1942 Epiphone Coronet Electric Archtop

Description

Here I have a very rare instrument. It is a Pre-War Epiphone Coronet archtop guitar. I believe this was Epiphone's take on the Coronet lap steel guitar converted into a hollowbody that can be played traditionally. The serial number is higher ranging than that of others I've seen online so I listed it as a 1942. There is very little information on early serial #'s and this can't be verified. I don't know if I would label this as a 3/4 scale guitar but it is a bit smaller than your average archtop. The lower bout measures roughly 14.5" and the upper bout measures 10.5". The scale length is 25.5". This guitar is in fantastic shape. It looks like at one point the tailpiece broke and was possibly welded back together but other than that there are no cracks or breaks to speak of. When I opened the case there was a Gibson string package in there from the 1960s as well as some very old packing paper and a pick. I also found an old coily cord. Judging by the dirt on the guitar when I received it I'd say it hasn't been played in decades prior to me fixing it up. It is in remarkably good shape. As you can see a DeArmond pickup was added sometime in the 60s. The neck joint was okay but the action was high and the bridge pickup was high so I made another wooden shelf for the pickup to rest on so I could lower the height. These were not adjustable pickups to begin with. All the original parts will come with the guitar. It also looks like the pickguard is original but was modified for the neck pickup. These guitars feature a mahogany back and sides as well as the neck. The fingerboard is rosewood. I didn't want to disturb the finish because it was so well preserved so I lightly wiped it off and opted not to polish it. The paint has a nice luster to it. The action is a hair under 4/32" and it plays comfortably all the way up to the neck joint. Many of these archtop guitars from this era are stained dark brown. This guitar is actually painted black on the back and sides as well as the neck. It comes with the original case as well which has an embossed Epiphone logo on the underside of the top portion. This would make a great addition to any collection.