teegar Posted March 15, 2010 Share Posted March 15, 2010 I don't know much about these so-called Imperial Series guitars. The book by Walter Carter, "Epiphone, the COmplete History", says they were made by Fujigen, super high quality. He writes, "Only about 13 Zephyrs were made. Their pickups were Japanese-made in the old New York style, which required tooling for the pickup rings and octagonal control knobs." This thing looks *&%#'in sweet. Now, where did I put that $2500, must be around here somewhere........ http://cgi.ebay.com/Epiphone-Zephyr-Regent-Imperial-Edition-1992_W0QQitemZ150423638707QQcmdZViewItemQQptZGuitar?hash=item2305f292b3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smips65 Posted March 15, 2010 Share Posted March 15, 2010 handmade archtop with two floating pickups No such thing bro... those are screwed, anchored, and bolted to the soundboard. Wait until JoeSamick looks at this. But it does have New York Mini's installed. *sigh* sorry Joe.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teegar Posted March 15, 2010 Author Share Posted March 15, 2010 handmade archtop with two floating pickups No such thing bro... There is such a thing - like a Gibson Johnny Smith with pickguard mounted pups, but you're right, no way this thing has floating pups, you can see they're screwed in. Always makes me wonder where the seller got it, and what the hell do they know, when the descriptions have such obvious errors. That price is on the high end of what a honest-to-goodness 1950's Zephyr goes for - but it just looks so killer! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eor Posted March 15, 2010 Share Posted March 15, 2010 want. bad. a giant regent zephyr is one of my irrational dream guitars. the 18" with all the buttons and such. i've heard these 90s mij guitars are insane, too. the only one i've seen was sold on archtop.com for a **** ton. not sure about the headstock on this, though. actually, i'm not sure exactly what this is. wish he'd post the dimensions, at least. looks like a single cut sheraton to me, except it looks like about 2"+ deep. the old emperor was 3.5", i think. from wiki: Imperial Series and Elitist During the mid 1990s Epiphone released a series called the Imperial Series. These were remakes of the classic Epiphone archtops of the 1930's and 40's. Each instrument was hand made in the Fujigen Workshop in Japan. This short lived series was discontinued in 1993, after only 42 Emperor's were made. Several other models, including De Luxe, Broadway and Triumph models, were also produced in varying quantities. When the Japanese Yen gained strength against the USD and Japanese production became cost-prohibited, production was moved, somewhat unusually, back to Nashville and Bozeman for a similar limited run of instruments (250 each of Emperors, Sheratons, Rivieras and Texans) These guitars were the "Centennial Series" in honor of one hundred years of Gibson, and were the last significant number of American made Epiphone guitars[1]. link to the archtop.com page: http://www.archtop.com/ac_92emp_ri.html note that it is completely different, though they are clearly related somehow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carverman Posted March 15, 2010 Share Posted March 15, 2010 handmade archtop with two floating pickups No such thing bro... Maybe he meant "surface mounted"..no ugly routed holes like required for humbuckers. so the carved top is not comprimised for sound. those are screwed' date=' anchored, and bolted to the soundboard. Wait until JoeSamick looks at this. But it does have New York Mini's installed. *sigh* sorry Joe.... Yes, especially after he's spent a "small working mans" fortune on his Sherri and JP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carverman Posted March 15, 2010 Share Posted March 15, 2010 There is such a thing - like a Gibson Johnny Smith with pickguard mounted pups' date=' but you're right, no way this thing has floating pups, you can see they're screwed in. Always makes me wonder where the seller got it, and what the hell do they know, when the descriptions have such obvious errors. That price is on the high end of what a honest-to-goodness 1950's Zephyr goes for - but it just looks so killer![/quote'] Yes, I remember a JS L5 with the floating pickguard Mounted p_ups (neck only I believe) in the late 60s. BTW..Epiphone NYC (before Gibson), did have an Emperor with 2 pickguard mounted "floating pickups"Tone Spectrums) on Frixo's (circa 1947) own custom designed Emperor.. which btw..had also the equal length bass/treble bar frequensator. There were 2 pickguard mounted knobs shown in the picture, (volume?), so I don't believe it had any special tone controls on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 15, 2010 Share Posted March 15, 2010 Maybe he meant "surface mounted"..no ugly routed holes like required for humbuckers.so the carved top is not comprimised for sound. Yes' date=' especially after he's spent a "small working mans" fortune on his Sherri and JP Carverman my 87 sherri and and my JP second hand and modded both cost less that what a stock sherri and JP would cost here....who has spent "small working mans" fortune Carverman you have a myth brewing there..... The particular guitar above is nice but not my cup of tea that tranlated to Swedish krona is 18000sek it is a Japanese made guitar (is it poly finish) my 1987 Sherri and JP with all Mods come to 9500sek. I would not give my two guitars and pay 7500sek on top for the pleasure of owning that guitar....No thank you.. Sorry guys I would not pay 18000sek for that...... a Kalamazoo Zephyr went for the same price a couple of months ago I had a thread about it maybe I should have been bold and bought that at the time but I thought it would go for a lot more and I can pay that for my special guitar though I have seen a "brand spanking new" Gibson Firebird for 12000sek that is eating a whole in my brain at the moment http://en.euroguitar.com/guitar/gibson/firebird/firebird-v-2008-model/125753.html But this Zephyr does not appeal to me at that price go Teegar, Go Svet........you have my blessing I dug out the thread about other Zephyr it eventually went for 18000sek $2500. http://forums.epiphone.com/default.aspx?g=posts&t=13123 I am becoming a big fan of firebird pickups.............NYC minis are losing their over expensive appeal........ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carverman Posted March 15, 2010 Share Posted March 15, 2010 Carverman my 87 sherri and and my JP second hand and modded both cost less that what a stock sherri and JP would cost here....who has spent "small working mans" fortune Carverman you have myth brewwing there..... Hey Joe! ...we was jes pullin your leg! Sorry guys I would not pay 18000sek for that...... a Kalamazoo Zephyr went for a lot less than that a couple of months ago I had a thread about it maybe I should have been bold and bought that at the time but I thought it would go for a lot more and I could have afforded that easily. That is one I really regret not going for..... Naw' date=' I wouldn't even pay that much for a Kalamazoo made Zephyr..they were a middle of the line guitar when they were made..the wood used didn't always have the nice grain to it. I hated the that rotary cut maple grain/dark walnut stain on my 66 Epi Triumph! The back of a guitar should be a showpiece! But this one does not appeal to me at that price go Teegar, Go Svet........you have my blessing[biggrin] Yes, let someone else go for it. I'd rather save my dough for a 67 Howard Roberts Custom..now that is a RARE Gibson made Epiphone! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carverman Posted March 15, 2010 Share Posted March 15, 2010 link to the archtop.com page: http://www.archtop.com/ac_92emp_ri.html note that it is completely different' date=' though they are clearly related somehow.[/quote'] VERY NICE! But it's still an acoustic archtop. But I bet it would sound good with a Kent Armstrong floating p_up suspended off of a custom made pickguard in the same shape with those mini volume and tone controls. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 16, 2010 Share Posted March 16, 2010 VERY NICE! But it's still an acoustic archtop. But I bet it would sound good with aKent Armstrong floating p_up suspended off of a custom made pickguard in the same shape with those mini volume and tone controls. I have a 1959 Levin 335 ......here at home that I have a nice floating pickup for it' date=' maybe I should start work on my Levin.....(nitro finish made by the company bought out by Martin to make their guitars cost me 4000sek well under a quarter of price of the vintage Zephyr and japanese Zephyr and probably a better guitar than both) [img']http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/ae271/JoeSamick/P1010163-1.jpg[/img] here is a video I made just after I got the Levin late last autumn.......please excuse the playing it is 9.30am and I have not fully woken up.....I promise, I am a lot looser later at night when I have had a Bushmills... just click on the photo Maybe I should work on this and try and get 1948 Boogie Chillin sound....of Hookers Kay full hollow I could probably pick up a nice DeArmond neck pickup for a lot less than a NYC mini...... A Question for Carverman (or anyone else with an answer) my Levin has definitely had a floating neck pickup as there are small screw holes on side of the bottom of the neck....But I cannot figure out the two screw holes on the soundboard. I thought maybe a P90 but it would have to have a route for a P90 surely...? Does anyone have any idea what type of pickup those two screw holes in the soundboard could have been for? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carverman Posted March 16, 2010 Share Posted March 16, 2010 I have a 1959 Levin 335 ......here at home that I have a nice floating pickup for it' date=' maybe I should start work on my Levin.....(nitro finish made by the company bought out by Martin to make their guitars cost me 4000sek well under a quarter of price of the vintage Zephyr and japanese Zephyr and probably a better guitar than both) Maybe I should work on this and try and get 1948 Boogie Chillin sound....of Hookers Kay full hollow I could probably pick up a nice DeArmond neck pickup for a lot less than a NYC mini...... [b']A Question for Carverman (or anyone else with an answer) my Levin has definitely had a floating neck pickup as there are small screw holes on side of the bottom of the neck....But I cannot figure out the two screw holes on the soundboard. I thought maybe a P90 but it would have to have a route for a P90 surely...? Does anyone have any idea what type of pickup those two screw holes in the soundboard could have been for? [/b] It's hard to tell what kind of p_up was there, but certainly from the spacing of the holes it could have been a Gibson p-90 with dog ear plastic cover. If there is enough space between the spruce top and the height of the fb, so that the strings don't hit the pole screws when pressed down at the 20th fret, no reason why you should have to rout any holes in your acoustic archtop. Originally , not too many archtops had holes in them..it's when they came out with the humbucker and the adjustable height screws, as well as the protruding pole piece screws that come out the bottom that they started routing the tops. Ok for a SB like an LP, but a shame to have to cut holes in an acoustic archtop. That's why they have the neck mounts and the special thin ones built into the pickguards for these beautiful jazz boxes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 16, 2010 Share Posted March 16, 2010 It's hard to tell what kind of p_up was there' date=' but certainly from the spacing of the holesit could have been a Gibson p-90 with dog ear plastic cover. If there is enough space between the spruce top and the height of the fb, so that the strings don't hit the pole screws when pressed down at the 20th fret, no reason why you shoukd have to rout any holes in your acoustic archtop. Original, not too many archtops had holes in them..it's when they came out with the humbucker and the adjustable height screws as well as the protruding pole piece screws that come out the bottom that they started routing the tops. Ok for a SB like an LP, but a shame to have to cut holes in an acoustic archtop. That's why they have the neck mounts and the special thin ones built into the pickguards for these beautiful jazz boxes.[/quote'] I know one thing a Levin 335 with a single neck P90 would be a beautiful blues box. I have had the Levin on a back boiler and even thought of selling it a while ago. But maybe I should in the future ask Jon Moore who is reputed to make nice P90s, if he can make a dog ear P90 that would sit on top of the FB. I would have to research some non intrusive wiring, pots and jack. Is there a full hollow body guitar with 1 neck P90.......... I can look into....... as a model..? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carverman Posted March 16, 2010 Share Posted March 16, 2010 I know one thing a Levin 335 with a single neck P90 would be a beautiful blues box. I have had the Levin on a back boiler and even thought of selling it a while ago. But maybe I should in the future ask Jon Moore who is reputed to make nice P90s' date=' if he can make a dog ear P90 that would sit on top of the FB. I would have to research some non intrusive wiring, pots and jack. Is there a full hollow body guitar with 1 neck P90.......... I can look into....... as a model..? [/quote'] Yes, and you may be able to get one already made out there. Here's what a mcCarty floating pickup looks like..This is the style you would want to use. http://www.vintagearchtop.com/mccarty.htm If you can't find a p-90 commercially out there and a boutique maker is custom making a neck/fb mount for you, you can get the "thumbwheel tone/volume that fit onto the pickguard. These are made by Schatten, easily installed by foam tape underneath the pickguard, so only the edge that you roll with your finger tips is exposed. Stew-mac sell thse single or double 250k or 500k for around $23 to $33 US. The jack is the big problem and you may want to consider a wire from the controls through an f-hole underneath the pickguard to a endpin type of jack (these are the threaded barrel type) that are easy to install in the endpin block inside. This makes the entire archtop basically " unmodified." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianh Posted March 16, 2010 Share Posted March 16, 2010 Hey Joe, that Levin sounds really great - very authentic, thanks for posting. I've been curous to hear it. Some of the 60's Casinos has only one P90, but they go for around $2k US. Also the 50's Gibson ES-225T (thinline) and of course the ES-125: I've been seriously considering putting a P90 on my MIK Epi Emperor, it's a relatively inexpensive guitar so not worried about devaluing it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 16, 2010 Share Posted March 16, 2010 Hey Joe' date=' that Levin sounds really great - very authentic, thanks for posting. I've been curous to hear it. Some of the 60's Casinos has only one P90, but they go for around $2k US. Also the 50's Gibson ES-225T (thinline) and of course the ES-125: [img']http://i608.photobucket.com/albums/tt163/brianehuff/gibson_es125_a_001.jpg[/img] I've been seriously considering putting a P90 on my MIK Epi Emperor, it's a relatively inexpensive guitar so not worried about devaluing it. Thanks Brian That gibson is beautiful and a wonderful model. I picked the Levin up cheap and I really want a solution that leaves it as it is but on saying that is has had two knobs by the f holes before I can see where they have been filled. If I look hard enough it probably had a jack as well so I could use those sites to electrify it again. The previous owner said it was used as an electric jazz guitar in the 60s. Maybe I sould find a P90 to sit on the FB and use the two existing holes and open up the two holes fro the knobs and put a jack in. I am sure it was like that in the 60s. This has given me lots to think about but this is fourth in line on my mods list I will come back to this in the summer some time. sorry Teegar I put my hands up Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianh Posted March 16, 2010 Share Posted March 16, 2010 Speaking of jazz guitars, check this review. More or less covers all the guitars I've ever wanted in this category: http://www.sheetsofsound.net/semihollow.htm Also, on the subject of pickups, here's a handy reference site: http://www.pickupedia.info/Main_Page Now back to our regulalry scheduled program. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 16, 2010 Share Posted March 16, 2010 Speaking of jazz guitars' date=' check this review. More or less covers all the guitars I've ever wanted in this category: http://www.sheetsofsound.net/semihollow.htm Also, on the subject of pickups, here's a handy reference site: http://www.pickupedia.info/Main_Page Now back to our regulalry scheduled program. [img']http://i608.photobucket.com/albums/tt163/brianehuff/92Imeprial1.jpg[/img] Intrigued by the single volume and single tone knob and that neat switch......can anyone elaborate on how this guitar is wired... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carverman Posted March 16, 2010 Share Posted March 16, 2010 Intrigued by the single volume and single tone knob and that neat switch......can anyone elaborate on how this guitar is wired... lets see..I'll give it a try ..hmm lets see 2 (SC) pickups. a lever action 4 way or 5 way, single vol and single tone..hey..doesn't a Tele have that kind of configuration? How about something similar to this: http://www.singlecoil.com/docs/4way.pdf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 16, 2010 Share Posted March 16, 2010 Hey Joe' date=' that Levin sounds really great - very authentic, thanks for posting. I've been curous to hear it. Some of the 60's Casinos has only one P90, but they go for around $2k US. Also the 50's Gibson ES-225T (thinline) and of course the ES-125: [img']http://i608.photobucket.com/albums/tt163/brianehuff/gibson_es125_a_001.jpg[/img] I've been seriously considering putting a P90 on my MIK Epi Emperor, it's a relatively inexpensive guitar so not worried about devaluing it. Sorry for slight sidetrack again Teegar Brian as I said I bought my Levin quite cheaply here in Sweden....us$550 here and Identical one a 1958 for us$2,430.66 mine is 59 http://www.greatguitars.com.au/Levin.335.1958.htm Maybe I should look after my Levin and get it a nice P90 necktie.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pohatu771 Posted March 16, 2010 Share Posted March 16, 2010 I'd really like to get an ES-125 or something similar, with a neck P-90. My Casino comes close, but nothing beats that jazz. tone. I'd also like to get a similar guitar, and put a Charlie Christian-inspired pickup in it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deflepfan Posted March 16, 2010 Share Posted March 16, 2010 Sorry, teegar, the hijack continues. I'm reading along with this thread when I get to Joe's question about finding out what the holes in his Levin is, so off I go (without completely reading the rest of the thread) and I'm internet snooping I come across this site and the guy has Epiphones and a Levin, so I'm caught up in reading his site (hey, he likes and has Epi's- I have to read it!) when it hits me . . . http://www.josephcooper.eu/levin-335.html Hi, Joe! Sheila Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 16, 2010 Share Posted March 16, 2010 Sorry' date=' teegar, the hijack continues. I'm reading along with this thread when I get to Joe's question about finding out what the holes in his Levin is, so off I go (without completely reading the rest of the thread) and I'm internet snooping I come across this site and the guy has Epiphones and a Levin, so I'm caught up in reading his site (hey, he likes and has Epi's- I have to read it!) when it hits me . . . http://www.josephcooper.eu/levin-335.html Hi, Joe! Sheila Sheila What a co-incidence and that guy is also from Liverpool and now lives in Sweden........ya caught me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deflepfan Posted March 16, 2010 Share Posted March 16, 2010 Sheila What a co-incidence and that guy is also from Liverpool and now lives in Sweden........ya caught me Joe, I thought it was a funny coincidence: Epiphones, Levin, Sweden. I had to come back to this site to confirm the Sweden connection. Was already to come back and say "Hey, Joe, here's a friend for ya!', when I scrolled down to and saw the video! I had to smile! Sheila Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 16, 2010 Share Posted March 16, 2010 Joe' date='I thought it was a funny coincidence: Epiphones, Levin, Sweden. I had to come back to this site to confirm the Sweden connection. Was already to come back and say "Hey, Joe, here's a friend for ya!', when I scrolled down to and saw the video! I had to smile! Sheila[/quote'] I just had a thought you went all around the world to go to my website, and there is a link at the bottom of everyone of my posts, which says "blog", which would have got you there a lot quicker...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deflepfan Posted March 16, 2010 Share Posted March 16, 2010 I just had a thought you went all around the world to go to go to my website' date=' and there is a link at the bottom of everyone of my posts, which says "blog", which would have got you there a lot quicker......[biggrin'] But I LOVE the scenic route!!! It's just comforting and relaxing and fun and adventerous, . . . oh who am I kidding? I confess, I didn't know that! Sheila Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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