Quote:
Originally Posted by bholder
...I have an older Epiphone acoustic archtop too that I'm sure is pressed laminate (can see it on the unbound edges of the F holes).
I just got a new (to me, very old) Gibson archtop I'm quite sure is carved, but this beast is in a different category alltogether:
She looks and sounds better at 104 years old than I will I'm sure! |
As zombywoof said that's a Gibson Style U harp guitar, and I'd date it even earlier than 1913 (pickguards made their first appearance on the 1912 models - yours shows no evidence of ever having had one - and the F-4 style red sunburst became the standard finish in 1913), most likely 1909-1910 based on the bridge (which appears to be original); FYI it's definitely a carved top - Gibson was founded on the concept of adapting violin construction principles to fretted instruments, and this one is no exception...
Here's a little something you might find of interest:
http://www.harpguitars.net/history/g...n_appendix.htm
Note that although the Style U appeared in catalogs through 1937 and on price lists through 1939, the last ones were probably produced no later than the early-20's (roughly coinciding with Lloyd Loar's introduction of the Style 5 "Master" instruments in 1923) as neither illustrations nor written descriptions make any mention of the adjustable truss rod adopted circa 1921; the very few orders that may have come in would have been filled from older inventory still on hand - and I'm sure there's a lucky employee or two who may have taken home the last remaining pieces around the time of Pearl Harbor...
Having been born just a couple blocks from the old 14th Street factory, I've been a big fan of New York Epiphone archtops since I started playing in 1962. Although certain lower-line acoustic models (Blackstone, Zenith, Olympic, Byron, Ritz) employed pressed
backs, the top of every instrument I've ever played -
probably a good couple hundred over 55 years - was always carved solid wood; unlike Gibson - who used solid carved tops on their flagship Super 400/L-5 electrics - even the top-of-the-line Emperor and Deluxe electrics were all-laminated, as was the rest of the New York-era electric lineup. While it's possible that an equivalent model to Gibson's all-laminated L-48 was produced during the '60s Kalamazoo days (not too likely given that sales of the L-48/L-50 were virtually nil), or an all-acoustic model was built on a leftover laminated New York electric body, I've yet to see one in person - and I'd be
very interested to see detailed photos of yours, including any labels, markings inside the body, etc...