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Need info on a Epiphone 6732


bkasmauski

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Hello Everyone,

 

As most of you know I have been on the prowl for an Epiphone FT-130. It was told to me that the Ft-130 actually started out as a model 6732 made by Aria. Well after a few weeks of looking I found a 6732 in really nice original shape, so I bought it sight unseen. It is a Model 6732 Serial #02224. It has that infamous blue label which states union made, and also has made in japan on it. When I picked up the guitar I was very pleased. The guitar has most of the traits of a ft-130. However the 6732 has a different neck on it on it than the FT-130. the tuners on the 6732 are different than on the FT-130. And the 6732 does not have the E on the pickguard that the ft-130 does. I got the guitar from the grandson of the original owner and he swears to me that the guitar is 100% original. Can anyone out there give me any info on this guitar, and a ball park figure as to what it os worth. I appreciate any help that anyone can give me. I am trying to post a few pics, but I can't seem to get them onto the site.

 

bkasmauski

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I'm no expert on these 'pre-FT' Norlin units, but as some have explained, Iconoclast I

think, it was the first wave of Epiphones to come out of Japan with Epiphone labels.

They were basically Aria models in Epiphone dress. These probably could have been

turned around in a couple weeks, once they got the headstocks. Anything else, vis

the FT series of models, would take months to acquire the tooling, etc to make unique

body shapes and sizes.

 

I don't think these were meant to mimmick anything pulled out of Kalamazoo, just an

approximation.

 

I honestly don't think it would be in anyone's financial interest to make a counterfeit

6732. There just isn't enough money to be made.

 

If the blue label says 'Union Made' and does not have "Made In Japan" in the lower

right or says "Made in Kalamazoo", it confirms my suspicions that left over Made In

Kalamazoo labels were used for a time in Japan. Some unscrupulous persons have

used a razor to cut off the bottom of the blue label, below the border to remove

the "Made In Japan", or just ripped the corner off, to disguise the fact these are

not Made in Kalamazoo guitars.

 

How's the neck block look? and the resultant action?

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TommyK and Everyone,

 

First I would like to make a correction to my post. I was able to look at a Ft-130 today and compared the two. The bodies of the two guitars share the exact same measurements. There are a few differences in the two guitars though. I have made the corrections to my post noting the differences, feel free to check out the corrected post. Sorry for the mistake, and whatever confusion that I may have created.

 

Thanks for the reply TommyK. The neck is in great shape, there is not any indication of any repairs or sinking in on this one. There were no strings on the guitar when I got it and I have not put them on yet, so I have no idea as to the action. I have a few pics that I would like to post here, but I cannot seem to upload them. Maybye I could send them to you through email. Let me know if you want to see them. The label on mine is the blue label which on the bottom left says Union made and immidiately to the right of that is stamped Made in Japan. If this guitar checks out as a 6732 do you have any idea as to what it would be worth?

 

Thanks,

bkasmauski

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Kazmauski, I PMed you about the pics.

 

As far as value? Whatever anyone is willing to pay you for it. Realistically, depending

on condition and your local market, possibly as much as $200, but more likely in the

$100 - 150 range, if playble. These are really great guit tars... no not as great as a

Masterbuilt or Gibson, but they got 'that' tone, if that's what you want. Mine has

sentimental value and might not have kept it as long as I have if it weren't, but I've

never regretted keeping her and restoring her to playable condition.

 

Most of those who ask about these Norlin made Epiphone FTs are asking about a family

heirloom. Making them playable is not a financial decision, it comes from the heart. I

probably could not go into business buying up every FT I found, restoring it to playabilty

and make money at it. They sell for too much money on Ebay.. Really, too much, the

sellers of most of them are either ignorant or don't disclose the flaws in these guitars

and people sometimes pay way-a-a-ay too much money. My eye has gotten pretty

good at seeing that tell-tale little ripple in the rosette from a distant, poorly focused

photo. However if a guy can finally play 'Dad's' old guitar, then I've done my job.

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Hi

i'm thinking of buying a Epiphone 6730, No 07471 - kalamazoo michigan - built in 1965. Do you know if this modell is built in the US or in Japan?

And also if it's a good guitar, like the 6732? And also if it's more of a classical guitar or a folk one, i.e the

width of the neck?

thanks =D>

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Hi

i'm thinking of buying a Epiphone 6730' date=' No 07471 - kalamazoo michigan - built in 1965. Do you know if this modell is built in the US or in Japan?

And also if it's a good guitar, like the 6732? And also if it's more of a classical guitar or a folk one, i.e the

width of the neck?

thanks :P [/quote']

 

Wrong!!! Made in 1971...in Japan. The 67XX/68XX series model numbers went like this and were only used during 1971.

 

6732- 000/Grand Concert-sized (15 1/4"or there abouts lower bout) laminated mahogany body/ Laminated spruce top/bolt on neck- became FT- 120/130 in 1972- Current Value : $125-$150

 

6730- Dreadnought-sized laminated mahogany body/laminated spruce top/bolt-on neck-Became the FT-145 in 1972.- Current value: $150-$175

 

6735-12 String version of the 6730. Became the FT-160 Texan 12 in 1972- Current value: $175-$200

 

6832-000/Grand Concert-sized laminated rosewood body/laminated spruce top/bolt-on neck/bound fretboard and headstock- Became the FT-135 in 1972-Current value: $150-$175

 

6830- Dreadnought-sized laminated rosewood body/laminated spruce top/ bolt-on neck/bound fretboard and headstock- Became the FT-150 in 1972-Current value $175-$200

 

6834-12 String version of the 6830- Became the FT-165 Bard in 1972- Current value- $200-$225 (with a sound neck block)

 

Not the best acoustics ever made but not the worst either. These were all previously Aria-branded models and all were made by Matsumoku in Japan and the designs date from about 1969. These do show up on E Bay with stupid asking prices but the values I've stated are for what one can go and buy these guitars on average. They were subject to the drying out of the neck block and subsequent collapsing of the block resulting in damage to the top but some do and some don't so as they say, you mileage may vary.

 

...and Al's your uncle.

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Ok Everyone' date='

 

Here are some pics for anyone who might be interested in them.

I welcome all comments and feedback

 

Thanks,

bkasmauski

 

[img']http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn178/bkasmauski/Epi6732-3.jpg[/img]Epi6732-2.jpg

Epi6732-1.jpgEpi6732.jpg

 

Nice pics bkasmauski. I thought I'd posted a reply, but must have been having some

postage (posting?) problems. The flowery, pearloid tuner knobs look like they used

a classical tuner turned on it's side. Can be done. I've seen it done before.

 

The blue label appears that they may have inked out the 'Union Made' and stamped

something next to it. "Made in Japan" maybe? If so it appears they, indeed, used

left over 'made in kalamazoo' labels with an attempt at being forth coming with the

mfg location. The ink may just simply be faded to reveal "Union Made". Something to

be aware of when authenticating Kalamazoo made guitars. One other thing to make

note of is that later blue labels with "Made in Japan" in the lower right corner, outside

the border, the words "Kalamazoo, Mich." still appear. This just the name of a town and

have no bearing on 'made in'. It's just a glittering generality.

 

It also confirms my suspicion that the gold silk-screened "epiphone" on the head

stock was an early itteration. My current FT-145SB "Texan" has a pearloid logo,

created by laying down a laminate of pearloid, then over laminating with gloss black

with 'Epiphone' cut-out to simulate an inlay.

 

Nice looking axe though. Let us know how she looks and sounds once strung up.

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My boss in Atlanta (not a guitar person) called, and his wife has her brother's old Epiphone 6730E s/n 136897 that has been stored in their basement in its HSC for years. They were going to garage sale it for $10. I told them "dont"!

 

The info in the posts below has been very helpful. Does anyone know what the "E" designation means? Is this an acoustic/electric?

 

Value??

 

Any insight or comments will be appreciated

 

Thanks,

 

George

(310) 418-9570

wmgoodman@aol.com

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My boss in Atlanta (not a guitar person) called' date=' and his wife has her

brother's old Epiphone 6730E s/n 136897 that has been stored in their basement in

its HSC for years. They were going to garage sale it for $10. I told them "dont"!

 

The info in the posts below has been very helpful. Does anyone know what the "E"

designation means? Is this an acoustic/electric?

 

Value??

 

Any insight or comments will be appreciated

 

Thanks,

 

George

(310) 418-9570

wmgoodman@aol.com[/size']

 

 

Check Iconoclast's post above. He gives approximate values, as long as the neck block

is in good shape.

 

If it no longer has electrics, there should be obvious signs that it had them. Usualy

holes in the upper bout or in the soundboard below the pick guard. If not, since as I

understand it, the Model numbers used for these very early Aria models were the same

as the guitars Matsumoku made as Aria branded guitars, it could have been an attempt

to differentiate the Epiphones. It could be the 'E' designated Epiphone, so they could

keep their inventory straight. This might have been an interim 'fix' before moving to the

FT model number configuration. This is only a guess.

 

Guitar values, like anything else, are dependent on condition of the item and finding the

right buyer.

I guarantee you that at $10.00, you'll find a buyer on a garage sale. At over a hundred,

the right buyer might not show up. Most garage salers in our area are like my wife.

Loathe to part with more than a buck for anything. If it were me (and my wife not

present) I'd jump on it, but I'd have to have the cash in hand, which I don't normally

carry that much cash. But if you're having a garage sale, put it out at a respectable

price, you might get lucky. .Might be better to try to sell via a newspaper Want Ad, or

Ebay, or post a sign where guitar pickers are likely to gather. College or high school

campus or news papers.

 

If the 6732 has neck issues, then $10.00 is certainly in the ball park.

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Check Iconoclast's post above. He gives approximate values' date=' as long as the neck block

is in good shape.

 

If it no longer has electrics, there should be obvious signs that it had them. Usualy

holes in the upper bout or in the soundboard below the pick guard. If not, since as I

understand it, the Model numbers used for these very early Aria models were the same

as the guitars Matsumoku made as Aria branded guitars, it could have been an attempt

to differentiate the Epiphones. It could be the 'E' designated Epiphone, so they could

keep their inventory straight. This might have been an interim 'fix' before moving to the

FT model number configuration. This is only a guess.

 

Guitar values, like anything else, are dependent on condition of the item and finding the

right buyer.

I guarantee you that at $10.00, you'll find a buyer on a garage sale. At over a hundred,

the right buyer might not show up. Most garage salers in our area are like my wife.

Loathe to part with more than a buck for anything. If it were me (and my wife not

present) I'd jump on it, but I'd have to have the cash in hand, which I don't normally

carry that much cash. But if you're having a garage sale, put it out at a respectable

price, you might get lucky. .Might be better to try to sell via a newspaper Want Ad, or

Ebay, or post a sign where guitar pickers are likely to gather. College or high school

campus or news papers.

 

If the 6732 has neck issues, then $10.00 is certainly in the ball park.[/quote']

 

As far as I know the "E" alpha suffix was as you said in your second paragraph, a way of designating the guitar as an Epiphone version of the Aria model. There were no "electric" versions of the guitar. Remember, this was 1971. The Barcus Berry "Hot Dot" transducer (the grand daddy of piezo transducers) was still three or four years away and the then-popular method of "electrifying" an acoustic guitar was either a D'Armond sound hole-mounted magnetic pickup jobbie or a cheap, dynamic contact mic. The only electro-acoustics in that day that I can think of that were factory were the Ovations and the Gibson J-160E and their variants...(who can ever forget, try as they may, the D-28E Martin came out with in the late 50's/early 60's?) It was another eight or ten years into the 1980's before the under-bridge transducers became available and popular...kids today take so much for granted... anyone remember having to use that putty stuff to affix one of the later model Barcus Berrys to the underside of the top of the guitar after searching for a "sweet spot"?...and if it had been in a somewhat dry environment the putty could dry out and in the middle of a performance the pickup lose contact and adhesion and suddenly silence from the guitar...(more than once that happened).

 

The early Epiphone imports are never going to have huge values but any half-way decent and playable acoustic guitar is going to be worth at least fifty bucks. No doubt that these guitars were very cheap to begin with and had their structural issues but I've always looked upon them as one of the first bridges over the gap between the truly crap Japanese imports and the new age of viable, economy-minded instruments. What happens is that people look upon things as being old and valuable but one doesn't necessarily mean the other. Someone finds one of these at a yard sale and pays thirty or forty bucks for it thinking that it's going to be worth more in the guitar world...like ten times more...because after all, it is thirty some years old. The problem is over the years the manufacture of guitars has technologically advanced to the point where a quite good guitar can be had for two hundred bucks these days and those advancements have far-surpassed the technology of the early 70's which produced these instruments...so, why would someone pay two hundred bucks for one of the old school instruments when a far superior modern guitar can be had for that money? There are a very few rare and desirable imported models from that era but most were cheaply-made economy models. Now, if you have a good one without any of the neck block issues these aren't all that terrible of instruments for under say $150 but when some yahoo asks $495 for a mid 70's FT-150 on E Bay or $395 for a solid body ET-285 I'd have to say look at other options because $500 today gets you an awesome acoustic guitar just as $400 gets you a pretty good electric guitar. Anyway, as I stated above, the actual values of any of this line of imports is under $200 and most average around $150 but as always, it all depends upon condition.

 

 

...and Al's your uncle.

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 5 months later...
Just wanted to add to this post by saying thanks as I almost over paid for a 6730e ($300) that I had found advertised as being a '67' date=' not the '71 the serial# indicated[/quote']

 

We're here to serve and to protect. and to bump this thread before it falls off then end of the 6 month earth.

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  • 11 months later...

bkasmauski,

 

Your 6732 looks a lot like my 6832 bought back in February '09 for $145 including OCBC (Original Chip-Board Case). It has the same tuners, body style, & bolt-on neck as your 6732.

 

When I posted it here, I was told by the knowledgeable gentlemen (Iconolclast?) on this forum that it was a Japanese made (Matsumoku factory) model imported for a few years. Here are the pics:

 

P1000378b.jpg

 

P1000380b.jpg

 

69epi3.jpg

 

69epi2.jpg

 

69epi1.jpg

 

The guitar plays nicely and sounds suprisingly decent, but the bridge is pulling up slightly on one side. I tried to reglue it with epoxy, but it pulled up again. My intention is to eventually install a new bridge board underneath and bolt it down on both sides, then cover the bolt heads with MOP inlays. That seems to be the standard repair on these types of issues.

 

Enjoy your new toy!

 

Brian

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I bought a 6730 (1970) a few years back from a pawn shop for like 30 dollars.

The bolt on neck is cherry wood

the top is cedar

mahogany back and sides

the sticker thru me off at first but its a great player

very low action and it has a zero fret and an adjustable bridge

 

looks a lot like Brianh's '09

 

now this guitar is 39 years old! plays great

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I think that is a great plus about these models. The zero fret, i.e. less nut issues. The top end of the strings have a positive break that isn't predisposed to 'issues' and the strings are free to do their minute wiggling.

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  • 2 months later...

OK, I have a question. All the 6732's that I have seen start with a 0 on the serial number. Mine is 109774 and says nothing at all about being made in Japan. It does have "union made" in the bottom left hand corner, but all the pics here have a dark blue behind the "union made" writing. Im uploading pics now.

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Here is the label. Were all 6732's made in Japan? Is it possible that mine was made in MI?

There is no evidence that I can find that any of the 6XXX flat-top acoustics were made anywhere but in Japan. My guess is that the white labels are an anomaly borne out of convenience' date=' but not an indicator of a US-made instrument.

 

According to Walter Carter (Gibson historian):

 

[b']A blue rectangular label gave the impression that Epiphones were still made in Kalamazoo. It actually didn't say "Made in..." anywhere. It just said "Epiphone Inc. Kalamazoo, Michigan." But nowhere on the guitar was a "Made in Japan" notice. The instrument bore a seven digit serial number the likes of which never appeared on a Gibson-made instrument.

 

The guitars in the 1971 catalog had four-digit model numbers and no model names. The old Gibson-made Epis, in addition to their familiar model names, had a model number consisting of a letter prefix - EA for electric archtop, FT for flat-top - followed by two or three digits. In 1972, a system similar to the old one was instituted on the imports. [/b]

 

According to Carter, after the move to Japan, October 1, 1970 was the first catalog to show the Model 6732, and the 1971 catalog described the 6732 as: Martin 000 shape (15-1/4" wide), mahogany back and sides, dot inlay, $79.50.

 

Even by 1970 standards, the 6732 was an inexpensive guitar that would not have been able to be sold at that price point if made in the US.

 

Epicatalog1970.jpg

 

Epicatalog1971.jpg

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  • 2 weeks later...

As for label color. While the posted label appears white, it began life as a made in Kalamazoo, MI label. It is probably either the lighting and / or fading due to age and exposure to a month's worth of sunlight, sometime in it's life time.

 

The 6XXX models were only made in Japan. This IS a Japanese Aria/Matsumoku guitar. This label is additional evidence that when production was moved to Japan, left over 'Union Made" labels were shipped to Japan for use on the Matsumoku assembly line. The 6XXX models were only made for 6 months to one year before the FT models were instituted. The funny, looking white, pearloid, plastic tuning buttons which look like they belong on a classical guitar are OEM. I suspect that is all they had to work with until 'normal' looking buttons could be ordered, tooled up and acquired.

 

It seems that late in the 6XXX model seriies, a letter "E" was added to the end of the model numbers 6XXXE to , ostensibly, differentiate it from Aria models.

 

I've seen some "Union Made" labels which had the 'Union Made' lined out with black marker and 'Made in Japan' rubber stamped in the lower right corner. Age has caused the black marker ink to fade, revealing the "Union Made" underneath.

 

I am surmizing here that the Japanese assembler, most likely, could not read English and just stuck the label on with only a 'serial' number and model stamped on it. Somewhere it was 'caught' that these guitars were coming into the US proclaiming a falsehood, whether accidental or intentional, and the error caught and rectified with black marker and rubber stamp until a Japanese version could be printed up without 'Union Made' in the lower left and with "Made in Japan' in the lower right. We can further hypothosize that, using the foregoing evidece, your Epiphone 6732, KKD60, is likely a very, very early Matsumoku production piece.

 

BTW, the Matsumoku 'serial' numbering system was anything but serial.... random at best.

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Tommy, it's just two pages I scanned out of the Carter book. I don't think there's a related brochure in there for '70/'71, but I'll look again.

 

BTW, did you see my last post about the Genesis? A fellow collector got a copy of the Geni brochure out of Bob Burns at Gibson which suprised me, I didn't think they would be so accomodating:

 

http://forums.epiphone.com/default.aspx?g=posts&t=11208

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  • 5 months later...

Hi everyone, old post, but I'd thought I run this by everyone. I just purchased an Epiphone 6735 for $25. Its a beat up guitar, but I thought why not. I've been looking at it and wow, what a beater. A kid had it, and has no idea how to take care of it. Here's what I've noticed so far:

 

Double saddle. Looks like they tried to lower the action by using a two short saddles butted up.

 

Binding on the back bottom of guitar is missing.

 

Action is really high, no idea if truss rod is good

 

Looks like there was a plate on the neck, now missing

 

Nut slot seems odd. I'm not sure what a nut slot should look like.

 

The kid had it strung up as a six string. It doesn't sound bad, just looks rough as H. E. double hocky sticks. Any thoughts?

 

Oh, it has the blue label with a S/N of 119493 and a seventh digit I can't make out at the end.

 

It does say made in.... on the bottom right.

 

Any ideas on if I should try to fix it, scrap it, or otherwise bother with it???

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