1955 Epiphone Century Vintage Archtop Electric Guitar Sunburst New York w/ Case

Description

Up for sale, a 1955 Epiphone Century hollowbody electric guitar, one of the last Epiphones built in New York prior to Gibson's acquisition of the company. With a fully hollow 16 3/8" wide all maple body, the guitar has excellent projection and cut with a smooth, complex midrange character and trebles that balance articulate sparkle and a distinctive punch. Strung with flatwounds, the guitar amplifies complex chord voicings with ease and clarity, offering a balanced sound in every register. The neck position New York pickup has a woody cut and percussive clarity, extremely dynamic and representative of the ample natural acoustic properties of the instrument.The guitar weighs 6lbs 1oz, professionally setup here at Mike & Mike's Guitar Bar with 11-49 flatwound strings and comfortable action.
The two-piece mahogany neck has a deep V profile carve, measuring .905" deep at the 1st fret and 1.070" at the 9th. The thick Brazilian rosewood fretboard sports pearl dot inlays, professionally refretted with medium jumbo fretwire that has perfectly rounded crowns and shows virtually no wear. The truss rod is responsive and ideally adjusted, the neck is straight, and the guitar plays cleanly in all registers. The scale length measures a full 25 1/2“ and the upgraded carved bone nut is 1 5/8" wide. On the headstock, the guitar features the original open back nickel Waverly tuning machines with white plastic buttons, and the original metal Epiphone "bikini" badge is also present.
On the body, the guitar features the original New York humbucker, and the harness is wired to a new jack plate with braided wire. The original nickel trapeze tailpiece is intact, along with the pair of unique transparent speed knobs and a vintage Brazilian rosewood bridge with compensated saddle. The serial number and factory stamps are intact on the blue and white rectangular label visible through the F hole.
The body retains its original nitro lacquer Sunburst gloss finish which exhibits prominent finish checking. The stock binding is in great shape, with one small binding patch on the back adjacent to the endpin and a small amount of stable binding separation at the bass side-waist on the back. There is a spot of buckle rash on the treble side lower bout on the back, and some additional minor finish scratches and marks on the body as a whole consistent with honest use. Two side cracks have been repaired adjacent to the input jack, professionally addressed and reinforced with a modern jack plate. There is light overspray across this area, with a few small doweled mounting holes surrounding the plate. The V neck profile is inviting to the palm with wear through the gloss on the shoulders from frets 1-8.
The original hardshell case with brown textured exterior is included. The majority of the latches are intact and functional, and the original handle is also present.
Check out our shop "Mike & Mike's Guitar Bar," and please let us know if we can answer any questions!
Shipping in the continental USA will be
5, fully insured and shipped via FedEx Express. Two-Day and Overnight shipping available for an additional fee at buyer's request.
We happily ship WORLDWIDE.
International orders will be declared as “merchandise,” and the value of merchandise will be declared as the amount paid. We cannot declare anything as a gift or for a lesser value. No exceptions! The customer is responsible for all taxes and duty, which may be collected upon delivery, as well as any additional charges involved with import.
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. We require payment within 48 hours of auction end. In the unlikely event of a return, buyer pays all shipping costs. Y
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