LA David Posted January 5, 2013 Share Posted January 5, 2013 I've owned an Epiphone Emperor Regent for over 40 years. The Frequensator tailpiece just broke, so I went online to look for a replacement. I found the site guitardaterproject.org and entered the serial number, 59986, found on a sticker inside the treble f-hole, and it came back as a bogus number. Can someone help me determine whether my instrument is a legit ER? Thank you. David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L5Larry Posted January 5, 2013 Share Posted January 5, 2013 The Guitar Dater Project strikes again. I wish that website would go away. Anyway.... Tom Wheeler's book "American Guitars" (c. 1982 Harper & Row, p.40), states that Epiphone used the 59000 numbers in 1950. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matthewk Posted January 5, 2013 Share Posted January 5, 2013 Still, we'd love to see LOTS OF PHOTOS. Just to be sure, of course. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bender 4 Life Posted January 5, 2013 Share Posted January 5, 2013 The Guitar Dater Project strikes again. I wish that website would go away. Anyway.... Tom Wheeler's book "American Guitars" (c. 1982 Harper & Row, p.40), states that Epiphone used the 59000 numbers in 1950. What Larry said......the GDP is absolutely reliable...for BAD info ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidblast Posted January 5, 2013 Share Posted January 5, 2013 so just thinking... 40 years ago, I don't think anyone was even dreaming up the idea of making "fakes" maybe I'm just being naive Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LA David Posted January 5, 2013 Author Share Posted January 5, 2013 Larry, Matthew, Bender, Kidblast: thanks, everyone, for responding. The internet can be such an amazing resource! All the better that you seem in agreement that the Guitar Dater Project info shouldn't concern me. I'll try to post some photos later today. It would be great to get additional comments on the guitar's provenance. Any suggestions on replacing my Frequensator tailpiece? Should I search for a used one of the same vintage, or is there any issue about "authenticity" or quality if I just look for a new one? David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LA David Posted January 5, 2013 Author Share Posted January 5, 2013 Here are photos of the guitar. In the Front photo, you see the broken end of the tailpiece at the bottom, the wooden bridge, and the floating pickup I've always used. There are two pictures of the sticker inside the f-hole, one with the serial number, the other with the name. I'm interested in any comments, pro, or con. Any suggestions on what I should do about replacing the Frequensator? Thanks. David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mgrasso Posted January 6, 2013 Share Posted January 6, 2013 That is a very interesting model. From the label, it is from the late 70's early 80's Matsumoku Epi. I have never seen a Regent. The Wiki has the Emperors, but no mention of the Emperor Regent. EpiWiki I love new discoveries. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LA David Posted January 6, 2013 Author Share Posted January 6, 2013 That is a very interesting model. From the label, it is from the late 70's early 80's Matsumoku Epi. I have never seen a Regent. The Wiki has the Emperors, but no mention of the Emperor Regent. EpiWiki I love new discoveries. L5 Larry found (above) "Tom Wheeler's book "American Guitars" (c. 1982 Harper & Row, p.40), states that Epiphone used the 59000 numbers in 1950". Since I bought the guitar used in 1969 that sounds likely, but I don't know anything else about this guitar model. David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vaxxine Posted January 6, 2013 Share Posted January 6, 2013 That is a very interesting model. From the label, it is from the late 70's early 80's Matsumoku Epi. I have never seen a Regent. The Wiki has the Emperors, but no mention of the Emperor Regent. EpiWiki I love new discoveries. This isn't a 'new discovery'. It's an old original. The 'New York, NY USA' label tells you this is not a 70's or 80's Japanese Epi - but a genuine 50's model when Epi was still in NYC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vaxxine Posted January 6, 2013 Share Posted January 6, 2013 LA David, Reference to your serial number can be found on this web page. Follow the serial number link : Vintage Epiphone info Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bender 4 Life Posted January 6, 2013 Share Posted January 6, 2013 good sources for a correct replacement "Freakysator" would likely be either Stewmac or Allparts (.com on both), or just re-post another topic as "where can I get a Freq. for my origional E.R. you'd likely get several answers...probably better than mine. good luck ! & BTW, Welcome to the Forum, hope you like it well enough to hang here some! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matthewk Posted January 6, 2013 Share Posted January 6, 2013 Just - wow. It's a stunner. Perhaps you could buy a replacement frequensator and just use the tailpiece end, while storing the original. A vintage one would be difficult to find and presumably as old as the one which broke, so perhaps for the safety of the guitar a newer replacement would be more secure. What a beautiful thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pin Posted January 6, 2013 Share Posted January 6, 2013 Beautiful guitar! Is that a floating DeArmond pickup? Not sure whether it is Dearmond but I've always wanted a jazz guitar with a pickup like that you can move around. Most of the time I'd leave it just where it is on the pics but fantastic bit of kit. The fact of that pickup alone makes it unlikely to be a fake. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidblast Posted January 6, 2013 Share Posted January 6, 2013 That is a very interesting model. From the label, it is from the late 70's early 80's Matsumoku Epi. I have never seen a Regent. The Wiki has the Emperors, but no mention of the Emperor Regent. EpiWiki I love new discoveries. The emperor regent was in production again until sometime around 2010 when Gibson discontinued them. I have one, just like this one. http://www2.gibson.com/Products/Electric-Guitars/Archtop/Epiphone/Emperor-Regent.aspx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mgrasso Posted January 6, 2013 Share Posted January 6, 2013 My bad on this one. Obviously I did not look at the photos close enough before commenting. Lesson learned. But I was kind of excited to think that they might have reissued the model in the early 80's. It is a great looking guitar. Good luck locating the Frequnsator. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LA David Posted January 7, 2013 Author Share Posted January 7, 2013 Beautiful guitar! Is that a floating DeArmond pickup? Not sure whether it is Dearmond but I've always wanted a jazz guitar with a pickup like that you can move around. Most of the time I'd leave it just where it is on the pics but fantastic bit of kit. The fact of that pickup alone makes it unlikely to be a fake. I believe it is a DeArmond. I've always been very happy with it. I don't typically move it around on a gig. I adjust it occasionally for the overall sound I want, then use the tone control. It's also great to have a pickup without influencing the acoustics of the guitar. David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LA David Posted January 7, 2013 Author Share Posted January 7, 2013 Just - wow. It's a stunner. Perhaps you could buy a replacement frequensator and just use the tailpiece end, while storing the original. A vintage one would be difficult to find and presumably as old as the one which broke, so perhaps for the safety of the guitar a newer replacement would be more secure. What a beautiful thing. Matthew: thanks for the complement. I think you are right about getting a new, rather than used, tailpiece. I'll start looking. David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LA David Posted January 7, 2013 Author Share Posted January 7, 2013 good sources for a correct replacement "Freakysator" would likely be either Stewmac or Allparts (.com on both), or just re-post another topic as "where can I get a Freq. for my origional E.R. you'd likely get several answers...probably better than mine. good luck ! & BTW, Welcome to the Forum, hope you like it well enough to hang here some! Thanks for the links. I'll see what I can find there. If not, I'll repost as you suggested. I probably won't become a regular on the forum, though it sure is a great resource. I played jazz guitar in high school, in the 60s, didn't play any music for about 40 years, then started playing jazz bass about 5 years ago. I thought it would be easier than starting up on guitar again, but ir replaces the greater complexity of the guitar with physical challenges, so still a steep uphill climb. But I love playing again. I've got a website with live recordings, if you're interested: DaveRossandFriendsdotcome. Thanks for your help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LA David Posted January 7, 2013 Author Share Posted January 7, 2013 LA David, Reference to your serial number can be found on this web page. Follow the serial number link : Vintage Epiphone info Thanks; that's such a comprehensive site! One-stop encyclopedia. Turns out the guitar was born the same year I was, 1950. David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pin Posted January 7, 2013 Share Posted January 7, 2013 Thanks very much for all that info David. It is a real treat when such a guitar comes up on a site like this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LA David Posted January 7, 2013 Author Share Posted January 7, 2013 Thanks very much for all that info David. It is a real treat when such a guitar comes up on a site like this. Thanks for the complement. There's even more backstory. I was playing a beautiful chocolate brown Howard Roberts before I got this guitar. HR used to play at a club nearby, so I went to hear him often. In 1969, I had found a ride back to CA from college in FL. In the middle of the night, we picked up a hitchhiker who offered to drive. We'd been driving non-stop for two days, so we gave him the wheel and quickly went to sleep. Minutes later, he fell asleep, the car flipped into a ditch, and I watched my HR, in its case, get run over by a 14-wheeler. I still have the parts I could salvage (pegs, pickup, pickguard). The insurance money allowed me to buy the Emperor, but that HR was really sweet! The 60s were a great time to be a guitar player in LA. Barney Kessell could be found most days of the week in his guitar store on Vine. HR was at Dante's nearly every week. John Collins played every night with Bobby Troupe at a little dive. You could talk to them easily. Lots of things have changed! David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cunningham26 Posted January 8, 2013 Share Posted January 8, 2013 love when a cool guitar also has a cool story. FWIW, the same sort of thing happened on my trapeze tailpiece, and they were able to replace just the broken parts, so it didn't clash with the old patina too much. good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LA David Posted January 8, 2013 Author Share Posted January 8, 2013 love when a cool guitar also has a cool story. FWIW, the same sort of thing happened on my trapeze tailpiece, and they were able to replace just the broken parts, so it didn't clash with the old patina too much. good luck! Appreciate it. I think I'll post a topic on just the Frequensator. I've checked around the net and it doesn't look like it's going to be easy to find a vintage one. David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thewizardofAz Posted August 7, 2013 Share Posted August 7, 2013 I'd go to a local machine shop first. The broken parts almost certainly can be welded back together, and there are several methods of welding that might suit this, silver - solder comes to mind. They'll need to clean up the weld, but it will be quite strong. Once cleaned up, have it re-chromed or re gold plated at a local business also. Good as new. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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