PrairieSchooner Posted April 15, 2014 Share Posted April 15, 2014 An old pic of an old friend; just wondering what he's holding here. Thanks... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tvguit Posted April 15, 2014 Share Posted April 15, 2014 That's a mid 1950s Epiphone FT-79. That one was made just before the buyout. This model didn't get the name "Texan" until after Gibson bought bought Epiphone in October of 1957. Here's my 1951 FT-110. It's a very similar guitar but this one has Maple back and sides. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrairieSchooner Posted April 15, 2014 Author Share Posted April 15, 2014 Humm. I always thought the Texan was a dreadnaught shape, as below. These look more like a jumbo to me? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tvguit Posted April 16, 2014 Share Posted April 16, 2014 That's correct, however the guitar in the picture you posted is an FT-79, not and FT-79 Texan. The FT-79 in your picture was made in Epiphone's Philadelphia plant in the mid 1950s before the company was sold to Gibson in 1957. After the buyout, Gibson used used the same model designation but also added the name Texan. They originally used J-50 bodies with leftover Philadelphia made necks until those unused neck blanks ran out. Here's a picture of my 1964 Texan just like Paul's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrairieSchooner Posted April 16, 2014 Author Share Posted April 16, 2014 Ah; thanks! Appreciate the info and the clarification. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tvguit Posted April 16, 2014 Share Posted April 16, 2014 No problem. Do you now own that guitar? They aren't terribly valuable but hard as heck to come across. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrairieSchooner Posted April 16, 2014 Author Share Posted April 16, 2014 Nope. Just curious. Bob Bovee (in the pic with his late wife Gail) are old friends of mine. Bob is a fine old-time musician and cowboy singer and I'd not seen him with this guitar. Was just kinda surprised and wondered what it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
masterbuilt Posted April 18, 2014 Share Posted April 18, 2014 It is indeed an FT-79 however built a bit earlier than tvguit suggests - I guess between 1949 and 1951, still at the NY factory. Typical for this period are the mahogany back and sides, parallelogram fretboard inlays, and the metal truss rod cover. Later pre-Kalamazoo examples usually had maple b+s, a white plastic truss rod cover, and most of them the "bikini" logo plate on the headstock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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