Sold: 1953 Epiphone New York Zephyr Emperor Regent (pre-gibson)

danishbacon

The Zephyr Emperor Regent was the top-of-the-line Epiphone electric archtop until the Gibson buyout in 1957.

This particular guitar is decidedly a player's instrument - and in terms of playability and tone, it really is excellent.

I can't say much about its history before my jazz teacher owned it but judging by the case, very old fragile sticker, and repairs, it was very likely a gigging instrument.

The body is 18 1/2" wide at the lower bout but because of the narrow waist it's very comfortable to play. The top is spruce with maple back and sides. The neck is maple with mahogany strips and a brazilian rosewood fretboads with v-block pearl and abalone inlays. 

The controls function as follows: pickups on/off via the three switches at the lower bout, followed by a varitone rotary switch, followed by a tone knob and finally a volume knob.

In terms of condition, under a blacklight, all finish looks consistent and glows green, so no indication of any recent finishing work or repairs. The headstock has four plugs - who knows what they are for or why they were added to the guitar but the back of the headstock finish and front are very very old so it may have been done decades ago or at the factory even.

The pickups and electrics have all been replaced (I do not have the originals) as has been the tailpiece which frequently broke on these and the pickguard. The pickups are Gibson Deluxe mini humbuckers and sound superb in this guitar. The back of the headstock has some lacquer cracking along the line of the laminates but no structural issue. There are various little marks/plugged holes from strap buttons and the old tailpiece. The case (original Geib or Lifton) is obviously patched together but is the original one to the guitar.

All in all, not a collector's piece in terms of originality, but nice if you like guitars with a played history. In 2020 it underwent a full service, setup, varitone switch wiring, saddle/bridge adjustment and the fitting of pickup rings at a cost of £328.

Point of note - purely for curiosity. The invoice for the service is made out to Jon Sharples and it was serviced in Manchester. A bit of googling led me to the 'Sharpy' of The Vulcans and The Night Boppers. Now, the invoice is from 2020 and 'Sharpy' died in 2003 - so I have no idea if there is an association there or not, but from photos of his bands I was able to dig out, there did seem to be an affinity for archtops. If a certain seller got hold of this, I wouldn't be surprised if it was construed as having been played on the same stage as the Beatles once did - "former Vulcan, known as 'Sharpy', whose group The Night Boppers topped the bill at Liverpool's Cavern Club ahead of The Beatles..." https://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/news/5911437.sharpy-topped-cavern-bill/ - as I said, purely speculative, no evidence of association whatsoever other than the commonality in the name on the invoice and geographic location.

A 1954 blonde sold in the US about 8 months ago for just under £5k - with original electronics - there are some dealers asking north of £6k.

£3000, based in Swansea, happy to meet or post

Sound samples: 




Anyway, enough waffle. I suppose it's time for photos.

You can click them for higher resolution zoom-in





      

Teyeplayer

Wow, you have some lovely guitars Fred.

MikeS

What a lovely thing. The headstock alone. The script of the logo, the inlays, the stinger and the tuners. I'd happily buy it just to look at the headstock. GLWTS.

danishbacon

Thanks chaps

danishbacon

Nudge

ElectricXII

Lovely guitar. I see our friend from Essex Recording Studios has one listed too @ £8K!

jonnyburgo

If Mr Essex buys this one it will have been John Lee Hooker's, with a confirmation letter from the man himself, dated from last year.

Joking aside that is beautiful and a fantastic price, wish it was mine!

danishbacon

Thanks both, I've added a couple of sound samples, with a track and without, non scientific - but it does sound lovely and records beautifully. Mind you, there are two other pickups and a plethora of combinations so you can go much further than just jazz with it.

danishbacon

Sold