NGD 1946 Epiphone Emperor

[Rich Cohen]

After biting my nails for two extra days (USPS dragged its feet), the 1946 Epiphone Emperor arrived yesterday from archtop.com. Joe Vinikow, owner of that vintage archtop heaven, does a great job serving as a conduit for archtops of all stripes, brands, shapes and sizes, acoustic and electric. This one is special. The Emperor is Epiphone's largest big band guitar, competing with Gibson's Super 400 and the largest Strombergs. Mine is 18 3/8" on the lower bout, 3 3/8" deep, 25 1/5" scale, and 1 23/32" nut width. Fully carved top, sides and back of spruce and highly figured maple, in glorious sunburst NCL finish. Sporting new strings, she barks like all get out. The neck is something else- seven piece! The body binding is out of control -- 13 layers. The vintage correct pick guard is made from a classy marbled acrylic imported from Italy. The carved back is made of not two but four panels! A sight for sore eyes.

 

[richardp69]

Man, that is one beautiful back on that guitar Rich. Ya done good son!!!

 

[GGJaguar]

That's stunning Rich, congrats!! Can't wait to read your report on how she sounds.

 

[Brad Little]

Birth year Emperor is on my bucket list...Great axe, and I agree with you about Archtop.com.

 

[jp]

Holy cow, Rich. What a gorgeous example of Epiphone workmanship. Congratulations!

 

[twocorgis]

That's just beautiful Rich! Play it in good health.

 

[HeyMikey]

Playable art Rich. That’s what you have right there. I can only imagine the vibe that thing gives off. It must be like being transported back in time to the big band glory days.

Question for you historians... Did Guild copy the triangle in rectangle neck inlays from Epiphone?

 

[ClaytonS15]

Wow! I’m speechless. So cool!

 

[Rich Cohen]

Playable art Rich. That’s what you have right there. I can only imagine the vibe that thing gives off. It must be like being transported back in time to the big band glory days.

Question for you historians... Did Guild copy the triangle in rectangle neck inlays from Epiphone?

Mike,
Yes, from the Epiphone employees Dronge hired away while they were striking and the company decided to move to Philly.

 

[davismanLV]

Wow, that's a beauty Rich!!

 

[shihan]

Wow, that’s really special. In fantastic shape, too. The best playing guitar I’ve ever played was a ‘47 Epi Broadway; so I imagine yours is a spectacular player. Enjoy that work of art!

 

[walrus]

Oh my! Beautiful! That is one HUGE guitar!

walrus

 

[GAD]

It’s so big that it almost looks like a cello!

 

[dreadnut]

Aw, Rich, that is an absolute work of art! If it sounds half as good as it looks I'd be happy, but I'll bet it is better than that.

If you're familiar with Gillian Welch, her partner David Rawlings plays a '35 Epiphone Olympic he found somewhere. It has outstanding tone; of course he really makes it sing. But your Emperor is bigger and much more deluxe than his Olympic. A brand new 1935 Epiphone Olympic listed for $35.00

 

[Rich Cohen]

Aw, Rich, that is an absolute work of art! If it sounds half as good as it looks I'd be happy, but I'll bet it is better than that.

If you're familiar with Gillian Welch, her partner David Rawlings plays a '35 Epiphone Olympic he found somewhere. It has outstanding tone; of course he really makes it sing. But your Emperor is bigger and much more deluxe than his Olympic. A brand new 1935 Epiphone Olympic listed for $35.00

Right, but the Olympic is probably the right size for Rawlings to stand up and play the livin' daylights out of it, as he normally does. I haven't tried playing the Emperor with a guitar strap yet. I'm not much of a stand up type of player anyway. I just set up the Emperor with a vintage DeArmond 1000 Rhythm Chief I had bought some time back, also from archtop.com, along with the stick and controller apparatus. Sounds really sweet....very jazzy.

 

[walrus]

Re: Olympic vs Emperor, no comparision! I had a '33 Olympic - it's small!

30's Olympic specs: 13 5/8" across the lower bout, 8 1/4" waist , 10 1/2" upper bout. The body is 19" long.

To use GAD's analogy, it's a violin vs a cello!

walrus

 

[Stuball48]

Rich
You line up 25 high-end vintage guitars and that one will have the crowd around it. Just an amazing guitar.

 

[5thumbs]

Amazing.

 

[Jeff Haddad]

Beautiful, congrats!

 

[mushroom]

That's beautiful. The binding is so thick - crazy good!