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Old 09-03-2020, 02:25 PM
Steve DeRosa Steve DeRosa is offline
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Location: Staten Island, NY - for now
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sunra View Post
Exactly and if one is willing to go for a 17" body the Epi Devon is one of the best values around for a vintage, carved top archtop. Same guitar as the higher priced Triumph and Broadway, less glitzy. Beautiful sound, yes, with cutting power, but also great clarity across the full range and wonderful natural reverb.
Played a couple back in the early/mid-70's (when a primo non-cutaway Emperor could be had for $500-600, a 17" Deluxe for $400-450) and I remember them being sweeter-sounding than their 17" counterparts, thanks to the mahogany body (some of the last examples - circa 1955-56 - used maple bodies, possibly originally destined for Broadway/Triumph non-cuts as demand decreased and Epiphone was facing imminent demise), but still possessing that signature Epiphone clarity and note-to-note definition. FYI Heritage revived the concept back in the '80s with their original Eagle, which was initially produced with a carved mahogany top as well as mahogany sides/back (TMK spruce tops were available by special order, essentially creating what the original Epiphone factory would have labeled a Devon Zephyr Regent), and the current Eastman AR610 is a modern execution of the Devon concept (especially in the sunburst finish - add a pickguard, Frequensator, and a set of the new "Epsilon" tuners used on the discontinued Masterbilt archtops, and it's 1950 all over again); here's examples of both:


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