Epiphone Zephyr Deluxe Regent Hollow Body Electric Guitar (1948)
LOADING IMAGES
This item has been sold.
Item # 9552
Prices subject to change without notice.
Epiphone Zephyr Deluxe Regent Model Hollow Body Electric Guitar (1948), made in New York, NY, natural lacquer finish, laminated maple body and neck, laminated maple neck, rosewood fingerboard, original black hard shell case.
The large and very fancy Zephyr Deluxe Regent was introduced in 1947-8 as the top of the line Epiphone electric guitar. While in 1950 the New York company upped the ante with the even grander 3-pickup Emperor Zephyr Regent, the Deluxe model remained a high-end and fairly popular guitar. In many ways it was the best instrument the post-WWII company fielded, less cumbersome than the Emperor and a worthy competitor to the similar Gibson ES-350 of the same era.
This is a full 17.5" two-pickup archtop with quite elaborate trim including 5-ply body binding, a multi-bound vine inlaid headstock and split abalone/pearl blocks on the rosewood fingerboard. This example has the older style "thrust rod" neck reinforcement which is adjusted at the base of the fingerboard. The laminated maple body has a 3-ply spruce top and carries a lovely honey-natural finish, showing off the back and side tiger grain to good advantage. The maple neck has a very soft "V" profile and is fairly slim for this period.
The two pickups are early versions of Epiphone's single coil "Tone spectrum" units with adjustable poles, mounted in unique amber plastic covers with white faceplates. Some consider these superior to the later metal cased units that replaced them after 1948, which are far more common. They are fairly low output, retaining a nice acoustic quality to the tone while still winding up convincingly through a cranked amp. The controls are a master tone and volume with metal plates around the base and a large 3-way lever selector switch mounted near the lower body edge. The tone control is labeled "Mastervoicer" and helpfully notes the settings as "Mellow", "Normal", and "Brilliant".
This superbly attractive Deluxe is still housed in its original hard shell case. The early version of this model is fairly rare, especially in this very fine condition. Jazz great Billy Bauer played a single-pickup version of this model in the 1940's, and Cal Maddox of the Maddox Brothers and Rose used this exact version extensively at the time of "the most colorful hillbilly band in the land's" greatest success in the early 1950s. This one plays and sounds excellent, a lovely find from the early post-war heyday of amplified big box guitars.
Overall length is 42 1/4 in. (107.3 cm.), 17 1/2 in. (44.4 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 3 1/4 in. (8.3 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 guitar is in very fine condition overall, about the nicest of the early 1940s era version of this model we have ever seen. The binding shows no deterioration at all, which is a fabulous find for an electric Epiphone of this period. The finish has some light checking and small dings and dents, but overall does not show a lot of signs of use. The only thing replaced is the small screws holding on the plates for the knobs and switch...all else remains original. The knobs themselves have some old cracks in the plastic and have been reinforced from the underside with glue, but are fully solid.
The Frequensator tailpiece does not appear to have ever had any repairs, which is rare on older Epiphones. The original frets show some light wear but the guitar plays excellent, with none of the neck angle issues that often plague this model. There is a strap button added to the heel, and a small filled hole for another strap button on the upper side of the heel as well. This is a really cool guitar for period R&B and Hillbilly styles, a nice jazz box, and just a lovely reminder of the glories of the original New York Epiphone company. Excellent Condition.
The large and very fancy Zephyr Deluxe Regent was introduced in 1947-8 as the top of the line Epiphone electric guitar. While in 1950 the New York company upped the ante with the even grander 3-pickup Emperor Zephyr Regent, the Deluxe model remained a high-end and fairly popular guitar. In many ways it was the best instrument the post-WWII company fielded, less cumbersome than the Emperor and a worthy competitor to the similar Gibson ES-350 of the same era.
This is a full 17.5" two-pickup archtop with quite elaborate trim including 5-ply body binding, a multi-bound vine inlaid headstock and split abalone/pearl blocks on the rosewood fingerboard. This example has the older style "thrust rod" neck reinforcement which is adjusted at the base of the fingerboard. The laminated maple body has a 3-ply spruce top and carries a lovely honey-natural finish, showing off the back and side tiger grain to good advantage. The maple neck has a very soft "V" profile and is fairly slim for this period.
The two pickups are early versions of Epiphone's single coil "Tone spectrum" units with adjustable poles, mounted in unique amber plastic covers with white faceplates. Some consider these superior to the later metal cased units that replaced them after 1948, which are far more common. They are fairly low output, retaining a nice acoustic quality to the tone while still winding up convincingly through a cranked amp. The controls are a master tone and volume with metal plates around the base and a large 3-way lever selector switch mounted near the lower body edge. The tone control is labeled "Mastervoicer" and helpfully notes the settings as "Mellow", "Normal", and "Brilliant".
This superbly attractive Deluxe is still housed in its original hard shell case. The early version of this model is fairly rare, especially in this very fine condition. Jazz great Billy Bauer played a single-pickup version of this model in the 1940's, and Cal Maddox of the Maddox Brothers and Rose used this exact version extensively at the time of "the most colorful hillbilly band in the land's" greatest success in the early 1950s. This one plays and sounds excellent, a lovely find from the early post-war heyday of amplified big box guitars.
Overall length is 42 1/4 in. (107.3 cm.), 17 1/2 in. (44.4 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 3 1/4 in. (8.3 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 guitar is in very fine condition overall, about the nicest of the early 1940s era version of this model we have ever seen. The binding shows no deterioration at all, which is a fabulous find for an electric Epiphone of this period. The finish has some light checking and small dings and dents, but overall does not show a lot of signs of use. The only thing replaced is the small screws holding on the plates for the knobs and switch...all else remains original. The knobs themselves have some old cracks in the plastic and have been reinforced from the underside with glue, but are fully solid.
The Frequensator tailpiece does not appear to have ever had any repairs, which is rare on older Epiphones. The original frets show some light wear but the guitar plays excellent, with none of the neck angle issues that often plague this model. There is a strap button added to the heel, and a small filled hole for another strap button on the upper side of the heel as well. This is a really cool guitar for period R&B and Hillbilly styles, a nice jazz box, and just a lovely reminder of the glories of the original New York Epiphone company. Excellent Condition.