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1947 Epiphone Blackstone
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Serial #: 56864, blue New York label
Body size at lower bout: 16 3/8" Scale length: 25 1/2" Nut width: 1 11/16"
Finish: Sunburst finish, nitrocellulose lacquer type
Materials: Hand carved solid spruce top; figured maple back and sides; solid one piece maple neck; Brazilian rosewood fingerboard with trapezoid inlay; bound body and fingerboard.
Hardware: All original hardware including original maple and rosewood bridge with serial # stamped in foot; original nickel open-back tuners; original nickel trapeze tailpiece; original bone nut; hex-key adjustable truss rod. Original tortoise pickguard included, additional vintage correct guard installed.
Notes: Imagine you've stumbled into an obscure neighborhood music shop, in some small Midwest town. They're still selling real tortoise shell picks, and old copies of the Mel Bay Guitar Method. And then, out of the corner of your eye, you spot a shiny old guitar...
The Blackstone was introduced in Epi's original archtop line of 1931, with a 14 3/4" body that was upsized to 15 1/2" in 1934. By 1936, the Blackstone took its final form with the 16 3/8" lower bout, and the center-dip headstock appeared in 1939. Epi's most popular 16" guitar, the Blackstone remained in the catalog continuously until 1949.
The instrument is in breathtaking original condition, with all factory nickel hardware and pickguard and brilliant original dark sunburst finish without pick, buckle, thumb or fingerboard wear on the solid Brazilian rosewood fingerboard. This stunning guitar shows a nicely figured fiddleback maple back, and a solid carved bookmatched quartersawn spruce top. Apart from a tiny bit of checking under the pickguard, this guitar looks almost like new old factory stock.
The neck profile is slim and very gently veed, contemporary and comfortable, with a fully adjustable truss rod, and action is smooth and low over freshly dressed original frets. The long scale neck produces exceptional volume and projection, in a body size that sits very comfortably in the lap. A lustrous example of one of Epi's most popular models, an a tremendous value in a true vintage New York built archtop guitar in uncanny museum quality condition.
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: Original brown Epiphone plush arched hardshell case.
