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1967 Epiphone Deluxe Cutaway
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Serial #: 892802
Body size at lower bout: 17 3/8" Scale length: 25 1/2" Fingerboard width at nut: 1 10/16"
Finish: Original sunburst finish, nitrocellulose lacquer type.
Materials: Handcarved, bookmatched solid spruce top; solid maple neck; arched maple back and sides; ebony fingerboard with mother of pearl cloud inlay; ebony bridge with inlaid feet, pearl tree-of-life peghead inlay, 7-ply top binding 3-ply headstock and body binding, 5-ply pickguard binding; neck and back; bone nut.
Hardware: Original gold hardware includes Kluson Sealfast tuners, no-logo Frequensator tailpiece; adjustable compensated Brazilian rosewood bridge; adjustable truss rod, original medium jumbo frets. Vintage correct quintuple bound tortoise shell pickguard.
Notes: Introduced in 1932, the Epiphone Deluxe epitomized the glamour and sophistication of New York at the height of the Swing Era. Favored by jazz legends from Les Paul to Johnny Smith, for most of the next four decades the upmarket Deluxe remained the only serious competitor to the Gibson L-5. With the acquisition of Epiphone by Gibson in 1957 however, production of this legendary model dwindled into the low single digits. This spectacular instrument is one of just eight lone Deluxes made that year, before the model was discontinued altogether in 1970.
Acoustic Epi Deluxes with the cutaway body are rare enough as it is. For reasons unclear, Epiphone dawdled on regular production of cutaway guitars until the late 40's, leaving the field to Gibson for almost a decade. This inexplicable delay meant that Epiphone acoustic cutaways, especially the top-of-the line models, remain some of the rarest production archtops in the world. With the Epi buyout, Gibson crafted both Deluxes and Emperors with Gibson's top artisans, on the same production line as the L-5 and Super 400.
This time-capsule guitar has been preserved in immaculate 100% original, museum quality condition. The soundboard is carved of exceptionally fine grained quartersawn spruce, and the arched maple back shows flame figure from rim to rim. The solid ebony fingerboard bears the signature cloud inlays of the legendary New York Epis, a pattern borrowed a few years later by Gibson for their ultra-premium Citation model. Designated model A-212 in the Epi catalog, the Deluxe has the deep Epiphone cutaway (2 frets more than L-5C), which permits greater access to the uppermost reaches of the fingerboard. The exquisitely shaded sunburst finish is all original, without pick, buckle, thumb or fingerboard wear, and shows no more than a few feather light strands of checking. Remarkably, this pristine guitar has never even had a pickup attached to it, a considerable rarity among archtops of this vintage.
The guitar has the brilliance and clarity of tonewood aged over forty years, with remarkable balance and definition. The gentle C profile neck is slim, elegant and utterly effortless in the hand, and the original medium jumbo frets play smoothly with a sleek low action. The best kept secret in the vintage archtop world, Gibson made Epiphones are an unbeatable value for the discriminating guitar hunter. One only: call now.
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; bridge wheels and tuners lubricated; fingerboard and bridge oiled; body and neck cleaned and hand polished.
This instrument is strung with medium gauge 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 deluxe arched plushlined Epiphone hardshell case.
