1934 Epiphone Zenith Carved-Top Archtop Guitar

A customer sent this in for consignment some time back but I finally got around to it about a week ago. It's an earlier Epiphone Zenith and as-such has the wider nut and quirkier styling of their builds for that period. It's a 00-sized guitar and because of that sits in the lap nicely and has easy handling. You don't feel so "wrapped-up" in it like you do on a typical 16" archtop.

Tonewise, these are punchy and forward and have a good, midsy, velvety sound to them. It'll chop, no problem. Their long scale length makes them a great boon to folks playing single-note lead or fill work (as those just fly right out the f-holes) or folks that are heavy-handed chord-choppers and find a Gibson-style shorter-scale instrument a little too relaxed.

All that... and it has just the right amount of wear to be friendly and a tobacco-burst look.

Repairs included: a neck reset, fret level/dress, new adjustable bridge install, cleaning, and setup.

Setup notes: the neck is straight and it plays bang-on with 3/32" EA and 1/16" DGBE action at the 12th fret. There's room to adjust the bridge up/down as desired.

Scale length: 25 9/16"

Nut width: 1 3/4"

String spacing at nut: 1 9/16"

String spacing at bridge: 2 1/8"

Body length: 19 1/8"

Lower bout width: 14 5/8"

Waist width: 8 3/4"

Upper bout width: 10 5/8"

Side depth at endpin: 3 3/8"

Top wood: solid spruce

Back/sides wood: walnut

Neck wood: two-piece walnut?

Bracing type: tonebar

Fretboard: Brazilian rosewood, bone nut

Bridge: rosewood, adjustable

Neck feel: medium C-shape, ~10-12" board radius

Condition notes: the finish has flaked around the bridge and in various spots around the top, back, and sides. There's a good amount of lesser wear and tear and scratches throughout, too. The tailpiece was modified at some point and there are filled tailpiece mounting holes near its hanger-plate. The endpin and strap button at the neck are unoriginal and the bridge is a new, rosewood adjustable unit. The tuners, trapeze, and pickguard appear to be original, however.

It comes with: a chip case.