zackdadams Posted November 18, 2008 Share Posted November 18, 2008 Posted this in acoustic section, was requested I post here in electric forums. I'm looking for some information on an Archtop guitar I recently got. So far i've found out it's a "Howard Roberts" model. I've consulted Gibsons serial number chart, but I can't find anything definate. Any help would be greatly appreciated! Note: It has electric pickups. Model: HR-1 Serial: E920016 Made in Japan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidg3333 Posted November 18, 2008 Share Posted November 18, 2008 I had a Gibson version of the same. If I recall correctly, it was produced around 1954 (a VERY good year!). Known for tons of feedback. I knew of musicians that stuffed the sound box to reduce it to a manageable level. Mine, with the volume at 2, would start to hum and grow louder and louder just sitting on a guitar stand with the amp turned on until it started to squeal. The Epiphone model may have been made in 1974. There may have been some re-releases of the same. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitmore Willy Posted November 18, 2008 Share Posted November 18, 2008 Zack. Welcome to the forum. Nice guitfiddle. Sounds like you already have a fair amount of information. Have you sent the pictures to Gibson's customer service? I have had good responces from them on many issues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parabar Posted November 19, 2008 Share Posted November 19, 2008 The original Howard Roberts model was introduced by Epiphone in 1964, not 1954, and was produced in Kalamazoo until 1967. Gibson later issued a fancier version (including the Epiphone-style vine-motif headstock). Yours is a Japanese reissue from Matsumoku, and likely from the 80's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidg3333 Posted November 19, 2008 Share Posted November 19, 2008 Damn! The old off by ten error! I still say 1954 was a good year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carverman Posted November 19, 2008 Share Posted November 19, 2008 The original Howard Roberts model was introduced by Epiphone in 1964' date=' not 1954, and was produced in Kalamazoo until 1967. Gibson later issued a fancier version (including the Epiphone-style vine-motif headstock). [/quote'] Bang on! Parabar. The '65 Epiphone catalog shows the Howard Roberts Custom with the ES-175 tp. We started carrying Epiphone line here in Ottawa in '65. My boss got a Howard Roberts custom (black) in 66. It had the fancy vine headstock. He died a few years ago..and I don't know what happened to it. I'm sure it's worth quite a bit today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidg3333 Posted November 19, 2008 Share Posted November 19, 2008 Here is a good link http://www.riffinteractive.com/expguitar/HowardRoberts_Sound.htm "Howard always strung his arch-top electrics with extra-heavy Gibson Monosteel strings: .016-.018-.028.-.038-.048-.058" That seems to match the gauge I had on mine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carverman Posted November 19, 2008 Share Posted November 19, 2008 The Howard Roberts model certainly is controversial. Besides the Epiphone version, there seems to be a few other that made similar versions with his name on them. Gibson, Ibanez, Greco, Goya, Ventura and Aria.. check out the story on these... http://www.utstat.utoronto.ca/mikevans/hroberts/guitars/guitars.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zackdadams Posted November 20, 2008 Author Share Posted November 20, 2008 Thanks for the info guys. So, should I contact Gibson themselves for a definitive answer? I'm mainly trying to hammer down a year, which of course will drastically affect it's value. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carverman Posted November 20, 2008 Share Posted November 20, 2008 Thanks for the info guys. So' date=' should I contact Gibson themselves for a definitive answer? I'm mainly trying to hammer down a year, which of course will drastically affect it's value.[/quote'] Well, it's not a Gibson or Epiphone made by Gibson in Kalamazoo, so I don't think you can get very far inquiring through Gibson, as they probably don't have a record of those serial numbers, only Imperial in Japan might, but it doesn't hurt to try. If it was a vintage Howard Roberts Custom, then you would definitely have something of great value, because there weren't that many HR Customs made back in the late '60s. Here's what a vintage one would look like... http://vintageguitarz.blogspot.com/2008/04/1967-custom-epiphone-howard-roberts.html IMO, as far as being made by Imperial it's probably a nice and playable guitar, but the value would not be the same as one made by Gibson/Epiphone in the US back in the '60s, The tuners are wrong, and the Epiphone headstock name in script is not quite the same, and the vine design is a bit different than the HRs made in the US. Perhaps Epiphone allowed the guitar maker some leeway in those things. There's somebody on Ebay trying to sell an Imperial Japan archtop for $349 and claiming it's '66-'69 vintage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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