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Warming Up to a Guitar


zombywoof

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So how many of ya'll have bought a guitar and were not be exactly thrilled to death with it only to find that over time that sucker really grew on you.

 

Years back I bought a mid-1950s Epiphone flat top. I did not really want it, I only bought it because they are fairly hard to find guitars and I could snag it on the cheap. My thought at the time was since they bring pretty good money I would fix it up and flip it. It did not take much to get it in good playing condition but it had some cosmetic issues which needed to be taken care of my somebody who knew what they were doing. Anyway, I did not get around to it so the guitar went on the back burner and spent alot of time in its case.

 

One day I decided to revisit the Epi so brought it back from exile. I changed the strings, did a few adjustments and finally got around to putting a pickguard on it (which was a pain as the original was very thin and set into the top wood). I figured I might as well just put it up for sale as is. Thing is though I kept thinking this guitar is sounding a whole lot better than I recall. What really struck me was the low end - it was about as close to capturing the sound of a doghouse bass as I have ever heard. Just a deep round sound. Not sure if I had not head that before or maybe I just didn't appreciate it.

 

To make a long story short I did put it up for sale and got a couple of pretty good offers. But when it came time to seal the deal I just couldn't do it. That Epi is now one of my favorite guitars. Must have been the pickguard.

 

Here be the little darling.

 

 

003-1.jpg

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Good lookin' old Epi there, woof! Appears to have had a double-sided, screwed down pickguard in a former life. Bet that old guitar could tell some tales!

 

 

Lordy knows what whomever did this was thinking. Not really too hard to take care of but it seems once I get the guitar into playing condition I never seem to be in an all fired hurry to get around to the cosmetics.

 

EpiFT79-3.jpg

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What model Epi is it? Looks earlier than mid-50s. Nice old pre-Gibson Epi's are hard to find, especially the flat-tops. Congrats on ressurecting the old girl.

 

That is an FT-79 which Gibson later made into the Texan. As far as I can figure the dot necks were the very last ones made before Gibson snapped the company up. Interesting that like the J-200s of the period, the Epi also has laminate maple sides and back (although the back is arched). Ya gotta love the soft V neck and Epi French Heel neck joint though.

 

EpiphoneFT-79008.jpg

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That's one of things that puzzles me about Epi FTs. I believe a lot if not all were built with laminates, even as far back as the 1930s & 40s. I have never owned one, but wonder why they didn't build solid wood FTs like their archtops had. Have you checked the serial # (assuming it has one) to determine the exact year it was built. Just curious.

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That's one of things that puzzles me about Epi FTs. I believe a lot if not all were built with laminates, even as far back as the 1930s & 40s. I have never owned one, but wonder why they didn't build solid wood FTs like their archtops had. Have you checked the serial # (assuming it has one) to determine the exact year it was built. Just curious.

 

 

The serial number places the guitar in 1956 but it appears that it is tough to determine from the number whether the guitar was made in '55 or '56. 1955 would certainly be the earliest year it could have been built as those made through 1954 had the single parallelogram inlays on the board and I believe the inlaid logo instead of the ceramic bikini logo. Anyway, this would have been one of the few guitars made after the Stathopoulo family regained control of the company in 1955.

 

On the body wood, Epiphone went from walnut bodies to the maple around 1954 or just after they moved their operation from NY to Philly (although the labels all still read New York). Can't say for sure if that had anything to do with the switch in body woods though.

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That is pretty cool. I had an Epi of about the same year and it was a good sounding guitar in all respects: plenty of punch, clarity, good bass, etc. It did not really sound like anything else I owned from that era. Mine was one of two I've come across in years of looking at guitars and it's neat to see another one. Mine was an original example & did have the maple back but had a lot more finish wear than yours. I played it quite a bit but as a Gibson guy & one who prefers a bit slimmer neck profile--like early '50s Gibsons--it ended up being sold.

 

Glad you like it, unique and good guitars.

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