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1933 Epiphone Masterbilt Deluxe

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Serial #6134, Long Island label

Body size at lower bout: 16 1/2". Scale length: 25 3/4" Nut Width: 1 11/16"

Finish: Sunburst finish, nitrocellulose type

Materials: Handcarved bookmatched solid spruce top; solid tiger-flame maple back, neck and sides; Brazilian rosewood fingerboard with variegated mother of pearl inlay; ornate vine peghead inlay with scribed banner insets; bound fingerboard and peghead; early 'rope' pattern body binding.

Hardware: Original gold trapeze tailpiece, bound bakelite pickguard, adjustable compensated ebony bridge, correct gold Grover Sta-Tite style tuners with butterbean keys.

Notes: How much would $275 buy in 1933, the trough of the Depression? A brand new upright piano from Sears Roebuck, delivered. A clean late model Hudson Terraplane. Almost six acres of good Indiana farm land. Or the brand new Epiphone Masterbilt Deluxe, the fanciest, most powerful archtop guitar of its day. The extravagant pearl inlay of the Deluxe made the rival L-5 look drab by contrast. But the secret weapon of Epi's top-of-the line guitar was its uniquely penetrating voice, a result of a dramatic technical innovation. While Gibson stuck with the short scale neck of the 1922 L-5 for over a decade, Epi pioneered the modern long scale 25 1/2" fingerboard, giving it's guitars the projection required to cut through the new bigger bands. Though Epiphone may have catalogued the Deluxe model as early as 1931, the earliest known example documented in the Fisch and Fred registry is #6482 from 1933. This guitar, over three hundred serial numbers earlier, may be the earliest Epiphone Deluxe found to date.

The guitar features some of Epi's most distinctive design features; the asymmetrical, banner-inlay Masterbilt headstock, with laminated bakelite facing on the rear volute; the 'rope' style body binding, and the unique 3 piece f-holes, as found on only the earliest examples of this model. As befits its top-drawer status, the guitar is sumptuously endowed with tiger flame maple, bookmatched in a stunning chevron pattern on the back, highlighted under a meticulously recreated dark cordovan sunburst finish. The soundboard is handcarved of quartersawn spruce so fine that individual grain lines virtually elude the naked eye.

The guitar is in superb condition, having survived without visible cracks of any kind. Is distinctive 'rope' style binding is intact, and it includes an original Epi trapeze tailpiece, correct hand-antiqued gold 16X1 Grover Sta-Tite butterbean tuners, a compensated ebony bridge, and a vintage style hand-bound pickguard in black bakelite. Frets are freshly leveled, the fingerboard is straight, with a comfortable 10" radius, and the neck profile is slim and notably easy to play. The ornate fingerboard inlays are of a pattern found only on the earliest Deluxe models, and have been carefully restored in a few corners of wear. The voice on the guitar is clear and appealing, and the 16 1/2" body sits comfortably in the lap. An exquisite example of a historically important instrument, ready to play, and stunning to behold.

Setup: The frets have been precision leveled, recrowned and polished; trussrod tension and neck relief adjusted; bridge height adjusted; bridge compensation set; string slots at nut and bridge inspected and recut as necessary; bridge foot contour inspected and fit to top as necessary; bridge radius inspected and recurved as necessary; bridgewheels and tuners lubricated; fingerboard and bridge oiled; body and neck cleaned and hand polished.

This instrument is strung with medium gauge bronze strings (.013-.057). The guitar will accommodate lighter or heavier gauge strings, according to preference. String action is set at 5/64" to 6/64" at the 12th fret, with moderate relief for acoustic playing with medium strings. The action may be lowered or raised to your requirements with the adjustable bridge.

Case: Black 5 ply plush lined hardshell case.

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