Lefty Bill Posted September 14, 2011 Share Posted September 14, 2011 Is a 21 fret Epiphone neck unusual? Open book headstock, binding, dot inlays with 3-piece neck construction. I'd been looking at Epiphone and Gibson necks and bodies recently, and found a 21 fret neck with the open book-style headstock and binding. The neck's origin is unknown. Binding is W-B-W. Fretboard appears to be mahogany, inlays are dots which are translucent material (light shines into them, revealing their depth).. so maybe real m-o-p, not the silver disks used in recent necks. Neck may be maple, I'm not an expert at identifying wood types, but it isn't painted with an opaque color. Nut masures 1-5/8" and is a thin nut, unlike the thicker more recent types. The existing nut appears to be the original, as there is some slightly ambered/yellowed clearcoat on it which is the same as the neck finish over the binding. The black finish of the headstock is up against the thin nut, indicating that a thin nut is original. Even if the nut wasn't broken it needs replaced anyway, as the string slots are worn excessively deep. Fret markers are for a right-hand neck. Colorful Epiphone inlay, more brilliant than newer models, more green and pink. The lower case "e" at the end is the same style as the big E (the Epiphone trademark round E with a line thru it). The dot above the "i" is conected, round, but not separate from the i. Extended heel tenon/tang in 2 steps with open truss rod cavity. Neck profile is kinda thin, about the same as my newer slim necks. The included 3-screw truss rod cover appears to be a substitution, to cover up numerous other trc screw holes. There are 4 pairs of holes and also 2 center holes (at widely differing locations) for the upper end of a trc. The headstock paint and overall finish appears to be different from newer models, lacking a thick build-up of clear finish coats. I thought it a little strange that there is no other inlay work on the headstock since the neck has full binding, so I guess the absence of a large headstock inlay and the dot fret inlays indicate that the neck is from a lower-cost model. The original tuners were replaced with sealed/enclosed Sperzel gold tuners (except one is a Grover-type), so I'm not sure if the diameters of peg holes have been enlarged. The truss rod channel in the headstock (above the nut and under the trc) is square instead of round like newer models, and definitely wider than the newer channels. At the heel end, where the truss rod end is visible, a steel square-shaped piece surrounds the round end of the rod. Regards, Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parabar Posted September 14, 2011 Share Posted September 14, 2011 That does sound like an unusual neck. Most modern Epiphone necks are either 20 frets (Broadway, Joe Pass Emperor II, Emperor Regent, ES-175, etc.) or 22 frets (Les Pauls, SG's, Dots, Casino, 'kats. and their variants). 21 frets is typical of Strat-style guitars, but Epi's briefs forays into that design usually had a different headstock. The jazz style 20-fret necks usually have more elaborate inlays than simple dots. Again, a 21 fret neck with dot inlays suggests a strat style, but the binding and tenon would suggest a set-neck model rather than a bolt-on. Can you post a picture? That might give us more to go on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobinTheHood Posted September 14, 2011 Share Posted September 14, 2011 What type of guitar is it? It sounds like its a Japanese model. Was that a typo when you said the fretboard is mahogany? Did you mean rosewood? Never heard of a mahog fingerboard. As far as neck material, maple will be light colored with long wide grains and tends to "flame" around the edges near the fretboard. Mahogany will be a little darker with tight, small grains, almost dot-like in many places. Any pics? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duane v Posted September 15, 2011 Share Posted September 15, 2011 I believe all 70's ET 270 and 290 Series Epis have 21 frets.... It was the one thing I didnt like about my 72 ET-275 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lefty Bill Posted September 17, 2011 Author Share Posted September 17, 2011 I believe all 70's ET 270 and 290 Series Epis have 21 frets.... It was the one thing I didnt like about my 72 ET-275 **** ACK! I'll try to fix these image links if I can I appreciate everyones' replies. Duane and RTH's help pointed me in the right direction, and it seems that the neck is most likely from a 1970s ET-278 model from Japan. http://www.epiphonewiki.com/index.php?title=ET-Series The overall condition isn't great, but it's usable as a project part. It was so cheap that I just bought it without any concern for what model it came from. More details and pics.. Heel http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6177/6151813339_786aaffa57_z.jpg Construction http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6079/6152358504_8ae20157cb_z.jpg Headstock angle and neck thickness, shown beside a more recent bolt-on neck http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6173/6151813555_701a43f31d_z.jpg Fretboard length http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6176/6152358686_1a1eff54d4_z.jpg Colorful inlay http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6082/6151813441_109a7165ea_z.jpg RTH's assessment of the fretboard material is correct.. as in typo=brainphart: Yes, it's rosewood, not mahogany as I had stated without objective proofreading. The fretboard length is 17-3/4" (not including the nut) and the overall neck length is 27-5/8". The fret placement is the same distance from the nut for all frets, compared to the more recent 22 fret bolt-on neck, except that there is no 22nd fret. The neck material is listed as "hardwood" in the Epiphone Wiki specs, and looks as though it's likely maple. There are other pics showing the excessive number of screw holes in the TRC area, and the square channel for the truss rod, among other characteristics. Flickr site pics Thanks to everyone, Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobinTheHood Posted September 17, 2011 Share Posted September 17, 2011 Yeah, 278 looks to be the one. I didnt realize you only had the neck. I must have missed that part in the OP. Epiphone lists the necks on most of the ETs as "hardwood", so thats how I wrote it up. It seems that it would be maple, so I dont know why they wouldnt just call it that. Maybe its some other "maple-like" wood or something. Not entirely sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lefty Bill Posted September 19, 2011 Author Share Posted September 19, 2011 Yeah, 278 looks to be the one. I didnt realize you only had the neck. I must have missed that part in the OP. Epiphone lists the necks on most of the ETs as "hardwood", so thats how I wrote it up. It seems that it would be maple, so I dont know why they wouldnt just call it that. Maybe its some other "maple-like" wood or something. Not entirely sure. I'm grateful that there is a place to look up details about Epiphone guitars.. it's not like the company has done much in the way of historical info, unless it's to market yet another copy/orphan of a model which had some significant importance (which generally isn't about the guitar, but more about the artists and popular music trends at the time, IMO). Many of those early pop music artists wouldn't even be noticed today if they were just arriving in the present music scene.. not sayin' I like it, just sayin'. Thanks again, Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobinTheHood Posted September 19, 2011 Share Posted September 19, 2011 I'm grateful that there is a place to look up details about Epiphone guitars.. it's not like the company has done much in the way of historical info, unless it's to market yet another copy/orphan of a model which had some significant importance (which generally isn't about the guitar, but more about the artists and popular music trends at the time, IMO). Many of those early pop music artists wouldn't even be noticed today if they were just arriving in the present music scene.. not sayin' I like it, just sayin'. Thanks again, Bill For as much as people can be fanatics about their Epiphones and Gibsons, I'm kind of (but not entirely) surprised that they didnt keep better records or make their own wiki-type site for their guitars. People REALLY want to know about their old Epiphones, and I would imagine the same goes for Gibson. The info would be a lot more accurate, that is for sure. Just dont take everything in the wiki as canon. Their are still a lot of mistakes and inaccuracies, especially in the acoustic section. Its always best to take the info you find there and cross reference it here with other people. Anyway, glad I could help. And a thank you to Duane for pointing us in the right direction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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