1948 Epiphone Blackstone
Serial # 55867. An affordable vintage archtop that has a tone and feel that's just right. It's a throaty, loud, and warm jazz guitar, with chunky fundamentals and strong snap. It's a responsive guitar, and fun to play -- and what it gives up in condition and originality it more than makes up for in musicality.
The guitar has had a complete professional refinish some time ago that's aged nicely. There are a couple of repaired top cracks, and another on the instrument's side, adjacent to the neck heel. The top braces and arch are in excellent shape. Changed bridge, tailpiece and upgraded Waverley tuning machines. The fretboard and binding are original, and there are lefty side dots in addition to those on the bass-side. The nut and truss-rod cover are non-original as well, and there's a headless screw filling the bottom hole of the truss rod cover.
Set-up by us the guitar plays very nicely up to the 12th fret. There's a rise in the fingerboard extension that gets in the way of the upper frets playing cleanly. Fretwork will be needed to address this issue; or just don't play up there!
16" archtop body with carved spruce top and laminate maple back and sides. Maple neck with bound ebony fingerboard, pearl parallelogram markers, and bone nut. Celluloid headstock inlays, ebony bridge and chromed tailpiece. 1-9/16" width nut, 25.4" scale. Round carved neck with a fast and slim feel.
With 70's Gibson hardshell case
The guitar has had a complete professional refinish some time ago that's aged nicely. There are a couple of repaired top cracks, and another on the instrument's side, adjacent to the neck heel. The top braces and arch are in excellent shape. Changed bridge, tailpiece and upgraded Waverley tuning machines. The fretboard and binding are original, and there are lefty side dots in addition to those on the bass-side. The nut and truss-rod cover are non-original as well, and there's a headless screw filling the bottom hole of the truss rod cover.
Set-up by us the guitar plays very nicely up to the 12th fret. There's a rise in the fingerboard extension that gets in the way of the upper frets playing cleanly. Fretwork will be needed to address this issue; or just don't play up there!
16" archtop body with carved spruce top and laminate maple back and sides. Maple neck with bound ebony fingerboard, pearl parallelogram markers, and bone nut. Celluloid headstock inlays, ebony bridge and chromed tailpiece. 1-9/16" width nut, 25.4" scale. Round carved neck with a fast and slim feel.
With 70's Gibson hardshell case