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1953 Epiphone Devon
Status: SOLD For instruments now available, please visit our Instruments page here. To be notified of examples of this model or similar instruments as they arrive, please contact joev@archtop.com. Please be specific on which instrument(s) you're looking for, and we'll be happy to contact you as soon as they become available.
Serial #: 66172, New York label
Body size at lower bout: 17 3/8" Scale length: 25 1/2". Nut width: 1 11/16"
Finish: Original dark sunburst finish, nitrocellulose lacquer type
Materials: Handcarved solid spruce top; solid mahogany neck with walnut centerstripe; maple back and sides; Brazilian rosewood fingerboard with distictive oval fingerboard inlays, art-deco peghead inlay, and inlaid Epiphone logo, all in solid mother-of-pearl, single-bound body and fingerboard.
Hardware: Original tortoise-shell pickguard; original nickel Frequensator tailpiece and nickel-plated open-back Grover Sta-Tite tuners; original compensated adjustable rosewood bridge, Hex-key adjustable truss rod at peghead.
Notes: The Devon is the rarest of all full-size Epiphone acoustics, made in small numbers in the New York factory only between about 1949 and 1953. The guitar has the 17 3/8" solid hand-carved top and the long 25 1/2" scale of the Deluxe, Broadway and Triumph models, with which it is structurally identical. Like these more commonly-seen models, the Devon also has a solid Brazilian rosewood fingerboard and the patented Frequensator tailpiece.
This example is in excellent condition, with almost no sign of thumbwear on the neck and fine original frets. The finish is all original, and is a magnificently applied warm sunburst finish. A few scattered finish dings are the only signs of play. The action on the guitar is particularly fine, and it plays elegantly and powerfully without buzzing or strain. The only thing we had to replace was a single tuner shaft. A rare find, and truly a best buy in a full-sized pro-sized vintage archtop.
Setup: The frets have been precision leveled, recrowned and polished as needed; 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: Hardshell case with plush lining.
