Epiphone Zephyr Deluxe Cutaway Arch Top Hollow Body Electric Guitar (1954)
Epiphone Zephyr Deluxe Cutaway Model Arch Top Hollow Body Electric Guitar (1954), made in Philadelphia, PA, serial # 68425, natural lacquer finish, laminated maple neck, sides and neck; laminated spruce top, rosewood fingerboard., original hard shell case.
The large and fancy Zephyr Deluxe Regent was introduced in 1947-8 as the top of the line New York-made Epiphone electric guitar. In 1950 the company upped the ante with the even larger and grander 3-pickup Emperor Zephyr Regent, but the Deluxe remained a high-end and fairly popular guitar. In many ways it was the best instrument the company fielded, less cumbersome than the Emperor and in many ways the most worthy competitor to the large-bodied electric Gibsons of the early post-war era.
By the time this one was made in 1954, the instrument's name had been changed to the more descriptive "Zephyr Deluxe Cutaway" but the features remained largely unchanged. By this point Epiphone company's business was on a downward spiral and the guitars were being assembled in Philadelphia, not New York. While some accounts suggest the quality of the instruments was not what it had been, we have had a number of very fine Epiphones from this period that show no decline in craftsmanship from their NY-made siblings.
This is a full 17.5" two-pickup archtop with quite deluxe trim including 5-ply body binding, a multi-bound vine inlaid headstock and "cloud" shaped pearl blocks on the fingerboard. The laminated maple body has a pressed laminate spruce top and carries a lovely honey-natural finish. The 5-piece laminated maple/walnut neck has some beautifully flamed grain in the side pieces. This example has the then-new and much more functional truss rod adjusted at the headstock a la Gibson, a feature Epiphone had introduced in 1951.
The gold-plated pickups are Epiphone's single coil "New York" units, with adjustable poles and mounted in unique amber Catalin blocks. The controls are simple, a master tone and volume with clear plastic knobs and a large 3-way lever selector switch mounted down near the lower body edge. The tailpiece is Epiphone's proprietary two-tine Frequensator, and the tuners are the company's own deluxe enclosed machines. This very clean and attractive Zephyr Deluxe is housed in its original hard shell case, looking like not too much time has elapsed since its birth 70 years ago in 1954.
Overall length is 42 1/4 in. (107.3 cm.), 17 1/2 in. (44.4 cm.) width, and 3 7/16 in. (8.7 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 25 1/2 in. (648 mm.). Width of nut is 1 11/16 in. (43 mm.).
This is a nice clean example of this very classy electric Epiphone, still going strong seven decades along. The finish has typical checking (mostly to the top) and some small wear marks overall but no heavy wear. The Celluloid binding is in far better shape than most from this period with hardly any shrinkage evident. The gold plating shows some wear most heavily on the pickup covers.
This guitar has just had a super clean professional neck reset and the angle is excellent. The pickguard is a near-perfect reproduction, the lever switch appears newer and the bridge is a later adjustable rosewood piece that looks quite appropriate. All else appears original. The original small frets show practically no wear, and playability is excellent. Overall a really great old Deluxe, about as good a player as they come in the more worn but still serviceable original case. Overall Excellent Condition.
The large and fancy Zephyr Deluxe Regent was introduced in 1947-8 as the top of the line New York-made Epiphone electric guitar. In 1950 the company upped the ante with the even larger and grander 3-pickup Emperor Zephyr Regent, but the Deluxe remained a high-end and fairly popular guitar. In many ways it was the best instrument the company fielded, less cumbersome than the Emperor and in many ways the most worthy competitor to the large-bodied electric Gibsons of the early post-war era.
By the time this one was made in 1954, the instrument's name had been changed to the more descriptive "Zephyr Deluxe Cutaway" but the features remained largely unchanged. By this point Epiphone company's business was on a downward spiral and the guitars were being assembled in Philadelphia, not New York. While some accounts suggest the quality of the instruments was not what it had been, we have had a number of very fine Epiphones from this period that show no decline in craftsmanship from their NY-made siblings.
This is a full 17.5" two-pickup archtop with quite deluxe trim including 5-ply body binding, a multi-bound vine inlaid headstock and "cloud" shaped pearl blocks on the fingerboard. The laminated maple body has a pressed laminate spruce top and carries a lovely honey-natural finish. The 5-piece laminated maple/walnut neck has some beautifully flamed grain in the side pieces. This example has the then-new and much more functional truss rod adjusted at the headstock a la Gibson, a feature Epiphone had introduced in 1951.
The gold-plated pickups are Epiphone's single coil "New York" units, with adjustable poles and mounted in unique amber Catalin blocks. The controls are simple, a master tone and volume with clear plastic knobs and a large 3-way lever selector switch mounted down near the lower body edge. The tailpiece is Epiphone's proprietary two-tine Frequensator, and the tuners are the company's own deluxe enclosed machines. This very clean and attractive Zephyr Deluxe is housed in its original hard shell case, looking like not too much time has elapsed since its birth 70 years ago in 1954.
Overall length is 42 1/4 in. (107.3 cm.), 17 1/2 in. (44.4 cm.) width, and 3 7/16 in. (8.7 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 25 1/2 in. (648 mm.). Width of nut is 1 11/16 in. (43 mm.).
This is a nice clean example of this very classy electric Epiphone, still going strong seven decades along. The finish has typical checking (mostly to the top) and some small wear marks overall but no heavy wear. The Celluloid binding is in far better shape than most from this period with hardly any shrinkage evident. The gold plating shows some wear most heavily on the pickup covers.
This guitar has just had a super clean professional neck reset and the angle is excellent. The pickguard is a near-perfect reproduction, the lever switch appears newer and the bridge is a later adjustable rosewood piece that looks quite appropriate. All else appears original. The original small frets show practically no wear, and playability is excellent. Overall a really great old Deluxe, about as good a player as they come in the more worn but still serviceable original case. Overall Excellent Condition.