This handsome vintage guitar plays perfectly and sounds incredible. It is in in excellent functional condition and very good cosmetic condition, with a gorgeous dark sunburst finish. It has a double-bound maple body and solid maple neck with three-ply walnut/ maple centerstripe. This is a two-pickup version with the original "New York" pickups. The Grover tuners have been replaced. There is some slight binding shrinkage that has caused a small 1.5"-long crack at the hip (bass-side), but this has no structural, tonal or functional effect on the guitar. Bigsby tailpiece. Comes with its original hardshell carrying case. The electronics work flawlessly, and the neck profile is gently rounded but not full. The maple body is highly flamed throughout, with original finish in excellent condition. Action is low and fast, and the single-coil "New York" pickups are sweet and clear. An ornate and highly distinctive guitar. String action is 5/64" at the 12th fret to 6/64" at the 12th fret, with moderate relief for acoustic playing with medium strings.
The following information regarding 1953 Epiphone Zephyr Deluxe Regent guitars is borrowed from archtop.com:
Body size at lower bout: 17 3/8" Scale length: 25 1/2". Nut width: 1 11/16"
Materials: Highly-figured flame maple body; solid maple neck with 3-ply walnut/maple centerstripe; ornate vine style mother-of-pearl peghead inlay and cloud fingerboard inlays; Brazilian Rosewood fingerboard with inlaid perimeter stripes, deluxe five-ply body binding, triple-bound fingerboard and headstock.
Notes: Introduced in 1948, the Zephyr Deluxe Regent was Epiphone's electric cutaway version of their legendary Deluxe model archtop. Epi's top-of-the line 17" instrument, the Zephyr Deluxe Regent was the equivalent in price and prestige to its main competitor, the Gibson L-5CES. Featuring a deeper cutaway than its Gibson rival, the Zephyr Deluxe Regent facilitates upper fingerboard access by two to three frets over the cutaway L-5. By 1950, the slender "New York" style pickups debuted, with the cream colored housing on either side of the gold cover. Twin New York pickups, and the ornate peghead vine. And unlike earlier versions with the split block fingerboard inlay, this late example revived the beloved Deluxe clouds on the fretboard. All-original hardware includes gold epsilon logo tuners, original gold "New York" pickups, original white octagonal pointer knobs; original compensated Brazilian rosewood bridge; original triple-bound nitrocellulose pickguard in translucent tortoise; hex-key adjustable truss rod. The guitar will accommodate lighter or heavier gauge strings, according to preference. The action may be lowered or raised to your requirements with the adjustable bridge.
