DeLuxe Acoustic Archtop
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Debuting in 1931, the Deluxe was introduced as Epiphone's top-of the line guitar. The Epiphone Masterbilt Deluxe was the fanciest, most powerful archtop guitar of its day. Late in 1935, Epiphone introduced a totally redesigned line of bigger, more powerful guitars engineered to meet the demands of the big band era. Originally christened the Super Deluxe, this guitar was the top of the 17" line, and featured the asymmetrical Masterbilt headstock with an ornate tree-of-life inlay, segmented f-holes, mother of pearl cloud fingerboard inlays, extra binding at the edges of the fingerboard, a new streamlined bound tortoise pickguard, and bound cello-style f-holes. Regarded by many as the pinnacle of Epiphone design, the DeLuxe are almost invariably excellent sounding and playing guitars as well. Introduced in 1941, the Zephyr Deluxe was Epiphone's top-of-the line 17" instrument. The Zephyr Deluxe Regent was the electric cutaway version of their legendary Deluxe model archtop |
The DeLuxe series included:
- DeLuxe - Acoustic Non-cutaway
- Deluxe Regent - Acoustic Single-cutaway
- DeLuxe Empire - Acoustic 4-String Tenor
- Zephyr DeLuxe - Electric Non-cutaway
- Zephyr DeLuxe Regent - Electric Single-cutaway
- Zephyr DeLuxe Tenor - Electric 4-String Tenor
See Also: DeLuxe Archtop Electric
Contents |
Models
DeLuxe
- 1931-1957
Body:
- Handcarved bookmatched spruce top
- Curly maple back and sides
- Segmented F-holes (1931-1935)
- Standard F-holes (1936-1957)
- 3.375" body depth
- 16.375" Masterbilt body style (1931-1935)
- 17.375" Super DeLuxe body style (1936-1970)
Neck:
- Curly maple neck with triple center plies
- Brazilian Rosewood fingerboard
- 25.5" scale
- 1.68" nut width
Fingerboard Inlays:
- Diamonds & triangle inlays (1931-1933)
- Block inlays (1934-1935)
- Fan pattern inlays (1935-1936)
- Cloud inlay (1935-1957)
Headstock & Logo:
- Masterbilt with Banner logo (1931-1933)
- Masterbilt with Vine logo (1934-1935)
- Open-book with Vine logo (1940-1970)
Binding:
- Multi-ply pyralin binding on top and back
- Single-ply pyralin binding on neck & headstock
- Unbound F-holes (1931-1935)
- Bound F-holes (1936-1957)
Hardware:
- Gold hardware
- Adjustable compensated ebony bridge
- Grover Sta-Tite style tuners
- Trapeze tailpiece (1931-1935)
- Frequensator tailpiece (1936-1957)
- White Ivoroid pickguard (1931-1935)
- Bound Bakelite pickguard (1931-1935)
- Stylized Tortise pickguard (1936-1957)
Colors:
- Sunburst
- Natural
DeLuxe Regent
- DeLuxe Regent 1950-1953
- Renamed to Deluxe Cutaway (1954-1970)
Body:
- Handcarved bookmatched solid spruce top
- Curly maple back and sides
Neck:
- 3-piece Maple neck
- Single bound Braziliann rosewood fingerboard
- Cloud fingerboard inlay
- Bound open-book style headstock with Vine logo
- 25.5" scale
Binding:
- Multi-ply binding on top and back
Hardware:
- Gold hardware
- Adjustable compensated ebony bridge with bone saddle
- Frequensator tailpiece
- Stylized Tortise pickguard
Colors:
- Sunburst
- Natural
Empire Tenor
- 1931-1937
- Tenor version of the DeLuxe
Body:
- Handcarved bookmatched spruce top
- Curly maple back and sides
- Unbound Segmented f-holes
- 16.375" body width
'Neck:
- Curly maple neck with triple center plies
- Brazilian Rosewood fingerboard with diamond & triangle inlays
- 25.5" scale
Binding:
- Multi-ply pyralin binding on top and back
- Single-ply pyralin binding on neck & headstock
Hardware:
- Gold plated hardware
- Adjustable compensated ebony bridge with bone saddle
- Trapeze tailpiece
- White Ivoroid pickguard (1931-1935)
- Grover Sta-Tite style tuners
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