Broadway Acoustic Archtop

"The Broadway was the same size as the DeLuxe, but its back and sides were of walnut -- an unusual choice of wood. Walnut had been Orville Gibson's choice of wood when he made the first carved-top and carved-back mandolins and guitars, and the Gibson company's earliest offerings had been of walnut, but no high-quality guitars had been made of walnut in a quarter century. The Broadway had four-point stars for fingerboard inlay. It was not quite as deluxe as the DeLuxe, but it still had the fancy Masterbilt peghead" (Walter Carter, Epiphone: The Complete History, pp. 23-25). After Gibson took over Epiphone in 1957, they began producing several new guitars. Epiphone had used the "Broadway" name from 1931-1958 on their non-cutaway acoustic archtop, but from 1958 to 1970 the "Broadway" designation was transferred to a new full-size electric archtop, first with New York pickups, and then from 1961 with mini-humbuckers. The Broadway, which had never been available as an electric in the old Epiphone line, was now available only as an electric in the Gibson-made offering, and it was the only electric with a full-depth hollow body

See Also: Broadway Electric Archtop

Contents 1 Models 1.1 Broadway 1.2 Broadway Regent 1.3 Bretton Tenor

Models

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Broadway

• 1931-1958

Body:

• One piece carved spruce top
• American Walnut arched back
• Walnut back and sides (1931-1938)
• Maple back and sides (1939-1958)
• Segmented f-holes (1931-1936)
• Standard F-holes (1937-1958)
• 16 1/2" body width (1931-1936)
• 17 3/8" body width (1937-1958)

Neck:

• 3-piece "C" shape mahogany neck with dovetail
• Bound Indian rosewood fingerboard
• Diamond inlays with block inlay at 12th fret (1931-1933)
• Large block fingerboard inlays (1934-1958)
• 1.72" nut width
• 25.5" scale

Headstock

• Masterbilt headstock (1931-1938)
• Open-book headstock (1939-1958)
• Materbilt banner inlay (1931-1934)
• Wandering vine inlay (1935-1949)
• Flower headstock inlay (1950-1953)
• Column headstock inlay (1954-1958)

Binding:

• 3-ply body
• 1-ply neck

Hardware:

• Nickel hardware (1931-1933)
• Gold hardware (1934-1958)
• Raised pickguard
• Adjustable rosewood bridge
• Straight pickguard (1931-1936)
• Longer, stylized pickguard (1937-1958)
• Trapeze tailpiece (1931-1938)
• Frequensator tailpiece (1939-1958)

Colors:

• Sunburst
• Natural

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Broadway Regent

• 1948-1958

Body:

• Single rounded cutaway body
• Carved spruce top
• Walnut arched back
• Standard F-holes

Neck:

• 3-piece "C" shape mahogany neck with dovetail
• Rosewood fingerboard with large block inlays
• Open-book headstock with flower inlay
• 1.72" nut width
• 25.5" scale

Binding:

• 3-ply body
• Single-ply neck & headstock

Hardware:

• Gold hardware
• Elevated tortoise pickguard
• Adjustable rosewood bridge and base
• Frequensator tailpiece
• 170.375" body width

Colors:

• Sunburst
• Blonde

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Bretton Tenor

• Bretton Tenor 1931-1936
• Renamed to Broadway Tenor 1937-1953
• Four-string tenor version of the Broadway

Body:

• Carved spruce top
• Walnut back and sides (1931-1938)
• Maple back and sides (1939-1953)
• Segmented f-holes (1931-1936)
• Standard f-holes 1937-1953)
• 16 1/2" body width (1931-1936)
• 17 3/8" body width (1937-1953)

Neck:

• Rosewood fingerboard with diamond inlays
• Masterbilt headstock with banner logo (1931-1936)
• Open-book headstock with "Wandering Vine" inlay (1937-1953)

Binding:

• Ivory & black body binding

Hardware:

• Nickel hardware (1931-1933)
• Gold hardware (1934-1953)
• Raised pickguard
• Adjustable rosewood bridge & base
• Trapeze tailpiece

Colors:

• Sunburst

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