NGD Epiphone Deluxe Archtop

[Rich Cohen]

I love the elegance of this guitar. Found myself wanting to hear it -- then thought about youtube. Here it is:

I listen to him all the time, playing his various archtops. He seems to have so many vintage ones from the 30s and 40s. And, can he play swing and jazz! Wow. A real inspiration.

 

[zizala]

Rich,

Since you asked and there seem to be many Epiphone admirers on the forum, I'll do a photo shoot and post them soon.
Mine are definitely not the top tier models.....but as many know, a small bodied Olympic can be magic.

My interest in older Guilds was definitely triggered by the Epiphone archtops I've owned.
It was an easy step to make from my '49 Triumph Regent to a '53 X-100 and the resemblance early on is easy to see.

 

[Neal]

My understanding of the earliest Guilds is that they were made by several former Epiphone employees that Al Dronge recruited out of Little Italy in lower Manhattan, after Epiphone pulled up stakes and moved to Philadelphia to avoid unionization of their Manhattan workforce.

Thus, the earliest Guild archtops bear a striking resemblance to Epiphones being produced in the early ‘50’s.

 

[Rich Cohen]

Rich,

Since you asked and there seem to be many Epiphone admirers on the forum, I'll do a photo shoot and post them soon.
Mine are definitely not the top tier models.....but as many know, a small bodied Olympic can be magic.

My interest in older Guilds was definitely triggered by the Epiphone archtops I've owned.
It was an easy step to make from my '49 Triumph Regent to a '53 X-100 and the resemblance early on is easy to see.

Zizala,
It's hard to say which, Gibson or Epiphone archtops from the 30s and 40s are better sounding. Clearly the parallel braced Gibson models from the 30s have their own punchy yet admirable tone. The walnut Epis from the 30s are in a league by themselves. Yet, the Epi maple archtops from the late 30s and throughout the 40s have their own enviable sound. Of course there are differences, depending on the models and the different sizes. All told, I think the Epi Triumphs, Broadways, Deluxes and Emperors are highly rated and soundly constructed, with their own personalities. When you get into the 50s, things begin to change somewhat, and certainly after Epiphone is sold to Gibson. This is when Guild enters the game and competes very well, IMO. Finally, one gets a better deal price wise when buying an Epi over a Gibson.

 

[GGJaguar]

It's hard to say which, Gibson or Epiphone archtops from the 30s and 40s are better sounding.

In my experience, the Gibsons are a little warmer and the Epiphones have more midrange cutting power. For solo or small ensemble playing, I'd want a Gibby. If I was in a swing/big band, an Epi is the way to go if you want to be heard.

 

[walrus]

In my very brief David Rawlings phase, I actually bought a '33 Epiphone Olympic. Very cool little guitar! But I never really bonded with the guitar, or with Rawlings, for that matter!

walrus

 

[bobouz]

Another beauty - Congrats!

 

[Rich Cohen]

I love the elegance of this guitar. Found myself wanting to hear it -- then thought about youtube. Here it is:

I plan on making a video of mine, playing some tunes.

 

[Rich Cohen]

In my experience, the Gibsons are a little warmer and the Epiphones have more midrange cutting power. For solo or small ensemble playing, I'd want a Gibby. If I was in a swing/big band, an Epi is the way to go if you want to be heard.

GG, you're absolutely correct.

 

[Uke]

I plan on making a video of mine, playing some tunes.

That will be GREAT! Can't wait to see/hear you and the Epi!

 

[Guildedagain]

Killer old wood. Epiphone was trouncing Gibson through this period, undoubtedly what caused all the trouble and eventual absorption.

 

[powerwagonjohn]

Nothing like the bark of a old Epiphone archtop. Beautiful guitar Rich.
thanks john

 

[Rich Cohen]

Killer old wood. Epiphone was trouncing Gibson through this period, undoubtedly what caused all the trouble and eventual absorption.

Probably was related to the employee problems. Maybe there was more problems after they moved to Philadelphia. Also, I don't remember exactly, but maybe, since it was a family run business, someone might have passed away.

 

[Rich Cohen]

As a follow-up to my earlier posting on this subject, here is a quote from Walter Carter's The Epiphone Guitar Book which is a history of the Epiphone brand. The relevant section from the book is an extract (pp. 33 - 34) from the chapter titled "The Stathopoulo Era."

"Any optimism Orphie [Stathopulo] may have had in 1950 was short-lived. In 1951, a strike shut down Epiphone production. Orphie was adamantly opposed to the union, and he found a solution in 1952 in his relationship with Continental, the distribution arm of the Conn company. With Conn's help. Orphie simply left the union behind and moved production to Philadelphia. As part of the deal, Orphie gave Continental the distribution rights in 26 states. 'Epiphone employee Edward Dunkum, in an announcement in The Music Trades magazine, promised improved production in the new facilities. "All skilled craftsmen will continue under the new setup," he said, "whereby the equality of workmanship will not only be continued on a high critical level, but actual be improved upon with the expanded facilities.'

"Dunkum also said that 'no changes in personnel have been made.' But that was hardly the case. Dunkum himself represented a personnel change, having recently replaced George Mann as vice president. Along with the experienced New Yok production crew, George Mann had stayed in New York, where he joined with instrument salesman Alfred Dronge in forming the Guild guitar company -- named in part because the core of the workforce was made up of ex-Epiphone union members.

"The catalogue proved to be a façade, behind which the Epiphone company was crumbling away. Orphie had not moved all of the production equipment to Philadelphia. Instead, he sold it off to Guild and Gretsch. If the Philadelphia facility was meeting the demand for Epiphones, it was only because demand was low. If the catalogue copy can be believed, Continental was now the exclusive distributor for Epiphone in all states.

"In the context of efforts to save an instrument company, Epiphone's last-ditch attempt was nothing short of sad."

 

[Guildedagain]

A guild of Epiphone employees.

 

[bobouz]

Killer old wood. Epiphone was trouncing Gibson through this period, undoubtedly what caused all the trouble and eventual absorption.

Historically, I don't recall reading about any period where Epiphone trounced Gibson on any level. The two companies had highly competitive years where they were considered equals in the market. Typically, one of them would come out with something new, and the other company would immediately follow with an answer. They went back & forth this way for many years, but this was when brother Epi was the driving force of the company. After he passed away, brother Orphie was truly not up to the task.

 

[Sterra58]

Woody, if by "split saddles" you mean two layers, yes. And I believe it's original. Most archtops were built with a saddle that is adjustable. And yes, the Guild archtops are pretty much based on Epis of the early 1950's. Notice the cloud inlays on the finger board. They are probably the inspiration for the cloud inlays on the JF-100 and D-100. But, others can weigh in on that point. I love the "tree of life" motif on the peghead. And the stellar binding on the f-holes.

Same clouds on my Levin 315, probably inspired by Epiphone/Guild.

 

[bobouz]

Zizala,
It's hard to say which, Gibson or Epiphone archtops from the 30s and 40s are better sounding. Clearly the parallel braced Gibson models from the 30s have their own punchy yet admirable tone.

From late-1934 to mid-1939, a number of Gibson acoustic archtops including the L-5, L-7, L-10, L-12, & Super 400, were X-braced rather than parallel braced. My hands-on experience in this area is rather limited by comparison to some other members here, but back in the '70s I owned a few parallel braced acoustic archtops, along with a late '30s Ward made by Gibson which had a carved solid spruce top & X-bracing. It had a full, balanced, and punchy tone that was great for fingerpicking, and it ended up as my go-to favorite.

 

[Guildedagain]

Gibson was highly respected but Epi didn't just compete, in my mind, rose above.

History of Epiphone guitars: secrets, myths and truths - Guitarriego

Epiphone is one of the biggest guitar manufacturers with more history and tradition than most: Epi's secrets, myths and truths.

guitarriego.com

Oddly enough, I've know a killer local player for decade by the name of Hendrix, easy one to remember, who was bat shit crazy for these old Epiphones when most people were trying to put a Floyd Rose in their guitar. According to him, Epi guitars of this period were supreme, and Gibson dealt with it in ways that soured him on the brand.

Personally I've had three Gibson archtops and never considered keeping one, all for sale as soon as they were cleaned and strung.

They didn't sound that great and they were worth a lot, I like those easy decisions.

 

[fronobulax]

To maybe save someone else the trouble...