Quote:
Originally Posted by Idaho Guitars
...I acquired couple old EPI’s in last 7 years on the cheap - because they needed just a little love. A '53 Zenith/'42 Ritz and a '48 Broadway. The Broadway's not quite what the '31 L-5 was but actually pretty darn close...
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I used to own a '46 Epi Blackstone (also a 16-incher like your Zenith, and second only to the Spartan in the small-body lineup), played a bunch of other Epis back in the day (they were the top of the food chain in terms of NYC hometown brands, and were relatively plentiful in the '60s-70s), and as you've discovered they're a very different animal than Gibsons; the carving patterns and dimensions (also very different) give them a more projective sound - what the old-timers referred to as "cutting power" - and if you were a big-band comper working one of the 2000+ seat houses in their New York heyday, an Emperor or Deluxe would get the job done where a Super 400 or L-5 might get lost in the mix. While a Gibson might be a better choice as a solo instrument - they tended to have a smoother, more rounded tone (as in the case of your L-5) that made them more accessible to a newcomer - if you knew how to work an Epiphone they could be real tone monsters, and IMO it's this lack of understanding how to get the best from them, rather than any deficiencies in quality, that keeps their prices relatively low on the vintage market...
FYI here's some cuts you may appreciate:
- Al Caiola on his '40s Epiphone Broadway anchoring the rhythm section (piano-bass-guitar - no drums) for these Johnny Mathis classics:
- Grady Martin's fluid Tex-Mex soloing on Marty Robbins' "El Paso," performed on a 16" New York-era Epiphone archtop (possibly the same '53-54 Zenith Marty used in the 1965 live clip):
There was also a recent thread you might find of interest, discussing some of the key points of archtop technique in several genres:
https://www.acousticguitarforum.com/...d.php?t=635470