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1934 Epiphone Broadway Masterbilt

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Serial #: 8044, white Long Island label. Body size at lower bout: 16 1/2" Scale length: 25 1/2". Nut width: 1 3/4" Neck depth, 1st/10th frets: .83/1.05

Materials: Hand carved solid Adirondack spruce top; solid bookmatched black walnut back and sides; 5 piece mahogany neck with maple centerstripes; solid rosewood fingerboard with block mother of pearl inlay; triple-bound body; bound neck.

Hardware: Original hardware includes gold trapeze tailpiece, compensated adjustable ebony bridge. Vintage style hardware includes aged gold Grover 16:1 Sta-Tite tuners, bound swirl tortoise pickguard.

Notes: For archtop.com, this is Epiphone Zero: where it all began.

The considerable skill and premium materials required to build a professional quality archtop guitar has always limited them very strictly in production. Especially so during the Great Depression, when money was tight, and they were the most expensive items in the catalog. And with so few in circulation to this day, it's not uncommon to have favorite instruments return to the shop from time to time, sometimes after decades on the loose.

Therefore, it's with particular pleasure that we celebrate the return of this singular guitar, the very first Epiphone archtop we ever acquired. When we found it languishing in a local swap shop over 40 years ago, we had no idea it would reveal a virtually forgotten era in the evolution of the 20th century guitar.

We knew something special about the instrument as soon as we strummed it. The guitar had exceptional projection and an almost trumpet like clarity, quite distinct among other archtops in our experience. It would take awhile before we realized that the secret ingredient was in the body itself. With backs and sides of solid black walnut, these Epis sounded dramatically different from conventional maple bodied archtops. We also realized that since the offshoring of the Epiphone brand in the '70s, these true New York Epis were exceptional bargains, and an undiscovered best buy on the vintage market. With our focus newly trained on scouring out these forgotten treasures, the rest, as they say, is history.

If you're one of the lucky owners of a prewar Martin, you might have wondered what an archtop might sound like if it too was made of Brazilian Rosewood. But because of the cost, weight and difficulty in working this exotic hardwood, rosewood has never been commonly used on archtop guitars. However, between 1931 and 1939, the Epiphone Company, alone among major builders, produced it's upscale Broadway model with back and sides of solid black walnut.

The result was a guitar with unusually attractive looks, but more. The voice of these guitars is absolutely unique: the mids and highs have exceptional projection and a brilliant bell-like tone, making these guitars particularly well suited for acoustic lead guitar. And with a hand carved Adirondack spruce soundboard, and a long scale neck, the cutting power on these instruments is simply phenomenal, with the warmth and sustain of finely aged wood. This rare transitional design is seen only in part of this model year, and is one of the last with the original 16 1/2" body and asymmetrical 'Masterbilt' headstock. Unlike previous models, the f-holes are one piece, and by the next year, the Broadway had been upsized to 17 1/2" with the cello-style soundholes substantially enlarged.

Maintained in fine shape, the instrument is free of pick, buckle, thumb or fingerboard wear. The original gold trapeze tailpiece remains solid at the bend, and the compensated ebony bridge offers abundant clearance for adjustment in either direction. The aged gold Grover 16:1 tuners are vintage correct, with smooth, accurate tuning, and a prewar style bound tortoise pickguard is installed. The original multi-ply binding is tight to the body and the neck angle is excellent as well. The handsome tobacco sunburst shows some scattered pick marks and incidental nicks on top. A close inspection reveals a previous owner's initials faintly inscribed near the tailpiece, and a short hairline side crack has been soundly resealed near the neck heel.

At a mere 4lb 12oz, the instrument is phenomenally light in weight, a key to its remarkable acoustic resonance. The voice is open, bright, and clear, with excellent balance, dynamic range, and brilliant projection: one of our favorite models for acoustic lead playing, and work in larger ensembles. Finally, the neck has a particularly slim, gentle C profile, ideal for the player unwilling to wrestle a typical bulky prewar contour. With fine recent pro fretwork and binding, the fingerboard has smooth low action over a fresh high precision setup.

The very start of our long Epiphone odyssey, this remarkable instrument could be the start of yours, too. One only: call now.

Setup: 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. The guitar will accommodate lighter or heavier gauge strings, according to preference. String action is set at 4/64" to 5/64" 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: Deluxe arched black TKL plush lined 5-ply hardshell case.