 25 1/2". Nut width: 1 11/16"
Finish: Original sunburst finish, nitrocellulose lacquer type
Materials: Solid handcarved fiddleback maple back and sides; solid bookmatched handcarved spruce top; solid maple neck with 3-ply walnut/maple centerstripe; Brazilian rosewood fingerbaord with mother of pearl "cloud" style fingerboard inlay; fancy vine style mother-of-pearl peghead inlay, five-ply body binding, bound fingerboard and headstock.
Hardware: Original gold-plated Frequensator tailpiece and 16x1 Epsilon-logo tuners, hex-key adjustable truss rod. Vintage correct triple bound thick celluloid tortoise pickguard. Kent Armstrong Floating 2D Ultraslim humbucking pickup with volume and tone controls, 1/4" side-mounted jack. Vintage compensated adjustable Brazilian rosewood bridge.
Notes: The Epiphone Deluxe was introduced as the company's top-of-the line model in 1931, and upsized to 17" late in 1935. The direct competitor with Gibson's L-5, the Deluxe sold for the same price, though more ornate and typically louder and somewhat brighter in tone. With its tremendous cutting power, the Deluxe was a perennial favorite of big band guitarists who had to face down an entire horn section without an amp. Though cataloged through 1955, few examples are seen after 1953, when Epiphone's New York factory closed.
A very handsome example, this guitar is carved of tight fiddleback figure maple, and a particularly fine grained quartersawn bookmatched solid spruce top. Notably lightweight and well balanced, this fine postwar guitar weighs in under 6 lb., and has the brilliant projection and clarity for which Epiphones have always been renowned. The multi-ply binding is all tight and original, and the guitar is equipped with its original gold 16x1 Epsilon-logo tuners and unstamped Frequensator tailpiece (seen this model year only). Excellent bridge height and fresh recent frets allow the player a maximum of expressiveness and dynamic range.
A very well cared for instrument, the guitar has all original sunburst finish, and shows no cracks in the soundboard, body or neck. Some minor playwear and thumbwear are the only signs of its long career, and the instrument has the rich, balanced voice of a tonewood aged perfectly over six decades. A Kent Armstrong Floating 2D Ultraslim humbucking pickup with volume and tone controls is attached to a 1/4" side-mounted jack, and mounted on a vintage correct triple bound thick celluloid tortoise pickguard. A typical hairline crack along the Frequensator tailpiece has been brazed and reinforced from underneath and is now sturdier than new. With a voice modern guitars can only dream of, this classic guitar is ready to delight a whole new generation of listeners, and one very lucky player.
Setup: The frets have been precision leveled, recrowned and polished; 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: Deluxe plush lined hardshell case.
