Great Deal on an Epiphone Triumph

[Rickco]

With full respect for the guys like SS who have far more experience than I in tems of ownership, playing and resale. Last night I stayed up late playing/ comparing (acoustically) a '35 walnut Broadway, '42 Epi Ritz, '42 L7, Hutch '34 L5 reish a couple of luthier builds, a couple Heritages GE S16. Im not convinced resale value is greater for any brand including Gibson based on sales Ive tracked for a while. Obviously SS and TRM would have a much more informed info. That said, I dont buy a guitar to resell so If I take future value off the table its completely personal. I found the Epis and Gibsons to be absolutely equal but different. Of them all the Broadway is my favorite as it fits me well ,neck body etc. The surprise is the Ritz, Its an absolute canon 15" 4lbs 6oz! The Gibsons are both exactly what you would expect with the L5 being smaller body and the one I got a thinner neck still 1/3/4 and short scale. I really couldnt say that any one of them is superior to another, pre wars and early post wars were built by the top craftsmen ever and you can hear it not to mention wood nearly a century aged. Because of circumstances I am going to have to part with some, if not all. Between the Gibs and Epis I couldnt choose one I wanted to part with. Since many of my friends are still playing (jazz mostly) I see they are preferring smaller less feedback prone models and If I was going to a gig Id take my 175. My takeaway is if I was actively working the 175 would get most of the work, the prewars of any (almost) maker to me are the last examples of an era of craftsmanship that is long gone and precious so for me its f--k resale find the one that fits and speaks, play the shit out if it.

[andrew]

Fellas, I think the solution here is simple: get one of each!

[pawlowski6132]

Being on topic isn't jazz mannnn. Don't be so vanilla.

We can change it to an $21k acoustic L5 and the topic $2,200 Epiphone then. Which is still likely not 800% better.

I don't know. I just bought a 1928 L5 for $18,000. I've owned many Gibsons and epiphones.

I love the l5. And I'm sure I'm just convincing myself to justify the money but I think it does sound better than all the 30s epiphones and Gibson's I've owned.

But it's not a linear improvement. It's like squeezing that last gram of weight out of your bike. It may cost you $5,000 of engineering but the final grams cost the most.

Diminishing returns but worth it if you can afford it.

[AllanAllen]

But it's not a linear improvement. It's like squeezing that last gram of weight out of your bike. It may cost you $5,000 of engineering but the final grams cost the most.

Diminishing returns but worth it if you can afford it.

Oh, I see, it's an entirely different mentality than mine. I hope you enjoy that L-5, you playing around town with it yet? Got any clips?

[omphalopsychos]

Bro you are complaining on the other thread about people who belittle others for the instruments they play. You're belittling pawlowski bc you presume he doesn't gig. Dude's got the money and can buy what he wants.

If you need a whipping post, I take my L5 to gigs. Happy to have you sit in at a gig with your Epiphone. We will get along and play well together I promise. And the audience will not GAF. They will comment on how pretty our oldschool guitars are. And the real guitarists in the crowd will wonder why we're not just playing telecasters.

[pawlowski6132]

Oh, I see, it's an entirely different mentality than mine. I hope you enjoy that L-5, you playing around town with it yet? Got any clips?

I'm just starting to play out but haven't taken the L5 yet. I did get a DPA 4099 and plan to though.

How do others mic/amplify their acoustic archtops??

[Woody Sound]

A war-period Epi Deluxe has always been my big band dream machine. That pickguard! Perhaps when I am too old to work and don't need other guitars and have parted with most of them.

[Rickco]

"But it's not a linear improvement. It's like squeezing that last gram of weight out of your bike. It may cost you $5,000 of engineering but the final grams cost the most."
Absolutely the truth!!! I was in manufacturing of specialized custom items for around 50yrs, that last molecule of perfection can cost more than everything you did to that point! is it "worth" it? Our clients that insisted on it thought so...

[SierraTango]

A war-period Epi Deluxe has always been my big band dream machine. That pickguard! Perhaps when I am too old to work and don't need other guitars and have parted with most of them.

Oh Come on Woody! Here's a 46 that I've had my eye on for while but haven't got over to Santa Cruz to try out. Perhaps our friend Stringswinger could give us a report.
5K these days is just a few fancy dinners out!

Epiphone Deluxe Archtop 1945 Sunburst vintage jazz acoustic prewar guitar

[Stringswinger]

Oh Come on Woody! Here's a 46 that I've had my eye on for while but haven't got over to Santa Cruz to try out. Perhaps our friend Stringswinger could give us a report.
5K these days is just a few fancy dinners out!

Epiphone Deluxe Archtop 1945 Sunburst vintage jazz acoustic prewar guitar

If that guitar is still there next Friday, I will stop by and check it out.

[daverepair]

1942 Epiphone Triumph Natural Arch Top Guitar- Used – Gryphon Strings

bunch of you are always looking for affordable archtops with great tone. here you go. hard to beat. you can cancel your yunzhi order.

Thanks for posting this. The '42 Triumph is lovely, more so because of the playwear and obvious use. I am thrilled with my own '45 Triumph, although it's 'plain Jane'(celluloid inlays/plain maple b&s) compared to this one at Gryphon. Of all the many NY Epiphones I've owned, my Triumph is one of my most favorites: great tone, volume, and balance, and does both flat- and fingerpicking well. Someone ought to snap up the '45 in the link!

[zephyrregent]

Oh Come on Woody! Here's a 46 that I've had my eye on for while but haven't got over to Santa Cruz to try out. Perhaps our friend Stringswinger could give us a report.
5K these days is just a few fancy dinners out!

Epiphone Deluxe Archtop 1945 Sunburst vintage jazz acoustic prewar guitar

I think you could find one in better condition. This one is very scratched up. I've seen some pretty beat up guitars there.

[SierraTango]

I think you could find one in better condition. This one is very scratched up. I've seen some pretty beat up guitars there.

I do agree the Deluxe at Sylvan looks pretty beat up, however for some reason Epiphone Deluxes are rather thin on the ground in my experience. You can find Gibson L-5 from the late 40's and early 50's all day long but the Deluxe in any condition seems to be a rare bird.
I was over at Sylvan last year and was interested in the two L-5's they had. The 51 cutaway was pretty rough at 13K. The 47 non-cut was in better shape and sounded better than the 51, but at almost 10K asking there are many options on the market. I notice both are still listed as available on their website.
I simply adore my '53 Triumph Regent with no pickup. I actually gig out with it on a couple of venues were my duo performs that are small intimate cocktail type rooms. No pickup needed it's a cannon!

[wintermoon]

I do agree the Deluxe at Sylvan looks pretty beat up, however for some reason Epiphone Deluxes are rather thin on the ground in my experience. You can find Gibson L-5 from the late 40's and early 50's all day long but the Deluxe in any condition seems to be a rare bird.
I was over at Sylvan last year and was interested in the two L-5's they had. The 51 cutaway was pretty rough at 13K. The 47 non-cut was in better shape and sounded better than the 51, but at almost 10K asking there are many options on the market. I notice both are still listed as available on their website.
I simply adore my '53 Triumph Regent with no pickup. I actually gig out with it on a couple of venues were my duo performs that are small intimate cocktail type rooms. No pickup needed it's a cannon!

I don’t think that '45 Deluxe @ Sylvan is beat up at all, the finish is just checked.
One odd thing is the dark sunburst edges of the neck, can't say I’ve seen that before though my memory might be failing me. I've seen a bunch of early 60s Gibson L-5's and Supers w that pattern.
The immediate post war production of guitar companies was booming, the war was finally over and people were spending, there's lots of L-5's and Deluxes from this era, I gotta disagree that Deluxes from this period are rare.

[SierraTango]

I don’t think that '45 Deluxe @ Sylvan is beat up at all, the finish is just checked.
One odd thing is the dark sunburst edges of the neck, can't say I’ve seen that before though my memory might be failing me. I've seen a bunch of early 60s Gibson L-5's and Supers w that pattern.
The immediate post war production of guitar companies was booming, the war was finally over and people were spending, there's lots of L-5's and Deluxes from this era, I gotta disagree that Deluxes from this period are rare.

You are more knowledgeable than I about the market than I Winter. However it just seems to me there are usually more non-cut 40's L-5's available than their competitor the Deluxe from the same period. I do agree that the Deluxe I posted a link to doesn't look like a trainwreck, just well played in.
It probably sounds fantastic, which is what matters over most other issues. I'm hoping that Forum member Stringswinger can give us objective report since he lives in that area.

[wintermoon]

You are more knowledgeable than I about the market than I Winter. However it just seems to me there are usually more non-cut 40's L-5's available than their competitor the Deluxe from the same period. I do agree that the Deluxe I posted a link to doesn't look like a trainwreck, just well played in.
It probably sounds fantastic, which is what matters over most other issues. I'm hoping that Forum member Stringswinger can give us objective report since he lives in that area.

I don't know if there's necessarily more Deluxes than L-5's but they sold a lot of both models in the mid/late 40s.

[Stringswinger]

You are more knowledgeable than I about the market than I Winter. However it just seems to me there are usually more non-cut 40's L-5's available than their competitor the Deluxe from the same period. I do agree that the Deluxe I posted a link to doesn't look like a trainwreck, just well played in.
It probably sounds fantastic, which is what matters over most other issues. I'm hoping that Forum member Stringswinger can give us objective report since he lives in that area.

I will get over there on Tuesday and will report back in this thread.

[AllanAllen]

Bro you are complaining on the other thread about people who belittle others for the instruments they play. You're belittling pawlowski bc you presume he doesn't gig. Dude's got the money and can buy what he wants.

If you need a whipping post, I take my L5 to gigs. Happy to have you sit in at a gig with your Epiphone. We will get along and play well together I promise. And the audience will not GAF. They will comment on how pretty our oldschool guitars are. And the real guitarists in the crowd will wonder why we're not just playing telecasters.

I'm not belittling anyone, you are ignorant of the situational context. I remember that Pawlowski had a specific goal to be gigging in a year and I'm asking to either congratulate him on the achievement. Or, if life got in the way, reaffirm that he is talented, capable enough and deserves to play out. Should he still wish to meet that goal.

Of course, I don't expect you to remember a comment someone else made over a year ago. I'm just saying, I'm not being the jackass you think I am.

[joe2758]

If I had an 18,000 guitar and a $5,000 guitar and there was no real discernable difference, I don't think I would take the $18,000 one out. I can only speculate though.

[Stringswinger]

Guys, I stopped by Sylvan Music today.

The Epiphone Deluxe was sold several years ago. They had some (4 Gibson and 1 Epiphone) vintage archtops and I played 3 of them.

They had an Epiphone Blackstone that needs a neck reset and they are asking $2500. Stay away from this one. I played it and I was underwhelmed on all fronts.

They had a round hole L-4 from the 30's that I did not play as well as a non cut L-7 that I did not play.

They had two L-5's that I did play. A 51 L-5 C that they are asking $12,800 for and a 47 noncut L-5 that they are asking $9500 for. Both sound great, have great neck profiles and they have lots of cosmetic issues (checking, scratches etc.) AND they may need work (both had a higher action than I like). I would insure that the truss rod works and that the necks do not need a reset before considering a purchase of these L-5's.

Honestly, before buying any of those guitars, I would consider a Campellone. My 2 Cents. HTH

[zephyrregent]

I thought that Epiphone Deluxe looked familiar! I saw one there quite a few years ago with the finish in the same condition. It must have been the same one. Beside the headstock and fretboard inlay, pickup selector, tailpiece and pickguard, what is the difference between an Epiphone Deluxe Regent (50's) and an Epiphone Zephyr Regent (1951) structurally? I don't remember if the Deluxe had a solid top. It is one of my favorite guitars for looks.

[Stringswinger]

I thought that Epiphone Deluxe looked familiar! I saw one there quite a few years ago with the finish in the same condition. It must have been the same one. Beside the headstock and fretboard inlay, pickup selector, tailpiece and pickguard, what is the difference between an Epiphone Deluxe Regent (50's) and an Epiphone Zephyr Regent (1951) structurally? I don't remember if the Deluxe had a solid top. It is one of my favorite guitars for looks.

The Deluxe is a solid, acoustic carved archtop. The Zephyr is a laminate electric archtop.

[zephyrregent]

The Deluxe is a solid, acoustic carved archtop. The Zephyr is a laminate electric archtop.

I was thinking of a comparison to the Zephyr Deluxe Regent with a laminated top, a different guitar than the Deluxe Regent.

[deacon Mark]

Guys, I stopped by Sylvan Music today.

The Epiphone Deluxe was sold several years ago. They had some (4 Gibson and 1 Epiphone) vintage archtops and I played 3 of them.

They had an Epiphone Blackstone that needs a neck reset and they are asking $2500. Stay away from this one. I played it and I was underwhelmed on all fronts.

They had a round hole L-4 from the 30's that I did not play as well as a non cut L-7 that I did not play.

They had two L-5's that I did play. A 51 L-5 C that they are asking $12,800 for and a 47 noncut L-5 that they are asking $9500 for. Both sound great, have great neck profiles and they have lots of cosmetic issues (checking, scratches etc.) AND they may need work (both had a higher action than I like). I would insure that the truss rod works and that the necks do not need a reset before considering a purchase of these L-5's.

Honestly, before buying any of those guitars, I would consider a Campellone. My 2 Cents. HTH

I concur just buy a Campellone that solves all the problems and creates no issues. The smartest move by a mile.

[wintermoon]

I was thinking of a comparison to the Zephyr Deluxe Regent with a laminated top, a different guitar than the Deluxe Regent.

In Epi lingo Zephyr = electric, Regent = cutaway