c.1928 Epiphone Recording Model C
Serial # 207. The Recording Models were the Epiphone company's first foray into guitar building. A banjo manufacturer since the WWI era, Epiphone built its Recording series guitars bearing aesthetic similarity to the company's banjos; and likely marketed them to the many Banjo enthusiasts who were becoming interested in the guitar in the later 1920's.
The instrument's pearloid headstock overlay, banjo tuners, and 10th fret fingerboard inlays are all Banjo remnants. The flat-top Model C is a lightly built instrument with double-X top bracing, an arched laminate maple back, and Venetian body styling. The guitar's body is roughly the size of a classical, but with deeper sides; and the long scale neck has a very friendly feel -- akin to that of an early post-war Gibson, but with a slightly wider nut width of 1-23/64".
The Model C is in very fine condition despite a healthy amount of playwear. The top has a repaired center-seam / crack below the bridge, but the guitar is otherwise crack-free. We've just finished some minor repairs -- heat pressed the neck, patched the bridgeplate, made a new floating saddle, and set it up -- and the guitar plays remarkably well. We tried a variety of different strings on this one and have settled on John Pearse 11-50's as the set that coaxes the best out of the guitar. Note that the greenish hue to the instrument's original lacquer finish is the norm on these models. Tonally, the Model C is quite unique, and comparisons with other manufacturers' instruments would be difficult if at all possible. The guitar has a very throaty voice, thick, and soft-edged, with strong response in the lower mids. Volume balance across the stings is excellent, and the instrument really jumps at melody. Single notes on the treble strings have a ball-like fullness, while the low strings have an 'in-a-big-room' attack and decay… sort of what a monstrously wide archtop might do. Suffice to say, it's hard to capture this guitar's tone in words. It sounds different and wonderful though, and that's all good.
A lovely instrument, and one your neighbour likely won't have ever seen before!
With hardshell case
The instrument's pearloid headstock overlay, banjo tuners, and 10th fret fingerboard inlays are all Banjo remnants. The flat-top Model C is a lightly built instrument with double-X top bracing, an arched laminate maple back, and Venetian body styling. The guitar's body is roughly the size of a classical, but with deeper sides; and the long scale neck has a very friendly feel -- akin to that of an early post-war Gibson, but with a slightly wider nut width of 1-23/64".
The Model C is in very fine condition despite a healthy amount of playwear. The top has a repaired center-seam / crack below the bridge, but the guitar is otherwise crack-free. We've just finished some minor repairs -- heat pressed the neck, patched the bridgeplate, made a new floating saddle, and set it up -- and the guitar plays remarkably well. We tried a variety of different strings on this one and have settled on John Pearse 11-50's as the set that coaxes the best out of the guitar. Note that the greenish hue to the instrument's original lacquer finish is the norm on these models. Tonally, the Model C is quite unique, and comparisons with other manufacturers' instruments would be difficult if at all possible. The guitar has a very throaty voice, thick, and soft-edged, with strong response in the lower mids. Volume balance across the stings is excellent, and the instrument really jumps at melody. Single notes on the treble strings have a ball-like fullness, while the low strings have an 'in-a-big-room' attack and decay… sort of what a monstrously wide archtop might do. Suffice to say, it's hard to capture this guitar's tone in words. It sounds different and wonderful though, and that's all good.
A lovely instrument, and one your neighbour likely won't have ever seen before!
With hardshell case