A Tale of Two Epiphone HR’s

[Easy2grasp]

Having owned a couple of Gibson Howard Roberts guitars at different times, I have always been intrigued by the early Epiphone version with its carved top and lighter construction. These were only sold from 1964-1969 as Epiphones except for a handful of unfinished ones labeled as Gibson when Epiphone production was moved to Japan in 1970. The model then reappeared as a Gibson in 1974.

A posting about a 1965 Epiphone HRSE (standard electric) last August by a forum member (MapOSpread) got me thinking about them again and I looked around to see what was available. So I sold a couple of guitars and ended up with these guys. Brothers with different mothers I call them, because of the headstock configurations. Also the control knobs are mounted differently. And another difference is the blonde ’67 weighs 3 oz. more than the sunburst ’65.

The good news is I am able to live with each individual guitar’s imperfections and am indulging myself in exploring their individual idiosyncrasies. Since my right ulnar nerve insult after neck surgery a few years ago, I have resigned myself to the fact that I will never play at my former level (I held my own with the professional jazzmen at the jam sessions). So now my approach with guitars is more holistic whereby I study their nuances, restore the guitars as needed, try to keep a few ballads memorized, work on Billy Bean lines, and enjoy my collecting/buying/selling activities.

So it turned out that the crack on the face of the blonde ’67 is not in that bad of an area. It runs between two cross braces. It isn’t cleated, but the braces are pretty close together. I’m cool with it. As for the “gouge” in the ’65 reddish sunburst, I’m cool with it, too. Yes, while I was waiting for it to arrive I followed some internet rabbit holes and realized it was the same guitar MapOSpread had gone to see. More exploring on Google images took me to the 12fret.com page and I saw they had it in 2019 with the same imperfection. I call it an imperfection because actually it is a very good repair of a tragic major ding. I will always remember the time that I bumped my new reissue Gibson L5CT on the corner of my MDF “wood” computer desk and put a pyramid shaped ding in the face of it. I had to sell it because I couldn’t stand to look at what I had done plus I didn’t like the thin body. The major ding/gouge on this HR is on that level but more of a repaired deep scratch like the guitar tipped from an upright position and dragged across something sharp. The repair is flush with the rest of the finish and is most obvious when at a direct 90 degree whereby you can see the crushed fibers through the tinted fill. At other angles the imperfection is nearly invisible.

Both guitars have a nut width just a hair under 1 11/16” (1 21/32”), 24 3/4 “ scale length, waffle back tuners, amber knobs with silver colored reflectors, and Brazilian rosewood fretboards and bridges.
They are a bit brighter than an ES-175 which is not necessarily a bad thing, and of course that can be adjusted at the amp as needed. I don’t gig anymore so I don’t have to worry about feedback issues, which I’ve read can be a problem with the Epiphone HR. The blonde is one of 18 natural finished HR’s shipped in 1967 and the sunburst is one of 42 SB’s shipped in 1965. A total of 276 Epi standard HR electric models were shipped from 1965-1969 (188 SB, 88 nat.) There were also 27 acoustic standard models built over the years. These numbers don’t include the Epi HR Custom model that had the Tree of Life inlay on the headstock, 25 1/2” scale, and an ebony fretboard which I don’t have shipping info for. I am trying my best to thin out my collection of guitars, but shit happens. I did sell two to get these two so at least the number hasn’t jumped from 14. And I am down to 7 ES-175’s and one is on Reverb (1958). Check out the pre Black Friday sale!
Ted

[D'Aquisto Fan]

Very cool. I remember playing an old Epiphone Howard Roberts at Tom Van Hoose's booth at the Arlington show a number of years ago. It was light, responsive and sounded excellent.

[Marty Grass]

I have no idea why this model isn't more popular.

[Flat]

I have no idea why this model isn't more popular.

I blame the stark whiteness of the pickguard. (We all have our quirks and peccadilloes, I suppose.)

They are lovely and charming guitars, no doubt. I love the shade of the top, and the overall shape and design. It seems to improve, in my view, with time.

And about a hundred years ago I picked up and moved to Hollywood just because of Howard Roberts. So call me a fan.

Thanks for the post, Ted!

[Doctor Jeff]

They are sure beautiful guitars.

Too bad the arched top with soundhole design of the original Gibsons hasn't stuck around in one form or another.

[Easy2grasp]

They are sure beautiful guitars.

Too bad the arched top with soundhole design of the original Gibsons hasn't stuck around in one form or another.

We can only hope that one of ours gets to be CEO of Gibson and there is a Renaissance of Gibson archtop guitars with round sound holes. I love these two HR's and I know I will have to choose which one to keep. Such sweet torture! I probably will need a couple of years at the minimum.

[Easy2grasp]

I have no idea why this model isn't more popular.

Yes this has been hashed out in so many previous posts. But I like the fact that they are not as common as ES-175's and that is a good thing. Maybe I have been hoarding the wrong guitar all along!