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The vintage '36 Epiphone Emperor is an exceptional instrument, in a league of its own, measuring a comfy 12.5" at the upper bout, 10.75 at the waist, and a whopping 18.38 approximate inches at the lower bout, it absolutley kills the Super 400 of its day! Comfortable to play even for a little guy. Not sure why so little love on the forum, but that's ok! Just saying. I love this guitar, and I am not a large person. It is an absolute canon and sounds like a piano at times. Beautiful instrument.
I'm only posting this because of the Super 400 thread and folks talking about how uncomfortable it is for smaller people to play!
Enjoy! And peace!
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12-29-2020 06:55 PM
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Sky,
I owned a 1951 Emperor many moons ago and it was just as you describe.
The narrow waist made playability much more comfortable than same period Super 400's I've played - and it had a huge voice. The narrower waist is reminiscent of the late 30's Super 400's.
Yours looks fantastic - thanks for starting the post !
Sent from my SM-P610 using Tapatalk
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epiphone when it was still an independent company/pre gibson buyout, made so many beautiful great sounding guitars...so many great players of the day used them!
session woman supreme carol kaye had a 1935 epi emperor that was producer phil spectors favorite all time guitar to record
enjoy
cheers
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WOWZA ! Steve......sweet
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Gorgeous guitar! I have a ‘38 blonde that is in waiting to be rebound and refretted. I’m excited to get it back, even though it will be a while.
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I've played and owned a boatload of vintage Epi's, they're consistently excellent, even the lower line models. For example a mid line '35 Triumph I had w the old 16" body size, an absolute cannon, played many an unamplified gig w/that little thing, the harder you played it the bigger it sounded and didn't choke, it barked!
Best sounding Epi I ever played was a '36 Emperor also, wish I still had it, unlike a lot of archtops the sound was thick and round like a good DA, especially on the top strings where many old archtops are shrill and metallic sounding.
A good friend is coming to pick up a '39 Epi Deluxe from me next week, I sold him my other '39 last year, two of the best I've had. Hate to see them go, but its time and to a friend makes it all good...Gibson fan, but will always have a soft spot for old Epi's too.
My old '36 Emperor....
Last edited by wintermoon; 12-30-2020 at 05:01 AM.
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This modded `52 Emperor used to belong to me, now one of my former students has it and if things go well and as planned it will be back in my hands before next Xmas.... the work was done at the Gibson factory in Kalamazoo and it's flawless. What the other guys say is true : despite it's girth it's a very comfortable guitar to play, the neck shape/size is perfect and with medium roundwounds and a medium high action it just pumps out gorgeous sounds ! Plugged in the DeArmond 1100 delivers just as good, as long as one doesn't get carried away with volume - this is NOT for playing on a loud stage.
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Please update us on your project when you have some news. I bought mine as a project. I had Mike Lull, RIP, do a refret and it's excellent. The binding on these is beautiful, insanely layered nitro, and subject to the typical problems from that era. I don't know who I would trust to touch it and so I haven't, yet. Maybe someday. I'm very interested to know how yours turns out.
Originally Posted by ThatRhythmMan
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an earlier pic of carol k with epi...check that mic'ing!!
cheers
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I think the back binding is 13 ply. My regular luthier can do anything wanted with guitars, but he says redoing that binding gives him nightmares. Originally Posted by skykomishone
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Sky, You might not be a physically tall person, But you are tremendous gentleman and a player.
I love that guitar. It is in beautiful condition and I'll bet it sounds superb in your hands. Thank you for sharing this ultra rare beauty with us!
JD
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N, She's using Thoms.. Originally Posted by neatomic
an earlier pic of carol k with epi...check that mic'ing!!
cheers
JD (your rubbing off on me buddy..)
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Very impressive old Emperors....thanks for posting!
I love and play old Epiphone's........even with body widths ranging from 13.5 to 17 inch they all give me something I love to hear and can use.....
.......but I've never had an opportunity to play an Emperor and hope one day to spend some time with one.
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A couple of years ago obtained the rough-carved top, and back, along with the bent sides for what would have been a 1940's emperor. It's my hope one day to build an Emperor with this wood, but I obviously have a lot to learn in the mean time. I also have to find the specs, plans, etc. and would have to build the neck and headstock from scratch. Still, I hope one day to have an Emperor built at least in part from wood from the old Epiphone shop of the 1940's.
I doubt it will be as beautiful as the one in the OP, but one can hope!Last edited by lawson-stone; 12-30-2020 at 04:16 PM.
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Originally Posted by Max405
haha..cracked me up Joe D!!
happy new year!...all the best bro
cheers
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More 18 inch love here. I just got a 1938 Regal Prince yesterday. Just getting used to it.
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^ nice...i love the old regals!...even the later era 50's ones that were distributed by fender were nice...pressed spruce tops etc
congrats & enjoy
cheers
ps- mosrite bass in the corner?
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That '36 must've been a private sale because I thought I'd scoured the internet for all the pre-Gibson Epiphones for sale, and I didn't see that one. Lucky you. Enjoy!
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Rebinding a guitar is the worst and most difficult job. It really is much like major surgery that has do be done slow, and slow, and slower. The problem is that sometimes you have to work fast before the glue dries. I am not sure how Chris Mirabella does it but would I like some tips. I know that if you are going to refinish the guitar then that is not so bad but but to keep the vintage nitro finish and do it right. I would love to take some lessons from the big time pros who have done this. I have but nothing like 13 layers or a D'a. Originally Posted by ThatRhythmMan
I pretty sure orthopedic surgery like pinning hip with titanium or stainless screws is definitely easier to do ( no joke) but one is a guitar the other is a human.
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Sure is. It's had very little use over the years. Originally Posted by neatomic
#gotsunburst?
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