Epiphone Century

[DMgolf66]

Well, I did it: took the guitar to a tech and had him rip out all the electronics and replace the bridge with a StewMac compensated ebony archtop bridge. I had some concern about the battery box and the big hole it would leave behind, and also wondered if the thumbwheels might be glued to the top, but nope – the controls were stuck on with little 3M sticky pads, and he fabricated a cover for the battery box hole out of Kyvex.

Fresh setup and minor tweak to neck relief, 60 bucks all in. So a total investment of $760 I have a spruce over maple acoustic archtop with hard case, and am just ridiculously happy. We’ll see about maybe heavier strings at some point, as I woodshed my way through the cold season and get ready to play out come spring. This should keep me distracted from making controversial statements in this forum.

Any pictures or video?

[Mike Anderson]

I still think Epiphone should have put the Frequensator on these. Almost a dead visual ringer for the old Triumph.
I still kinda want one, but I don't *need* one...lol

I seriously thought about a Frequensator, and as a nod to the Deluxe label, the proper pickguard from Fox (Epiphone Emperor or Deluxe archtop pickguard tortoise w/ 3-ply binding | fox-guitars.com) but I think I'm gonna let it be. Only recently learned that the headstock badging, which I'd thought was sorta bogus, is in fact very much based on the Masterbilts from the early Thirties. So as has been mentioned I think, it's a historical mishmash what with the headstock, fretboard markers, and pickguard, which was certainly intentional - maybe they wanted weirdos like me to do some research and learn more about their history, who knows?

@DMgolf66, a few pics as requested:

Stewmac bridge:



Look Ma, no thumbwheels!



Farewell battery box:



This little cover is pretty discreet, being quite close to the strap pin. Some might wonder why I'd bother with this - I mean, I didn't have to play it through an amp, right? All I can say is, I hate piezo but love the guitar, and just wanted the electronics gone, as if it was a boom stereo in a Model A. I absolutely get why it was made that way, I am so far from being a member of their regular client base it isn't funny - but for me it was the only way.

No video yet, still working on finding the sweet spot (if there is one! ), different picks etc, and in any case I only have an iPhone and I'm pretty sure you wouldn't get anything resembling a decent impression of the sound. To those who are curious and want a bargain, I say give it a try. To those with a carved D'Angelico or Epi or Gibson, well, bless you because you're the guys who keep the archtop flame alive and this would be like a toy, maybe a beater for the couch. Hope I've helped someone anyway.

[Little Jay]

It may be a cheap beater now but give it some time, let the wood dry while you play the heck out of it and who knows, it might mature great and sound much better in some years when it’s broken in and becoming vintage!

[jaymen]

If the Masterbilts are anything like the Emperor Regent, the "select" spruce top is pressed. From the photo of the inside of the guitar showing the internal electronics and wiring, one can see the top is not graduated at all, so it must be steam pressed.

My Regent, with PB strings sounds nothing at all like a jazz box, but when you use TI flatound swing series strings, it has that nice jazz sound. I suspect that the Century DeLuxe is much the same in that respect.

The semi-gloss "vintage" finish is a shame, it's just a way to cut the price of the instrument by eliminating several coats of paint and final sanding and polishing. The same goes for the neck: A Louisville Slugger neck is merely an inexpensive way to make up for cheap wood not being very rigid. A neck made from more rigid wood can be much thinner and therefore easier to play. I do like the thinner frets, as most older archtops I own use them.

I'm glad to see Gibson/Epiphone has responded to the renewed interest and demand for archtops and introduced versions of their old models. At least they replace the shrinking and increasingly expensive Gibson line of archtops, meaning something is better than nothing.. Everyone here should recall that the Gibson L-48 was nothing to write home about either, but it was well made and affordable. Maybe Epiphone will add floating pickups a higher quality neck, and nicer gloss finishes on future releases of these archtops.

The advert with the painted fingernails is a bit over the top, but that is what the hipsters are all bout: they are over top with themselves and are more concerned with looking cool than actually being cool