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What model Epi is this?


PrairieSchooner

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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.

 

 

1951-Epiphone-FT-110-004-340x340.jpg

 

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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.

 

Preliminary-Texan-003-159x212.jpg

 

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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.

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